OK, if you read yesterday's entry, you'll know that I'm kinda mad at Lost right now. And here's why: in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse went on record as stating the majority of the alternate reality game Find815 was not in Lost canon. As I stated in yesterday's comments, this largely renders an experience followed by millions in anticipation of Season 4 as nothing more as fanfic with one morsel of actual canon information inside of it (Christiane I finding the wreckage of Oceanic 815 in the Sunda Trench).

What this means, in short, is that both the protagonist of Find815 (Sam Thomas) and the group heavily hinted at being responsible for the placed wreckage (The Maxwell Group, a subsidiary of Widmore Corporations) DO NOT EXIST as far as Lindelof and Cuse are concerned. Now, if you didn't follow the game, this factoid probably doesn't matter to you in the slightest. But chances are, if you're here reading a Lost blog, it does matter, and, if I may cite what I wrote in yesterday's comments, here's why it matters:

I'm really not going to try and convince anyone to be outraged by this if they are not. Not a terribly interesting proposition to me.

But it seems to me, if you're constructing a mystery, then you owe it to the audience to give them a chance to solve it. That doesn't mean the audience should solve it 60% through the story (like Lost is, essentially), but you can't make it impossible for them to guess, is my point.

Going through Find815, and many loyally did, only to say, post-facto, "Oh, that's not canon," seems to me a slap in the face for those who looked to Find815 not merely as a mild diversion, but as a way to reward intense show loyalty by giving them valid hints of things to come. These were things that, like the discovery of Black Rock, would eventually be revealed within the show proper, but also provided hints that would reward the most rabid Lost fan.

Such a violation of the "rules", as I see them, makes any further conjecturing that much more difficult. If the extra ancillary material is non-canon, state so up front (and they finally were seemingly forced to in terms of the video game), or make sure you stick an associate producer on every extra piece of Lost narrative and make sure everything falls in line with Darlton's master plan.

You can't have it both ways and expect people to continue to discuss the possibilities of future plot developments.

To further this point: Lost is a genre show, and as such, possesses the often ravenous, rabid fanbase that accompanies such shows. Things like "Missing Pieces," "The Lost Experience," and "Find815" are predicated on such interest, exploit such interest, and in doing so, keeps their show fresh in the minds of their audience. By essentially telling that rabid audience that the work they put in doesn't matter, it insults the goodwill of these fans and puts Lost in a tough situation down the line when they want to produce ancillary material.

To further my point, let me take the first question of this week's "Letters from The Flame," which I answered in my podcast, but takes on a whole new perspective after today's revelations. This comes from reader Shaggysteve:

We saw that Elsa had a similar bracelet to the one worn by Naomi.  It would seem that Sayid is killing off those connected to Dharma.  So the major question right now is Who is RG?  Considering the picture with Desmond & Penny, maybe someone with Widmore Industries?

In this week's podcast, my wife and I debated this topic for about five minutes. We thought perhaps it was literally the same bracelet, while accepting that as a very remote possibility. I mentioned that the whole thing had a Kill Bill vibe to it, almost as if "the economist" had a habit of giving them to his lovely lady assassins. But we both agreed this was a strong signal that, if nothing else, Naomi and Elsa work for the same organization.

But hey, what do I know? Let's see what Darlton had to say about this in Entertainment Weekly:

I got some e-mails from people who wondered if there was a connection between Naomi's bracelet and the bracelet worn by the woman Sayid killed in his flash-forward. There is no connective tissue. Sometimes a bracelet is just a bracelet.

Well, then.

Here's why this falls flat for me. Maybe I'm reading his tone incorrectly here, but he seems almost bemused that fans look at two similar bracelets and strive to make a connection. As if such sleuthing comes from the deranged psyche of the masses as opposed to a show that has trained it that no detail, however small, is unimportant.

Case in point: there's a section in the Season 3 DVD called "Lost Book Club," in which examines the resonances of novels featured (however briefly) on-screen in the show. One example of how the show used literature as a clue concerned the novel "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," which, IN THEIR WORDS ON THE DVD, was inserted as a way to foreshadow the arrival of Hurley's imaginary friend Dave some five episodes later.

But, remember: sometimes a bracelet is just a bracelet.

See the problem here? Yes, sometimes a bracelet IS just a bracelet, but not on Lost. Not anymore. Probably not ever. You can't have "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" signify the imminent arrival of an imaginary character AND a bracelet that's just a bracelet, anymore than you can invite fans to watch a sanctioned alternate reality game and then state, after the fact, that barely any of it matters to the show.

