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Lost Ends
Unless you live in a hatch somewhere, you are probably aware that Lost has ended. If you want a simple, clear explanation of exactly how the series resolved, Lost Untangled will do nothing to clarify things for you. For everyone else, I provide this discussion thread for you to complain/revel in the most spoiler-laden manner you desire.
Jacobs Ladder
The subject lines, they just write themselves.
If you want a simple, clear explanation of exactly how the series resolved, Lost Untangled will do nothing to clarify things for you.
If you were expecting answers... you have been watching the wrong show for the last 6 years.
I am not much of a TV watcher but a coworker loaned me the DVDs to watch on the bus during my commute in the Fall of 2008 and I kept up with the show ever since. For the first two seasons I was riveted. The cliffhangers, the mystery, etc, etc, etc. With the first half of Season 3 the show started to fall apart. They came back with a clear vision in the second half, supposedly, but I never saw it materialize.
Yesterday I sat down with my wife (who only started watching it in Season 5) and we watched as nothing in the final episode answered any questions. No, the fucking light at the center of the island didn't tell us shit and that stupid fucking ending with some sort of allusion to the afterlife was absolutely stupid. People had been suspecting that all along and knowing that many people did you would have thought the writers, being paid as much as they were, would have come up with something more shocking than that--but they didn't.
I am glad that I only wasted two years of my life watching that show rather than the 6 many others did. It started with a plane wreck and it ended with one. We were all duped. The least they could have done was provide everyone watching with some of that Dharma beer in rusty cans to help ease the pain.
I remember the producers of Lost saying at some point either during or at the end of the first season that the mysteries of the island would all end up being explainable scientifically. Not necessarily pure science, but at least the sort of semi-plausible science-like stuff most sci-fi is built on. For most of the first two or three seasons they were flailing around, but for the most part it still seemed there could be a plausible explanation for everything. The introduction of Faraday and all of his scientific mumbo jumbo lent credence to that idea.
Then, over the past two seasons, the show took a sharp turn into religious territory and it became increasingly obvious they were going to take the easy way out and make it all into some ridiculous religious/spiritual allegory of some kind, albeit one so confused that no one would ever be able to make any real sense out of it. It reminded me of the Matrix, where the first movie was more sci-fi and the second and third were all a bunch of confused pseudo-religious nonsense.
I was primarily disappointed with their complete abandonment of any attempt to explain anything scientifically, and instead lean on a literal Deus Ex Machina by making the whole thing into a spiritual "God (or some other spiritual entity) did it". That sort of thing has been done to death. Hell, Battlestar Galactica was explicitly a religious allegory from the very beginning, and even it explained more stuff pseudo-scientifically than Lost did. Regardless of what they may say now, I think the Lost creators started out with a show that would have been much more scientifically based, but ended up having to extend it beyond what they thought they would. After wandering in the wilderness for much of seasons 2 through 4, they were backed into a corner and took the easy way out by waving the magic religion wand to "explain" everything away.
I am about to give up on "flash forward" for the same reason.
You're not going to have a choice as the show was canceled last week.
Ok. What happened on the island did happen. It was the real timeline. The 'other' timeline was not created by the bomb going off. It was just a jumping point into purgatory. Those who showed up at the church, became at peace with their 'former' timeine and moved on. So, others who were not there but on the island could have moved on before, after, or not at all (eloeise Hawking for example). Faraday had not had is 'wake up' moment yet with Charlotte. But he may since he just met her there. Then move on later. So the 'sideways' timeline could have been thousands of our timeline years since Hurley could have been guardian for the island for who know's how long before he joined the group at the church. Sawyer could have lived to be 90, but then died and reverted back to the 'sideways' timeline so he could join the group at the point of time for him/them that was the most significant. The show wasn't about the island itself. It never was. It was about the folks who survived the initial crash and moved on. The second flight did leave the island. And Jack did die in the bamboo. But it took them all to die on their own time before they all met back up in the sideways. So Ben had not yet been at peace with his actions to enter the church. It's all very Catholic at it's core. Now if you were looking for what the island was or were it came from, that, I'm afraid is going to be another story. Or you could use your imagination. That is the idea here. Every person enjoying the story at their own level.
There are no loopholes. It's either legal or it's not.
I think the most revealing part was during the closing credits when they showed the wreckage on the beach with no people. My interpretation is that the entire series existed entirely in Jack's mind as the plane crashed and all passengers died on impact. Similar to the common cliche of one's "life flashing before their eyes" during a near-death experience, but in this case the result was actual death.
