Perhaps the biggest unanswered question of all was how Hurley stayed so goddamn fat on a deserted island.
Five years ago, I decided to take a chance. I was in a monogamous relationship that I had no interest in ending, but felt like I needed something more. I had my eyes on a few things, but I decided not to jump the gun too quick. I really wanted to find something perfect. A form of entertainment that would take me to the edge and back for an hour or so at least once a week.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved 24. Still do to this day. I just wanted another show to watch on a Tuesday or Wednesday. What? What did you think I was talking about? Chicks? Pfffffff.
I never thought anything else on television could come close to toppling 24 as Greatest Show Ever, until I took that chance. In the middle of it’s second season, I jumped headfirst into what will be remembered as the single most captivating and confusing television program in history. I’m talking about LOST.
I remember the first episode I ever watched. It was a pointless, bore that I watched in my friend’s bedroom while everyone else drank and watched the Sox game in the living room. The one when Rose and Bernard, the show’s first (yes, there would be more!) interracial couple meet and fall in love and Rose gets cancer. The two never really mattered in the true plot and direction of the show, but somehow managed to become every hardcore LOSTfan’s Favorites They Never Remember. The ones that other people randomly bring up and your first reactions is, “Oh yeah, I like them too.” But you’d never open up a dialogue about the show with them. It wasn’t a very good introduction to the show, but somehow enticed me to keep tuning in every week.
It was mostly the composition of the show that intrigued me. It took me a couple weeks to realize that every episode is centered around a particular character on The Island. (I think anyone writing about this show should capitalize The Island because it’s just as much of a character as anyone). It would show flashbacks of that character’s past that ultimately led to their presence on Oceanic Flight 815 from
Now this sounds like your run-of-the-mill Survivor bullshit, but this is no Survivor island. Rose’s cancer? Gone. Quadriplegic John Locke? Wakes up on the beach wiggling his toes. There is strange monster-like activity in the jungle. There are polar bears in the jungle! There are aboriginal people dubbed “The Others” (See! That one’s always capitalized!) The writers continued to introduce new characters and work them into the rotation of flashback or flash-forward episodes. We got to see the pasts and futures of heroes and villains alike and see them succeed or fail and die and interact with each other in ways other television shows simply could not do. LOSTbrought character development to the forefront and kept their audiences guessing with the secrets of The Island.
Why does The Island heal people, but allow pregnant women to die? What is the deal with the Dharma Initiative? Week after week, it felt like more questions arose with no answers on the horizon. But it worked. Every week, I couldn’t wait to watch the next episode. When the season finale ended, I cursed the fact that I had to wait 6 or 7 more months before I got another new one. We wanted the information! What the fuck is going on?!? Who the hell was that guy? DAMMIT!! All us viewers wanted were answers. We just never realized that the answers would mean the end of the show.
This past final season cemented the show as the greatest live-action drama ever. The mythology of The Island was revealed through flashbacks from what could possibly be centuries ago. A present-day battle of good and evil erupted on The Island between our remaining surviving castaways and the evil presence on The Island. All the while, we had what was universally called “flash-sideways.” We saw all our catalysts back in
What we were seeing was the culmination of six years of devotion not only by me, but millions of fans. The writers had the monumental difficult task of tying a bow on the most polarizing and mystifying show in history, and they did it masterfully. I’ve seen lots of other reactions claiming that the finale sucked, that it made the last six years a waste, and left too many questions unanswered. My response to that? Go Fuck Yourself. The ending was perfect. Yes it was corny, and predictable (the whole Man In White vs. Man In Black was a dead giveaway), but that’s what you wanted! You wanted to figure some shit out! You did, it was Good vs. Evil and the sideways flashes were of a Purgatory and they all go to Heaven and it had religious connotations. Are you pissed because they didn’t explain the mythology? Who gives a shit? The whole basis of the show was to keep you guessing and wondering what was going on, why wouldn’t they continue that after the conclusion of the story? Some of this stuff is gonna bug me for years. But all that is going to do is make me buy all the DVDs and watch the whole series all over again. And again. Which brings me to my final point.
There is no effing way the last 6 years (5 for me because I jumped in late, but illegally downloaded season 1 before season 3 started) could be considered a waste. All of us would do it again and hope another show hooks us like this one did. Like I said, I had 24 on Mondays. If there was a shitty LOST episode one week, Jack Bauer could usually step it up. But at least 90% of the time, I was completely enthralled with Jack and Sawyer and Kate and Charlie and Ben Linus et al. I could not get enough. Many other people couldn’t either, and they watched this past week like I did. And maybe it got a little dusty in the room. Not because it was a sad ending, or a happy ending, but because it was the ending. It had better be the end. No movies, please. For the love of Hurley, no movies. Let it be guys. It was a masterpiece, and nothing on television will ever touch it. I feel like I’ve lost a part of my family.
Namaste.
- Xavier
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