Holy cow, it’s June! Summer will officially be here in only a few short weeks! Crazy! I hope your weekends were lovely. One of the highlights of mine was by far Glenn’s birthday dinner where I had the BEST meal of my life -- just incredible -- 3 1/2 hours of deliciousness after deliciousness. Ahhh, my mouth is watering from the memories. Anyhow, while I’m sitting and waiting on my cast iron pans to be seasoned (Yay! Finally! Their first seasoning since I received them for my birthday -- months ago!), I figured here’s my chance to catch up on some posting.
Now, as I mentioned last week (yes, I’m way off, but hey! It’s been a busy week! And did you not read that sentence where I said I’m seasoning pans I received 3 months ago?), I watched the series finale of LOST on Sunday, May 23, 2010. Like many viewers, I felt rather unsatisfied, and my reasons for this dissatisfaction do not differ from other viewers’ own reactions. But at the same time, I’m a bit conflicted because I LOVE the show. First of all, I must admit, I re-watched the finale -- yes, all 105 minutes (that is commercial free) -- and as I re-watched with the expectation that I would receive no answers, I enjoyed the episode much more. Therefore, let me start with the positive. Just as the first episode of the series (and really, most of the first season) illustrated and to which the last episode was circling back, LOST is a series about relationships and the effects people have on one another. In many respects it was a show about love. On my second viewing, LOST’s emotional impact really got to me. It seemed that with each flash, more tears came to my eyes -- yes, even when Sayid reunited with Shannon, this viewer felt a tug on her heart strings. And especially at the end, even though I was anticipating all of it, as Vincent jumped out of the bamboo to be with Jack as he died (and in the same place where we first encountered both characters), I bawled my eyes out. I mean, Vincent came to be with Jack because he didn’t want him to die alone! GEEZ -- tears just thinking about it! Jack said in that first episode, “If we don’t live together, we’re gonna die alone." Luckily, they did live together and not one of them, not even Jack who appeared to be all by himself, was going to die alone. The writers sure did go for emotional overload and managed to make me realize that I truly am sad the show is over. As the final episode proved how important everyone was to one another, how their actions affected each and every one of them, the other elements of the show fell into place: The acting was great -- probably some of the best of the series -- and the story telling was very well done. For a stand alone episode, it was fantastic.
Now, had LOST not intentionally planted clues all along the way as an attempt to create a complex mythology to the whole series, had they NOT done that, I probably would have loved the finale. But they did do that! ALL THE TIME! The mythology, the religion, the science, the philosophy! The Easter eggs and the red herrings! LOST had been built up to be so much more than just simple storytelling, and in the finale, so much got swept under the carpet. And that’s where my sadness and disappointment come in. Whether it was with characters or with objects or with subjects discussed, LOST was a show all about clues. I mean, I thought that everything meant something. I loved trying to unravel the mystery of the island, which still begs the question -- what is the island??? I just don’t get it! I mean, from the beginning I thought that the characters were all in Purgatory, but the creators said, “NO! They are not!” REALLY?! Because you know what -- they are! Sure, it wasn’t an island Purgatory -- they couldn’t have it be THAT obvious -- so instead they were like, “We’ll create a sideways universe, and that -- THAT will be Purgatory. We’ll fool everyone!” So, yes, everyone’s dead. And you know what, JJ et al? That sucks! That is such an easy out! If you’re going to do that, at least answer some questions that are still lingering out there in the island atmosphere. I mean, throw us a bone! What exactly was MIB? Why electromagnetism? Why could Jacob go off the island but MIB couldn’t? Why was Walt special? What does DHARMA stand for? Where is the island? Who first encountered it? Did the “constants” really matter? What about time travel? And Faraday? And everything sciencey and philosophical? WHAT ABOUT THAT?? There seemed to be so much brilliance wound up in LOST -- the mystery of it all. But was it all for naught? I mean, the show easily could’ve been told in just a few episodes -- couldn't it have? Alright, don’t get me wrong, I still love the show, and I’m glad it wasn’t told in just a few episodes -- it was so much fun! But I am sad there wasn’t more to it than what it ended up as. It was a bit of a let-down, but it was still an amazing ride, with a few bumps along the way, but fun nonetheless.
No, I did not watch LOST from its beginning; Elisha, a coworker from the NYU Bookstore let me borrow season one when I took vacation, and I remember buying the first four episodes of the second season on iTunes because I just could not wait to have the second season in my hands. From the beginning, I was hooked, and I remember feeling the pain of having to wait NINE MONTHS until the next season began. The show really hit the emotional chords: LOST could be make me laugh, bring me tears of sadness, make me happy, and yes, infuriate me to no end. At times it was incredibly manipulative, but then it would come to light that it really just had no clue what it was doing. I think its intentions were good, but the delivery wasn’t always there. There were moments when I thought I’d had enough, but the show would turn around and reel me back in. I suppose I did consider “breaking-up” (I term I’ve seen with many LOST reviewers in recent times) with the show, but really, that was never an option. I had every intention of seeing it through to the end. And while I have been left unsatisfied, I am glad I stuck with it, and I am very sad to see it leave, even if I know it’s for the best. I’ll miss Sawyer's jabs at Hugo, and hearing Desmond say “See you in another life, Brother.” Luckily, the show will live on in DVD and Watch Instantly scenarios. And, of course, for the really really die hard fans, the box set -- with ALL the answers so they say, and to which I say, HA, yeah right! -- will be available in August. So for now I’ll leave you with some super awesome silkscreens that came up in my reader, and images that make me happy for LOST’s inspiration on others. So Bye-Bye, LOST. It was fun, it was wild, and above all, it wasn’t real. (I don’t know if that makes any sense, but I think the confusion is fitting for saying fare-the-well to this specific show).
