LOST: Its about the Characters not the Island

comedyfishcomedyfish Posts: 21,637
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well not for me it wasn't (well not entirely, i wouldn't have kept watching it if the characters were shit)... and not for a lot of people on the forums I've seen.

For the last 6 years its been questions about the island.. and that for me is why its slightly dissapointing.

Emotionally satisfying but not intellectually - someone said in a paper - I echo this.

However I can totally see how some people will be happy.

and for me its this that will divide people...

I'd be interested to see if people agree or think I'm a numb nuts :D

(or both of course :D )
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Comments

  • billlythekidbilllythekid Posts: 5,080
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    If you look at it in terms of one man...well one soul's journey to redemption, most of the other stuff kind of falls away and its quite beautiful. Jack's journey was epic..and a joy to watch..he finally let go..

    This show's story was not, in the end about Jacob, or MiB...or polar bears..or Dharma or Walt, Arron or planes, rafts, time travel or ... sonic fences...it was a singular story of one mans journey to self-redemption..and it was beautiful..

    It was well done. Basically the entire flash sideways realm was a place where the people who touched each other... ..and grew so close through the adventure on the island waited for Jack to let go...this story basically centered on Jack's journey. As the souls in the flash sideways realm "woke up" they realized that it was time to prepare as Jack was about to finally redeem himself and let go. The whole arc was not as linear as it looked..for instance, time had passed that we didnt get to see...Hurley was dead but he and Ben had spent time protecting the island..hence, the "You made a good number 2" comment to Ben. Ben either wasnt dead (he probably was, tho) or he wasnt redeemed enough yet to move on...the people in the church died and redeemed themselves at different times..but hey were ALL waiting for JAck...once he let go, they moved on together...beautiful..
  • AddisonianAddisonian Posts: 16,377
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    I completely disagree. For me, the island played a HUGE part in the entire series. For the writers to just brush over its origins without a proper explanation is just not good enough. people keep saying that it's 'open to interpretation' and that we don't need all the answers given to us on a plate. Well, sorry but I do!
  • AvillerAviller Posts: 397
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    Of course it was about the frakkin island. That's where everything was set and its special traits played a huge role in the show. Boiling everything down to the question who Kate wanted to sleep with is imo not satisfactory.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,599
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    to say the story is about the characters and not the island is a cop out on the writers behalf in my opinion.

    If thats truely the case then they shouldnt have set the show on a mystical island in the first place! dont set it on an island and ask question after question about the island!
    There were 10x more questions raised about the island than any character! The show was billed and advertised as a sci-fi programme... not a character drama!

    Even in the adverts it said they would show what the characters died for?? what did they die for?? nothing!

    If JJ and co want to write a character driven piece they should guest write for Desperate Housewives... thats a character show! this was sci-fi and was about an island, except they realised they couldnt answer any of the islands questions so desperately tried to switch it to a character driven show!
  • comedyfishcomedyfish Posts: 21,637
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    Addisonian wrote: »
    I completely disagree. For me, the island played a HUGE part in the entire series. For the writers to just brush over its origins without a proper explanation is just not good enough. people keep saying that it's 'open to interpretation' and that we don't need all the answers given to us on a plate. Well, sorry but I do!

    yup - I think for me I want to know a few answers so I know that THEY (Carlton and Damon) knew what it was all about... I feel a bit cheated in some respects.

    e.g. how does the island move? sticking a wheel on a magical light doesn'tt cut it for me.. although i cant imagine what would TBH :D
  • zoundszounds Posts: 10,730
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    Addisonian wrote: »
    For me, the island played a HUGE part in the entire series. For the writers to just brush over its origins without a proper explanation is just not good enough. people keep saying that it's 'open to interpretation' and that we don't need all the answers given to us on a plate. Well, sorry but I do!
    Aviller wrote: »
    Of course it was about the frakkin island. That's where everything was set and its special traits played a huge role in the show. Boiling everything down to the question who Kate wanted to sleep with is imo not satisfactory.
    Completely agree, it's amazing how people are willing to accept the 'sideways' as the whole premise of the show after just ONE season ain't it!
  • comedyfishcomedyfish Posts: 21,637
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    zounds wrote: »
    It's amazing how people are willing to accept the 'sideways' as the whole premise of the show after ONE season ain't it!

    Weirdly if you take the sideways out - what are you left with - the bulk of the story - 6 years... with no real explanation.

    The writers seem to have said - see the Island isn't purgatory its real... the FS were purgatory...

