Lost: I'm Lost!

May 21, 2009 7:51 PM

Can someone tell me what the hell is happening on "Lost"?

I understand what is happening from episode to episode. I pick up the internal references and pretty much see where each flashback/forward fits into the general scheme of things.

But can someone give me a general overview of what this story is even about? The Lostpedia is just a tad too comprehensive. And after the fifth season finale, I'm not sure what, if anything, needs to be accomplished by the end of next season - the final year of the show.

I'm not looking for a high concept answer (Buffy is about a girl fighting vampires) or even a one line logline (Battlestar Galactica is about fighting off the Cylons while searching for Earth), but a general summation.

I tend to think this can't be done, but I'm interested in how people are approaching this show. Most arc-story series I've enjoyed have had an end game that was understandable at least by the final year. (Babylon 5 was about the new alliance by the last year; Deep Space Nine was about war with the Dominion; Supernatural is shaping up to be about taking out Lucifer.)

But what does the island need of these characters? Do the characters need to be on the island, why? I understand why the scientists would want to harness its strange energies, but to what end? And if - as the season five finale implies - these characters aren't on the island, what happens?

posted by crossoverman to media & arts (42 comments total)

We don't know the answer to any of those questions. Finding out is kind of the point of the show.
posted by Tomorrowful at 7:57 PM on May 21 [1 favorite has favorites]

How much of it have you watched?
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 8:03 PM on May 21

We have no idea until we see the first 5 minutes of the next season.
posted by smackfu at 8:06 PM on May 21 [3 favorites has favorites]

I've watched every episode, and yea, waiting for those answers is why we keep tuned in. It's those dedicated "Lost" websites that have the best guesses about it all. Rehashing it here on the green would be redundant.
posted by TDIpod at 8:09 PM on May 21

If you haven't watched it from the first episode on, you're probably missing a lot. If you have, you're probably about as confused as everybody else. You might enjoy reading the A.V. Club episode recaps, especially the one for the finale. They try to piece things together. If you didn't make any connections between this final episode and the backgammon board, for example, you could probably benefit from the analysis of somebody paying close attention.
posted by floam at 8:10 PM on May 21

It's like Alias. It's pretending to be about something, but it's really about nothing. And it will end with semi-resolution of unimportant plot elements while pretending the loose ends don't exist.

And the Island is a Rambaldi device. And Arvin Sloane's cave is on the Island. Because he is the real Jacob.
posted by The World Famous at 8:10 PM on May 21 [5 favorites has favorites]

@The World Famous: While I love Alias and LOST, I must say, your closing sentence made me giggle to no end.

Have you looked at any of ABC's LOST Untangled videos yet?
posted by litterateur at 8:18 PM on May 21

The entertainment weekly guy has done a good job of talking about it as well.
posted by mecran01 at 8:20 PM on May 21

"But what does the island need of these characters?"

We don't really know yet but it seems to me it's not so much the Island who needs these characters but Jacob and his nemesis. It seems to me that Jacob wants to prove to his enemy that humanity is worth something, and his nemesis just needed people there so he could exploit a loophole in a set of rules we haevn't seen yet and kill Jacob.

"Do the characters need to be on the island, why?"

Again, the loophole. But also one could argue, given the character's backstories, they all needed to be on the island for a chance at redemption. But I suspect that the final season will reveal more.

"And if - as the season five finale implies - these characters aren't on the island, what happens? "

I don't think the season five finale implied that at all. Where did you get that from?
posted by Effigy2000 at 8:21 PM on May 21

There's absolutely no way Lost can end with any sort of satisfaction. Accept that and enjoy the ride.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:21 PM on May 21 [5 favorites has favorites]

Mssrs. Cuse and Lindelof have promised us that there will be a big whopping finale at the end of next season. Whether that ties up all the loose ends to everyone's satisfaction, we won't know until it's broadcast.
posted by gimonca at 8:22 PM on May 21

I think it's telling that the one character who harped the most on the concepts of "destiny" and "purpose," we now know, was played for an absolute chump by everyone.
posted by Bromius at 8:22 PM on May 21 [5 favorites has favorites]

I don't think the season five finale implied that at all. Where did you get that from?

What I meant to say was, the fact they've changed history means they won't be on the island at the beginning of season six. Most likely.

I'm going to check out the AV Club recaps.

How much of it have you watched?

