Looking back at the beginning of the iconic show for its 20th anniversary
No spoilers beyond the two-part Pilot Episode!
My girlfriend and I watched all of Lost together a few years ago, which was a relationship-defining feat. We can never break up now. She knows the details of how the emotional fallout of the show’s finale genuinely messed with my head for a few days afterwards, and I know that I would quickly be shunted aside for Richard, played by Néstor Carbonell, if he ever became an option for her (it’s those dreamy, dark eyes).
The Almighty Algorithm had clearly picked up on my girlfriend’s love for Lost, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago, when it celebrated its twentieth anniversary, that it was able to capitalise on that love in the form of Endless Newly-Created Content.
A few months ago, she started wondering aloud if we’d ever watch Lost again, but the reality of such a herculean feat dissuaded us. But now, after days of being bombarded with fan edits, interviews, and best-of clips, the itch was back, and it demanded to be scratched.
“Just the first episode!” She said.
Sure. Just one. Because we can’t get sucked in again. We have things to do. We just can’t.
…
Can we?
One Is Light
From the first shot of Jack opening his eyes, looking up at the sky through a leafy canopy, to Charlie’s last lines that close out the two-part episode, the Lost pilot is an absolute masterclass in hooking your attention.
Show creator J.J. Abrams’ ‘Mystery Box’ style of storytelling has been often maligned in recent years (especially as more and more writers attempt to replicate it to ill effect), but there’s no denying its power, even decades later to someone who knows how these mysteries will all play out.
I’d love to see a study on the effect that the sheer number of dangling plot threads in the pilot episode of Lost has on the brain. We love closure and catharsis and making order from chaos. Personally, by the end of the episode, my synapses were crying out for the sweet release of answers. Given the enormous success of the show, it’s obvious that the psychology behind the storytelling works.
A quick run-down of some of the more obvious unresolved mysteries set up during the two-part pilot episode:
- Why did the plane lose radio contact?
- Why did the plane crash?
- What killed the pilot?
- Why was there a polar bear on this tropical island?
- Why does John Locke seem so happy to be stranded here?
- Why was Kate arrested pre-crash?
- Why has the signal been broadcasting for 16 years?
- Why is it in French?
- And, of course, “Guys, where are we?”
There are hints at even more mysteries if you know what to look for (John Locke holding up the two backgammon pieces gave me a little chill), and there are only more to come in the next few episodes (that I am NOT watching!).
One Is Dark
But these mysteries would mean nothing if the characters weren’t worth engaging with. This is something that’s really been lost with modern-day, eight-episode seasons that are more focused on muscling through a plot rather than using the premise of the show to explore the dimensions and layers of its characters.
The characters of Lost make the show worth watching through to the end. It’s no secret that some people lose patience with its over-arching narrative. It circles itself and gets increasingly science-fiction-y, thus losing a swath of viewers who wanted answers dammit and didn’t sign up for how weird the plot gets later on.
But even as things get weird, the writers never lost sight of what made their show special—its plentiful, unique characters. The pilot introduces too many to list, but the highlights are, of course, Jack (Matthew Fox), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Hurley (Jorge Garcia), Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Charlie (Dominic Monaghan), and Sayid (Naveen Andrews).
We also get flashbacks to Jack, Kate, and Charlie’s time on the plane immediately before the crash, all of which flesh out their characters and add layers of motivation and intrigue to the immediate plot. Lost fans know that these flashbacks are only the beginning of what’s to come—some of the series' most memorable moments come during these flashbacks—but it was a pleasure to bear witness to their humble beginnings here.
The character writing on Lost is honestly spectacular. These are all flawed, multi-dimensional individuals, nearly all of whom are easy to root for, and the writers are constantly finding ways to mix and match characters to create fresh dynamics while also exploring their rich (and mysterious! Don't forget mysterious!) backstories.
The Others
Then, of course, there’s everything else that makes the pilot, and the show, worth watching. The leafy, beachy vibe contrasted with the unknowable terror of the jungle’s many mysteries. The haunting score. A golden labrador called Vincent who’s a really good boy. The cinematography in the opening scene where Jack sees the plane wreckage for the first time. The sound mixing in that opening scene and the sound design of the monster knocking down trees in the night. Calling a character ‘Boone.’
Lost is, very simply, one of the best television shows to grace our screens. Across six seasons, each of which had between fourteen and twenty-five episodes, it of course varied in quality and direction, but it was always entertaining. Sure, the mysteries helped snag a wide audience, but it was the characters that fans of the show would fall in love with.
And it all began with a pilot that was so expensive to make, Disney fired the executive that greenlit the project before it exploded in popularity. Lost is a thing of beauty; an irreplicable phenomenon of network television before we let ourselves settle for limited series and multiple years between seasons and shows based on your favourite thing from when you were a kid that cost $1 billion dollars and hour-long episodes that could’ve easily been condensed to forty minutes.
If you've never watched Lost, but have always wondered what it's like, try watching the pilot episode. If you don't have the itch to watch more, my condolences.
As for my girlfriend and I, well, we decided that we wouldn't be continuing with the series again... and then I spent the next two days constantly thinking about the show to the point where I asked her if maybe she would consider watching the odd episode going forward? Just, y'know, when the itch needed to be scratched.
It didn't take much convincing.
***
Thanks for reading my review. If you liked it, consider buying me a cup of coffee at https://ko-fi.com/kieranobrien
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