In Defense of LOST's Final Season

Over the past several weeks, since LOST premiered there has been some complaints with how the shows' creators have been handling the story. Many people are frustrated over things ranging from not having answers to their deepest questions answered right out of the gate to the decision to use the "flash-sideways" as a major storytelling element. We can understand that people have dreams of what this show would be like in its final season, and we can certainly say that we had our own going in. But here's the deal: it isn't our story to tell. It's certainly ours to experience and interpret, but the whole nature of story telling involves a component of placing your trust in the teller(s) that they know what they are doing, and will provide you with a compelling tale that you will think about and come back to in the future.

Chase and I decided that we would go back and forth providing why we think this season has been, and will continue to be awesome, much like we did with our review of Moon back in the summer. Plus, the whole reason you pay attention to us is because you like the way we talk to each other. Admit it. So, here it is:

BRANDON NORMAN: So, the first thing I want to get into with this is people's frustration with the time not spent giving twenty answers an episode, and instead used to introduce us to new characters and the focus on this struggle that we've only been made aware of in the penultimate season finale. The problem with looking at the season like this is LOST is very different from most TV shows that have come before it. It is intensely serialized, and as such is more like a book series than a television series. Each episode is more like a chapter in a book, which ultimately contribute to the overall narrative of the story. If you look at a series like Harry Potter, and its final book, JK Rowling didn't just dump tons of exposition and answers to mysteries she had been building since the previous books. If Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse had just kept the same old characters as the focus, and not given this final season of story some new perspective, then the writing would get really stale, and uninteresting.

CHASE MISENHEIMER: The Harry Potter parallel is the perfect one to draw from. The seasons are set up as their own entities. Season Three didn't start off immediately answering what happened to Eko, Locke and Desmond after the hatch exploded. Instead, it unfolded those stories slowly and we saw them progress in a more natural, paced way. Just because this is the last season, people are expecting this balls to the wall breakneck speed that would betray the rising action of the whole series. There's no need to rush this thing. When it's over, we'll have THE FORGOTTEN: DES MOINES.

I don't enjoy the complaining of this Jacob/Man In Black thing being tacked on to the end. So much of what we know of their presence can be seen in earlier seasons. I can think back and it still makes sense in my mind with what I've seen. Plus, the show has hinted at two idealogies duking it out since the beginning. Witness Jack/Locke, Ben/Widmore and now Jacob/MiB. It's been in the lifeblood of the show.

BN: Also, keeping with the book analogy, the biggest difference with LOST and a book series like Harry Potter (other than it being in a visual medium), is that if you are watching it live, you have space between the chapters to wait and wonder. You don't get the luxury of racing from chapter to chapter to immediately find out what happens next. LOST is all about the experience of seeing the story unfold, and then discussing it with people, and fighting over what will happen next. That's the beauty of a show like this. LOST is probably the first show to come along that is in every way a social experience. Yes, in the past people would gather at the water cooler and talk about what awesome thing happened in Law & Order: Criminal Intent the night before, but now with LOST, there are weekly viewing parties because people can't wait for the water cooler to talk about it. The way they've always told this story is in a way that fosters discussion and thought. For every minute of thought we have put into what we are watching, the writers put in days, if not weeks of thought to build the best possible story.

CM: Let's talk about that for a second. LOST's degree of difficulty is far & away number one in the history of television. The fan base is insane and even the casual viewer is sucked in. To keep track of the plot threads and details that have popped up in this show is an astronomical task. Can you imagine spearheading that? Especially with these last three seasons, the whole season is pretty much in the can before the audience even sees the premiere. These writers have to anticipate everything we want to see. Just be thankful for all the times you were happy. I can't write a coherent thought much less keep up with a...what was I talking about?

BN: Seriously. There is an entire Wikipedia site devoted to this series. There are so many details that are thrown in just to see if people will pick them up. Here's a recent example: both on the ceiling in the cave where NotLocke took sawyer, and then again on the wheel in the lighthouse, there were hundreds of names, HANDWRITTEN, with some significance given to each. Sure many are probably just place fillers, but there's also got to be so many name drops there to works of literature, film, music, philosophy, etc. that have something to do with this show. If one were to go through and read or watch or research every work of art referenced in this show it would take decades.

CM: So here's the real issue everyone wants to talk about: will LOST end satisfactory? Brandon, you can go first but I bet you anything we'll say the same thing.

