Lost

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Ryan, it's hardly fair to judge LOST as having a major Deus Ex Machina, when you admit to not having seen 2-3 seasons of it. A lot can happen in that time. Especially on a series like this.

[Roy Mustang]

Lost is NOT over


[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]

[Nate]

http://www.theonion.com/articles/lost-possibly-still-airing-in-parallel-dimension-d,17485/

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

*Speechless*


Just watched the finale last night.

Lots to take in, lots to ponder. I think it's very easy to want more answers and I do (not to the little mysteries but some answers to the few remaining big mysteries would've been nice). Also, yes, some of the answers throughout the finale have been not what I thought (and I think I had some better answers) but I don't believe this final season was a cop-out or bad, just not quite on par with some of the others. I'm still trying to comprehend what I saw but in many ways I really enjoyed The End and found it very powerful. In terms of character resolution and story, the series finale delivered and was an amazing ride, although I too thought the two time-lines would bleed together. It was different to what I expected but I really enjoyed it. Very well done. One quote from the writers' remains true, "LOST is all about the characters". The finale proved that. So there was much less of a focus on the mythology than some of us would've liked (myself included) but they stayed true to their original vision of the series.

The long and the short of it as I understand it:
[SPOILER]The Island is real. The sideways reality is a type of purgatory Jack experiences first. A timeless place but the other Losties die earlier than him and later on (many possibly of old age). Once they've all reconnected and Jack and his father have reconciled (awesome!), they can pass on and Christian Shephard shepherds them into the afterlife. It's not that difficult to understand. Although we didn't get the plane wreckage footage in Australia, so that probably helps our understanding. I don't think having an afterlife relegates their lives as meaningless. If the Island wasn't saved, the world would've ceased to exist. In that sense they probably wouldn't have died and gone onto the afterlife but instead, they would be gone in every and any manner possible. Non-existent. That is the definition of meaningless.[/SPOILER]

[rocklobster]

[spoiler]Did the ending kinda remind you of Evangelion? Other than that I really enjoyed the finale. [/spoiler]
So, does anyone know another good show to obsess over?

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Did it remind of that? No, it was far more hopeful. It reminded me of elements of The Last Battle and The Great Divorce though.

[rocklobster]

I was referring to the TV ending, not the kill em all fest the movies were.

[Radical Dreamer]

Alright dudes, there is a new Doc Jensen article, and it is absolutely brilliant. XD Go read it! He really pulls some things together with this theory!

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20313460_20393488,00.html

[Radical Dreamer]

New information from EW.com on the original, 12-minute vignette that will be available on the season 6 DVDs, released on August 24th!

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20385926_20386375,00.html

[GeneD]

Gravedigging since I finally started watching Lost again.
I am starting from the beginning, because I stopped watching a long time ago somewhere in season 3... I think. I will post my thoughts on each season when I am finished with it, if anyone is interested in reading it. I’ve just finished season 2, so thoughts on season 1 and 2 follow. I’m also putting the whole thing in spoiler tags, just in case someone is also just starting out.


[spoiler]Characters, there are loads of them. I attempted to put them all in order from most to least favourite, but after the top few, everyone just sort of clumps together. However, I did make separate lists for separate seasons.

Season1
1. Sayid –hands down my favourite character. I love how he is always polite, even when he’s insulting someone or thinks they are being stupid. He seems to have an infallible lie-detector instinct, which fits well with his pre-island job description. I always look forward to his flackback episodes and he seems to generally use more logic than most of the other characters.

2. Hurly –gets extra points for being the cause of almost any actual song on the island, unfortunately his cd walkman ran out of batteries. He also invented golf and seems to be the only one who knows that having fun is also important for morale and survival. For someone who also blames himself for a lot of bad things happening to other people, he is coping pretty well.

3. Charlie –wins points against Jack and Sawyer (4&5.) for humour, see quotes below.

4 & 5. Jack and Sawyer –pretty much tie in my book.
I still question the wisdom of making your only medical practitioner the group leader and having him go marauding into the dangerous and unpredictable jungle every other minute. Of course he has the protection of protagonist power, but if I were them, I’d make sure to cuff the man to a tree and keep him close at all times.
Sawyer wins points for sarcasm, use of logic (if you want to go to war, pick the guy who was actually IN ONE) and being upstaged by his own hair.

