Brandon — Thu, 5/26/05 12:04am

And I remain firmly in the other camp (not to be confused with "The Others" camp) - I thought the finale was a fantastic end to a fantastic season, and I'm chomping at the bit for the start of Season 2.

I think they gave us plenty of answers in the last two weeks. They can't answer everything, or what reason would we have for coming back next year? I like the slow pace, it lets you savor things, and allows time for all the great character work they do. And this season, the first, had to generate more questions than answers, because they have to lay the groundwork for several future seasons and future payoffs.

I guess we're just of differing philosophies in our approach to the show - I'm Locke (the man of faith) and you're Jack (the man of science). Looks like you're gonna have Brandon troubles, mister!

Oh, and the Daniel Roebuck stuff was a nice bit of writers' revenge (a la Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons). The guy voices several of the complaints voiced by fans on the internet, and then they... well, I'll remain spoiler-free too.

Brandon — Thu, 5/26/05 10:34am

Come on now, is that really the way you would describe the show to someone who'd never seen it? If you have that little enthusiasm for it at this point, then I guess you truly are at the point where you should drop it.

The answer you speak of is not what the show is about - we already know what the show is about, it's about the characters (and like Twin Peaks and Alias, this show would be nothing without such sharply-drawn, intriguing characters) and watching them simultaneously figure out how to survive while unraveling the mysteries of the island. You're looking for the overarching reason they're there; yes, that's something we need answered, but not right now. It's too soon. You spell out something that big now and all the other smaller questions are answered along with it, and suddenly there's no mysteries left to be solved.

At the very least, I think they've given us every indication that something supernatural is afoot, starting with the very first act of the show, the crash itself. As many of the characters have stated, what are the odds that 48 people would survive a crash like that, many of them with no injuries at all? And now that they've shown us the reasons why everyone was on that flight, and how all of them (with the possible exception of Hurley) were on that flight for reasons dictated by other people, I think we've been given a strong idea that the Fate/Fortuna angle is important.

So I'm curious - are you watching next season, or do you think you're done?

"AC" — Thu, 5/26/05 10:53am

The answer you speak of is not what the show is about - we already know what the show is about, it's about the characters

I'm gonna take Simbo's side here. They WANT it to be about the characters, but the problem is, they're doing an incredibly bad job of it. Sure they have great actors and great backgrounds for these people, but their interactions on the island are cliche and almost robotic in their monotony. They also speak in riddles half the time– a blatent attempt to keep the secrets secret.

Now any regular person would press the issue until she said something more descriptive and less cryptic. I mean after all, it eats people! If I'm in that situation, I don't let things like that go. I don't go on about my business. Every time something like that happens on the show, I get ripped out of it and I feel cheated.

I realize that I'm sounding very anti-Lost here, but I'm really not. As I said, I think the character backgrounds and the actors themselves are wonderful, and you can't beat a tropical setting. Plus, they have great visuals and sound design. I can't remember the last time a TV show made me jump so much.

But I'm bitter about the finale. They didn't have to give concrete answers, but they needed to give up more than they did. You can't keep a show afloat by just delaying revelations.

Hmph.

Bee Boy — Thu, 5/26/05 12:43pm

I agree with AC. And with me. (Both mes.) Cute, though. Reminds me of The Daily Show doing a debate between Governor Bush circa 2000 and President Bush circa 2004. "I don't think our armies should be used for what's called 'nation building'."

I think, on the day-to-day level, the slow reveal is excellent. However, when I wrote that in 2004 I wasn't referring to the freakin' season finale, for crying out loud. At this point, I (me) need a little more concrete answer on this supernatural thing because I don't like supernatural stories unless the supernatural world is really well defined. I always think of Like Water for Chocolate although there are probably better, more contemporary examples. For a while the movie is leaving it vague whether it's a hysterical pregnancy or some kind of spirit-world immaculate conception from God. That's fine; that's good. Then at the end, they're like, "Nope. It was God." I don't like that. However, if you've delineated a reasonable supernatural "world" for the story – dotted all your i's and crossed all your t's – I'm fully prepared to buy in. So, all I requested from Lost at the end of this season was for it to say, "Yes. There's a supernatural element to this story. Fortuna assigned each of eight people a number, and put them on a path to be on the same plane (with 5 expendable extras apiece) and maroon them on an island. It's up to us and them to figure out what she wants them to do/learn/become as a result. Except for Boone. She just wanted him to do/learn/become dead." OR "Naw, the show takes place in our world. It's a random coincidence that they all ended up on the same flight and all we've done is create a bunch of really interesting, strong personalities and aim them head-on into one another, just like The House of Sand and Fog. Grab some popcorn; let's watch the sparks fly!"

