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So some of you know about my relationship with Lost: I watched it religiously from the night the pilot aired till about halfway through S3, and then we went our separate ways (I distinctly remember the show being on on Wednesdays because I had to set my VCR to record it when I went to church and it was a laborious task. Also, the pilot aired on my sister's birthday. These are my most vivid memories of the show. Ha!). I've honestly not been all that interested in getting back into it because it just wasn't doing it for me, but the RL BFF and others are always telling me to watch it. I informed them that I would wait until the finale aired in order to know if it was worth investing in.

So here's where y'all come in. As you know, my to-watch list is epically long. I want you to help me cull it down to only the essentials, and the question is whether or not Lost belongs on said list.

I know y'all are in the really-emotional-reaction stage right now, but perhaps after you calm down a bit you can come over here and let me know what you think. In a spoiler-free (past halfway through S3) way, please.

As proof that I miss school a whole freakin' lot, I've assembled a number of questions that might help guide you in your Educate Lauren about Lost commentary. Of course you don't have to answer all of these--I'm not your professor, after all, though that'd be pretty cool--but I thought it'd be a good place to start. Think of these as those discussion questions teachers give you to get you to talk about The Scarlet Letter or whatever. Except hopefully this show doesn't suck the way that buck does. Plus: I miss school.

Some questions:
1. Was the ending both emotionally and logically satisfying? Did it feel natural and right or like the writers were just flailing about trying to wrap things up? [*coughBSGcough*]
2. In your opinion, does the show as a whole hang together well? Is the arc arc-shaped?
3. Do the characters drive the plot instead of the other way around?
4. Even if all the questions weren't answered, were enough of them answered that the rest of the ambiguity felt intentional and not just like dropping the ball?
5. How do you feel about the overall portrayal of women/people of color/etc.?
6. Talk to me about pacing--good or bad?
7. Characterization: consistent? Interesting? Not undermined for the benefit of the plot? [*coughgleecough*]
8. On a scale of 1 to 10, how imperative is it that I watch this show?
9. Feel free to flail or rant or whatever. Just do it spoiler-free!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ha, I jumped ship earlier than you. I watched the first season, got a few episodes into the second, and then was too creeped out/annoyed to continue watching. I've seen a few later episodes since then.

My mom is a die-hard fan with good taste (so I trust her opinion), and she really keeps encouraging me to give it another try. When I asked her about the finale last night, she said she wasn't sure how she felt about it, and she needed to think some.

Lol, obviously, I can't answer your questions, but I just figured I'd stop by. I'm kind of curious if it's worth it to watch/re-watch, too.

Maybe this will be useful to you then, too! I'm just really torn about whether I want to do it at all. Something gives me the feeling that this isn't really a show I need to watch, and I don't know why that is when so many awesome people love it.

Me, too! Like, exactly. (No surprise.) I think, for me, I'm tainted by all the people who said it sucked during the murky middle. And it's a lot like S8 in a way - everyone says it gets better again, but I'm still not sure it's worth the slog to get there.

When I asked her about the finale last night, she said she wasn't sure how she felt about it, and she needed to think some.

I second that reaction.

I... I don't know.

It haunts me, though. So I suppose it worked.

Ha, I gave up a few eps into season 2 as well. I gave it up against my mom's advice too. Definitely going to sift through other people' s advice.

I didn't like the BSG end, either. The Lost finale rubbed me not great. I might write more in a bit, but briefly:

1. Emotionally: no with a side of yes. Logically: no with a side of no.
2. Not really.
3. Sometimes.
4. No. Well--many mysteries turn out not to be "mysteries" in that there is no answer, so that might work.
5. Poor for people of colour besides Asians. Not great but not terrible for women.
6. Most seasons are very slow until the last few episodes head forth in a mad rush. I did like season five's pacing after the first six or so episodes though.
7. Characterization is sort of consistent in that there are a few key issues the characters come back to. Often I feel like the characters are internally consistent but don't act like real people--they are so dominated by their one or two Designated Issues that any time they feel like complex human beings is a bit OOC. This is sometimes better, and some individual characters are very rich.
8. I'd say 4--it has some wonderful moments but I'm not really satisfied with the whole. But the worst period for me is late season two so if you've already passed that it might be worthwhile.
9. I like Michael Emerson (Ben) and Terry O'Quinn (Locke) a lot.