The rest are only roughly in order.

Sun –despite also having (flashback) issues, she seems to be the most sane and well adjusted island member.

Rousseau –crazy = cool. She has taken care of herself alone for SIXTEEN years, on an island apparently designed as a death trap.

Locke –I feel like everyone loves Locke, but his island-faith stuff just doesn’t do it for me.

Jin –similar to Sun above, except with jerk-moments. He catches fish.

Boone –favourite by association. Ian Somerhalder plays my favourite character in another series.

Shannon –she got into Sayid’s head with French singing and being hot, props to her.

Rose –a tiny link to the non-main-character survivors, for which I am thankful.

Claire –For some reason I liked her more before she had her baby.

Kate –if they wanted to make her BA, make her BA. If they wanted to make her sym(pathetic) make her sym(pathetic). It’s possible to be both, but with her it just doesn’t seem to work. Her BA moments seem like she’s trying too hard and sym(pathetic) moments just make you want her to “man up”.

Michael –he just needs to shackle himself to his son and a lot of drama would have been avoided.

Walt –the only “specialness” I can see about him is major brattiness and creepiness.

Season2
1. Sayid
2. Hurley
3. Desmond –despite starring in only a few episodes, he is awesome. It’s hard to pinpoint why but I think it’s the accent. He also gets more songs playing, so bonus points for that. Is likely to surpass Hurley if he keeps being awesome, and not dead.
4. Mr. Eko –I’ve heard him described as opposite!Locke, but I like him much more than Locke. He says more with a look, and a sentence if you’re lucky, than a lot of other characters.
5&6. –Jack and Sawyer –still tie.
7. Not!Henry –he played Locke like a fiddle, it was awesome.

Roughly ordered
Rousseau
Sun –more babies
Jin
Locke –his constant craving for love/acceptance puts both Helen and me off.
Rose & Bernard
Libby –I’m not that interested in her or her background, but I think it’s because I remembered that she dies from my first viewing.
Shannon –Shame, she fell into the “death by getting laid” trap.
Kate
Ana Lucia –Michelle Rodriguez plays all her characters the same way and I’m not particularly fond of any of them. She also fell into the same trap as Shannon, on top of being on Flight 815 because she was going home to face her crime and her mother. If that isn’t asking to be killed off then I don’t know what is.
Penelope –I am expecting her to move up in the group.
Alex –also has potential
Claire
Michael
Walt
Ms Clue (sp?) –I don’t like her. She tries too hard.

Random thoughts

• Whenever anyone trips, there’s the same hollow thud and you never see their legs in the shot. I am wondering if there will be 4 more seasons without them applying another method for tripping people.

• I know not that much time has passed on the island, but I am worried about these people’s personal hygiene. I am pretty sure that cracked lips and maybe unshaven legs should be a factor.

• Vincent the dog has found another Dharma hatch and is hogging all the food for himself. That dog is surprisingly fat.

• My biggest beef with the show is how they handle the non-main-cast crash survivors. The Tailies were easy; kill off most of them before they even appear. But there are numerous random front section people just milling about doing who knows what. I understand that obviously everyone can’t be shown to interact with everyone else, but then moments when, for example, they guys on the raft return or Michael from Other-town, everyone comes running all excited and happy and I wanna throw my hands in the air and be like, “You don’t even KNOW these people.” It makes those scenes REALLY implausible to me and all their interactions with the main cast seem fake. The only “Ascended Extra” so to speak, is Rose and Bernard, Arzt (who points out the whole clique thing and then explodes) and Scott and Steve, who are only mentioned because nobody remembers which is which (and one of them dies too). I don’t know how they could have solved this problem, maybe having less original survivors? It irks me though.

• Stemming from the above. Assuming they all have proper shelters by now and they don’t spend a huge amount of time each day looking for food, what do they do all day? Maybe they are all treating it like an island holiday? Let the main characters deal with all the mysteries. Even some of the main characters are handled like this, i.e. Jin is ALWAYS fishing. I don’t know when he managed to get Sun pregnant in between all that fishing.