And, really, it doesn't take much for them to say one of those things. Show Walt creating a polar bear out of thin air, and you've given us answer A. Show Danielle being a psycho and imagining the Others in her mind but they're really not real (and they don't randomly have a boat with a fully fueled outboard engine 16 years later) and you've given us answer B. My complaint is the same as it was about halfway into the season: the show is excited to have a mysterious tone and keep us guessing – so much so that it doesn't really know what it wants to be, so it changes tacks now and then. I'm not suprised that there's a network show without a solid long-term plan, or that the ABC suits are meddling with the plot to make the show more salable. Even in a really good show (which this is, mostly) that'll happen. I'm just saying I'm not going to overlook all these flaws, and I'm certainly not going to wrap myself up in trying to figure out the mysteries, because chances are they don't have answers, and they won't until the episode where they decide to reveal them; at that point, the writers will just come up with the most feasible answers they can given what's come before.

I will most likely watch season two of Lost, unless the previews really piss me off – or unless I determine that it'll make you particularly apoplectic for me to pretend not to watch it. Finally, payback for you giving DirecTiVo the cold shoulder!

Bee Boy — Fri, 5/27/05 10:08pm

Ka-POW: Lost Finale. The last four paragraphs perfectly sum up exactly how I feel. Those who-loved-it-and-think-we're-being-grumpy-pants, be warned.

As far as the writers' lack of plan. Sure, of course they have some plan, and sure the network is partly to blame for diverting that plan with notes and requests for extra episodes and whatever. But there's an increasing frequency of moments that I feel are not paid off. Early in the season, I relished those moments and thought, "this will be cool when it's paid off later." But as things progressed, I learned to react more like: "Hm. Not sure whether to file that away or forget about it. The show may come back to it, or it may fizzle into nothing without fanfare." You'd get more and more flashbacks that showed something interesting, and you'd be ready for that interesting information to come into play in the dynamic on the island, but it wouldn't. It's just another thing you know about the character now. That's silly.

I think they're going to have to drop the flashbacks in season two (unless they just flash back to season one), or they'll become entirely repetitive and serve only to drag the show down.

Bee Boy — Sat, 5/28/05 6:46am

I have to say this theory about the island trying to block Hurley from coming has intrigued me. (It seems tenuous though, since it seems like whatever the island wants – by hook or by crook – the island gets.) I hadn't thought of it at all.

I don't know if the head of steam is enough to carry through the summer, but it'll definitely give a strong boost to Michael Bay's biopic of the show's breakout star: July's The Island.

Bee Boy — Sat, 5/28/05 2:55pm

WTF?

I don't want to post about it here though, in the spirit of fairness to those who may not want to read about such things.

If we respected that spirit around here, there would be no onebee.com.

Brandon — Sat, 5/28/05 5:14pm

Also, if you go to this site...

http://www.oceanic-air.com/seatingchart.htm

...and click on the airplane row numbers at the bottom in the order of The Numbers (4,8,15,16,23,42), it will take you to a Season 2 preview that I suspect you and AC will just find maddeningly vague. And back on the seating chart, there's a few fun easter eggs on various seat locations.

"Christi" — Sun, 5/29/05 10:05am

I think that both of you are wrong about there not being enough in the backstory of the characters to provide flashbacks in the second season. They have entire lives that have lead them to this moment. Their paths have crossed before.

There is much, much more to learn about Said (sp?) How did he get out of Iraq? An officer in the Republican Gaurd doesn't just leave especially after he let a prisoner escape.

What about Shannon? All we know now is that she is a spoiled socialite. There is much more to her than that.

Yes there are still layers and layers to learn about Kate.

Most of all I have to ask, why do you need to know what is going to happen or where they are going to go? Just sit down and enjoy. Absorb, be entertained.

Anonymous Coward — Tue, 5/31/05 6:43pm

the very fact that this topic got 18 "comments" proves that it's at the very least worth watching... as apposed to the "amazing race" and "survival" stuff which appauls me at it's lack of worth. Live sports, now that's reality TV i can support. Cudos to the writers, and may they never lose their jobs. and, not to change the subject, but i will... i can't wait for "Batman Begins"!!!!