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[C.Dark.DN]

To those who wanted an ending that better explained the mythology: What would have appeased you? You are all smart individuals right? If the show Lost parallels life then we know there is perspective, a flow of time, and a beginning and ending to what IS perceived. It's likely that Jacob/MiBs mom didn't have a very good answer for what the island is, nor did the person before her, or before that one. An explanation the writers would have created would not have answered your questions, "~Every question asked leads to another"

You know what that's like? Real life. What's life? What's death? What happens when you die? What's the reason for existence?

What's the island? How does the smoke monster work? What happens if the island is destroyed? What's the reason for protecting the island?

Get it? We in REAL life don't have the answers to our own existence, why would you want them to make up ridiculous answers for a show that parallels life, just so you can say it was lame, or not possible, or that you need answers to explain the answers.

The show is about the Characters; Go for the mystery, stay for the friends.

I agree. I basically said this a few times. Influenced by what Damon/Carlton said.

We thought they were all knowing greek god like. They are just men.

We get to ask ourselves... "If I crash landed on this Island. Would I agree to protect it?"

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

Here's a picture my friend drew to commemorate the end of an era, it's titled "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW, DARLTON?":

Hol-ee shit.:lol :lol :lol :lol

Meat Load :lol

I cant believe we got through last night without anyone dropping spoilers. Well done, GAF!

Yea, that was pretty incredible. Made it all the way to the end with no spoilers.

About Mr. Eko. I kind of thought that they were in Eko's church at the end. At least, from a symbolic point of view.

I like to think Eko found his peace on the island and his pre-island life worked like a Sideways deal for him, figuratively speaking. He didn't have to go to purgatory at all, in death, he just straight moved on, with Yemi.

Guys...what if we are in LA X?






Solo!!!!!!!!! We must meeeeeeeet!

yea, it's really trippy to think about this now. Like, Am i dead already and I just don't know it? Damn.

Just saw the finale. Second episode of Lost I've ever watched, and all I can say?.... lol

You guys waited six seasons just to find out the main draw was a symbolic representation of pergatory. I feel sorry for you guys

:lol :lol :lol It's really sad how dumb you are. I'm sorry for you, man. Atleast you find in enjoyment in deriding other people's entertainment by not be able to comprehend a thing that happened within it. And then you argue with people who did understand what happened. You feel sorry for us...:lol :lol :lol

After the finale, I've been trying to piece together the meaning of the light at the heart of the island and what role the smoke monster plays in its protection and existence.

My conclusion is that it was absolutely vital for the light to stay on not for the physical existence of the earth and humanity, but as a way for people to move on after they have died.

I think this could potentially explain these three things:

1. What the smoke monster is and how it came into existence:

The light at the heart of the island is the same light that Jack and the others see at the church in the moment they are ready to "move on." They are only able to enter this light once they have let go and come to terms with the events in their lives and the unfulfilled desires that haunt them.

The Man in Black, however, enters the light (when he falls into the waterfall as he is knocked out) before his death (or perhaps right as he dies) without having let go of his desire to leave the island forever. He is still angry with his "crazy" mother who lied to him and destroyed his hopes of leaving the island. This creates a sort of anomaly - an entity that represents annihilation and an absolute unwillingness to let go.

Mr. Eko's death was pivotal in illustrating the smoke monster's mindset. Mr. Eko, as he confesses to who seems to be his dead brother, is at peace with the bad stuff he has done in his life, including the killing of men in the defense of his brother. Eko's ability to let go is something that the smoke monster cannot understand and, in fact, maddens him. People like Mr. Eko cannot be manipulated through guilt.

2. Whether the smoke monster was lying to people when he claims that he could give them whatever they wanted:

He was not lying. The smoke monster is a symbol of regret and longing. When he tells Sayid that he can give him anything in the world that he wanted, he was telling the truth.

The smoke monster is an embodiment of purgatory - a place where all the harbored desires of men would play out for eternity if it weren't for the opportunity to let go. He can take the form of people who have died because he is a projection of purgatory in the real world. This is why he shows people things that have occurred to them in the past: it is an attempt for them to latch on to their regrets, moving in the opposite direction of letting go.

Sayid was once again reunited with Nadia, but he was unhappy. This was probably what he wished for in the last days before his death, but this did not bring him happiness. Shannon was his way of letting go of all the guilt in his life, including the guilt of all the killing he had done.

