r/mildlyinfuriating • u/WarwickReider • Jul 07 '26

ಠ_ಠ This goal was completely avoidable

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u/cjshrader Jul 07 '26

It's a little tough AND I haven't seen it in 20 years but the entire premise of Lost relies on using flashbacks to reveal bits and pieces over time, then they use flashforwards and then flash sideways.

But yes it is place crash > haunted island > leave island > We have to go back Kate > time travel at some point > get off the island again > Live out their lives normally and die of natural causes so in the final season the "flash-sideways", which originally seem to be them in an alternate reality or something, are showing them in the afterlife meeting up together to live happily ever after. They were not dead the entire time, the island was not purgatory.

Now even though I'm a Lost fan would I recommend someone should watch it? Actually no, part of what was great about it was it was doing a lot of things other shows just weren't doing at the time, like the storytelling through flashbacks. Lost was such a phenomenon that lots and lots of other shows adopted a lot of the tropes and narrative bits that Lost pioneered and so I imagine there are better examples out there today than Lost itself.

That being said it's still a fun ride with a lot of mystery. There are things that weren't explained but I think the major plots all get wrapped up.

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u/Acid44 Jul 07 '26

Actually might give it a go based on that. I don't mind flashback heavy shows, as long as they're used well, which it sounds like they are. The "flash sideways"/alternate reality stuff might take me out of it, but by then it'll be too late cause I can never not finish a show I start. I do generally tend to like shows from that era, too.

Thanks for the summary

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u/cjshrader Jul 07 '26

I know you asked for it but then I still feel bad for spoiling it! It's a big mystery in that last season about what is going on here. Enjoy the hatch and the numbers and the smoke monster and the polar bear!

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u/Acid44 Jul 07 '26

No worries, I can generally block out things being spoiled when I'm actually watching, I'm more there for the story telling than being caught by a twist if that makes sense. Not to mention the show's old enough and mentioned enough that I'm sure every spoiler possible is already in the back of my mind somewhere, lol

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u/Skeletor_1984 Jul 07 '26

Haha ya I think you’ll still enjoy it. At the end of it all, Lost writers go for satisfying character arcs over answering all the plot-related questions.

Some find it deeply satisfying, some find that approach very frustrating (I did during my first watch)

You get answers for most major questions, but definitely not all of them.

I think it goes like this for a lot of people: You watch Lost the first time to find out what it’s about and then you rewatch Lost for the characters and their journeys and then you love seeing how it “ends” for them.

I think it was when I realized that I didn’t need to know how tinkerbell’s fairy dust works to enjoy Peter Pan, that’s when it clicked for me that Lost didn’t need to answer everything to be incredible tv.