Television Was the ending to Lost really THAT bad? | Yes

Been rewatching it lately, great show. The ending was solid and satisfying. No idea why people compare it to the trainwreck ending of GOT.

I think Lost is one of those shows you appreciate more on a rewatch. So many interesting bits and details I missed the first time because I was too busy getting mindfecked by all the storylines and plot twists.
 
Samid said:
Been rewatching it lately, great show. The ending was solid and satisfying. No idea why people compare it to the trainwreck ending of GOT.

I think Lost is one of those shows you appreciate more on a rewatch. So many interesting bits and details I missed the first time because I was too busy getting mindfecked by all the storylines and plot twists.
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More than the ending, final season storyline of "flash sideways" gets criticised. Also the Across the Sea episode which was supposed answers to key mythology of the show was a load of bollocks too. Overall the series messed up in first half of S3 and a bit in S2 mostly by focussing too much on introducing new mysteries and questions every week. 4th and 5th season were strong but could not fully wrap up the open threads they had left. It will always remain a milestone show given the influence it had on television.
 
From memory season 1-3 is pure suspenseful television masterpiece. 4 was crap. 5 was better. 6 was ok but a realisation that they had written themselves into too many corners.
 
I thought it was a great show end to end.
 
Lost went to shit way before the ending. I used to love it when it first aired. Still an incredible pilot episode (one of the best) and a very good first season. But they really were just making it all up as they went along. Crazy to think really that they would be allowed to do that. If you ever read the treatment it's stipulated in there that the mystery of the show has a lot to do with the fact that they themselves didn't know where it was going to go from one season to the next. Basically, just continue to ask questions without knowing the answers beforehand

Unfortunately, that showed, and the show just became a bit of a mess.
 
Samid said:
Been rewatching it lately, great show. The ending was solid and satisfying. No idea why people compare it to the trainwreck ending of GOT.

I think Lost is one of those shows you appreciate more on a rewatch. So many interesting bits and details I missed the first time because I was too busy getting mindfecked by all the storylines and plot twists.
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Totally agree! LOST is my all time favorite show. I’m also rewatching it for the umpteenth time now…just watched «Some Like it Hoth» from season 5.
 
SirAF said:
Totally agree! LOST is my all time favorite show. I’m also rewatching it for the umpteenth time now…just watched «Some Like it Hoth» from season 5.
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I did my honeymoon in Hawaii and did a tour of all the locations on the show. Me and my wife absolutely love it.
 
Samid said:
Been rewatching it lately, great show. The ending was solid and satisfying. No idea why people compare it to the trainwreck ending of GOT.

I think Lost is one of those shows you appreciate more on a rewatch. So many interesting bits and details I missed the first time because I was too busy getting mindfecked by all the storylines and plot twists.
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Another "Totally agree" I've only rewatched it the once cos so many episides but it was a breeze, was also surprised there was a fair bit of foreshadowing in the early season showing not everything was "made up as they went along". A lot of people just didn't understand the ending at all, still here people say "they were dead all along wern't they?" or something daft.
 
Watched it through again last year, unbelievable start and middle, wanders off a bit toward the end but IMO the ending was perfect and very emotional, I was crying my eyes out. Landmark show.
 
Simbo said:
Another "Totally agree" I've only rewatched it the once cos so many episides but it was a breeze, was also surprised there was a fair bit of foreshadowing in the early season showing not everything was "made up as they went along". A lot of people just didn't understand the ending at all, still here people say "they were dead all along wern't they?" or something daft.
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It's been mentioned numerous times in this thread alone and in social media over the last decade or two. A journalist sussed out the plot from the first series and called out the writers/producers in front of cameras that everyone was already dead and in purgatory (the island). To which the producers cried NO, no, no, no, no. Not at all.