It's literally not fair. Trying to have it both ways prevents the audience from having a fair chance to actively engage in the mystery of the show. And having cultivated that audience over the past four years, I just don't think it's the smartest move the show can make at this point. I don't remember The X-Files every telling me, "Sometimes an alien is just an alien," after all.

Am I going to stop watching? Course not. For one, um, my bosses here might get a wee bit annoyed. Secondly, this isn't a make-or-break thing; it's just a disappointing thing. I appreciate that trying to construct an elaborate narrative such as Lost already poses more problems than the average Joe could possibly overcome, and as such, I laud the show for getting its main narrative so right so often (especially since the episodes after the mid-Season 3) hiatus. And I applaud them for trying to sate our Lost needs by branching out into ARGs, mobisodes, and video games.  Trust me, I do.

But if these ancillary elements are not canon, for the love of God, Darlton, tell us ahead of time. And if you can't make them canon, I'd advise forgoing them altogether going forward. You have your hands full over the next forty-five episodes; focus on that. Honestly, I don't need to follow characters in ARGs if you yourselves can't be bothered to follow them.

Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude.

Comments

I feel riped off!
Honestly, I don't need to follow characters in ARGs if you yourselves can't be bothered to follow them.
So true!

Javier | Feb 21, 2008 6:03:57 PM | #

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I never really pursued Lost Experience, and never got around to Find815, so I don't feel as burned as you obviously do. But I think your point is right on. Some might suggest that it is not as if you paid money for the ARGs, but that really isn't the point--and, after all, time IS money, right?

The thing that burns me, though, is the statement about the bracelet. Not only are you right on that 'sometimes a bracelet is just a bracelet--but not on Lost', there is also the fact that they MADE A POINT of highlighting BOTH bracelets, BOTH by Sayid. How the hell are we NOT supposed to draw the obvious conclusion(s)?

DanC | Feb 21, 2008 6:30:45 PM | #

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Ryan, I feel your pain, brutha. I do. Maybe Darlton will hear all of the backlash from the Jensen interview and officially sanction a sequel to Find815 that ties that narrative up without messing with the show. Maybe we find out the Maxwell Group is just a bunch of old retired farts who enjoy wild goose hunts.

Blue Sean | Feb 21, 2008 6:36:07 PM | #

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am pouting...and posting at commercial.

mri | Feb 21, 2008 6:42:13 PM | #

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Ryan, I understand your disappointment in regards to the bracelet comment from Damon. I also thought it foreshadowed some Widmore-driven connection between Naomi and Elsa. However, the rest of Damon's response, had you posted it, does well to explain why exactly the bracelet was there and makes the notion that he is "bemused" by the thought of a connection a stretch. (For those who haven't read it: "We just thought it would be a cool emotional touchstone for Sayid; Elsa's bracelet reminds him of Naomi. But some people interpreted that, ''Is there something more there?'' We might need to address that.") Plus, just because the two bracelets aren't connected, it doesn't dismiss the item from the mythology of the story. I'm sure the identity of RG and their relationship to Naomi and the rest of the freighters is still very much in play. Is there a reason to be disappointed in a slight lapse in judgment from the Damon and Carlton? Sure. But don't overreact and question their faith in the fans of the show. They've been nothing but good to us to this point.

KS | Feb 21, 2008 7:42:35 PM | #

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I knew this was coming, but I still went on with it. Ryan, remember back when I first posted on here and that was one of my main concerns? Now On Lostipedia (which has already misquoted Kate's mother on tonight's episode. More on that later...) Darlton said that MOST parts of the Lost Experience was canon, such as establishing the mythology of the Big Bad Companies and such. This is one of the reasons why I had trouble with the Theory in Question, because I was so scared that Darlton would back themselves up in a corner and this would happen.

Mark O. Estes | Feb 21, 2008 8:12:02 PM | #

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Speaking of RG... I wonder what Naomi's last name is? Is it just me, or does Regina's voice in last weeks' ep sound a whole lot like Naomi (and not just because of the accent)? Probably coincidence but it was still weird.

