LOST is one of those shows that has captured my mind and heart, and so when it ended this past week after a six-year-run, I was sad. But I was also glad. And I was glad because of the ending. I loved the fact that after six years, all was made right. Sinners are penitent and forgiven, the dead are resurrected, fathers and sons are brought together, lovers are reunited, the crippled are healed, and ‘Christian Shepherd’ opens the doors to Paradise in a church where all are seated and awaiting redemption. And then celestial light pours into the nave, drowning out all the smiling faces. THE END. I mean, wow!
Now, not everyone shares my appreciation for how LOST ended. And I would agree with some of the criticisms, like: why didn’t they tell us what the Island was all about (I mean, is it Atlantis, some weird Egyptian outpost, etc.), what’s with Jacob and the Man in Black, what was that ‘light’ at the center of the Island and why was it rather ‘lamely’ corked? I understand these criticisms. But it seems that the main protest regarding the final episode is that it was not true to what we’ve known of LOST these past six years. After all, the show has been about mystery, ambivalence, nuance, conflict, complexity, loose-ends, surprises, and dizzying plot lines. And LOST’s gloriana-conclusion seemed to be too neat, too predictable, and too redemptive for some devotees. Too much celestial light!
And yet I think that LOST ended rightly—at least from a Christian perspective. We Postmoderns are known for many things, but chief among them is our cynicism. We have spent our whole lives deconstructing the realms of politics and religion and family and government until we resign ourselves to the fact that there are no happy endings, ever. We balk at movies with credits set in front of sunsets and wild horses and pretty castles. We know that life doesn’t work that way. After all, every relationship, every community, every church, is constantly compromised by the ambivalence of murky reality.
But Christians have an eschatological expectation. In fact, we have ‘a sure and certain hope’ that one bright day, nuance will be entirely outshone by the returning Christ. We look to a grand moment when full restoration will drown every bit of partiality and complexity; when, as St. Paul wrote, Christ will fill all in all.’ This is Christianity’s final word, and it is entirely uncompromising, bold, and bright. And in its own way, LOST captured a glimpse of eschatological hope, and it did so with near-Christian clarity. And isn’t that refreshing? I mean, while we expect nuance in front of this ‘gray rain curtain’, don’t we actually want, hope and yearn for something better? Something clearer? Something unflinchingly good? Well, those things are on the way. So, Amen LOST! Drown that nuance, and our cynicism with it! Bring on the celestial light!
COMMENTS
9 responses to “LOST and the Death of Nuance (*spoiler alert!*)”
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Hey Ethan! Blessings!
Quick hopefully easy request: my wife and I just started watching LOST via Netlfix instant. Can you go back and perhaps add a spoiler warning (I stopped myself pretty quickly) for those late to the bandwagon, and the few others who might still be waiting to see it via DVR or hulu?
Looking forward to seeing how this develops, since most everyone seems to rave about it. We are only 4 episodes into the first season, and have somehow manged to stay delightfully ignorant of what's ahead. Please do tell me though: The flashbacks to the crash itself do stop at some point, right?
Beautiful post! I'll be sharing it. I was never a Lostie, but with all I've been reading, I wish I had been. Maybe I'll do what Mike's doing. It's WAY too late for spoiler alerts in my case, but I'm not worried. I have a feeling that, just like with the Christian life, knowing how it all turns out won't make getting there any less interesting!
Ethan,
Great Post. I loved the way at the end that the characters even joked about the fact that Christian Shepherd was around. The celestial light called them home… It also showed how passive life really is, through all their labors, or their alleged labors they may have been dead the whole time. Redemption… You can never go wrong with redemption.
*spoiler* (how long until we can stop inserting this alert?)
I'm not sure they were dead all along, as Christian said "everything was/is real."
From what I hear, showing the flight 815 wreckage at the end of the finale was glitch and isn't part of the episode.
Rector,
You should write more.
Much love,
Ben
Great post! My comment is regarding the interfaith church and your quote from St. Paul. Just that I think it is worth mentioning that it was an interfaith church as depicted in the office where Jack and Christian have their final conversation. Also, where is that St. Paul quote from? I didn't look for too long, but I can't find it anywhere!
Hi Trevor!
Yeah, the interfaith chapel was a little weird…that's why I said 'near-Christian' in my description of LOST's eschatological moment :). Also, the passage I quoted is Eph. 1:23, though different translations handle it differently.
Sorry if I spoiled the show for others…except for Todd. ;).
Ehanasius,
Thanks for the response.
I figured that's what you meant by "near-Christian". I personally find it wholly Christian in the sense that seemingly different spiritual paths are reconciled in Christ, the All in All, in whom there is no Greek nor Jew, male nor female, etc.
no spoilers needed, ethan.
The scene with the stained glass (and various religious paraphernalia) seemed like a last-ditched effort for an interfaith interpretation, sort of covering their bases. All along they've intentionally placed in the show books that have influenced them, showing both Kierkegaard and the New Testament, among others. Yet to my knowledge they never gave the the Koran or the Five Classics the same prominence.
Now that I think about it, TWO prominent characters both featured strongly Christian pasts (Mr. Eko and Richard). And despite such a multi-ethnic cast, other religions were not given such attention. So, there may be a nod to interfaith universalism, the show itself seems anything but.