A Lost Farewell

It’s now been over a week since the final episode of Lost was broadcast. Although I don’t watch much television, I have definitely become a Lost “fanatic” during the past six years, going as far as re-watching the season episodes during summer breaks and spending hours online reading various discussion boards. It truly was hard to see the show end, although I was very satisfied with the final episode. I felt it provided closure while also including enough of the show’s trademark ambiguity (and plenty of opportunity for tears!).

After spending much of last week watching interviews and reading reviews/discussion about the show (and yes, kind of “mourning” the end), I’m now ready to “let it go” and move on to real life again. But I’ve also tried to determine what it was exactly about Lost that made me enjoy it so much.

The primary reason Lost captured and kept my attention was the character development. The theme of the show revolved around a plane crash on a mysterious island and the lives of the crash survivors. During the first season we learned about the lives of these survivors before the crash (via flashbacks). Each character was featured in an episode, although we also found connections between characters in their lives before the crash (ex. one character owned the company that another character worked at). As each character became more developed, we learned of their flaws and their strengths. During the following seasons we saw these characters’ personal, and sometimes spiritual, growth. This strong character development (and superb writing) made the characters seem real and brought about a certain sympathy toward even some of the villain-type characters.

The other reason I loved Lost so much is because of its thought-provoking nature. The show dealt with broad themes, such as good vs. evil, faith vs. science, destiny vs. free will, redemption, love, and sacrifice. And later seasons even flirted with the idea of time travel, asking whether it’s possible to change the future. These types of deep philosophical questions are certainly not typical T.V. fare, but even more intriguing is the fact that the show didn’t present these issues as simply polar opposites. We were never really quite sure who the “good guys” and “bad guys” were; eventually we could see a little good and evil in everyone. I loved the tension between destiny (fate) versus free will discussions on the show, and I admire the writers for their willingness to speak of religion and faith. In fact, one major character changed from being a man of science at the beginning to become a man of faith by the end. I loved the way the show made me think about what I really believe about God and life and living together in community.

Lost also provided a sense of mystery with new questions to wonder about during each episode. In this sense the show was both entertaining and educational. As we learned more about the mysterious island that had special electromagnetic capabilities, we wondered about the others who lived there, the powerful smoke monster, and the many scientific hatches located on the island. The writers began hiding little clues in the episodes and also incorporated classic literature and names of noted philosophers and scientists. I read several of the books mentioned on the show and also researched some of these real-life people as well as ancient Egyptian life after several episodes.

But all good things eventually come to an end, and Lost has now ended. So I say a final farewell to Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sawyer, Ben, Claire, Rose and Bernard, as well as to Jin and Sun, Sayid, Charlie, Michael and Walt, and John. And a special farewell to good old Vincent, the dog who proved to be man’s best friend at the end.

Any show that features a dog has to be pretty good.