DanC | Feb 21, 2008 8:38:42 PM | #

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God, I hope the Spider Protocol, Mittlewerk et al are still canon, or else it's going to totally obliterate my strongest theory for this season of Lost :(

I play World of Warcraft, made by Blizzard Entertainment. Been a fan of the Warcraft world since I was a kid. And the thing is, despite creating such a complex fantasy world, every single piece of ancillary material, from their RPG sourcebooks, to their novels, comics, upcoming motion picture, to the games themselves, are all meticulously reviewed by the Warcraft creators, to ensure that it all lines up and is considered canon. They don't put out any material that doesn't fit into their world, and they go to great lengths to make the various storylines fit.

It's that sort of dedication to their own narrative I would hope the creators of a phenomenom like Lost would exercise.

Other Sean | Feb 22, 2008 12:16:23 AM | #

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This isn't anything new to the JJ Abrams world. I followed the Cloverfield "ARG" and then the movie had nothing to do with the film with the exception of 2 unimportant details. I have debates with a friend of mine who states that the producers don't play fair on Lost and I'm constantly defending it but something like the discrediting of Find815 and now the bracelets makes that difficult for me to defend. I hope they don't end the show like the film "The Bone Collector" with Denzel Washington in which the killer was only showed once in the film and not highlighted at all to wear you could NEVER even have a clue it was this person or even have any idea that they'd ever be a suspect. It's just not fairplay.

Ken | Feb 22, 2008 4:21:30 AM | #

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Ryan,
After participating in this debate in yesterdays column I wen tback and watched last weeks ep again. After Sayid kills Elsa he only briefly looks down and sees a bracelet. They never focused on it, he didn't pick it up, nothing. It was glance at best. It never got close enough to the camera to see if it was the same kind of bracelet.

I think this all stems from the fact that we watch the show so closely now that we make a big deal out things when they aren't really there. I was with you guys yesterday about this whole thing. I think if you go back to you'll see what I'm talking about.

Mike in RI | Feb 22, 2008 5:46:39 AM | #

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After waiting and waiting for the many games in Find815 to load and work, I am also disappointed that it seems to have been nothing more than a fun distraction for fans.

Rosemarie | Feb 22, 2008 6:05:45 AM | #

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Mike: but we watch the show so closely BECAUSE THEY HAVE TRAINED US TO DO SO. (Caps not because I'm angry, but for emphasis...haven't figured out HTML in the comments yet.)

Having the bracelet mean nothing other than a slight callback to Naomi's bracelet is fine, but for Darlton to essentially say, "You all crazy!" for trying to make a connection is semi-insulting.

Ryan | Feb 22, 2008 6:25:31 AM | #

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Honestly, I don't feel the betrayal you guys seem to feel. Maxwell Group exists in the LOST universe. It's what funded the Christiane I's voyage to the Sunda Trench. What's important is that the ship found the remains of Flight 815. What's not important is how Maxwell Group fits in to the overall mythology of the show. If it was important, it'd be on the show itself and not in an offshoot ARG.

Jeff | Feb 22, 2008 6:27:58 AM | #

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I truly agree. I have been into the tv show from the beginning. I love the show so much that waiting until January seemed like more than I could bare. So I began a search for anything from Find 815 and was so excited to join in the mystery. I am very disappointed. I feel like I waisted my time. Shame on them. But, dispite this disappointment...I will always watch. I feel I have too much invested.

Michelle | Feb 22, 2008 6:28:24 AM | #

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I don't think "Sometimes a bracelet is just a bracelet" is a cop-out, slight to the fans, or unfair. The writers/producers set us up for situations like this all the way back in Season 1 with the build-up to what Kate wanted from the Halliburton. We were all expecting it to be something cool with great significance, but it turned out to be a crummy toy plane.

Or, to give a Sayid-specific example, the cats from "Enter 77." They were there to give us and Sayid a connection between the island events with his flashback. Nadia wasn't the flashback cat, wasn't a clone of the that cat, and wasn't some mad Dharma experiment. It was just a cat with a similarity to the flashback cat. That's all.

Xannie | Feb 22, 2008 6:45:38 AM | #

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But you didn't waste your time. You found out what happened to Flight 815.

Just because you and other fans came to the conclusion that Maxwell was an important piece of the LOST puzzle, doesn't change the fact that it existed as a device to drive the story forward.

Honestly, with all this talk of Maxwell Group, Mittlewerk and the Spider Protocol, how in the heck do you expect the non ARG following fan to understand what the hell is going on if those things were to end up factoring in to the TV show?

