Today I want to talk about the two factions of Lost fans – those who liked the finale, and those who didn’t.  Both factions are adamant in their beliefs regarding the ending, and seem a bit intolerant of the other faction.  Those who liked it call those of us who didn’t haters.  Those of us who didn’t like or accept it, don’t call them anything.  Some have simply chosen to write Lost off as a bad deal all around, and post that the writers screwed it all up, and that they are to blame, ignoring those who liked the ending.  It seems to me, from all that I’ve read, that the two factions are split about 50-50.

The likers like to rag on the haters, and the haters like to rag on the writers, and the writers are all out spending their money and having a grand old time.  What’s wrong with this picture? 

We all loved Lost, or we wouldn’t have been there in the first place - so how could we have gotten such a skewed view of the Lost finale and our fellow fans?  I believe both factions have a point, and would like to point out that this may very well be how wars get started.  My book, How Lost Got Lost is very “anti” about the ending, but I can’t ignore those who liked it – there are just too many.  And those of you who liked it can’t ignore those of us who didn’t for the same reason - there are just too many of us. The twain shall not meet any time soon, I fear.

Also, from what I’ve read, DVD and Blu-Ray sales for season six and the complete set aren’t too bad, although the haters aren’t buying - at least they say they aren’t - and why would they?

Lost is also quite worldwide in its fandom, and there are many comments in foreign languages that I can’t decipher, but I imagine they are running about the same - except that there are still many people in foreign countries who haven’t seen any of season six, or the finale.

Lost didn’t win anything at the Emmys, but that tells us nothing.  Awards shows are notorious for getting it wrong, and I don’t put much stock in them.  I honestly don’t believe Mad Men is so good that it deserved to win three straight times - or 30 Rock either, for that matter, and I watch both shows.  Sci-Fi is notorious for being snubbed by the Arts as drivel, even though it’s always been popular with the masses, and that’s not fair.  Actors are actors and the genre shouldn’t matter, and some of the Lost actors were truly wonderful in their portrayals.  The fact that they were nominated at least says something.  As for the show itself, the writing was often contrived and that is not good writing.  A good example of this is in season two when Ben had a very convenient spinal problem and Jack just happened to be a world-renowned spinal surgeon.  This is a contrived situation and most people recognize it as such and are turned off by it.

Some people take whatever they are given, and question nothing, - except that they question you when you say something neutral or negative and label you a hater.  I hate that word - as it is over-used, and often people have valid complaints.  I’m not a hater (well, okay, when I’m driving I pretty much hate all the other drivers, but that’s normal – and quite wrong – and I admit it.)  Every now and then, a fellow driver surprises me and does something nice intelligently.  People who don’t go at a stop sign are just annoying and slow things up, along with those who stop traffic for every jaywalker, and to let everyone else in from side streets and driveways.  You can be too nice, and that’s just wrong – because by being nice to the one, you are often messing up the many, which has something to do with the Vulcans on some level, I guess.

A problem with my book, I suspect, is that the likers liked what they saw and don’t want to hear about it, and the haters know why they hated it and don’t need me to tell them.  But my book is more than that.  How Lost Got Lost was a labor of love as I strove for answers as to why they screwed it up so badly in the end.  It looks at virtually every aspect of the show, and gives credit where it’s due - and when it’s not, I say so.  I did rewrite the ending from what they gave us, and I think it’s better.  It ends the story realistically.

My major beef was that they turned Hurley and Ben into the Skipper and Gilligan at the end, and those idiotic unreal sideways flashes with dead people acting as if they were alive. 

The rift between the two factions may be religious in nature – not to be confused with spiritual, which is different.  I’m not religious and most of the people I know who also didn’t like it are not either.  I’m just guessing here, but it makes sense. 

One question for those of you who liked it: Heaven implies a Hell, so why wasn’t Ben sent to Hell?  He surely deserved it for all his murderous ways, as we perceive murder to be a mortal sin.  Do we let him off just because Ben was a fun character and we liked him? Inquiring sinners want to know…