If there is one story that I had to say was the most riveting story I'd ever heard across all of mythology, drama, and literature I think that I would be incapable of pointing to anything other than Lost.
It's almost unfortunate that Lost is a television show if only for the fact of what television does to the strength of something as a work of art or as a creative masterpiece. Lost is those things though and in no way do I think that just because it is a television show should that diminish that fact. I think Lost as anything less than a 6-year series would be nothing short of a shame. Lost is about the ride. The ride is why we watch, is why we feel so strongly.
I remember the first time I ever watched Lost; my mom and myself has seem promos for this new show that alluded to survivors of a plane crash on an island and that maybe there was something more to it than just a story of survival. The first episode opened with the iconic shot of Jack's eye and spent the next few minutes coming to grasp that he was in a bamboo thicket and ultimately walking out onto the serene beach only to realize the plane crash was right there. The chaos and the moment was perfectly played out as Jack the doctor walked completely beside himself through the wreckage and the screaming survivors. The few moments later saw the birth of Jack the leader as he began to run and help those in need, barking out orders and calling for people to do their part.
It was captivating. From the first 10 minutes of Lost I was hooked and there was no looking back.
Within the ending of the pilot it was clear that there was something very strange about this island. It wasn't deserted, there was definitely something there. The ideas were rampant and within the first episode it was already drawing a cult-like following. Dinosaurs, monsters, supernatural beings everything was fair game at this point. Why were there polar bears?
The mystery was dissolved in the shows character driven story from day one and was only going to become deeper and deeper. Lost progressed to at one point be nothing short of only causing more questions, and it seemed from season 2 to season 5 we were never given a single answer or explanation for the mounting events that could not be explained.
To be completely honest, if you don't like Lost then it's just because it wasn't the show for you. My entire following of Lost was first based on the monumental characters--of whom all are incredibly complex and well-thought out, and secondly on the inconsolable mystery that the show evoked.
The last three seasons, including this one, have been stellar and have really taken the story from characters to the plot and back.
Sunday see's the end of Lost, and I can be sure of one thing, that all of the emotional investment in the characters and the story will be extremely hard to bear.
Despite my reservations to the slight cheesiness of the golden light well (which was the only thing I did not like from the second to most recent episode), I did think the ending with the flashback to Jack, Kate and Locke with the bodies and the marble bag was nothing short of fantastic--how truly full circle this show will end Sunday will be nothing short of spectacular.
I can not help but think this show is going to end absolutely splendidly. If only because I've abandoned trying to understand what is happening since probably half way through season 1 and to just enjoying the ride.
I think the concert in the last episode is going to be a deeply emotional apex of the series, and I think whether all the answers are given or not is beside the point. I think it will always have been about the ride up to this point, and no matter how LOST ends it will always be about ride and not the destination.
Here's to Jack and Kate.