This is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. Trust you to provide it. You've also confirmed quite a few of my suspicions as well.

Thanks!

Obviously others like the show a lot more than I do, so there's a lot of ways to read the show and most are more generous than mine.

I seem to be one of the only people who think that the characterization is not universally consistent--as I said, they return to their one or two Big Issues a lot but their motivations often don't make sense from one episode to the next. Locke is everyone's favourite, and I like him too, but there's lots of stuff in season three and forward that doesn't click for me. (Where did you get to in season three? I might want to rant depending.)

I've never seen Lost. I've been wondering if I should watch it too...but I have this weird intuition that it isn't something that I want to spend my time on...

I have that weird feeling, too, for some reason I can't quite put a finger on.

Are you sure we weren't separated at birth? :D

I'm beginning to think that we were....

Some questions:
1. Was the ending both emotionally and logically satisfying?

Emotionally satisfying? Yes. Logic? Well... It makes a Lost sort of logic where you can go "oh!" But if you think about it much you go "But wait, what about _____." I don't think they were trying to make it make hard, ordinary logical sense. I think it's primarily an allegory . It was ultimately about lives being redeemed through love and connections. I don't believe that LOST is meant to have rational sense.

Did it feel natural and right or like the writers were just flailing about trying to wrap things up? [*coughBSGcough*]

I believe them, when they say that this is basically where they intended to end it all along. Now, was there some bits of flail along the way? I would say yes. Do they meander and do crazy stuff? Yep. But I do rather believe that this was the intended ending that they'd long planned.

2. In your opinion, does the show as a whole hang together well? Is the arc arc-shaped?

It's arc-shaped. The show has a wonderful first season. Second season is pretty good. Third season, they were wearing out their original formula and it was getting repetitive. I give the writers credit for doing the right thing, going to the network and saying that they had to have a final end date to work toward because they had reached the point that they were stalling. Then they came up with a brilliant finale that flipped everything upside down. So, ultimately, the show has three distinct stages -- the flash*back* years, the flash*forward*/Time travel year, and the flash into the alternate life. So definitely arc like. There are three distinct phases.

Like anything it had it's ups and downs. It's brilliant episodes and it's duds (I tell you, just skip the one about Jack's tattoo. That was when it was showing up that they had run the original premise into the ground. Again, thank goodness they shook things up and changed the formula). But it took the characters on some rather nice journey's (Jin/Sun! *sob* Okay, they count as a great starcrossed romance with the way that they turned out. Same with Desmond/Penny).

3. Do the characters drive the plot instead of the other way around?
Hmm... It is, I think a primarily character driven show but it's also driven with some pretty high concept plot. I mean, you've got time travel, nuclear bombs, alternate universes, that's some pretty big plot. However, I think that being overly obsessed on plot would work to ones detriment. Ultimately, I think the story was really about Jack learning that he couldn't be Mr. fix-it for everyone and everything (and yet he still was). But I think he was learning to have faith in something other than just himself. Sawyer had to learn to let go of his vengeance over what happened to his family and to learn to let others close. Hurley had to find his voice and discover that he was a leader. Sun/Jin who started with such a crappy marriage had to learn to believe in their devotion to one another, Sayid had to accept that he actually was a good person... if he'd let himself believe it, etc. The "satisfying" part of it is that ultimately, all of them fit together, found forgiveness/redemption, and were loved in the end. And, as they say, that's perhaps a better meaning to life, the universe, and everything than '42'
(cont'd)