BN:
I absolutely think it will have a satisfactory ending. Now will they answer EVERY question someone has about what's going on in this show? No. Many people think those two questions have to have the same answer, and honestly they don't. Here's what the real question you have to ask is: Was the experience of getting from the beginning of this series to its end worth my time? Sure the last episode may not be the greatest episode of television ever (though I am hopeful that it will be) but the experience of watching this show for 5 years, of experiencing these people grow, of forcing myself to think outside of the box, and debate what will happen with people was well worth my time. Who cares if my theories are wrong and even more fantastic than what ends up being true for the show? It was still a fun ride, and an experience I would never trade in for something else. This show has been an inspiration to me as a writer, and gotten me to think outside of the box in terms of long term story telling. Is this show for everyone? Nope. Its a great show, but I don't think everyone will like it. There are surely great shows out there that I'm not crazy about (for example: The X-Files. Sorry guys couldn't keep going after the first season. I could tell it was good, but not so much for me).

And you Chase?

CM: I just hope it wraps up on a storytelling level and I'm almost certain it will. I couldn't agree more about how the journey was the true experience with this show. Without LOST, my knowledge and fervor about television would probably have never been cultivated. It's because of this show that I am a TV junkie. I've learned so much about sci-fi, story structure, character development, cinematography, scoring, the production process and literary works and figures that I wouldn't have blinked an eye at 5 years ago. This question of whether the show will end satisfactory came up at my favorite forum (SSB!). One user was complaining about how if the show ends poorly (and he/she was leaning that way), it would only give credence to all the naysayers that have risen up against the show. What I basically said is that the show is still a marvel of television whether it ends well or not. The literary and pop culture references seamlessly blended, time-travel complicated yet accessible for network television, unknowns knocking characters out of the park, and a non-pandering universe with callbacks and minute details that are just as important as the present. All these things will keep the legacy of LOST in tact no matter if the ending blows. We may never again see a network program like LOST, but I hope we do.

Final thoughts?

BN: One of the big issues people have with this show seems to be whether or not Damon and Carlton and the rest of the writers have had this whole thing planned out from the start. People talk about how they have to be making things up as they go along and that they never had a master plan for where this series is going until recently. I can't believe that. Now, did they plan it out to the extent that character development and interactions were sacrificed for the sake of plot? Absolutely not.

Look at a show like FlashForward that has been meticulously planned out through its first season. The characters have taken a back seat to the story. Yeah the concept is cool, but if you don't care about the characters, then why would you give the least bit of care to this world they are living in? Why would you want them to succeed if you don't like them, or can't root for them?

With LOST, the relationships and character development has been natural. Sure they've taken some risks to varying degrees with where characters go (Charlie going a little loopy and maybe back on drugs in season 2 didn't work for me, though Sawyer and Juliet getting together in season 5 totally did).

One last note here because it kept me up last night thinking about it. Going back to the complaints about the Jacob/Man in Black feud. Like Chase, I don't think that you can play the card that they've only just introduced that element. From the beginning of the show there has been this overarching theme of good vs. evil. Light vs. darkness. Something that these two characters totally personify. Have we full on seen them for who they were until recently? Nope. Well, not Jacob at least. But from the beginning of season 3, his name has been synonymous with the mystical goings on of the island. Way back then, did the producers know he was going to be played by Mark Pelligrino? No. They didn't even know when they could end their series, and clearly Jacob plays a huge role in bringing this story to a close. Did they know that Jacob would be in a duel of sorts against some other entity on the island that was also the monster we had come to know and fear? I have to believe that. And likewise, I have to believe that they will have a great ending to this whole thing up their sleeve.

This show has been the experience of a lifetime, and I'm just on the viewing end. I can't wait to see where this all goes, and how they rap it up. Sure there have been some detours to Taiwan and an unfortunate Expose or two, but has it made the rest of the trip void? No. I'd wager it made it even better because we'll remember it for that, and how it forced the show to improve and become more of the show we need it to be. Or more so, the show that IT needs to be.

Chase?

CM: You've taken the type out from under my fingers. All I have left to say is that we'll all agree on one thing when this show is over: sadness. With this Tuesday's episode, we'l lbe a third of the way home and I can't wait to see the end, but it will be bittersweet. I have confidence though that it will be one of, if not the only, truly successful bow of a network television program.


So, there you have it. I'm not sure if we'll change anyone's opinion, but we just wanted it to be known where we stand. Have a great day/evening/night (depending on when you read this)!