Tuesday, June 01, 2010

"We don’t need an Ethan episode. Fill in the blanks, people."

It has now been nine days since Lost ended, and most of the fury from certain circles of fans has died down. I was not one of these fans. The finale was emotionally satisfying for me, I didn't get my panties in a twist that most of the unanswered questions went unaddressed.

Which is why Kyle Buchanan of Movieline has become my favorite Lost fan of late. In the aftermath of the finale, he decided to address a list of 100 unanswered questions recently compiled by the folks at College Humor. Buchanan is refreshingly laid back, and his approach to most of the mysteries can be summed up like so:
"What is the nature of the light?"

"It’s like the Force, dude. And if they explained it anymore, you’d have a Liam Neeson speech about midichlorians, and no one wants that, do they?"
However, he does not let the creators of Lost completely off the hook. By the time he finishes, there are six questions he deems unsatisfyingly unanswered. So, as an act of saying goodbye to my six-season-long television addiction, allow me to take a whack at them.

"Why are supplies still being dropped on the island after the purge, and by who?" - This was, for me, the biggest splinter in my Lost brain. Lindelof and Cuse have stated this mystery will be answered outside of the show itself. But given that I already have my own crackpot theory, allow me to advance it here so I may just appear to be a genius when it is revealed. My theory: There is an underground supply bunker on Hydra island with a computer-controlled chopper that lifts pallets over to the main island when commanded to do so. Your Welcome!

"What happened to the original timeline Libby in the mental hospital?" - As Locke once said: "Don't mistake coincidence for fate". Although the producers have denied it, I believe that the killing off of Libby is tied to the Cynthia Watros's run-in with the law during filming. I think they had already planned to kill off Anna Lucia, and when the arrests occurred, decided to get rid of both actresses believing that Libby's death would add an intriguingly dark and fascinating element to the plotline (which it did). The producers had originally envisioned a much larger role for Libby, but decided to cut it short.

"How did Ben see his dead mother?" - Simple. It was actually the Man in Black. Although there was a perceived rule that the MiB could only appear as people who died and/or whose corpses were on the island (See Christian Shepherd, John Locke, Eko's brother Yemi), this has been disproved by multiple apparitions that we can only assume was the MiB (See Richard's wife Isabella on the Black Rock, Hurley's friend Dave). It was one rule they really had to bend in order to explain all the "ghosts" that have appeared over six seasons, but I'm willing to let it slide.

"When the gang was unstuck in time, who was that shooting at them from the outrigger?" - The beautiful thing about this show is how expansive the universe is, but for some people this is more a frustration than a blessing. So while some people can fill in the details in their imagination, others need stuff spelled out for them. Given how Jacob has said he has brought a great deal of people to the island over the years, I'm guessing there was a lot of gunfire exchanged on and around this island before Sawyer ever gunned down that polar bear.

"How did Jack, Hurley and Kate get from that Ajira flight to the 1970s, and why didn’t Sun?" - Buchanan actually offers an answer for this one, but wasn't quite satisfied with it. Sun wasn't sent back because her husband was the candidate and not her. The remaining Ajira candidates were sent back because there is a connection between all the candidates. Just as their lives endlessly crossed paths before they even got to the island, they were drawn together through time once they got close enough geographically. Though Buchanan had his reservations about this explanation, It makes sense enough to me.

"Who broke the circle of ash around Jacob’s cabin?" - The Hurley Bird! Case Closed!

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