on lost

I just finished my fifth watch-through of the cult classic television show Lost - and it still remains my most favorite television series by far - the competition is not even close.

I first remember some classmates in one of my senior year high school classes talking about the show when it was airing in its second season, specifically discussing both some of the swerves that show had delivered so far but also the still yet then unrevealed mysteries within. I had no clue what they were talking about at that moment, but I did soon after watch the first season and caught up with the show’s regular airtime schedule.

Lost is one of the last TV shows that society watched and were in on together. In these days of the instant-gratification of streaming, there’s no particular mechanism to bring everyone together these days to participate in the same way, save maybe genres like professional wrestling. I personally became hooked on the cliffhangers and spent more time talking with others about what might be happening and where the show was going than I was spending the hour per week watching the next episode. I remember watching the series finale when it aired on ABC, and the moment was so very bittersweet. I certainly didn’t want it to end, but nothing can be forever.

For anyone that hasn’t seen the show and may still want to experience it first-hand, ⚠️ SPOILERS AHEAD! ⚠️

The most problematic theory that has still stuck around with some and my issue with it - they weren’t dead the whole time! Anyone who holds this theory didn’t pay attention to the show, and certainly hasn’t watched it as many times as I have. There’s also a certain fixation about the mysteries of the island, and while that mystery is what fueled the intense speculation after every episode that answers a question but gave three more, the true intent of the show boils down to a thought I had shortly after the finale aired - it wasn’t about the island, it was about the people.

That’s not to say that the show isn’t without some holes. Who was firing upon the group of people including Sawyer, Juliet, and Locke while in the outrigger before the island flashed and time skipped again? What made Walt so special? What significant meaning do the numbers really have, apart from where they show up? I don’t think these questions will ever have satisfactory answers, short of another show within the same universe, and I don’t think that will happen anytime soon.

Setting that aside, I can confidently state my most-favorite and most-disliked episode of the series. Starting with the disliked episode, it should be no controversy to say that “Exposé” in season 3 is that episode. It’s not that it is particularly shot bad or is cinematically flawed, but it references events that were foundational mysteries of season 2 in a way that completely disregard same of those mysteries through the actions of Nikki and Paulo, who didn’t question it or at least failed to inform anyone else about those things in pursuit of their own interests and desires, mostly being the riches that come with the bag of diamonds. My favorite episode also isn’t controversial - that being “The Constant” in season 4 - it’s a crucial storytelling episode in terms of the time-traveling aspect that comes after, but it’s also the best example of the show’s writing and execution of a love so powerful that it transcends not only time, but all of the hurdles of the past.

Overall, Lost still holds up so well even after two decades since its pilot episode, and sixteen years later this month since its series finale. I watched it as it aired throughout a pivotal time in my own life, having been entering and journeying into adulthood along with the freedom and turmoil that comes with it. For those that have watched it (maybe even many times too) and truly understand it, it has an allure and fandom that is intense and still going. It’s a show that will continue to be timeless and captivate the disparate audience of those will still haven’t experienced it yet. For those that haven’t seen it in its entirety, I cannot recommend the show enough. And when you’re finally done, you too can join the rest of us in this place that we’ve created.