Jeff | Feb 22, 2008 6:47:23 AM | #

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Ryan,
I know what you're saying. That is what my point was yesterday. You can't tell fans to pay attention to eevry detail, watch each episode multiple times, reserach name and book references and then essentially tell us we are total fanboys for making a connection between items that they did not intend.

My point is that when going back I can see where I personally may have made a leap that wasn't there. Reading the comments though I came to understand that I wasn't the only one. Therefore how could the writers honestly think that they could throw that in and no one would think twice about it.

Mike in RI | Feb 22, 2008 7:15:21 AM | #

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I do agree about the bracelet. It would've been helpful if they didn't look identical.

Jeff | Feb 22, 2008 7:35:30 AM | #

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But Xannie: that cat was the smoke monster. So it's not really the same at all.

As far as the toy plane: that was lame, yes, but at least carried some emotional significance for Kate. We might not have cared about it much, but she did. That's just bad execution of a decent idea.

With Bracelet #1 and Bracelet #2, we have a case in which something on the Island looks to have a direct relationship with something off-Island. So a lot of people make a lot of conjecture, and the powers that be essentially scoff at the ATTEMPT to do so. That's what gets my goat about it all.

I honestly don't care about making a prediction that turns out to be wrong. I do that all the time. It's when I feel those in the show act like efforts such as mine (made by literally millions of fans, not just me) are silly that I get annoyed.

Ryan | Feb 22, 2008 7:44:32 AM | #

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While I feel your pain, it never seemed plausible to me for a show criticized for too much mystery with no answers to connect the dots of off-screen mystery to an audience more concerned with who Kate chooses. Like Alias and X-Files before it, I prefer the mythology to the characters but the mythology does not bring the ratings.

David | Feb 22, 2008 7:49:36 AM | #

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Ryan, isn't it conjecture to say the cat is the smoke monster?

Jeff | Feb 22, 2008 8:17:34 AM | #

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Jeff: conjecture in as much as Eko's brother, Kate's horse, Sawyer's boar, and Hurley's Dave is the Smoke Monster, but a pretty good one, no?

Ryan | Feb 22, 2008 8:20:43 AM | #

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No, I don't buy it. All we know is the smoke monster assumed the likeness of Eko's brother. There's never been anything to indicate that it was Dave or that it can assume the forms of animals.

Jeff | Feb 22, 2008 8:26:39 AM | #

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Jeff: It's OK if you dont buy it. All I'm saying is don't dismiss it. There's strong in-show inference that this is a possibility. I outlined this a few weeks ago:

http://blog.zap2it.com/lost/2008/02/smoking-out-som.html

Ryan | Feb 22, 2008 8:37:53 AM | #

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Oh for sure! I'm definitely not dismissing it; I'm just saying it's not yet proved as fact.

With that in mind, I agree with Xannie. Until it's revealed that the cat is the smoke monster, I'm going on the assumption that it's just a familiar looking cat that functions as an emotional touchstone for Sayid.

Jeff | Feb 22, 2008 8:41:38 AM | #

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Ryan,

Since I've never been been on either ARG websites, I don't care that they are or are not canon. In fact the vast majority of viewers never have been on these sites, I think many more people would be upset if they were told they needed to go to the websites to understand the full story.

I know the writers put a great deal of effort into clues into storyline, but does everything have to have a hidden meaning? Can't they throw in a "red herring" in every once and a while?

I can understand your dissappointment that what you've followed so closely is not canon but the Lost story is intellectual work of the producers/writers. They have not forced anyone to do anything. We all make our own choices. They can do whatever they want to do with the storyline. The entire Lost saga may just be the fantasy of an autistic boy in Boston or the dream of a Chicago psychiatrist.

Cherokee | Feb 22, 2008 8:48:55 AM | #

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Let me very respectfully ( and I mean that :-) ) disagree that Nadia the cat was Smokey. Perhaps if she was identical to the cat in Sayid's flashback that would be plausible, or if Nadia appeared to only to Sayid. But, Nadia was Patchy's pet--I don't think Smokey is the type to be domesticated. But who knows, maybe he gets his powers from catnip. ;-)

And if Smokey was Sawyer's boar, Smokey would very likely be dead by now due to the Losties' fondess of pig roasts.

Anyway, thanks for your columns, Ryan. :-)

Xannie | Feb 22, 2008 9:18:17 AM | #

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Don't you get it????
It's all about "The perfect Race." cloning first by the Nazi's. Pharma in Germany, hiding for decades.

