Becoming LOST

In May 2005, I was having lunch at our local, ever-charming McDonald's with my dear, slightly madcap friend, Fredericka aka Fred. She has a sister named Georgeanna aka George. They are the daughters of my husband's Aunt Teddy. Anyway, we were watching our children play in the PlayPlace when Fred suddenly blurted out, "Have you watched any of that new show, Lost?"


I shook my head. "No, I heard about it, but never seemed to catch an episode."


"Well," her eyes widened,"They just had the season finale and it was incredible."


"What's Lost about, anyway?"


Those four words have became legendary. As soon as I said them, Fred began to download the entire season to me, without stopping, for about a full hour. As confusing as the storyline is, it was made worse by the fact that she couldn't remember the names of any of the characters.


"So, the Korean girl may or may not like the New York artist, whose son is kind of estranged from him. And the Iraqi torturer doesn't trust the Southern con man--neither does the spinal surgeon--and I think they're right. It seems like the fugitive girl is becoming friends with the pregnant Australian and helped her deliver her baby in the jungle...remember how the washed-up British singer kind of likes the Australian? But, it's not his baby, the father is an Australian artist who left her. And it's so weird that the bald guy was paralyzed, but the plane accident made him walk again and..."


I remember being able to interject, "Wait, all these characters are on the same show?"


She nodded before continuing her detailed, rambling synopsis, ending with, "...and the father yelled for his son, but we thought they were coming for the baby with the crazy French chick. And then they sailed away with the child."


Okay, with an introduction like that, I was exhausted, but intrigued. I netflixed Season 1 of Lost, disc by disc, and became obsessed. One episode would end at 2:15 in the morning and I'd ludicrously tell myself, "Oh, good! There's time for one more episode!"


I'm not sure exactly what is so compelling about the show to so many diehard fans. My guess is that it comes down to two words: mystery and intelligence. Now that Season 5 just ended this week---and the final season will begin in early 2010, there are still as many unanswered questions as there were at the end of the first season. But the ride is actually great fun for those who are patient. The writers never, ever underestimate the intelligence of the viewer. I've checked out numerous message boards online after most episodes. Since the show is popular internationally, someone is always able to supply language translations--don't expect the show to subtitle the Portuguese or Latin--, backgrounds on philosophers whose names are frequently given to characters, and expanded scientific theories. And, still, no one anywhere has been able to put the puzzle pieces together.


I'm still thinking about this season's finale. If the unnamed man talking with Jacob, making his first appearance in the series, is able to inhabit John Locke's dead body--let's just call him Unlocke--did he also inhabit the bodies of the fallen leader's daughter? The spinal surgeon's alcoholic father? What about the smoke monster? And was the nuclear explosion "the incident" referred to in the future, or was it the exposure of the magnetic anomoly? Did the bomb reset everything forward thirty years to the moment before anyone boarded the fated plane or just after the plane crashed, forcing them to relive an endless loop of sorts?


I think I'll need until 2010 to work on my theories. Right now, I'm still lost.