I miss Lost. I really do. It was PROPER event television, with anticipation building to fever pitch before every new season. Oh, and their cliffhangers.
But alas, it ended. And in the eyes of many, it left so many dangling plotlines, that the six series worth of build up was wasted.
However, I disagree. I think all (if not, 99%) of all plotlines were explained, even if it meant you (the viewer) had to think about it. And I LOVE that. I love watching something and being made to think. If I wanted everything to be explained to me, I'd go to nursery. Equally, I don't like shows/films that explain nothing. Annoying. Starting to digress now...
But with Lost, I feel it ended perfected. And while perusing some Lost forums, I found a post by a guy claiming to be one of the writers on the show. While anyone can claim this, I think his views have a LOT of merit, and I'm willing to subscribe to his views. I'll copy the post below:
The Island:
It was real. Everything that happened on the island that we saw
throughout the 6 seasons was real. They really crashed. They really survived. They
really discovered Dharma and the Others. The Island keeps the balance of
good and evil in the world. It always has and always will perform that
role. And the Island will always need a "Protector". Jacob wasn't the
first, Hurley won't be the last. However, Jacob had to deal with a
malevolent force (MIB) that his mother, nor Hurley had to deal with. He
created the devil and had to find a way to kill him -- even though the
rules prevented him from actually doing so.
Thus began Jacob's plan to bring candidates to the Island to do the one
thing he couldn't do. Kill the MIB. He had a huge list of candidates
that spanned generations. Yet everytime he brought people there, the MIB
corrupted them and caused them to kill one another. That was until
Richard came along and helped Jacob understand that if he didn't take a
more active role, then his plan would never work.
Enter Dharma -- which I'm not sure why John is having such a hard time
grasping. Dharma, like the countless scores of people that were brought
to the island before, were brought there by Jacob as part of his plan to
kill the MIB. However, the MIB was aware of this plan and interferred by
"corrupting" Ben. Making Ben believe he was doing the work of Jacob when
in reality he was doing the work of the MIB. This carried over into all
of Ben's "off-island" activities. He was the leader. He spoke for Jacob
as far as they were concerned. So the "Others" killed Dharma and later
were actively trying to kill Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley and all the
candidates because that's what the MIB wanted. And what he couldn't do
for himself.
Dharma was originally brought in to be good. But was turned bad by MIB's
corruption and eventually destroyed by his pawn Ben. Now, was Dharma
only brought there to help Jack and the other Canditates on their
overall quest to kill Smokey? Or did Jacob have another list of
Canidates from the Dharma group that we were never aware of? That's a
question that is purposley not answered because whatever answer the
writers came up with would be worse than the one you come up with for
yourself. Still ... Dharma's purpose is not "pointless" or even vague.
Hell, it's pretty blantent.
Still, despite his grand plan, Jacob wanted to give his "candidates"
(our Lostaways) the one thing he, nor his brother, were ever afforded:
free will. Hence him bringing a host of "candidates" through the decades
and letting them "choose" which one would actually do the job in the
end. Maybe he knew Jack would be the one to kill Flocke and that Hurley
would be the protector in the end. Maybe he didn't. But that was always
the key question of the show: Fate vs Free-will. Science vs Faith.
Personally I think Jacob knew from the beginning what was going to
happen and that everyone played a part over 6 seasons in helping Jack
get to the point where he needed to be to kill Smokey and make Hurley
the protector -- I know that's how a lot of the writers viewed it. But
again, they won't answer that (nor should they) because that ruins the fun.
In the end, Jack got to do what he always wanted to do from the very
first episode of the show: Save his fellow Lostaways. He got Kate and
Sawyer off the island and he gave Hurley the purpose in life he'd always
been missing. And, in Sideways world (which we'll get to next) he in
fact saved everyone by helping them all move on ...
Now...
Sideways World:
Sideways world is where it gets really cool in terms of theology and
metaphysical discussion (for me at least -- because I love
history/religion theories and loved all the talks in the writer's room
about it). Basically what the show is proposing is that we're all linked
to certain people during our lives. Call them soulmates (though it's not
exactly the best word). But these people we're linked to are with us
duing "the most important moments of our lives" as Christian said. These
are the people we move through the universe with from lifetime to
lifetime. It's loosely based in Hinduisim with large doses of western
religion thrown into the mix.
The conceit that the writers created, basing it off these religious
philosophies, was that as a group, the Lostaways subconsciously created
this "sideways" world where they exist in purgatory until they are
"awakened" and find one another. Once they all find one another, they
can then move on and move forward. In essence, this is the show's
concept of the afterlife. According to the show, everyone creates their
own "Sideways" purgatory with their "soulmates" throughout their lives
and exist there until they all move on together. That's a beautiful
notion. Even if you aren't religious or even spirtual, the idea that we
live AND die together is deeply profound and moving.
