Lost Final Scene Was Not A Teaser
Lost Final Scene in Credits
When the Lost finale came to a close, everything seemed sorted out and what not. They even had a preview show recapping and pointed out things I missed over the 6 years, making closure that much more simple. By the end of the series finale episode, when I was trying to recover from Victor having laid down next to Jack so he didn’t die alone, (BTW: Where was Victor in the church?), the credits started to roll. During the credits, an image was at the top of the screen of the original wreckage film set that started this entire entertaining television journey.
If you were looking closely, you’d recognize the original crash set, sans the victims. I had in no way considered the wreckage to be that of the newly taken off airline with Sawyer, Kate, et al on board. (BTW: If Richard was from the conquistador era, was that his first airplane ride? And he wasn’t freaking out?)
For me, I knew everyone in the “L.A. church” was in heaven needing to remember their mortal lives before moving on. But I can see how many folk, after being prepared for 6 years, could start to construe that the wreckage scene was something else. Something that could have led to a sequel or side-quel or hell, even a prequel. Prequel? Huh, they would definitely have a lot of material to work with for a prequel or a sequel!
Any way, the closing imagery with the calming sound of water lapping at the beach and a gentle breeze willing to keep you cool, was actually a transition. The LA Times reported that ABC felt they needed to inject the calm image into the closing credits of Lost to give you a bit of decompression time after such an emotionally charged ending before you were thrust violently back into the real world with the 11 o’clock news.
Go figure? They tried to be nice, but all most saw were suspicious imagery. If you think about it, with all the Easter Eggs that show up in movies and TV shows these days, no one can be blamed for being suspicious or misled. Heck, even the show itself kept you on edge for these 6 years as they mixed it up with first flashbacks, then flashforwards and such. To be honest, the show stayed somewhat fresh due to those varying techniques.
So when I saw the film set scene, I thought wow, after 6 years, they’re showing us some test footage from before the show even began. How odd they chose that, and yet, how fitting. A full circle sort of journey for the viewer, saying, hey, remember that first day when you watched Lost on ABC, on September 22, 2004?
Prologue To Lost
Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly in Lost
Over the 6 years on television, it sometimes felt like the creators of Lost were tossing out a plot line and then scrambling to keep up with something they created. There were times they showed stuff I wish they would have expounded on… For instance, the “most beaten man in television history,” Benjamin Linus, used the tactic of being beaten to get information out of people. But at one point in one of the previous seasons, he woke up in the desert and took down two enemy combatants flawlessly by hand. That little scene not only generated more respect for Ben, but then I wanted to understand how he became so adept at hand-to-hand! And we never saw another real ounce of his physical expertise. I would have loved to see him kick more ass. But we never did.
But now, over on SciFi Wire, showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are fessing to the premise that at times the Lost stories and arcs were the result of action-reaction or were simply winged as needed. They indicated they had an end game for the series all along and with each season, they had an outline of where they were headed. Great… but I swear, a lot of it felt like things were tossed out and they went with it.
There’s one thing for sure, the more Lindelof and Cuse fess to things now, I feel they might be taking some of the show’s thunder away.
Epilogue to Lost
If you’re going out to buy the seasons of Lost, be prepared for a bonus piece, an epilogue of sorts. Slashfilm is reporting that it’s a bonus 12-14 minute epilogue on the Lost Complete Series DVD set. It will involve telling the tale of things to come, after Hurley & Linus took over, up to the time everyone passed through the pearly gates, or into the light. (Where was Jennifer Love Hewitt, all weepy eyed, and seeing everyone off? Oh, wait, that’s another network.)
That should be interesting, if not fun!
A Cinema Static Thought:
The showrunners say that if there are plans for new projects concerning Lost, they’re not involved. For me, I’m thinking this franchise is a money magnet or cash cow, considering how much money ABC made from advertisers with the finale. With so many characters, so many settings and so many different back stories that need in-depth explanation, there is a wealth of opportunity for so many spinoffs that it could spawn an entire network of shows. There’s the Syfy Channel. Why not have a Lost Channel? (Whose station number would change from week to week!)
Yea, there’s more to this that can be delved into if done right. And I think once Lindelof and Cuse get their feet back under them again, I’d hope they rethink not being involved in future Lost projects. That would be silly to turn down work, don’t you think?
-
-