Then the producers tried to remould the remaining series trying to look cool while going feck, feck, feck under their breaths. In order to ensure they "were definitely not in purgatory, oh no sir, not at all" they fecked about with the middle and the ending which was, of course, all about them being dead. :rolleyes:
Yeah lots of foretelling/foreshadowing going on there. It was basically their whole premise if you paid attention the first time. :lol:
 
Dumbstar said:
It's been mentioned numerous times in this thread alone and in social media over the last decade or two. A journalist sussed out the plot from the first series and called out the writers/producers in front of cameras that everyone was already dead and in purgatory (the island). To which the producers cried NO, no, no, no, no. Not at all.

Then the producers tried to remould the remaining series trying to look cool while going feck, feck, feck under their breaths. In order to ensure they "were definitely not in purgatory, oh no sir, not at all" they fecked about with the middle and the ending which was, of course, all about them being dead. :rolleyes:
Yeah lots of foretelling/foreshadowing going on there. It was basically their whole premise if you paid attention the first time. :lol:
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...but they wern't all dead/purgatory. Only the last season was about them reconnnecting with each other in the afterlife once they had past away at different times on or off the island.
 
Simbo said:
...but they wern't all dead/purgatory. Only the last season was about them reconnnecting with each other in the afterlife once they had past away at different times on or off the island.
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Exactly. That's the "oh feck, oh feck, oh feck" bit the producers had to shoehorn in somehow over the next few seasons. Wasn't part of the original plan/storyline which the journalist sussed from the get go. If they were allowed to continue with the dead/purgatory plan from the first season we may have got a much smoother ride.

As a result of proving the journalist wrong they more had to keep everyone alive. So more explanations were required which led to more questions and even less explanations. Until we all got...Lost.
 
Dumbstar said:
Exactly. That's the "oh feck, oh feck, oh feck" bit the producers had to shoehorn in somehow over the next few seasons. Wasn't part of the original plan/storyline which the journalist sussed from the get go. If they were allowed to continue with the dead/purgatory plan from the first season we may have got a much smoother ride.
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So you're saying that the polar bear, the weird radio signals in French, the weird undercover natives with superhuman strength, that was building up to Purgatory? Sounds very unlikely.

What sounds more likely is that from day one until the end, the plot is connected to the idea of 'purgatory' because it's an incredibly obvious, rich metaphor to base a television show on.
 
Watched the first 2 episodes, decided it was massively overhyped shit and never went near it again.
I'll die on this hill.
 
Iker Quesadillas said:
So you're saying that the polar bear, the weird radio signals in French, the weird undercover natives with superhuman strength, that was building up to Purgatory? Sounds very unlikely.

What sounds more likely is that from day one until the end, the plot is connected to the idea of 'purgatory' because it's an incredibly obvious, rich metaphor to base a television show on.
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All of the weird shit we saw (polar bear, etc) was part of the plan but would have been smoothly explained from series 1 if they could have continued with the purgatory angle from the moment the plane crashed.

The journalist fecked that up by calling it out publicly and the producers quickly backtracked retro fitting everyone to instead being ALIVE now. Suddenly all their 'weird shit' became harder and harder to explain and it all became a mess.

Mulholland Drive example:
Imagine Mulholland Drive but with the producers suddenly deciding, no, shit, let's keep Betty alive until right at the end and see how the weird shit in the middle pans out.
 
Wasn't the smoke monster marked as cerberus on a map in season 1?

That certainly suggests they were going for some sort of afterlife story.
 
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It might have been thrown in later as a nod to those predictions.
 
I think it was an amazing show and literally changed the TV medium, but the ending was still terrible because as someone else correctly pointed out: it's way easier to ask interesting questions than give interesting answers.

There are dozens of quirky, interesting little bits and pieces in the first few seasons which just never get addressed. Which I guess is fine, it's the journey not the destination etc, but it's still frustrating for some of us who spent way too long thinking about said mysteries.

Didn't JJ Abrams say the whole thing was purgatory when he wrote the pilot? Then it was successful and it had to keep going past 1 season?
 