• I miss the smoke monster.

Some random funny (funnier if you have the character’s voices in your head) quotes (a lot of them involve Charlie):

• Hurley: “Guess who gets to be the bad guy. When I say ‘no you can't have peanut butter for the cute blonde and her... poor… island baby’.”

• Charlie to Claire: "You heard screaming so you woke up the baby and ran towards it.”

• Jack (about Not!Henry who was shot by Rousseau): "You shot him with an arrow?"
Sayid: "Do I have a bow?"

• Locke: "You hit me. Why did you…?"
Mr. Eko (this is why he is awesome): "Because you were being difficult."

• Vincent brings Charlie a heroine statue. Charlie: "Are you kidding me?"

• Eko (to Charlie playing on his guitar): "Charlie, do you know how they got the hatch door open?"
Charlie: "No, but if you hum it I can probably play it." –I laughed so hard.[/spoiler]

I like bullets. On to season 3!

[Radical Dreamer]

HOORAAAYYY! More reasons to talk about Lost! XDD

[Spoiler]3. Desmond –]

Desmond is my favorite character in the entire show, if that says anything. XD I have a lot of favorites, but he is at the top. XD His character plot gets pretty fascinating later in the show. XD

[spoiler]7. Not!Henry –he played Locke like a fiddle, it was awesome.[/spoiler]

My other favorite character. Michael Emerson owns that role. XD Same with Locke/Terry O'Quinn; the scenes they share are riveting every time. XD

[spoiler]• My biggest beef with the show is how they handle the non-main-cast crash survivors. The Tailies were easy; kill off most of them before they even appear. But there are numerous random front section people just milling about doing who knows what. I understand that obviously everyone can’t be shown to interact with everyone else, but then moments when, for example, they guys on the raft return or Michael from Other-town, everyone comes running all excited and happy and I wanna throw my hands in the air and be like, “You don’t even KNOW these people.” It makes those scenes REALLY implausible to me and all their interactions with the main cast seem fake. The only “Ascended Extra” so to speak, is Rose and Bernard, Arzt (who points out the whole clique thing and then explodes) and Scott and Steve, who are only mentioned because nobody remembers which is which (and one of them dies too). I don’t know how they could have solved this problem, maybe having less original survivors? It irks me though.[/spoiler]

Yeah, honestly, it's better when they let the extras just be extras, instead of trying to involve them in the story. XD Rose and Bernard are great characters, but Arzt was obnoxious (even though he brought on one of Hurley's best lines in the entire show XDD), and I'm sure you'll find the other two that they bring to the forefront in season 3 obnoxious, too. XD I still wonder what Team Darlton was thinking when they introduced those two characters, but that's behind us now. XD

[spoiler]• I miss the smoke monster.[/spoiler]

Oh my goodness just wait. XD That's all I'll say. XD

[GeneD]

HOORAAAYYY! More reasons to talk about Lost! XDD

Yes. XD I have been going on and on about it that has driven some of the friends to show an interest, possibly grudgingly, in the series. -All part of the plan. XP

Yeah, honestly, it's better when they let the extras just be extras, instead of trying to involve them in the story. XD Rose and Bernard are great characters, but Arzt was obnoxious (even though he brought on one of Hurley's best lines in the entire show XDD), and I'm sure you'll find the other two that they bring to the forefront in season 3 obnoxious, too. XD I still wonder what Team Darlton was thinking when they introduced those two characters, but that's behind us now. XD

Part of my point was that introducing new characters from the crash randomly makes them seem silly and unrealistic. Case in point: Nikki and Paulo. I think the ascended extra thing worked for Rose (and Bernard) because she was actually introduced, although briefly, early in season 1. It didn't help that Nikki and Paulo seemed to be generally boneheaded characters with terrible lines. Having Paulo supposedly discover The Pearl first kinda cheapens the whole thing of Eko and Locke finding it.

