# Simplest Lost guide/spoiler? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996 "2010-05-27T21:12:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996/21 "2010-05-28T03:18:55Z")
Damn—that was a lot of typing. And I left out a ton of stuff. Look–there are some _killer_ good episodes and the first several seasons are just fan-fuckting-tastic. The Dharma mysteries are wonderful, some of the actors are stunningly good (Locke, The Crazy French Lady, Ben, Hurley and Sawyer are the standouts) but to me, it’s very, very clear that the people who wrote the first 3, 3.5 seasons and the people who wrote the last few seasons didn’t agree on direction. The smoke monster was (early on) never, ever intended to be a main antagonist, It was summoned like a dog, it randomly attacked or didn’t. A lot of people are fanwanking explainations–I am over on [GiraffeBoard](http://www.giraffeboards.com/showpost.php?p=380740&postcount=59) . It’s fun and there’s a rich mythology to play with. But for me, the last season was so incredibly dismissive of the first say, 4 seasons that it left a terrible taste in my mouth. To me, it’s like the first 5 seasons were a tightly plotted murder mystery with all these dangling threads. And then, in the last season they said “Oops. It was space aliens. That explains everything”. For me, the journey is _never_ more important than the destination. It’s like saying “Hey, let’s go on vacation. I’ll start in California and fly to Nee Jersey the long way round. Then, when I get there, I’ll just turn around and come back. Because the plane flight is the important part of the vacation.” Overall, if you care about tight plotting, characters who grow (only about 3 of them really grow organically as opposed to growing by author fiat) and a really coherent storyline, don’t bother with the show. On the other hand, if you like pondering unanswered mysteries, coming up with your own explainations, some _killer-good_ acting and some great individual episodes (season 1, ep 17–“The Numbers” is one of my top 10 tv episodes ever), go for it. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996/22 "2010-05-28T05:11:33Z")
Fenris, that was fantastic. I lost my shit at "He starts either hooking people up with their true loves or running them over with cars. Either one will make you remember. " ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996/23 "2010-05-28T06:44:33Z")
The “Lost in 108 minutes” video and other like it on youtube work pretty well. There are a bunch that do something similar, but have different thematic focus. You can also get for free, on iTunes, a bunch of hour long summaries of the series, the kind they broadcast before each premiere/finale to help viewers catch up. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996/24 "2010-05-28T07:33:05Z")
Wow Fenris, thanks a _lot_! Okay, I seemed to have gone way over budget. I started with **cmkeller’s** link, then put in individual season number recaps, which at about four to six minutes a clip got me to season five. I had trouble finding a good one; for some reason the “official” tool kit or whatever was differently formatted or I couldn’t find it (perhaps it was lost?). That gave me a good foundation to really get Fenris’ post. I’m fairly open to unexplained elements, but internal contradictions and major plot lines dropped are a bit much for me entertainment-wise. If there’s some sort of point or craft to it, yes, but it seems as if the writers had nothing but good plot _elements_ with no overarching idea or cohesive notion of where they were going. Again, thanks a lot for the summary! ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996/25 "2010-05-28T11:26:43Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > I’m fairly open to unexplained elements, but internal contradictions and major plot lines dropped are a bit much for me entertainment-wise. If there’s some sort of point or craft to it, yes, but it seems as if the writers had nothing but good plot _elements_ with no overarching idea or cohesive notion of where they were going. That’s almost exactly how I feel. While this certainly isn’t the case, it seems like there were two entirely different production crews (directors/scriptwriters/etc) and one group simply handed it to the other, 1/2 to 2/3ds of the way through–again, they didn’t: it was the same two guys from early season one onward. But it _feels_ like two separate shows mashed together. Some internal contradictions I can live with, screwups with details are what make fanwanking fun: it’s fun to try to rationalize “Hey–they said _this_ here but _that_ there. What if…?” But when huge chunks the show are handwaved away (Dharma specifically–you can’t reconcile the 150 or so lameoid hippies of S5 who hire a stranger on as their head of security because it’s just bitchin’ groovy to do so with the insanely powerful, mindbogglingly rich super-secret organization from seasons 1-3. ) it’s discouraging. And when stuff is just ignored it’s even worse (there was some sort of titanic conflict between Ben and Whidmore with very specific rules: they weren’t allowed to hurt one another’s families for one…and the rules were still in play even after one of them broke a rule: Whidmore killed Ben’s adopted daughter (by proxy) and Ben despite obviously wanting to, stated he was unable to kill Whidmore (“Are you here to kill me Benjamin?”