LOST!!!!

[ThunderBolt]

Read what you just wrote, and then tell me its not a character driven show. You just wrote in your post that it was without realizing it.

 

Yes it could have happened anywhere but they choose to have it happen on a mysterious island, and not the supermarket down the street.

Brace yourself, guys. It’s a long one:

I fully realize what I wrote. It doesn't change the fact that even if these characters were victims of circumstance, those circumstances went completely unexplained. They could have gone through a lot of cool s*** in a desert in Africa and still gotten close together. Instead, they were placed on a deserted island by an mysterious man with intentions that are wholly contradictory, they were terrorized by a group of "others" who operated without any sort of internal logic (Jacob gave them a list of people he wanted, but refuses to talk to them himself, even though he talked to them when they were kids, that one time he somehow got off the island, so they decde to scare the s*** out of them and kidnap their kids, because they can't have kids, because of some sort of pregnancy thing that never got explained) Also, these people were haunted by a group of numbers that seemingly followed them everywere, these numbers were offered a tangential explanation and then contradicted by Jacob ("just chalk on a wall, Kate".) and so and so forth. Anyone trying to say that the character ultimately outweighed the mythology should realize that the mythology was grown and expanded upon beside the characters for 6 years, and ultimate went unexplained. I remember how during the writers’ strike one of the head writers Carlton Cuse carried around a sign that said, "Do you want to know what the island is?" Yes, Carlton. I do want to know what the Island is. Explain it to me. What? It’s a glowing energy source protected by a magical cork in the center of the Island that sometimes turns people into smoke, which somehow links back to early Egyptian mythology? Awesome, now explain that. Why didn't the sign say, "It's the characters, stupid?" That’s the same type of crap that most writers do when they run out of time to give proper answers to the questions they raised.

 

I enjoyed the four seasons of set-up i got. I just wanted two seasons of answers instead of time-travel and purgatory.

Edited May 26, 2010 by Thunderbolt

[RockRaines]

I'm with you TB, entirely.

[daa84]

while I understand the writers wanted it to be about the characters, you guys can't tell me thats why you tuned in....

 

you didn't watch the next episode to hopefully see sayid and nadia get together, you watched because the ended episodes with charlie saying "guys, where are we"...and you tuned in the next week to see the answers to the questions they purposed in the episode before....and i can't help but feel like alot of those questions went unanswered....

 

im less mad about the finale because i came to the realization at the beginning of season 6 that many, many, many of those questions would be unanswered....they just didnt have the time to at that point

Edited May 26, 2010 by daa84

[Steve9347]

I enjoyed the four season of set-up i got. I just wanted two seasons of answers instead of time-travel and purgatory.

Post of the year.

[Jenksismyhero]

Brace yourself, guys. It’s a long one:

I fully realize what I wrote. It doesn't change the fact that even if these characters were victims of circumstance, those circumstances went completely unexplained. They could have gone through a lot of cool s*** in a desert and Africa and still gotten close together. Instead, they were placed on a deserted island by an mysterious man with intentions that are wholly contradictory, terrorized by a group of "others" who operated without any sort of internal logic (Jacob gave us a list of people he wanted, but refuses to talk to himself, even though he talked to them when they were kids, that time he somehow got off the island, let's scare the s*** out of them and kidnap their kids, because we can't have kids, because of some sort of pregnancy thing that will never get explained), effected by a group of numbers, that were offered a tangential explanation and then contradicted by Jacob (just chalk on a wall, Kate.) and so and so forth. Anyone trying to say that the character ultimately outweighed the mythology should realize that the mythology was grown and expanded upon beside the characters for 6 years, and ultimate went unexplained. I remember how during the writers’ strike one of the head writers Carlton Cuse carried around a sign that said, "Do you want to know what the island is?" Yes, Carlton. I do want to know what the Island is. Explain it to me. What? It’s a glowing energy source protected by a magical cork in the center of the Island that sometimes turns people into smoke, which somehow links back to early Egyptian mythology? Awesome, now explain that. Why didn't the sign say, "It's the characters, stupid?" That’s the same type of crap that most writers do when they run out of time to give proper answers to the questions they raised.

 

I enjoyed the four season of set-up i got. I just wanted two seasons of answers instead of time-travel and purgatory.

 

We'll, there's no convincing you otherwise, but to me I think a lot of these things have answers. You can't explain every mysterious thing. They might not have come out and had two people have dialogue about it, but there's enough there for you to draw your own conclusion. Some stuff they introduced and never got back to, but it's not like they dwelled on anything for so long and then just ignored it (without a reasonable explanation why, like the Walt thing). They gave hints as to what the answer is/should be for 99% of the important unknowns.

