Lost, Characters, and Mysteries Oh My!

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Written by Alexander Most

Like many others, I am addicted. Not to some petty drug, to a real drug, the purest and worst kind. I am addicted to Lost.

Now, all those out there who say that Lost is a dumb show, who dislike it for whatever foolish reason, will in turn dislike this article. For many years I thought the same as you, having only given the show a passing chance-and I know for sure I would have liked nothing less than hear some fool wax and wane on about that Lost. So I bid you adieu.

But for those who cannot tear their eyes away for a whole hour every Tuesday, I ask you to step back for a second and ask why you watch Lost. At first many of you will say “the mystery” and start to babble on about how the complexity of the island is fascinating. This is how I once thought, until a fellow fan Forrest challenged my belief. He argued that even if no mysteries were solved, he would not disavow the show. Why you ask? Because of the characters.

At first I rejected his thoughts, and stayed true to my desire for answers, but as I watched the show unfold, his words stayed with me, to the point where I can say in all honesty that I watch Lost each week not to see what will be answered, but to see glimpses back into the lives of the characters we have all grown to love.

Consider what the best episodes of this season have been. There have been countless ensemble episodes where many things are revealed, be it the next step of the Man in Blacks plan or the identities of the candidates, but the highlights of the season remain reserved for a higher class of episode, the individual focus. We have seen this in the story of Ricardos, we have seen it Desmond’s flash sideways, where the truly moving moments come without massive revelations and mysteries unraveled. Desmond is a perfect example, only six episodes have been focused on him and the storylines reveal little, but some are arguably the best episodes of the show.

Let’s take the Man in Black for a minute. Why do we care about him? Is it the mystery of his nature, or the man himself that drives our intrigue? Personally, I know he is evil, I know he has an evil plan to rival the greatest Die Hard villain, and though the writers can tell me more, I don’t need to know more. What I do need to know is who he is, what his past is, how he got to the island, what drives him. In the end though, if they don’t find time to reveal his history but instead delve deeper into other characters, as long as it’s well done I will be happy.

So what I’m trying to say is don’t get hung up on the mysteries, Lost has so much more to offer. If all you watch show for is answers, then you will be disappointed, because it is impossible for them to answer everything in so few remaining episodes. Stop and smell the roses.