Any normal person might think that having my Lost Encyclopedia delivered on the same day that the Lost Season 6 DVD box set is released might just be a coincidence. But every fan of the show would say, don't mistake coincidence for fate (and then rattle off a dozen other quotes from the show including, but not limited too:* We Have To Go Back
*Don't Tell Me What I Can't Do
*You Guys Got Any Milk?
*WAAAALLLLLLLT!
*Others, OTHERS! (or Udders, UDDERS!)
*We Know Everything About You, Jack Shepherd
*Guys, Where Are We?
*Dude!
*If You're Talking About Time Travelling Bunnies, Then Yes.)
This is a show that has had many endings. For some poor souls, it never began (there's still hope for you!); for others it ended part way through season two because they had no idea what was going on and they weren't getting a constant stream of answers to their ever increasing pile of questions.To those I always say: If You Want Answers, Watch A Quiz Show.
Another end occurred on May 23th this year (24th for those in my timezone), when the final episode of Lost aired on TV in the USA and before you could say 'Let It Go, Jack,' a torrent of praise and criticism flooded the internet.
Some fans were so pissed off with the ending they said it was a waste of the six years they had spent watching the show. Perhaps the show was never for them in the first place.
Other fans, the 'true believers' if you will, understood what the end was all about and welcomed it with open arms and tear-filled tissues. To me, it couldn't have ended any other way and still have been what it always was. That made sense as I was typing...
'The Hatch' by me.In the weeks that followed, conversations on the Lost forums around the world started dwindling, including my regular haunt which is now a cemetery of theories, conjecture and posts from teenage boys commenting on how hot Kate's boobs are (OMFG SO HOT!). In some ways it's like it never happened although every now and then a head pops up to say hello in an attempt to rekindle lost memories.
I started watching Lost the first day it aired on TV here in Australia. I don't remember the date, (it wasn't the now iconic 22nd of September 2004 that US viewers celebrate); perhaps I should get it tattooed on my arm for a constant reminder of my journey. I must admit I was so close to being one of those people for whom the journey ended part way through season two. Then one day at work (yay for internet access and a Nelson Muntz-style HAHA to my old employer), I stumbled across an online forum.
It's our destiny. The Island brought us here.
It was a bit of a shambles and lacking organisation but soon enough a few of us older regulars found a thread to call our own, far away from 'Kate is hot', and 'oooh, nice tits'. We fast became friends and found comfort in the weekly routine of watching an episode, scouring the internet for clues, researching Lostpedia and Wikipedia, studying every single screencap for hidden easter eggs then sharing our findings. There was a whole lot of debating and disagreeing over ideas and interpretations of events; yet all the while everyone knew we all shared the same goal and everyone respected each other's theories no matter how ludicrous they were (I'm lookin at you, Mr Clone-man).
'The End' by me.Six years later I'm still friends with most of the forum regulars even though we have never met; some are better friends than my non-Lostie friends. Even now after the show has been off the air for a few months, I regularly meet new fans on Twitter and keenly click the 'Follow' button. We crave the connections; we all shared in something special and know we have to hold on to that feeling because it's going to be a long time before anything like that happens again. (Take note FlashForward, The Event, and any other shows that dare to put themselves in the same room as Lost). (Grrrr).
To a Lost fan, every day words have taken on new emotionally charged meanings.
Island. Hatch. Others. Tail Section. Fish Biscuits. Numbers.
Those pesky numbers.
I still do a double take whenever the time reads 8:15. I long for the day my car's speedometer reads 4815162342 (even though it doesn't go up that far). I hope someone, anyone, one day wins lotto with those mind-bending numbers. I even can't wait till I turn 42 (which is, believe it or not, 8 years away)(OMFWTF!!).
The Lost Auction was another ending that happened in August. I was glued to my monitor for hours watching as strangers from around the world were bidding on props from MY show. It was so sad to watch; like someone was selling off my childhood bit by bit. Tears flowed as I said a last goodbye to Desmond's key, Dan's journal, Penny's letter and frikken water bottles! I hoped each piece that was sold would be carefully looked after by someone as much as I would. I was lucky to get one small piece from an Ebay auction for a very small price (above) and a pilot script with 'laser copied' signatures (below). Yay me. (BTW, there are STILL items on Ebay for sale!).
Then there is today. The day I get my Lost Encyclopedia and the Season 6 DVD. Don't ask me why it takes so bloody long for things to be released in Australia, it just does. Perhaps it has something to do with our island continent constantly moving...I haven't started to watch the DVDs yet, I wanted to hold on to this moment for as long as I can. You see, after I watch the episodes and then re-watch the ones with the audio commentary, do my easter egg hunting for hidden goodies and lap up the extra features - that will be my 'End' end. There won't be anything new to watch, to listen to, no new discoveries followed by an ocean of questions. My journey will be over.
I don't think I'm ready for that just yet.
So I sit here and write this, postponing the inevitable and using up a whole bunch of tissues. It's weird but even now, months after the show ended, it still gets me all teary thinking about it. Maybe it is due to the countless hours I've spent dissecting each episode, or the wonderful friends I've met along the way, one thing for sure is this show about a bunch of people who crashed on a island has done something to me.
I think Jack explained it best when he was reading The Adventures Of Alice In Wonderland to Aaron...
"I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!"
I have changed. I'm not the same person. I do feel different. I know who I am.
I am a Lost fan, and I need another tissue.
SWOOOOOOOOSH*
*one last time for my peeps.
As ridiculous and cheesy as this sounds to non-fans (and many fans too, I'm sure), LOST has become central to how I understand my faith. It is a parable, one that has spoken so deeply to me that I feel a swell of tears every time I think of any part of season 6. I feel like it was a message from God to me -- not that I see myself as so important that God orchestrated a tv show to be made in my honor, but that somehow God used it to speak to me, and show me something important.
ReplyDeleteWhich is why I still have a #lost column on Tweetdeck. Glad you're still blogging about it.
I don't think you should see watching season 6 on DVD as the end. As our lives continue and change, we're going to get even more meaning from the series. Things we haven't experienced yet will happen, and we'll remember moments from the show. It isn't the end.
I loved your post. Thank you.
Hi Jen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, I'm glad you enjoyed reading my post.
I'm not a religious person myself but the unifying effect it had on fans across the world was undeniable. It opened my mind up to a new way of thinking and taught me things I would never have learnt otherwise. I do hope we all get to experience something like that again.
Here's hoping : )