I missed some of the second and third seasons, but have a general idea about what I missed. Otherwise I've seen all of seasons 1, 4 and 5.
posted by crossoverman at 8:33 PM on May 21

I'll try to explain the show's arc as best I can, with the info we have available to us now.

The island is a special place that appears to have some strange, almost mystical powers. It can travel through time, heal the sick and (it appears), let one live well into long age. There are two entities (possibly god-like creatures) who live on the island. Jacob, and another entity, possibly of the same power-level, whose name we don't know yet.

Given the whole black/white duality the show has demonstrated throughout the years (backgammon, chess, white rocks, black rocks), the choice of shirts these two characters wore in the finale appears significant... and suggests that they are age old enemies who, due to a set of rules, can't directly kill one another. Jacob appears to believe in the good of humanity... the other, his nemesis, believes that humanity is weak, frail, and corrupt.

It would appear that throughout time, Jacob and this other creature have 'called' people to the island, ostensibly to test them. They called the Black Rock, they called the French science team Rousseau was a part of and, given the events of the season 5 finale, it appears Jacob has called the survivors of Flight 815 to the island as well.

This leads into one of the main themes of the show. Fate vs Free Will. Was the Black Rock crew called, or did they simply drift off course. Was Flight 815 destined to crash on the Island, or was it because Desmond forgot to push the Button in the Hatch one time (the Hatch itself being a creation of fate? Or Free Will?)?

It would also appear that those who are called all have some kind of dark or shady past. The crew of the Black Rock were slavers, the drug smugglers who crashed in the light-aircraft, and the survivors of Flight 815 all have some kind of secret in their past. Why this is is unknown. It could be coincidence, but it could be related to Jacob and his nemesis' belief in humanity. The island seems to offer a chance at redemption. Those who can claim redemption seem to be called to be part of The Others (ie Jacob's List) and those who aren't seem to be mercileslly killed by the Smoke Monster, which has been described as a security system for the island.

So the themes seem to be fate vs free will, redemption and the human condition. The story arc then can be best described as Two Powerful Creatures Who Hate Each Other Make a Bet But Offer Their Pawns A Shot At Redemption While They're At It; Death, Sex and Other Hijinks Ensue.
posted by Effigy2000 at 8:44 PM on May 21 [40 favorites has favorites]

What I meant to say was, the fact they've changed history means they won't be on the island at the beginning of season six. Most likely.

But it's in no way definitive that they've changed history. Did the bomb go off? Maybe Sayid did something to it to ensure it wouldn't. Or maybe it was a dud. The flash could have been the energy being released, and everything unfolds as it should.
posted by peep at 8:59 PM on May 21 [1 favorite has favorites]

Thanks, Effigy2000. That's the sort of thing I was looking for! I couldn't quite put it all together so cleanly in my head.

Those who can claim redemption seem to be called to be part of The Others (ie Jacob's List)

In the season five finale, we saw Jacob in the past visiting (and touching) the Oceanic Six - some earlier than their original crash, a couple since they returned to the mainland before returning to the island. Has there been any indication he brought The Others to the island in the same way?
posted by crossoverman at 9:06 PM on May 21

The flash could have been the energy being released, and everything unfolds as it should.

Well, we clearly don't know what "as it should" means, but you (and several places) have made the point the flash might well have caused The Incident, rather than changed the past.
posted by crossoverman at 9:08 PM on May 21

I'm still convinced that Jack's dad is the key to the whole thing, somehow.

Now can we talk about Carnivale?
posted by staggernation at 9:10 PM on May 21 [1 favorite has favorites]

"Has there been any indication he brought The Others to the island in the same way?"
posted by crossoverman at 3:06 PM on May 22

There's no strong evidence of that, no, but one could argue that since we know Jacob called The Black Rock to the island (see the opening scene of the Season 5 finale), it's likely that some of the survivors of the Black Rock, those who were successfuly redeemed, are now part of The Others.
posted by Effigy2000 at 9:12 PM on May 21

"I'm still convinced that Jack's dad is the key to the whole thing, somehow."
posted by staggernation at 3:10 PM

I agree. My theory is that Jack's Dad (on the island) is The Smoke Monster. And my theory up until the Season 5 finale was that Jacob was The Smoke Monster, meaning Jacob is Jack's Dad (at least in form). However the finale now makes me think that Jacob's nemesis, who wore a dark shirt and seems almost obsessed with death and destiny, is The Smoke Monster and thus is also the creature that is taking on Jack's father's form. Indeed, I think Jacob's nemesis may actually be Death.

