Tommy Olsen: So what did I think of Lost?

So back in July I started watching the TV show Lost. I started watching it not expecting too much. I enjoyed the first episode but once I watched the fourth episode, Walkabout, I was hooked! From there on I pretty much binge watched the whole series and finished it in about 2 and half months.

(There are some spoilers, but not too many, so beware if you have seen the end don't want it spoiled)

After I finished season 1, I was so excited about this show that I posted on Facebook saying that Lost may be my new favorite TV show, but I was surprised by the response I got from it. There were a few people that said they loved it, but there was also a lot negativity towards it. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little discouraged by it, but I kept on watching, and the more I watched the more enthralled and excited I became. There were a few episodes here and there were just okay, but besides that almost every single episodes was outstanding, even if they didn't answer every question.

Then I got to final episode. The episode to close out the show, to sum everything up, and answer all the questions. Going into it I knew there were many people disappointed by it, but that there were also a lot who loved it. So what did I think of it........

Well at first I was a little confused (like I was many times watching this show), but then once I saw Jack meet up with everyone else and the Micheal Giacchino's music started playing I started to tear up like a little baby! Even though I didn't totally get what was going on, I knew that Jack was finally able to let go, and move on, and that the thing that was most important to him now was the relationships he made with the people on the island. And for me that was enough. I was satisfied, and the more I began to think about it, and piece together other things I began to love it even more. Now I can get why people were frustrated that it didn't answer every question, and there are still a few things that I wish could have been answered, but isn't that kind of how life is? We don't always get answers to everything, and rather than trying to answer everything we should focus on the things that are most important, like are our relationships, and learning to overcome our stumbling blocks in our our lives. Anyway that's what I got out of it, and I loved the final!

So with that all said here are 10 reasons why I thought Lost was amazing!

1. Interesting and Engaging Characters

From the beginning to the end, the writers of the show always put the characters above everything else, and for me that's why I think this show did so well. It was always about the characters. A lot of other movies and TV shows start off with focusing on an event or some kind of an idea, and then through in some characters. With Lost they started with characters, and then crafted everything else around them, and that's why I think this show was successful, and I was able to relate to all the characters. Even if there are still a lot of unanswered questions, and we got to see a darn good ending to some of the most amazing characters to ever grace television.

2. Mythology

I don't think I've ever seen anything like the mythology in Lost. From the time travel, the numbers, the monster, and the all amazing connections between characters, this show introduces so many fascinating concepts. Sure it doesn't conclude or explain all of them in detail, but it still added a great mystery and suspense to the show.

3. Interpretation

I loved the way they ended the show, and allowed the fans to interpret the ending in way that is satisfying to them. It gives a lot of answers, but not all of all them but at the same time it gives you enough to interpret it the way you would like. It's kind of like how the movie Inception ended and in how it never says whether or not the main character Cobb is still dreaming or not, but the important thing is that he is with his kids now (which was always his main goal). Lost ends in a similar way that shows that each of the characters were able to get what was most important to them. At least that's my interpretation.

4. Good vs. Evil

Lost has such an awesome narrative about good and evil. There are so many great analogies to the battle of good and evil. I'm not going to get into all of them, but one of my favorites is Jacob's wine bottle analogy.

5. Letting Go

One of the central themes of Lost is the idea of letting go. In a sense that is the reason why all of the characters were brought to the island in the first place, because they all had something they had to let go of in their lives. In the finale it shows through Jack's eyes that once someone is finally able to let go of certain things in our lives, they are finally able to move on to the next stage of their life.

6. Spiritual

I love that Lost was never afraid to tackle the subject of spirituality. Most of the media tends to stay away from it, even though it is huge part of a lot of peoples lives. I like how the spiritual themes though were never specific to one belief, but rather it embraces different ideas and then lets the viewers interpret them for themselves. One aspect of the finale I thought was interesting was when Jack goes into the church to see the coffin you see around him a collection of different religious symbols. I also really liked Ben's story of the apostle Thomas.

7. Time Travel

When time travel was first introduced to me on Lost, I was not really feeling it. I thought it seemed to be out of place, but as it began to unfold and explain it more I totally changed my attitude about it. Season 5 is probably one of my favorite season because the time travel was handled so well and was so interesting.

9. Faith & Science

This was another interesting theme that was explored throughout the show. Their's the man of science, Jack Shepard, and the man of faith, John Locke, and its intriguing to see how each of them respond to things taking place on the island. The show raises the question about whether the events on the island are that of science or something more. It's interesting to thinking about this in our own lives and whether our world and life is based on science or faith.

10. People in New Light

One thing I loved about this show was that my perception of the characters was always changing. I went from hating one to loving them later on. The character of Jin, was one that I really did not like in the beginning, but as his back story unfolded and I understood why he acted the way he did, he became someone I could relate with, and I liked his character much better. Watching this show made me think about how in my own life many times I judge some based on their actions, rather than taking the time to understand why a person acts a certain way. It made me realize that everyone has their own story, their own experiences, and their own to beliefs as to why they behave a certain way, and that my approach to the people I meet shouldn't be to judge them critically, but rather should I try to understand their situation.