I can dig it, yea.

 

[Magnus]

Once again, I'm not one of the ones who was utterly crushed that they didn't answer everything. I was fine with that, if not 100% pleased. I wasn't expecting it any longer in the finale. That said, I must reply to this:

To those who wanted an ending that better explained the mythology: What would have appeased you? You are all smart individuals right? If the show Lost parallels life then we know there is perspective, a flow of time, and a beginning and ending to what IS perceived. It's likely that Jacob/MiBs mom didn't have a very good answer for what the island is, nor did the person before her, or before that one. An explanation the writers would have created would not have answered your questions, "~Every question asked leads to another"

You know what that's like? Real life. What's life? What's death? What happens when you die? What's the reason for existence?

What's the island? How does the smoke monster work? What happens if the island is destroyed? What's the reason for protecting the island?

Get it? We in REAL life don't have the answers to our own existence, why would you want them to make up ridiculous answers for a show that parallels life, just so you can say it was lame, or not possible, or that you need answers to explain the answers.

The show is about the Characters; Go for the mystery, stay for the friends.

So many stories, science-fiction and fantasy in particular, are created and told to explain what we cannot explain in our own real world. When an artist creates a world, they get to set the rules. They can actually explain why things are the way they are. That's half the point of creating a world, and half the fun of being its author. It isn't unthinkable for a viewer to want a higher percentage of the show's questions to have been answered. After all, it asked so many.

Moreover, many like me are just taking issue with some of the answers we got, not the answers that never materialized.

 

[C.Dark.DN]

Once again, I'm not one of the ones who was utterly crushed that they didn't answer everything. I was fine with that, if not 100% pleased. I wasn't expecting it any longer in the finale. That said, I must reply to this:



So many stories, science-fiction and fantasy in particular, are created and told to explain what we cannot explain. When an artist creates a world, they get to set the rules. They can actually explain why things are the way they are. That's half the point of creating a world, and half the fun of being its author. It isn't unthinkable for a viewer to want a higher percentage of the show's questions to have been answered. After all, it asked so many.

Moreover, many like me are just taking issue with some of the answers we got, not the answers that never materialized.

This is a mirror image of year 2000 knowledge. They aren't in a Star Trek world.

 

[CabbageRed]

Probably a desire to be forgiven by alex and rousseau.

Exactly. He likely feels closer to Alex than to the Oceanic (and company) Folk, so his purgatory would be with the real Alex and false versions of everyone else he needed to deal with to pass on.

 

[Alucard]

To those who wanted an ending that better explained the mythology: What would have appeased you? You are all smart individuals right? If the show Lost parallels life then we know there is perspective, a flow of time, and a beginning and ending to what IS perceived. It's likely that Jacob/MiBs mom didn't have a very good answer for what the island is, nor did the person before her, or before that one. An explanation the writers would have created would not have answered your questions, "~Every question asked leads to another"

You know what that's like? Real life. What's life? What's death? What happens when you die? What's the reason for existence?

What's the island? How does the smoke monster work? What happens if the island is destroyed? What's the reason for protecting the island?

Get it? We in REAL life don't have the answers to our own existence, why would you want them to make up ridiculous answers for a show that parallels life, just so you can say it was lame, or not possible, or that you need answers to explain the answers.

The show is about the Characters; Go for the mystery, stay for the friends.

People who are claiming that they didn't watch it for the mystery, especially in the early seasons, are either having faulty memories, or they're trying to rationalize the show's faults into somehow now being virtues.

Life has questions, yes. But LOST was a show that prided itself on its questions and on slowly bleeding in answers throughout, with the hopeful promise that everything would eventually be made clear. It is frustrating because there were people in the show who obviously had the answers, but the writers chose not to have those characters speak to the audience in any meaningful way, because they probably didn't know what the answers were themselves.

Anyway, love the show, but please let's not take the leap from "the show is about the characters," to "well, the questions don't even matter anymore, because it's like life," while conveniently dismissing 6 years of buildup and mysteries that played key roles in keeping viewers hooked and interested.

 

[luoapp]

Go for the mystery ...

to nowhere

stay for the friends ...

watch the sitcom then.