Beachryan said:
I think it was an amazing show and literally changed the TV medium, but the ending was still terrible because as someone else correctly pointed out: it's way easier to ask interesting questions than give interesting answers.

There are dozens of quirky, interesting little bits and pieces in the first few seasons which just never get addressed. Which I guess is fine, it's the journey not the destination etc, but it's still frustrating for some of us who spent way too long thinking about said mysteries.

Didn't JJ Abrams say the whole thing was purgatory when he wrote the pilot? Then it was successful and it had to keep going past 1 season?
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I don't think he mentioned anything about it being purgatory, but I think it's true that they didn't believe it would get picked for multiple seasons.

The creators have repeated ad nauseam that the Island wasn't purgatory anyway. It was apparently never intended to be, and the plane crash was real and they all survived it. Whether you believe them or not is up to the viewer I guess.

They genuinely had no idea where the show was going to go, which makes it interesting to a certain point, but ultimately it fails as a show, IMO. I've read the show bible (just something I like to do) and in that document, they talk about how they don't know exactly where the show is going; that it's part of the mystery. Just kind of go with the flow, type of thing. Obviously, as the series progressed they no doubt had a better idea, but it was all very loose. Which is how you end up with loads of questions without necessarily getting any satisfactory answers. This is the famous (or infamous) mystery box storytelling that JJ Abrams likes.

It's no surprise that the best aspect of the show is the characters, and after reading the bible you can see why. Lost is famous for how well-drawn and detailed each one of their characters are in that document. Each of them very well written and detailed.
 
BusbyMalone said:
I don't think he mentioned anything about it being purgatory, but I think it's true that they didn't believe it would get picked for multiple seasons.

The creators have repeated ad nauseam that the Island wasn't purgatory anyway. It was apparently never intended to be, and the plane crash was real and they all survived it. Whether you believe them or not is up to the viewer I guess.

They genuinely had no idea where the show was going to go, which makes it interesting to a certain point, but ultimately it fails as a show, IMO. I've read the show bible (just something I like to do) and in that document, they talk about how they don't know exactly where the show is going; that it's part of the mystery. Just kind of go with the flow, type of thing. Obviously, as the series progressed they no doubt had a better idea, but it was all very loose. Which is how you end up with loads of questions without necessarily getting any satisfactory answers. This is the famous (or infamous) mystery box storytelling that JJ Abrams likes.

It's no surprise that the best aspect of the show is the characters, and after reading the bible you can see why. Lost is famous for how well-drawn and detailed each one of their characters are in that document. Each of them very well written and detailed.
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This is correct. The purgatory angle is nonsense and worn out.
 
SirAF said:
This is correct. The purgatory angle is nonsense and worn out.
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The show creators didn't have a fixed idea of what it was. They were making it up as they went along. The answer they finally gave was so similar to purgatory than the difference is academic.
Wasting thought on it is pointless regardless. JJ Abrams didn't
 
caid said:
The show creators didn't have a fixed idea of what it was. They were making it up as they went along. The answer they finally gave was so similar to purgatory than the difference is academic.
Wasting thought on it is pointless regardless. JJ Abrams didn't
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Not exactly. The flashes in season 6 were some sort of purgatory yes, but this other theory was that the entire experience on the island was supposed to be purgatory - which it clearly wasn’t.
 
Lost was the first show I remember fan forums being a major thing for. Sometimes reading all the thoughts and ideas after each episode was better than the episode itself.

You would have to rank the constant in the top 10 episodes of tv ever made. That was pure writing, directing and cinematography genius.
 
