Today's blog post is a new kind that I haven't done before - and probably won't do again. I want to talk about/review the ABC drama "Lost," which I watched in full via Netflix starting last fall and finishing last week (yes, I took my time). I was a senior in high school when the first season aired, and I did see that entire season (except for the last episode, actually). I loved the show, but when I went to college the next year I found I couldn't consistently catch it, so I gave up. One of my housemates in grad school was a huge "Lost" fan, however, and this was during the show's final season. So I decided to go through the whole thing on Netflix the next year, now that the whole thing was done. I instantly fell back in love with the show as I rewatched the first season, and then continued through the other five. Now I'll go through each of the seasons - as generally as I can, so as not to spoil too much for those who haven't seen it - and other random things I liked about the characters, story, etc.
Season 1:
In a way it's not exactly fair, since I'm most familiar with this one, but I think this is the best, or at least my favorite, season. It is by far the most character-driven season in the whole show; each episode focuses to one degree or another on a character (or family - father/son, brother/sister) on both the island, as well as flashbacks to their life prior to the plane crash. One of the things that makes "Lost" so great is that it has very few if any stereotype characters, and any that drift that way typically still have something unique about them. There are characters that are likable and unlikable; some that appeal to parts of the audience and not others. And there's plenty to choose from, as it's a huge cast (and it only gets bigger). Elements of the story that will be played out until the very end are set up in the first season, but are kept in the background enough that at this point, it's clear the characters' main focus is getting off the damn island. Another thing I liked about this season was the attention to aspects of simply surviving on the island, making it realistic but not overbearingly so. If nothing else, I strongly, strongly, strongly recommend you watch this first season: more than likely, you'll be pulled in and keep going. Maybe you won't make it to the end of season six, but I guarantee (trademark "Men's Warehouse") that you will enjoy season one.
Favorite episodes: "Walkabout," "White Rabbit," "Solitary," "Numbers," "Deus Ex Machina" (one of my favorites in the whole series), "Exodus, Part 2"
Season 2:
Over the course of this season, "Lost" begins to transition to more of the island-related storyline, but it maintains consistent flashbacks like in the first season. I like season 2 a lot, but by no particular fault of its own, it doesn't match season 1's outstanding level. The fact is, we basically know who all of the characters are now, both on the island relationships and off the island backstories (in general). We certainly get some more development, with some surprises, too, but it is just impossible to match the richness of season 1's content. I do like the way the show began to accelerate the progress of the plot lines on the island, though still at a pretty gradual pace. We get to meet new crash survivors (who aren't as interesting as the originals; possibly why season 2 isn't quite as good), and one other character who quickly becomes one of the most interesting characters on the entire show. *MINI-SPOILER* I have to say, I like the way they handled the hatch situation and how it fundamentally split Locke and Jack; I was sad to see it go boom at the end of the season, but it probably needed to go. *END SPOILER* I don't think I would change season 2 much at all, but it suffers a little bit of middle chapter-itis - important plot/character development, just not quite as good overall as seasons before and after it.
Favorite episodes: "Adrift," "The Other 48 Days," "Fire + Water" (agonizing, yet excellent), "?," "Live Together, Die Alone"
Season 3:
Now we have pretty much the inverse of season one: where that one focused on characters and their prior lives, season three shifts full gear into the plot on the island (although flashbacks continue, they are much less significant, in my opinion). For some reason, although I saw both seasons back to back this past winter, I remember season three quite a bit more clearly than season two. Season three had more "whoa" moments for me than the other two, but in a good way. Season three delves deeply into the other people living on the island, both "the Others" and the Dharma Initiative, and especially that character introduced in season two, Ben. Although it starts a bit awkwardly, season three really gets going, especially at the end (and that's even taking into account that ALL seasons of "Lost" crank up at the end). I love the balance that the season achieves by finally revealing those two mystery camps, one past (Dharma), one present (Others), while withholding full understanding of motives and objectives. In addition, the new characters in season three (I'll include the development of Ben's character here) are quite a bit more interesting than the ones in season two. These first three seasons form a sort of self-contained mini-arc, which I think is really neat. They all feature character flashbacks, with more emphasis on character in the first and more on story in the third. The ending of season three is a mind-blower, and the next season does not disappoint in flipping the whole series upside down.
Favorite episodes: "I Do," "Tricia Tanaka Is Dead," "The Man From Tallahassee," "Left Behind," "The Man Behind The Curtain," "Through The Looking Glass Parts 1/2"
Season 4:
In so many ways, season four is a bewildering collection of episodes, though also the shortest one. Even having seen it so recently, I have a difficult time remembering exactly what happens when; events start moving along faster and faster, and we start to get chronological complexity. Also, as started in the final episode of season three, we now have flashforwards of certain characters in their lives after getting off the island. (I know, that's a rather large spoiler, but I figure it can't be that unexpected.) Now I will start including some more detailed *SPOILERS* so be warned. I did find the freighter stuff to be pretty cool, in addition to the new characters; but I felt like there was no longer a stable foundation on which events were being played out, and in moments where I expected a lot of urgency, or at least felt the stakes were pretty high, the show seemed to confuse the tone. It's still an entertaining season, but probably needs to be seen more than once - I should probably see it again, too. I will say in season four's defense, it's cliffhanger is as exciting as all the others in "Lost."
