First of all, I'd like to thank The TailSection writers and all the fans who turn out here on a daily basis to tediously mull over the details of our favorite mystery island and it's varied inhabitants. I feel honored to throw my contribution into the mix.
It seems like it's been so long since we first met our motley crew of plane crash survivors. Years go by and we all still wonder that which was so eloquently encapsulated early on in season one by our good friend Charlie: "Guys, where are we?" Where are we indeed. Mysterious Others, radical healing powers, prophetic dreams of destiny, military-like bunkers, a pirate ship in the middle of the jungle, magnetic anomalies, killer fetuses, strange hippie experiments, dead people coming back for short visits, a freaking mind reading smoke monster, freighter folk with unknown intentions, time traveling consciousness, ghost busting. . .how could anyone not like this!? The island continues to unravel its mysteries only to leave us with more questions than answers, and yet we come back week after week, year after year to get our fix, to ponder what comes next, and to theorize on what it's all about.
Some people don't understand the idea behind Lost. They hear people's talk of "not knowing what's going on" and turn away to watch their American Idol or whatever people watch when they're not cool enough to watch Lost. I see Lost as much like a mystery novel, your Sherlock Holmes and whatnot. Sure, you don't know the big picture, but that's the fun of it. You get little clues along the way that you pick up and put in your pocket like little tidbits of knowledge -- sort of like puzzle pieces that, when put together, add up to the greatest story ever told: the story of the island. But no matter what we make of the clues the writers leave behind for us, we're constantly surprised by the next leg of the plot. It's like we're the 815ers and the writers are Ben, always ten steps ahead of us looking back and laughing at our naivety because they know what it's all about and they have us right where they want us. In the end, I pity the writers because they don't have the pleasure of seeing it all slowly unfold from the first mystery to the last epiphany. They know how it all ends, and thus they have the ultimate spoiler swimming around in their craniums (I bet LostFan108 would love to get his greasy mitts on that one).
As you may have already noticed, I'm not at all one of those people who thinks the writers make it up as they go along, nor have I ever been. I see this idea as ridiculous, and think it's the theory of casual watchers who don't pick up on the many subplot details that are obviously planned out years ahead of time. But, to each their own.
As I'm sure most of you already know, there are many themes snaking their way through Lost's main plot. I can sum them up in a quote from Dr. Emmett L. Brown: it's all about "where we've been, where we're going, the pitfalls and the possibilities, the perils and the promise, perhaps even an answer to that universal question. . .why."
The joy of it all is that Lost can be enjoyed on several different levels by both casual viewers and hardcore fans, each of which get a lot of information to soak in every week, whether they understand it or not. The casual fan can enjoy the basic storyline of the general mystery of the island and its inhabitants, whereas the hardcore fan can take in so much more. Almost an unlimited amount of theorizing can be done about Lost when you just dive into the mythology of it all.
I've been parusing the net on Lost sites for years now, and as I'm sure a lot of you have noticed there are some CA-RAZY Lost fans out there. But what's wrong with that, really? We all have our own theories as to how it's all gonna go down, and some are more out there than others. Everything from "it's all Hurley's dream" to "they're in purgatory". Though us true Lost fans know that both of those particular theories are a load of BS, I still see people posting those ideas in comments sections. It's funny to see how quickly some avid "Lostie" commenter will snap at the sight of the words "dream" or "purgatory." I've had to do some "cleaning house" myself in a few comments sections, clearing up all the misconceptions of the up-and-coming Losties who are still new to the game. We need to learn to be patient with those who are still getting everything worked out. I think we hardcore fans tend to hold a high opinion of ourselves as compared to the new guys, and we can't help but correct people on anything and everything. I think that's just a sign of love for the show, and not wanting the writers to be insulted by taking the story in the wrong direction. But really, it's Lost, and I would assume the writers love when we become LOST in the story.
Whatever direction Lost chooses to take, the true fans will stick by it through thick and thin -- through "The Constant" and "Exposé", through the "Others" and the "Tailies." The beauty of it all is, like any other long running show, it has so much room for error. We can deal with an Ana Lucia every now and again, and even a Nikki or Paulo, and just chock it up to a simple lapse in judgment and move on. Writing a show like Lost requires some trial and error, and considering how much excellent storytelling we receive for free week after week, I think we can all handle an error here and there. All in all, Lost is the greatest story ever told because that's what we see it as. That's what we believe it to be, and us true fans will continue to preach its greatness to pseudo-fans and Lost-haters the world over.
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