My reasoning is that Jacon's nemesis is obviously able to take on the form of others who have died (see; Locke) and thus has taken on the form of Eko's brother, Jack's dad, possibly, Claire. And, since we essentially saw The Smoke Monster take on the form of Eko's brother, this leads to the conclusion that Jack's Dad, The black Smoke Monster and the Black shirted nemesis of Jacob are all one and the same.

"Now can we talk about Carnivale?"
posted by staggernation at 3:10 PM on May 22

No.
posted by Effigy2000 at 9:21 PM on May 21 [3 favorites has favorites]

As best I can figure it in regards to the Others:

Others = Dharma Initiative.
Other Others = Charles and his crew
Other other Others = "The Good Guys" (as in those who kidnapped Faraday and now have the twin)
Other other other Others = Jacob and Co.

Comments?

Personally, I think it could go one of two ways.

1) The bomb worked.
2) The bomb didn't work.

If the bomb didn't work, I'm guessing that it was so far into the ground and shielded by the electromagnetic pull, the island will not be completely obliterated, and may in fact catalyze the plane crash thirty years later.

If the bomb did work (and this is a scenario I find more intriguing), the pane lands in California. With a show couched in the idea of destiny, I theorize that the final season will involve the island bringing back all those who belong on the island, as well as killing off those characters that were destined to die. The possible ramifications of this might manifest as a reappearance from former beloved characters, such as Boone, Shannon, Charlie, Eco, Anna Lucia, etc.
posted by litterateur at 9:30 PM on May 21 [1 favorite has favorites]

There are more than two ways it could have gone -
1. the bomb worked, like it always did, and caused The Incident
2. the bomb worked and prevented it.
3. it didn't, The Incident happened anyway... etc.

Upon watching the finale again, I'm almost certain that Sayid deactivated the bomb. He only went along with the plan because he wanted to die and didn't care anymore - and then he's lying in the van and looking at his old pals Hurley and Jin and Kate... and suddenly he's all "Jack, I have to modify the bomb so it'll go off on impact"...? I don't buy it - I think he changed his mind and tried to prevent the detonation. (But then Juliet was wailing on it with a rock, so, still.... who knows?)
posted by moxiedoll at 9:40 PM on May 21 [1 favorite has favorites]

"As best I can figure it in regards to the Others:

Others = Dharma Initiative.
Other Others = Charles and his crew
Other other Others = "The Good Guys" (as in those who kidnapped Faraday and now have the twin)
Other other other Others = Jacob and Co.

Comments?"
posted by litterateur at 3:30 PM on May 22

It really depends on your point of view. But I think that's about right if you're looking at it from the perspective of the 815 survivors.

"Personally, I think it could go one of two ways.

1) The bomb worked.
2) The bomb didn't work.

If the bomb didn't work, I'm guessing that it was so far into the ground and shielded by the electromagnetic pull, the island will not be completely obliterated, and may in fact catalyze the plane crash thirty years later.

If the bomb did work (and this is a scenario I find more intriguing), the pane lands in California. With a show couched in the idea of destiny, I theorize that the final season will involve the island bringing back all those who belong on the island, as well as killing off those characters that were destined to die. The possible ramifications of this might manifest as a reappearance from former beloved characters, such as Boone, Shannon, Charlie, Eco, Anna Lucia, etc."
posted by litterateur at 3:30 PM on May 2

I think the most likely scenario is that the bomb worked (from a writers point of view, if the bomb did nothing then season 5 was, essentially, a big waste of time). Everyone will have landed in California. But there will be two perople who remember what life was like before the bomb went off, namely Desmond and Eloise Hawking (Faraday's mum), both of whom seem to exist "out of time."

I suspect that at Eloise's prompting, Desmond and probably Daniel will course-correct the passengers of 815 and remind everyone about what was meant to happen. And then everyone will go back to the island, which is what Locke was meant to do in the first place, to prevent everyone dying (from the bomb). My only worry is, with only one season left to go, this means another half-a-season of Jack screaming "WE HAVE TO GO BACK!"
posted by Effigy2000 at 9:43 PM on May 21 [3 favorites has favorites]

