No, the writer's have said over and over again after the show ended that they were absolutely not in purgatory on the island.
Carlton Cuse:
Damon Lindelof:
Television Lost: The Final Season
- Thread starter The Flying Potato
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No, the writer's have said over and over again after the show ended that they were absolutely not in purgatory on the island.
Carlton Cuse:
Damon Lindelof:
Ah, I was wrong. Cool!
Still would have preferred it all to have been the dog's dream.
Episode 16 of season 1 now. So good!
I can't see Season 2+ on Sky Go though so may have to stop soon.
Episode 16 of season 1 now. So good!
I can't see Season 2+ on Sky Go though so may have to stop soon.
Exactly, but it confused many people cause they had that still of the plane wreckage on the beach with no signs of life over the credits.
The Flash-Forward/sideways in the final season (I doubt it is the case in the rest of the seasons, but you could make a case for it) WAS a purgatory of sorts, but any island scenes were real.
I don't think so, I seem to recall it being written by a guy called Vozzek, I might look into that one though, I'm sure it's a different take entirely
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A point so many fail to actually understand.
Nope. What happened on the island happened. They've always been clear on that.
I started rewatching this a few weeks a go. Currently in fifth season.
IMO they never had a defined ending like they said all along. Too many inconsistencies in the story for that.
IMO they never had a defined ending like they said all along. Too many inconsistencies in the story for that.
Aye. They said that things were not concluded until about three years before the series finale aired.
You're being very kind to him.
No, Damon Lindelof has explicitly said, as clear as possible, that the island was not purgatory.
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/s1...ending-they-were-not-dead-the-whole-time.html
EDIT: Which someone already pointed out. Sorry.
The writers have acknowledged plenty of times that they had to do a bit of improvisation during the first few years. That's the nature of the media - you don't know how long your show will run so you have to make sure you keep the essential storylines open.
The turning point was when they got an end-date after season three. They agreed with ABC that the show would run for three more years and that would be it. So they were able to pace the story better from then on. Which was quite a novelty to the tv media, in truth, and one of the reason why today, you see more series that are specifically designed to run only a few years, rather than (potentially) forever. For instance Breaking Bad, which Gilligan always envisaged as a four-season series.
Yes!
Would have liked to see it go on for at least another season? Or were they right to end it where they did? I mean what else could they have gone on to though?
They repeatedly joked that season 7 was Zombie season, with those two, I wouldn't like to call the bluff.
There was plenty of story they could have told would have been a drop in quality though, probably, I feel they ended it at the best point with people still craving more. I'd have just like to have a more final drop of info on what and how the island did what it did, cause I'm a nerd.
I'm well aware of all that, I was obsessed with the show when it first aired.
They did however repeatedly state they knew how the show would end and how they would reach that point, which they didn't IMO.
I remember them stating there would be a scientific explanation to the smoke monster, so many speculated nano machines. It was then explained in such a weak manner with no real explanation to the cause of what created it.
I'm noticing the plot holes a lot more watching each season consecutively.
I believe they had a vague idea on how they'd end up on some of the more basic storylines, but yeah, in terms of how they got there they were winging it.
They've admitted that after the show ended but I agree, during the first few years they pretended to have it all planned out, which clearly wasn't the case.
To be fair, they were pretty spectacular at improvising.
At the time I truly believed they had the whole plot planned, but as I'm watching it now it's clear they reacted to fans responses a lot.
Ben was never supposed to be the leader of the others or a recurring character, but because of his popularity he became a main character, they killed off Nikki and Paulo because fans hated them and there are other examples of servicing the fans.
For years they claimed time travel would not happen. I honestly think the island was meant to be purgatory, when that was obvious in season one they were supposed to be dead, and due to denials of that theory they had no choice but to go the time travel route. They did do well creating a time travel method that wouldn't mess up the zeitgeist they created.
This is not true - a lot of what went is debatable but this isn't. That's the one aspect the writers were certain on.
Other than denials after the fact, is there any evidence of this?
They only denied it after it became the leading theory.
If the whole island thingy wasnt purgatory, then when they left the island/rescued to lead normal lives in season 4, why wasnt that real? They didnt time travel at that time did they?
I felt it was easily a season too long. I dont think the "freighter" storyline was all that important, although it did bring us Faraday i suppose.
That arc was decimated by the writers strike.
Yeah. They denied this BUT there were huge rumours of the writers scrambling to figure out a new path after people claimed it was all purgatory.
It would explain two things.
One, why it seemed that they had little to no direction with a lot of their coincidences and mysteries.
Two, that they in some way managed to still include a "purgatory" type scenario into the story and of course the eventual ending.
Comes down to your perception of matters but to me its clearly explained by Jack's Dad in the end. The original Oceanic 815 plane crash happened. Everything on the Island through seasons 1-6 happened. The “flash sideways” was a purgatory element which was down to the characters not being able to resolve issues they had in their life (Jack and his dad, Kate murdering someone, Sawyer not happy with himself etc). When they made contact with those people they’d met on the Island, they remembered the journey they had throughout their time on the island, and could then understand their actual purpose. With that greater understanding of themselves, they were each ready to “leave” purgatory.
