'Lost' Wednesdays: 'I just need to show them something'

 I've been thinking today about "Lost," about why there are so many who are angry that they're not getting enough answers, mostly spurred by this post by Zap2It's Ryan McGee, which uses a similar puzzle analogy to my review from last night. McGee is suggesting that "Lost" fans are expecting answers, and they're simply exhausted from having to wait for them. They've moved from wanting to figure things out on their own to wanting the show to give them its answers. But I think it runs deeper than that. To some degree, "Lost" is being taken away from us.

"Lost" has always been a show with a complicated relationship with its fans. It's its own thing, sure, but half the fun for a lot of us has been in trying to outguess the creators, trying to figure out what they were up to before they could reveal it. Now that we're into the final throes of the series, it's not that we're not getting answers -- because we're getting quite a lot of them -- it's that they're not OUR answers. The creators of the series are gently but firmly reminding us that this isn't our show. This is their show, and they're going to end it how they want. If that involves a metaphysical chess game played between two demigods and doesn't involve our elaborate theories that try to tie together mid-'70s pseudoscience with Egyptian mysticism, well, we're just going to have to learn to live with that. It's entirely possible many of these elements will come back into play, but in a way, the show is no longer OUR show. It's the "Lost" creative team's show, and it's increasingly so every week, with every little piece of information that's doled out.

Now, obviously, a lot of people want a concrete explanation about the relationship between the Dharma Initiative and the Others, or about how Jacob and the Man in Black seem to have set up the "rules" everyone follows, or other things like that. And that's fine. I would like those things, too, and I have to admit that if we didn't get at least a strong suggestion of how these things worked, the show would feel incomplete to me. But I also have a fairly confident feeling that the show will answer the biggest questions. Heck, it's already answered what the Smoke Monster is (though we don't know the how or why), and it's made a very strong suggestion as to the ultimate nature and purpose of the Island. Those are the two things I figured the show simply HAD to answer without completely botching the landing, and they're mostly out of the way. For me, it's all gravy from here on out. Your opinion might differ.

But let's move on to what you had to say. I'd like to thank all of you for the kind words about both my piece and the episode. And even those of you who disagreed with me did so in a very thoughtful fashion. You know I can't stay mad at you!

Before we begin, though, I assume you've all seen this? Look off to the right in that photo. It's an interesting painting to just happen to turn up in the flash-sideways world, no? And at the Paley Festival event, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse said that the painting of director Jack Bender would turn up again in a very important episode as an important clue. That sure looks to me like it could be it, don't you think? It really gives credence to the theory that this is some sort of hallucination constructed by Smokey and Jacob, though it's interesting that the scale is balanced in the picture.

Let's turn to Twitter, where @ScottAMcArthur asked me if I thought Desmond was just in line to replace Jacob at series' end. While I have to admit it's possible (and more possible than I would have thought before "Happily Ever After"), I just have trouble seeing this play out with anyone other than Jack taking Jacob's place. He's the guy who seems to be maneuvering into that position, and it seems like Desmond is more of the wild card, the guy who can float between universes and make sure everything lines up just right. Or, at least, that's my read on it.

@LoulaBurton brings up a theory I've read a number of times since the episode ended: that Eloise is creating a world where her son never died, and that's why she's so intent on seeing it remain the way it is. While I'd hesitate to assign her that much of a role in putting things together, I think it's a pretty good notion of what might be motivating her to make sure things stay the same. What's interesting is just how much both Daniel and Charlie push to have the alternate world evaporate, as if they understand that they're supposed to be dead. It's a bit suicidal on their parts, but if your death was meant to happen, maybe it can be excused.

Neil Haner sends an e-mail that links to this post that compares the show to the novel "The Last Temptation of Christ." I don't buy all of it, but it's certainly a good touchstone for a story about a world where you seem to have everything you want, but you're actually lacking that certain something. I also like that he closes with this notion: "If, as we learned in 'Ab Aeterno,' all (the characters') souls are up for grabs in a contest between Jacob and Smokey, where Smokey will try to tempt and corrupt them all to defeat Jacob, it makes sense that the Alternate Reality is, in fact, their Last Temptation."