/“We both know I _can’t_ do that”) to get revenge because of the rules. Rules that parallel Smokey/Jacobs rules…and it’s never dealt with despite it being a really cool concept: from the guy who plays Ben’s wonderful acting in that scene, it’s 100% clear that he _wants_ to kill Whidmore. His daughter has just been killed. As a matter of fact, later on Ben _does_ kill Whidmore. ) Stuff like that _bugs_ me. (Whidmore also claims to know “_what_” (not who) Ben is. I think the writers were planning to make Ben and Whidmore proto-“candidates” of some sort at this stage. It never plays out.) Personally I really enjoyed the stuff from the first few seasons, so the sudden change of direction in about S5 or so (and certainly S6) disappointed me. > [@](#): > > Again, thanks a lot for the summary! No prob and happy to do it. It was actually…well, cathartic is overstating it, but I can’t think of a better word…to type it all out. 😃 And again, much of the acting is good and some of it’s great and the pacing of individual episodes can be fantastic. And the original (pre S6) mythology is cool. If you want to judge for yourself, last I heard, ABC or Hulu or someone had the entire show online. Take 45 minutes and watch S1, e18 (“The Numbers”). To me, it’s one of the most powerful, evocative episodes there is. And it stars Hurley and The Crazy French Lady (two of the best actors on the show). It’s also as much of a stand-alone ep as they get. See if you like it. THEN, see if you _still_ like it when you know that none of the questions (literally-none) you ask yourself about how/why these things are happening will ever be answered or even handwaved away; just ignored. It pissed me off a lot that the central mystery of my favorite episode was never addressed. Obviously it doesn’t bother a lot of folks. It’d be a great barometer of whether it’s worth it to you to watch the show. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996/26 "2010-05-28T13:54:50Z")
Thanks, **Fenris**. I am surprised that the smoke-monster stuff became so prominent. I never saw any of the season 5 episodes that mentioned a smoke monster … I had just assumed that SM was a first-season McGuffin. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996/27 "2010-05-28T14:45:08Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Thanks, **Fenris**. > > I am surprised that the smoke-monster stuff became so prominent. I never saw any of the season 5 episodes that mentioned a smoke monster … I had just assumed that SM was a first-season McGuffin. I figured it was just another “magic” thingy on the Island. It’s basically the main antagonist in the end. And it was a dude. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996/28 "2010-05-28T14:51:06Z")
Absolutely spectacular, Fenris. Many, many thanks. I started watching here and there halfway through the final season, and now at least I know it’s not for me. Just one question – and I know I’ll have the names wrong, here – in the second-last episode, the guy who turns into Smokey all the time has something whispered into his ear by…Whidmore? It’s something he doesn’t want… Ben?? to hear, I think. Did we learn what he whispered? Again, thanks for the fantastic summary. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996/29 "2010-05-28T14:53:16Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > That wasn’t the OP’s question. So what? It addresses your post, which gave a very poor answer to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996/30 "2010-05-28T18:00:39Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > So what? It addresses your post, which gave a very poor answer to the OP. In your opinion. I thought it was a fair statement–you really can watch the bookends of the series and understand most of what happened, enhanced by the framework of the show itself. Frankly, suggesting to the OP that watching the show in its entirety for the “journey” is the poorer choice. It’s fine if you disagree, but I feel the journey was an epic waste of time, riddled with plot-holes, dead-ends, non-sequiturs, non-answers, inconsistent characters, ambiguous rules, and even hazier motivations. All of this combines to form one of the shittiest “journeys” I’ve been on (aside from the unintentional hilarity of it all, which I will concede I really began to enjoy). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996/31 "2010-05-28T18:02:06Z")
**Fenris** , you rock. Thank you, and well done. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996/32 "2010-05-28T22:04:16Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > insanely powerful, mindbogglingly rich super-secret organization from seasons 1-3. ) Why do people keep describing Dharma that way? Refresh my memory–it sounds like you have viewed those earlier seasons more recently than I have, but IIRC, all we saw of Dharma during seasons 1-3 were those orientation videos and the remnants of some of their stations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simplest-lost-guide-spoiler/540996.md?page=1)