The whole right side of my face hurts. From my ear to my teeth. What is this?
Which probably shouldn't be the mood I'm writing in. Oh well. Through sleet and snow and that.
As Facebook reported, the series finale of LOST had me in tears. Which surprised me as much as it may surprise you. And I think it was less about what was happening in the end--more about that it was just The End, period. But I'll admit it got a bigger reaction out of me than the BSG finale did, at any rate.
Speaking of, let's revisit the end of BSG for a moment. That was an epic sci-fi-action-drama whose finale represented that amalgam well. As in, a sci-fi flavored, action flavored drama. The finale was not about answering mysteries, it was about leaving these characters in satisfying and meaningful ways. Its character-driven plot assured that while, yes, action was all UP in here, each twist and turn was directed by the desires and intentions of the characters. So that while there were still questions left hanging at the end, the emotional impact of the finale was so resounding that you forgot about all this sci-fi stuff. It became trivial.
LOST followed this example to an extent. By the last few episodes I knew that they couldn't possibly answer every question (even though they started throwing explanations out like candy...and forgot some mysteries entirely--but they did that in BSG, too) I think the major explanation about the Island was designed to cover most of these questions, and I guess it sorta does. But it doesn't mean that this explanation doesn't have more questions of its own! I wanted, at this point, to stop caring about the Island and focus more on what was going to happen to these people, but I couldn't quite.
For the first time, I think the flashes in this season stunted the storytelling. Whereas early on, the flashbacks were necessary to round out these characters and set some mysteries/coincidences in motion, then the flashforwards were about raising interest in the journey from A to B and filling in the gaps once time shifts settled down...............the flash "sideways"...s of the last season presented us with a poorly established mystery that eats up half of the season. When they could have spent 100% of each episode answering real mysteries. But they only had a portion, and that's why I feel like near the end they started rushing storylines. The countdown was on minutes left in the show, not any dramatically concocted device.
That being said, the flash sidewayses did allow this show to have one of --no, the most unique series end that I've ever witnessed. It's not an ending any other show could easily pull. Or could ever pull, I mean to assert. It was an ending fully tailored to the show, completely original and --can I say surprising? I know some people called it well in advance, but I'll be honest and I was still trying to figure out how these storylines were going to connect right up to the big reveal. I mean, I knew something was up, but I didn't dare guess.
And what I mean by original is that the ending was rooted in the LOST-specific cast, journey those characters went on, and the "flash" narrative nature of the show. It was an ending dictated by the very foundations of the show itself, on and off the screen, and for that I commend it.
So now that that's over, it leaves me actively watching...what? Flashforward? I caught up on the Office but only online, I didn't watch any of it live this season. I didn't even see a single episode of Chuck or 30 Rock or HIMYM. Heroes has been cancelled and I don't even care. There had better be some good sci-fi hitting the airwaves next fall.
'Cause Flashforward sure ain't gonna cut it.
-Steph
No comments:
Post a Comment