Reader Ben writes to say that he thinks he can explain the polar bears on the show. I've read other theories about how all of this works out, but I like this one too:

"If you had a doorway (the island) but you didn't know where/when the exit was...what is the one thing you could send through it that, no matter where/when it arrived, would probably be documented and very, very out of place? Answer: a polar bear! Which is why we had that great moment in season whatever where the Dharma folks find the polar bear remains in the desert."

Let's turn to the comments now. As stated, these were some fantastic comments, and I highly recommend you all go and check them out if you don't normally. These are some of the best "Lost" thoughts out there.

Joe writes about some of what I was getting at above. He worries that the solution will ultimately prove too simple, that it will disappoint for that reason alone:

"My main concern with the future of the show doesn't have so much to do answers as whether it will maintain its originality. After seeing Desmond go all Dr. Manhattan in that machine, I became concerned that our latest Answer was going to be an outright rip from 'Watchmen.' I kind of dread each of the show's reveals should they be at best an homage -- at worst a rip -- from 'The Stand,' 'Twin Peaks,' or whatever of the many book covers we've been shown. I have faith that the show won't enter too deep into that territory, but it's probably my main concern next to consistent characters (for which I'll forgive Penny, who seemed to have forgotten Desmond calling her by name at the stadium). So I guess I'm just worried that when I finish the puzzle, I'll realize I already did it five years ago -- but I don't doubt I'll have enjoyed myself and still find the picture pretty."

I disagree that we have to worry the show will simply turn into one of its influences. Obviously, "Lost" wears its influences on its sleeve, but up until this point, it's been good at not being beholden to them. I can't imagine that would be the case in the final episodes.

A different Todd, Todd Gilchrist, takes issue with the puzzle metaphor:

"But to suggest that the creators are in any way deliberately not trying to provide something satisfying so that (according to your metaphor) you have to look at the spaces in between the pieces of the puzzle in order to appreciate your effort, that's bad storytelling, and to defend that is just being thoughtless and too infatuated with something to see its flaws. Because I am sure that the creators think they ARE providing something satisfying, but they're just killing time waiting for a third (or however many) season-ending nuclear explosion that's going to change/ end/ resolve things even though they've made no real effort to explain any of the random (although at the time they were incredibly important) details that were lorded over in episodes past. Because at this point, the Others and the Dharma Initiative all essentially is irrelevant since the island has completely been taken over by the Jacob/ Man in Black narrrative, but as a longtime viewer, it makes me feel like all of my hours of watching and caring about all of this storytelling from past seasons was a waste. And on a show where the creators have told you from day one that it's ALL important, that's an insult."

To be honest, I always take TV producer-speak with a grain of salt in these regards. I know the "Lost" producers have said since Day One that everything would make sense and everything would add up to something. I've always just assumed that some of it was unimportant, so finding out that it was won't bother me too much. But I can see where people like Other Todd are coming from.

And with that -- and a reminder to check out those comments -- I'm going to take off for the week. Keep discussing the show, and keep e-mailing me and Tweeting me with your thoughts.

--Todd VanDerWerff (follow me on Twitter at @tvoti)

Photo: Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) is back. All is right in the world. (Credit: ABC)

Related articles:

'Lost': 'Up in the Air' with Desmond Hume

The 'Lost' weekend: Getting foolish

'Lost' Wednesdays: 'Maybe you should've put a mercenary in charge instead of a geophysicist.'

