The final season of “Lost” arrives, and we’re promised answers by the minute. No. Nuke that. Rewind. We demand answers by the minute. “Lost” has only churned out 9 million unanswered riddles over the last five seasons, so it’ll need to spit out answers at a rocket pace with only 18 episodes left. We must know everything. EEEEEVERYTHING! After all, how can we find satisfaction if the smoke monster’s chemical composition remains a mystery?
We live in the age of the prequel, in which no stone goes unturned (mainly because there are wads of cash underneath these stones). Answers for just about any non-philosophic topic exists no further away than our nearest conduit to the Internet. There’s always an app for that. When a television series or movie or video game or Celebrex commercial concludes with loose ends, we freak out.
Remember when “The Sopranos” cut to black? People went ape shit. How dare they not explain what happened! Did Tony finish his onion rings? Yet, it was brilliant and we’re still talking about it. I want some ambiguity in my entertainment. Questions lead to discussion and that’s a good thing. Regardless of what many fans believe, I believe “Lost” should remain slightly mysterious even after the final credits roll. After all, what else will people argue about the next day?
Sure, I hope “Lost” resolves its most head-scratching puzzles. Otherwise, the last five seasons would amount to nothing more than frantic ball fanning. And since the show’s overlords made the smart decision several years ago to end the series this season, I bet they’ve carefully planned out how to answer the big questions. Yet, many will probably go unanswered, especially from the earlier seasons. That’s the nature of television drama. Some ideas stick; others are abandoned. As well-planned as “Lost” has been, it’s no exception. So what if I don’t find out why the kidnapped Walt would suddenly apparate and do a sump-pump impression during Season 2? It was nifty nonetheless. Chalk it up to an island full of countless mysteries. I can live with that.
I think we should hope for a series finale similar to that of the brilliant “Battlestar Galactica” reboot. Just like “Lost”, it was a show paddling through complex mythology. It simply couldn’t resolve every question it asked. And some fans really hated the finale because of that.
Yet, as much as we blather on about the mythologies of these shows, it comes down to character above all else. Characters are the end game, not the mechanisms of plot. “Lost” has always understood that. So did “Battlestar Galactica”. Its conclusion may have refused to explain every plot thread, but it delivered a true resolution for each character’s arc.
If “Lost” gives an honest conclusion for its characters, I’ll hug the TV — or more likely nod my head in approval before finishing my beer. That’s all I need. That’s all I want. I would choose it over all the answers to the island’s mysteries any day. Would you?
By the way, did you know the Blu-ray for the sixth season may already have a release date? August 24 is the word from Blu-ray.com. Sounds like it won’t be long before we’ll be reliving the whole thing over again, but first for tonight’s season premiere, of which over seven minutes have already been revealed if you hit play on the two videos embedded in this post. Plus, the video directly below is “everything you need to know” to get all caught up on the previous five seasons and begin watching tonight:
NOTE: “The Goods” is a regular mini-column focusing on, well, good stuff, whether it be nifty news, finding the sunshine in otherwise bad things (Lost is ending *sniffle, sniffle*), or just pointing out something really cool like an interesting movie poster, little seen film, or viral video. This is a column attempting to add a slight bit of counter-balance to the boring sourness the Internet radiates. That’s not saying this column discourages robust debate on its topics. In fact, just the opposite. If you disagree with anything, say so. We just hope you do it in a civil, thoughtful manner.
