Readers Respond: How did Lost let you down?

What did you hope would happen that didn't? What answers were you waiting for that never got answered? If you could do it all over again, would you invest 120 and a half hours to watch the show?

Whether big or small, share your disappointments in ABC's television series, Lost.

Questions Left Unanswered

How could Richard have seen the survivors/candidates die in the past when they came back to the present? How could Ben not have known about the Beechcraft crash when Ethan witnessed it and also saw Locke there, then watched him disappear? But moreover, he went into the hatch that was right below the crash before Boone knocked it to the ground! He really wouldn't notice that plane perched directly overhead? Who were the people shooting at the time travelers in the rowboats? There is no explanation that is logically sound? Who were the people who built the temple, the Egyptian statue, and the deep well that MIB threw Desmond into? What was the criteria for who time traveled and who didn't? The idea that it was just candidates who did so doesn't add up.

—Guest Davidsfr

Change in Course

LOST could have been the superior series had it not been for the change in direction of the series after season three. The creative team behind LOST chose to veer away from the character-driven stories of the previous seasons—and in turn introduce theories, myths, and esoteric concepts in its place. This strategy diluted the character storylines to the point that in most of the episodes the cast had little to do but to walk from scene to scene with little or no purpose.

—LostinMelocholy

Like REAL Life...Exactly!

I agree with fighter4life7...the entire series was a metaphor for life. We stress over and inquire about "stuff" every day, but none of it matters in the end. The only thing that matters in the end are the people we loved and who loved us, and how they impacted our journey of growth. Everything else that happens in between birth and death - school, work, taxes, tv shows, etc. - are just filler. Don't you see that we (the audience) were taken on a long con by the producers of the show? We were (very cleverly) conned into thinking all of these little show details (hatches, Dharma, smoke monster, the mythology, the Others) would lead up to some amazing and truthful end. They didn't. They just entertained/distracted us for 6 years while these key relationships were being formed, tried and proven. Even 3 weeks post finale, people are still ranting about minute unanswered questions and unsolved mysteries. I think they're missing (or not accepting) the point entirely.

—Guest Locke Fan

Well...

I think to end all the confussion, there should be a movie to justly answer all the questions that we have, that have not been answered!!!

—Guest mikep

Too much and then too little

The whole series could/should have been done in one season 20-24 episodes. Even better, a mini series-6 hours. The extra plots/filler material was only a distraction (too many question in the end not answered). Then we get to the final segment of the series. Sigh...6 years for that??? Sorry but that ending was almost as bad as St Elsewhere/Dallas.....a let down. The ending tells me that the writers were in over their heads and couldn't find any worthy idea for the ending....so they punted with that??? Emotional, yes....but soft on brilliance.

—Guest Johnny

Good show, let down ending

I'll miss LOST a lot. What other show is as compelling and complicated? But the ending was not good enough compared to how well written most of the series was. I'm guessing that since writers do not have much power, the network powers that be determined how the show should end. Not creative in my view.

—Guest jac

Watch the show people

I was not disappointed in the ending of Lost at all. I have seen many comments about hey, why didn't they answer this or that? The majority of the questions actually were answered. It seems like the people wondering about these things didn't watch the entire series!

—Guest tman

We're on our own

I loved LOST! After each show I would sigh when my husband said "What was that? Explain that one!" I just think it is up to each of us to interpret on our own----as deep or as simple as you would like to be. Sure, I have LOTS of unanswered questions: Why couldn't pregnant women who got pregnant on the island, have their babies? Who was that couple with the diamonds that were buried alive? BUT I happily think they were all brought together to pass into an afterlife together somehow----everything else was possibly a story in Jack's mind............guess I'll be watching it all over again!

—Guest Mom23

Disappointed but also amazed

Agreed, so many unanswered questions. Jack's trip to Thailand and his strange tatoo, why Walt was special, the numbers, why the Other's dressed in hillbilly garb, etc. But for me, the biggest disappointment was the cheap, non-endings to my favorite mini sub-plots. Starting with the entire Widmore-Ben intrigue, the time travel mystery, the Libby-Hurley connection, etc. After all, the dude spent millions of dollars creating that fake plane. I wanted the mysteries of the island to go on forever, to tease me, thrill me and keep me on my toes. Although The End was sweet and beautiful, I longed for more credibility and honor to be given to the island's mysteries that were so cleverly built up for so many years. I will miss you LOST. But I felt like someone broke up with me and said "it's not you, it's me" leaving me feel confused and heartbroken.

—Guest Genine

Not All Found Happiness on The Island

One question which I've seen a lot of people ask but not answered is how come everyone was not gathered at the Church in the final scenes! I believe this was explained in the episode when Christian Shephard explains to Jack that this was a place where people who had shared the best moments of their life together were being reunited in death so as to move on to the afterlife. So, that nicely unites all the Lost survivors who had pretty bad lives before arriving on the island, and the island was a salvation for them; finding themselves, finding people to share their lives with, etc. People like Lapidus and Miles, clearly didn't ever enjoy the island. Nothing self-revealing, or edifying happened to them and so clearly their best moments in life were not on the island, but back in the real world. For them, their journey into the afterlife would not be a gathering with the Lost 'survivors', but another story and place that they would create for themselves before moving on.

—Guest Lostwolf

Mysterious

I started watching season 1 back in 2005 after my friend recommended Lost. I've followed it ardently on TV and the net (4rm East Africa) since then and it has kept me on my toes amazed, disappointed, pondering in all kinds of mixed reactions. Regardless of how it ended, I'm glad I shared this journey with y'all. I'm sure Lost has left a mark in each of our hearts. Thanks to Bonnie for the comprehensive and timely guides and to y'all fans...

—Guest Mits

Like REAL life

Perhaps LOST is like real life in that all of the questions are not answered. I took a class in creative writing in which the instructor told us that the difference between truth and fiction is that fiction must tie up all loose ends and truth does not have to. Possibly, LOST is more truth than fiction. I WOULD like to know why the title was all caps..I believe that it is an acronym...my suggestion for its meaning would be Love Overcomes Space and Time.

—fighter4life7

What a rubbish ending

I watched and I loved the science and the mysteries - I wanted some answers and I thought the origin story was setting things up - predictable that Jack was the candidate, predictable that he had to hand it on, waiting room stuff was lazy and RUBBISH.

—Guest Bella

Still a little confused but...

My son got me started on LOST and I was hooked. I watched all 4 seasons in a marathon. A little confused on the ending, but I know I will watch it from beginning to end again. It is just like a good novel that I will pick up and read again and again . =)

—shawnee7

where the hell were they going to

After watching 6 seasons continuously, I didn't think the ending would suck this much. I mean, I'm fine with the way Locke died and the candidate thing, but still there are many questions. What happened to the people who left on the plane in the ending and all these people were living there lives i.e. first crash never happened still how could Jack have a son with Juliet in which the story is true? A con man Sawyer, or cop Sawyer still after all that suspense, I would have to say as that smoke thing used to say "we all saw 6 seasons for nothing, but a really disappointing ending."

—Guest arwen