Comments

[Moniker]

The problem with 'Todd Gilchrist"s comment is that all the little details which he claims have been left unexplained have already been explained. Lost rarely comes out and says "this is the answer to this mystery", no, the answers given by the show are quite subtle and at the same time quite concrete which causes people to completely miss them at times. The fact that people still claim not to know the origin of polar bear (something that has been addressed a couple of times on the show) is proof of that. About 95% of the stuff about DHARMA & the Others has been explained, often explicitly, often by connecting the dots our-self and not waiting the show to spoon-feed them to us. There is nothing left to explain about Dharma or the others unless you want to be a real stickler and demand answers to things that were not mysteries in the first place.

[DrgnRbrn]

I'm very on the fence with the questions/answers debate. While Moniker is right with saying most of the Dharma/Other story have been revealed, the fans are still searching/waiting for that one piece that will tie everything together along with what we've already established. We're told pretty much 100% about Dharma and the Others and I think the only thing getting people upset is waiting on the how....they've been giving us so much of WHO the main players are, WHAT there purpose to the island is, WHEN this is going on according to off-island life, and WHERE you can find the island based on electromagnetism...just not HOW this all started...which really is the main tipping point to reveal the show's success...can't imagine them wanting to tell us anything until the finale...any episode after that kind of explanation would just be epilogue...I'm gonna take the "love" aspect as the WHY...After watching this past episode and the writer's still refusing to tell us exactly how Desmond's special I will assume Hurley's ghost talking, Desmond's premonitions, Walt's son's ability, Miles dead-detector skills, and the powers of the Spring, why birth is impossible now, will just have to be left for the viewers to place how they want...we know next week's Hurley ep. is more filler and chance to have Jacob back on scene with more cryptic dialogue...

[Phil]

First thing I noticed - the scale in the painting has 6 stones on it - 3 white and 3 black. We know there were 6 remaining candidates (still counting Locke). Could the stones represent how our candidates will settle out when all is said and done?

I tried to post this yesterday, but to no avail -
I went into this season wanting answers. I typed up a question sheet with all of my most wanted answers and sat with baited breath before LA X waiting to start crossing them off. Then something weird happened - 5 minutes into the episode, I didn't really care what got answered. I started thinking about the journey that it's been to get to where we are, and the VAST amounts of enjoyment this show has given me - whether it was watching it, discussing it with my brother, getting my mom hooked on it, or just waxing LOST online. I'm not saying I don't want answers, because I do. But I can deal with not getting everything, because then I've still got a little LOST to ponder when it's over.

[Cindy Corlett]

I enjoy reading people's comments and theories almost as much as watching the show! What I am seeing play out on all the discussions about "Lost" is the
amazing ability the show has had in attracting fans from such divergent points of view. The writers and creators have been able to offer a story that appeals to both left and right brain types. As we get closer to the end, these different "camps" want their own sort of ending. After reading some of the posts, it seems the ultra scientific and academic types will not be satisfied with anything less than an annotated dissertation, and the ultra romantics will like any ending as long as there is enough kissing and magic. Most of us, I think, want bits of both. I want to have a better understanding of how this island came to be and what it represents and controls in the lives of the characters. On the other hand, I have really come to care about the people in this story. If Desmond and Penny don't end up together, I will be crushed, no matter how good the cause that parted them. I will continue to watch with great anticipation, and will undoubtedly view the entire series many times.

[Inthemix]

Todd:

Unable to post yesterday, same problem as Phil in this string.

Great review as always; a very eloquent and passionate recap/ode to why we can/do love Lost.

I admire the forgiving nature you show Darlton & Co. for S6 and the puzzle analogy is brilliant. But alas, I respectfully and regrettably disagree with your waxing poetic on Lost: S6.

Before I'm written off as another Lost whiner who's upset that not everything will be spelled out for him; I offer up my props to David Chase and his finale of The Sopranos....... HBO was jonesing for more more more (sound familiar ABC?) so Chase offered up S6 Part 1 (which was supposed to be the real finale) & the brilliant Part 2 which was really a great big FU to HBO. I never took Part 2 as an affront or a cop-out as a viewer. I saw it for what it was; Chase forced (okay cajoled for lots o'money) to serve up more more more leaving HBO with a bitter pill to swallow.

