I started watching LOST (the television show) back in 2005. People
that I worked with kept telling me they thought I would dig it since I
get into sci-fi/metaphysics/funny books/weird shit, etc. I was sick in
July? That year and so I rented season one and watched it within a
week. I was hooked. Some of my favorite episodes of season one
were/are: Walkabout, White Rabbit & Deus Ex Machina. Locke & Jack were
my favorite characters right off the bat. I LOVED the duality between
these two persona's (Faith vs Science). After my introduction into
this cool new mythology I made sure I didn't miss the second season
premier that September. Around the same time, I discovered 'PODCASTS'
and made it a point to download my two favs each week 'The Lost
Podcast With Jay & Jack' & 'The Transmission'. Both of these
productions were top notch and went even further into the theorizing
of what was actually happening.
Besides the fact that this show was BRILLIANT over six seasons. The
part of LOST that was the most fun for me was sharing ideas and
theories with friends and family. Writing words up on message boards,
blogging them, Printing off a hi-res color copy of the blast door map
from 'Lockdown' and naming the yet unknown hatches, Keeping track of
the summer tie-in online content (The LOST experience, FIND 815),
Trying to play the Via Domus PS3 game...you get the idea. I was in
full geek mode.
Sure there were/are many great shows on television. Dexter, The
Sopranos, The Venture Brothers, The Wire...to name a few. However, no
other show felt the way this one did in my opinion. It had cultural
references (history, science, philosophy, music & books), crazy
literary techniques (Flash backs, Flash forwards & Flash sideways),
recurring themes (Black & white, Fate & destiny, Life & death) and
many mysterious happenings. It also had superior writing, an amazing
cast and possibly the most beautiful location in the entire world.
These are things that I'm not sure we'll see again very soon, and that
should only add to its legacy. LOST was an incredibly special and
unique experience, just like the enormous community the show spawned
to support.
Thoughts on 'The End' (Spoiler ALERT!)
The Island was real. Everything that happened on the island that we
saw throughout the 6 seasons was real. ABC has already come out and
stated that the final image of the plane crash (during the credits)
was 'meaningless'. Oceanic 815 really crashed and they really
survived. The Island does keep the balance of 'good' and 'evil' in the
world. I won't pretend to know what 'The Source' is or the origins of
the the chamber with the stone cork, or what the heart of the island
truly is or how it got there in the first place. That's not the point.
The 'Protector' of the Island was also real. Jacob wasn't the first
and Hurley won't be the last. The only difference is that Jacob had
created a Monster (Pillar of smoke aka MIB) and needed to find a
loophole to kill it since 'The Rules' prevented him from doing so
(Again, not sure what the extent of 'The Rules' are...And again that
is not the point).
This is what started Jacob bringing 'Candidates' to the Island.
However, every time he brought people there MIB corrupted them and
caused them to kill one another.
Enter the Dharma Initiative. It was real as well. Dharma would end up
being corrupted but not before lending MIB a powerful piece in the
game, Benjamin Linus. I was under the impression that Ben was doing
Jacobs work but now at the end I think its pretty clear that the MIB
was manipulating him all along (The Purge, Killing Jacob, etc).
I'm still not sure if Jacob brought Dharma to the Island or if they
'happened' to just find it. Jacob DID bring the candidates. Who really
knows how many candidates he brought there decade after decade.
Oceanic 815 was the end game. The thing is, Jacob wanted to give the
Lostaways the one thing both him and his brother did not get: A
choice, free will. Letting them choose who amoung them would be heir
to the throne. Did he know all along that Jack would be the one to
kill man in Locke and that Hurley would be the protector in the end?
Maybe, maybe not. I think he did. The writers didn't need to answer
this directly and they shouldn't need to. It would ruin the fun.
The resolution of the plot and these characters was powerful. I didn't
want to say goodbye. Sun & Jin-Soo Kwan, Sayid Jarrah & Shannon,
Boone, Frank, Miles, Rose & Bernard, Desmond & Penny, Locke, Hurley,
Claire & Charlie, Sawyer & Juliet. Kate & Jack. The pacing and the
emotion was pitch perfect. And in the end, Jack got to do what he
always wanted to since 'The Pilot'. Save his fellow Lostaways and in
the 'Flash Sideways' he saved everyone by helping them move on.
Not to mention...
The showdown between Jack & man in Locke was INCREIDBLE. The cliffs,
the rain, the music, the stunning visuals. The final two pieces in the
game that Jacob and his brother began playing nearly two thousand
years ago. FUCKING EPIC!
Sideways world aka Limbo:
One of my favorite episodes ever was 'The Constant' (season 4). Check
Lostpedia if you need to. To break it down, we are all linked to
certain people during 'The Most Important Moments Of Our Lives'
(Christian Shepherd). These connections are what matter. Think about
it for a second, have you ever did something that was really mundane
or go somewhere you didn't want to or need to and have your life
changed by just a simple experience. You might have marked it up as
coincidence or chance. But really, was it? Throughout all six seasons
the show worked religious/spiritual angles. Through these philosophies
and thought the 'Flash Sideways' or Limbo was created.
The Lostaways (Hurley?) subconsciously created this world where they
would exist until they were 'Awakened' (i.e. reconnected with one
another). Once this happened, they could all move on together, move
forward. Live together or die alone. What was behind the glowing
double doors? Heaven? Reincarnation? Another Life? It feels great NOT
to know. The only thing the matters in the scope of these characters
lives is that they got to walk through it together.
The how of LOST is interesting, but the why is so much more
compelling. It could have went the way of 'Midichlorians' but they
left the mystery. Was the Island magic or advanced tech as to appear
magical? Was the light connected to all of us being alive or did it
just maintain the island.
Or was it the same light that they were going in the afterlife. 'The
Source' of life, death and rebirth.
I'll forever keep my own ideas and reservations about the island. You
should too. Don't let anyone tell you what it should be. As one
storyline comes to an end, another one opens. And no one (especially
not me) should be able to completely define the rules and reality of
exactly what we watched for the last six seasons.
I'm just glad I was along for the ride. What an amazing ride it was.
Peace, DAG!
PS. This isn't the last I'm going to write about this either. Hell,
Jay & Jack are going to PODcast about it for the remainder of twenty
ten...Legacy!
PSS. We are ALL pieces of what came before us. LOST is one of the
reasons I decided to write my own novel (story). Believe that!
