Living Down Lost

IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN LOST PLEASE GO WATCH IT NOW INSTEAD OF READING THIS BLOG. (SPOILERS AHEAD)

In 2004 JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof created a phenomenon. Lost took over, it was the show everyone watched. An epic of 6 seasons, the show tells the story of Jack Sheperd, Kate Austen, Hurley, Sawyer, John Locke, Sayid Jarrah, Clair Littleton, and the other 70 survivors of Oceanic flight 815. They wake up amid the wreckage of their plane on a remote (possibly nonexistent) island inhabited by very old, very dark supernatural forces.

Along with the supernatural forces that have been on the island for basically eternity, there were also other obstacles the island used as pawns. Such as Benjamin Linus, and other castaways washed up on shore. The Darma Initiative was an experiment that was able to find the island and harness some of its unexplainable power. Leftovers from the extinct 1970's Initiative litter the island in the form of Polar bears, unopenable hatches, and many Darma Stations.

With twists, turns, and huge reveals, Lost was a true drama, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats up until the very end. Which led to a controversial finale Lindelof has been apologizing and beating himself up over for 4 years now. When Breaking Bad  ended, Lindelof used the opportunity to ruminate on his own epic finale and make peace with his fans in an interview:

“I’m sick of myself for continuing to beat this particular drum, so I can’t imagine how sick of it you are. If it’s unpleasant and exhausting for me to keep defending the Lost finale, aren’t you getting tired of hating it? And so … I, like Walter White, want out. To be free. And to grant you the same.“I’d like to make a pact, you and me. And here’s your part: You acknowledge that I know how you feel about the ending of ‘Lost.’ I got it. I heard you. I will think about your dissatisfaction always and forever. It will stay with me until I lie there on my back dying, camera pulling slowly upward whether it be a solitary dog or an entire SWAT team that comes to my side as I breathe my last breath.“And here’s my part: I will finally stop talking about it. I’m not doing this because I feel entitled or above it — I’m doing it because I accept that I will not change hearts nor minds. I will not convince you they weren’t dead the whole time, nor resent you for believing they were despite my infinite declarations otherwise.”

When all is said and done we have to look at Lost as a piece of art. It doesn't belong to the fans, it belongs to the person who made it, who labored to create it, stayed up late at night trying to find the best story. So I think we should leave poor David Lindelof alone.

Four years later, the world still isn't over Lost, however. JJ Abrams and David Lindelof's new show is still fighting backlash from the Lost finale. Headlines like "Damon Lindelof Promises You His New Show Won't End Like 'Lost'," are still being written for articles about their new show The Leftovers.

Scandal Season Finale

From the first day I started to watch Scandal, I was hooked. My dad would come into my room and immediately know I was watching it. I binged watched season 1 and 2 and caught up to 3. The acting is a bit overdone at times, yes; however it is one addicting show. The scandals to say the least are juicy and I always want to know what is going to happen next. Since the first season, a lot has changed. People have died, been killed, risen to power, become more evil than I didn't believe possible. The character development is what makes the show so interesting to watch. There is never a dull moment with the characters in every episode.

Today I watched the season three finale and it was very good. It was not amazing and I was not happy with some of the way things were done. I found the way how everything from that season led up to this to be a bit disappointing. I was not expecting some of the things that happened for sure, but some of the way the characters were presented seemed wrong. For example, one character who is supposed to be caring and selfless ends up almost letting a bomb kill a ton of people. Olivia Pope's father has always been evil, however we see him become more caring towards the end of the season. All of a sudden we find out that he is back to being evil. The season finale was too much of a flip flop and was a bit of a disappointment . However, I know I will still continue to watch the following seasons.

More on How I Met Your Mother

This week I am going to blog about the ever-popular (and already blogged about...) show "How I Met Your Mother". I've been a big fan of the show ever since I binge-watched it last Thanksgiving break. I think the characters are all interesting and they have a great chemistry with each other that is very believable. I also love the concept of the show and the character development throughout the show. The characters reflect the imperfect human striving for their dreams (and failing often). That being said, I was surprised at how this season (season 9) is turning out.

I am a firm believer of sticking with shows till the end. I especially wanted to stick with this show because I thought it would be pretty nice to meet the mother. Ted has been talking about meeting her for quite a while now! I sat down and watched the two newest episodes. I enjoyed them a lot, but there was one thing that was very different from the previous seasons. This whole season (24 episodes) will be of one weekend. This was something that I was not expecting. I get that it is a very important weekend since it's [spoilers] Barney and Robin's wedding, but a whole season in one weekend!? This should be interesting. 

This whole premise reminds me of the suspense show, "24". I'm hoping that "How I Met Your Mother" (HIMYM) will keep the same amount of interest (without all of the terrorist threats and gun shoot-outs) as "24". I do have fears that HIMYM will end up dragging along and over-analyzing the characters. There are definitely going to be new problems that pop up that need fixing, and old problems that get way too dramatic. However the show does go, I will be watching it faithfully, anticipating the moment when Ted meets the mother. 

The Most Unusual High School Experience

I’ve spent countless years of trying my hardest to stay away from predictable, high school oriented television dramas. Finally, the extensive summer break this year forced me to give in. After watching nine seasons of One Tree Hill, all of Friday Night Lights and Degrassi, I thought I had seen every possible situation that could take place in a high school environment. That was, until I turned my sights on Pretty Little Liars. I have to admit that I had read the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard due to its popularity and the fact that the series takes place in the same town I live in. The main plot line in the series begins with a group of five best friends who are stricken with tragedy when one of their friends is murdered. After her passing, they begin to be harassed by someone who claims to be their dead friend, and who refers to himself or herself as “A”. When I heard that the book series was being turned into a television series, I was doubtful. I thought the show would never work since those who had read the series obviously knew exactly who “A” is. However, the show, much like  “True Blood”, doesn’t even attempt to follow the same plot lines as the books.

However, I do, at times, find myself questioning the reality of the show. For instance, it isn’t very plausible to say that romantic affairs with your professor, having a stalker, being accused for murder, being sent to a psych ward, escaping a psych ward, having someone drive a car through your living room, having your significant other murdered, being almost sawed in half, and more, are all frequent events during your high school career. But even though the plot lines sometimes sound ridiculous, if not impossible, I still can’t stop myself from watching.

This week, the season finale, “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t”, aired. I’ll start off by saying that this episode was more artistically filmed than most. Most interesting was the color and camera angles used during the scenes in which the Pretty Little Liars went to Ravenswood. Ravenswood is a town in the show that, to many people’s surprise, ABC Family has decided to make a spin-off show about. Although the show isn't thought to be a hit, the town itself has managed to catch people's attention. When first introduced to the town, the scenes were shot in a grayish tone, and there was no audio other than the sound of a large bell tower. The quietness and the emptiness gave the town a creepy aura that was hard to forget. In the recent episode, as soon as the girls enter the town the color switches from bright scenes to dark, harsh coloring. As far as camera angles go, there was an exchange between the girls and a magician. The exchange quickly switched from zooming into Aria's face from above to zooming into the mime's face from below. I found this juxtaposition intriguing and different from what is typically shot on Pretty Little Liars.

If you own a Twitter or Facebook account you were probably already informed that the show finished by saying who “A” is. I won’t spoil it but I will say that this finale left watchers more confused and upset than ever. Some critics go as far as stating that this show is as confusing as Lost. Even though I won’t go that far, I will say that I am extremely glad that my high school experience did not, at any point, resemble a single episode from this series.