Many people who have a near-death experience describe comfort and moving toward a white light. This has been explained by science as the brain flooding itself with dopamine and other pleasure chemicals because it knows that it is dying and might as well go out feeling good. I think the series was an interpretation of that phenomenon - realizing that he had but seconds to live, Jack's brain created this vivid melodrama based on the wishful thinking that he'd actually survive the crash. The islands electromagnetic properties explain the crash, and the hope of reversing the crash and sending his life on a more fulfilling path (flash-sideways with Jack finding love, having a son, etc.) provides comfort.
With that being said, I think the writers took the easy way out and I'm quite disappointed having invested a significant amount of time in the series. I'm sure there will be plenty of post-game analysis and people will find tons of symbolism that was intended and even more that wasn't, so at least the discussion and speculation may fill my need for closure.
I'm confused. Did you mean you, or the show?
Oh wait, I'm confused. How prophetic of you!
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
They could have done a lot of neat things with tying down loose ends, explaining the island and completing their work. Instead they gave us this. And finally I see no further point in discussing it because there's no hope of ever explaining anything.
The final twist was that the show wasn't about the island at all, it was about a bunch of annoying characters. I passed on the first season because I had no interest in a "bunch of people stuck on an island" show (without even a million dollar prize), but decided to watch when it looked like the show was more than that. Surprise, surprise, it wasn't. It was a good show, and the ending was fitting, but it's still frustrating for the creators to basically say that all of the mysteries never really mattered. The numbers? Just numbers. Walt? He's busy trying to live while being officially dead. The rules? Oh, that was just a Jacob thing, he's gone now. The Frozen Donkey Wheel? That's just the magical escape hatch, no big deal. The statue? Just a statue that got hit by a ship a while back. The smoke monster? Hey, Target has smoke detectors for $10.99. And the light? Just leave the key in the ignition and the world won't end. What was the point? As Charlton Heston would say, "It's people. Lost is made out of people."
As lovely as the conclusion was for the characters, it does nothing for the viewers who were sold for 5 seasons on the concept of the mysterious island with shitloads of secrets which give rise to even more questions that would eventually be answered. Unfortunately that is not what we got. It feels like the writers painted themselves into a corner and were unable to come up with a satisfactory wrap up regarding the island's secrets so instead gave us as pseudo-Jacob's Ladder ending. No thanks.
Intentionally writing story lines which only give the appearance of order but which are actually just random shit happening is smart? I'll freely admit, it was funny when I saw it the first time in Twin Peaks ... but I just can't stomach DEEP any more. It's not smart, it's lazy at best and pandering to the lowest common denominator at worst.
Does any one else think that the writers were making up even the finale as they went along? Personally, I think the explanation of the flash sideways = limbo was something they tacked on at the very last minute. In fact, if you re-examine the last season, I think it’s clear that the flash sideways was originally intended to be a true parallel reality of sorts.
1. A submerged/sunken version of the island was shown in the flash sideways world.
2. Kima, a murderer that everyone on the island hated, was present in the flash sideways world.
3. In the beginning on the flash sideways, it was implied that it took something like a near-death-experience to catch glimpses of the other timeline. By the end though, apparently any strong emotion was enough.
4. Faraday in the flash sideways specifically thought that the flash sideways was the result of something they had done with a nuclear bomb.
5. When Widmore put Desmond in the magnet shack, the impression was given that Desmond was able to jump between both realities.
6. Some of the Lostaways had pretty harsh and painful lives in the flash sideways which would seem weird for a group created dream world.
7. When fake-Locke cut Jack's neck on the island, his neck in the flash sideways began to bleed as well.
8. Eloise didn't want Desmond messing with things in the flash sideways.
Now, I'm sure if you try hard enough, all of the above can be explained away, but taken as a whole, I think its obvious that the writers created the ending of the flash sideways world completely on the fly, and I would go so far as to say there's good evidence that they didn't even figure out what they were going to do until quite a ways into the finale itself. In fact, it’s entirely possible that even during the concert in the finale the writers still hadn't figured out how they were going to end things. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't figure out what to do until the point when they were trying to figure out what Jack would find inside his dad's coffin.
P.S. And I get so sick of people defending the show by saying "Its about the characters." That's like defending a Michael Bay movie by saying "Its about the FX." A good show should be about the story, of which characters, plot, and presentation are all a part.
So, black smoke monster; What was it?
The physical manifestation of the writer's lack of talent?
Coding with assembly is like playing with Legos. Coding an application in assembly is like building a car with Legos.
