This is one of the most exciting, heartbreaking entries I’ve made since…well, probably since the end of LOST: Season 4. Tonight the 5th season draws to a close, and then we’ll have nine-fucking-months to theorize and cry about how the final 17 episodes are going to (hopefully) blow us the fuck away. If you are not a fan of the show, don’t bother reading this. If you are a fan of the show, I don’t know any spoilers so I’m not going to be giving anything away. This is just a response to critics of Season 5.
Just in time for tonight’s finale, the New York Times ran a criticism of this season — which I believe has been one of the show’s best yet. The author, Ginia Bellafante, complains that, “This season’s nearly complete submission to the most mechanical aspects of the genre has moved “Lost” further away from the territory of Stephen King and closer to the universe of “Jurassic Park”.” Her shortsightedness is understandable. Television programs and movies dealing with time travel can be a real bitch. There are so many theories, arguments and debates regarding the principles of movement through space and time that to even approach the question is a decision often scoffed at by audiences. Personally, I was never confused or frustrated by the show’s time loop plotlines. A number of my friends were, and though I tried to explain it to them they often just shrugged off my suggestions. It’s a difficult undertaking, and sometimes the episodes warrant multiple viewings, but the directors, writers and actors on LOST did a fine job of navigating their way through the subject matter.
Though her argument is clear, Bellafante, I think, lacks the comprehension that many of the show’s staunchest supporters exhibit. We know that this whole season was a long setup for the final 17 episodes. In 2007 — after the first 6 episodes of the third season were panned by fans — the show’s producers took a 12-week-long break to shift the direction of the series and begin to answer several of the questions raised to that point. Also, producers sat down with ABC executives and mapped out a definitive end-date for the series. This was announced to quell audience fears that no one knew where the show was going. Since that 12-week break, everything that has occurred on the show has been expertly crafted and mapped out ahead of time. Nothing that has happened in the LOST universe since the middle/end of season 3 has been without purpose or cause. To say that season 5 meandered or just raised more questions is wrong, wrong. wrong. I think after tonight’s episode, all those detractors will realize that this has all been preparation for something amazing.
Bellafante shows her true denseness and stupidity regarding LOST when she writes, “Amid all the decade jumping, what has been most dispiriting about the current season is the show’s willingness to abandon many of the larger and more compelling themes that grounded the elaborate plot: the struggles between faith and reason; the indictments of extreme capitalism, the futility of recovery. All that remains is a reductively limned battled between fate and free will largely playing out, now, in Jack Shephard’s belief that returning to the island is his Destiny.” The struggle between faith and reason has more than been explored this season. The entire Locke/Jeremy Bentham story arc was mired in faith vs. science. After so much time spent looking for a purpose in life (ie. pushing the button), Locke realized that saving the lives of those left on the island fell on his shoulders, and it was his purpose to bring back the six people who had left. Perhaps intentionally or not, Locke’s is fated to wash away Jack’s fears of faith, and teach him to accept — yup — his Destiny. To say that Jack spending four-plus seasons hating Locke for choosing faith over reason and then transforming himself into a man of faith is a simple and flippant addition to the plot of LOST shows absolutely no grasp on the overarching story. Also, if I may be blunt, if you really think Oceanic 815 is going to land in Los Angeles as it was meant to in 2004, you’re a fucking retard. Oh wait, I’m forgetting that the writer who is perpetuating that fear also called Fionnula Flanagan as elder Eloise Hawking a “wonderful” actress. Yikes.
Look, don’t let my nerdy LOST boner get in the way of your thinking. I love the show, and will also argue that at times the writing is atrocious and that certain scenes stick out as being hacky or dull. Just think about all that we’ve learned this season, and all that we’ve seen, and tell me that it has been in any way a disappointment. The first episode opened with that amazing beat showing Farraday during the building of the Orchid station, and later we heard Richard Alpert telling Locke that he needed to die to bring everybody back. We saw Locke interacting with Widmore in both the past and the present, on the island and off the island. We got the story of Rousseau and her team, which we’ve been waiting for since season 1! We saw the moment Jack finally becomes a “Man of Faith”. “The Life And Death Of Jeremy Bentham” showed us Walt and answered a ton of off-island hold-over questions from season 4. We learned a ton about the Swan Station, as far back as its planning stages and construction. We saw young Ben interacting with the survivors of 815 as a child! We learned more about Miles’ powers and his father, who we’ve been wondering about since season 1. We learned why Widmore left the island. We learned why Ben killed Locke. We learned more about the smoke monster. We saw more of Richard Alpert. We learned so much about the Dharma Initiative. If you’re going to use words like “nonsensical,” “dispiriting” and “insulting” to classify season 5 as a disappointment, you’re being completely shortsighted, and you probably are not a regular viewer or follower of the program.
We’re on our way to discovering a ton of answers, and I have complete faith in the show’s creators. So too should you. “The Incident” will be a memorable episode, and don’t be surprised if tomorrow morning everybody — including those who have panned the show this season — is talking about just how awesome it was.
PS – Fuck you Ian, I thought we were boys. I can’t believe you bought into this article.