4. Even if all the questions weren't answered, were enough of them answered that the rest of the ambiguity felt intentional and not just like dropping the ball?
Your answers on this are really, really going to vary because, again, I think ultimately it's an allegory. My feelings, I think, congealed back a few episodes ago when in one of the episodes I noted that whenever you had a person that you -- and the LOSTies -- thought really understood what was going on, it's eventually revealed that that person too is just stumbling along. All of the people who "knew", who seemed god-like, or omniscient, or just highly highly informed, ultimately turned out to be people stumbling along themselves and their explanations for what's going on is highly biased according to their own belief system. My ultimately take-away (even prior to the end) was that in Lost there is a purpose to faith, there are miracles, but just about anyone claiming to know 'what it all means' is either a liar or a fool. So any explanations of the island are all told by unreliable narrators, so there's always going to be subjectivity to it. We can still debate what the island (and the alternative universe) really is. Ultimately what mattered was that it brought these people together and through their experiences and connections that they formed with each other they worked though some of their pain and found love and connection to others. The island is magic -- both beautiful and horrifying. But you don't really have a name to put on it.

5. How do you feel about the overall portrayal of women/people of color/etc.?
No real problem with either. Both those things are a bit beside the point as they're all people. And, they are all very flawed people. Probably most unfortunate is are the fates of the black men as they belatedly realized that Walt had to age faster than the story did. Michael's fate is... complicated. Mr. Eko kicked ass but the actor wanted off the show so. Rose (African-American woman) is lovely. Jin/Sun are Korean and theirs is a beautiful love story. Miles is Asian-American and he's snarky and funny and I'm glad he got his father issues resolved. Hurley is Hispanic as was Ana Lucia. Richard was... IDK. Spanish, maybe? Portuguese? I'm not sure. But Lost liked being internationally flavored so it never felt like country of origin mattered. They were all flawed and all had redeeming traits.

Women... hmmm... they certainly had a variety from Kate the criminal, to Juliette the doctor(loved Juliette!), Claire the single-mom, Charlotte the archeologist, etc. They tended to have a variety of women and in prominent roles, but I do tend to think that the men had more prominent roles (though I did appreciate Kate coming to Jack's rescue in the finale. I also liked that in the end it didn't come down to "Who will Kate choose?" Ultimately her greatest touch-stones were Claire and Aaron, so her journey was her own. Her love life was a major storyline. But I appreciated the decision they made that this would not be what her life was about.

6. Talk to me about pacing--good or bad?
Fair. It got draggy in the middle. There are inevitably lulls and some dud episodes. I think they benefitted from having shorter seasons the last three years. GREAT season finales.

7. Characterization: consistent? Interesting? Not undermined for the benefit of the plot? [*coughgleecough*]
Can't think of anything wildly "But they wouldn't do that!" They were all rather flawed to begin with so pretty much anything was on the table. Some go through bad periods. But, really, I can't think of anything off hand that ever felt wildly out of character.

8. On a scale of 1 to 10, how imperative is it that I watch this show?

I don't know.

9. Feel free to flail or rant or whatever. Just do it spoiler-free!
I think answers will vary based on what people watched the show for. If they were watching for hard answers to the island then I think they're disappointed. If you watched for character journey's then I think they ended well.

Lots of thinky-thoughts, lots to ponder! Thank you!

Oh, yay, I love quizzes! :)

1. Emotion-wise, I give it a very high score. Very, very satisfying. Logic-wise, it's maybe a C+ or a B-, but that's because it's not really done handing in its homework yet in that subject. That's pretty much the best way I can put it.

2. On the one hand, I feel like there are a lot of dropped threads and characters, but on the other hand, it's actually pretty easy to explain that away once you really think about the ending. Still, there are a lot of episodes of the show that I might look at now and think, how is this in any way important? It's been a while since I rewatched any of it, though, so with the perspective of knowing the end, maybe there is some significance I'd find in those episodes. I have no idea.

3. Yes. It was way more character-focused than any of us even thought possible, I think.

4. I'm satisfied with the questions that weren't answered, but I think it's going to drive the real geeks (the ones who were making maps and studying applied physics to try to figure out how the island worked) completely crazy. Some things were left very open, but in a way that allows for some fun speculation and even possible continuation, I think.

