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"Lost" Finale Still Source For Confusion Two Years Later

Salomon Fuentes |
May 23, 2012 | 7:24 p.m. PDT

Staff Writer

The Losties (Courtesy ABC Studios)
The Losties (Courtesy ABC Studios)
DVRs across American will be working overtime Wednesday night with “Modern Family,” “Revenge,” “Don’t Trust the B---- In Apartment 23,” the NBA and NHL playoffs and yes, “American Idol” all airing season finales.

But a show that aired its (still) controversial series finale two whole years ago is still finding ways to stir up talk among its fans—“Lost.”

As part of promoting the highly anticipated Ridley Scott movie “Prometheus,” which he co-wrote, “Lost” co-creator Damon Lindelof gave an interview to The Verge and defended the show’s creative direction in its last season.

Lindelof admitted the show needed a degree of improvisation before the 4th season since there was no guarantee of an end-date for the series prior to that point. But he also defended the series finale as a natural conclusion for the show and not something the writer thought up as they went along.

“I have no regrets about it…I do feel like that was the ending that I wanted to do and I was always comfortable with the ambiguity of the show,” Lindelof said.

Fans and critics of the show were divided on the finale, which saw the Losties (SPOILER ALERT) end up together in the afterlife once they had all passed on. (SPOILER OVER)

Many felt that the show failed to address the numerous mysteries and questions the show posed. Lindelof said fellow executive-producer Carlton Cuse had warned fans in previous interviews that those looking strictly for answers about the mythology would be disappointed.

Though he understands how there continues to be confusion about the show (the interviewer himself did not realize what happened on the island actually took place after watching the finale) Lindelof said there are no instances of writers in similar mediums having to explain every detail from their work and “Lost” was no different.

Lindelof did add that he is always willing to answer questions about the show and try to point fans in the right direction, though in most instances this will involve a hard look at the characters.

“I always felt like if the characters can forgive themselves… then the show’s over. The show’s called “Lost.” It’s not because they’re on an island, it’s because they’re lost.”

“What did people get out of this plane crash? And the answer is, as corny as it sounds…was each other. That’s what they got. They were all f***** up, sad individuals who were lost in their own lives and hated themselves…If they hadn’t met each other and spent that time on the island then they would’ve never been able to forgive themselves for their past sins.”

If nothing else, it's a good excuse to go back and rewatch the series. Just don't expect to understand how a donkey wheel can cause time travel anytime soon.

You can reach writer Salomon here or follow him on Twitter

 



 

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