Writing Lessons from the “Lost” Finale
You may wonder why I’m belatedly writing about a TV show on a writing blog. The reason is simple: “Lost” was good fiction. Damn good fiction. I was at a writer meeting once, and one of the participants said he became a fan because it opened up his eyes to what a writer can accomplish. It was an intelligent, well-crafted, provocative, unexpected story with fine character development and deep back story. It revolutionized television and it was fun, really a helluva ride. In fact, I have little hope or expectations for the few remaining shows that I still follow or for future shows. Thanks to “Lost”, the bar has been set very high.
It was 6 years that had fans, particularly those of us delighted by scifi and time travel, hanging by a thread, waiting for the next page to turn. As a work of fiction, “Lost” has lots of valuable lessons for writers, and that includes what not to do, like it’s finale.
If “Lost” had been a book, I would have flung it across the room when I got to the end.
If you know the story, you know that the ending left many questions unanswered. I don’t have an issue with that. There are many stories with open endings that have moved me, but there are also many that have annoyed me.
With “Lost”, there was an expectation that some key elements would be answered. We wanted to know why all these particular things happened to this group. An experiment? A hole in the space time continuum? A test from some divine power? Aliens?
We didn’t get it and people are pissed. I am disappointed. While the ending was touching and sweet, the sheer lack of completion didn’t fulfill me. I was satisfied by seeing the characters unite at the end, true, but too many things were unresolved.
I heard a theory on The Odi that writers had meant the island to be purgatory and that they’d dropped so many clues, that by the time they were renewed past Season 2, all the fans had figured it out. The writers couldn’t do 4 more seasons if the mystery was blown this quickly so they had to do something else. I completely believe that, and here is where I think the writers made their mistake.
At that point, they could have (should have?) written a new plotline and ending. From the stone soup of story they had thus far, couldn’t they conceptualize something new? They did not. Now, I understand that they have talked about writing an ending that “respected” the fans. I take this to mean that they did not select an ending so no one could win the “who’s theory is right” war.
In fact, just about everyone was wrong because the ending insinuated that there was nothing behind the island, it just was.
Which, as a writer, sounds to me like a cop out.
This really sucks because I know they could have written something amazing. I’ve seen the skill and craft and care they poured into the show, episode after episode, a few bombs, yes, but quite a number of rare gems in there. The payoff did not, in my opinion, meet the promise. That is a crying shame, they took the Battlestar Galactica “it’s about the characters” approach to the final season, and left those of us who love story, plot, and rich world building in the cold.
Lesson from “Lost”? Characters are important, true, and I write very character-driven stories. The narrator and protagonist have to be people (or aliens) I can relate to or else I don’t care. But if you’re stuck for plot, don’t rely solely on the characters to pull you through. Work out the damn plot. Plan, plan, plan…and that’s advice from a pantser…
