sapphi_snake said:
09tarheel said:
sapphi_snake said:
09tarheel said:
I'm not sure how the ending was a cop-out, when I think of a cop-out I think of something not planned or made up as they go along. I feel they pretty clearly knew what the flash-sideways were from the begining of the season with Rose telling Jack "Its okay, you can let go now" being one of the first scenes of the season. While I was surprised by what the Flash-sideways ended up being, I do think it was in keeping with some of the early themes of the show, especially Jacks inability to accept death in the first season (The loss of his father, not giving up on Charlie after Ethan hung him even though he seemed long gone, trying to chop Boone's leg off with that door instead of admitting he was going to die, etc.), although I do think on rewatch it will give the 6th season kind of a jarring presence going back and forth between the two timelines. I agree that it wasn't of the series' very best episodes, but it still a very good episode. It had some really strong emotional moments, as well as as some very cool action and epic visuals.
For the series as a whole I would have a hard time being convinced that this is not the best drama of all time on American Broadcast TV. Personally I think it may be the best show period but that it really a tough thing to decide going between genres and taking into account the different times that shows came out. I know a lot of people think shows like The Wire, The Sorpranos or even Mad Men are all better, but I think while they are all great they don't quite match up to Lost as a whole.
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The ending was a cop-out because the writers were to lazy or incapable of giving satisfying answers to the shows mysteries, so they took the easy way out by making a sentimental, manipulative ending, that not only didn't answer anything, but it also made it as if the mystery was unimportant (even though going by the hundred of threads made by fans speculating about the mysteries of the island, a LOT of people really card about the mystery). Also, the show's creators saying that the show was always about the characters... bull. the show was never about the characters. Al i can say is that I have never been left so unsatisfied by a show... ever. I'm actually glad this POS is over.
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I can undestand dissapointment about not having a mystery you were interested in directly answered, there were a couple left hanging that I would liked to have had answered but I think they were minor. I'm curious what major questions were left that people think went unanswered, the biggest one I can think of is how Walt was special. The other questions that may not have been specifically addressed were at least given enough clues to draw your own conclusion.
I can't understand people saying this show had not always been about characters. One of the major things the show got acclaim/attention for was how large and diverse its ensemble cast of characters was. At least half of each episode we're character focuesd of island storylines, that served the sole purpose of character study/building using the flashback/forward/sideways device. That character devise was there from the 2nd episode of the series. Also, even the on island story episodes frequently had little to do with mysteries and more about who the characters were. I understand that it was often the mysteries that got people hooked initially, but to say that the show had been predominantly about mysteries just is not true imo, I think at the very least it was a 75:25 character to mysteries/mythology ratio.
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The biggest questions left unanswered were related to the origin of the island and of the supernatural elements of the island. Also, I failed to see why the man in black was evil. Jacob seemed more evil than him.
As for teh characters. The show was never about the characters. The parts of the show that dealt with the characters dealt with the characters' connection to the island. Episodes that dealt exclusively with the characters (like Starnger in a Starnge Land) are considered to be some of the show's worst. The mistery was always the best part of the show. The characters were really boring and uninteresting and the pseudo religious nonsense presented as "answers" at the end of the show were really crappy.
Uncreative, lazy writing at it's best. I would've been more satisfied if it was all just a dream.
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I don't want it to sound like I'm saying you are wrong for liking the show for the mysteries as clearly there was enough substance there to latch on to, but I just can't understand the viewpoint that the show was not about the characters. As for the origins of the island and supernatural stuff, I think that is the point just like any origin story you get to a certain point and say ok but what was before that? Just like if you look at Eath, whether you subscribe to a Creationism or Big Big Theory apporach, there is still the question of what was before that? Also I think a lot of the supernatural stuff like the glowly light in the cave was just the main source of electromagnetic energy we had been hearing about for many seasons.
For the Jacob/Man in Black, I think that is the point, the show has always suggested things aren't Black and White, there are shades of gray. The Man in Black was sypathetic in many ways, but he was evil because in order to get off the island the rules said the candiates must die, the candidates being the characters that we had watched for so long, and are therefore we are naturally on the side of the candiates. I think the fact that the show's longest mystery "what is the monster" became a question about "who is the smoke monster" is the best evidence that characters have always been the center of the show.
I don't really think it is fair to pick the episode that was at the height of the show having to stall its progress because of a lack of a set end date for the series as evidence that the characters are boring. I think if you we're to look up a list of the show's best moments many of the ones you would find would include; Desmond and Penny's phone conversation in The Constant, the massive character development for Jack in Through the Looking Glass when he tells Kate "We have to go Back"; or Charlie's moving death scene in the same episode. Admittedly many of the character moments we're related to the island, but similarly many of the reasons the island's mysteries were interesting we're because of how they related back to the characters.
