The Truth About "Lost"

After watching the intricate mysteries of shows like Twin Peaks disappoint and the expansive mythologies of shows like the X-Files dissolve, one has to take any assurances from the minds behind Lost with a grain of salt. They say they already know their endgame. They know what the island is, what the monster is, what the numbers mean. Maybe they do, but what else would they say? “We’re just making this up as we go.” Please.

Lost is my favorite television program of all time, but my love for the show did not assuage doubts that all of these dangling threads created in its first dazzling season could be satisfactorily tied up. This show has so many balls in the air -- the hatch, the monster, the others, the numbers -- it seems inevitable that one or more will drop. Or at least, it seemed that way before I got season 1 on DVD.

I’m now convinced. Watching last season one episode after another doesn’t reveal anything concrete -- like the monster or the numbers -- but there’s a momentum to the show that can only be sensed watching the episodes in rapid succession. Secrets revealed at the conclusion of the season are hinted at from the very beginning. Things build slowly and patiently, but very deliberately. That can only happen when the writers are aware of the endgame. The makers of Lost aren’t stalling because they don’t know the answers to their questions. They have the answers, so why rush?

Lost was huge at my old workplace. Between myself, my creative-minded friend Bob, and a couple message board junkies we spent the day following the season finale pondering what it all means. Upon viewing the show on DVD, I think most of that discussion is moot not because our theories weren’t justified, but because the path of this show is very apparent. The survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 are clearly dividing between the scientific, rational-minded doctor Jack and the faith-based former paraplegic Locke. Everything seems to center around this impending conflict. And it seems that may have been the island’s intention all along.

Of course, this doesn’t tell us anything about the hatch, or the numbers, or why the others took Walt, but it is apparent on DVD that the writers of this show aren’t worried about what lies behind all these mysteries. They had all that figured from day one. The show isn’t about what truth is out there, but how the characters are going to find out and what they are going to do about it. For a show this dense in mythology, it really is the most exquisite, character-driven, ensemble piece on television.

I cannot wait for season two to debut, because the anxiety that I felt during the first season -- my questions about the writers’ preparations -- has abated. When the writers say they have the first 5 years of the show planned out, I believe them. It shows in the crafting of the first season. It is clear this show knows where it’s going, and I cannot wait to see how it gets there.