 

[Nameless]

This all doesn't matter; a post-death purgatorial state where characters awaken, remember their lives and what meant most to them, and then march off into whatever afterlife awaits them could be mangled into an ending to any long story. It's absurdly generic and insulting. It could be stripped from Season 6 without much consequence to the main storyline of the show. Isn't that just a little troubling?


I understand that this universe/world/(we really need an official name for this since both Sideways and Purgatory aren't cutting it :lol, so I'll use LA X) allowed the writers to complete their ruminations and developments on some characters, but again, isn't that troubling? We need to jump to a world outside of the main world, redress the characters in a different situation to see how they complete their arcs? If LA X were more integrated somehow, more crucial to the developments in the main world, if they mattered to the main world/timeline, if something carried over aside from Desmond's rare speeches over the last two episodes, I could begin to attach some weight to what the LA X characters were going through. But none of that matters to me. The story ended with Jack's eyes closing, and the side story we've been led to believe was somehow crucial to the larger story of Lost wound up being a one-size-fits-all epilogue that was interspersed throughout the main body of the show with red herrings all over the place. I don't think it's hard to see why fans should be irate about that.

And again, I'm not quarreling at all about not being given answers to so many of the mysteries as I discuss this. Sure, some more would have been nice (and man, they certainly had the time to do it and didn't), but really, this would have been a great finale for me if the latter half of the season went in a different direction and prevented the last 10 minutes from playing out the way they did, imo.

You're cheapening the reality of the flashsideways. Before being awakened they all lived full lives a second time, this one free of the island's influence. Free to carve their own path which profoundly led to them completing their journey of self discovery sans the island and inevitably led them back to each other. There's something extremely poetic in that even if that was all there was to it.

How it matters and how it fits goes back to Christian saying that "This is a place that you and your friends created together". This "purgatory" was a direct result of these character's choices and actions on and off the island in their lives-proper. Everything we see from Pilot on led these characters to trying to change their destinies, only they solidified it in the process.

One of the many examples is how Boone's death was so important. If Boone never dies Desmond shoot's himself in the hatch without Locke being there to save his life by beating on the hatch door in frustration and sadness. Locke's faith isn't put through the ringer and ultimately fortified. It doesn't get passed to Jack who never uses it to detonate an H-bomb in an attempt change things. This "place" never gets created. That single event and the resulting choices had ramifications even in these characters' "death".

It's quite mind bending if you really think about it.

 

[TheGreatDave]

People who want an "answer" for what the island is, where it came from, etc, are fucking nut. I understand stuff like Walt (ghost Walt at least), the Cabin, the rules, etc. But expecting to be told the history of a thousands and thousands of years old island is likeasking about the big bang.

 

[sc0la]

Don't think this has been posted yet. Darlton talk about the ending:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nagGI_s13sQ

Season 6 episode 25?

I want my other 7 episodes lindelcuse! *rage

 

[Magnus]

I was going to add more, but Alucard covered it.

"It's the characters man!" needs to leave this thread.

 

[IrrelevantNotch]

:lol :lol :lol It's really sad how dumb you are. I'm sorry for you, man. Atleast you find in enjoyment in deriding other people's entertainment by not be able to comprehend a thing that happened within it. And then you argue with people who did understand what happened. You feel sorry for us...:lol :lol :lol

Oh, I don't feel sorry for you. I mean the people in this thread who keep getting bullied for throwing some critical thought into this thread. Poor guys

People who want an "answer" for what the island is, where it came from, etc, are fucking nut. I understand stuff like Walt (ghost Walt at least), the Cabin, the rules, etc. But expecting to be told the history of a thousands and thousands of years old island is likeasking about the big bang.

Fucking right man. "God did it" is and shall always be the superior answer.

 

[C.Dark.DN]

People who are claiming that they didn't watch it for the mystery, especially in the early seasons, are either having faulty memories, or they're trying to rationalize the show's faults into somehow now being virtues.

Life has questions, yes. But LOST was a show that prided itself on its questions and on slowly bleeding in answers throughout, with the hopeful promise that everything would eventually be made clear. It is frustrating because there were people in the show who obviously had the answers, but the writers chose not to have those characters speak to the audience in any meaningful way, because they probably didn't know what the answers were themselves.

