In a big way Lost feels like a series that should have ended sooner but wasn’t because too many people were stuck saying ‘Oh but wait, what if we do this, and this, and this….” until the story became so tangled that they simply had to keep going. Speaking as an author there are times when things do need to finally come to a close since otherwise various story lines that keep going tend to muck everything up and in the process it becomes a giant mess that only the most dedicated fans are really going to pay attention to. Granted, Lost had a very big fan base that was ready to keep watching, but the fact that some of the characters were already treading water to remain relevant argues for the idea that things needed to change in a big way and that ABC was willing to do this, but in a manner that was only going to make things even more confusing. It does feel as though ABC was almost tripping its own collective feet in the effort to keep its writers capable of finding ways to keep the show interesting as they sought the almighty dollar by attempting to keep people entertained and convinced that the show was still worth the effort. In a way this confused a lot of viewers while others were able to convince themselves that it was going to get better with time. That’s when you know that the network has done the job it was out to do, get people hooked so that they’ll make sure that they’re able to keep watching. Unfortunately that’s irresponsible storytelling, though it’s more of an annoyance than anything.
In a way it gives people the same kind of complex that one might see in The Matrix, in which those that actually believe in the story the way it is might fight to keep things as they are rather than see the inherent problems that are there to be seen. Of course that correlates with a lot of things in life, but when it comes to Lost it feels entirely accurate since the narrative appeared to go off in a manner that was akin to someone having their second thoughts first only to try and revisit them in an attempt to sort them out so that people could understand them. In other words, the show felt like an absolute mess more often than not, and many people simply accepted it as what had to happen since they had no other choice in the matter. The fact that ABC wanted it to keep going because people enjoyed it is a good example of how money drives the story when in truth the story should be worth the money first and foremost, as it was when Lost was first accepted. After that, even the creators were of the mind to wrap up the show, though ABC was fully on board to keep it going for as long as they could, as it’s business, not personal, and they’re out to create the best ratings and get the most attention just like any other network.
It’s not so much about feelings as it is about good storytelling, and those that believe that Lost was unerring in its path might need to step back a bit and realize that the story really wasn’t that great. Having watched some of the greatest and some of the worst stories in history people should have a pretty strong base to work from when it comes to recognizing that while Lost might have been compelling for personal reasons, it wasn’t as epic of a story as people want to believe. It’s kind of like saying that The Goonies was epic and that’s that, which I’ve said and many other people have said throughout the years. The fact is that the idea and the story is epic, but the execution was silly enough for people to stand behind and enjoy, much like Lost. Being able to recognize the actual difference between saying something is epic and believing it without question is the difference between loving something and being brainwashed by it. Did Lost have a good run and a decent story? Oh, definitely. Was it the epic that so many would claim? That’s kind of hard to justify entirely.
The fact is that ABC and any other network out there will always look to find the stories that they feel that fans will want to watch and will push them for all they’re worth. If that story falls off the cliff and they can’t revive it in some way they’ll leave it, cancel it, and move onto the next. It’s a business as I mentioned, and not personal, but it’s cold and unfeeling at the same time, which is why they can continue to push stories that don’t make sense, they see the dull sheen in the eyes of the viewers that indicates that they’re hooked.
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