Darlton has the same problem with Lost except on a much longer time frame. Their comments about always wanting to go 6 seasons was made when it was announced last year that S:6 would be the finale. (I'll bet you'll find different comments made early on about the shows' longevity.)

This show should have ended a long time ago instead of oozing out the puzzle pieces every 4th or 5th episode. I've spent a little time reviewing the Lost blogs of past seasons for giggles and people spent a ridiculous amount of time pouring over the minutia and nuance of every single episode only to be completely forgotten about and never revisited. This happened time and time again and it is unforgivable that what amounts to several seasons of blind alleys and dead ends will be completely forgotten by the masses who attend the Lost reunions/conventions.

Remind yourselves how you felt the first time you watched Season 1 of Lost and why you became hooked on the show.......now look where we are. There is such a huge disconnect it's a completely different show.

I still love Lost but if you're truly honest with yourself the blind admiration will give way to what could have been......... ABC/Darlton milked the cow so long it went sour to my taste buds.

@Moniker - What's frustrating to me is people like you who claim to "know" the answers and the rest of us are too obtuse to see the answers. A quick check of Lostpedia for Polar Bears shows lots of speculation and the pro and cons of each theory. The truth is Darlton hasn't played it's hand on the Polar Bears origin or Dharma's relationship to the Others or the other Others (Dogen et al) or Ben and Widmore's relationship.......I could go on and on. We're nowhere near 95% of the answers, and please stop with this nonsense that we need to be spoon-fed; it's the years of misdirection and blind alleys that's the problem.

@DrgnRbrn - You're tracking the same path as Moniker and if you're okay with all the questions you raised that "will just have to be left for the viewers to place how they want" is ridiculous and insult to 6 years of watching this bloody show!

[DrgnRbrn]

@ InTheMix I think you took my pov the wrong way...I love this show....haven't missed an ep since the first time Kate was standing in the trunk terrified of the then unknown monster...ha...but I personally can't think of any question about the Others and Dharma that haven't been answered...we now know the true function of the Others were just to do as Jacob says...and Dharma wanted to tap into the power and control the island....and if they just claim that Jacob gave them the powers or they manifested b/c of the island then that'll be fine too...i just think they have so much on their plate they're gonna leave alot of the lore to the viewers...

[Joseph]

Todd, I wish so badly that I could get to the place where you are. The fact is the only reason I have watched every episode of this series is because I love the characters (and actors who play them) so, so much. And while I agree that when the show started it was all about these characters, I think the show has become so overwhelmed with mythology that it is almost impossible to simply sit back and not concern yourself with it. At this point Darlton seem to want it both ways - "don't worry about ANSWERS, it's all about the characters" while at the same time they keep heaping more and more mythology, are still introducing new characters, and are positioning two characters who have had (relatively) little screen time - Widmore and Eloise - as major players in the last half of the final season.

I was really hoping that Darlton would spend the first half of this final season whittling away the mythology and extraneous characters the show has accumulated over 100+ episodes so that they could spend the last remaining episodes focusing back on the core characters that have been with us since the Pilot, but does not appear that is going to happen and that is what is most disappointing to me.

[Moniker]

@Inthemix : Please tell me you are kidding. Polar Bears have been answered several times on the show first in Season 2 Ep 3, Season 2 ep 17 and then twice in the first 6 episodes of Season 6 - they were brought to the island by DHARMA for zoological experiments and were genetically modified to survive in the island's climate, if you don't know this by now then you clearly have not been paying attention. Similarly the others and Dharma have been more than 95% explained, it's not the writers fault that you're unable to think deductively or haven't been paying attention. Like I said before people like you seem to want the writers to babysit and handhold your way through the season.

BTW when I think back to Season 1 the show is so much engrossing today than it was in Season 1, I wasn't even that into it till near the end of the season and today I can't imagine missing an episode.