Anyway, love the show, but please let's not take the leap from "the show is about the characters," to "well, the questions don't even matter anymore, because it's like life," while conveniently dismissing 6 years of buildup and mysteries that played key roles in keeping viewers hooked and interested.

The questions still matter. The answers just aren't concrete.

 

[CartridgeBlower]

MIB's smokey-ness is derived from the island's energy. Pulling the cork out essentially "turns off" the island, and without that power anymore, MIB is stripped of his smoke monster form.

Smokey seemed somewhat electrical. I imagine the removal of the massive electromagnetic source that created him in the first place probably resulted in him being traped in a physical human form.

Yes, these are both LITERAL interpretations, one's that I don't think many people miss, including myself. But right or wrong (and maybe I should have made this more clear), I'm looking for more of a METAPHORICAL interpretation. At this point, though, maybe that's asking too much. Or maybe in time one will present itself more clearly.

 

[Snuggles]

I was going to add more, but Alucard covered it.

"It's the characters man!" needs to leave this thread.

Needs to leave this thread? Bullshit. There are a lot of great things about Lost, but as far as I'm concered, characters will always be number 1. They're the core of Lost, they're whats most important...more than polar bears, dharma station, hyrdo bombs...anything else. That doesn't mean that the mysteries and everything else don't matter, they do, but the idea certainly should not leave this thread.
If I didn't care so much about the characters I wouldn't have given a shit about anything that has happened, but I do care about them and that's why I loved the finale so much.

 

[jett]

yea, it's really trippy to think about this now. Like, Am i dead already and I just don't know it? Damn.

as trippy as thinking we all lived in the matrix in 1999.

Spoiler

lol

 

[BertramCooper]

I'm still amazed at how remarkably simple and elegant the ending was. I was expecting something far more cryptic.

For six years, Lost was constantly dangling the carrot in front of you, just out of reach. To finally have closure - complete closure - feels so bizarre.

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

as trippy as thinking we all lived in the matrix in 1999.

Spoiler

lol

what if it was BOTH

 

[Nameless]

as trippy as thinking we all lived in the matrix in 1999.

Spoiler

lol

GAF only exists in my mind. Each member represents a certain personal strength, weakness, trait or insecurity.

 

[Madrin]

The show is about the Characters

People need to stop saying this. The show is about the characters AND the plot. Always has been. So, yes, some of us can't help feeling a bit cheated when the finale seems to neglect the fact that the show has been weaving this complex plot and mysterious world for six seasons.

 

[KHarvey16]

Again with the assigning of motivations.

I get to decide why other people watched the show, and some of you are just simply not fans!

 

[Magnus]

You're cheapening the reality of the flashsideways. Before being awakened they all lived full lives a second time, this one free of the island's influence. Free to carve their own path which profoundly led to them completing their journey of self discovery sans the island and inevitably led them back to each other. There's something extremely poetic in that even if that was all there was to it.

The final revelation cheapened the reality of the flashsideways. Our characters didn't get to profoundly complete their journeys until after their deaths. Isn't that troubling to anyone? They all required this collective post-death consciousness to complete themselves? Their stories weren't completed in life?

They all didn't even find their way back to each other in poetic fashion. One became aware of the main world and set in motion events that pulled them back to each other. The events in LA X in almost every episode, even Desmond's, suggested that much more was going on than just 'death'.

How it matters and how it fits goes back to Christian saying that "This is a place that you and your friends created together". This "purgatory" was a direct result of these character's choices and actions on and off the island in their lives-proper. Everything we see from Pilot on led these characters to trying to change their destinies, only they solidified it in the process.

One of the many examples is how Boone's death was so important. If Boone never dies Desmond shoot's himself in the hatch without Locke being there to save his life by beating on the hatch door in frustration and sadness. Locke's faith isn't put through the ringer and ultimately fortified. It doesn't get passed to Jack who never uses it to detonate an H-bomb in an attempt change things. This "place" never gets created. That single event and the resulting choices had ramifications even in these characters' "death".

It's quite mind bending if you really think about it.

That's cause and effect. We know how that principle works, it happens all the time in every story ever told. I didn't need Lost ending with the ghost of Christian Shepard ruminating on six seasons of storyline with the ultimate message of "you all mattered to each other a lot, everything was important, everything led here to the End". Well of course it did. The show didn't need that pandering.

