Cliff hangers have become overly common on television, but for the most part I question whether they make much difference. For the most part, people who enjoyed a series one season will watch the next, and those who didn’t watch are not likely to start watching because of a cliff hanger. There are occasional exceptions. The mystery over who shot JR on Dallas started the cliff hanger craze, and the publicity over the cliff hanger helped build the series. Similarly, the cliff hanger of Best of Both Worlds created far more buzz over Star Trek: The Next Generation, increasing its success. This season’s finale of Lost may have a similar ability to turn around a series which had been declining in both quality and the ratings.
The surprising ending of Lost will result in discussions between now and next winter as fans try to figure out what it all means. I’ve given some initial ideas on this in SciFi Friday, but since then have had further thoughts.
I speculated that the obituary was for Juliette based upon the rumors that enlarging the scene reveals a name beginning with a J, the possibility that Juliette’s death could have a more profound impact on Jack than that of others, and that it was someone Kate did not have the same feelings about. I’ll need to review the episode to verify, but I have seen comments that the person was referred to with male pronouns during the show. If this is true, my next guess would be John Locke. The two might be closer after leaving the island considering Jack’s change of heart in thinking it was a mistake to leave, making the two finally agree. The circumstances of Locke’s death might also be significant, assuming that Locke would have stayed behind or also been searching for a way to return. Locke’s death might have indicated a decreased possiblity of Jack being able to return.
If we exclude the theory that the name begins with a J, then Desmond becomes another possibilty. I’m suggesting Desmond only if alternate futures is significant here, as Jack might also see Desmond’s death as closing the door on other possibilities to return to a preferred time line.
I’m keeping the possibility of alternative time lines open, especially after seeing the Desmond “flash back” episode, due to a couple of contradictions. These could be explained by other means, but might indicate alternative futures. I’ve already commented on Jack referring to his father as being alive, but this might simply be a consequence of him being drunk. Jack was taking advantage of a card for Oceanic Airlines for unlimited free travel, but the faux web site for Oceanic developed for the show reported that the airline went bankrupt as a consequence of the crash. This contradiction could indicate an alternative future, or might simply mean that the web site is not cannon for the show.
Jack’s strategy of flying and hoping for another crash was also far fetched, but a poor decision could be explained by his drinking and drug use. It would seem that there are a number of far better ways to attempt to return to the island. We know that, even though the original members from Dharma were killed by the Others, Dharma (or someone using their name) is still dropping supplies on the island. We also know that the Others had some contact with the outside world (possibly ending with Locke destroying the sub) but there does appear to be people on the outside who know more about the island. Who ever is behind Naomi’s ship is another party, and even Penelope might have found out more. Following up on any of these would provide a better chance than hoping for a plane crash to return him to the island, and perhaps such attempts will be shown in future episodes if they continue to flash forward.
The finale revealed a little, but left many mysteries which should provide plenty of publicity for Lost until it returns.
