Washington, D.C.: Do you feel the ending of "Watchmen" holds any clues for the ending of "Lost"? After the conclusion of the last season I think a "Watchmen" type ending with a presiding low related to grand machinations of a deluded genius balanced by a glimmer of future hope earned by the sacrifices and travails of our Losties would be just the thing to expect.
Doc Jensen: That might have been one of the better sentences I've read in the past day. My gut tells me that the conclusion to Lost that we'll get in three years time will be more upliftingly heroic than the ambiguous optimism of Watchmen. Certainly there could be a twist, akin to Seymour finding Rory's diary at the end of Watchmen, a kind of "Never 'The End!'" comic book/Twilight Zone ending. The climactic beat at the end of season three, with Jack in the"presiding low" you reference strikes me as either the middle of the larger story unfolding, or the "Hero at the lowest point" stage that's usually located at the end of the second act of the classic, mythic Hero's Journey structure. I look at Lost this way: the on-Island stuff we've seen up until now is Act One; it will culminate with the Losties leaving The Island. Act Two will follow the Losties off The Island as they try to reclaim their lives; it will culminate with the scene we saw at the end of season three, with Jack in despair and meeting with Kate in secret and begging her to join him in trying to return to The Island. As for Act Three, well... I think that's still a season or so away, and I'm betting it involves Jack and the other Losties in the flashforward future, doing... something. Maybe together. Dunno. Does that make sense? All to say, I think we're seeing an old fashioned three act saga, but told to us in non-linear fashion.
Jen Chaney: I agree that the ending will be on the more uplifting side, as I think I said in an answer to a previous question. At the end of "Watchmen" the reader (at least this one) is not quite sure what to feel, and I don't think that will be the case on "Lost." I'm with you, Jeff, on the "Twilight Zone" factor.I am not sure about the deluded genius stuff, either. That delves into Ben/Jacob terroritory and I think, in the very, very end, the story will come back to a tight focus on the people at the heart of the show from the beginning: Jack, Locke, Sawyer and Kate. The Ben/Jacob issues may get resolves before we reach the end of Act Three. I'm just guessing, of course, albeit in a public forum that makes it sound like I know what I'm talking about.
Washington, D.C.: To take a slight divergence along the lines of superheroes, do you think super-powered individuals will become an increasingly larger presence in "Lost"? Currently we have Desmond (time-travel), McPatchy (won't die), Walt (strange kid psychic) and Locke (Jedi Master). Is there room for more such people in the next three seasons or are we going to see the present ones killed or explained away?
Jen Chaney: I don't know. I think if they start peppering the show with more people with magical powers, it will seem like they're ripping off "Heroes." Plus, I don't see Locke, Walt and Desmond -- not sure I agree on McPatchy having a power, necessarily, except the power of awesomeness -- as having powers so much as gifts. To get a little literary, to me the influence here is magical realism moreso than traditional comic-book heroism.
If that makes sense.
Doc Jensen: Makes sense to me, as I agree!
Edinburgh, Scotland by way of Washington, D.C.: Great discussion so far, anything that can provoke a "Thundercats"shout out gets major kudos from me. You both have mentioned storytelling methods in "Watchmen" being critical to the Lost writers' modus operandi, I was thinking another way that this is seen is through all the pseudo-official Web sites that have sprung up throughout the shows run as offshoots on the plot, very similar to the short text only breaks in "Watchmen." Since I never have time to follow up on all those virtal "easter eggs" I hope we see them included on the final mega-set home video release of "Lost" as I think on reviewing they would be particularly useful to focus attention and ask more questions. Also, though I defer to your experience I think we may be more hesitant to embrace the inevitable durability of the world peace engineered at the end of "Watchmen." This is humanity we are speaking of (even in fictional terms) and Rorschach's diaries would be more than enough fuel to fire the doubt necessary to tear the faux utopia down (besides it would be sad to think we can only hope to be tricked into a positive future, not achieve it on our own).
Jen Chaney: Thanks, Edinburgh. I'll try to reference He-Man and/or She-Ra a little later in the program.
I am with you on the Easter eggs and how the mirror the use of other reference points in "Watchmen," something I think I mentioned earlier. It does strike me as a similar approach, one that "Lost" isn't the only show or movie to ever use. Although I think they use it more effectively than most.
As for Rorschach's diary, I absolutely agree that it would plant seeds of doubt and potentially undo the Utopia. That's why Jon tells Veidt that "Nothing ever ends." It's a different way of saying that old cliche that history always repeats itself and all of these developments are part of a cycle.
***UPDATE*** In an e-mail Jen Chaney from washingtonpost.com answered the question above most excellently and here are her words for your reading pleasure:
"In terms of lasting impact of "Lost," I really do think it's one of those seminal shows that will be looked back on 20 years from now as not only influential, but really emblematic of the post-9/11 era. One could say that "Jericho," "Heroes" and "24." are dealing with post-9/11 themes -- terrorism, disasters, etc. -- but I think "Lost" does so in a much more subtle way. To me, the show is essentially about the search for a sense of self and a sense of comfort in the wake of a tragic event. That's what Americans -- and, for that matter, people in other parts of the world -- have been grappling with more than anything in this first decade of the new millennium. Of course there's more to it than that, but that's my short answer."