Needs to leave this thread? Bullshit. There are a lot of great things about Lost, but as far as I'm concered, characters will always be number 1. They're the core of Lost, they're whats most important...more than polar bears, dharma station, hyrdo bombs...anything else. That doesn't mean that the mysteries and everything else don't matter, they do, but the idea certainly should not leave this thread.
If I didn't care so much about the characters I wouldn't have given a shit about anything that has happened, but I do care about them and that's why I loved the finale so much.

Man, being a champion for good characterization is not what I meant by saying "It's the characters man!" Read what I said in context. I was referring to the weak defenses of plot problems, where people seem to iterate that the characters were handled well and that's all that mattered.

There's more to it than characters.

People need to stop saying this. The show is about the characters AND the plot. Always has been. So, yes, some of us can't help feeling a bit cheated when the finale seems to neglect the fact that the show has been weaving this complex plot and mysterious world for six seasons.

It's the insinuation that we don't appreciate good characterization that gets me. That people think we'd be happy if the characters were awful, but we got a much better explanation for the mysteries. Of course not. :lol If one has to go, of course characters should be prioritized. But why can't both be awesome?

 

[Snuggles]

GAF only exists in my mind. Each member represents a certain personal strength, weakness, trait or insecurity.

At first I thought "no, YOU'RE a figment of MY imagination", but maybe I am just a single piece of your mind's journey. Maybe I am just a blip in your story, in your dream...WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN.

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

Still not understanding how the plot wasn't resolved, if that's what people are trying to say.

 

[cory]

I'm watching Exposé right now.

 

[duckroll]

People who are claiming that they didn't watch it for the mystery, especially in the early seasons, are either having faulty memories, or they're trying to rationalize the show's faults into somehow now being virtues.

I don't really know what to say to this except that it is not true. I of all people here cannot be accused of "rationalizing the show's faults into somehow being virtues", especially during this season. The show has a ton of faults in terms of mythology writing, and the way they choose to answer questions (and more importantly, the questions they choose to answer in direct ways).

But I don't see what that has to do with people who actually do watch the show primarily for the characters. I'm not going to say I never watched Lost because of the mysteries. That's a lie. The mysteries, especially on a per season basis, are interesting and kept expanding. As they answered some questions and revealed more locations and characters on the island, they opened up more question marks and hooks.

Sure, it entertained. That's not the reason I stuck around for 6 seasons though. I stuck around because of the characters. That has always been the one main reason I kept watching Lost. If I didn't care about the characters as much as I did, I would have stopped watching when it seemed that answers weren't coming, and just wikipedia'd it later on when it was over. I'm not really a person who sticks around when I honestly don't enjoy something, just because there are unanswered questions or because I have followed it for a long time. I can drop anything I lose interest in at a heartbeat and never look back.

To me, the characters are Lost. They are the sole driving point that has not disappointed across the entire lifespan of the series. For the finale to focus exclusively on the characters and tie the final season up as a big send off to all the characters, giving them closure and inviting the audience to watch them accept the lives they led and let go.... was incredibly satisfying for me.

I'm sure everyone watches the show for different reasons and some will react to it differently, but to paint it such that everyone who says the characters are more important than the mystery are not being truthful is nonsense. I'm sorry you didn't believe me.

 

[neoism]

Once again, I'm not one of the ones who was utterly crushed that they didn't answer everything. I was fine with that, if not 100% pleased. I wasn't expecting it any longer in the finale. That said, I must reply to this:



So many stories, science-fiction and fantasy in particular, are created and told to explain what we cannot explain in our own real world. When an artist creates a world, they get to set the rules. They can actually explain why things are the way they are. That's half the point of creating a world, and half the fun of being its author. It isn't unthinkable for a viewer to want a higher percentage of the show's questions to have been answered. After all, it asked so many.

Moreover, many like me are just taking issue with some of the answers we got, not the answers that never materialized.

There you go, If your taking issue with the answers you got, why you want more answers. So you can have more to take issue with. So happy I don't need anything explained... The ending focused on the character's because mythology isn't important... not pointed at you just sayin....

 

[Alucard]

People who want an "explaination" for what the island is, where it came from, etc, are fucking nut. I understand stuff like Walt (ghost Walt at least), the Cabin, the rules, etc. But expecting to be told the history of a thousands and thousands of years old island is likeasking about the big bang.

