Lost and I, we have a tempestuous relationship. I like the characters and the high-concept element of the plot but have little patience for the show’s occasional trips to Self-Indulgenceville (a banal land populated by 6th season Buffy and every celeb reality show ever produced). I don’t want to watch a show that’s going to dance around the same mystery for seasons, teasing the audience with a Grand Plan even as the risk of an anti-climactic ending grows with each episode. I want shows that continually evolve, that solve old mysteries while creating new ones, and there were moments in Lost — let’s call them “the majority of season 3″ — when it seemed as if the show was endlessly circling a black smoke monster, polar bear, Dharma hatch mystery.
And then there was season 4, with a finale that damn near forced me to take back every bad thing I’ve said about the show. Nearly. There will always be Nicky and Paulo to kick around, after all.
Thoughts and spoilers after the jump.
I’ve read some mixed reactions to the series. Some were expecting more big twists. Apparently, disappearing islands, dead Lockes in coffins and gigantic boat explosions no longer count as twists. Some questioned whether the flash-forward format somewhat spoiled the effect (Cultural Learnings has an interesting take on that question). For me, it was exactly what I wanted. After four seasons, one chapter of the story appears to have been wrapped up (I know better than make any definitive statements about this show). Everyone is either off the island/maybe dead/stuck on the island indefinitely with, apparently, very bad stuff happening to them. We know, at last, one part of the story, and it turned out to be a surprisingly satisfying conclusion to that chapter. There were tears, heartache, reunions, heroism and lots of rum. What more could I ask for?
Up till now, it usually took a bullet to wrap up a Lost story line. This time, viewers were not shocked by some unexpected twist but rewarded for years of investment in the show. Desmond and Penny actually got a happy ending! Well, at least a happy middle, but until season 5 kicks off, I’m going to pretend they sailed off into the sunset. We saw the Oceanic Six get home. We watched Jin die in the most heart-wrenching scene the show has ever aired. We got, dare I say it, answers, and I love them for it.
The fact that those answers were immediately followed with more questions was just fine. These were new questions, for the next chapter of the story. Why is Locke off the island, or dead, or using the name of an 18th-century liberal philosopher? Why is Kate receiving backwards phone messages? Are Ben and Jack going to travel the world, reuniting the old gang, with Locke’s corpse along for the ride in a wacky Weekend at Bernie’s homage? Is Charles Widmore ever going to pick one accent and stick with it? I don’t know. But after this season, I suddenly have faith that, just maybe, we’ll get answers to all these questions and more. A tempestuous relationship it may be, but I’m in it for the long haul.
Though I still want to know the deal with that giant foot.
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June 4th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Marcia, first off, glad to hear that you’re on the bandwagon for good - just make you stick with it, as it’s a bumpy ride for sure.
I’m on the same trip, although admittedly my support has wavered…well, not much at all. I’ve always enjoyed the series, and felt that the third season especially circled in just nicely on what I loved about it.
But the fourth was a different vibe: a change that, as my essay noted, some have taken unkindly to. It worked for me as it did for you, a great point of anticipation and build-up - with shortened seasons, you feel like you’re building off of and towards something - even providing a promise to end the series after 48 more episodes seemed to give me a better sense of a potential timeline for answers.
Let’s hope that this great set of fifth season questions can offer up the same brilliance we saw this time around.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
We watched Jin die in the most heart-wrenching scene the show has ever aired.
It really was (I seriously couldn’t stop crying for ages after that), and to me, it was all the more effective because of the flashforwards, because we already knew he didn’t make it off the island.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
(..and I hit submit before I was done)
We already knew he didn’t make it off the island, but that built up the tension of wondering if this was the moment where he died. Shock is one thing, and can be very effective, but I feel like the slow burn was more suited to these specific characters.
June 5th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Um…I am still not totally convinced Jin is dead, and because of that I cannot get upset about it just yet. Oh, and it was no where near as upsetting as Charlie. I don’t think anything this show throws at me in future will hurt me quite as much as Greatest Hits.
I was a little underwhelmed by it all to be honest. I liked the first part of the 3 parter much better. It was good, but it didn’t have any of the emotional impact that other finales had. I still kind of miss the season 1 vibe, when it was more about the people and how they coped with this weird place and their secrets, and less about the weird crap that goes on on the island. I love the mystery, don’t get me wrong, but I feel as though, for me, the show has lost (no pun) a little something. I’m not sure what it is.
It was well done, it did its job, but it didn’t move me in any way, so I’m a little disappointed. Not that this means I will give up on it, no way, I am here til the end whatever happens.
June 8th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Myles, the fourth season saved the show for me. These days, I refuse to commit to a show that lacks a clear plot trajectory (I’ve been burned too many times before!), and the flash-forwards are the only thing that seemed to give Lost that structure.
Rachel, I think the “slow burn” is exactly why that worked. There is already so much we don’t know on this show — it’s good to have a few things we DO know, and then get to enjoy the process of learning the details behind the ending. Well, in this case, enjoy might be too strong a word.
Carrie, I’m afraid I’m going to have to disagree with you, as I wasn’t much of a Charlie fan. Jin and Sun FTW!
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Yes, Giant Foot, please be explained!!
I also wonder if Jin is really dead, given that The Island wouldn’t let some people (Michael, for example) die. (But that Sun believes him to be dead, I do not doubt.)