'Lost': Live chat about 'Happily Ever After' on April 6th
For many people, "Ab Aeterno" was THE episode "Lost" fans had most anticipated, short of the series finale itself. But for my money, "Happily Ever After" has the chance to be THE most talked about episode of the final season short of the 2-hour finale. While that's obviously up in the air, I can easily say no episode title has scared me more in the history of the show. Had they titled it "Razzle Dazzle," thereby signaling the return of Nikki and Paulo, I wouldn't be as scared as I am right now.
Why? Because who gets a "happily ever after" in "Lost"? No one, that's who! At least not so far. We might find out later that certain people may have earned that happiness already, but for right now, it's a whole lot of missed connections, sad faces, and little to no hope for anything resembling a happy outcome. But what's the phrase about things being darkest just before the dawn? If the sun went down when Sayid killed Dogen, might we get a peek of sunrise this week? (And no, I don't actually think every character needs or deserves a "happy ending." Read this article for a more complete perspective.)
As you can tell, I've kept the identity of this week's central character in the dark. That's my standard M.O. until the chat itself actually starts, at which point I lift the veil and discuss such things openly. If you think that's spoiling, well, at least now you know the rules. If you can keep the character's identity hidden in the comments below, that would be fantastic.
(BTW, if you missed this week's "Letters from the Flame," you can check it out here.)
We'll start the chat this Tuesday, April 6th, at 7:30 pm EST and run it straight through to the start of "Happily Ever After." At that point, I'll log off, grab my pillow, and hold onto it tightly for the following 60 minutes.
Hope you can join me! On the chat, that is. Not grabbing the pillow. That might be a little weird.
Ryan invites you to join the hundreds already in Zap2It's Guide to Lost Facebook group.
Photo credit: ABC
I have no clue whose centric episode this will be and I'm gonna keep myself in the dark about it until it airs. Unlike a lot of the episodes, I have no clue who this title refers to. At least with Sundown, I THOUGHT I knew who it was about.
But I will say this: I can't wait to see the Man in Black's flashbacks!!! I hope it's finale-worthy. I think that his episode could reveal a lot about the Island's history and origins.
I guess I might be alone in thinking that "Lost" isn't an incredibly dark show. In Pamela Douglas' 2nd edition of "Writing the TV Drama Series," Damon Lindelof describes the way to write a "Lost" spec script:
"...pick a character that you like the most, tell a story about them from any point in their lives that really solidifies a trait of theirs. Then design a story on the island that gives them a choice. If they made the wrong choice in the past, now they make the right choice."
Now, granted, that does seem to leave the door open for a reversal: if they made the right choice in the past, now they make the wrong one (i.e. Eko?) But, the show's narrative strategy with flashbacks, as established in season one, often features one redemption story after another. As Darlton said a few weeks ago, "Dr. Linus" was a good old-fasioned season one redemption yarn. "Lighthouse" had an essentially happy, feel-good ending for Jack, there's "The Constant," Rose and Bernard's story, etc.
I should admit, however, that my perspective is colored by the fact that none of my most favorite characters have bit the dust yet (I do wish Faraday were still with us, though.)
Still, my perception of an uber-dark show is where, indeed, no one has a happy ending and I don't think "Lost" has that kind of finale in its DNA. If it did, it would seem to betray the tone that the show has maintained throughout its run.
That method might have worked in Season 1, or Season 2, but really hasn't been in play for a long, long time. (Just looked, that book was published in Sept. 2007. So, before S3 and S4.) The writers build out long arcs, and try to deploy character-based eps at the point those characters can make significant contributions to that story.
While "Lost" is still a character-based story, the character stories they tell serve the overall narrative, not the other way around.
Unlike most, THIS is the episode that I have been waiting for, not ab aeterno (for reasons that will be stated in the chat tomorrow). I really hope that it's good. Thanks for the link to the limericks Ryan...lots of fun.
@titus, as Ryan said I don't think you can extrapolate that through to the remaining seasons.
Sure the show still plays on that 'leads you to expect one thing then reveals the opposite' - but it's done the double-bluff often enough that now you can't honestly predict the way they'll go.
Now, as I'm ploughing my way through season three I've got to watch Stranger in a Strange Land - I'm thinking of it as my penance before being rewarded by this week's episode!
Well, my main point that I wanted to make is that a "Lost" finale where *everyone* has either an awful or tragic fate doesn't seem to fit the character of the series which has been rife with plenty of happy moments.