 

As to the bolded, what would have been sufficient? Do you need to know the history of everything introduced on the show? Why not be pissed that you didn't get the entire life stories of each character? They answered all of the important questions - who these people were, what the island was, why they arrived on the island, and ultimately how they left and ended their lives.

 

 

[StrangeSox]

while I understand the writers wanted it to be about the characters, you guys can't tell me thats why you tuned in....

 

you didn't watch the next episode to hopefully see sayid and nadia get together, you watched because the ended episodes with charlie saying "guys, where are we"...and you tuned in the next week to see the answers to the questions they purposed in the episode before....and i can't help but feel like alot of those questions went unanswered....

im less mad about the finale because i came to the realization at the beginning of season 6 that many, many, many of those questions would be unanswered....they just didnt have the time to at that point

 

Exactly.

 

There's a difference between a MacGuffin (like the case in Pulp Fiction) and plot holes.

[StrangeSox]

We'll, there's no convincing you otherwise, but to me I think a lot of these things have answers. You can't explain every mysterious thing. They might not have come out and had two people have dialogue about it, but there's enough there for you to draw your own conclusion. Some stuff they introduced and never got back to, but it's not like they dwelled on anything for so long and then just ignored it (without a reasonable explanation why, like the Walt thing). They gave hints as to what the answer is/should be for 99% of the important unknowns.

 

Island pregnancy. It was a central issue to the actions of the Others in the first few seasons and it was why Juliet was on the island. But no explanation was ever given.

[SouthsideDon48]

A lot of people mentioned how "Lost" was a character-driven show, and I gotta say,... that's probably why I enjoyed it so much. Because it felt like we were on an adventure with the characters, we were having the same questions the characters had on their journey, and not everything were fully explained to us the same way things weren't all explained to the characters.

 

The character development is probably why I really liked "Lost", and why I have a hard time enjoying shows like "V" and "24", which seemed like there wasn't enough devoted to the histories of the characters and who they are.

[Jenksismyhero]

Island pregnancy. It was a central issue to the actions of the Others in the first few seasons and it was why Juliet was on the island. But no explanation was ever given.

 

Who cares? Do you need to be told how Jacob has the power to give Richard eternal life? Or do you just accept it? That issue has nothing to do with the overall plot of the show, only a way to introduce characters like Juliette, and to create intense seasons about Sun and Claire.

Edited May 26, 2010 by Jenksismybitch

[StrangeSox]

Who cares? Do you need to be told how Jacob has the power to give Richard eternal life? Or do you just accept it? That issue has nothing to do with the overall plot of the show, only a way to introduce characters like Juliette, and to create intense seasons about Sun and Jin.

 

You're shifting goalposts. It was a central issue for a while on the show, and then was dropped completely without explanation. Like dozens of other things.

 

I can't define the line, but there's things in fantasy genre that don't need explanation and things that do. With Lost focusing on so much minutia, these things should have been explained. Star Wars didn't have a motif on what the force was, so you didn't need a background explanation (and when Lucas tried he destroyed it). Lost focused on this issue for about half a season and foreshadowed it for two before that. Then it was completely forgotten.

 

 

[Jenksismyhero]

You're shifting goalposts. It was a central issue for a while on the show, and then was dropped completely without explanation. Like dozens of other things.

 

I can't define the line, but there's things in fantasy genre that don't need explanation and things that do. With Lost focusing on so much minutia, these things should have been explained. Star Wars didn't have a motif on what the force was, so you didn't need a background explanation (and when Lucas tried he destroyed it). Lost focused on this issue for about half a season and foreshadowed it for two before that. Then it was completely forgotten.

 

I get your point, and I agree there were lots of misses by the writers. But to me the issue with the pregnancy just wasn't all that central to the remaining years of the show. It was just something that happened. It's akin to the healing properties of the island. That was a big issue that never got explained, but so what? It's a mysterious island.

[SouthsideDon48]

I get your point, and I agree there were lots of misses by the writers. But to me the issue with the pregnancy just wasn't all that central to the remaining years of the show. It was just something that happened. It's akin to the healing properties of the island. That was a big issue that never got explained, but so what? It's a mysterious island.

I agree. Not everything really mattered in the whole scheme of things.

[whitesoxfan99]

I agree. Not everything really mattered in the whole scheme of things.

 

The problem is that basically nothing that happened on the island mattered in the whole scheme of things.

