Okay, so I'm sure some of you are sick of hearing about LOST, LOST, LOST.... We get it, you finished, that's great, blah blah blah. And I did post my thoughts over on Facebook, but in doing so I learned one of my earlier notes had been somehow destroyed. I do kind of hate to post it again, because really I hate risking spoilers, but truthfully: I'd really like to keep this one! I did save it, but to help ensure I can find it again I'm posting it here as well. Admittedly, more for my future reference than anything else.
I've had several people ask what I'm going to watch now that I'm done with this one (a half a year later) and the truth is.... I really don't wanna. :) I am planning on watching Firefly again because its been so long since I've watched the whole thing front to finish and I really enjoy that series. But its only one season - and a short one at that - so I'm not that invested time wise. Actually, I don't like to watch a lot of tv and the fact that I made it through six seasons of anything is a lot for me especially in such a short span of time. But I do love Firefly and Brad & I have really wanted to catch up on Community so hopefully that'll happen. But not all at once. Mostly, I'd really like to read the Mistborn series this year and maybe Dune, both for the first time. So we'll see if that happens.
Anyway. LOST.
My short non-spoiler review is this: LOST has a lot of great moments, but the stakes are never completely clear and that's frustrating when you don't know why you're rooting for the characters. But you do root for them, because they're well developed and handled and you will absolutely love some of them. And that will be worth watching most of the show for, especially once you mix in the fun elements of some of the earlier seasons. And there are some episodes that are absolutely phenomenal television. So while I'm certainly not sad or upset I watched it, I also wish some of the most important points were actually made clear and not so vague.
The Longer Spoilerific Review:
I just finished watching LOST for the first time and this post contains pretty much every spoiler. So....if you ever want to watch the show and be surprised by it at all, don't read any of this. Go away. :)
See you in Another Life, Brotha.
I feel like I'm about to rag a lot on LOST and I want to state up front that I actually had a lot of fun with the series. Yes, it had a lot of problems, but it also had a lot of really awesome moments too. In fact, I was really impressed by how they managed to perfectly link up the Sideways world. While its true at times it was a little too forced, for the most part they really handled that incredibly well, especially at the end. I loved that Faraday was the piano player, I loved that Charlie remembered by touching Aaron, etc. They were just a lot of nice moments in that. For a show that was all about its ensemble, that was a great way of allowing all these characters their "moment." That was nice. And I liked that we saw our old favorites too. (Dang it, Charlie, I missed you!)
My biggest problem with LOST is that I never figured out why the island was so incredibly important in the first place. I remember about five episodes from the end it suddenly dawned on me I had no idea why they were going to all this effort. Throughout all the seasons the island is of dire importance - the island brought them there in the first place, the island is calling them back, the island needs a protector etc. etc. And if they don't go back, if they don't protect the island (and eventually, the heart), if they don't keep the Man in Black on the island....then what? The only answer I really remember is that there would be dire global events. What events? The light would go out in the heart of every man. Really? So....by removing this cork...there will be no more good in the world? So if we roll with that, then I want to see what happened to the rest of the world when the cork actually was removed. I want to see what those global events are.
I just never really understood why they couldn't allow the island to be destroyed. Sure, it has great healing properties and all this cool electromagnetic features, but in the end does it really matter? I just wish the stakes had been clearer. When Jack & UnLocke are battling it out in a pretty awesome looking fight on the side of the cliff, I at least want to know what they're fighting for. UnLocke is fighting to get off the island. That's great. Jack is battling for the island. But WHY. They've set it up that the loss of this island will have this monstrous impact on the rest of the world and I just never knew why that would be.
I mean, I only remember the Man in Black specifically stating that once he got off the island he would kill all the family members and friends of those trying to stop him. Don't get me wrong - that's awful - but I don't really remember what other kind of mayhem he was planning on causing. It was all just too vague and so I really didn't care that much whether they saved the island or not. And when that's your big boss battle, that's a problem.(Please tell me if I just missed why the island is so important. I'm still trying to recall back and piece everything together, so if I missed something just let me know and I'll reconsider.)
