Lost

Lost will be remembered as an immensely creative show that kept its viewers entertained every episode, despite the fact that it ended very different from the way it began. The show used elements of science-fiction when it used to just be a drama, as the later seasons had time travel and multiple dimensions and other parts reminiscent of a sci-fi. The show, however, never forgot its roots as a drama, and never became a true sci-fi with mindless explosions and cheap action. Looking back at what I so intensely watched for six years, I can hardly believe that I enjoyed the crazy plots and weird occurrences as much as I did. But I guess that was the show’s charm, how it kept millions of people tuning in each week. It kept us guessing, and it kept us enamored with its characters. Hurley was the big man with the bigger heart. Kate was the Angelina Jolie-type action heroine. And Jack was the uncompromising leader. These characters along with the many others of the show’s ensemble cast were why we tuned in each week, and in Season 6, when the story was bizarre, we tuned in each week because we cared about the characters. Some people I know loved Season 6. Others hated it. Maybe that’s a tribute to the writers, who didn’t sell out to appeal to casual viewers, but instead insisted that their show was exactly how they envisioned it.
Season 6 was much darker than the preceding five seasons in terms of content. For the first time in the series, you felt like it may not be a happy ending. The constant allusions to the ongoing battle of good vs. evil never suggested that good wins every time. The “Man in Black” (O’Quinn) was the rather blatant personification of evil, and was the main problem facing the characters. Lost is unique in the fact that while the “Man in Black” was its ultimate antagonist, he was almost non-existent for the first four seasons, only showing up in a different form as the Smoke Monster. The Survivors first had to worry about getting off the island, and then once they discovered the Others, they had to worry about them. Then once they found out that Widmore’s men were coming to the island, they had to worry about them. Then once the ones that remained on the island started moving through time and experienced painful ”flashes”, they had to worry about that. And finally, they had to worry about a seemingly invincible, non-human entity in a dead human’s body- the Man in Black. Even though it all sounds like on cheesy fantasy plot after another with the sole purpose of extending the show’s run, it really didn’t come across as forced. And for that both the writers and the cast should be praised, as they were able to keep us not only interested but captivated.
One important aspect of the season was how it used “flash sideways” to tell a separate story, which was the fate of the characters if the plane never crashed. All along, however, you feel like they are still connected with one another, and we do see their paths meet and what happens when they do. The “flash sideways” provided an interesting look into the characters’ lives that we never were able to see. The show had spent its early seasons using flashbacks to give us a deeper understanding of each character as it took us to their lives previous to the crash. The flashback showed us why each character was on that plane and who they actually were, as opposed to the facades that some put on on the island. Later, the show used “flash forwards” where it showed us what happened to some of the characters when they got off the island in the future, and the problems they ran into. But the “flash sideways” was the most creative, as we saw a whole alternate timeline. This gave the show a fresh aspect to it that was great.
Like the other five seasons, Season 6 used an ensemble cast, with a wide array of character types. Matthew Fox was terrific in his role of Jack, who was a successful surgeon before the crash, and after assumes a leadership role among the Survivors. Fox made Jack a tough guy who was very vocal in his opinions, and seldom backed down, but also added a vulnerable side to Jack. Josh Holloway was also great in his role as James “Sawyer” Ford, the brutish, ex-con man who had a soft side. In Season 6, we see him grieving over the loss of the woman he was in love with, Juliet. Terry O’Quinn made the Man in Black truly evil, and for that he deserves a lot of credit. Michael Emerson played former Other leader Ben, where it’s never easy to tell whether he’s good or bad. Evangeline Lilly, Jorge Garcia, and Daniel Dae Kim are all great in their roles, as Kate, Hurley, and Jin, respectively, and deserve special mention. The rest of the cast are all very good in their roles. I can’t remember seeing one character that wasn’t well acting or cast well. And because every character is interesting and well acted, the show was able to focus on one of them one episode, then focus on another character the next without missing a beat.
Lost was one of the most popular shows of the decade, and for good reason. The last season had to be good, so as to not tarnish what had been accomplished in the first five seasons. And Season 6 was good. It did get bizarre, but it didn’t out of desperation, it did out of want. The finale alienated some fans, but it kept true to the show’s theme, and I think over time the fans that didn’t like it will appreciate it. Instead of answering all of the questions that Lost viewers had, the writers left much of the answers ambiguous, which, now looking back, was the right thing to do, as answering those questions would have taken focus off the ending. It was difficult to see Lost end, but at least it didn’t drag itself out past the point of respectability, and it ended at the right time. Yes, Season 6 could have been better, but it was a fitting end to the show and will help us look back fondly on Lost.