    Ok I'm fine with that i guess - so lets talk about the Island part of the story then... What the Hell was going on?


    For me its all a bit like a rubbish coin vanishing trick done badly, look the coin is not in this hand... yes I know! I'm concentrating on the first hand you haven't misdirected me at all!


    I'm not saying that 'Team Character' (as apposed to Team Island) are thick and easily misdirected just... open the first hand.. show me the f**king coin :D
  • AvillerAviller Posts: 397
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    I guess in the end the writers just realized that their explanations were never going to live up to the expectations of the fans. So they just said "to hell with it, we're gonna write a nice episode, focusing on the characters without dealing with any of the issues raised over the previous seasons".
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,599
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    thats exactly my feeling.. the purgatory storyline is a distraction from the actual story. If they never had the flash sideways.. then absoutely nothing is answered. the only answer we got was the pointlessly added on purgatory storyline.

    6 series of lost that went absolutely nowhere!
  • yakutzyakutz Posts: 10,987
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    I'm not entirely sure what answers people are looking for. Personally, I'm annoyed that Walt's storyline/mystery got ditched, and I'm disappointed that we never got a proper answer for the childbirth problems, but that aside, I think they gave us just enough information. We know enough to be able to form our own conclusions using the logic they set out, but not enough that it becomes too set in stone and ridiculous.

    They managed all of that while creating a truly moving piece of television which provided absolute closure on the vast majority of characters. I can't see what more people could have wanted.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 961
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    yakutz wrote: »
    I'm not entirely sure what answers people are looking for. Personally, I'm annoyed that Walt's storyline/mystery got ditched, and I'm disappointed that we never got a proper answer for the childbirth problems, but that aside, I think they gave us just enough information. We know enough to be able to form our own conclusions using the logic they set out, but not enough that it becomes too set in stone and ridiculous.

    They managed all of that while creating a truly moving piece of television which provided absolute closure on the vast majority of characters. I can't see what more people could have wanted.

    precisely. It's easily done to forge your own answers to the questions, if only people would stop and think about them, rather than complaining we didn't get an answer.
  • AvillerAviller Posts: 397
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    EIwood wrote: »
    precisely. It's easily done to forge your own answers to the questions, if only people would stop and think about them, rather than complaining we didn't get an answer.

    Sorry, but even in this day and age of Big Brother and other reality shows, I expect the writers to put in at least a modicum of effort and provide me with the answers (or at least some of them) not the other way around. I've pretty much watched all Lost episodes and I don't think I'm the dumbest person around yet I can't really figure out what's happened over these past 6 years.
  • comedyfishcomedyfish Posts: 21,637
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    yakutz wrote: »
    I'm not entirely sure what answers people are looking for.

    loads - and if I rewatch it I have a horrible feeling that I'll be constantly thinking - well I aint going to get an answer for that...
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,926
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    SlashNX wrote: »
    If JJ and co want to write a character driven piece they should guest write for Desperate Housewives...

    One of the great myths of this show is how much J.J Abrams has to do with it. He co-wrote the first two episodes. He co-created it. But that's pretty much it and it's doubtful that his original vision has been stuck to.
  • comedyfishcomedyfish Posts: 21,637
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    Smerph wrote: »
    One of the great myths of this show is how much J.J Abrams has to do with it. He co-wrote the first two episodes. He co-created it. But that's pretty much it and it's doubtful that his original vision has been stuck to.

    hmm weirdly I think one of his ideas was that Jack was killed in the pilot which they changed...

    OR DID THEY???? *overly dramatic music*
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 104
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    comedyfish wrote: »
    Emotionally satisfying but not intellectually

    That sums it up brilliantly, probably explains why I feel a bit weird about it all - happy but sad. Or that could just be the getting up at 5am. Where's the coffee?!
  • paulbrockpaulbrock Posts: 16,632
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    Aviller wrote: »
    Sorry, but even in this day and age of Big Brother and other reality shows, I expect the writers to put in at least a modicum of effort and provide me with the answers (or at least some of them) not the other way around. I've pretty much watched all Lost episodes and I don't think I'm the dumbest person around yet I can't really figure out what's happened over these past 6 years.

    what questions do you want answering? pref more specific than "what happened?" "what is the island?";)
  • comedyfishcomedyfish Posts: 21,637
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    paulbrock wrote: »
    what questions do you want answering? pref more specific than "what happened?" "what is the island?";)

    e.g. If the numbers were 'assigned' to the candidates (which wasn't explained in any way)... why were they stamped on the under side of the hatch... why were they needed to be inputted every 108 mins?
  • EurostarEurostar Posts: 78,519
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    I get it that the show was all about the characters and not the island.But why introduce so much science fiction stuff over the six years then? At times it was bewildering the amount of stuff they were throwing at us : time travel,quantum physics,electromagnetic energy,"moving the island",smoke monsters etc.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,362
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    comedyfish wrote: »
    e.g. If the numbers were 'assigned' to the candidates (which wasn't explained in any way)... why were they stamped on the under side of the hatch... why were they needed to be inputted every 108 mins?