It's kind of like when they finally stopped pushing the button. Sure, there was a bright light, but....nothing really happened. (Again, please feel free to correct my memory - that was four seasons ago and a lot has happened since then.) Nothing happened because of they enacted the fail-safe? (I had to look that up. I actually couldn't remember.)
I actually really had fun with LOST and I can see why its totally re-watchable. I would like to see if there was any leadup to that last season. It actually reminded me a lot of how I felt initially about the ending of Harry Potter. You go along through all these books and then SUDDENLY dun dun dun.... these Deathly Hallows are incredibly important and you've never heard of them before. So in terms of LOST, SUDDENLY dun dun dun.... The Man in Black. Also, I probably have less of a problem with the ending because I wasn't emotionally wrapped up in the series as it went along. I didn't speculate for years what everything meant, like I did with Harry Potter, so I could totally see how a lot of people could really hate that loose of an ending. The end of HP really disgusted me for a long time because I had invested so much time in it and all it was for was a four page epilogue. (I'm better now.) So I totally get why LOST instantly blew up with so many people. I think I would have been angry too.
Although it seems to be one of (understandably) touchiest points, it actually doesn't bother me that they're all dead. If its that they all died whenever they died (and not all in the first plane crash) then you still have the island story intact and you don't really lose anything. I can live with that. I don't really feel like you lose anything there. And it doesn't really bother me that lots of incidental questions didn't get answered. I can live with the mystery of the statue or the lighthouse or the random animals on the island. I can even live with the mystery of whether Lapidus, Kate and all of them actually made it off the island and what happened next. But I would like an answer to the importance of the island and the Magic Box. And the eternity water. (Can just anybody drink that water?) And the Smoke Monster. I would like to know why it affected Man in Black, but not Desmond or Jack. Neither one of them suffered "a fate worse than death" going down there. (Okay, and Eloise. I don't understand really why Eloise's character is important at all except she got them back on the island.) Those seem like important plot points to me. I would like those explained.
Speaking of the final moments, how did Jack get out of the cave at the finale? That really bothers me. I don't get it. How does he suddenly end up outside? I mean, its a great shot with Vincent, but he should be DEAD. (As should have been Juliet in the season 6 premiere. Hydrogen bomb just went off in YOUR FACE. You are INCINERATED.)
I feel like LOST just got too heavyhanded for its own good. I loved those beginning seasons because there were times when they let themselves be tongue in cheek and you could laugh and roll with whatever storyline they were creating because you knew they weren't taking themselves too seriously. I even usually like it when series' tend to get darker as they go, but here I just felt like it lost (ha) a lot of its charm as they went along. I totally get that by season 4 these characters would be totally traumatized and they probably wouldn't have much of a sense of humor left, but I still missed it.
Where I think LOST really shines is in its characters and their development. Not only are there so many characters, but most of them are really well developed which allows everyone to pick different favorites. I think that's one of the reasons it probably became a huge watercooler show - everyone I've talked to has different favorites and they all have valid reasons why. (Except Shannon. Find me someone that has a valid reason for liking Shannon.) My top three were easily Charlie, Sawyer & Faraday. I -adored- those three. I love that Sawyer made it to the end, because he was about the only character making me laugh in that final season (In referencing Jack: "And I thought he had a God complex before." Ha!) And when Saywer jumped out of the chopper at the end of season 4? Gah! Loved him.
By the end you're really rooting for these characters! They're now so strong and so individual you really want them to succeed even if you don't really know what on earth its for. I do love that Hurley became the ultimate protector of the island. I was disappointed when Jack took it at first because, as MiB says, "You were the obvious choice."
I do have to say this: the season 3 finale ("Through the Looking Glass") is absolutely phenomenal. That's worth watching over and over. I was so confused through the entire episode until at the end where its revealed to be a flash forward and I was stunned. Oh my goodness. That episode is absolutely fantastic. And Charlie's death? Beautiful. I'm really glad they gave him a very touching way out. Not Penny's Boat.
