LOST discussion - thar be spoilers ahead!

[Maglor]

They didn't know:

https://www.aintitcool.com/node/45268

My favorite points from that link:

"There was a big, mythic architecture which included a lot of what's in the finale, in terms of where we end the show, that we knew way back in the beginning,” Cuse tells SciFiWire in a post-finale interview. "And then, before each season, we'd have a writers' mini-camp and spend a month without any pressure of writing other scripts, figuring out the architecture of the upcoming season. That'd sort of take the artists' rendering and turn it into blueprints, and then, during the season, episode by episode, we built the structure. We allowed ourselves a lot of flexibility to change things around as we were doing construction. It was impossible to have everything planned out, and so it was kind of built in stages."


...And so what? I’m pretty sure pretty much ALL series TV works this way: The creators have some vague idea of how his series will eventually end (Bill reaches Earth, Tony dies suddenly, Jack’s eye closes) and they get together at the beginning of each season and work out as best they can what’ll happen in the next 22 episodes (though they’re probably have more details on the first 11 than the last 11).

Sometimes changes are dictated by what happens with casting. We know Ben was originally going to stick around three episodes and Eko was supposed to stick around till season five. I'd wager that if CBS' "Cane" proved a bigger hit, we'd have seen a lot less of Richard Alpert in the last two seasons.

Who knows what else changed along the way?

 

[pixletwin]

I honestly could care less what was known when and how far back they knew it. The finale was gorgeously written, acted, scored and executed. No complaints here. I love lingering mysteries. I don't feel there is a void that needs to be filled at all. What mysteries are left, I feel there are enough clues left that I can come to my own personal conclusions.

 

[Darth Caedus]

Yea, they didn't know EXACTLY how the show would end, but they had the general jist....

 

[Kuzeh]

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[YoNoSe]

I love the titles on the soundtracks. They are so funny. "Win one for the Reaper" lol

"Shannonigans"

 

[Maglor]

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I saw that coming! I laugh no matter how many times I hear that guy!

 

[pixletwin]

 

[barryo]

I didn't remember that Vincent was there at the very beginning, I thought it was a way for the audience to find it more bearable that Jack wasn't completely alone at the end.

that's exactly how i interpreted that & really i think that's exactly how it was supposed to be.

 

[barbelith]

"There was a big, mythic architecture which included a lot of what's in the finale, in terms of where we end the show, that we knew way back in the beginning,” Cuse tells SciFiWire in a post-finale interview.

This means different things depending on what Cuse means by "mythic architecture." I find it impossible to believe he's referring to the whole Jacob/MiB thing, not least because some of the writers have said point blank the smoke monster was never meant to be the MiB originally, to say nothing of the complete irrelevance of most of the first five seasons to this framework.

If he's referring to the idea that the show was about finding a minder for the island, for the characters to "find" themselves and for a post-death finale then sure.

I’m pretty sure pretty much ALL series TV works this way.

Most shows aren't ongoing mysteries, and the more successful ones (hello Veronica Mars) have it all worked out from the beginning. I'm not saying the resolution wasn't satisfying for some people, I'm just pointing out that the fans saying the whole thing was masterminded from the beginning are just plain wrong. An awful lot of it was made up on the fly, and it shows in the sheer number of abandoned "big plot things" such as the Others' fixation on the babies etc.

If people enjoyed it, good for them. That's a good thing. Personally, I enjoyed the ride but found the conclusion deeply unsatisfying because it had nothing to do with virtually the entire run of the show. I also had the misfortune of watching the Ashes to Ashes finale a few days before I got around to watching the Lost finale, and it handled the same themes with far more finesse.

 

[Maglor]

I'm not saying the resolution wasn't satisfying for some people, I'm just pointing out that the fans saying the whole thing was masterminded from the beginning are just plain wrong. An awful lot of it was made up on the fly, and it shows in the sheer number of abandoned "big plot things" such as the Others' fixation on the babies etc.

No one's saying that.


None of us can know how much was planned.


I think they had a "skeleton" of the show mapped out. No one can know what exactly was included in that.

 

[a-dev]

If people enjoyed it, good for them. That's a good thing. Personally, I enjoyed the ride but found the conclusion deeply unsatisfying because it had nothing to do with virtually the entire run of the show.

Agreed. I'm not going to ask for all those hours of my life back, I enjoyed it all, but for the most part you might aswell have completely forgotten about the events that occured in the preceding seasons and just taken this season alone as 'the show'. In the end only character relationships from the earlier seasons seemed to have any importance.

 

[SwedishHeat]

They didn't know:

https://www.aintitcool.com/node/45268

So, it's just a coincidence that the 4 kidnapped Losties from Season 3 were the last remaining Losties in the show??

I'm sure DHARMA wasn't part of the equation when the pilot was being developed, but I bet the idea that some guy had hand-picked a select few people from their terrible lives to reinvent themselves was the "overarching" mythology that they talked about.

 

[creature4000]

I'm just glad it's all over!

 

[ChronoBreak]

For those who still can't let go, here's a good read:

Link

 

[Something Sexy]

Nothing to add except I am wearing my Desmond-Daniel LOST-Back to the Future shirt today from teefuy.

 

[lcummins]

it's in reverse lonnie.................jacks first scene was him opening his eye, not closing it. drag the clip backwards

I was about to say, Lonnie "are you watching the clip I posted?".
The beginning sequence is played backwards. Jack even walks backwards a little at the very beginning of it.

Hey! his an old man people! leave him alone!!!

I thought you were talking just about Vincent... now I see the whole clip is backward!!! And I re-watched the Pilot on Saturday before the Finale!!!

I got it now... they had to "reverse" the pilot clip to "match" the finale action.

 

[pixletwin]

Great read. For the longest time Northern Exposure was my all time favorite show. But the finale of LOST firmly put them ahead. Truly was the best television series ever imo.

 

[FlyAndFight]

Any chance that the writers intentionally set up the similarities between the Dharma Initiative and the original "Others" from the Jacob / MIB as kids episode?

-Both groups were investigating the source of the electromagnetic forces.

-Both groups were wiped out...


On an unrelated note, I'm not sure if we got the answer to the following question(s) (perhaps a "blonde moment" on my part?) but would appreciate to hear from my fellow "Losties" if so (or any theories, otherwise...):

"Who was dropping the Dharma supplies during the 2nd season? And how were they able to locate the island's location?

 

[pixletwin]

I think after Ben killed off the Dharma workers he was working a con on the Dharma Initiative with the Others posing as Dharma folk so the food drops would keep coming.

.

 

[Darth Caedus]

I think after Ben killed off the Dharma workers he was working a con on the Dharma Initiative with the Others posing as Dharma folk so the food drops would keep coming.

.

Yea, I can agree with that. After all, the Dharma people knew where the island was because they had to get there. The only thing we don't know (or maybe we do and I forget) is how long before the Losties crashed did Ben get rid of the Dharma Folk? If it was a LONG time, seems weird that Dharma would still be dropping supplies if they didn't here progress reports or actually hear from their own representatives (unless Ben's folk pretended to be Dharma folk to their HQ)