    With the numbers being on the inside of the hatch, i think that beacuse the losties were thier when the hatch was being built, hurly must have said something to someone building it, and they put the numbers thier, maybe as a reminder??

    Thats my reason anyway.
  • jjesso123jjesso123 Posts: 5,944
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    comedyfish wrote: »
    e.g. If the numbers were 'assigned' to the candidates (which wasn't explained in any way)... why were they stamped on the under side of the hatch... why were they needed to be inputted every 108 mins?

    the hatch was just a dharma station looking at the electromagnetic energy. Typeing the numbers stoped electromagnetic energy from causing another incident. when desmond turned the failsafe he asurbed all the electromagnetic energy making him flash in time.the where even numbers even stamped under the hatch it was beside the hatch right ? maybe when building it they didnt want forget number they where gonig to use not really important is It ?


    I really dont think theres much they left unaswerd that would not just sound half baked. when your making show about flying smoke monster and island that heals people has protector that lived 2000 years and other protectors before that it becomes really hard to without people putting down like aross the seas all the american accents in 23ad I cant belive how many people internet went sick about that. and the fact is most of people that are complaing now are people that would complaing anyway.
  • Blake ConnollyBlake Connolly Posts: 9,509
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    comedyfish wrote: »
    hmm weirdly I think one of his ideas was that Jack was killed in the pilot which they changed...

    OR DID THEY???? *overly dramatic music*

    Yep, back when it was originally going to be Michael Keaton playing him.

    I've read quite a few things that seem to basically be saying that JJ kept throwing in "cool stuff" like the monster or the hatch without coming up with explanations for them because everyone fully expected the show to be cancelled so they just wanted to make the most nine or so episodes of TV they could. Then JJ buggered off to do Mission Impossible 3, leaving Damon and Carlton to figure out how the hell to answer all the questions. They've said many times that it was only in the time between seasons one and two that they actually had time to sit down and come up with the answers and map out the full story they wanted to tell. They also basically said that DHARMA was a fun sidestory that helped use up time while they didn't know how many seasons they'd have but ultimately the story could be told without DHARMA, which once sounded crazy but now rings true.

    Anyway, it wasn't the finale I spent the best part of five years expecting to see, much less explanation and much more emotion, with the only "Oh, so THAT'S what it is" moment being to do with the flashsideways, which have only just been introduced. There's a few questions I'd like to have had answers to, like what caused the pregnancy issues with the Others, but ultimately I think we've had all the answers we possibly could have about the island before they just come down to "because it is". They've gone down such a magical route that the more questions you ask, the more ridiculous the answers would end up being.
  • comedyfishcomedyfish Posts: 21,637
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    jjesso123 wrote: »
    the hatch was just a dharma station looking at the electromagnetic energy. Typeing the numbers stoped electromagnetic energy from causing another incident. when desmond turned the failsafe he asurbed all the electromagnetic energy making him flash in time.the where even numbers even stamped under the hatch it was beside the hatch right ? maybe when building it they didnt want forget number they where gonig to use not really important is It ?

    why are you telling me all this? I've been watching since day 1

    I want to know if the numbers were the numbers of the candidates by Jacob... why were they also the numbers that Darma used?
  • paulbrockpaulbrock Posts: 16,632
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    ukool wrote: »
    With the numbers being on the inside of the hatch, i think that beacuse the losties were thier when the hatch was being built, hurly must have said something to someone building it, and they put the numbers thier, maybe as a reminder??

    Thats my reason anyway.

    it was a serial number. Hurley saw them add it. So there's another part no 4815162341 nearby. :)
  • comedyfishcomedyfish Posts: 21,637
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    paulbrock wrote: »
    it was a serial number. Hurley saw them add it. So there's another part no 4815162341 nearby. :)

    ahh right I see ;)

    :D
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