5. In regards to women, I feel like the baby-centric bent you were probably seeing when you quit did recede a bit throughout the rest of the show. It does remain, to a certain extent, but it's less, IDK, condescending. There's definitely a romantic aspect to what develops, which some people may have a problem with, but I think it was done fairly enough - it wasn't just the female characters pairing off with men to define them. Friendship is given just as much weight as romantic love. As for people of colour, I have to say that a few episodes before the finale, I was getting very worried. And there have definitely been some characters of colour that I feel were handed the death stick and marched off the show long before their time, and I'm a bit bitter about that. But as concerns the core characters of colour, I think they were given extremely rich stories, and I'm satisfied with how those stories ended.

6. I can't even tell anymore about pacing, lol. I'd have to rewatch the whole thing. There were definitely times when it seemed to meander, but in a cute, deliberate, endearing, infuriating way. There was a big mythology dump episode right near the end that I was really bored by and now think was completely unnecessary, but I know a lot of people enjoyed it. *shrugs*

7. In the great plot versus character battle of this show, character wins. Character wins, hands down, and the character development is actually something I'm still processing right now, because I think it was done so beautifully and I'm still taking in the scope of it, actually.

8. On a scale of 1 to 10, how imperative is it that I watch this show? 9. It's not a 10 because I think if you exist in the world long enough, you will probably absorb all the spoilers against your will, making actually viewing the show an afterthought ;)

9. Character wins!!! *dances*

Ha! I'm glad I could provide you with a quiz, then!

Thanks so much for all of your thoughts! I'm going to think about what everybody's saying before I make a decision. I really appreciate you taking the time to do this!

Oh, I also meant to say that I believe that the ending was planned pretty much from the start. Of course, everyone had their moments of doubt about that, some much longer than others (a lot of people on my flist, which was mostly LOST-folks at first, have spent the last 4-5 years in a defensive stance making fun of the "grand plan") but it feels quite natural. And although it is a rearrangement of perspective in the vein of BSG's ending, it didn't feel that shark-jumpingly weird to me. It felt organic, in that we'd been given enough experience with weirdness on the show to accept that final leap.

That is really, really good to know. Quite a big part of my reluctance to watch it is that I felt sort of bereft after BSG ended, and not in the good way. Knowing that this was what they were aiming for sets my mind at ease. Thanks.

Your icon is EPIC.

I still don't know exactly how I feel about BSG, because I watched it really recently in a great big gluttonous rush, and I was so suspicious during the entire last season, having heard that it had a crazy ending. And in spite of being prepared for disappointment, I was still disappointed. But I still love the show, in general. I think I just want to live forever in Unfinished Business <3

Haha, thanks! I have a ridiculous love of cracky text-heavy icons :)

I think I just want to live forever in Unfinished Business <3
I think that's a great way of approaching it.

...I also think that now that I have more icon space (HOORAY!), I'll have to look into more text icons because they are way too fun.

1. Emotionally, yes. Logically? It made sense to me. I enjoyed the hell out of it.
2. I think so. Again I enjoyed the entire series. Not sure arc-shaped so much as 'circle-shaped' however.

3. I believe so. The characters were what I was invested in.

4. Yes.
5. Not nearly enough people of colour, of course, since it's a tv show. But we do have Sun and Jin, who are very important characters. Women overall are done well, I think, as most of them are strong, badass without it being overdone.

6. Really depends on the season. Really
7. I think yes on this one. I loved that characters, and they were THEM enough that I could predict how they might react in a given situation.

8. 7

9. I don't know if I am sad that it's over, or just nostalgic. I cried a bunch :p

Not sure arc-shaped so much as 'circle-shaped' however.

Hee! Just as long as there's a discernible shape!

Not nearly enough people of colour, of course, since it's a tv show.

Word. That's the way it is, isn't it?

Thank you!

Some questions:
1. Was the ending both emotionally and logically satisfying? Did it feel natural and right or like the writers were just flailing about trying to wrap things up? [*coughBSGcough*] -- It felt a lot like the ending of BSG, but I think they did it on purpose instead of coming up with it last minute as they did for BSG. There were moments that I was satisfied, but as a whole, I'm left feeling angry and betrayed.

