Esiquio said:
Did you not like the characterization or the plot?
Both.
Because it's hard to argue that the characters were badly done in Lost...
Not really... The characters quickly devolved into caricatures, when they weren't turned into mere puppets or plot devices simply meant to advance the plot in accordance with the writers' myopic plans.
For example: Jack. Arguably the main character.
Jack became unbearable as soon (and that's pretty soon indeed) as they decided to turn him into "the man of science". By their own boneheaded definition of "science", that is, which is to say they turned him into one of the most annoying examples of "the skeptic character" on television, ignoring the obvious supernatural occurrences around him and yelling at those who weren't (while furiously waving a gun if he was on a particularly bad day). I expect science to sue.
And while the show apparently thought it was building the character into a confident leader people would eventually look up to, the writers' cluelessness actually turned him into the worst kind of criminally incompetent asshat.
There would be his plan at the end of season 2. Yes, let's pretend we don't know Michael is lying and just follow him into the trap we know is awaiting us. What could go wrong? Oh, and when the trap springs, he blames Michael, too.
Dude.
Or the end of season 3, when he knew the beach camp was about to be attacked and the pregnant women kidnapped
but decided to keep it all to himself until he deemed the time was right.
In the end, people found out, and not a second too soon either: it's the tape that Sawyer produced that told them when the attack was planned, that is to say
"the night after tomorrow" (at the time of the recording... no pressure, guys!). Oh. And then, unbeknownst to them, Ben decided to attack one day earlier, too. Somehow, it all worked out in the end. I don't know how they dodged that bullet exactly, but it sure ain't thanks to Super Jack.
Did Jack apologize for almost ruining everything by keeping mum about all that? Not in the slightest: guy was completely unfazed after the tape was played. And he proceeded to lead his herd into the jungle in order to demonstrate a vital element of his plan: explosives! All those mute extras didn't go to medical school, you see, so they really needed to be
shown what those things do (SPOILER:
), and it obviously was worth the time
and the risk of having nearby Others find out about that über-secret perfect plan.
He's such a great man, that Jack, and all that arc about him becoming a leader was so well-crafted that when he left the island and then came back, not a single second was spent on the fate of his herd.
Didn't you notice that a few dozens of people were missing, Jack? Aren't you going to ask? Or merely mention them?
Okay. I see you're already busy with a new plan: detonating a hydrogen bomb in order to fuck your timeline up (because you feel like you missed your chance with Kate and thus logically want her to be a stranger in shackles once again).
But I'm getting ahead of myself with that season 5 stuff. Let's go back in time a little bit...
After a particularly impressive display of skepticism-beyond-all-reason ("no, I don't know that the island just disappeared right in front of my eyes, shut up, y'all"), Jack finally went back to mainland, where he would mutate from mad skeptic into another bad excuse for a character, a caricature that would last until the end of the show: Jack "I just have faith in the plot" Shephard.
How did that happen? Well, we're shown/told that he broke down, turned to alcohol and pills, became suicidal... But why? Yeeeah, that was never really explained. Apparently, all that mattered was that he wanted to go back to the island. The show must go on, after all.
From then on, Jack would mostly do as told, with barely a few outbreaks of Furious Angry Rage ("
fuck you, magic mirror!"), and some "whoa I can see the code of the Matrix" moments, like when he somehow realized he could totally play with dynamite without dying (but then completely forgot about that when it would have been
actually useful, as we've discussed recently).
This process of becoming a walking plot device eventually leads him to the post of new protector of the Island. Because, we're told, "the island is all he's got left". ... Yeah? Okay, then: whatever you say, show. Oh, and he calls it "the only thing in his life that he hasn't managed to ruin", too. Don't sell yourself short, Jack: you
did just detonate a hydrogen bomb, so it certainly wasn't for the lack of trying.
And then, he takes care of the Man in Black by reading the code of the Matrix once again. "Surely, there
has to be a reason Jacob brought Desmond back. He
has to be a weapon. I
know because I have
complete faith in Jacob. Even if this means that Jacob completely forgot to tell us about that when he had the chance." C'mon, you just read the script. Admit it, Jack.
There would be more examples, naturally, but that's a long-ass post already.
And that was just Jack, too.
404Ender said:
Nope, it's not that. There's nothing wrong with what you just described.
What is it, then?
