I Don't Care WHAT They Say

(Don't worry; the only possible spoiler here is the photo. Ignore it - and the caption underneath it - if you don't want to see who the regular cast members for season three are.)

I've heard a lot of people talking about Lost who are annoyed by it. Invariably they are frustrated with the slow pace at which 'secrets are revealed', or they get pissed off by the flashbacks, or they just think the whole thing is some kind of weird supernatural fancy that isn't going to end up being worth the time it'd take to watch the show. Still others have complained that the idea shouldn't have gone longer than two or three night (as a miniseries event only).

Let me tell you this: THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA.

Anyone who says any of these things about the show (and I know I won't be talking about you, gentle readers), is frankly too dumb to understand the brilliance of Lost.

I know some of you who read this blog are also fans of the show, while others have asked my opinion in the past about whether or not it's worth investing the time. And my wordy-Lordy-yes it is!

The series was never intended to be a miniseries event. That was never the intention. The creators and writers had always planned the series to last four seasons (at least), and have blocked out each of those seasons with the gradual revelations of the characters and the island in order to keep the plot moving forward.

As for the apparent overly-slow rate of secrets being revealed, you must consider whether or not your beef is with the show or with Channel Seven's continual promises (on the ads they run each week) of "this week you WILL find out what's going on" and so on. That's not the fault of the show; that's the network desperately trying to hook enough people into watching the show each week (with apparent disregard for all those who then get pissed off with what feels like a broken promise and refuse to watch any further episodes). I often don't agree with the promos and share your anger (if that describes your experience). But I make sure I direct that anger at Channel Seven, rather than at the exceptionally-skillful creators and writers of Lost. The secrets do get revealed, but only at the right time to open our eyes to a new layer at play we hadn't even realised was present. Bear in mind that a whole episode can be taking place within the space of half a day on the island, or sometimes one full day (occasionally over the span of two days, but rarely any longer than that). So although a week has passed FOR YOU since the events of the previous episode, sometimes for the characters it's less than an hour. We've now seen two full seasons, but from the perspective of the characters on the show, only 65 days has passed since the events of the first episode. For them, it's still 2004.


The regular cast members of Lost's third season.
Michael, Walt, Libby and Ana Lucia are gone, but
Desmond & Fake Henry are now regulars. Oooooh!

The complaint about the flashbacks has proven to aggravate me the most, because this is the most groundless of them all. And it only serves to highlight how little the person making this complaint truly understands anything about the show at all. The whole point to the show is that each episode is taken from a different character's point of view, and we are shown something about them, about the island, and/or about other characters. But all through their eyes (more or less). The idea of focusing on a different member of the ensemble cast each week to tell a new story is an ingenious one, and I for one love it. We are shown something about each character's backstory, and we get to know them on a new level. Often, as in the case of characters we may have heretofore despised, we get a glimpse into what makes them tick, why they are now the way they are, and frequently our perception of them is changed radically by the end of the episode. In this way, the writers are able to constantly surprise us, giving us a deeper look inside each character, and often making us sympathise with characters we never thought we would have cared for or about. (Initially, I thought the character of Jin was going to be both boring and stereotypically an abusive, two-dimensional Asian husband who doesn't really love or look after his beautiful wife ... but that view was quickly blown out of the water in 'his' episode, and now Jin is one of my favourite characters on the show -- a fact that I find amusing, considering how I was so disinterested in him for the first six or so episodes. Sawyer is another one you assume you won't like, but often find yourself feeling sorry for.) The flashbacks are what make the show what it is, and anyone who says they hope the flashbacks will be written out of the show one day just simply hasn't got a clue about the purpose they serve. They're not there to 'pad' the episode or waste our time; they are all carefully constructed to mirror (or explain) the current situation that's happening on the island. If you watch the show and you haven't seen that, then there's something wrong with you. But this complaint mainly comes from people who've watched a couple of episodes and just haven't understood what they're seeing.

The final major complaint I hear about Lost relates to the various theories of what's actually going on on the island. The methods to the madness contained in each episode. Basically, that everything probably boils down to some kind of supernatural thing that's so far removed from reality that it's not likely to be interesting to anyone but sci-fi geeks. Well, speaking unofficially for the sci-fi geeks, bIjatlh 'e' yImev! yIDoghQo'! nuqDaq 'oH puchpa''e'? *

The writers have repeatedly answered online and press-featured theories and rumours by choosing to discount many of the more fanciful examples. Are the characters in hell or purgatory? No. Are they in a parallel universe? No. Have they travelled through time somehow? No. Are they contestants on a massive reality show? No. Are they clones? Are they the last humans on Earth? Have they survived the Rapture (or been taken by it)? Are they sharing a giant hallucination? No, no, no, no and no.

So what does that leave us with?

Plenty. There are scores of different theories on the show itself, plus hundreds of smaller theories breaking down every mysterious element of the island, from the monster to the numbers, from the Black Rock to 'The Others', from the polar bear to the shark. It's all been thought of before, plus many more theories you and I couldn't have come up with if we'd spent a year doing nothing else. It's incredible the number of theories that exist out there. And although some are more 'fantastical' than others, the ones that hold the most legitimacy for my money (partly because the creators have basically said there's a real reason behind everything and it's not 'magic'), are those that point to electromagnetism as being behind all the strange things that've happened on the island. When you read into it, it actually makes a lot of sense!

So basically, I don't care WHAT they say. They can slam the show and talk about how it doesn't make sense or it moves too slowly or the flashbacks are annoying or the reason behind everything is too airy-fairy all they like. As far as I'm concerned, they're only showing how little they understand anything about it. And while it's sad that they're shooting their mouth off and revealing their own stupidity (IMHO - no offense), not to mention missing out on such a phenomenal show, they're only underlining how a show with such amazing brilliance is clearly being aimed too high. This kind of viewer is exactly why intelligent shows don't work. The common viewer is just too dumb to follow along and make sense of it.

So if you don't get it, don't watch it. You're the one who has no idea how intricate and clever it is. If you think it makes no sense or is somehow lame, I'd advise you to keep your mouth shut so you don't make a fool of yourself. (Yes, I don't suffer fools easily!)

For anyone who's already seen seasons one and two in their entirety and would enjoy reading up on all the possible theories that have been floated (as well as all things Lost, such as all known details about each character, the events of all screened episode thus far, and much, much more), you can visit the Lost version of Wikipedia: Lostpedia. You have until 4th October to do so before season three starts airing in America, at which point spoilers (for Australian viewers) will start to infiltrate the pages and you won't know what is 'safe to read' and what isn't (until then, however, you can rest assured that you won't accidentally stumble across any spoilers for season three because they're clearly marked). While you're there, check out the freakishly-amazing action figures they've had made. More will become available (as it says on the page), but in the meantime these are some pretty remarkable pieces of work.

Finally, if you're not into Lost yet (or have given up on it along the way for one reason or another), I can only stress to you one last time how exceptional a show it is. It's a thriller of sorts, so clues are provided as you watch each episode, but you have to be paying close attention. And not everything gets revealed at once. But there's certainly new stuff each week to keep you guessing and hold your interest. I'd recommend hiring (or buying, if you're really keen) seasons one and two (season two will be available the same date the third season starts airing in the US - 4th October - coincidence?) and try to watch them before next February, when the third season is sure to start airing in Australia. There's plenty of time for you to do that (if it sounds like too much to watch, MelbourneGirl will be able to testify that it's the sort of show you can speed through really quickly), and I promise you: You won't regret it.



* Translation for those of you who don't speak Klingon: "Shut up! Don't be silly! Where is the bathroom?"


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