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Post by kingstownted on May 24, 2010 23:28:18 GMT -5
It's over. As the final LOST stamp faded into blackness a huge chapter of a personal journey through some of the most engaging and challenging storytelling I've ever been part of came to a close. To be perfectly honest this is a time of great melancholy. The wrap up episode of LOST from Horroretc is something that has been long promised and I have looked forward to this moment with great anticipation but now that the book has closed emotions that were most unexpected have set in. We hope you join us this week in a casual discussion of the general impressions the series has left with its dedicated fans and a very immediate reaction to the finale presented. The first half of the show is spent revisiting some of the key elements that made this a landmark in network television. In terms of overall scope it may be unsurpassed. Beautiful cinematography, powerful musical scores, complex characters, excellent performances, thought provoking writing, and some of the most dense mythology ever created. Standing back from the minor quibbles over concrete resolutions and unfulfilled concepts introduced along its six year run, the series provided a finale that challenged the viewer to think and arrive at conclusions not necessarily spelled out. What else should we have expected from writers who incorporated so many elements of world theologies into storytelling thematics and named characters after philosphers whose various conceptual understandings of our existance demanded consideration. The initial reaction session was a contentious one and may be representative of the general audience reaction to LOST as a whole. Looking forward to a rewatch but in the meantime regard this episode as a celebration of a cultural phenomenon. For the uninitiated check out the season 1-5 recap in 8 minutes LinkAnd as a fitting tribute check out Lost: All the People Who Died LinkWe always welcome your comments: horroretc@gmail.comVoicemail (206) 337-5324 |
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Post by jefseg09 on May 25, 2010 9:56:54 GMT -5
So I watched every episode and did they ever explain why woman could not maintain pregnancy on the island? Wasnt that the whole reason for Juliette's character? Did I miss it? Some people were cured too, did I miss this explanation as well?
I liked the episode overall, i knew I would leave with a lot of questions about the island, but it did end our characters' story well. It had to end that way for Jack, we could all see Hugo was more attached to the island in the last several episodes.
Great show, one of the most interesting series I have ever watched.
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Post by Scary Gary on May 25, 2010 13:20:52 GMT -5
So I watched every episode and did they ever explain why woman could not maintain pregnancy on the island? Wasnt that the whole reason for Juliette's character? Did I miss it? Some people were cured too, did I miss this explanation as well? No, these were not answered during the show. At least not definitively. |
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Post by jpollard on May 25, 2010 16:51:28 GMT -5
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misterd
Frightful Fiend
Posts: 1,220
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Post by misterd on May 25, 2010 20:28:18 GMT -5
So I watched every episode and did they ever explain why woman could not maintain pregnancy on the island? Wasnt that the whole reason for Juliette's character? Did I miss it? Some people were cured too, did I miss this explanation as well? Not explicitly, no. However, I think you can work out some answers on your own (though there is no guarantee anyone will come up with the same answers, it doesn't mean they won't be satisfactory). To me: The island sat on the glowy energy ball, which was something mystical/mythical, a sort of nexus for life and death. The energy emitted from the glowy energy ball is what created the EM fields and allowed for wonky things like time-space distortions. And the significance of the stained glass window, which showed symbols of various major religions beneath a glowy energy ball, is that the island and the glowy energy ball are the source of many of our belief systems. Because the island is this nexus for life and death, those injured on the island can heal quickly (alternatively this is because of the EM field - note the people who believe in healing with magnets). As for the children, it is established that Jacob makes The Rules. I suspect that given what Jacob and his brother have gone through, he does not want any more children born on the island. As for Juliet and Darhma, they are just more people who have found the island, and rather than just accept its mysteries, try to dig it up, study it, understand it, and exploit it. Since Darhma doesn't understand that Jacob makes the rules, they brought in scientists to study the infertility problem. Or they brought in Juliet because they needed another sexy woman that people hadn't started to hate. |
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Post by Scary Gary on May 25, 2010 22:47:52 GMT -5
That was an awesome link. Thank you for sharing. |
