Last weekend, arguably the greatest show in the history of television came to its emotional conclusion, culminating six years of a cultural phenomenon that captured the hearts and minds of its viewers like no other television program ever has. Lost is famous for its mind-boggling mysteries that would give you clues in one episode but reveal the true purpose entire seasons down the line. As much as viewers loved to debate the meaning of numbers, smoke monsters, and 1970s science expeditions, the true heart of the show has and always will be its beloved characters. Those of us that have been with Lost since the very beginning (myself included) have grown attached to these characters as we have gone with them on the roller coaster of a ride that was the show's six seasons. Now that the show is over, the after taste is bittersweet; on one hand, the show ended on a high note and firmly resolved these characters' lengthy journeys, but on the other, we must lament that that journey has in fact reached its ultimate conclusion. The impact of the show goes far beyond its mysteries and characters.
When Lost first aired in 2004, the scripted TV show was very much an endangered species in the face of cheaper-to-produce, higher-margined reality TV shows. Lost changed all that by becoming one of the most critically, culturally, and (most important to ABC) financially succesful television projects ever, even with the enormous costs it took to produce it (the pilot was the most expensive pilot ever to be filmed with the bill clocking in at over 2 million dollars according the finale pre-show). As a writer, I must also acknowledge how Lost managed to create an entire cast of thoroughly engaging, unique, and interesting characters, and over the course of its six seasons the show built an incredible relationship between these characters and its viewers. In the age of big budget visual effects and action, Lost brought storytelling back to its roots by reminding us just how powerful strong characters can be, a fact that is especially magnified in the long-term medium in which Lost was delivered.
I had originally planned to write a full-on impressions piece on the series finale and the culmination of the series as a whole, but the Lost community has proved spectacular as always, and I will instead be tipping my hat to some of the great pieces that have come out since we reached the end.
G4 writer Patrick Klepek penned a wonderful reaction to the Lost finale, nailing just about every point I would have said in my own:
College Humor ran a humorous video tallying up all the unanswered mysteries that the show never answered. Definitely a must-watch for long time Losties:
Finally, a fan cut together the opening sequence of the pilot episode with the closing sequence of the finale. It's amazing to see how the show began and ended at the same time, and especially how the two sequences mirrored each other:
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