The "landing like nothing happened" makes sense in the context of the story, but it just isn't practical. You're gonna get Michael back? And Baby Walt? And Shannon and Boone and Eko and Ana Lucia? The woman who played Libby is so mad about being fired that she won't even agree to a flashback! They'd have to prison break Kate... they'd have to track down Sun, whose plan was to run away and start a new life... Aaron's whole life would never have happened... It's just impossible.
Plus, with the Main Characters we have left, they have to write a story that includes Miles (who wasn't on 815) and excludes Rose and Bernard (who appear to have said their goodbyes).
(And finally, as Effigy mentioned, WE HAVE TO GO BACK!!! is total old news).
posted by moxiedoll at 9:53 PM on May 21 [3 favorites has favorites]

I don't think the bomb went off. First of all, I don't think it changed anything (but I do think that the force of the electromagnetic event they were trying to stop will propel the main characters back into the correct timeline, where they will meet back up with the rest of the gang). So if the bomb didn't change the timeline, since people haven't been dying of radiation poisoning all along, then the bomb didn't go off. Unless they want to claim that Ben's cancer and the childbirth issues are somehow related to the bomb, but I hope not, because that would be lame (if there was enough radiation to kill all babies conceived and born on the Island, along with their mothers, then body parts would be falling off on everyone, dude). So what was the point of season five, if not to reset the story line? To show how all the interconnected character storylines weren't random after all, but were caused by the machinations of The Two, their human counterparts (Ben and Whitmore), and the various time-hopping escapades of the rest of the cast. And to set us up for The War.

Despite the many nods to duality, though (black & white, faith v. science, etc.), one thing I don't expect is for this to really be a battle between good and evil. Because Jacob has been shown to be all too willing to have people killed, and actually considered the mayhem he has created to be "progress." The Un-named Other has also shown himself to be an unrepentant killer. Faith has been poorly rewarded, and science hasn't helped much, either. Despite all the talk of repentance, good people have died tragically, and evil people have been spared. I think the best we can say about The Two is that their end games may slightly favor some of the main characters more than others, and I expect the cast to choose up sides (No - I don't think we've seen the last of Jacob. He didn't even bother trying to talk Ben out of killing him - practically goaded him into it, really. He had his reasons, I'm sure.).

So what's Lost really all about, then? I think it's about all of these things. I think it's about the war in all of us between our dark sides and our better selves, our blind faith and our desire for reason. I think it's about good intentions gone awry, and unintended consequences. And I think it's about how destiny is maybe just another word for cause and effect by way of rank manipulation. The key point is, I don't think the show is giving us a clear winner in any of these dichotomies. It's about the struggle itself, not about the resolution. The characters on Lost are never really good or bad - they're self-interested. I'm really looking forward to the end. My guess is that no matter how they decide to answer the situational details, the morality of the ending will be ambiguous. I expect equal doses of triumph and heartbreak. Anything less would be a real deviation from the journey.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:35 PM on May 21 [4 favorites has favorites]

Some of my guesses, which I suppose I may probably end up embarassed about:
- the bomb did go off, in a wonky way
- this caused assorted damage all along the timeline: I'd blame the statue's breaking and the Black Rock's impossible resting place on this
- black-shirt guy, who I'd like to call Esau (after reading the SDMB!), is the smoke monster and all the various ghosts walking around; I'm thinking he might be trapped in the island and Jacob may be his guardian, and the rules are the spell/curse/spiritual device that keeps him there
- Jacob=Osiris, Esau=Set? Hmm.
- I can see several threads they might try, and even at the same time: Esau gets released into the world and goes to do what he always wanted, whatever that is (using the Hanso megacorp?) - some of the survivors manage to get back to and try to stop him yada yada (good Locke vs bad Locke?); some survivors get bonked back to Black Rock age, and had to deal with the mess caused then (Alpert might as well pop up here for the first time...) - something about the island going adrift in spacetime, needing the construction of the funky wheel in the ice cave?; something about WW2-1950s? drop in a few of the survivors, US armed forces, and find some way to make the whole H bomb business make more sense (I'd think if I were the US government, the loss of such a beast would make me send the whole damn fleet all over the Pacific after the mystery island) - Adam and Eve could be from this situation
- I also can't see some big tidy finale... I suppose some die, some get to live happily, Esau gets caged back in, and someone else replaces a finally dead Jacob as the keeper (Ben? that would be rich!)
posted by Iosephus at 12:41 AM on May 22

Hey Litterateur, what do you mean "the twin"? That sounds intriguing and I can't think of any twins on the show.