[SouthsideDon48]

The problem is that basically nothing that happened on the island mattered in the whole scheme of things.

Yea, but the same can be said about life in general. Not everything really matters.

 

[Brian]

Yea, but the same can be said about life in general. Not everything really matters.

 

Very true. All about the experiences and the journey.

 

I recommend the people that are pissed about the Hurley Bird not being explained and such, to see if Damon and Carlton are doing a Q and A and ask about all the stuff that wasn't that big of a deal but would like to have an answer to instead of character journey's.

[Jenksismyhero]

The problem is that basically nothing that happened on the island mattered in the whole scheme of things.

 

The problem is what is the whole scheme? It's a very basic story about a people that come together after a tragedy and then eventually all die and leave for heaven or whatever together. The told that story via their experiences on a mysterious island.

 

I think people are way over thinking things. Blogs and the internet spread the greatness and wonderfulness of Lost as some show about all these things that were going to be linked together and connected. I get that. But that's not the writers fault that people like Doc Jensen took a couple of interesting props (like books or cd's or whatever) and ran with it.

[whitesoxfan99]

The problem is what is the whole scheme? It's a very basic story about a people that come together after a tragedy and then eventually all die and leave for heaven or whatever together. The told that story via their experiences on a mysterious island.

 

I think people are way over thinking things. Blogs and the internet spread the greatness and wonderfulness of Lost as some show about all these things that were going to be linked together and connected. I get that. But that's not the writers fault that people like Doc Jensen took a couple of interesting props (like books or cd's or whatever) and ran with it.

 

Bulls***. Of course it is the writers faults because they realized a large percentage of people were watching Lost for the mysteries and unraveling of the mysteries which is why they ended basically every episode with a cliffhanger and some new mystery for people to obsess over. As a result they kept digging themselves a deeper and deeper whole with respect to the mysteries of the island and then couldn't find a way to tie it together. People sure as hell weren't obsessing over Kate becoming a mother or whether Jack would become a man of faith.

[kev211]

We'll, there's no convincing you otherwise, but to me I think a lot of these things have answers. You can't explain every mysterious thing. They might not have come out and had two people have dialogue about it, but there's enough there for you to draw your own conclusion. Some stuff they introduced and never got back to, but it's not like they dwelled on anything for so long and then just ignored it (without a reasonable explanation why, like the Walt thing). They gave hints as to what the answer is/should be for 99% of the important unknowns.

 

As to the bolded, what would have been sufficient? Do you need to know the history of everything introduced on the show? Why not be pissed that you didn't get the entire life stories of each character? They answered all of the important questions - who these people were, what the island was, why they arrived on the island, and ultimately how they left and ended their lives.

Thank you.

 

For example Jacob controlled who he wanted on the island, and maybe he made a rule or didn't allow people to have babies on the island because of it. There I just used information from the show to make an answer that was not given to me. It's not that hard.

[kev211]

Bulls***. Of course it is the writers faults because they realized a large percentage of people were watching Lost for the mysteries and unraveling of the mysteries which is why they ended basically every episode with a cliffhanger and some new mystery for people to obsess over. As a result they kept digging themselves a deeper and deeper whole with respect to the mysteries of the island and then couldn't find a way to tie it together. People sure as hell weren't obsessing over Kate becoming a mother or whether Jack would become a man of faith.

They were not obsessing over that because its hard to talk about what happened to the characters because what happens to them happens, its a lot easier to make a theory about the island then a theory about what Jack is going to do next.

[CrimsonWeltall]

The problem is what is the whole scheme? It's a very basic story about a people that come together after a tragedy and then eventually all die and leave for heaven or whatever together.

 

Sure, but there was no indication that was all it was until the *last 20 minutes of the last episode*.

 

 

 

 

[CrimsonWeltall]

Thank you.

 

For example Jacob controlled who he wanted on the island, and maybe he made a rule or didn't allow people to have babies on the island because of it. There I just used information from the show to make an answer that was not given to me. It's not that hard.

 

You didn't make an answer; you did what the writers did: shifted a mystery from one place to another.

 

Why are the Others doing what they are doing?

-Because Jacob tells them to.

Why does Jacob tell them to do these things?

...

 

How did Jacob become some kind of demi-god?

-Some woman gave him powers.

So how did she have powers? What was she?

...

 

Why can't Smokey leave the island?

-It's a Rule.

What are the Rules?

...

 

[SouthsideDon48]

Anyone want to speculate on what might've happened to the characters that were still alive after Jack died? Here's my guesses:

 

Frank: Probably either retired from flying so he'd never crash again, or started flying local flights within the continental USA. He was in his 50's, so if he lived a full life he probably died between 20-30 years after Jack.

