Lost: It only ends once

The instant reaction to the final episode of 'Lost' was of polarization. But wasn't the whole genius behind the show's storytelling about polar opposites? Those who were expecting the answers to the Hurley bird and why Walt was special were left disappointed. Those, however, who had learned to enjoy 'Lost' as a journey watched a spectacular finale


It was inevitable that the final hours of Lost would not please everyone. And it was inevitable that the instant reactions would be polarized, very much like the themes of opposites that marked the series from its very first episode. Waking up to a new era on Monday, messages flooded Twitter, Facebook, and eons of blogs. The instant reaction of the fans and casual viewers alike was of shock.

With its overarching themes on spirituality, Lost had always played on the clash between faith and rationality. From very early on, it had dubbed its leading protagonists Jack and Locke as “man of science” and “man of faith.” And throughout a journey of nearly six years, Lost also divided its audience into two similar groupings.

The first group were those fixated on answers, and to some extent, equated the approaching finale only with a string of rational answers that would shed light on the mysteries of the island. The second group, on the other hand, had realized at some stage that Lost had never really been about answers. They realized that with its twists and turns, epic storytelling, and occasional blundering, Lost was enjoyed by most as a journey, and mostly a journey of its characters.

Having been enlightened to a more relaxed way of viewership, very much like its characters in the Sideways universe of Season 6, Lost became a rich and stimulating experience spanning the years.

Luckily, I was the second type of viewer. I had long ago learned that I was a “man of faith,” not in many respects, but surely when watching Lost. Another driving motto of the series also rang true for the type of audience I, and millions of others, were: “Whatever happened, happened.”

Everything didn’t necessarily need to happen for a reason, and as long as Lost kept us engaged, we didn’t really care, however, as over the top as some of the episodes were (island disappearing, really?), or how amateurishly some of the mythology was explained (Jacob’s mother and the heart of the island), or if it was even explained at all.

And for enjoying the epic, funny, heartfelt, and absurd journey that was Lost, we were rewarded with a spectacular ending on Sunday. Despite its flirting with science fiction, its themes on religion, spirituality and philosophy, Lost had always been a character-driven show.

At the center of its occasionally overwhelming mysteries and mythologies, it all boiled down to the inner demons, problems and motivations of its characters. We learned, very early on, that the characters we cared about were all broken and that, somehow, the island was a place where each got a blank cheque, a clean slate (“tabula rasa” for the fans) to face their demons and get fixed.



‘See you in another life, brutha’’

The final episode of Lost, in its heart, served as a closure for all of the characters we had loved, hated, loved to hate, but, most importantly, cared about. Learning that the Sideways story was some sort of a limbo, a place where each character needed to go to “move on,” was a fitting tribute to the stories of each character. Putting everyone in limbo, into a re-imagined purgatory might seem over the top. But hey, this was a series that caused an island to vanish before our eyes, that sent its characters on time travel and that gave us one of the most ridiculous monsters in pop culture.

Those expecting clear-cut answers to these absurdities were disappointed and felt cheated. As if a list of answers – or lack thereof – would somehow change the experience of having become part of an incredible journey. It seems that these viewers would have been happier if the executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse would have just read them the answers. That the island acquired its electromagnetic anomaly in 2142 BC, that the sum of the mysterious numbers of Lost multiplied by 815 would add up to the sum square meters of the island, that Jacob’s mother was the descendant of an Egyptian deity.

I, for one, cannot understand how a devoted Lost audience would prefer to know the answer to what Hurley bird is as opposed to seeing Jack saying, “See you in another life, brutha’,” to Desmond or watching the emotional reunion of Sawyer and Juliet.

We now understand that the writers and producers didn’t know the whole story from the beginning (nobody will believe that they knew who the Adam and Eve skeletons were). But this makes the final season and the final episode all the much better. Having cornered themselves into this elaborate web of mysteries and finding their way out in the most elegant way seems all the more genius on the writers’ part.

Lost was an amazing ride of intricate narratives, an ingenious blend of genres, interactive viewership, and storytelling at its best. I, for one, was happy to have jumped on that wagon six years ago, and feel that I was able to have said my goodbye, albeit a sad one.

Originally published in Hürriyet Daily News on 26 May 2010