What does being a 'Lost' fan mean?
Let's face it, "Lost" fans: you're nervous about Season 6. And not just in an "oh crap, I have to get a life come June 2010" kinda way. You're worried that it's gonna suck. There's no reason to think it will, but in the back of your mind you realize that parts of Season 5 gave you cause for concern.
Not only has the show written itself into a potentially major corner, but the history of episodic storytelling is marred by subpar finishing legs to the narrative. Essentially, you're worried about an impending series of "Lost"-esque Ewoks running around on your television next spring. Like Hurley said, "Ewoks suck, dude." And Hurley speaks truth, people.
What I think you're going to see as Season 6 approaches are a lot, and I mean a LOT, of frayed "Lost" nerves online. You're gonna see it in blogs, you're gonna see it on the comments, and you're going to get sprayed with it on message boards. Why? Because the quality of "Lost" will directly affect those watching it. A sensational Season 6 validates that that spent the last half-decade talking about the show endlessly to the converted and/or unconverted masses. A subpar season reflects just as badly on those that spent so much time invested in something that crashed and burned during the final lap.
I'm not saying that's how it SHOULD be, but that's how it WILL be. To be a fan of "Lost" says as much about the person as it does the show: one announces their fandom of the show as a shorthand way of identifying himself or herself as a particular type of individual. It reminds me of the way Chuck Klosterman talks about the band Nirvana in "Killing Yourself to Live": "I never thought Kurt Cobain represented me; I chose to represent him as a way to explain what kind of person I thought I was."
In other words, saying you're a fan of "Lost" is not usually a validation of the show. That's not to say such an opinion denied the show's quality. It inherently assumes it. But by saying, "I'm a 'Lost' fan," what many people are trying to say is, "I get this show. I understand it. And because I do, I'm different from the typical pop culture fan. You say less people watch now than in Season 1? Good. Just reinforces my current status. They just never got it."
I'm not above thinking this type of thing. I don't exclude myself from this categorization. But I'd like to think that my self-awareness in this matter gives me a level of sympathy towards the writers of the show. The flip side of creating a show that people obsess over is that you run the insane risk of breaking their hearts when it doesn't meet expectations. It's not producing a bad episode that Darlton and company have to worry about. That's unfortunate but not a crime. Where the crime lies in the viewer's eyes is producing something that invalidates their love of the show. In essence, a bad episode is a personal affront on an individual layer, playing out in million of homes.
And that type of reaction is only going to increase as the episodes tick away, as character motivations seem sketchy, new mysteries are introduced, and we start getting that feeling in the pit of our stomach we do after a late-night run to Denny's. For me, that moment happened during "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham," the first time I actively thought, "Oh crap, they actually might not stick the landing on this show when all is said and done." I had simply not thought that since mid-way through Season 3. Never even occurred to me that they wouldn't. And there I was, writing a "Lost" blog and getting people excited about a show that just made me vaguely ill. I was an enabler! Oh noes!
I'd say two things to all of this: one, while it's normal to be nervous, I am still excited about Season 6. We're going to see at least a dozen things you've wanted to see since Season 1, and half of them we didn't even know we wanted to see. And second, Darlton owe us nothing except telling us the story they want to tell. That's it. I assume they know where they want to go with the story after Juliet blew up Jughead. The fact that I can't think of one satisfying way in which they can is MY problem, not THEIRS. There's a pretty darn good reason why they sit in the writers' room and I sit in my Boston apartment. And no, it has nothing to do with any restraining orders betwixt myself and Elizabeth Sarnoff, no matter what you might have read over at TMZ.
I'll be reiterating this as the season approaches, but as you think about what's to come, take the approach so few characters on the show actually do: see things as they are, not for how you'd rather they be. I've been confused, perplexed, annoyed, and generally mad that the show zigged where I thought it should have zagged, and nearly every time their zig trumped my zag. Did you have "a Scottish man trapped pushing a button thanks to the machinations of a man who once ruled the Island but was banished after visiting his partner who killed their adult time-travelling son before he was actually born" in your Season 1 "What's in the hatch?" office pool? Yea, didn't think so. I like their answer better than mine. (I think it was "whole lotta Chex Mix.")
Considering how few times the show's actually disappointed me, I consider myself pretty damn lucky to experience a show this smart, weird, and overall brilliant in my lifetime. And while my next entry will be about six potential pitfalls for the show come its final season, we should remember how often the show has not only skirted those pitfalls before, but often overcome them with great creativity and ingenuity. But most of all, I hope we all try and keep our heads on straight as the curtain starts to close. I'll do my best to keep this little part of the interwebs a place not for people to celebrate their shared status as fans, but to use the connective tissue of the show as a way to hang out with some pretty fun people.
After all, how "Lost" wraps up its run says nothing about us as fans. How we treat each other in this space and beyond during that time? That says everything.
Ryan invites you to join the hundreds already in Zap2It's Guide to Lost Facebook group.
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Here, Here! I agree with everything you just said. Sure, my faith has been shaken a couple of times: when they killed Shannon (a great character with immense potential), The Cage Episodes, Bai Ling, etc. But I've always held faith in their abilities, because when I first saw Foxy, Dominic, Daniel, Harold and Maggie followed by the wide shot of the fuselage, I knew I was seeing something that would make history.
well said, favoritest blogger 'o mine. Whaaaaaaa-whoa-wahh favoritest blogger 'o mine!!
sorry, that's bad. like lots of bad.
