It's been about two months since the Lost finale aired, two long months in between blogging. I'm not sure what you call that except maybe, bad blogging. Even though Lost has been over for awhile, I can't let it end without commenting one last time. It was such a big part of my tv life and I'm sad it's gone. Its noticeable absence from San Diego Comic Con was one of the first signs that it really is over.
So, what about that finale? As an episode of television it was great; as a series finale, one that resonates, redeems characters, and retains some mystery it was brilliant; as the final word, that last chance for fans to understand the mythology that is Lost, well, on that point, I gotta say, it sucked.
That is in fact my main issue with the finale, and to a greater extent the last season: it just didn't connect the dots very well. Darlton spent five years weaving mystery with character, making us care both about the who and the why of the show. This was done at a consistently good level, and sometimes a great one. "The Constant", many fans favourite episode (including me) is a fabulous example of both. So why then does the last season feel so disconnected from the other five? Why did we meet so many new characters (Drogen, Zoe, Lennon) to have them not really mean anything, whilst barely revisiting Eloise Hawking and Penny? I refrained from complaining about too much during the season, because I had faith the writers would tie it together. But I don't really think they did.
Darlton have said, rightly so, that Lost was their story and they must write it true to their vision. But, I think it's slightly disingenuous to spend five years building a mythology and having incredible attention to detail, to then say it's just about the characters. Still it's hard to not think they realise there were mis-steps when we learn that more 'answers' (such as on Walt, who save for one of Locke's flashes, was not mentioned in the finale) are coming on the DVD. And, I simply wish that those answers would have come through the show.
Anyway, I put that part first because while I needed to say it, I don't want that to be my last word. Because when I let go of that, what I see is a genuinely good episode that made me cry and made me proud to have been a fan since day 1. The emotional payoff for spending six seasons with these characters was amazing. The last 15 minutes to me were some of the best Lost has to offer. From Locke and Ben's final exchange, to Jack being the last holdout, they stayed true to the characters, whilst also showing their growth over the five season. Jack finding his Dad, and seeing all (well most all) our original crew back was great nostalgia. In fact, the best trick of Season Six was making me care about Jack, and by the time his eyes closed (in a perfect framing device), with Vincent at his side once again, I was genuinely moved.
The legacy of Lost will live on, both through websites like Lostpedia, but also as a standard for main stream sci-fi that can appeal to the masses (or at least more than most sci-fi shows). There won't ever be another show like Lost, but hopefully more shows will aspire to be like Lost--and that can only be a good thing for tv fans.
No comments:
Post a Comment