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panic
Cellar Dweller
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Post by panic on May 26, 2010 0:55:33 GMT -5
Great job on this episode! As someone who saw only episode 1 of season 1 (I had other TV addictions, cut me a break) I still found your discussion of the series very entertaining. Bonus points for editing, Ted. You don't get enough credit for the week to week production values of the Horror Etc podcast. It shows that you guys care about the quality of your work* and that is greatly appreciated. *must be a Canadian thing  |
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Post by jpollard on May 27, 2010 10:35:28 GMT -5
I am so onboard with LOST as a series. Come August, I'm gonna rewatch it from the beginning with the extra 12-14 minute epilogue! www.slashfilm.com/2010/05/26/lost-bonus-12-14-minute-epilogue-will-be-released-on-dvd/I also read that extra footage will explain what Walt was up to... I somehow doubt that, but will keep the candle lit that we'll see Walt once more. As a side note- the Walt thing: I would be fine with leaving his story by the wayside, in fat, I've more or less made peace with it, but WHY did they bring him in for a scene in season 4 and another in season 5? We SAW him tall. We KNOW he grew taller. So why not have him part of the story? Maybe he was a way worse actor as a tenn than a kid, that's not uncommon. It might be best they left him out... nevermind... |
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misterd
Frightful Fiend
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Post by misterd on May 27, 2010 22:29:35 GMT -5
There seemed to be some confusion about Eloise Hawkins in the podcast. From what I could tell, she knew the sideverse was what it was, much as Desmond, Ben, etc figured out. I'm not sure who or what triggered her "awakening" but as a peripheral character, it doesn't much matter. What she was concerned about was not that Faraday would die (he was already dead) but that by awakening, he would leave her behind when the LOSTies left the sideverse.
However, as important as Farady was to the narrative (ie EXPOSITION MAN) he didn't matter to the characters much. His ties were to Charlotte and Eloise, and is more likely to move on with them than Jack and Desmond.
As for Walt...
It is a magic world. There are psychics. Walt is one of them.
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Post by mundays on May 28, 2010 3:14:48 GMT -5
Blimey the horroretc lost special sure came out quick! I've only just seen the finale and have been actively avoiding spoilers (to the point where I was at an important meeting the other day where I suddenly shouted at the important exec type I was supposed to be impressing when she started talking about lost, "NO! DONT TELL ME DONT TELL ME!") Shame, I wouldn't have minded submitting an email for the show. Never mind. I didn't love the finale as much as I'd hoped - I've read the Bad Robot employees interpretation of what it all meant and am inclined to agree - think it all made sense and was quite sweet... BUT... I don't really like 'sweet' and that slow-mo musical church ending was extremely saccharine and just not my bag. As tidy and life affirming as the conclusion to the flashsideways was I really wanted something a bit more dramatic, hell I wanted the flashsideways to collide with the real timeline. I wanted Locke to have all but won and then in a final twist all the candidates that he'd killed off are brought back by Desmond who'd gathered them all in the alternative universe leaving Locke right back where he started and forced to go through it all again like Sisyphus for all eternity (Desmond was Jacobs failsafe afterall). But instead they went with hindu-esque souls travelling through their lives strung together, losing and finding each other over and again at each level of their existence. Well it's a bold move for a tv show certainly, just not what i wanted. But what do I know? None of this ruins anything that has happened on the show for me. Lost was a one of kind, we'll not see it's likes again (we certainly won't see it's budget again or it's networks faith in it despite ratings) and the influence it's going to have on the next generation of writers is going to echo for a decade. I'll miss it. ...Think I'll pitch a spin off series set in space, who's with me?
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Post by mundays on May 30, 2010 4:19:26 GMT -5
Hey I killed the thread! How did I do that? Is it still getting replies in an alternate flash sideways?
Well 2 days have passed since I watched the finale - its been digesting away in my head and I've ended up liking it a lot more than I did initially, I expect a lot of people are having a similar experience. The flash-afterlife isn't really relevant to anything apart from as a way to give us a nice happy ending to all the characters we've been following over the years, few tv shows have ever done that. As for the island story (which is what really matters) - I've somehow managed to answer every question it's thrown up in my head - whether they are right or wrong I actually appreciate the fact I've had to do this myself and they've given me enough to let me do it.