While knowing the Big Bang of the show would be wonderful, I know it would be unrealistic to expect the writers to provide it for us. However, I still would have liked some explanation or mythological tale about the origins of the island. Maybe Jacob's mother having access to an ancient scroll, or the inhabitants of the island at least having a Big Bang theory and telling us, even if it's in vague LOST-speak, that the light was placed there by a mystical creator, and that this creator initially appointed a guardian, someone he/she/it trusted, to watch over the light which balanced everything in the world. Tell me a myth about the light being the source of all life and death, or perhaps about the light being God him/her/itself, instead of simply saying "This woman's watching this magical light that houses death, life, and everything, then she chooses her son to continue watching it, but we're not going to tell you why they're guarding it or what the rules for guarding it are, or who made them in the first place."

Just give me an idea of who/what set the initial conditions, even if it's in mythological LOST-speak, and let the audience extrapolate from there. It's possible for an origin story to be mystical but believable/concrete at the same time.

 

[Fisticuffs]

People who are claiming that they didn't watch it for the mystery, especially in the early seasons, are either having faulty memories, or they're trying to rationalize the show's faults into somehow now being virtues.

Life has questions, yes. But LOST was a show that prided itself on its questions and on slowly bleeding in answers throughout, with the hopeful promise that everything would eventually be made clear. It is frustrating because there were people in the show who obviously had the answers, but the writers chose not to have those characters speak to the audience in any meaningful way, because they probably didn't know what the answers were themselves.

Anyway, love the show, but please let's not take the leap from "the show is about the characters," to "well, the questions don't even matter anymore, because it's like life," while conveniently dismissing 6 years of buildup and mysteries that played key roles in keeping viewers hooked and interested.

no there was always those who watched the show for answers and those who watched the show for the characters. Nothing makes it more obvious than the fact that there are those who hated the finale and those who loved it.

 

[Blader]

I'm still amazed at how remarkably simple and elegant the ending was. I was expecting something far more cryptic.

For six years, Lost was constantly dangling the carrot in front of you, just out of reach. To finally have closure - complete closure - feels so bizarre.

It's exactly why I'm not sad the show is over and why I'm not craving for more. The ending was so resolute and so emotionally fulfilling that I really don't need anymore of Lost.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Were people, like, not paying attention? I truly don't understand how anyone could watch the finale and still think the island was purgatory.

smh

I didn't say the island was purgatory.

The side wayz alternative reality was clearly purgatory, plain and simple.

 

[KHarvey16]

I don't really know what to say to this except that it is not true. I of all people here cannot be accused of "rationalizing the show's faults into somehow being virtues", especially during this season. The show has a ton of faults in terms of mythology writing, and the way they choose to answer questions (and more importantly, the questions they choose to answer in direct ways).

But I don't see what that has to do with people who actually do watch the show primarily for the characters. I'm not going to say I never watched Lost because of the mysteries. That's a lie. The mysteries, especially on a per season basis, are interesting and kept expanding. As they answered some questions and revealed more locations and characters on the island, they opened up more question marks and hooks.

Sure, it entertained. That's not the reason I stuck around for 6 seasons though. I stuck around because of the characters. That has always been the one main reason I kept watching Lost. If I didn't care about the characters as much as I did, I would have stopped watching when it seemed that answers weren't coming, and just wikipedia'd it later on when it was over. I'm not really a person who sticks around when I honestly don't enjoy something, just because there are unanswered questions or because I have followed it for a long time. I can drop anything I lose interest in at a heartbeat and never look back.

To me, the characters are Lost. They are the sole driving point that has not disappointed across the entire lifespan of the series. For the finale to focus exclusively on the characters and tie the final season up as a big send off to all the characters, giving them closure and inviting the audience to watch them accept the lives they led and let go.... was incredibly satisfying for me.

I'm sure everyone watches the show for different reasons and some will react to it differently, but to paint it such that everyone who says the characters are more important than the mystery are not being truthful is nonsense. I'm sorry you didn't believe me.

Who the hell are you to tell us what you liked about the show?

 

[layzie1989]

Wait, was jack's appendicitis scar the stab wound scar?!

FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUJ :lol :lol :lol :lol

 

[Magnus]

There you go, If your taking issue with the answers you got, why you you want more answers. So you can have more to take issue with. So happy I don't need anything explained... The ending focused on the character's but mythology isn't important... no pointed at you just sayin....

I have no idea what you just said :lol

 

[Alucard]

I don't really know what to say to this except that it is not true. I of all people here cannot be accused of "rationalizing the show's faults into somehow being virtues", especially during this season. The show has a ton of faults in terms of mythology writing, and the way they choose to answer questions (and more importantly, the questions they choose to answer in direct ways).

But I don't see what that has to do with people who actually do watch the show primarily for the characters. I'm not going to say I never watched Lost because of the mysteries. That's a lie. The mysteries, especially on a per season basis, are interesting and kept expanding. As they answered some questions and revealed more locations and characters on the island, they opened up more question marks and hooks.

Sure, it entertained. That's not the reason I stuck around for 6 seasons though. I stuck around because of the characters. That has always been the one main reason I kept watching Lost. If I didn't care about the characters as much as I did, I would have stopped watching when it seemed that answers weren't coming, and just wikipedia'd it later on when it was over. I'm not really a person who sticks around when I honestly don't enjoy something, just because there are unanswered questions or because I have followed it for a long time. I can drop anything I lose interest in at a heartbeat and never look back.

To me, the characters are Lost. They are the sole driving point that has not disappointed across the entire lifespan of the series. For the finale to focus exclusively on the characters and tie the final season up as a big send off to all the characters, giving them closure and inviting the audience to watch them accept the lives they led and let go.... was incredibly satisfying for me.

I'm sure everyone watches the show for different reasons and some will react to it differently, but to paint it such that everyone who says the characters are more important than the mystery are not being truthful is nonsense. I'm sorry you didn't believe me.

Couldn't one argue that the island itself was a character in the show, and that it also needed closure? Pretty sure even the writers said in season 1 that the island was like a character as well. If we treat the island like a character, it didn't receive a satisfying backstory, nor did it receive a strong story that explained its motives or ultimate purpose. If the show is "about the characters," wouldn't the island be one of the primary players deserving of exposition and explanation?

 

[KHarvey16]

Couldn't one argue that the island itself was a character in the show, and that it also needed closure? Pretty sure even the writers said in season 1 that the island was like a character as well. If we treat the island like a character, it didn't receive a satisfying backstory, nor did it receive a strong story that explained its motives or ultimate purpose.

Handwaving: only good when I like it.

 

[Fisticuffs]

Couldn't one argue that the island itself was a character in the show, and that it also needed closure? Pretty sure even the writers said in season 1 that the island was like a character as well. If we treat the island like a character, it didn't receive a satisfying backstory, nor did it receive a strong story that explained its motives or ultimate purpose.

I think you are kind of reaching here.

 

[Byakuya769]

I think you are kind of reaching here.

kind of?

 

[Fisticuffs]

kind of?

I'm trying to be civil. It's getting hard lol

 

[Alucard]

Handwaving: only good when I like it.

If the writers of the show are allowed to do it, why can't its viewers?

Again, I am not attacking the show. As mentioned, I really love it and have it in my top 5 favourites of all-time, but that doesn't mean I just have to accept it as is.

 

[duckroll]

Couldn't one argue that the island itself was a character in the show, and that it also needed closure? Pretty sure even the writers said in season 1 that the island was like a character as well. If we treat the island like a character, it didn't receive a satisfying backstory, nor did it receive a strong story that explained its motives or ultimate purpose. If the show is "about the characters," wouldn't the island be one of the primary players deserving of exposition and explanation?

The island itself is indeed a character in the show. It is a character in the sense that the nature of the island is what allowed these characters to meet, and the various aspects of the island, the island's different inhabitants, and the history of the island, were all directly responsible for creating this unique experience which these characters went though and formed the most important point of time in their lives.

If you can accept that, then the closure the island gets is that the island is what brought all of these people together while they were alive, and what brought all of them back together after they died, allowing them to help each other to move on. The island is in their memories. It does not have to be a physical location, just like they no longer have their physical bodies. In the X "reality", the island is under the sea, but yet it lives on in all their memories and continues to be the driving force in their consciousness.

That is all the closure I need for the island. That, and knowing that in present time Hurley and Ben are in charge of protecting it. It's in good hands.