Personally, I don't think the bomb worked. I think like Miles argues, the bomb is the incident. That's the only way it can work if "whatever happened, happened". But man I would love to see them start off next season with the plane landing in LA!! That would be so cool!!!
posted by kms at 12:50 AM on May 22

In screenwriting, we have a rule that's oft-referenced and when it's followed, it tends to make stories, movies, and tv shows a lot better for it. The rule is that the audience will only put up with one piece of magical bullshit per story. Up until the finale and Jacob & Esau, they were doing a pretty decent job of keeping the magical bullshit pared down. But once it starts to seem like everything is part of these god-like characters playing a game, that's one piece too many of magical bullshit.

Other rules of thumb include the Giant Wheel of Cheese and Make Him Foreign, but I can't give away all the tricks of the trade.

Oh, yeah, and the flash to white at the end of the finale must've been a time jump, right? Not the bomb going off? And also, at the upfronts, Steve McPherson said of Elizabeth Mitchell (who is now in the V reboot) "We're thrilled to be able to have her do both [V and Lost]...It was a little bit of a juggling act ... and we're very thankful to the [accomodating Lost] producers, but I think we'll see her on Lost" during the show's final season. So she ain't dead.
posted by incessant at 3:03 AM on May 22

Here's a higher-level approach to the one-sentence description: "Fate, destiny and free will are explored using the classical paradoxes of time travel."

IMO, it doesn't matter if it's a magical island, a hospital or a small-town drama - like Braid, the show is ultimately about what it would mean to human beings if we got do-overs.

I think. Or maybe it's "Clash of the Titans" with airplanes.
posted by jbickers at 3:41 AM on May 22 [1 favorite has favorites]

kms - i think he means the body of John Locke in the box and the John Locke walking around getting Ben to kill (or "kill") Jacob.

man i love lost. just had to put that out there.

staggernation - i would love to talk about carnivale now! but i guess that's not what this thread if for.

crossoverman - have you been to any of the other forums for Lost, besides Lostpedia? there's losties.net, lost.com, the abc message boards (tho not so great, IMO) - i know there are more but those are the ones i frequent. you might be able to find some other good explanations there, usually under the "big theories" section.
posted by sio42 at 5:56 AM on May 22

It was a little bit of a juggling act ... and we're very thankful to the [accomodating Lost] producers, but I think we'll see her on Lost" during the show's final season. So she ain't dead.

That only means the actress will be back. It's entirely possible that the "smoke monster" might try to impersonate her. Hence, the actress can be back, but the character can be dead.

I believe with the reveal that you have someone capable of appearing as people who have died will in turn lead to Hurley's "gift" becoming more important. We know Hurley can "see dead people" and when Hurley met Jacob and complained about his "curse," Jacob told him that others might see it as a gift.

Furthermore, I think the last season will also reveal that Jacob foresaw his death, and took pains to place into motion a series of events that will result in either the fulfillment of his overall plans, or his eventual return/rebirth. This from the phrase used by the Shadow folks, "He might be the candidate" and the fact that he had Hurley bring the guitar case with the yet unknown contents inside.

Other suggested places to read the speculations of others. There's Celebritology, over at the Washington Post (though this season or so, the two ladies seem to dropped the ball in terms of bringing more information toward the analysis - not to mention missing what I think are obvious things). There's J. Wood's Lost Blog that was hosted at Powells' books website. J. Wood is a professor at the University of Virginia, taught a Lost class, and had one of the most high brow approaches to examining the show. Unfortunately, about two or three episodes into this season, he suffered a combination of computer problems and illness that knocked him out of writing on the rest of the season. There's darkufo.blogspot.com, which is accessible and sometimes has interesting perspectives. Finally, there's Doc Jensen's column over at EW.com.
posted by Atreides at 6:10 AM on May 22

Florence Henderson - I don't think Jacob and the other guy are supposed to represent good vs evil - I think they're a representation of the fate vs free will debate that Lost has always been about. Jacob represents free will.

And as someone above pointed out, Locke, the island's main (non-supernatural) proponent of the "fate" side didn't come out looking that good.
posted by lunasol at 6:26 AM on May 22

The island seems to offer a chance at redemption. Those who can claim redemption seem to be called to be part of The Others (ie Jacob's List)

In the Season 5 finale, Ilana (one of the passengers from the most recent crash) enters the Others camp and asks for Ricardus, and Richard corrects her by saying something like, "It's just Richard, now." My guess is Richard was one of the members of the Black Rock, likely one of the few that was "redeemed" and as a reward was granted everlasting life.

