So if anyone out there still follows our quarterly blog, you'll be surprised to find a post from me, Dante. I just had so much to get off my chest. Facebook is usually my channel but not only do I have too much to post in my status, there are so many Lost haters out there that I would be upset if they started telling me that Lost sucked etc.So Anna and I got hooked on Lost pretty recently. November 2009 to be exact. We spent an evening at Dan and Kristin's house watching the Big XII championship game (Texas won). The game ended early and we didn't want to call it a night. The Christenson's had already watched the entire first season that month and wanted to get started on season two that night. Anna had already watched the first season too. I typically don't like to start shows or movies in the middle, but I didn't want to be the party pooper. I gave in to the peer pressure. (May I add that Torrey from work had been trying to get me to watch Lost for months before this night).
Needless to say, we spent the next 3 hours watching disc 1 of season 2. I was totally confused but completely intrigued. Anna and I spent the next 3 weeks tearing through season 1 and 2. It was amazing! We realized we had to quit during finals week, so with the exception of finals week, we watched at least 6 episodes a week for nearly two months. By the time the final season was ready to begin, we had watched 5 full seasons of a show. Addicted? Yes.
So needless to say, once we caught up we had to find new hobbies so that we could slowly return to society as productive members. It was hard at first and we felt the withdraws.
So after 7 months of obsession, it has finally come to an end. We watched the finale at home on Sunday night. It had the excitement and buzz of the 2004 Game 7 ALCS where Boston had come back from down 0-3 to force a game 7 against the Yankees. There was so much build up and such high expectations that I didn't know how I would be able to handle a let down.
Much like that historic game 7, Lost did not disappoint.
I loved every aspect of the finale. And I won't explain my theories or explanations or blah. There are thousands of blogs that explain all of that. But after talking to other addicts that tuned in for the finale, I have come up with a conclusion regarding those who watched it and their reactions.
I feel like the Lost world was split into two camps: the group intrigued by the science of everything on the island and the group that fell in love with the characters. I never bought into any of the science stuff. Science doesn't make sense to me. That's why I am a sociology major. But I watched the show because the writers did such a good job of developing the major characters and making you feel like you actually knew them. For crying out loud I have probably watched these people for over 100 hours in the last 7 months. That's more time I have spent talking to my mother, father and sister over the last year. Yes it is true.
Now for an aside: BYU professors always tell students "for every hour you spend in class, you should spend two hours studying for that class on your own." I put that advice to use during season 6. Boy did I ever. I can assume that for every episode every week, I would spend about 2 hours either reading about lost, watching recaps etc. Did it help me understand everything better? Yes. Can I carry on an intelligent conversation with someone about what was happening on Lost at any point in the season? Yes. Did I think about each character as a friend? Yes. Did I do this at all during my four years for class at BYU? Absolutely not. Maybe I should ask myself if I did as well as I could have for four years at school. No I shouldn't. I already know the answer.
Well this aside was important as I mention my final point of this blog: I really loved the characters on the show! I had so much fun quoting the show and watching my wife's reaction that says, "You are obsessed. We are going to stop watching this show." She couldnt part ways either though.
When the final episode came around and brought closure to the chararcters, fans like my wife and I were satisfied. Ever since they killed off Charlie I have had this sad feeling that "they would never be together again." Then more characters died and I felt even more despair. But the finale did two things: First it reminded us that this life is important, and the afterlife will be special because we get to spend it with those we care about the most; Second, it showed me that if you had not put the time to understand where the show was going, you would not be satisfied. The casual fan could not be satisfied at all. There were so many subtle answers that would be impossible to interpret if you had not read and remembered the important lines and storylines throughout 6 years of television.
I find myself now in the chapel with the characters of the finale ready to remember and let go.
See you in another life, brotha.
