I guess we're on a Lost posting kick, for a while longer. I'm wondering what we'll post on now that the show's done? But I digress.

I am on record as having loved and been satisfied by the Lost finale. Of course, not everyone feels this way. I think, for those who were disappointed by the show, it's helpful to try and understand the kind of art that Lost represents. The following is one of the most insightful things I've read regarding the Lost finale (from midway down this forum page). I think this poster has the writers of Lost pegged:

Having had a chance to think through all of the narrative collapse of the finale, I have now done my own "letting go," and come to peace with the idea that Darlton are visual surrealists. They added things to the story like the Donkey Wheel or the boy Jacob ghost demanding the ashes simply because they looked cool. That's a valid artistic viewpoint, I don't have a problem with it. It hasn't often been done on television, so in that sense it is innovative. Viewed through that frame, it makes perfect sense to put a hieroglyphic countdown timer in the hatch, or Dogen in samurai clothes, or even have Desmond hit Locke with a car. These things have critical visual impact in those particular scenes. Like Dali or Fellini or Beckett, they don't have to make narrative sense, because that's not the point.

. . .

I think that Darlton, like many nonacademic surrealists, simply don't know how to explain their work. To them, the scene where Brother meets with NotMom and says that he knows how to build the Donkey Wheel "because I'm special" is an answer. Never mind that as part of a larger narrative it makes no sense at all. As a momentary scene, it worked.

JJ Abrams, on the other hand, does work in narrative. He's open to the visually complex because it's cool, but he does use it to fit the story. His stories often become very intricate, but they do seem to make some attempt to connect the dots eventually, even if it requires genetic duplicates or falsified evidence. Darlton just play with the color of the dots, and throw in a diamond every once in awhile to liven things up visually.

When Darlton said the volcano would "play a part" in the end of the Island story, I don't think it meant any more to them than a reddish glow and earth tremors. Visually, there were some volcano elements.

Similarly, Jack's body turning up in the same place as Brother's after leaving the cave is visually striking. It doesn't matter if the narratives don't match given the kind of work they do. Same thing with the Ajira plane taking off at the end. Again, as part of a narrative it's a bizarre decision. But visually, a great moment.