It's a bittersweet feeling, coming to the end of Lost.
Sweet because we want to get to the end of any story we enjoy, to see how things wrap up. I
've been asked how I want to see the show end, and I can't really answer that question, other than to say what I don't want to see: any sort of Owl Creek Bridge/St. Elsewhere sort of ending that negates everything that came before.
It's a bitter moment too because, well, it's the end of Lost. I've grown to love these characters perhaps more than any that have ever appeared on television before -- save for perhaps the Bluth family and Buffy's "Scooby gang" -- and it's sad knowing this is goodbye.
A more critical part of my brain knows it's not a perfect show. The Wire, The Shield and Breaking Bad have all been far more consistent in terms of their storytelling, characterization and overall quality.
But I always come back to something I wrote when I started this blog a little over a year ago: that basically, Lost is a story we can all put ourselves into. Most of us aren't cops or lawyers or doctors. But we can watch the stories of the people on Flight 815 and say "That could be me."
We all have mistakes in our past, families with problems. In our minds, we're all the heroes of our stories. We're all tested, and we all have chances to do better.
TV producers worried about where the "next Lost" is coming from should keep those factors in mind, and not worry so much about hatches, time travel and polar bears.
That said, Lost is still a show that sparks questions and debates, so in that spirit, here are some things to check out before the finale:
- Ryan McGee of Zap 2 It lists 10 questions that the finale needs to resolve. What I like about this list is that they're all questions that can be answered through good storytelling, rather than a scene where a character sits down and spends 10 minutes explaining things. I also think we can forget about learning about things like the Hurley bird and or why Pierre Chang used all those pseudonyms.
- Meanwhile, writer Marc Oromaner argues there are some mysteries Lost has answered indirectly, such as the polar bears and Jacob's cabin.
- The Vulture -- New York Magazine's pop culture website -- picks the show's 20 most unnecessary episodes. I agree with them about "Expose," but still think it was kind of fun. "Adrift" and "Eggtown" were still pretty weak.
- I'm not sure when I'll get my thoughts on the finale posted. I'll likely write a quick reaction before bed Sunday night before returning to the blog the next day. I'm sure I'll have a lot to say.
Tom Coombe
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