This one scene was particularly cringe worthy]Episode 2: finally more Sayid
We have a couch cushion that looks a lot like the one Jin was going to use to muffle the gun shot when he was going to shoot Sun’s lover.
Episode 3: Charlie is being a bit of a jerk after the hatch imploded, but at least he’s still funny.
Yay Boone! Channelling Damon, which makes sense coz he’s undead now. Post-death snark is cool.
Desmond in a giant tie-die shirt; BHAHAHAHAHAHA
Episode 5: Scene with Desmond and Sayid –fangirl quotient x100
SMOKE MONSTER IS BACK! YES. No ripping trees yet though.
:( for Eko
Episode 6: Juliet flashback, Juliet flashback, Juliet flashback –nope, crud, only Kate.
Episode 7: So many diseases are getting into Ben! Everyone is just pulling off their surgical masks and gloves and everything during the operation standoff.
Finally a Juliet flaskback
HE GOT HIT BY A BUS! BHAHAHAHAHAHA! BEST. EPISODE. EVER.
Episode 8: Charlie definitely took a level in jerkiness, but his sarcasm is also up so I approve.
Episode 10: Vincent is still FAT. Hurley/car is AWESOME.
Episode 11: Yay Sayid episode! Hey, Ms Clue is back –oh… never mind. XP
Episode 13: Epic Ben quote: “No John, unfortunately we don’t have a code for there’s a man in my closet with a gun to my daughter’s head. Although obviously we should.â€

[Radical Dreamer]

[quote="GeneD (post: 1460288)"]Case in point: Nikki and Paulo. I think the ascended extra thing worked for Rose (and Bernard) because she was actually introduced, although briefly, early in season 1. It didn't help that Nikki and Paulo seemed to be generally boneheaded characters with terrible lines. Having Paulo supposedly discover The Pearl first kinda cheapens the whole thing of Eko and Locke finding it.

This one scene was particularly cringe worthy]

UGH yes yes yes. XD The thing about season 3 that keeps it from being one of my favorites is that it has some of the WORST episodes in Lost in the first half. Interesting fact: in the early parts of season 3, Lost still hadn't been signed for all six seasons. Team Darlton weren't sure how long they would have to drag the show out based on ratings until about halfway through season 3 when they signed with ABC for permission to treat the show's story properly and stop at season six. This is why the last half of season 3 is really tightly written (you'll find that about seasons 4-6 as well), whereas the first half sort of wanders around aimlessly for a bit.

Also, is Flashes Before Your Eyes (the Desmond-centric episode, number 11, I believe) the best episode, or the best episode? XD I love that one SO MUCH. And yeah, the season 3 finale was definitely one of the most riveting, edge-of-your-seat 2 hours of television I'd ever seen at the time. XD The last scene in that one blew everyone in my family away. XD

Sidenote: scenes between Ben and Locke will only continue to get better. XD

[GeneD]

Interesting fact: in the early parts of season 3, Lost still hadn't been signed for all six seasons. Team Darlton weren't sure how long they would have to drag the show out based on ratings until about halfway through season 3 when they signed with ABC for permission to treat the show's story properly and stop at season six. This is why the last half of season 3 is really tightly written (you'll find that about seasons 4-6 as well), whereas the first half sort of wanders around aimlessly for a bit.

That is good news. XD I'm reading some commentaries etc. on episodes as I finish them and am sometimes surprised by what episodes people liked or didn't like. For example most people didn't seem to like the Hurley/Dharma van episode Trisha Tanaka is Dead, while I really enjoyed it. This is possibly due to the fact that it wasn't an "answer-rich" episode and most people had to wait another week for possible answers while I just go on to the next episode.

Also, is Flashes Before Your Eyes (the Desmond-centric episode, number 11, I believe) the best episode, or the best episode? XD I love that one SO MUCH.

I'll see your Flashes and raise you season 4's The Constant, which I watched yesterday. O.O What an amazing, brilliant, riveting episode! I was literally at the edge of my seat throughout! If Desmond episodes continue this trend of increasing awesome, my head might just explode.

On another note though, both the last Sayid flask back and his flash forward were just a little disappointing to me. The flash forward maybe because I could pretty much predict the outcome, even who his employer was.