I think it's fairly safe to assume that the person masquerading as John Locke is the mysterious character in black we see in the first scene. If we accept that he is somehow able to appear as other characters, this brings up all kinds of questions. Could this same character be pretending to be Jack's dad? Were all the flashbacks of Jacob interacting with the main cast actually Jacob?

I'm also curious about the cabin. When we first see Jacob's cabin, we are shown a circle of ash that surrounds the perimeter. Later on in the Season 5 finale, Ilana's group approaches the cabin and sees that the perimeter has been broken. This is actually a fairly common mythological motif: a charmed or enchanted circle that holds something prisoner. Which begs the question: who was the prisoner in the cabin and how was he ensnared?

Ah, Lost... every answer begs ten new questions.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:35 AM on May 22

It's all about fate vs. free will.

Also, it is about having Sawyer walk around topless as much as possible, putting Juliet in low cut tops -- meow -- and having Kate going swimming in her bikini underwear -- also meow.

LOST is fucking awesome.
posted by chunking express at 6:45 AM on May 22

Spoiler: Jack Bauer is the last cylon AND the real Jacob.
posted by Vindaloo at 7:12 AM on May 22

I believe this "bad jacob" spirit is the smoke monster itself, that can take the form of dead people (locke, jack's dad, ben's daughter).
posted by madeinitaly at 8:52 AM on May 22

Here's a random tidbit-- do with it what you will. I don't read the LOST forums so maybe this is old news. But anyway, I talked to a producer the other day who had just come out of a mtg with one of the writers for LOST. The writer obviously wouldn't tell him anything about what was going on in the show but did slyly ask the producer if the main characters reminded him of any comic book characters. This is how the conversation went:
"How would you describe Professor X from Xmen?"
"Bald, in a wheelchair, scar on his face."
"How would you describe Wolverine?"
"Bad boy, violent tendencies, anger control issues, funny, sexy, always in trouble with the law."
"How would you describe Cyclops?"
"Wants to be a leader, goody two shoes, uptight, fighting with Wolverine over the girl."

Etc. They went on to match up many of the season one protagonists to Xmen characters, and the writer seemed to imply that this was not coincidental.

Even if it is true, (and I don't know how much it is, since I don't know that much about X Men) it doesn't really impact my knowledge of LOST. But I still thought it was worth sharing.
posted by egeanin at 9:00 AM on May 22

Television without Pity also has recaps of Lost. Lots of snark in the episode summaries. Any Metafilter user should feel right at home.
posted by Thoughtcrime at 11:26 AM on May 22

Florence Henderson - I don't think Jacob and the other guy are supposed to represent good vs evil

I don't either. I was making that exact point in response to Effigy2000's comment, which seemed to imply that they are.

I think they're a representation of the fate vs free will debate that Lost has always been about. Jacob represents free will.

I don't think they represent anything other than their own selfish interests. Jacob would be a strange representaion of free will, at any rate, given that his entire existence to date has been focused on the manipulation of others.

My main point, which I guess I could have written more clearly, is that I think all of these dualities and representations much-loved by the fans are red herrings deliberately put there by the authors to confound. I think they are trying to make the point that conventional labels are pointless and destructive. That's why they've given us the hero, whose relentless desire to save everyone mostly just causes grief. The man of faith, whose faith is used to manipulate him, yet again. The bad boy with the heart of gold, whose every good deed is nonetheless punished. Ben v. Whitmore. I think when they establish new characters they feed them to us as archetypes, then carefully strip that away. Sure they want the story to be about fate v. free will, but I don't think they want the characters to actually be simple stand-ins for those dichotomies, because I think they are ultimately trying to make the statement that there is no practical difference between fate and free will.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 11:58 AM on May 22

"sawyer" was on Jimmy Kimmel recently, and claimed they already know the final image/scene, and that it wraps everything up in a way that will satisfy. My salt remains grainy.
posted by nomisxid at 2:33 PM on May 22

I find this soap opera on acid pretty entertaining. My enjoyment of it declines with each season.
The writers seem smart enough, but they took a decent concept and ran off to nowhere. Their allusions and concealed meanings are lame to me. I prefer figuring out the meaning to Edgar Allen Poe poems and the like. Lost is just fun fluff.
The Kate scenes hold the most meaning for me.
posted by kapu at 2:56 PM on May 22

Personally, I only watch for Hurley.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:28 PM on May 22