The Final Episode of Lost: Answers or More Questions?

The final episode of Lost was aired Sunday, May 23, 2010, but the mystery goes on for me. After watching six seasons of ABC's epic television series I am left asking Who? What? Where? and Why? Its conclusion made sense from the perspective that everyone dies, but what about all that other stuff? And which Lost storyline should we use to try to understand each character and their demise; The back story, the flash forward, or the sideways? When did anyone really die?

Still Lost in Confusion

The Sixth season of Lost promised fans answers to all our lingering questions. But did it deliver?

After squaring up to the television week after week for six years with complete focus (sometimes feeling I needed a pad and pencil so that I could take notes), or after re-watching certain Lost episodes to try to catch something I'd been told was a critical clue, I realize now that I could have instead simply deduced one thing: that a group of people who crash in an airplane die!

That would have kept me from having the what-the-heck-is-going-on confusion that led me to replay certain segments of a Lost episode trying to fit every character's role into the fragmented storyline. It would have negated my need to brainstorm with others as to what the black smoke meant, or why Hurley's winning lottery numbers kept popping up throughout each Lost season and what they stood for.

My Unanswered Questions about ABC's Lost

While the writers of Lost seem to feel that they have given us the answers, here are some of my unanswered questions:

? What was the significance of Jacob and the good and evil characters? And what about those "candidates"?

? Why did the Black Smoke Monster kill one person but not another? Was it supposed to be Jacob's brother?

? Why was there so much focus on Hurley's winning lottery numbers, 4,8,15,16,23, and 42, and why were they unlucky enough to land him on the island, AND match up with the transmission numbers that drew Rousseau to the island as well?

? Why so much focus on the DHARMA initiative?

? Why all the flashbacks, flash forwards and sideways storylines? Which one was the real story?

? Why couldn't babies be born on the island? But then, Rousseau and Claire's babies were born there, so why? Or were they?

? Whatever happened to Michael and Walt?

? What does the island really represent? Limbo between life and the hereafter?

? And all that time travel? How does it do anything other than add confusion?

? Why did Richard start to age in the last season?

? What was the significance of corporate magnate, Charles Whidmore, in the plot and what was his real connection to the island?

? Is there an underlying message to Lost? If so, what was it?

? What was the significance of the "Others" and how did they fit into the discovery plot?

? What was the meaning behind all the TNT?

? Were the sideways lives supposed to show us what would have been, if the characters hadn't died? If so, what did the flash forward lives represent?

? What was the significance of Desmond pulling the plug in this final episode and Jack putting it back? Did it represent the lighted way to forever-after for everyone?

There are more questions, believe me, but I keep thinking that maybe I missed the whole boat somehow and that somewhere my questions were answered this season during a particular Lost episode; that other Lost viewers might be shaking their heads saying, "Ah, yes, now I get it".

Lost fans: If you have other questions, or know the answers to my questions, please let me know! But I ask you, why should any TV show be so complicated that a person without a genius IQ (or the ability to tap into some parallel universe) can get so Lost (pun intended) about so many things? How did the writers think that every fan could keep up with 30 + different characters of Lost who held significant roles, and so many sub-plots that included numerous less significant players that popped in and out? (Especially when the stories ran backwards, flashed forward or sideways and sometimes in the same episode!)

The Good Side of Lost

Even as I sit here without closure to most of my questions about Lost, I am still glad I watched this ground breaking ABC series because of several things:

>The beautiful backdrop of Oahu during filming was breathtaking.

>The fact that Lost is undoubtedly a history making event due to its unusual storyline and dedicated, almost "cult-like" fan base.

>Getting to look at Josh Holloway and Matthew Fox bare-chested, week after week, for six years. (Sigh)

>The first two seasons were well developed, incredibly addictive and fun to watch.

>The writers were brilliant at filling an hour that flew by and always left us hanging off the cliff, anxiously awaiting the next Lost episode.

Okay, Lost is over. It has made millions of dollars for ABC and its advertisers as it held millions of viewers captive for six years, and no one can take that away from them. But as a Lost fan, I am feeling a bit let down after all that time I invested. I didn't get that satisfying connection of a deeper meaning to the show's plot. I didn't want to have to read someone's blog to understand what-the-heck-really-happened in Lost. I didn't want to get drawn down all those dark Lost trails thinking they lead somewhere, only to find out they'd taken me down a sinkhole. And most importantly, I didn't want to be left dangling off so many cliffs at the show's "conclusion"!

I wonder if the writers of Lost wrote themselves into a complex, deep hole from which they could not escape? Or maybe Lost was intended to mimic real life, when we feel like a speck in the Universe and look inward, wishing we had answers to those perplexing questions like: Why me? And what's it all about? I really don't know, but I'm glad it's over and now I can just watch a sitcom.

Resource:
Wikipedia "Lost (TV Series)