Fat Ninja

I’ll tell you that after a brilliant first season, I had high hopes for ABC’s Lost going into the second season. I had likened it to X-Files in terms of its ability to capture my imagination and, more importantly, my interest. Lost just kept me guessing, but at the same time, offered enough answers to give me a sense that there was a legitimate destination at the end of the journey.

But that was Season 1. Here we are chest-deep in Season 2, and the whole thing feels like a quagmire. In that same token, the title of the show definitely feels very fitting in the worst sense possible. By that, I mean it just seems like the writers have lost hold of their creation; that they’ve lost sight of what made the show great during that first season. Now, before you start throwing pitch on my pyre, let me plead my case.

First off, and I know I’m not alone in this, it’d be nice if they’d be consistent with the new episodes. I realize that the bean-counters at ABC would like to increase the already sizeable audience that watches Lost, and that in order to do that, these initiates need to be brought fully into the fold by being let in on the elaborate plot, to say nothing of the many, interlaced sub-plots that have been the series’ trademark. However, to do this at the expense of the many fans who have, with religious fervor, watched the show unfold since day one seems a bit of an injustice.

An unfortunate side-effect of Lost’s serial nature is the fact that the network will face insurmountable challenges in increasing its audience. Now, I certainly appreciate (That is to say, I understand their motivations; not that I enjoy their methods) the need to air frequent reruns and those one-hour synopsis episodes. Yet, rather than doing the sensible thing and, perhaps, airing them on different days, they choose to run them in place of what should be a new episode. As I said, I grasp the reasons for this, but I think the network needs to be aware of that fine line they are treading between winning over new audiences and losing longtime fans of the series.

Which provides a perfect segue for my next point. Now, I realize that I do not speak for everyone, so don’t go making the assumption that I am. What follows is merely my own personal opinion, so you’ll just have to take it for what it’s worth (About two cents, if you’re wondering). I fully realize that one of the most important ingredients to Lost’s success lies fully in its ability to keep the audience in suspense. We come back every Wednesday (Or, at least this season, every other Wednesday) because we want to know what happens next.

Lost’s narrative format has always been the vehicle for its rampant success as a television show, and I get that. It’s what I loved about the show throughout Season 1. However, the reason it worked so well during that first season is, in my opinion, the result of two factors. First, when Lost first aired there was literally nothing else like it on TV. It comfortably filled a void left by Fox’s X-Files. Therefore, there wasn’t much to compare it to. However, having moved into Season 2, the show’s audience now has the luxury of appraising the series’ performance based on that initial season.

This brings me to the second factor of Season 1’s success. While the show relied heavily on keeping us guessing, it also made certain that we were given enough answers to make forward progress with the narrative. It honestly felt that the writers were taking us somewhere worth going. Now, brace yourself for this, but I personally think that Season 2 is, for lack of a better term, tread-milling. Oh, sure, it feels like we’re making strides, but when it gets right down to it, I think we’re just running in place.

That’s right. I said it, and I’ll say it again, in less metaphorical terms; I think the writers have just stalled out. I believe they’ve opened a Pandora’s box with Lost. They had this brilliant concept for a show unlike any other before it, but the real difficulty wasn’t finding a talented cast, nor a budget to support it. The trouble lies in sustaining the show over the long run, while effectively traversing the treacherous ground between the first episode and the eventual series’ finale.

Thus far, the distance covered in Season 2 has been minimal at best. We’ve been presented with even more characters, each of whom have their own sub-plots to investigate, and let’s face it, filling those gaps will be far easier than addressing the show’s larger story arc regarding the island and the “Others”. And instead of filling us in, the writers just keep cavitating.

Take last night’s episode, for instance. Sayid captures what might be one of the “Others” and interrogates him. His progress in this regard is, of course, impeded by Jack. Once more, the audience is denied any solid answers. Instead the issue is left dangling like a carrot on a stick, which is par for the course with Lost. “It’s okay,” I tell myself, “I’ll get my answers next Wednesday.” But, no. Scenes from the next episode indicate that it will have absolutely nothing to do with Sayid and his prisoner. Instead, we’re off on another tangent in search of a dead horse.

It just feels like we’ve lost direction. The writers have proven that they can weave an intricate tapestry, full of different characters, a compelling plot, and deep back-story. Still, it just feels like they never mastered the penning of an appropriate ending. Thus far, Season 2 hasn’t provided one moment of closure for any of the show’s many tangled plot threads. Each time I’ve thought they were bringing one of these sub-chapters to a close, they instead open up another one. Well, I’m getting sick of treading water.

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