 

Miles: Probably continued doing his ghost-whisperer gig, but didn't scam people anymore. His character was in his late 20's or early 30's, so if he lived a long life, he probably died between 40-50 years after Jack.

 

Richard: Probably resumed his life under the identity he had while he worked for Mittelos Bioscience. Started aging after Jacob died, so if he lived a full life, he probably died 30-40 years after Jack.

 

Kate: Probably helped reunite Claire with Aaron, and maybe stayed in Claire's and Aaron's lives as an aunt figure to Aaron. Probably ended up in a relationship with Sawyer, except they both really belonged to Jack and Juliette respectively, whom they reunited with in the afterlife. If Kate lived a full life, she probably died between 35-45 years after Jack.

 

Sawyer: Probably ended up living an honest life after leaving the island, because everything that happened on the island changed him for the better. He probably had a change of heart and tried to be a father to Clementine except he probably more than likely didn't have a relationship with Clementine's mother. Probably ended up in a relationship with Kate, except they both really belonged to Juliette and Jack respectively, whom they reunited with in the afterlife. If Sawyer lived a full life, he probably died between 30-40 years after Jack.

 

Claire: More than likely was reunited with Aaron, and with the help of Kate she ended up being a great mother. Probably either took Aaron back to Australia or started a new life in Los Angeles with the settlement money from the original Oceanic 815 flight. If she lived a full life, she probably died between 55-65 years after Jack.

 

Rose & Bernard: More than likely lived the rest of their lives on the island. They probably died between 10-20 years after Jack.

 

Desmond: Probably got off the island thanks to Hurley and reunited with Penelope and Charlie and lived happily ever after. If he lived a full life, Desmond probably died between 30-40 years after Jack.

 

Ben: Probably became the next Richard. It's up in the air if he became ageless like Richard and lived a longer life, or just lived a normal life. If he didn't become ageless for a while, he probably lived a full life and died between 30-40 years after Jack, but if he became ageless like Richard then he might've lived for over a hundred years or more after Jack's death.

 

Hurley: Became the new protector after Jack, so it's unknown how long of a reign on the island he had. Jack's reign was probably only for a day, Jacob's reign was for about 2,000 years, and Mother's reign was unknown. If Hurley decided to live a normal life and find a successor before he died, then Hurley probably died 20-30 years after Jack because he might've been a heart attack victim because of how overweight he was. If he decided to have a long reign as Protector, then it's possible he didn't die until as long as 2,000 years after Jack.

 

Ji Yeon: Was probably raised by Sun's parents. Probably never met Jin's father. Probably lived her entire life in Korea, never really knowing her parents. Probably died between 70-80 years after Jack.

 

Walt: Probably lived a full life. Probably lived most of his life in New York City, raised by his grandmother, went to college, had a family of his own, etc. Probably always wondered what happened to his father, Michael. If Walt lived a full life, he probably died between 60-70 years after Jack.

[kev211]

You didn't make an answer; you did what the writers did: shifted a mystery from one place to another.

 

Why are the Others doing what they are doing?

-Because Jacob tells them to.

Why does Jacob tell them to do these things?

...

 

How did Jacob become some kind of demi-god?

-Some woman gave him powers.

So how did she have powers? What was she?

...

 

Why can't Smokey leave the island?

-It's a Rule.

What are the Rules?

...

You can play that game forever if you wanted to. Why why why why why why why why.

[southsider2k5]

You can play that game forever if you wanted to. Why why why why why why why why.

 

And you can do it with any program.

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

Well, I've had a couple of days to think about it more, and I have to say that I'm still dissapointed with the ending. It's just that I think the whole alternate timeline was a waste of time.

 

What kept me interested in the show from season one on were all the mysteries surrounding the island more than the characters. I mean, in season one I was wondering what the smoke monster was, who the mysterious people who took Claire were, who exactly Rousseau was and how she got there. I cared about stuff like that a lot more than why Jack Shepard hates his dad. To me, the show isn't character driven. Did I find the backgrounds of some of the characters to be interesting? Yes, but ultimately that wasn't why I watched the show. I'm not saying I expected an answer for everything.

 

I thought the stuff on the island during the finale was good. The last scene with Jack dying in the same field he woke up in couldn't have been done any better.

 

Instead of the whole church scene, I really wish they would have shown a few scenes of everyone's life post island. I mean, what did Richard do when he left? That would have been interesting.