Of course, the worker bees (clones) have the bracelet. They are the warriors and are expendable. Berlin lab was cloned dogs, as well as the polar bear. Cannot reproduce, and that is the reason they are studying women on the island. Think about it. Answers most questions.

Ginger | Feb 22, 2008 10:33:47 AM | #

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Don't you get it????
It's all about "The perfect Race." cloning first by the Nazi's. Pharma in Germany, hiding for decades.

Of course, the worker bees (clones) have the bracelet. They are the warriors and are expendable. Berlin lab was cloned dogs, as well as the polar bear. Cannot reproduce, and that is the reason they are studying women on the island. Think about it. Answers most questions.

Ginger | Feb 22, 2008 10:34:11 AM | #

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I never followed that Find815 thing, and I never read "Bad Twin" either. Personally, I always felt that all answers should be in the show, rather than in other media.
And as for the bracelet thing, I really don't care at all.

Billiam | Feb 22, 2008 10:45:54 AM | #

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Ginger: Uh, wtf?

Billiam: Do yourself a favor and never ever read Bad Twin. It was god awful.

Jeff | Feb 22, 2008 11:16:24 AM | #

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Was the identity that Ben assumed when he was kept in the storage room in the hatch named Richard Gale the ballonist?

harry | Feb 22, 2008 11:18:31 AM | #

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It was Henry Gale.

Jeff | Feb 22, 2008 11:32:18 AM | #

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Naomi's last name is Dorrit (lostpedia.com is your friend).

And the voice on the phone is Zoë Bell, if you've seen Grindhouse/Death Proof you may recognize her.

And I can see their point on the bracelet thing. They need to have significant things on the show, and they need to have things that are just similar but not connected. Otherwise, it's too obvious which things are important. One recent thing that seems similar is the closeup of the Grandkid's picture that Miles is ghostbusting in his flashback. The camera seems to linger on the photo, leading many to think that there's significance. It led to much speculation that the kid was related to someone on the show, and to responses accusing such speculation of being racist ("white people think all black people look the same/are related/whatever). There may be a connection we find out later, or it may be nothing.

The sayid cat is another good example. Is it a connection, or just a coincidence that reminds him? I'm fine with it just being a cat that happens to look like another cat.

It's not really fair to characterize Damon's response as "You all crazy!" He didn't criticize viewers for making that connection ("scoff"), or even say that people should stop looking for things like that. He simply said that sometimes a connection is intended, and sometimes not. I think that's the way the show should be. I think maybe people are just a little overly sensitive when the producers clarify that their theory is wrong.

milo | Feb 22, 2008 12:01:02 PM | #

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Maybe Henry Gale is RG's father.

Harry | Feb 22, 2008 1:08:26 PM | #

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milo: thanks for the info. That's what happens when an idea flashes in your head and you post without really thinking it through or researching it. I had a feeling after I posted that it was just a fleetly vocal similarity.

Also, on the bracelet issue, after watching the repeat last night I guess they didn't 'highlight' it as strongly as I thought I'd recalled. I still think, though, that they kind of implied (obviously not intentionally) that there was a connection, esp. since both instances were in the same episode.

I'm not really that worked up over it, I think it's just the attitude (at least as Ryan presented it) that they were dismissive of people making such connections, when they've blatantly put subtle stuff like that in there over and over again.

DanC | Feb 22, 2008 4:41:26 PM | #

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fleetly == fleeting.

And THAT is what happens when you don't proofread before clicking the Post button....

DanC | Feb 22, 2008 4:42:59 PM | #

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Come on, people, seriously! It's just a[n amazing] TV show! Get a life!!

Lost-fan | Feb 23, 2008 6:38:26 AM | #

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Boo Freaking Hoo

I looked at the even answers and it turned out that they weren't for the final exam afterall.

What kind of person wants to know before the end of the show?

Get a life

LostFan_Pragmatist | Feb 23, 2008 7:06:04 PM | #

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Ryan,
Let me see if I understand this. You're complaining that a work of fiction within a larger work of fiction turned out to be merely...well, fiction. Is this where irony dovetails into insanity? Where the sublime blends into the ridiculous? You know all those nutjob sports bloggers out there? You make them seem as objective and grounded as Robert Young.

paul | Feb 24, 2008 9:24:49 AM | #

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