Well, I guess it's about time I write my
LOST Series Finale blog post. I have decided to spare the one or two of you who read my blog from having to sit through an intolerably long post. I mean, I know when I go to other people's blogs I skip the really long entries. So, I will try to keep it relatively brief.
Anyway, let's dive in. I have already stated in my preliminary
LOST blog post that the Finale was AWESOME so now it's time to explain a little about what made it awesome. There are several things that are necessary for any story to be able to enjoy long term popularity. One of these is that it has to answer enough questions for the audience to come away from the experience feeling like the story came to a satisfying conclusion but it also needs to leave enough questions unanswered so there are still things left to wonder about, to talk about and to theorize about. If a story doesn't do this though it may enjoy a lot of popularity while the story is still unfinished the popularity will likely fizzle out not long after the last episode airs, the last movie comes out or the last book is published.
LOST managed to get the balance right. The finale (well, really the whole final season) provided enough answers to make me feel like the story wrapped up nicely. But, there is still plenty to wonder about. What was so special about Walt? Why did the big Egyptian looking statue only have four toes on it's foot? Did the man in black actually have a name? What is the nature of the island? Why was Micheal's spirit doomed to spend eternity on the island for committing two murders while Ben who killed a lot more people didn't get that punishment?
Now, as great as this was there were still a few problems. The biggest one was that there were some things in the finale that made it look as though everybody had actually died in the plane crash and that everything that we've been watching for the past six seasons was just these people in purgatory or it was all a dream that happened in someone's dying moment. Basically, it got some people a bit confused about whether everything we have been watching actually happened or not. But, in spite of the confusion, this is defiantly not what happened. First of all, the whole "everybody-really-died-in-the-crash" theory has been around since the beginning of the show but the creators made it clear very early on that the people of Oceanic flight 815 were
not dead and that the island was a real place that physically existed somewhere in the world. Also, if this theory was correct that would be a big, fat smack in the face to all the fans because it would essentially be saying that we wasted all these years invested in a story just to find out that none of it really happened. As Sawyer would say that would be quite the "Long Con." Fortunately, that is not the case.
I like how the exact nature of the "sideways universe" is still somewhat up for grabs. However, it seems the basic idea is that it is a place our characters collectively created in the afterlife to allow them all to find each other so they could move on together. I thought that was a really great way to rap things up especially since they brought so many people back that we hadn't seen in a long time. The best part though was the final scene and the way it mirrored the opening scene of the series with Jack lying in the same spot and seeing his eye close as he died.
Well, so much for not writing a long blog post. I should have known I couldn't do this in less than a bajillion words. I could go on forever but I shall end now by saying this:
As far as I am concerned LOST is the greatest TV show ever made and if it ever falls from the top spot it won't be for a long time. So, it is time to bid farewell to
LOST. It's been great. As corny as it may sound there has never been a TV show that has meant as much to me as this one has. Oh, and by the way, the complete series comes out on DVD August 24th (three days before my birthday. Hint Hint!).
Well, I guess it's about time I write my LOST Series Finale blog post. I have decided to spare the one or two of you who read my blog from having to sit through an intolerably long post. I mean, I know when I go to other people's blogs I skip the really long entries. So, I will try to keep it relatively brief.
Anyway, let's dive in. I have already stated in my preliminary LOST blog post that the Finale was AWESOME so now it's time to explain a little about what made it awesome. There are several things that are necessary for any story to be able to enjoy long term popularity. One of these is that it has to answer enough questions for the audience to come away from the experience feeling like the story came to a satisfying conclusion but it also needs to leave enough questions unanswered so there are still things left to wonder about, to talk about and to theorize about. If a story doesn't do this though it may enjoy a lot of popularity while the story is still unfinished the popularity will likely fizzle out not long after the last episode airs, the last movie comes out or the last book is published. LOST managed to get the balance right. The finale (well, really the whole final season) provided enough answers to make me feel like the story wrapped up nicely. But, there is still plenty to wonder about. What was so special about Walt? Why did the big Egyptian looking statue only have four toes on it's foot? Did the man in black actually have a name? What is the nature of the island? Why was Micheal's spirit doomed to spend eternity on the island for committing two murders while Ben who killed a lot more people didn't get that punishment?
Now, as great as this was there were still a few problems. The biggest one was that there were some things in the finale that made it look as though everybody had actually died in the plane crash and that everything that we've been watching for the past six seasons was just these people in purgatory or it was all a dream that happened in someone's dying moment. Basically, it got some people a bit confused about whether everything we have been watching actually happened or not. But, in spite of the confusion, this is defiantly not what happened. First of all, the whole "everybody-really-died-in-the-crash" theory has been around since the beginning of the show but the creators made it clear very early on that the people of Oceanic flight 815 were not dead and that the island was a real place that physically existed somewhere in the world. Also, if this theory was correct that would be a big, fat smack in the face to all the fans because it would essentially be saying that we wasted all these years invested in a story just to find out that none of it really happened. As Sawyer would say that would be quite the "Long Con." Fortunately, that is not the case.
I like how the exact nature of the "sideways universe" is still somewhat up for grabs. However, it seems the basic idea is that it is a place our characters collectively created in the afterlife to allow them all to find each other so they could move on together. I thought that was a really great way to rap things up especially since they brought so many people back that we hadn't seen in a long time. The best part though was the final scene and the way it mirrored the opening scene of the series with Jack lying in the same spot and seeing his eye close as he died.
Well, so much for not writing a long blog post. I should have known I couldn't do this in less than a bajillion words. I could go on forever but I shall end now by saying this: As far as I am concerned LOST is the greatest TV show ever made and if it ever falls from the top spot it won't be for a long time. So, it is time to bid farewell to LOST. It's been great. As corny as it may sound there has never been a TV show that has meant as much to me as this one has. Oh, and by the way, the complete series comes out on DVD August 24th (three days before my birthday. Hint Hint!).
I get the hint sweetie :)
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