 

[forrest]

People who are claiming that they didn't watch it for the mystery, especially in the early seasons, are either having faulty memories, or they're trying to rationalize the show's faults into somehow now being virtues.

Life has questions, yes. But LOST was a show that prided itself on its questions and on slowly bleeding in answers throughout, with the hopeful promise that everything would eventually be made clear. It is frustrating because there were people in the show who obviously had the answers, but the writers chose not to have those characters speak to the audience in any meaningful way, because they probably didn't know what the answers were themselves.

Anyway, love the show, but please let's not take the leap from "the show is about the characters," to "well, the questions don't even matter anymore, because it's like life," while conveniently dismissing 6 years of buildup and mysteries that played key roles in keeping viewers hooked and interested.

MacGuffin


I'm sure it's been said, but the thread is large and I'm late to the game.

 

[Snuggles]

Dammit I feel like Locke banging on the hatch trying to defend the greatness of the finale.
I'VE EXPLAINED EVERYTHING I CAN SO WHY DON'T YOU GET IT WHYYY *
...but someday the light will beam up for you, and you will get it.



* Just watching that slice of that scene makes me want to watch the entire series again ASAPs.

 

[ultron87]

I really like that if you lift all the flash sideways out of the season and stick them directly after the shot of Jack's eye closing you essentially get Jack's experience in life and death in chronological order.

 

[NaughtyCalibur]

That only becomes an issue if you believe Smokey's statement that he can only take the form of a dead person.

But then that just raises some major issues itself. If MiB can shape shift into whatever or whoever, then you'd think he'd have done so more often in order to help reach his goal.

 

[Alucard]

I think you are kind of reaching here.

I'll see if I can find the youtube video where the writers themselves call the island a character. Pretty sure it was in the Season 1 special features.

Anyway, it was still what the rest of the characters interacted with most. How many times do they mention that the island is "special," that they need to go back to it, that they need to destroy it, that they hate it, that they love it, etc. When something is that pivotal in the narrative, I think it needs some clarification.

 

[Nameless]

The island itself is indeed a character in the show. It is a character in the sense that the nature of the island is what allowed these characters to meet, and the various aspects of the island, the island's different inhabitants, and the history of the island, were all directly responsible for creating this unique experience which these characters went though and formed the most important point of time in their lives.

If you can accept that, then the closure the island gets is that the island is what brought all of these people together while they were alive, and what brought all of them back together after they died, allowing them to help each other to move on. The island is in their memories. It does not have to be a physical location, just like they no longer have their physical bodies. In the X "reality", the island is under the sea, but yet it lives on in all their memories and continues to be the driving force in their consciousness.

That is all the closure I need for the island. That, and knowing that in present time Hurley and Ben are in charge of protecting it. It's in good hands.

 

[jett]

The island itself is indeed a character in the show. It is a character in the sense that the nature of the island is what allowed these characters to meet, and the various aspects of the island, the island's different inhabitants, and the history of the island, were all directly responsible for creating this unique experience which these characters went though and formed the most important point of time in their lives.

If you can accept that, then the closure the island gets is that the island is what brought all of these people together while they were alive, and what brought all of them back together after they died, allowing them to help each other to move on. The island is in their memories. It does not have to be a physical location, just like they no longer have their physical bodies. In the X "reality", the island is under the sea, but yet it lives on in all their memories and continues to be the driving force in their consciousness.

That is all the closure I need for the island. That, and knowing that in present time Hurley and Ben are in charge of protecting it. It's in good hands.

Fuck the island. I wish it had exploded.

 

[Rubeus]

Sorry I didn't read through all the posts in here, some of you may have discussed these before:

- Why the survivors have the power to create the world in flash sideways? If they have the power to create it, why they didn't they remember any of their past?
- Why the MIB still remained in Locke's form when the light was put off from the cave, shouldn't he turn back to his old form when he lost his power? The same when he was dead
- In ep16 "What they died for", who helped Jacob to burn his ashes so that he showed up in front of the final four? Wasn't he just a ghost with no form?
- Why and how was Jacob able to leave the island to select the candidates, when he or the MiB were not allowed to leave the island?

 

[duckroll]

Fuck the island. I wish it had exploded.

I'm sure it did eventually. Nothing lasts forever...