It's a really cool and spirtual concept that fits the whole tone and
subtext the show has had from the beginning. These people were SUPPOSED
to be together on that plane. They were supposed to live through these
events -- not JUST because of Jacob. But because that's what the
universe or God (depending on how religious you wish to get) wanted to
happen. The show was always about science vs faith -- and it ultimately
came down on the side of faith. It answered THE core question of the
series. The one question that has been at the root of every island
mystery, every character backstory, every plot twist. That, by itself,
is quite an accomplishment.
How much you want to extrapolate from that is up to you as the viewer.
Think about season 1 when we first found the Hatch. Everyone thought
that's THE answer! Whatever is down there is the answer! Then, as we
discovered it was just one station of many. One link in a very long
chain that kept revealing more, and more of a larger mosiac.
But the writer's took it even further this season by contrasting this
Sideways "purgatory" with the Island itself. Remember when Michael
appeared to Hurley, he said he was not allowed to leave the Island. Just
like the MIB. He wasn't allowed into this sideways world and thus, was
not afforded the opportunity to move on. Why? Because he had proven
himself to be unworthy with his actions on the Island. He failed the
test. The others, passed. They made it into Sideways world when they
died -- some before Jack, some years later. In Hurley's case, maybe
centuries later. They exist in this sideways world until they are
"awakened" and they can only move on TOGETHER because they are linked.
They are destined to be together for eternity. That was their destiny.
They were NOT linked to Anna Lucia, Daniel, Roussou, Alex, Miles,
Lupidis, (and all the rest who weren't in the chuch -- basically
everyone who wasn't in season 1). Yet those people exist in Sideways
world. Why? Well again, here's where they leave it up to you to decide.
The way I like to think about it, is that those people who were left
behind in Sideways world have to find their own soulmates before they
can wake up. It's possible that those links aren't people from the
island but from their other life (Anna's parnter, the guy she shot ---
Roussou's husband, etc etc).
A lot of people have been talking about Ben and why he didn't go into
the Church. And if you think of Sideways world in this way, then it
gives you the answer to that very question. Ben can't move on yet
because he hasn't connected with the people he needs to. It's going to
be his job to awaken Roussou, Alex, Anna Lucia (maybe), Ethan,
Goodspeed, his father and the rest. He has to attone for his sins more
than he did by being Hurley's number two. He has to do what Hurley and
Desmond did for our Lostaways with his own people. He has to help them
connect. And he can only move on when all the links in his chain are
ready to. Same can be said for Faraday, Charlotte, Whidmore, Hawkins
etc. It's really a neat, and cool concept. At least to me.
But, from a more "behind the scenes" note: the reason Ben's not in the
church, and the reason no one is in the church but for Season 1 people
is because they wrote the ending to the show after writing the pilot.
And never changed it. The writers always said (and many didn't believe
them) that they knew their ending from the very first episode. I applaud
them for that. It's pretty fantastic. Originally Ben was supposed to
have a 3 episode arc and be done. But he became a big part of the show.
They could have easily changed their ending and put him in the church --
but instead they problem solved it. Gave him a BRILLIANT moment with
Locke outside the church ... and then that was it. I loved that. For
those that wonder -- the original ending started the moment Jack walked
into the church and touches the casket to Jack closing his eyes as the
other plane flies away. That was always JJ's ending. And they kept it.
For me the ending of this show means a lot. Not only because I worked on
it, but because as a writer it inspired me in a way the medium had never
done before. I've been inspired to write by great films. Maybe too many
to count. And there have been amazing TV shows that I've loved (X-Files,
24, Sopranos, countless 1/2 hour shows). But none did what LOST did for
me. None showed me that you could take huge risks (writing a show about
faith for network TV) and stick to your creative guns and STILL please
the audience. I learned a lot from the show as a writer. I learned even
more from being around the incredible writers, producers, PAs, interns
and everyone else who slaved on the show for 6 years.
In the end, for me, LOST was a touchstone show that dealt with faith,
the afterlife, and all these big, spirtual questions that most shows
don't touch. And to me, they never once waivered from their core story
-- even with all the sci-fi elements they mixed in. To walk that long
and daunting of a creative tightrope and survive is simply astounding.
Just
awesome. And really, if you think about it, it makes SO much sense.
I will miss Jack, Sawyer, Locke, Kate, Ben, Sayid and most of all, Hurley. Thanks guys, and the rest of you. You may be gone from our screens, but you left a gap that may never be filled.
And you'll always live on, in DVD form.
