I loveLost. Though my relationship with it changed over time,I cannot quite remember a time whenLostwas not a part of my childhood.When the show aired on ABC, I knew aboutLostfrom glimpses on the TV, as my father watched it religiously when it came on.Lostwas such a phenomenon; it was talked about everywhere. Before social media took the world by storm, there were online blog threads dedicated toLost. I did not see these as a child, but I heard their content in my living room.
As a kid, we owned some seasons on DVD, but it was not untilLosthit Netflixthat I got around to actually watchingLost. It was my dad who noticed it was on the streamer and urged me,“You have to watch Lost. It has a bad ending, but it’s so worth it.”That’s what I knew going in: prepare to be disappointed, but appreciate the ride. And so I did.Lostwas the first show I really got into, opening me up to what TV was capable of, and it’s something still worth reflecting on.
Lost: Every Season, Ranked From Worst To Best
Lost is one of TV’s best and most interesting shows ever. However, it did have a few seasons that didn’t live up to the quality of the others.
Lost’s Mysteries Captured The Imaginations Of The Millennial Generation
Lost Was A Viral Phenomenon Before There Really Were Viral Phenomena
While there is a lot I can say aboutLost, one element to start with is the show’s sense of mystery. After the main characters first arrive at their island — where they think they are remote — a series of mysteries are introduced. For one, there is the Smoke Monster, an aptly-titled black cloud that seems to envelop and kills its victims. Early episodes also showcase the fact that this tropical island inexplicably has polar bears on it, leading the leads to investigate. Beyond the island itself, there are more personal mysteries, such as the significance of Hurley’s numbers.
Lostdeliciously plants these seeds early on, intriguing the audience from the get-go. Theshow’s series of mysteries is what prompted people to flock to online forums to spread their various theoriesand bounce ideas off of each other. I, who caught ontoLostyears after the show ended, shared my theories with my father. He knew what happened, and would nod saying “interesting,” biting his tongue so as not to spoil it. I used the same response method once I got one of my best friends hooked onLost.
Part of what makesLostso captivating is that these mysteries are far more than short-term cliffhangers. They are presented in a series of clues and teases that unfold over multiple episodes or seasons, gradually revealing more and more of the lore to reveal the broader ideas of the Dharma Initiative, the Others, and more. These seemingly smaller-scale mysteries are well dispersed and come together to reveal a larger plot at hand, satisfying those jumping-at-the-bit audiences.
Lost Changed What A TV Show Was Capable Of (& Its Legacy Is Still Alive)
Lost Played With Its Own Structure In A Brilliant Way
WhileLost’s central mysteriesare what kept audiences watching, the show is so much more than a series of “what happens next.” From the beginning ofLostseason 1, the series’ most fascinating mysteries lie not in the supernatural happenings but in the much more internal and intimate character dynamics.A lot of its initial story is told through flashback, creating a mosaic of interweaving plotlines that help contextualize why characters are acting in certain ways.
All six seasons ofLostare available to watch on Netflix.
Upon my own first viewing ofLost, the show’s style led to my formation of strong opinions regarding the main characters. And I’m talkingverystrong. I was a die-hard Kate-Sawyer enthusiast;I hated Jack. In fact, I was rooting for his death as leads started getting picked off, dismayed to find that Jack made it until theLostending. But beyond my Jack Shepard death wishes, I was deeply tied toLost’s main characters. WhenCharlie died in the infamous “Not Penny’s Boat” scene, my jaw dropped.
While these opinions carried particular fervor in my youth, I don’t think that my experience watchingLostis entirely unique. As much as the plot mysteries were a driving part of the intrigue, the well-drawn-out characters helped garnerLosta kind of universal appeal that few network shows had. Watching the phenomenal (yet also frustrating, but that’s a story for a different day)House of the Dragonthis summer, for instance, I noted how much its interplay of plot and character mirrored that ofLost.
In addition to its plot mysteries and fascinating characters,Lost’s structure also expanded the conception of how a long-form television format could be used. In theLostseason 3finale, what were thought to be pre-island flashbacks to characters such as Kate and Jack are revealed to be flash forwards to the characters' return to civilization. In effect,Lostspent two seasons establishing a flashback-based storytelling language to build to an expert inversion of said structure. This can be viewed as a “plot twist,” but I think it is more so an ingenious use of storytelling structure, cementingLost’s artistic merit.
Lost Was Flawed, But I Still Love It
I Can Barely Forgive Lost’s Ending
By the end of season 5, I was completely sold onLost. The strength of the first three seasons was never quite matched, in my opinion, but I was still fully invested in the fate of Sayid, Hurley, Sawyer, and others (and still anxiously awaiting the death of Jack). Then came time to startLostseason 6, which would end in the element that I had been warned about the most: theLostseries finale.
This was years before I was aScreen Rantwriter, so even my media-obsessed self had managed to avoidLostspoilers up until this point. My dad had warned me about the ending, so I knew that I had to brace myself for potential disappointment. Still, asLostseason 6 rolled along, I found myself sucked in by the Jacob backstory, and unwinding what could possibly be going on. And honestly,Lostseason 6 does have some great moments. Season 6, episode 14, “The Candidate,” which sees the death of Sun and Jin, still remains one of my favorite episodes of the entire series.
In a show wrapped up in so much sci-fi lore, the religiosity of the ending felt like such a cop-out.
And then I got to the ending. WhenLostrevealed the purgatory epilogue, I’ve got to say that I was pretty baffled. In a show wrapped up in so much sci-fi lore, the religiosity of the ending felt like such a cop-out. This frustrating ending undermined everything the show had built up to in its sixth and final season, and it almost ruins the show. TheLostfinalemade me seem like all the interweaving plotlines, all the deeply-rooted lore that the creators had built up over years were poorly established.Had I watched 121 episodes ofLostfor naught?
As angry as I was, I couldn’t stop thinking aboutLost, and I couldn’t stop recommendingLost.Lostalso got me interested in a world of other beloved television, includingBreakingBad,Mr. Robot, and more. For all the frustration atLost’s conclusion, the years of character building, structural intrigue, and more make the show’s initial seasons some of the best episodes of TV I have ever seen.Lostdoes have a bad ending. A horrible, rage-inducing ending. But like my dad once told me:you have to watchLost.It has a bad ending, but it is so, so worth it. And I still loveLost.
Lost
Cast
Lost is a mystery drama series created for TV that follows a group of survivors of a plane crash and tells its story between the past, present, and future via flashbacks. When Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crashes and lands on a mysterious island in the pacific ocean, the castaways discover their new temporary home may have a mind of its own, as strange supernatural events keep them locked to the island. From an unknown black smoke creature to dangerous islanders, the passengers must work together to survive the island’s seemingly deadly intentions.