[Inthemix]

@ DrgnRbrn and anyone else who wants to comment:

I realize that we're still 7 hours away from the finale so there's lots o'time for hole fillers and resoloution.

But here's the beef I have specifically with Dharma and the Others: Up to now Dharma has been presented pretty much as a bunch of '70's hippies who stumbled upon the island and were somehow tolerated by the Others. Why? They've been shown as buffoons. How did they find the island and why?

Clearly we've not been shown the whole picture because Eloise told the Oceanic 6 that the Lampost was built by Dharma to find the island. So who within Dharma has Darlton shown us of having this capacity? Dr. Chang? I doubt it. Was it Daniel? Probably.... but his influence so far would have been because of jumps back in time.

What I'm trying to say is if Dharma are the blathering idiots we've seen; why/how did they find the island and why did Richard/Jacob/MIB tolerate them for so long? I could go on with this but I hope you get my beef. To say Dharma/Others has been resolved is an unsatisfying answer for me.

[Jamie]

This might be a bit meta, but I think that, almost ironically, lost fans have divided into fans of science and fans of faith. The fans of science want to find out every single puzzle piece. The fans of faith are happy to enjoy the ride and have faith that they will like the picture they end up with, holes and all.

And like on the show, I think faith is going to win, even if it's a bittersweet ride.

[iamnicksaicnsn]

Why the Last Lost Was Awesome or Why I Stopped Worrying and Now Understand The Sideways Universe and Why It Isn’t Evil

The Alt Universe has clearly been established as incredibly bizarre to the characters (and to us for that matter) - there's just a feeling that something isn't right. For the most part things aren't perfect, even though they are a little better than they were in the other universe:

Hurley: As far as we know (at least until next week), Hurley's life is actually kind of perfect - he got the money, his grandpa's alive, owns business that haven't blown up TV reporters, etc.

Jack: Never got to meet Kate and still divorced... someone... but he has a son, and may have had a slightly better relationship with his dad thought it wasn't great and he's still dead.

Sayid: Nadia is alive, he was never separated from her, but she's married to his brother.

Kate: Her life seemingly hasn't changed at all, so it's neither better nor worse (And you have to come at this from the 2004 perspective, that she's still on the run and would have been). (Though someone read what I wrote and thinks Kate's life has changed where she would help people in the alternate [Claire] and wouldn't let anyone get in her way or slow her down in the original).

Locke: Is about to get married to his dream girl and may actually have a respectable relationship with his father.

Jin/Sun: Still in love, though still haunted by Sun's father and still not married.

Charlie: His life isn't any better than when we first met him, but all of that's about to change, which I'll explain later.

Claire: Hasn't changed much, but isn't on some crazy island and never got separated from her son.

Ethan Goodspeed: Is a doctor, and not dead.

Ben Linus!: Has a solid foundation with his father, has a good relationship with Alex, even if she isn't his daughter.

Juliet: (A postulation) Never had to leave her sister. May still get to meet Sawyer for coffee!

Charlotte: Is still a successful archaeologist.

Sawyer: Still has dead parents, but followed the righteous path of do-goodery, even if he still wants to kill Sawyer.

Miles: Same path of do-goodery.

Daniel: Got to be the musician he always wanted to be.

And that brings us to DESMOND and the ultimate answer to why the sideways universe not only isn't evil, but is actually perfection.

NO ONE IS DEAD.

It's the year 2004! They never met on the island, but if they can somehow tap into their memories on the island, they can still find a way for the people who need to be together to be together, all without ANYONE DYING or going crazy! No dead Charlie, no dead Ethan, no dead Alex, no dead Nadia, no dead Michael, no dead Charlotte, no dead Daniel, no dead Artz, no dead Nikki, no dead Paulo, the list goes on and on.

