Lost in translation … again …

• Posted in On TV

So, I’ve been watching the new season of Lost.

Ugh.

That’s my take on things. I had such high hopes for this season, that we were finally going to get some answers, that some things (like the Jack-Kate-Sawyer love triangle) were finally going to be resolved. Instead, they’ve only gotten more convoluted.

Because now, there’s some sort of giant conspiracy afoot that six of the survivors are in on together, claiming they’re the only survivors of the plane crash.

Ugh.

Holly Black had an interesting post up at Fangs, Fur, & Fey yesterday talking about things that drive her crazy as a fan of a book, TV series, movie, etc. Too many unanswered questions is one that bugs me — as does abruptly, fundamentally changing what a show is about.

I’m wondering if that’s what happened to Lost. J.J. Abrams did this to some degree in Alias. Midway through season 2, he had Sydney Bristow take down her evil employer and quit being a double agent. I remember reading somewhere Abrams simply got tired of writing Sydney as a double agent almost getting caught every week. So, he changed things. And the show suffered for it. Not as dramatically as Lost has, but Alias stumbled after that, looking for a suitable bad guy for Sydney to fight (because her boss was supposed to be the worst of the worst). Alias didn’t recapture the glory of its first season until season 5 (although parts of season 3 were pretty awesome).

I’m not saying things can’t change, that characters can’t grow and learn, but Lost has come so far from its original premise of castaways struggling to survive, I doubt it can ever recover. There are just so many dangling questions and plot threads, I don’t think they can all be answered in the 40-some episodes that are left.

What’s the monster? Where did the Others go? What ever happened to the other island where Jack, Kate, and Sawyer were held? What’s the Dharma group’s real purpose? Why do pregnant women die on the island? What’s the deal with the creepy cabin? Where did the eye-patch man go? And on, and on, and on …

I imagine the rest of this season will involve finding out what the conspiracy is about. Next year might be the consequences, and I imagine the final season will offer some sort of resolution to the whole mess. One can only hope.

Also, I really hate what they’ve done to the characters, especially Locke. He used to be the coolest, most interesting character on the island (the episode where we found out he was in a wheelchair was probably the show’s best moment). But now, he’s a caricature who’s “protecting the island” — the island, not his fellow survivors. Jack is so self-righteous I hope they kill him off. And why doesn’t somebody just shoot Ben already? The man’s a snake, and they all know it. 

I’ll still watch Lost. At this point, I’ve got too much time invested in it not to see how things turn out. But do I really care anymore? No.

What about you? Are you still digging Lost?

5 Responses to “Lost in translation … again …”

  1. Brian says:

    I think it is time for you to turn in your remote.
    Lost has been great. Not only do I care, I can’t wait till the next episode. Perhaps I’m different. I don’t need every question answered, in fact I’m fine with lots of questions never being answered. Am I curious about what happened to the Russian on The Sopranos? Sure I am, but I’m okay not knowing. I love all of the mysteries on the island, and I don’t need them all explained. I’m just enjoying the ride.

  2. Jody W. says:

    I’m more like you, Jennifer. I can handle some unanswered questions, but not when the worldbuilding, plot and/or story premise hinge on the particular answer to those questions…and instead of answering any of them, the show just continues to pile them on. As a viewer I begin to feel like no important questions will get answered (and by important, I don’t mean the love triangle!) or that more and more contradictions (aka sloppy writing) will interfere with my enjoyment.

  3. Jennifer Estep says:

    Brian — Don’t get me wrong. Parts of Lost have been excellent — Sayid’s episode was head and shoulders above the rest this year. I don’t need every question answered, but at least some of them would be nice.

    I’d say there are at least 50 unanswered questions from the previous seasons alone — not to mention all the new ones they’ve raised this year. And all the new characters they’ve added — it’s not a deserted island anymore, it’s Gilligan’s Island with a cast of thousands. Reminds me of season 2 when they added the other survivors, then killed them all off except for Bernard.

    You have to have some resolution to your plot threads. Answer a few questions before you raise a dozen more. Otherwise, people feel cheated. I do.

    I just think they’ve gotten away from what made the show so great in the past (the characters interacting with each other before the crash, struggling to survive, trying to get rescued, etc.)

    They appear to have lost all fear of the monster, too, the way they all tromp through the jungle now.

    And the flash forwards really kill the suspense for me. Because now, no matter what happens on the island, I know who’s going to live. So, every time Locke holds a gun to Ben’s head, I know it doesn’t mean anything because Ben isn’t going to die on the island.

    Jody — Yeah, we just keep getting more and more questions and no answers. At this point, I’ve given up hope for any real resolutions.

    I suppose it bothers me because I know we couldn’t get away with it as writers. I wouldn’t continue to buy a book series that kept raising more questions than it answered. Would you?

  4. Brian says:

    I’m looking forward to seeing the show again from the start — I think G4 will be having the show in reruns this Fall.

    Perhaps being a non writer I don’t get caught up in some things. All I hope from a show is to be entertained, and Lost has entertained me. It makes me care about Locke, Hurley, Jack, Sawyer, Kate — And it gives me thrilling moments — Aaron as Kate’s child was a wonderful little turn. For me the most interesting question for me this season is about time — I wonder how does time work on the island?

    Alias — I think the show had to move along, but not being able to keep Sydney’s Mom as a main part of series really hurt — She was great. Also, and forgive me I can’t recall what episode, when they used the masks — I hated that, but even that didn’t spoil me on the show.

    Finally, with Brian K. Vaugh, the great comic book writer, writting for Lost now — Would you ever want to write for series?

  5. Jennifer Estep says:

    I like being entertained, but I also like some story resolution along the way. Some things, like the Jack-Kate-Sawyer triangle really just need to be resolved one way or another.

    That’s what I liked about Buffy and Angel so much. Every year, there was an overall arc and villain, but they always tied things up by the finale. They might have introduced some new questions or left you on a cliffhanger, but most things got resolved.

    Alias — Ah, yes, Irina. Lena Olin was really great as her in Season 2. After that, it was sort of hit or miss. I think they didn’t know what to do with Irina sometimes — turn her completely evil, kill her off, or make her good. I’m sure her availability to come back to the show probably dictated some of the storylines.

    But I thought her appearance in the series finale was a nice touch. You had Jack sacrificing himself to trap Sloane and save Sydney. Then, you have Irina trying to live forever and take over the world — even if it meant killing her own daughter. Nice juxtaposition.

    I’d love to write for a TV series because so much of what I imagine is visual. I hope I get the opportunity to do that or even write a screenplay one day. Definitely on my wish list. 😎

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