On May 23, 2010, one of the most controversial series finales in Sci-Fi TV history (if not TV history over all) aired, and 16 years later, fans still haven’t forgiven the show. Endings are notoriously difficult—just ask How I Met Your Mother or Stranger Things, both of which faced considerable backlash for their conclusions. While the former had much more to do with character decisions, the latter is actually a better representation of what can go wrong with sci-fi shows.
Sci-fi is a genre known for its innovation, thrilling plot points, and myriad, complex threads, and while that makes for a thrilling watch, it also can mean a very difficult ending, wherein all elements have to come together in a satisfying way and all questions have to be answered. Many conclusions, far beyond just the Stranger Things finale, have been accused of failing to stick the landing. In fact, more than a decade and a half ago, a previously fan-favorite TV show, Lost, was absolutely flamed for its ending, and that hasn’t really slowed down, even now.
For six seasons, Lost thrived on mind-bending, bewildering plot points, from polar bear sightings on a tropical island to time travel and so much more. For that reason, and just because of the general difficulty of TV show endings, there was plenty of anxiety within the fanbase going into the series finale. Many worried that the show would not be able to answer all questions in time or, at the very least, not in a way that felt satisfying.
If there is a valid complaint to be had about Lost, it’s certainly that the show consistently asked more questions than it answered. That was in part what viewers took issue with when it came to the Lost finale, although it actually also had to do with the explanation the show gave for what was known as the “Sideways,” which seemed, for most of the final season, to be a type of alternate reality.
However, the finale revealed that this was actually a stepping stone to the afterlife, and that the many characters who had been part of the show—or most of them, anyway—had come back together in order to depart together in death. Unfortunately, this caused swift and brutal outrage, as many fans interpreted this to mean that they had been dead the whole time.
Even outside of this being the show’s conclusion, this plot point about the Sideways being an in-between to the afterlife was simply just one of fans’ least favorite storylines overall in the show. However, the complaints both in terms of the plot line itself as well as it being the ending of the show were largely based on a misconception of what the show was depicting. Specifically, while many, if not most, fans walked away thinking this meant the characters had been dead for the entire show, ever since their plane crashed on the island, that wasn’t the case.
Lost actually went to great lengths to make it clear that the characters had in fact experienced all of the events that were shown throughout the show’s six seasons and that those events happened while they were still alive. Most notably, Jack’s dad, Christian Shepherd (an absurdly on the nose name, yes), who helped them transition into the afterlife, directly told Jack, “Everything that’s ever happened to you is real.” This also mirrors an episode title, “Whatever Happened, Happened.” That messaging should have made it clear that they were not all dead the whole time.
It’s truly a shame, because had audiences not misunderstood what the Sideways was or meant, the ending would have likely landed considerably better. It’s actually a beautiful version of the afterlife, wherein the most important people throughout one’s life wait for them in this sort of in between stage so that they can all enter the afterlife together. It was particularly nice to see characters like Benjamin Linus reconnect with his daughter Alex, especially in light of her gruesome death, and see characters like Charlie back on the screen.
Nevertheless, many watched the series finale, misunderstood its message, and then swore off the entire show, and that has sadly persisted in the 16 years since.
Although Lost was not a perfect show for various reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it did ultimately leave many questions on the table (what the heck was with the broken foot statue?), it deserves so much more credit than it gets. It absolutely delivers on a suspenseful, high-energy story arc, and the cast is stellar.
Unfortunately, the ending alone brought down public perception of the whole show, and even all these years later, anytime the show is brought up, criticism of the finale isn’t far behind. Hopefully, audiences will eventually revisit the story, recognize Lost’s true message, and give it more grace than it got in 2010.
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