2. In your opinion, does the show as a whole hang together well? Is the arc arc-shaped? -- I absolutely think so. Despite what I wish did/did not happen, the characters and their respective stories were all dealt with appropriately and made sense. No issue there.

3. Do the characters drive the plot instead of the other way around? -- I would say that the characters are the most important part of the show, and that the island was also a character in and of itself. It's definitely a story for people who love characters, though the intricate plot is what lured me in even more, though I am more prone to character-heavy stories.

4. Even if all the questions weren't answered, were enough of them answered that the rest of the ambiguity felt intentional and not just like dropping the ball? -- I felt like the last 15 minutes was a complete wash, totally easy, and didn't have the balls that I always respected about the show. LOST has always been one of those series that never apologized for what happened, and this ending felt like they gave in to a very easy outcome that seemed to make everything else not matter any more.

5. How do you feel about the overall portrayal of women/people of color/etc.? -- This was something I adored about this show. It was real. Save some cheesy lines here and there and melodramatic scenes that probably were too theatrical, they respected the diversity of these people in a very refreshing way without it feeling like, "See? We have an Asian guy! And a black guy! We've covered our bases!" Which unfortunately, is often the case. This never felt that way to me. There are also many, MANY strong female roles.

6. Talk to me about pacing--good or bad? -- FANTASTIC. Edge-of-your-seat wonderful.

7. Characterization: consistent? Interesting? Not undermined for the benefit of the plot? [*coughgleecough*] -- Probably the best I've ever seen, ever.

8. On a scale of 1 to 10, how imperative is it that I watch this show? -- I'd say 9, because you've never seen anything like this, you've never been a part of something this big (and I even include Buffy), and despite my aggravation with the ending (just like Buffy and Angel) I still would watch it over and over and love every minute.

but as a whole, I'm left feeling angry and betrayed.

Wow. But as a whole, you still think it was worth that anger and betrayal?

Thanks so much for your thoughts.

I do, because despite that final 15 minute hoo-hah, I still learned and grew with this show, and I still have a deep respect for it.

And as I mentioned, when I watched the finale of Buffy, I absolutely *hated* the ending. I felt the same anger and betrayal, felt as if I didn't get the happy ending I wanted. And yet, I write fan fic and obsess and discuss it and still enjoy every part of it. It's the same for me with LOST. I don't have to agree with the ending, I don't even have to accept it. But I still love it.

(I'm also sorry for the spoilers people are giving you in their replies. I think you should go in blind like the rest of us so that you can really feel it work over you, but that's just my take! I hope if you do watch it that this post didn't ruin your experience.)

1. Was the ending both emotionally and logically satisfying? Did it feel natural and right or like the writers were just flailing about trying to wrap things up? [*coughBSGcough*] Emotionally satisfying for sure. It took about 5 hours for the logic of it all to click in my brain fully and a rewatch to truly get it and love what they decided to do. It's not BSG.

2. In your opinion, does the show as a whole hang together well? Is the arc arc-shaped? Absolutely. I think people get caught up in what is the ISLAND? what are the NUMBERS? etc etc. and forget that the core of the show is about the CHARACTERS and that is what it really comes down to. And I loved these people for 6 years so I needed my closure for that more than I needed answers to questions (that wouldn't have sucked but I'm not going to write off the show for not giving them to me, you know?).

3. Do the characters drive the plot instead of the other way around? I'd say until they decided on an end date, the plot drove the characters but after that, it was more character driven.

4. Even if all the questions weren't answered, were enough of them answered that the rest of the ambiguity felt intentional and not just like dropping the ball? There are only a couple of questions that I'm a little annoyed weren't addressed but on the whole with ALL the questions that were raised over the last 6 yrs, I'm quite satisified.

5. How do you feel about the overall portrayal of women/people of color/etc.? Whatever. I felt fine about it. I dislike questions like this.

6. Talk to me about pacing--good or bad? The finale moved along steadily. Way too many commercial breaks, though, but I think we all knew that would happen. In terms of the series as a whole? It has its slow moments and it has its OMG moments - just like any other. Some eps are stronger than others, some seasons better than others but the whole story, when all is said and done, it was totally worth it for me.

