Lost

I haven’t seen this show in quite some time so bare with me, specifically regarding continuity. Lost follows the events of a plane crash and its survivors on an island. For a TV show, this premise is relatively simple with lacking conflict. What will happen? Well, what is most assumed is that the survivors will fight over resources on the island against each other. If this was the case, it would be quick end to the show, probably only lasting a couple of seasons. Ultimately, the show lasted 6 whole seasons, inevitably catering to its audience with a vague unpredictable mystery. Through the many seasons, the characters uncover the deepest mysterious of where exactly they are lost. As well “Lost” bolsters a brilliant cast of actors, many of who began their fame on this show.

Season 1 and most of Season 2 explain exactly what I stated. The conflict is mostly between characters aka the survivors of the plane crash. We see the rise of fall of power, the formation of cliques, secrecy, and most importantly, greed. Though, near the end of Season 2, we begin to realize that not everything adds up with the environment, not only are there others on the island, but also the island has “magical” properties.

The beginning of Season 3 comes with a whirlwind of questions and mysterious. Survivors of plane crash open the season captured by the inhabitants of the island. Though, audiences and reviewers alike criticized the writers for creating too many mysterious and evidently not providing enough answers. Ultimately, this clearly showed with the viewership, as the audience numbers started off strong in the early part of the season due to anticipation and ultimately leveled off throughout the latter part of the season.

For Seasons 4, 5, and 6 there is just way too much to explain and I wouldn’t want to spoil the show. What I would say is that if you missed roughly a single minute of the show, you may have no clue what is happening, meaning it requires the ultimate attention. Plus, be ready for the lack of emotion in the writers. They do not care about your feelings and would be happy to eliminate your favorite character.

What made this show such a catch was not necessarily the plot, but the attention level required to stay with the show. Audiences were almost forced to pay attention out of fear of missing important and crucial information to the plot of the show. Solely what drives this show is its mystery. We as the audience want to see the discoveries of the island made by our favorite characters, and trust me, we can’t miss a discovery.

Like any good show, we see solid character development and a common tone among show writing techniques. However, in regard to theme, “Lost” is all over the place. It took me a while to gather where the show was going throughout the seasons. In reality, “Lost” is very unpredictable, which has its benefits at times but also a possibility for shortcomings. The shortcomings arise when answers needed for the show aren’t given.

(Note: If you have seen this show then you probably know the ending makes zero sense)

I could comment on the discrepancies in the ending of the show, but many have already done so. Reading through the multitude of reviews on the ending, I gathered that much of the audience purely is disappointed because the answers weren’t delivered on a silver platter. Sometime shows don’t have the easiest or most-simple ending, especially with a show as complex as “Lost”.

All together, I came to the realization that the show doesn’t portray the “who” or “how” like many shows do. It shows the “what”, that being the island itself. The ultimate mystery that leaves the audience questioning reality is the island. Overtime, beloved characters lost to the island, become forgotten and washed away, because of the greater focus on the “what”. Similarly, the development of the show revolves around the island rather than necessarily the characaters. We as the audience, do not know the origin of the island, but we recognize its bizarre abilities of time disruption and its relationship to life, death, and creation.

My Rating: 7/10

IMDb Rating: 8.3/10

TV.com: 9.1/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 85%