The great thing about the show is the debate it created....and clearly still does.
I just don't agree with that. The purgatory theory started after the very first episode. I just don't buy that the writers moved goalposts on the back of that. I think they were set on what the island was the whole time.
Are you talking about the last episode when each of them like touch one another (sounds dirty) and they remember things?
Yes.....not in the dirty sense!
But if everything actually happened, then why didnt they recognize each other when they saw each other at the wedding or what ever event they were at? Sorry my mind is hazy on a few things since I binged watched the whole show within 4 weeks. So cant remember all the details. Why was the touch so important in bringing things back?
Cant explain that - the writers really emphasised that they could sense one another as important but couldn't work out why and for Jack "touching" Kate was his trigger to remember .
They did even write the finale until iirc about 3 weeks from the date it aired.
I imagine they had bullet points to hit but the majority of the story was unwritten until near the end, the idea that they didn't have an clue of how it all should end is daft, also that it didn't change dramatically based on evolution of story/audience reaction is equally wrong. GRR Martin talked about this fairly recently that there are soo many people on the internet talking, debating and extrapolating any foreshadowing it's hard to do something unexpected.
It's very possible that they moved the goal posts of how it was originally supposed to end just because so many people called it in season 1.
Look at the problem they had yourself, you're the lead writer on this monster hit show but people have guessed your end game, what do you do ?
I imagine they had bullet points to hit but the majority of the story was unwritten until near the end, the idea that they didn't have an clue of how it all should end is daft, also that it didn't change dramatically based on evolution of story/audience reaction is equally wrong. GRR Martin talked about this fairly recently that there are soo many people on the internet talking, debating and extrapolating any foreshadowing it's hard to do something unexpected.
It's very possible that they moved the goal posts of how it was originally supposed to end just because so many people called it in season 1.
Look at the problem they had yourself, you're the lead writer on this monster hit show but people have guessed your end game, what do you do ?
I'd have to watch it again to be precise but, as I recall the entire last seasons of flashsideways were pretty much for Jack's benefit.
The whole cast of characters were in limbo, or purgatory, if you prefer.
The basic principle of how the afterlife worked in the show's mythology is that you die, you go to the flash sideways world and live this quasi-perfect alternate life as a holding pattern until all the most important people in your life, people that made the biggest impact, are ready to go on to the next plane/ return to the wheel and be reborn (it's unclear on what happens next).
This is Jack, even though he dies pretty early amongst this group of friends at any rate, he's the last twig but is our guide as the audience, as he always has been.
The touching thing was them remembering their past lives and realising that it was time to meet up and go on to the next plane.
I agree that I think originally the Island was meant to be purgatory. Given how it was going, I think the whole idea was that the characters were special to each other and the plane did take off and crash (but the island which nobody could reach or know about was purgatory). And all the flashbacks they had were them holding onto a past they couldnt let go of and the island and the people on their were there to help them move on,
The french lady being there for aaaaages and not being able to get help because nobody could really help her until she got over her own issues.
I do think the writers panicked because their endgame was guessed and they had to deny it. but they still incorporated the purgatory but had to do so in a sideways flash.
The series was fun, but once it was done, I didnt feel the satisfaction that I got after watching The Shield, The Wire or Breaking Bad. Im not comparing them, just that in a way, I felt Lost seemed like a waste and this is despite really enjoying the finale as an episode. It was a bizarre show but defo one that got lots of people talking.
The french lady being there for aaaaages and not being able to get help because nobody could really help her until she got over her own issues.
I do think the writers panicked because their endgame was guessed and they had to deny it. but they still incorporated the purgatory but had to do so in a sideways flash.
The series was fun, but once it was done, I didnt feel the satisfaction that I got after watching The Shield, The Wire or Breaking Bad. Im not comparing them, just that in a way, I felt Lost seemed like a waste and this is despite really enjoying the finale as an episode. It was a bizarre show but defo one that got lots of people talking.
Very shortly I think it has to do with that they had to find and connect with the people who were the most important to them when they were alive in order to "remember" or "accept" that they were dead and then move on. I think it is a beautiful take on the whole afterlife theme.
It was the guy who played jack who said that it was open to interpretation, I remember now!
I think the writers should be the source when it comes to these matters
Matthew Fox could just have been diplomatic when he answered that particular question - if he did.Yeah it was a long time since I watched (or thought about) Lost.I think the writers should be the source when it comes to these matters
Makes sense that but I dont remember the ending. Im in the process of rewatching the whole show to see if I make better sense of everything. I have to rewatch this part to be better able to talk about it.
At the time i loved the whole 'Others' not being a bunch of wildlings twist but looking back it probably would of been best if they went in that direction.
I'll tell you what. As silly as the idea of those numbers was to begin with, the ending of that first episode they appeared was fecking brilliant. Added so much excitement about the hatch.
Which episode was that? I've forgotten it.