So. That's my thoughts on LOST. Now that you don't have to worry about spoiling anything for me, I would love to hear your detailed thoughts sometime, whether that's in person or here. I'm still mulling over a lot of it. I just thought this was the easiest way to get in touch with everyone I've been talking to about it.
Thanks for sitting through it with me! :)
I've had several people ask what I'm going to watch now that I'm done with this one (a half a year later) and the truth is.... I really don't wanna. :) I am planning on watching Firefly again because its been so long since I've watched the whole thing front to finish and I really enjoy that series. But its only one season - and a short one at that - so I'm not that invested time wise. Actually, I don't like to watch a lot of tv and the fact that I made it through six seasons of anything is a lot for me especially in such a short span of time. But I do love Firefly and Brad & I have really wanted to catch up on Community so hopefully that'll happen. But not all at once. Mostly, I'd really like to read the Mistborn series this year and maybe Dune, both for the first time. So we'll see if that happens.
Anyway. LOST.
My short non-spoiler review is this: LOST has a lot of great moments, but the stakes are never completely clear and that's frustrating when you don't know why you're rooting for the characters. But you do root for them, because they're well developed and handled and you will absolutely love some of them. And that will be worth watching most of the show for, especially once you mix in the fun elements of some of the earlier seasons. And there are some episodes that are absolutely phenomenal television. So while I'm certainly not sad or upset I watched it, I also wish some of the most important points were actually made clear and not so vague.
The Longer Spoilerific Review:
I just finished watching LOST for the first time and this post contains pretty much every spoiler. So....if you ever want to watch the show and be surprised by it at all, don't read any of this. Go away. :)
See you in Another Life, Brotha.
I feel like I'm about to rag a lot on LOST and I want to state up front that I actually had a lot of fun with the series. Yes, it had a lot of problems, but it also had a lot of really awesome moments too. In fact, I was really impressed by how they managed to perfectly link up the Sideways world. While its true at times it was a little too forced, for the most part they really handled that incredibly well, especially at the end. I loved that Faraday was the piano player, I loved that Charlie remembered by touching Aaron, etc. They were just a lot of nice moments in that. For a show that was all about its ensemble, that was a great way of allowing all these characters their "moment." That was nice. And I liked that we saw our old favorites too. (Dang it, Charlie, I missed you!)
My biggest problem with LOST is that I never figured out why the island was so incredibly important in the first place. I remember about five episodes from the end it suddenly dawned on me I had no idea why they were going to all this effort. Throughout all the seasons the island is of dire importance - the island brought them there in the first place, the island is calling them back, the island needs a protector etc. etc. And if they don't go back, if they don't protect the island (and eventually, the heart), if they don't keep the Man in Black on the island....then what? The only answer I really remember is that there would be dire global events. What events? The light would go out in the heart of every man. Really? So....by removing this cork...there will be no more good in the world? So if we roll with that, then I want to see what happened to the rest of the world when the cork actually was removed. I want to see what those global events are.
I just never really understood why they couldn't allow the island to be destroyed. Sure, it has great healing properties and all this cool electromagnetic features, but in the end does it really matter? I just wish the stakes had been clearer. When Jack & UnLocke are battling it out in a pretty awesome looking fight on the side of the cliff, I at least want to know what they're fighting for. UnLocke is fighting to get off the island. That's great. Jack is battling for the island. But WHY. They've set it up that the loss of this island will have this monstrous impact on the rest of the world and I just never knew why that would be.
I mean, I only remember the Man in Black specifically stating that once he got off the island he would kill all the family members and friends of those trying to stop him. Don't get me wrong - that's awful - but I don't really remember what other kind of mayhem he was planning on causing. It was all just too vague and so I really didn't care that much whether they saved the island or not. And when that's your big boss battle, that's a problem.(Please tell me if I just missed why the island is so important. I'm still trying to recall back and piece everything together, so if I missed something just let me know and I'll reconsider.)
It's kind of like when they finally stopped pushing the button. Sure, there was a bright light, but....nothing really happened. (Again, please feel free to correct my memory - that was four seasons ago and a lot has happened since then.) Nothing happened because of they enacted the fail-safe? (I had to look that up. I actually couldn't remember.)
