Why I love LOST

I've been watching LOST since the second season, and I am a full-fledged fan. I think that's pretty clear, seeing as I named it my favorite media item of the previous decade. So, why do I love it? I mean, I could leave it at "because it's awesome," because it is, but I'll give you more than that. I'll give you the ol' Three-Point-Gates edition.

Mystery
I love the mystery that LOST provides. It is beyond most standard mysteries of television, an example being in 24, "who is the traitor?" The mysteries of LOST incorporate mythology of the established world (Egyptian deities) and the created world of LOST (Hanso Foundation). There are clues throughout the episodes (anagrams, books that the characters are reading, etc.). There are dialogues between characters that could very well be hypothetical conversations between the producers and the fans (e.g. Miles and Hurley in Some Like it Hoth). There are questions upon questions, and subtle answers and pronounced answers. And the theories, the theories! Anyone who has ever seen the show has at least one theory. And you can talk and talk about these theories and know that they might mean absolutely nothing by the end of the next episode. Whatever you think about how season 5 ended, it may very well be unraveled by the end of tomorrow night's episode. And I love that. I don't want the expected in my narrative, I want something that blows my mind - and trust me, LOST blows my mind on a repeated basis.

Redemption
One of the major components of the LOST narrative is the redemption of its characters. The characters are not static, and as they were introduced to us they were full of shortcomings, to say the least, and had pasts full of failures (though not always their fault). And through the seasons we have seen a lot of change in the characters. Most of them have had to hit the lowest points of their lives to reemerge as redeemed (from a theological prospective, this is not the redemption found in Christ). And we see that redemption isn't perfect, that characters like Jack are still working towards overcoming their personal failings. I think there is a lot to be said about LOST and redemption, and maybe someday I'll be able to articulate it in full.

Community
I first started watching LOST when I was living in Portland. If I recall, Jonathan Cole came over to Manlantis to watch the Season two premiere because we had better reception and I thought, "this is an interesting show, why didn't I watch it before?" From then I joined the watching party in Aldrich with Jonathan (though the reception battle was constant). I didn't know any of the guys there at first, but made some friends. From that very beginning watching LOST was a social experience for me. I've watched LOST with various groups of people: the Tows (just the three of us), the Barkers, the Saldanhas, Wilson House, Krevin, Jennifer, and the Tows and gang. This season LOST will broadcast on Tuesday nights, the same night as our Connection Group with the Tows; how very convenient. It will be great to watch and theorize and "gasp" and wonder and laugh with them for one last season.

Watching LOST with people has always been one of my favorite parts of LOST. It's a show that begs to be watched with people, it's a show that is enjoyed so much more when you talk about it and marvel aloud at what on earth is going on in the show. And when it's all over sometime in June, I will miss the show and I will miss watching it with my friends. I'm really glad that my friendships never get canceled or have finales. If they did, I might just go ahead and move to the island. you have my love.