Now, as I mentioned last week (yes, I’m way off, but hey! It’s been a busy week! And did you not read that sentence where I said I’m seasoning pans I received 3 months ago?), I watched the series finale of LOST on Sunday, May 23, 2010. Like many viewers, I felt rather unsatisfied, and my reasons for this dissatisfaction do not differ from other viewers’ own reactions. But at the same time, I’m a bit conflicted because I LOVE the show. First of all, I must admit, I re-watched the finale -- yes, all 105 minutes (that is commercial free) -- and as I re-watched with the expectation that I would receive no answers, I enjoyed the episode much more. Therefore, let me start with the positive. Just as the first episode of the series (and really, most of the first season) illustrated and to which the last episode was circling back, LOST is a series about relationships and the effects people have on one another. In many respects it was a show about love. On my second viewing, LOST’s emotional impact really got to me. It seemed that with each flash, more tears came to my eyes -- yes, even when Sayid reunited with Shannon, this viewer felt a tug on her heart strings. And especially at the end, even though I was anticipating all of it, as Vincent jumped out of the bamboo to be with Jack as he died (and in the same place where we first encountered both characters), I bawled my eyes out. I mean, Vincent came to be with Jack because he didn’t want him to die alone! GEEZ -- tears just thinking about it! Jack said in that first episode, “If we don’t live together, we’re gonna die alone." Luckily, they did live together and not one of them, not even Jack who appeared to be all by himself, was going to die alone. The writers sure did go for emotional overload and managed to make me realize that I truly am sad the show is over. As the final episode proved how important everyone was to one another, how their actions affected each and every one of them, the other elements of the show fell into place: The acting was great -- probably some of the best of the series -- and the story telling was very well done. For a stand alone episode, it was fantastic.
Now, had LOST not intentionally planted clues all along the way as an attempt to create a complex mythology to the whole series, had they NOT done that, I probably would have loved the finale. But they did do that! ALL THE TIME! The mythology, the religion, the science, the philosophy! The Easter eggs and the red herrings! LOST had been built up to be so much more than just simple storytelling, and in the finale, so much got swept under the carpet. And that’s where my sadness and disappointment come in. Whether it was with characters or with objects or with subjects discussed, LOST was a show all about clues. I mean, I thought that everything meant something. I loved trying to unravel the mystery of the island, which still begs the question -- what is the island??? I just don’t get it! I mean, from the beginning I thought that the characters were all in Purgatory, but the creators said, “NO! They are not!” REALLY?! Because you know what -- they are! Sure, it wasn’t an island Purgatory -- they couldn’t have it be THAT obvious -- so instead they were like, “We’ll create a sideways universe, and that -- THAT will be Purgatory. We’ll fool everyone!” So, yes, everyone’s dead. And you know what, JJ et al? That sucks! That is such an easy out! If you’re going to do that, at least answer some questions that are still lingering out there in the island atmosphere. I mean, throw us a bone! What exactly was MIB? Why electromagnetism? Why could Jacob go off the island but MIB couldn’t? Why was Walt special? What does DHARMA stand for? Where is the island? Who first encountered it? Did the “constants” really matter? What about time travel? And Faraday? And everything sciencey and philosophical? WHAT ABOUT THAT?? There seemed to be so much brilliance wound up in LOST -- the mystery of it all. But was it all for naught? I mean, the show easily could’ve been told in just a few episodes -- couldn't it have? Alright, don’t get me wrong, I still love the show, and I’m glad it wasn’t told in just a few episodes -- it was so much fun! But I am sad there wasn’t more to it than what it ended up as. It was a bit of a let-down, but it was still an amazing ride, with a few bumps along the way, but fun nonetheless.
No, I did not watch LOST from its beginning; Elisha, a coworker from the NYU Bookstore let me borrow season one when I took vacation, and I remember buying the first four episodes of the second season on iTunes because I just could not wait to have the second season in my hands. From the beginning, I was hooked, and I remember feeling the pain of having to wait NINE MONTHS until the next season began. The show really hit the emotional chords: LOST could be make me laugh, bring me tears of sadness, make me happy, and yes, infuriate me to no end. At times it was incredibly manipulative, but then it would come to light that it really just had no clue what it was doing. I think its intentions were good, but the delivery wasn’t always there. There were moments when I thought I’d had enough, but the show would turn around and reel me back in. I suppose I did consider “breaking-up” (I term I’ve seen with many LOST reviewers in recent times) with the show, but really, that was never an option. I had every intention of seeing it through to the end. And while I have been left unsatisfied, I am glad I stuck with it, and I am very sad to see it leave, even if I know it’s for the best. I’ll miss Sawyer's jabs at Hugo, and hearing Desmond say “See you in another life, Brother.” Luckily, the show will live on in DVD and Watch Instantly scenarios. And, of course, for the really really die hard fans, the box set -- with ALL the answers so they say, and to which I say, HA, yeah right! -- will be available in August. So for now I’ll leave you with some super awesome silkscreens that came up in my reader, and images that make me happy for LOST’s inspiration on others. So Bye-Bye, LOST. It was fun, it was wild, and above all, it wasn’t real. (I don’t know if that makes any sense, but I think the confusion is fitting for saying fare-the-well to this specific show).
(Thank you, Design Sponge.)
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