I actually really had fun with LOST and I can see why its totally re-watchable. I would like to see if there was any leadup to that last season. It actually reminded me a lot of how I felt initially about the ending of Harry Potter. You go along through all these books and then SUDDENLY dun dun dun.... these Deathly Hallows are incredibly important and you've never heard of them before. So in terms of LOST, SUDDENLY dun dun dun.... The Man in Black. Also, I probably have less of a problem with the ending because I wasn't emotionally wrapped up in the series as it went along. I didn't speculate for years what everything meant, like I did with Harry Potter, so I could totally see how a lot of people could really hate that loose of an ending. The end of HP really disgusted me for a long time because I had invested so much time in it and all it was for was a four page epilogue. (I'm better now.) So I totally get why LOST instantly blew up with so many people. I think I would have been angry too.
Although it seems to be one of (understandably) touchiest points, it actually doesn't bother me that they're all dead. If its that they all died whenever they died (and not all in the first plane crash) then you still have the island story intact and you don't really lose anything. I can live with that. I don't really feel like you lose anything there. And it doesn't really bother me that lots of incidental questions didn't get answered. I can live with the mystery of the statue or the lighthouse or the random animals on the island. I can even live with the mystery of whether Lapidus, Kate and all of them actually made it off the island and what happened next. But I would like an answer to the importance of the island and the Magic Box. And the eternity water. (Can just anybody drink that water?) And the Smoke Monster. I would like to know why it affected Man in Black, but not Desmond or Jack. Neither one of them suffered "a fate worse than death" going down there. (Okay, and Eloise. I don't understand really why Eloise's character is important at all except she got them back on the island.) Those seem like important plot points to me. I would like those explained.
Speaking of the final moments, how did Jack get out of the cave at the finale? That really bothers me. I don't get it. How does he suddenly end up outside? I mean, its a great shot with Vincent, but he should be DEAD. (As should have been Juliet in the season 6 premiere. Hydrogen bomb just went off in YOUR FACE. You are INCINERATED.)
I feel like LOST just got too heavyhanded for its own good. I loved those beginning seasons because there were times when they let themselves be tongue in cheek and you could laugh and roll with whatever storyline they were creating because you knew they weren't taking themselves too seriously. I even usually like it when series' tend to get darker as they go, but here I just felt like it lost (ha) a lot of its charm as they went along. I totally get that by season 4 these characters would be totally traumatized and they probably wouldn't have much of a sense of humor left, but I still missed it.
Where I think LOST really shines is in its characters and their development. Not only are there so many characters, but most of them are really well developed which allows everyone to pick different favorites. I think that's one of the reasons it probably became a huge watercooler show - everyone I've talked to has different favorites and they all have valid reasons why. (Except Shannon. Find me someone that has a valid reason for liking Shannon.) My top three were easily Charlie, Sawyer & Faraday. I -adored- those three. I love that Sawyer made it to the end, because he was about the only character making me laugh in that final season (In referencing Jack: "And I thought he had a God complex before." Ha!) And when Saywer jumped out of the chopper at the end of season 4? Gah! Loved him.
By the end you're really rooting for these characters! They're now so strong and so individual you really want them to succeed even if you don't really know what on earth its for. I do love that Hurley became the ultimate protector of the island. I was disappointed when Jack took it at first because, as MiB says, "You were the obvious choice."
I do have to say this: the season 3 finale ("Through the Looking Glass") is absolutely phenomenal. That's worth watching over and over. I was so confused through the entire episode until at the end where its revealed to be a flash forward and I was stunned. Oh my goodness. That episode is absolutely fantastic. And Charlie's death? Beautiful. I'm really glad they gave him a very touching way out. Not Penny's Boat.
So. That's my thoughts on LOST. Now that you don't have to worry about spoiling anything for me, I would love to hear your detailed thoughts sometime, whether that's in person or here. I'm still mulling over a lot of it. I just thought this was the easiest way to get in touch with everyone I've been talking to about it.
Thanks for sitting through it with me! :)
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