Favorite episodes: "The Economist," "The Constant" (even for "Lost," this is an unusual - but excellent - episode), "Something Nice Back Home"
Season Five:
This season continues the separation of characters in time and place, but I feel that the show gets its rhythm back a little bit more. "Lost," of course, is a continuing narrative, but each season has its own "feel," and a certain point(s) of emphasis; season five, however, kind of feels like half of season four and half of season six. Really, then, it's remarkable that it has any stability at all. I personally found it more satisfying than season four, anyway. *SPOILER ALERT* It may require even more suspension of disbelief than prior seasons, but I thought it was pretty cool when Sawyer, Juliet and Miles finally settled in 1977 with the Dharma Initiative; it surprised me, but helped explain some more mysteries (plus, the time flashing thing was really getting annoying). *END SPOILER* The biggest downside of season five, to me, is the acceleration of character change begun in season four. With events happening more quickly in these two seasons, I feel like some of the characters started doing things they wouldn't normally do or say; and character-driven points generally became a bit more vanilla. All things told, season five had an enormous challenge, as a clean up of season four's chaos and a set up of season six's epic conclusion. A bit like season two, in that way.
Favorite episodes: "Jughead," "The Life And Death Of Jeremy Bentham," "He's Our You," "The Variable"
Season 6:
Ah, it's so nice to "only" have to follow two timelines again! Thanks to Jack "resetting" things at the end of season five, season six enjoys a little more stability, although the "simple" days of seasons one, two, and three are long gone. The timeline that acts as the sort of "flashback" for season six is well done, especially in the first few episodes. After that, one could argue that there are perhaps a few too many "coincidences," but I think the final episode clears that issue up. Speaking of stability, I think that the show does its characters justice in returning them to season one-three form, mostly. It's a little sad that certain characters don't get much/any time in the last season, but I'm also glad that things weren't twisted unnecessarily to include them. As for the other timeline on the island, the *SPOILER ALERT* Others, Dharma Initiative, Ben vs. Widmore, etc. storylines are pretty much thrown out the window, or at least suppressed significantly, in favor of the more mythic (though perhaps de-personalized) Jacob-MIB plot *END SPOILER* While I think this left a number of loose ends hanging (or maybe not; I'll have to check online fansites ;)), it was probably the wisest choice in keeping things (relatively) simple and continuing the "Lost" tradition of having a particular theme for each season. While not perfect, season six is certainly a worthy conclusion of the extraordinary web of characters and stories that make up "Lost."
Favorite episodes: "The Substitute," "Dr. Linus," "Across The Sea," "The End"
So, to rank the episodes, I would certainly say the first is my favorite. The third season is next, thanks to the intriguing new story lines (and info about The Others) and new characters. Season six would come in at third, since it resolves quite a few of the character arcs/story lines that developed (even if it wasn't quite as consistent as the early seasons). Seasons two and five would tie, for season two's overall consistency (but lack of anything really super) and for season five's interesting evolution (even if it was a little messy). Finally there's season four, which isn't bad, but it's just a little chaotic and off balance for my taste; at least it's the shortest one.
***
A few more thoughts...
Characters:
My favorites are Jack (impressive main character who was flawed enough to temper his heroism), John Locke (seemed like such a good guy, and was central in the show's most touching episodes... a shame that essentially his character ends in season 5), Sayid (just a cool dude, other than his habit of torturing and his sheer insanity for falling in love with Shannon), Ben* (I don't *like* Ben, but the actor playing him did a spectacular job, and he was always interesting to watch), Vincent (last episode: 'nuff said... OK, I admit, tears were shed)
Good characters: Kate (nice, stable presence throughout, and I liked the evolution from fleeing to protective), Juliet (charming character, although she was best in relations to other characters - Ben, Jack, Sawyer, etc.), Daniel (he wore his anguish and conflict on his face, but also came up with some of the biggest surprises), Sawyer (with a caveat: I refer mainly to season one and two Sawyer; I was disappointed by his "heroic" streak in later seasons), Desmond (sometimes a little over the top, his "ability" led to some neat ideas and he was easy to sympathize with), Frank (good comic relief, and didn't draw attention away from the main characters), Charlie (fantastic acting job by the former hobbit, gave us both the dark and light in humanity), Hurley (mostly referring to the ingenious backstory of winning the lottery and consequences), Miles (more comic relief, although he had spots of a little more depth), Christian (kind of reminded me of House... small parts, but enjoyable)
Least favorites: Michael (he wasn't really too bad, but his protective father thing got a bit irritating), Claire (good acting, but something about the way she pouted and screamed was like fingers on a chalkboard for me), Shannon (does she need an explanation? But she was needed for character variety, I suppose)... wow, I guess that's not too many (others I didn't like are the ones you're not supposed to like, such as Martin Keamy)
Series finale: while I haven't read any internet debates about it, I know that the finale has divided fans of the series. Well, I'll say here that I liked it. It gave all (I think) the major characters a little closure without going overboard. You could make a good argument that the execution of the lead up to the end was flawed, but the last ten minutes or so were perfect to me, and especially the very last few scenes. The biggest, most important issues were resolved. Do I still have questions. Definitely, but that's what the internet is for (and rewatching episodes).
Whew, that was a long blog post! To conclude, feel free to let me know what you think, "Lost" fans; for those who haven't seen it yet, go watch it!
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