Lost: What Stays Behind

[selenak]

Still not the big meta Lost retrospective talking about the series an an overall narrative, but a preliminary study, aka scenes and episodes from six years that without having done any rewatch are alive in my memory (and not in a "omg what a horrible viewing experience that was" kind of way). I only used Wiki to check the episode titles, but

Comments

[ide_cyan]

I don't think that Sawyer scene is in the pilot? (It reaired on ABC the night before the finale, and the only thing Sawyer shoots is the polar bear.)

The moments you describe are many of the things that make the show hang together as a coherent whole in retrospect, though there's many other detours or loose ends outside of those, obviously.

And, somewhat thematically related to "Across the Sea"... are you planning on seeing the film Splice, dir: Vincenzo Natali? Per the IMDb it opens today in Germany (it opens Friday here). I saw it last week (I'd won tickets to the Montréal premiere, yay, met the director & the star who plays the creature) and I'd be curious to see your reaction to it. It's not a movie I'd recommend without caveats (horror elements, triggers) but it stars Sarah Polley as a fascinating gene-splicing scientist character & also features some twisted family dynamics.

[selenak]

Now I've checked, yes, it opens here today, and following your reccomendation, I'll watch it, though not today (beastly RL again). Will tell you what I think afterwards, promised!

Re: Sawyer scene, aha, then it must be in the next episode, I guess.

[astrogirl2]

I have nothing specific or sensible to add to any of this. I just want to say, thanks for a great retrospective. :)

[selenak]

You're very welcome.

[wee_warrior]

This episode was also the reason why I was never seriously worried about Desmond or Penny from this point onwards, because it was clear the writers planned them as the shows embodiment of romantic hope and the love story with a happy ending.

I have several reasons why I thought one of them would bite it, most of which were Doylist (and, other than Sonya Walger getting swept up as a regular by two other now defunct shows, not worth discussing), but mostly I think as a writer I simply wouldn't have reunited them. I guess that makes me kind of mean... I admit I also really wanted that happy ending for Jin and Sun, and I felt there unfortunately was only one slot for that (not that I'm unhappy that they did get back together, it just never was the main thing that interested me about Desmond. That was, predictably, the time travel.).

Good choices all around; unsurprisingly, we overlap in a lot of places. :) Now I feel nostalgic...

[selenak]

Well, I strongly suspect that if Henry Ian Cusick had become unavailable for real life reasons before the end of s4, it would have been Sun and Jin, because yes, one slot for an epically parted and happily reunited couple, but as it was...

Would you have been on board with Desmond as the new Smokey, which is something that I thought might happen before reminding myself the show still needed Desmond un-smoked to reunite with Penny?

[wee_warrior]

Would you have been on board with Desmond as the new Smokey, which is something that I thought might happen before reminding myself the show still needed Desmond un-smoked to reunite with Penny?

Yes. I thought that would happen for the longest time, and that he and Jack would be the ones who would have to stay on the island. Mind you, Hurley and Ben is a great combination, and since Hurley gets to make the rules, it's probably not the most horrible job in the world.

[selenak]

And there would be shared meals to foster friendship. This is important. (Can't imagine Jack and Smokeyfied Desmond doing anything like it.:)

[liztaya]

I usually lurk in your Lost posts (I love them, you always manage to point things out I never notice on my own) but I just wanted to say I also found Ab Aeterno really boring and mediocre, so you're not alone there! :) But this was great; so many of these moments stick in my mind too.

[selenak]

I'm glad to share!

[amatara]

*still peeking through fingers at post and comments* That was a great overview, brought back a lot of my own memories of the show - and thanks muchly for not putting any s6 spoilers in your s1 to s5 reminiscences. :) Also - you wrote all that from memory? For myself, I'm glad if I even remember what happened in which season, let alone which episode, so - wow. *goggles and is impressed*

[selenak]

I had to look up the episode names, because I didn't know those by heart, and I'm sure I made some mistakes somewhere - for example, ide_cyan pointed out to me that the Sawyer-shoots-the-cop-in-the-stomach-by-mistake scene isn't in the pilot but an episode later - but yes, otherwise it's all memory.

On another note, you might like these posts...

[amatara]

Ooh, yes - I remember not so long ago you pointed me to a post by aria squeeing over B5! As I recall, she was still mostly on the John/Delenn part of the fence then - seems like she's been won over. *g* And her enthusiasm makes for great reading (got me mushy over the show all over again, too). Thanks for the link! (Also, am now grinning like a madman over her mentioning stuff like scouring AO3 for Londo/G'Kar, with or without tentacles. Almost makes me wish I was a newbie again myself. :) )