ANYHOO...i agree that the writers have done a masterful job of extricating themselves from painted-in corners, and i am a Woman of Faith and therefore think they can pull of a Navy SEAL-esque extrication again. doesn't help with my case of nerves over the ending.
there's a LOT riding on this. i've been OCD about this show for going on 6 years, as have we all. if our devotion to this show (this epically written, beautifully arc'ed piece of art) proves to be for naught, we will all be painted fools. nobody enjoys finding out that they have, in fact, been tilting at windmills; that the emperor isn't wearing clothes. i know if i'm thusly painted, that it will be a looooong time before i put my trust and faith in a similar show in the future. so it's not just LOST on the line here (for me anyway), it's future shows as well.
Darlton?? you out there???? you reading this???? i sure as shootin' hope so....for all of our sakes.
As most true Lost fans can attest, I think we all have some trepidations for this upcoming season. I trully have not had a problem with any season except the last one we just saw. There was just too much Dharmaville and not enough of our favorite characters which worries me for this upcoming season. Because let's face it...this is it...so they better get it right because there is no redo or correcting it in another season since there won't be any. And please address all the issues we want answered timely enough without cramming them into a series finale. Please don't answer one mystery and add two new ones...if they do they will never be able to get everything done in time.
There seems to be a cottage industry developing among Lost bloggers that questions Darlton's ability to craft a satisfying ending to a story that has had more twists than a 50's era dance contest. After all, given the mind-numbing plethora of "continuity errors" (I'd like to read a column dealing with just that non-issue as what seems apparent and what may after all be 'real' in that context are in my view two separtate entities), and the notion that is rapidly approaching cliche status regarding painting themselves into a corner. It begs the question of how the writers can possibly pull off the conclusion Lost deserves without sacrificing internal logic on the altar of narrative necessity. Yes, real life cir***stances have intruded on some aspects of this one-of-a-kind-in-my-lifetime television experience, forcing the writers into making changes on the fly. But when I watch the occasional out-of- sequence episode in syndication, I'm always struck by how much of what was put forth in episodes dating back to Season 1 is still very much in play as we come to the endgame. Darlton has clearly had the big picture in focus from the start, and it says a lot for their dedication to their product that they've been able to navigate the tricky waters of network television production while still maintaining the integrity of their creative vision. A case in point is having the insight/instinct to turn what was originally conceived of as a limited guest-starring role for Michael Emerson into one of the most compelling character arcs in this or any other show.
I don't live in a fantasy land wherein Darlton can do no wrong, but I have faith that they will do right by the show and the 10-15 million viewers who have made Lost appointment TV of the first order. Given the varying levels of involvement and opinion of those of us who love Lost, it's inevitable that there will be a significant percentage who will be left unsatisfied by whatever is served up. (I share Michael Emerson's sense that there will not be a happy ending in May 2010.) I'm just hoping that the influence of Stephen King's Dark Tower epic won't extend so far as to yield the Orborous-like ending that had King complete that series with the very same sentence with which it began.
Aside: It's not on my wish list for optimal endings, but I do recall the flight manifests posted on Oceanic's web site during S1 which showed 815 arriving at LAX on schedule. I filed that under 'Things That Make Me Go Hmmmm' then, and nothing I saw in S5 has caused me to remove it from consideration.
More than a few Twin Peaks afficainados felt betrayed by how that mind-bending series ended its run, leading David Lynch to opine that all endings are inherently unsatisfying-that it's all about the journey. Though we hope for answers to most of the Big Questions that have played havoc with our neural cicuitry, when we finally discover what has been going on for these six seasons, for all our inevitable differences in perspective, we will all be able to agree that Lost has been a singularly satisfying, multi-layered, long strange trip, the likes of which we will probably not see again.
Amen, Ryan, Amen. I will have my seatbelt on and my tray table in the upright position come Jan 2010 and be ready for anything. I will be counting on your blog to administer the virtual xanax when needed.
Very well written, Ryan. I too love analising m***ive phenomenons from a social perspective, and I could agree more with what you said.
I consider myself a fan of Lost, not in the sense you expose here, but in the sense that I enjoy watching the show every week to be surprised and amazed (the same reason I read this blog), but in no way do I place my validation as a person, my happiness or sadness on the outcome of said weekly episode. Some people treat tv shows as near lovers, going up or down according to the thrills of their favorite shows (or artists). It's good to see that there are other people who can see this in a similar way to mine.
Congratulations on the entry and on the best blog about Lost on the web. And don't you dare disapoint us with your analisys come season 6, or Darlton aren't going to be the only searching a new address (I hope the sarcasm is painfully clear).
Couldn't agree more. Damn keyboard.
"see things as they are, not for how you'd rather they be"
That's how I watch all shows. Probably why I enjoyed the BSG finale where others...not so much.
There comes a point where the fan just has to chill out and enjoy things for what they are, not what they think it should be. It's why I can find enjoyment in the Star Wars films and the Marvel comics movies when so many others just complain endlessly about them.
But Ewoks DO suck, we can all agree on that one.