7. Characterization: consistent? Interesting? Not undermined for the benefit of the plot? [*coughgleecough*] I was happy with where everyone ended up at the end of the day. I thought it made sense and showed great character growth. That's all I really want to say because sometimes character development and things that happen are frustrating and it seems like it doesn't make any sense but it does. It really does.

8. On a scale of 1 to 10, how immperative is it that I watch this show? 9. It's my second most loved show after Buffy. It made me care that much. It screwed with my brain, it intrigued me, infuriated me, made me bawl like a baby, made me squee with delight - I am incredibly sad it's over.

9. Feel free to flail or rant or whatever. Just do it spoiler-free! My husband hated it but I feel like he just wanted something I knew Darlton was never going to produce. And although it took a bit for it to settle and sink in, the decisions they decided to make with this show were just balls to wall and full of awesome.

Thank you for your thoughts.

I'd say until they decided on an end date, the plot drove the characters but after that, it was more character driven.

That's really interesting, and it makes a lot of sense.

I dislike questions like this.

You may dislike them, but they're vital for me to judge how I'll react to a story and whether it's worth my time. Shows can and have been ruined for me when they're All About White Men and women, people of color, and other oppressed groups are used and discarded in pursuit of those men's stories. It's something I need to know.

Then I would say that you should know the main character is a white male and the other characters and how they interact and ultimately influence him and his story is the point. So if that sways your opinion, you should know that before you decide. But I also feel that by basing it solely on that alone, you're missing out on a diverse cast of characters that are explored and portrayed wonderfully by many talented actors (well not all the time by Evie Lilly, but she gets better...).

Thank you. After investing so many seasons in Supernatural and then realizing the way it used women as cheap, disposible plot devices to fuel the angst of the Winchester brothers was just making me sick to my stomach, I'd like to avoid that if at all possible. I don't want another experience like that, though I don't believe Lost is as extreme in its misogyny. Besides, I also like voting with money/viewership--so if I have a choice between something like 24, which is all about yet another anti-hero and his issues which we've seen so many times before, as opposed to something like, say, Alias, which is similar on a plot level but about a kind of character we haven't seen a hundred million times before, I'm gonna go with the latter. Plus, as a woman, I just like searching out shows about women when I can. There's always gonna be a never-ending parade of shows about guys, so finding The Closer or something like that is a joy.

I am a bit surprised, though, by everyone coming out and saying it's mostly about Jack. I was under the impression it was an ensemble show, which is something I can embrace, so this is a big disappointment for me.

Of course, it also probably doesn't help that I didn't like Jack anyways from the beginning. I'd be much more apt to give it a chance if Locke or Sawyer or Hurley or Charlie or any of the other guys was the main character, since I actually like them or at least found them interesting. Though my favorite guy on the show was Sayid.

It becomes clearer towards the end that it's about Jack but for quite some time I thought it was about Locke or Jack and Locke (and it IS an ensemble - it just...the focus becomes more Jack's journey, if that makes sense) and let me say that I NEVER liked Jack. I thought by trying to be the hero so badly, he failed at every turn. It wasn't until the last 2 seasons that he really came into his own (as well as M.Fox). (Sayid is one of my favs, as well. He's woefully misunderstood.)

Even Kate got me to like her this year and I love Juliet more than words can say. They're all flawed characters and that's what I enjoyed it. :)

That does quite disappoint me since, like I said, I don't like him. Your description of him sounds like Angel, actually, who's another character I don't much care for.

I've heard such wonderful things about Juliet that I'm sure I'd love her, too. If I do decide to give the show another chance, I look forward to getting to know her. She'd only been there for a few episodes when I quit watching, and I never really knew what was giong on with her.

Juliet rocks. Hands-down my favorite thing about the show by the time I gave it up (and that's including a lot of folks I really enjoyed, like Sayid and Hurley and Sawyer and sometimes Sun/Jin).