J.J. Abrams has a consistent formula which rarely seems to fail from a commercial perspective. From an artistic perspective, it always seems to fall flat on its face leaving everyone completely unsatisfied and confused, like a recent ex-virgin wondering about what the hell just happened.
Formula:
1. Create an excellent concept.
2. Create interesting and varied characters. Usually horridly and obviously flawed.
3. Create an ever growing mystery for the audience; to wit you're sure the character flaws can feed.
4. Continue to build a mystery such that nothing makes logical sense, characters don't feed or develop in any meaningful way. Characters follow no logic and betray their character at every turn. Hopefully the audience will believe this has to do with the ever building mystery rather than a failing of the Abrams. Realistically, it has more to do with the fact there was never a real plan, story arc, or long term development by Abrams.
5. End the story in a completely illogical manner such that it punishes the audience for trusting Abrams beyond the beginning of step four; whereby it becomes very obviously not only is Abrams unable to deliver any substance, its plainly beyond his ability to do so.
6. People walk around scratching head wondering what the fuck just happened while trying to explore their own meaning in a story which never had any meaning from the beginning. All personal meaning is strictly coincidental as Abrams never delivered anything.
So for those who found meaning in Abram's effort, congrats! You found more than was ever provided, intended, or eluded. In short, it means you're more creative than Abrams. And if you didn't find meaning, congrats! You've been bitten yet again by Abrams' epic ability to fail at story telling. Even worse, his epic ability to destroy completely awesome story ideas.
Like nuclear war, the only way to win is to not play - anything in which Abrams participates.
It is *very* simple actually. And those answers came a few episodes early.
The heart of the island is filled with energy. It is the same energy that fuels life. Jacob guarded that energy and used it to protect candidates so they didn't age, and healed miraculously. As a punishment for someone trying to steal that energy, they would be turned into the "smoke monster", which could only wear the faces of dead bodies on the island.
Go back and watch the pilot. The show was always an allegory about good and evil. The island was split time and time again into two groups of conflict, and those conflicts were smaller facets of a larger conflict.
Did you watch Star Wars and complain that the Force was never explained?
The only reason people expect more from Lost is because when there was a reveal, it was so rewarding. It showed how deep the show was, how well thought it was, and how much meaning there laid in so many aspects of the story. People complain that they didn't get more of that instead of celebrating on how many great moments of revelation there were.
Watch JJ Abram's "Alias" some time. The show was predicated on revealing twists, but that show really was made up as they went along and became ludicrous very quick. Instead of having twists for the sake of twists, Lost was amazingly consistent while still surprising.
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
I too am very dissatisfied with LOST. Some things were just badly written. To me this goes back at least to when Charlie died, even though water physically could not have filled the room above the broken port hole, and continued through the final episode, where suddenly Jack, Kate and the rest were traveling across vast stretches of the island in hours or minutes when it had previously taken days to cover so much ground. And even things that were supposedly explained this season made no sense if you look at the whole story. The smoke monster was revealed to have caused the appearance of several deal people, including Jack's father. But we also know that smokey could not leave the island. Yet Jack also saw his dead father manifested while he was in L.A., before returning to the Island. How can a viewer even hope to figure out anything in a story when they do stuff like that?
There were many many story holes, far too many for me to list here. But one that really needed some sort of explanation was the Darma food drop that happened shortly after the crash and saved Hurley from a much needed diet. Why was there a Darma food drop if all of Darma had been killed years earlier? Who did it, and what else are they doing? How did they even make a food drop on the Island, the mysterious nature of the Island should have made it unreachable by air, Darma had to use a sub to get there other times. But the message to viewers who were trying to actually figure out the story and make some sense of it was "screw you, the writers don't care about such things, we just want to have melodramatic deaths and church scenes with the major cast (but curiously none of the extras who also died).
And the ending made no sense at all taken with the departure of Kate, Sawyer and Clair on the plane. How does Kate end up at the funeral dead if she managed to fly off the island alive? Why even bother to get that group to the plane, if it is meaningless if they reached it or not?
The writers of Lost promised that they had a full story in mind when the series started, that they were not just making it up as they went along. That either wasn't true or they were some of the worst writers in history.
Some shows are just entertainment. The viewer knows not to spend any time trying to figure out much of anything, because it would be time wasted. But Lost presented itself as something different. It claimed to have an underlying logic behind it. Viewers were encouraged to try to understand the riddles of the island. In the end the loyal viewers were betrayed.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.