This Week in Lost - Series Recap

For the foreseeable future, this will be our last ever post about Lost, and obviously, the last iteration of This Week in Lost, putting an end to our first show-based This Week In feature. Like the Season 5 Recap, we'll go through a series of questions. While this is a series recap, the focus will be split between Season 6 and the series as a whole. To make things easier, my posts will be in black while JDW's will be in red. Enjoy, and feel free to comment with your thoughts on the series!

Favorite Episode(s) of Season 6
Zach says: I would probably have to say the finale was my favorite. This is for two reasons: Firstly, it was really good and wrapped up the series well, and secondly, I have a bad memory. There were a ton of great moments in the season that revealed a lot about the characters and mysteries of the island and its inhabitants throughout every episode, so I think overall, this was one of the better seasons, and it held up to all of the expectations I had, more or less.

JDW says: I have to agree with Zach, when everything is said and done, "The End," really is, and should be, the stand-out episode of the season. It did a really great job of bringing all the pieces and people together, even if some faces were missing, and was a really nice culmination to the series and the season. But I also found "Dr. Linus" and "Ab Aeterno" to be really great episodes for giving us a deeper look at characters that have always been mysterious. "Across the Sea" tried that too, but fell a bit flat.

Favorite Episode(s) of the Series
Like I said, I have a really bad memory. I seriously doubt the series finale was my overall favorite episode ever. There were plenty of others that provided great drama and intrigue that I find preferable. Figuring out such an episode though, I cannot do. It might would be a season finale, as those are usually pretty awesome and end on ridiculous cliff hangers that are almost too “omga” for tv.

Unlike Zach, I used the power of the internet to remind me what episodes were awesome. So if I had to pick one episode per season, I'd say: "Walkabout," because when you learn that Locke had been paralyzed it was a big "omg" moment, and really made you feel for the character; for Season 2 it's a tie between the premiere, "Man of Science, Man of Faith" and the finale "Live Together, Die Alone" because Desmond is the best; nothing in Season 3 stood out for me... But in Season 4 we had "The Constant," and who can argue with Desmond and Faraday being in one awesome episode? As for last season, according to what I wrote then I was tied between three episodes, but "The Variable" was definitely my favorite when I think back.

What We Liked
I liked the build-up of the entire season, and putting the pieces together of why they were there and what was the alternate universe, although that final reveal was a bit lame. I liked finally getting some answers as to who Jacob and MiB were and who the candidates were and things like that, although it took more emphasis off previous seasons and the true importance of past events, in terms of island mythology.

Regarding the season, I liked the mystery of the flash-sideways (now ... flash-afterlife I guess) and how there was gradually more and more clues as to what was going on, and will certainly make rewatching this season more interesting know what we know now. I liked getting a deeper look into the island's past, even if a lot of it wasn't really necessary or just made more questions than we needed at that point in the show. I like that despite the lack of full answers, the show can still live on through discussion, and in a sense, will never truly go away.

What We Disliked
I didn’t like not getting ALL of the answers I wanted. I could do without some, but others I wish were a little more explained. While I liked the alternate universe overall, when I got the reveal that they were all dead the whole time, it kind of made some of it not make any sense. Why does Jack have a son? Why are they living their lives completely over again? What the eff is the real point? Why is Desmond trying to kill everyone? It just made some things seem inconsistent.

However, in agreement with Zach, there were answers I would have liked to have gotten, but didn't. Like why was Walt so special, yet completely gone by Season 4? What exactly was the deal with Egyptian mythology, and why would there be hieroglyphics in the Swan Station? What did Eloise Hawking know that we couldn't? And I mean that in both the real world and the afterlife. How were people brought to the island? And if no one could find the Heart of the Island, than who's skeleton was that near the cork thing? What was that cork thing? Obviously I'll never find out, but if I had to complain about anything else, it was not seeing Michael, Walt, and Eko in the finale, and I guess Nikki and Paulo as well; I'm just saying, they were on 815 too, so why not in the church?

What's Next?
Well, I seriously doubt they will do any sort of spin off for Lost or any sort of thing, as that has a huge chance of ruining the series. But, let’s assume they do do SOMETHING extra for the show. There are two main options: do something with the established characters, or do something with new characters. If they are doing established characters, then they would pretty much have to cover the time line from when the series left off, with Ben and Hurley on the island, up until when everyone dies. You could explore Ben and Hurley’s antics, as well as the lives of Kate, Claire, Richard, Sawyer, and Miles. And I guess Lapidus too. Or, you could talk about NEW characters, which would probably set the show BEFORE the Oceanic crew. They could delve more into the lives of Jacob and MiB, but I doubt they would do that, so the show would then be about stuff that happened before those two characters. They could talk about the origins of the island, and the obvious Egyptian-like presence that was possibly the first group to settle there.

While I thing the series as a whole should be left alone for awhile, I'm not unaware that the company that funds Lost is Disney, and will obviously find some way to exploit the franchise in years to come. The best route, I think, is the Star Trek, Star Wars, and every other sci-fi franchise route: literature. By continuing the story, or just filling the gaps, with books and comics you can please (and displease) the truly hardcore fans that would actually buy such things, and the fans that are just about the show itself can ignore such items. I don't know where a Lost feature film would even go at this point, so I don't suggest it, and I have no idea how anyone could consider rebooting the show (like most movies and shows now) in the future because it's just too complex. I think Lost should stay as is, but I know expanding the property is inevitable, and if whatever that may be stays true to the franchise and is interesting, I'll at least take a look.

Averaged Overall Score for Season 6: 8.3/10

We hope you've enjoyed all of our Lost coverage and reviews from the last two years or so. With Fringe and Doctor Who being the only shows running in the next year or so, we'd love to get some feedback on what to review next in this two-person format. Thanks for reading!