Personally I hated Jack for several years and delighted in all the ways things went terribly wrong... so the hate wasn't much of a hindrance. And, actually, it turned back around to something like love at the end. He was never a fav, but I'd stopped wishing bad things on him. :)

That's good to hear! Honestly, he's just not the kind of person I'm ever going to like, but I'm glad to think that possibly my antipathy towards him might cool to, like, apathy.

As the EW reviewer pointed out, it seems that grand master plans on LOST were always doomed to fail ... and Jack always thought he was the man with a plan so he failed a lot. And, I admit, I often wallowed in the schadenfreude of that.

And, I admit that he got humbled enough by that , that I grew to have some affection for him. About the time (I don't remember which ep or even what it was about) that I figured out that whatever choice he made it would be the wrong one and he'd be screwed... (because it virtually always happened that way) I grew to have some affection for him.

I stopped watching Lost around season 2 (went away to camp for a few weeks and then never caught up)

but, my sister says that while the show isn't good anymore, it's interesting and she can't stop watching it. Now it's her crack addiction.

Ha! Sounds like crack indeed!

I hung in all the way through, but I got emotionally disinvested a long while back. So here goes:

1. I got the one thing I stuck around to see, so yay. The big huge kleenex that was the finale reminded me of some of the things I used to care about, but had forgotten about for a long time. But I feel like it was all rather manipulative. Cue music, rush flashbacks and audience cries with pavlovian sentiment. Logic max gets it exactly right: no, with a side of yes. Logic-wise, I'm still pondering. It's all misdirection, but there might be a fairly satisfying logic to the misdisrection. I'm not sure.

2. If you take on board all the misdirection there might be some shape to it. If you don't it's a mess.

3. The misdirection bit says that it really is all about the characters and not about the plot at all. Problem is that I'm not as satisfied with the characters' journeys as many seem to be. Aside from Jack, everyone else seemed to have a fairly one-note (or maybe two-note) story. OK, Ben gets some interesting stuff as does Locke. But Sayyid, Hurley, Kate, James, Sun/Jin -- they are very much supporting characters in someone else's story. That would be Jack -- who got better at the end but who still is not my protagonist, and that might explain my alienation.

4. Misdirection.

5. It's a story about boys.

6. Bad.

7. Consistent, sure. Interesting, sometimes.

8. ???

I'm still thinking about it today, so it's more than nothing. It may be at the end of the day my biggest problem is that it's all about Jack.

You're confirming a lot of my worst fears/suspicions. Especially about it being all about Jack, since I've never had the slightest bit of interest or investment in him--not to mention that I never liked him anyways.

But Sayyid, Hurley, Kate, James, Sun/Jin -- they are very much supporting characters in someone else's story.

And I'm tons more interested in them than in Jack. *sigh*

It's a story about boys.
Grr....And if it's going to be one about boys, why can't it be about boys I like?

Consistent, sure. Interesting, sometimes.

Damning with faint praise.

I do think what you're saying about misdirect and logic is really interesting.

Thanks tons!

Haven't seen, can't comment. However, I can point you to an excellent (spoiler-free) rant on LOST's appropriation of SF tropes.

1. Was the ending both emotionally and logically satisfying? Did it feel natural and right or like the writers were just flailing about trying to wrap things up?

In my opinion, emotionally most definitely, logically mostly. The writers seemed to wrap up everything they felt was important and left everything else ambiguous enough for fandom to have something to chew on for years to come.

2. In your opinion, does the show as a whole hang together well? Is the arc arc-shaped?

Yes, but the shape of the thing doesn't reveal itself until well after halfway through.

3. Do the characters drive the plot instead of the other way around?

Yup. There are places where it seems like plot machinations have got a bit twirly but once the writers knew how long until the end it all became character focused again.

4. Even if all the questions weren't answered, were enough of them answered that the rest of the ambiguity felt intentional and not just like dropping the ball?

Yes, the ambiguity certainly seems intentional to me.

5. How do you feel about the overall portrayal of women/people of color/etc.?

It feels like they were trying to be more diverse but it's still US network TV. And I had issues with what they did with certain female characters in places, but I really like how their stories wrapped up in the end.

6. Talk to me about pacing--good or bad?

Inconsistent. But again, once they knew when the end was the pacing gets tighter.

