The problem with that finale is that it's given us nothing to look forward to or speculate about. It could be anything. The S1 finale was similarly lame. And I'm a little worried about them literally hitting a reset button just as we enter the finale season. But S3 aisde, this has been one of the best shows of all time, so I can't wait.

@ Maltheus ....dude...definitely speak for yourself. That finale gave us a ton to look forward to. Did they accomplish what they set out to do? Did they all survive? Who is Jacob and what is going on with that group of people that seem to be following him? And on and on and on.

This is one of the best shows in the history of TV. God, I'm going to miss it when it's gone!

It'll never be able to answer why everyone has a preposterously evil parent or guardian in their life. Even Ben's father was ridiculous in how he blamed his son. Kate's mother was a joke.

They'll also never explain why every character is an archetype to conveniently fit a given season before those traits are largely erased from the character's behavior or why women in the show are always defined by their male counterparts or why faith is expected to either be completely held (Locke, Season 1 and part of 2) or completely avoided (Jack); it's not a true commentary on the nature of religious belief.

How about the nonsense of the smoke monster which killed the black guy for no reason and, in Season 4, all of a sudden is supposed to reflect the island.

That's why "Lost" is one of the most over-rated shows on TV, the Season 4 finale onward has been pretty intolerable.

The main problem with "Lost" is that it departed from the focus on interesting drama in Season 1 by first repeating that stuff far too often in Seasons 2 and 3 and then pushing toward rushed plotting, with no allowance for innovative drama or texture. It was just rushing from one plot point to the next.

Also, written in the show's DNA is the cheesy Abrams trick of promising more than you can deliver for the sake of shock and awe and not being true to the consistency of what's possible in the show. A case in point is how the Others were the most unstoppable enemy in Seasons 1 and 2 and then became complete incompetent idiots in Season 3.

Another is the way that the show never wants to be true to the characters' moods, which is another Abrams tactic to avoid depressing drama and bring forced levity. So, Hugo was comic relief for much of Season 1 in that VH1 kinda way, listening to his walk man. Kate and Sawyer go skinny dipping or give each other mixed tapes in a nod to cheesy Hollywood notions of Americana right after Claire is kidnapped by the Others.

Or how about guilt as a defining trait for all the characters. Walt wouldn't be so unforgiving toward his father; Michael's resolution was thoroughly unsatisfying.

Muldfeld: Your concerns are your own, but you obviously have issues with the show that you bring yourself. I mean, every character has an evil parent? Jack's dad was a drunk and too hard on him. Not evil. Kate's Mom? Pathetic, but not evil. We don't know most of the character's parentage. Ben's dad? A bastard, but evil? Lock's dad, OK, he WAS evil. Women defined by their counterparts? Kate maybe, but Juliet did not take much flack from anyone. Neither did Rousseau. As for "the black guy" they killed (Echo), it was not for 'no reason'. It was because the actor wanted off (because he did not get along with the cast and crew or because of personal family issues, depending upon who you ask). So your who objection is based upon stuff you bring yourself. Has the show been perfect. No, but one of the best efforts I have seen on TV in a long time.

I think whenever a show is written in such a way that everything is meant to be a mystery, people either start looking too hard, or too little for clues. Thus creating your "shock and awe" problem. Plus, there is still more to be revealed, which I'm sure will answer most of your problems with the show.

BTW...the smoke monster has 2 jobs, to judge those it comes in to contact with, and to protect the island either by killing or by recruiting (dragging back to the temple and then brainwashing those it takes). That is why it killed Ecko, because he wasn't exactly a good person throughout his life.

Also, one thing you may or may not have seen is that all the characters are connected by Jacob. Which is probably why all the characters share similar traits of guilt, among others.

But, overall...if you have such a dislike for the show, stop watching. I love it, and think it's the most genius thing on TV...and that's fine to hate it. I hated BSG, and thought similarly of that as you do of Lost. Different Strokes...but, I will say, that many of your questions or complaints have either been answered, or been alluded to in some way...or it's just the outcome of putting a show on TV with multiple writers having to fill plot holes as they tell an entire arc...sometimes writing gets shoddy, and other times characters do things that aren't necessarily part of who they are.

Gsizz, by nothing to look forward to, I mean that we can't even begin to guess where it will go from here, not that I'm not eager for it. For instance, during S1, we wondered what was down that tunnel all season and they lamely ended it with us, looking down the tunnel. But what if instead, they had ended S1 by showing us the first scene from S2, with Desmond locking and loading. We could have spent the summer processing that new piece of information and what it would mean for the show. People wouldn't have bitched about it then. It's too open ended to analyze at this point.

So far I've watched up to the middle of Season 3 of Lost. When I heard it was heading for a definite conclusion, I stopped and satisfied myself with buying the subsequent seasons on Blu-ray. When it's all done, and all on disk, THEN I will watch it. All at once.

Not reading this article...don't want spoilers. Just the pure experience. I sure hope it ends well...

All I can say is that this is the only show as long as i can remember that has held my attention and made me anxious for the next episode. Lost is perfect!

The only question I personally have is "How many times are they going to say one more season."

I'm totally Lost

Maybe it'll be revealed that parenthood and upbringing is a core part of what brought them together?

Kizer: They've known that LOST was going to end in 2010 for a couple of years now, I think since season 3 or 4.

Maybe you're thinking of a different show. Like Friends or 7th Heaven. LOL. Kidding. Kind of.

Trying to figure out the mysteries of lost stopped being interesting soooo long ago.

What fun is it trying to unravel the clues when the producers and writers are making it up as they go along?

i still watch lost, but it's akin to why i hung on till the end with BSG ... i had so much invested in the hand i couldn't fold.

that's bad poker, and it's bad tv watching, too.

when you look at how similar shows like flash forward and defying gravity are failing, though, i think i hold a clue.

there's no way i'm going to allow myself to get this invested in another show with this type of storyline. not after getting screwed so badly by chase on the sopranos, moore on BSG, etc.

when fans agree to come into the world you create for them, they make you a success. in return for that support, you owe them respect and resolution, not some artsy "statement" like chase did with the finale' of the sopranos, or letting your politics and the attention of the cultural elite overwhelm your vision like moore did with bsg. suddenly, you only have a few episodes left to wrap everything up, and you haven't even decided who the final cylon is yet, despite the fact that you've been dropping clues for over a season. So you decide to have the characters who've fought tooth and nail to find earth make a mass decision to devolve, even though no two of them have been able to agree on anything since the beginning. Right, so Sarah Palin, Barack Obama and Kim Il Jung, and all of their followers, are all suddenly going to agree to disolve all government and go back to a system of tribes and villages. Great writing.

i guarantee you i won't be watching caprica.

the other day, i saw the sg1 episode "wormhole extreme" for probably the fourth time. i can't remember any series that has ever made an episode that showed more gratitude to the fans than that one did. i had huge problems with how they beat that dead horse, then moved the same horse to another galaxy in atlantis and tried to sell us on the fact that it was new, but that doesn't change the way i feel about the huge "thank you" they gave us with that episode. Evey time i see it, i pick up a few more inside jokes, and i'm sure i still don't hve them all.

that episode should be required viewing for any producer of a sci-fi series.