SirAF said:
Not exactly. The flashes in season 6 were some sort of purgatory yes, but this other theory was that the entire experience on the island was supposed to be purgatory - which it clearly wasn’t.
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You see your making the mistake of thinking about it. If JJ Abrams gave a shit about a coherent plot or theme it would have been purgatory. It what he fell back to in S6 when he had to offer some kind of explanation (but it definitely wasn't purgatory, it was some sort of purgatory that was distinct somehow). He doesn't though he values his mystery box more. So 2 / 3 episodes in people start guessing that its purgatory and he denies it to maintain his mystery box with no clear idea of what it was.
I dont think it matters in the slightest, there wasn't that much thought put into writing it. Its a show about the characters, the mystery plot is a waste of time like all of JJ Abrams mysteries.
 
caid said:
You see your making the mistake of thinking about it. If JJ Abrams gave a shit about a coherent plot or theme it would have been purgatory. It what he fell back to in S6 when he had to offer some kind of explanation (but it definitely wasn't purgatory, it was some sort of purgatory that was distinct somehow). He doesn't though he values his mystery box more. So 2 / 3 episodes in people start guessing that its purgatory and he denies it to maintain his mystery box with no clear idea of what it was.
I dont think it matters in the slightest, there wasn't that much thought put into writing it. Its a show about the characters, the mystery plot is a waste of time like all of JJ Abrams mysteries.
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JJ Abrams doesn’t have anything to do with it. He was basically out after the pilot/season 1. Lost is the child of Lindelof (not Victor) and Carlton Cuse. I agree about the notion that it is about the characters though - and that is the most important aspect of Lost.

They even use Christian Shephard to spell out to Jack (the viewers) that everything that happened on the island was real, in case some people were to misunderstand. It’s not even up for debate.



(Edit: I actually typed the comment about Christian before I found the interview and put it in! See?)
 
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SirAF said:
JJ Abrams doesn’t have anything to do with it. He was basically out after the pilot/season 1. Lost is the child of Lindelof (not Victor) and Carlton Cuse. I agree about the notion that it is about the characters though - and that is the most important aspect of Lost.

They even use Christian Shephard to spell out to Jack (the viewers) that everything that happened on the island was real, in case some people were to misunderstand. It’s not even up for debate.



(Edit: I actually typed the comment about Christian before I found the interview and put it in! See?)
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I guess i find their distinctions meaningless and trivial, the distinction was made because some dude on the internet figured out the mystery. Yes its not technically purgatory, they didn't die in the plane crash but for storytelling purposes its functionally the same. The island is constantly testing and judging them, it seems to know everything about them, their choices, their mistakes and is constantly asking questions of them. Its controlled by 2 binary figures seeking control of the island (really the people on it).
I 100% acknowledge that the show writers, actors, directors and everyone else involved in its production went very far out of their way to say it wasn't purgatory. I just think they made a show about purgatory despite that.

The desmond storyline doesn't really fit actually and i think is an excellent side story.
 
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This has been my favorite series for a long time. Even as an atheist, I loved the ending. It went all religious but it was done well imo. The symbolism alone of the last episode is fantastic.
 
So I'm rewatching this from the start. I saw it 'live' back when it was first released, but just felt like going from the top as I was a young un when season 1 first came out.

I'm 3 episodes in, initial thoughts are:

1) The acting in the pilot is a bit hammy in parts - especially from Jack and Kate.
2) There's some excellent foreshadowing in the pilot that you only get when rewatching - the first is a really odd scene after the plane has crashed, and the dust has somewhat settled...Kate looks over to Locke and he smiles an orange peel smile. It's just such a bizarre moment given what's happened (I think she's stealing shoes at the time). The second is when Walt and him begin talking and he introduces the game backgammon to him and says 'Two players, two sides. One is light, one is dark.' That's pretty much the whole show captured in that one line in the first episode.




3) Evangeline Lilly is so beautiful (to be honest, most of the female leads here are beautiful).
4) Charlie is a very central character in these first few episodes. I guess he's probably one of the 'stars' of the show given he'd only finished LotR a year or so prior. Similar to Michael who was still popular from Romeo & Juliet. Them two aside, the rest of the actors I wouldn't have known from anywhere, but as a cast, they really turn in some great performances.
5) It really is brave storytelling, and kudos to the studio behind it, that they depict a flight crash so explicitly only a few years after 9/11. I know a slate of movies / tv shows from around that timeframe were shelved due to how they'd be perceived following that incident. The plane crash is really well done and it is a genuinely shocking moment in the show.




