***Note: Does divulge some of the plot of Lost, though the whole thing is confusing anyways, so my summaries and commentary might not even register with you. Just incase, SPOILER ALERT!
I have spent all of 2010 speculating about all of the possible answers to the wonders of the universe. Who are the Others and can we trust them? Why are there polar bears in a tropic zone? How do the characters all have perfect hair and skin when they’ve been stranded on an island for years? Does Kate love Sawyer or Jack? Why hasn’t she considered Desmond or Hurley? Is the island even real? Why are they there? How does Caleb from The OC fit into the story? Who’s the bad guy? What makes the Smoke Monster roar like the Crackin from Clash of the Titans? Should Locke push the button? Do religion and science correlate? Who owns the yellow lab? Will the baby live? Will the mother live? Why do the dead reappear? What is the man-in-black’s name? Why is Jacob invisible? What happened to the rest of the body of the foot statue hidden underwater? Why is a strange man writing people’s names on a wall? If there is an alternate reality, am I living in it?
If anyone but a Lost fan heard those questions, they would consider the asker certifiably insane. Fellow Lost fans welcome the questions and engage in seemingly intellectual debates about what everything in the show could mean. Lost is a show that plays hard-to-get. Every episode presents more questions. Even when something is answered, new story lines only build to the complexity and confusion of the plot. In one of the most recent episodes, one of the characters said, “I cannot give you the answer because it would only create more questions.” That just about sums up five seasons for you. So, if you have not caught onto the Lost hysteria, save yourself.
I’m an avid fan of the show and have watched it consistently for five years. However, the season finale had me thoroughly disappointed. I anticipated the final two hours giving me the closure and answers that I have been waiting for. My biggest questions, of course, were where does the island come from, why are they all there, and what is the Smoke Monster? Unfortunately, while the show provides closure and a sweet endings for the characters, it left the fans hanging. None of our major questions were really answered. And the whole parallel reality/purgatory theme was disappointingly underdeveloped. For such a complex show, that surprised me.
However, in Lost‘s defense, the nature of the show is provoking thought and pondering existentialist questions. We’ve never been given concrete answers about anything. It may have been hokey for the creators to wrap up every loose end in the finale because that’s not what Lost is about.
When you think about it, none of the great mysteries in life are answered, so why should we expect the same thing from television? Do you see real-life criminals monologuing about why they committed their crimes? Is it ever really clear why some things happen to you and others don’t?
People have an obsession with wanting answers. And rightly so. When you are wronged, you want to know why. What is the point of questions without answers? You ask questions because you want answers. You want some control over your life. You want to understand everything. Asking questions is important to generate imagination and innovative thinking, but questions can be dangerous when you grow fixated on them. It’s okay to want answers, but if you don’t get one, and it isn’t essential, let it go.
I often wonder why I’m unemployed. Why are so many people with college degrees unemployed? When am I going to be able to move out of my parents? When can I move to a place that I want to be in and where several of my friends are? How can I make money in the mean time? What if I decline one offer and nothing else presents itself? How much longer will I be waiting? Some of those questions are rationale things to consider, however wondering about hypotheticals will lead you nowhere. Sometimes it is better to focus on the present rather than belaboring the past.
That doesn’t excuse Lost from answering nothing, however, it does make me understand why all of our questions were left open-ended. Life without if is almost a lie. Lost, I don’t forgive you, but I admire that you have never changed for anybody.