7. Characterization: consistent? Interesting? Not undermined for the benefit of the plot? [*coughgleecough*]

Very consistent, even considering one character whose defining characteristic was their changing sides and motivations!

8. On a scale of 1 to 10, how imperative is it that I watch this show?

I think Lost will take it's place in the pantheon of TV shows that were ambitious and really tried to do something different. So if 10 means you totally must watch it, I'd say 9.

9. Feel free to flail or rant or whatever. Just do it spoiler-free!

Re: the "it's all about Jack" thread above. For what it's worth, I started out quite liking Jack, then began to dislike him, then wanted to punch him in the head everytime he spoke. Then somehow they made me like him again (somewhere around the beard of guilt and pain) and then got me to a place where I really loved him. I like it when writers can do that to me.

Thanks for asking questions like these as it's really helped me process my post-finale discombobulation! (I loved how it all ended but it's made my head hurty!

2. In your opinion, does the show as a whole hang together well? Is the arc arc-shaped?
4. Even if all the questions weren't answered, were enough of them answered that the rest of the ambiguity felt intentional and not just like dropping the ball?

Given that my initial refusal to watch LOST was because I'd been badly burned by The X-Files, I'd say it hangs together pretty well. Nonetheless the story they were interested in telling by the end was not the story that got me hooked on the show.

The big questions I wanted answered were a massive red-herring. So many fascinating mysteries turned out to be the arbitrary decisions of petty fife-lords.

5. How do you feel about the overall portrayal of women/people of color/etc.?

Overall good. I agree with other commenters on this.

There were no gay characters that I remember, which made the ending look annoyingly heteronormative.

I have mixed feeling about Sayid Jarrah - muslim dude who worked for the Iraqi army, and just happens to know how to torture and build bombs. Massively subverted by the fact that outside life-and-death situations he was charming, dependable and kind. But a lot of his likability came from Naveen Andrews' portrayal, and in less sensitive hands he would have been just another stereotype.

6. Talk to me about pacing--good or bad?

Urrrrrrrrrrrkkkkkk....

Let's just say if I were the beta-reader, this would be a mini-series. Or 3 seasons at the most. And all the characters who gave mysterious non-answers to perfectly valid questions would get fed to the polar bears.

8. On a scale of 1 to 10, how imperative is it that I watch this show?

If I could go back to last summer when i was catching up on the show, I'd tell myself not to bother. It may eventually become a pop-culture cornerstone and I'd want to know what everyone's talking about. But since I know everything important about "Twilight" without ever reading/seeing the series, I imagine I could do the same for LOST.

Short answer: Skip it unless you're fascinated by cool narrative structure and cinematography.

1. Was the ending both emotionally and logically satisfying? Did it feel natural and right or like the writers were just flailing about trying to wrap things up?
100% emotionally satisfying , logically not quite so strong. Best not think about it too closely...but damn it was emotionally strong!

2. In your opinion, does the show as a whole hang together well? Is the arc arc-shaped?
Yeah - really well. clever, clever show.

3. Do the characters drive the plot instead of the other way around?
Characters! nuff said.

4. Even if all the questions weren't answered, were enough of them answered that the rest of the ambiguity felt intentional and not just like dropping the ball?
Yeah - I've watched it for the entire six seasons and I feel satisfied and I'm not a burning ball of curiosity.

5. How do you feel about the overall portrayal of women/people of color/etc.?
Dang, they killed a lot of women!

6. Talk to me about pacing--good or bad?
Great pacing - the final season was the only one that seemed a bit slow.

7. Characterization: consistent? Interesting? Not undermined for the benefit of the plot?
Characters and charaterisation was always King on lost, IMO. Totally consistent.

8. On a scale of 1 to 10, how imperative is it that I watch this show?
8 or 9 - if you like that sort of thing. For me it is only behind the Buffy and Angel shows in my heart

9. Feel free to flail or rant or whatever. Just do it spoiler-free!
No rant ot flailing - just, I will miss it terribly - there is nothing remotely as clever or interesting on TV at the moment. I love Glee but, hell, it's no LOST.

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