Someone on youtube has done an epic edit of the plane crash in real time using all the scenes in other seasons (i.e. Desmond, the Others etc) and pieced it together in 24 format. I'll post it once I get to the season 2.

Anyway, more thoughts when I make my way further in.
 
There is a fan edit of lost that cuts all the flash sideways from the last season that's meant to be pretty good
 
If you want to see what's wrong with lost in the final season, just look at John Locke's character.

Not the new one. The original. Everything we went through and it ends like that
 
rcoobc said:
If you want to see what's wrong with lost in the final season, just look at John Locke's character.

Not the new one. The original. Everything we went through and it ends like that
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John Loche was pathetic, he deserved a pathetic ending and got it. Nothing wrong with that.
 
Samid said:
John Loche was pathetic, he deserved a pathetic ending and got it. Nothing wrong with that.
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Well, he was written like that. And even so, an infinitely more interesting character than Jack and Kate.

The problem with how it ended is that the show doesn't sell the "good side". From the outside POV, MIB was right.
 
The Corinthian said:
So I'm rewatching this from the start. I saw it 'live' back when it was first released, but just felt like going from the top as I was a young un when season 1 first came out.

I'm 3 episodes in, initial thoughts are:

1) The acting in the pilot is a bit hammy in parts - especially from Jack and Kate.
2) There's some excellent foreshadowing in the pilot that you only get when rewatching - the first is a really odd scene after the plane has crashed, and the dust has somewhat settled...Kate looks over to Locke and he smiles an orange peel smile. It's just such a bizarre moment given what's happened (I think she's stealing shoes at the time). The second is when Walt and him begin talking and he introduces the game backgammon to him and says 'Two players, two sides. One is light, one is dark.' That's pretty much the whole show captured in that one line in the first episode.




3) Evangeline Lilly is so beautiful (to be honest, most of the female leads here are beautiful).
4) Charlie is a very central character in these first few episodes. I guess he's probably one of the 'stars' of the show given he'd only finished LotR a year or so prior. Similar to Michael who was still popular from Romeo & Juliet. Them two aside, the rest of the actors I wouldn't have known from anywhere, but as a cast, they really turn in some great performances.
5) It really is brave storytelling, and kudos to the studio behind it, that they depict a flight crash so explicitly only a few years after 9/11. I know a slate of movies / tv shows from around that timeframe were shelved due to how they'd be perceived following that incident. The plane crash is really well done and it is a genuinely shocking moment in the show.




Someone on youtube has done an epic edit of the plane crash in real time using all the scenes in other seasons (i.e. Desmond, the Others etc) and pieced it together in 24 format. I'll post it once I get to the season 2.

Anyway, more thoughts when I make my way further in.
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I was too smashed when I originally watched bits of it in my youth, so rewatched the whole thing recently. The first few seasons are gold; atmospheric and gripping. It desperately lost its way when they left the island, whoever wrote that in really fecked up. Overall a decent series though and one of the few that’s had me binging 5/6 episodes in one sitting
 


also a few more of the writers have come out and said that not only was the culture shit, but Carlton Cuse was a massive hack who took credit for loads of shit he didn’t do…. Even to the point of pretending he was involved in making the iconic title sequence when he only came in midway through the first season.
 
Mockney said:


also a few more of the writers have come out and said that not only was the culture shit, but Carlton Cuse was a massive hack who took credit for loads of shit he didn’t do…. Even to the point of pretending he was involved in making the iconic title sequence when he only came in midway through the first season.
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Yea I read the article. A lot of the stuff sounds really shit but I’m not letting it ruin my rewatch.

There are a lot of claims of racism from Harold Perrineau saying he got sidelined, but Naveen Andrews’ character was pretty central the whole way through.
 
Why was Locke pathetic?
 
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