I've been watching Lost since day one. It's been a pain in the ass every step of the way. I've never before experienced a television show that gave me so much to think about, and so much to be frustrated about. It's pretty annoying to be posed with a multitude of questions every week (well, like, once every three weeks - stupid-ass schedule) and then rather than be given the answers, we're just left with more questions.When the show was in its second season, that was the year I started working at my current job. I'd post pictures and clues from the lost fansites outside my cubicle, and people who were also fans would look to me for information on the goings-on in the show.
Then the writers' strike happened.
Lost was hit hard by that event. It's too bad, really, because it had a lot going for it before they pretty much trashed all of that momentum and destroyed much of their base of followers. People got real frustrated with the direction of the show, the characters they loved taking a back seat to characters they felt were irrelevant and distracting, and the endless stream of unanswered questions that were thrown at them every episode.
I think the producers of the show have done a remarkable job in taking all of that dissatisfaction and turning it into constructive criticism - allowing them to make changes to the show which brought the overall opinion of the show back into the black. Even if they continue to ask questions relentlessly, they've given us enough information to work with, and to form some hypotheses on where the show will be going. I truly believe JJ Abrams has demonstrated that he is a powerhouse - even when his show is in the death throes he manages to take what his audience is looking for, and reinvent his show to become a success once more. There aren't many people who have that ability.
So, as the seasons progressed, they got bad, then began the ascent into greatness again. This whole season has been excellent, and the finale had been hailed as a return to the greatness of season two's final episode. I went in cautiously optimistic. I was glad I didn't heighten my anticipation too much, I fear I would have been pretty disappointed.
While the episode (and I don't count the recap hour as part of the episode, btw) began strong, I feel it kind of petered off into nonsense before culminating in the traditional cliffhanger. I'm not convinced the writers really knew where they were going with things when they began to close out the season. I can't help but object to the constant stream of "We should blow the bomb... well, maybe not. NO! WE CAN'T! OK, let's do it." It's extremely wish-washy, and basically every character involved does it. I understand the moral dilemma present in the idea of detonating an H-Bomb, but let's decide what to do and then do it. The same is true for the relationships in the show. Let's assume Sawyer and Juliet have been together since a year after they got stuck in the 70s. That's a relationship of 2 years, dropped without a single tear. It's annoying to me that they would both be so complacent about that loss. Not to mention the fact that Kate's role in the show is strictly to piss me off and make trouble. I can't believe no one has killed that bitch yet. Especially Radzinsky, who seems to be willing to go to Machiavellian levels to get the Swan operable.
The whole John Locke question is one that I take particular disinterest in. I'm not excited at the prospect of him being "possessed" for the whole season, or that he's actually dead. From day one, he's been the most interesting character on the show, and I don't like the idea of him being controlled by some evil superbeing, at odds with the true controller of the island. Although I do like the concept of the "Clash of the Titans" style god-war, I'm not really into the idea of them acting in direct contact with the humans in order to manipulate their game.
The final shot of the episode - which I won't spoil - leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I'm not happy with the ramifications of the event, and I think it means one of two things.
- The attempt is successful. This means that no one has ever gone to the island, no one meets each other, and the entire show is completely invalidated. Why would they do this? There's no reason for them to hit a reset button with a year of the show left. It also completely invalidates the "present" timeline that has been running parallel to the "past" timeline in season 5. What difference does it make if Jacob is dead or not if you're resetting the time line from the 70s forward?
- The attempt fails. What the hell was the point of dragging them through the should I/shouldn't I playground for the last few months? If the attempt fails, Faraday died in vain, and the crew is stuck in the past indefinitely. I can't see this being the case either, since there has to be a neat bow to wrap this show up in the end. It's unlikely that they would leave these characters stranded in the past, forced to relive the history of the island over again, or die in the gassing of the Dharma Initiative.
As neither of these seem likely, we can only surmise that the resolution of the event will be the failure to destroy the island, the failure to prevent the "incident," and the successful return of the stranded crew back to the present year. This would obviously be the "they" that are coming. I don't swallow that as easily as most people probably will. It's too contrived for this show. However, it's ultimately not my decision, and fortunately perhaps, the strike frustrated the conjecture out of me when it comes to the storyline of Lost. While I do enjoy predicting the next steps in the story, I certainly don't presume to guess where the ultimate direction of the show will go. So, even with my apathy on the finale this season, I'll be watching along with the rest of America in 2010 to find out what happens to our survivors of Oceanic Flight 815.
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