If you haven't been living under a rock for the past week or so, then you know that last Tuesday brought us the premiere of the final season of "Lost." And what a premiere it was! From parallel timelines to hidden temples (seriously though, where did that Aztec-looking thing come from?), the producers of "Lost" did not fail to bring their A-game when kicking off the beginning of the end. And this is exactly why I must smile to myself and respectfully say that yes, friends, sticking with "Lost" for the past six years was indeed the right decision. I'll admit, I did question the show's stability after Season Two. (For example, the ridiculous number of characters who were introduced, only to be killed off by the end of the season.) But with Season Three, we were thankfully right back on track. And it has only been smooth sailing from there. Well, as smooth as "Lost's" bomb-laden, time-traveling ship can sail, of course. The beauty - yes, the undeniable beauty - of "Lost" lies in the fact that every event that occurs is ultimately leading us toward an already decided upon ending. There are no unanswered questions in the minds of the producers who write the show just as much, if not more, for themselves as they do for their audience. "It would be a terrible mistake to change the methodology that has sustained the show for this long," executive producer Carlton Cuse said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "Find the person who hates Nikki and Paulo the most, and I guarantee you that Carlton and I are still flagellating ourselves for that idea," executive producer Damon Lindelof said in the same interview. "The fact that we are 10 times harder on ourselves than anybody else makes us feel like the show is in the right hands." When you have producers who toy with certain ideas for, well, years, you can't help but agree that "Lost" is certainly in the right hands. This level of commitment is exactly what keeps the show both on track and entertaining. There's also the fact that every time the audience thinks it might be catching on to the ways of these cunning minds, it only finds itself being thrown another curveball. Season Five's finale proved to be a set-up for another one of these moments. "We [knew] the audience was going to come out of the 'do-over moment' thinking we were either going to start over or just say it didn't work and continue on. [We thought] 'wouldn't it be great if we did both?' That was the origin of the story," Lindelof said in an EW.com interview. Though the "sideways reality" theme introduced during the premiere might seem like a big risk for the show, the attention to detail displayed during the two hours proves that this plot is a solid one. The producers even went so far as to change the trademark "woosh" sound effect that marked segues between the island's present time and the flashbacks/flash-forwards. This way, the importance of sideways segues is easily distinguished. But why would the producers introduce even more questions during the final season, you might ask? Why am I still watching a show that isn't giving me any answers? Let's think this one through. If there is one thing we know about "Lost," it's that the ever-flowing stream of questions is essential to the existence of the show. The mystery surrounding the island, its characters, and the connections between them all is exactly why we watch the show, and why it works so well. And don't worry; you'll get your answers in the end. Rather, the producers assure us that we'll at least get the answers to the questions that matter. The big-shots believe the questions that matter to the characters are ultimately the ones with which we should be concerned ourselves. Most notably, of course, is the relevance of the sideways reality, which Lindelof believes the audience will have the ability to wait for. "But it is going to require patience," he says. "We've taught the audience how to be patient thus far, so while they're getting a lot of mythological answers on the island early in the season, the idea of what is the relationship between the two [worlds] is a little bit more of a slow burn." And burn we will, as we continue to slowly form theories and have them shot down one by one. But for the true "Lost" fan, this is what it's all about. And when the season finale comes rolling around this spring, we will definitely be glad that we stuck with our baby to the end.
'LOST': waiting will be worth it in the end
Published: Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Updated: Monday, April 19, 2010 01:04
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