This episode explains that Desmond still gets to meet Penny! And Charlie Hume wasn't born until 2007! That leaves plenty of time for them to fall in love and have the kid! It's like the end of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, where the realization of their forgotten lives sets in and they make the leap to start anew. START ANEW, LEAVE THE PAIN AND SUFFERING BEHIND! DON'T SCREW THIS UP DARLTON, you've finally made all the pain and all the suffering make sense!

[BrookeSchue]

I don't know why I am signed in as "nobody"...oh, well...I'm BrookeSchue, anyway.

I’ll have to respectfully disagree with iamnicksaicnsn. Although no one is dead, perhaps the point here is that death is not evil, not to be feared, and actually not the worst thing out there. Charlie in the flash sideways is technically alive, but is he really? He longs for (more than longs for) that moment when he had flashes of his time with Claire. That, for him, is vastly more important and more fulfilling than the “life” he’s been granted. And Daniel is also tormented by this moment that is no longer part of his life and the tragic intuition that he somehow erased it.

Also, Lost has shown time and time again that the dead aren’t really gone. Richards wife, Charlie (dead Charlie), Christian, and many others are there! They have their effects on the world just as the living, some subtle and some not so subtle.

No, death is not to be feared, here. It is just another state of being. Richard was afraid of death and now can only be with his wife through a medium. His fear of death is what ended up causing him the most pain. Sayid died and now, in defying death, has become something terrifying, something he never wanted to become. There is something much more sinister...a deep evil that, as Todd says, gives you what you think you want by stripping away that which you truly need, what makes you the person you are.

About the polar bears...if we know what’s up with them or not, does it really matter at this point. That is certainly at the bottom (it’s actually not even on) my questions list. One question I have is about Aaron. Does anyone remember that way back Claire went to see that psychic and he said that the baby would be evil? After Smocke’s conversation with Claire about his mother being crazy and that now Claire is crazy...is Smocke a grown-up Aaron? Seems highly unlikely, but I can’t help but wonder why we never catch his name, unless evil just doesn’t have a name or his name shouldn’t be spoken, or something weird like that. He definitely seems to have a soft spot for her.

Finally, I think for me the “answers” we are being given mean a lot more than these strictly factual answers that everyone seems to want. The characters are giving us deeply profound answers each week, philosophical answers to show us how to rightly live life. I’d say the prime examples so far have been Locke, Ben, Jack, and, of course, Desmond. I think we’ve also had examples of how not to live.

Honestly, I don’t know what I want out of this last season. I don’t know that I want anything specific. I love the show. I don’t want it to end. I love the characters and the mystery. For me it is all about the ride, and I really have no strong desire to reach the destination.

[Inthemix]

@ Moniker:

It's so nice to have civil discourse about a television show!

If you'd bothered to read my post, I wrote that there are numerous theories on Lostpedia regarding the origins/reasons of the friggin Polar Bears and the pros and cons of each theory. So I'd say it hasn't been resolved....and you know what? I don't give a hoot about da bears, that wasn't my point.

To say you "know" something and that another persons' point of view is wrong is at best condescending. Disagree if you will but play nice!

[Harry]

@Inthemix:

Very ironic that you state how nice it is to have a "civil discourse" and then follow that up with "If you'd bothered to read my post". Whether you are aware of it or not, implying that the only possible reason for someone to disagree with you is to not have read your post at all is rightly considered one of the most annoying and worst forms of trolling.

Anyway, I'm sure Moniker's point is that all those theories and debates in Lostpedia are precisely FROM the people who can't accept the answers that the show has already given anyway.

I mean, you DO know how wikis like Lostpedia work don't you? Everybody and anybody can add and edit to it. That means that as long as even one person exists in the world that doesn't want to accept that the polar bears have been answered on the show, the debates will continue, whether it has in fact been answered or not (and, yeah, it has, several times, exactly as Moniker has described).

Meanwhile, in the future, keep in mind public-editable wikis are a singularly and spectacularly poor way of showing evidence to back a point up.