Having listened to the podcast now I'm safe from spoilers I have to come to the defence in terms of the accusation of the producers lying. I really don't think they did. I didn't think they did back in season 5 either when everyone was shouting "They promised there would be no time travel!" and I don't think they did now if people are responding "They promised there would be no purgatory!" - both of those answers were in response to questions posed back in season 1 as to what's happening on the island - with people saying "I bet they've all gone back in time and the island is in prehistoric times" or "I bet they all died in the plane crash and the island is purgatory." - they stated that neither of these theories were correct and they were telling the truth, that isn't what was happening. Where's the lie?
And wow, Doug man, you really do struggle with the idea of the afterlife not running along a fixed time line don't you? The end of 2001 a Space Oddysey must blow your mind!
Fun podcast guys, loved it taking the form of a before and after viewing. As much as I love Doctor Who I can't see that being anywhere near as passionate somehow!
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Post by kingstownted on May 30, 2010 6:51:39 GMT -5
I have to come to the defence in terms of the accusation of the producers lying. Semantics my friend. I agree the response was truthful to the immediate question posed but we must remember these two (Darlton) have become professional misleaders. All the way up to the statement that Walt would appear in the finale and we would understand his role (that was a direct lie by Carlton Cuse in the NY Times live theatre event...3 days before the finale aired!). One of the many Lost podcasts I listened to and enjoyed was called It Only Ends Once where the host was one of the very few who would call out the examples of lies told by the producers when it came to addressing fan questions. There were so many examples that it proved the Official Lost Podcast needed to be outright avoided as it was a platform to misdirect the audience. At the end of it all I don't really care and still enjoy what the finale was. The hard truth was to accept that so much mythology simply didn't matter. That comes after spending so much time and effort to explore the little clues ad nauseum. Lost was a very unique series and one which I do honestly believe will not happen again simply because I can't envision a network studio firstly spending the budget dollars to make film quality shows on a remote location, and second putting so much on the line to allow such a heavy (sci-fi themed) serialized show to play itself out. Then again the mountain of advertising cash that ABC is sleeeping on right now might change that. I firmly believe that Lost's growth as a show parallel to the explosion of social media on the internet was a huge part of it's media impact. The blogs, podcasts, screencaps, etc, etc all grew exponentially between 2004 and 2010. So what exactly was the Hurleybird? I chalk that up to Edward G Sharkington (the Dharma stampted shark), producers having a bit of fun. Nothing more, nothing less. |
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Post by mudoogul on May 30, 2010 7:43:57 GMT -5
And wow, Doug man, you really do struggle with the idea of the afterlife not running along a fixed time line don't you? The end of 2001 a Space Oddysey must blow your mind!  |
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Post by mundays on May 30, 2010 10:45:56 GMT -5
So what exactly was the Hurleybird? I chalk that up to Edward G Sharkington (the Dharma stampted shark), producers having a bit of fun. Nothing more, nothing less. Possibly... But as I say, everything is left open for us to draw our own conclusions though... For example you could argue that if that strange bird was native to the island then by virtue it was 'part of the island' and therefore attuned to the magic, perhaps even more than Jacob and MIB (who weren't native) were. If you accept that then you might equally argue there is something in the fact that it seemingly shouts out the single name of the one person who several seasons later is to become it's guardian. Infact if you wanted to you could go the whole hog and say that this seemingly insignificant bird and it's squawk is even evidence that the writers knew who was going to become the new Jacob as far back as that... If you wanted to... |
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Post by Scary Gary on Jun 3, 2010 19:09:47 GMT -5
Like our Losties in their sideways afterworld, I was not ready to listen to this episode until today. Unlike our Losties, my reasoning was more to my desire to re-watch the finale opposed to some deeper need to move on. Anyway, I really enjoyed the conversation; particularly the "recap" before you watched the finale and your list of "wow" or "wtf" moments throughout the series. I think MrD's segment at the end (and his replies here) answered a number of points that were brought up during the show. The only thing I can remember to add was that the wheel in the stained-glass window is a symbol of Buddhism and/or Hinduism. It symbolizes their belief in the circle of life (birth - life - death - rebirth) on the road to enlightenment.
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