Sidenote: scenes between Ben and Locke will only continue to get better. XD

Good news again. I feel bad for Locke though, he's so lost (pardon) at the moment and Ben is so many steps ahead of him. Although to be fair, Ben is many steps ahead of everyone, Locke just takes it the hardest. XP

[Radical Dreamer]

That is good news. XD I'm reading some commentaries etc. on episodes as I finish them and am sometimes surprised by what episodes people liked or didn't like. For example most people didn't seem to like the Hurley/Dharma van episode Trisha Tanaka is Dead, while I really enjoyed it. This is possibly due to the fact that it wasn't an "answer-rich" episode and most people had to wait another week for possible answers while I just go on to the next episode.

XD There's actually a reason for that, too! When that episode aired, ABC advertised it by saying, "THIS WILL BE THE EPISODE EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT TOMORROW]I'll see your Flashes and raise you season 4's The Constant, which I watched yesterday. O.O What an amazing, brilliant, riveting episode! I was literally at the edge of my seat throughout! If Desmond episodes continue this trend of increasing awesome, my head might just explode.[/QUOTE]

GDKSGDGJ YES. The Constant is my favorite episode in the entire series (and season 4 is my favorite season). XD Any Desmond-centric episode is awesome, but The Constant just rips your heart out and punches it in the face. XD I got seriously choked up at the end of that episode the first (second, third, etc.) time I saw it. XD It's so well done. XD

Also, how much do you love Daniel Faraday? XD

[GeneD]

Speaking of commentaries, have you looked up any of Doc Jensen's articles from EW.com yet? Because you totally should. XD He was the most fantastic (and long-winded) Lost writer out there for all of the seasons, and he came up with some really interesting theories, most of which didn't come to fruition, but they certainly did get you thinking! XD

I've read the episode recaps, some of what he wrote, but not too many of the more theory-orientated articles yet.

Also, how much do you love Daniel Faraday? XD

Daniel Faraday is SO ADORABLE! He's like a floppy little puppy (definitely has the puppy-dog eyes thing going). Just want to wrap him in a blanket and take him home. XD

I generally like the four freighter people so far. Miles and Charlotte both have the kind of funny, snarky attitude that I like.

[GeneD]

I am watching too much season 5 to comment a lot on season 4. XD

Season 4 episode observations
[spoiler]
Episode 1: Sawyer wanting to help/talk to Hurley about Charlie is sweet.
Scene with Hurley and ghost Charlie was really funny and a bit moving at the same time
Women who sleep with Sayid have a drastically reduced life expectancy.
Episode 2: Daniel is kinda bumbling cute… not sure if I should believe it.
Episode 3: Elsa, it that supposed to be a German accent?
XD Hurley standing up to Miles.
Episode 4: If Hugo knows, everybody knows.
Episode 5: Stellar Desmond episode. Literally had me at the edge of my seat.
Episode 6: Jack looks like a guppy in the rain.
Charlotte hit Kate over the head. I like Charlotte
Ben crushing on Juliette is creepy.
Episode 7: Great Sun and Jin episode, got me to like the characters again
Episode 8: Sayid has done his first really really bonehead move of the series by giving up Michael.
:( for Rousseau, what an anti-climactic way to die
Episode 9: Rousseau is shot and then we are suddenly back to Jack and Kate. Seriously; Jack and Kate? Nobody cares.
The attack on Othertown was really surreal with Sawyer running past white picket fences and picnic tables while being shot at.
So apparently as much as we love him, Sayid is deadly to women, literally
:( for Alex
Sawyer’s concern for Claire is really sweet.
Episode 10: So of all the terrible things that could happen… appendicitis. O-kay
I am worried about Jack’s state of mind in deciding to be awake for an appendix removal.
Episode 11: Locke pulling a Ben and Ben praising him for it: LOL
Episode 12: Sawyer’s catchphrase seems to have rubbed off on Jack

Characters

Top 3 are a 3-way-tie between Sayid, Hurley and Desmond

2. Juliet
3. Sawyer
4. Ben
5. Daniel
6. Charlotte
7. Sun

Generally ordered

Miles
Rousseau -Her death was so unfair and anti-climactic
Jack
Locke
Jin
Michael -He's a lot more interesting now he's back
Keamy -Good villian
Alex
Rose & Bernard
Frank
Penny
Kate
Claire[/spoiler]