Stumbled across an old post of mine, today, on Damon Lindelof and Lost. Wrote it just after Season Three ended, when people were 'sad' that Charlie had died. The nut:
Lindelof's words here are revealing: over the course of Season Three, the writers were 'starting to think about' the fallout from the Season Two finale. He loves to talk about the show having a grand design, obviously loves being seen as the keeper of these Great Secrets, but it's been apparent for literally years that Lindelof tends to blow smoke up whatever asses are convenient when it comes to this show. He has to; its appeal is eventual rather than empathetic or interpretive, i.e. the thrill is purely in what happens rather than what it means or who it happens to. (cf. 'paper-thin characters,' kidz.) OK but that's fine; there's a place for pulp, even pulp with pretensions. But remember: the meaning of the Season Two finale, even its full mere-plot-mechanism ramificiations, apparently weren't decided until after the fact. Remember too: no one knows what the failsafe key really did (except the writers, one hopes), and no one has ever wondered at any point in the story. Apparently it just Had An Effect On People, and the overheated, muddy early Season Three (oy vey that Eko-bites-it episode!) served largely to work the show back from that point. Is the failsafe the reason the island was discovered? Honestly, will the meaning of the show change either way? It's only more scaffolding. The long buildup of Season Two was almost entirely forgotten in Season Three. Are things better now? It would seem so. But the writers are still in the awkward position of having to kill off characters because they've got nothing to write for them.
I know, I know: horn-tootin'. But I stand by the post. Lindelof and company have faced a pretty consistent set of problems over the last six years. Worth a look if you have, y'know, nothing else to do in your entire life.
