Nikki Stafford - Finding Lost - Season Six: The Unofficial Guide

FINDING

SEASON SIX

NIKKI STAFFORD

ECW Press

For Sydney and Liam

The final season of Lost was one of the most talked-about television events of 2010. Any other show in its sixth season might be thought of as past its prime perhaps theres a core group of fans, but rarely are the writers doing anything exciting half a decade into its run. But Lost changed direction with every season, and season 6 held so much promise for its fans that even people who hadnt watched it since the first couple of seasons were jumping back in to see how it would all wrap up. Lost had been riding a wave of critical acclaim for the previous two years, ever since a guaranteed finale date at the end of the shows third season had given the writers the yardstick to know how many episodes they had left to write.

Season 1 had been about trying to get off the island, season 2 was about learning to live on the island with a group of people who had become family, season 3 was about dealing with the original inhabitants the Others of the island, season 4 was about the outside world invading the island, and season 5 was about returning to the island. In season 6 the Losties asked a much loftier question: what was their purpose on the island? And why had they been brought there in the first place? The writers had explored various kinds of flashbacks and at the end of the third season they introduced the flashforward, but in the sixth season they gave us the flashsideways, creating an entirely new narrative line that had fans speculating about the characters as if they were strangers to us and wed somehow been transported back to season 1 again. The mythology of the island and many answers to the fans burning questions were finally revealed in season 6, and the shows finale sparked even more fervent discussion that will no doubt last for several years.

As with my previous Finding Lost books, this guide is intended to be read alongside the episodes. You can watch the entire season and then read through the book, or you could watch an episode and read the corresponding guide to it. These guides are meant to be more than simple plot summaries. Instead, what I strive for is an analytical, detailed, in-depth reading of each episode that will help you sort out the clues, work through the mysteries, and figure out the real meaning of season 6.

Besides writing these books, I also keep a blog called Nik at Nite (nikkistafford.blogspot.com) where, during the season, I analyzed each episode the night it aired and my readers and I discussed the episodes at length for the next week. In season 6 there was a lot to discuss, and many of the blog entries had upwards of 400 comments. I owe a lot to the regular commentators on that blog who show up day after day to discuss their favorite TV show.

Finding Lost is not, however, a substitute for watching the show. You will not understand what Im writing about each episode if you havent watched (or are in the middle of watching) it. This companion will provide a deeper understanding of the characters, the events, and the mysteries, but it will not be a replacement for Lost itself. No book could ever hope to do that.

The book is formatted episode by episode. Almost every guide is followed by some tidbit of information, either a small sidebar of interest, or a larger chapter on the historical significance of something. Just as life on the island is interrupted by flashes, so too will the episode guide be broken up by these asides. You can come back to them later and just focus on the guide in the beginning, or read through them to get a better understanding of the writers references or of the actors playing the characters.

My summaries of the novels and other books referred to on the show provide a context-based analysis and ask the questions: why was this book featured in that episode, and how does it relate to the show and the characters? In each of the book summaries, I will give a brief rundown of the plot and point out the deeper meaning in each book, and then offer some suggestions of the importance the book has on the show and why it may have been chosen by the writers (these chapters will not spoil future episodes). Two of the books analyzed werent referenced directly on the show, but are still immensely important to it: Paradise Lost paved the way for the classic story of good and evil, God and Satan, and black and white, while Stephen Kings The Stand was hugely influential on all of the Lost writers, so much so that they make several allusions to it.

Some of the chapters will look at specific historical references on the show and explain them further, such as how one plays the ancient Egyptian game of senet. Others will look at themes running through the season, like the mirror imagery or the rules. Some of the sidebars will provide a close-up of particular moments in an episode that you may have missed on screen.

Each guide will contain some spoilers for that particular episode, so I urge you to watch the episodes before reading on. Because I am a severe spoilerphobe, Ive been careful not to spoil anything ahead of time, so if you watch an episode and then read the corresponding guide to it, you will be safe from having any surprises ruined. Each guide will feature a one-line summary of the episode, followed by an analysis. Following each analysis, youll find special notes of interest, and they require some explanation:

Highlight: A moment in the show that was either really funny or made an impression on me.

Did You Notice?: A list of details in the episode that you might have missed, but are either important clues to later mysteries, or were just really cool.

Interesting Facts: Tidbits of information, outside the shows canon, that explain allusions and references or that offer behind-the-scenes material.

Nitpicks: Little things in the episode that bugged me. Ive put these things in nitpicks because I couldnt come up with a rational explanation myself but maybe you have an explanation, and if so, Id love to hear it. Please read these knowing that I nitpick only to point things out, but not to suggest the writers arent on their game. These are meant to be fun.

Oops: These are mistakes that I think cant be explained away and must be due to a production or continuity error.

4 8 15 16 23 42: In the late season 1 episode, Numbers, Hurley reveals a set of numbers that have had an impact in his life, and it turns out those numbers have popped up everywhere, on the island and in the characters lives before the crash. In this section I will try to catalog them.

Its Just a Flesh Wound: This is a list of all of the wounds incurred by the characters on the show.

Lost in Translation: Whenever a character speaks in a language other than English that is not translated for us or we see something written thats not immediately decipherable, this section will provide a translation wherever I could find one. Thanks to all of the fans who have provided these translations for me.

Any Questions?: At the end of each episode, Ive provided a list of questions that I think viewers should be asking themselves at that point. Some questions will be answered in later episodes, but because these guides are meant to be read as one goes through the season episode-by-episode, these are questions you should be asking yourself at the end of each hour.

Ashes to Ashes: Whenever a character on the show dies, this section will provide their very brief obituary.

Music/Bands: This is a list of the popular music we hear on the show. In most cases Ive provided in italics the name of the album where you can find the song, but if I havent, its because the song is featured on several compilations.

And there you have it, a guide to the guide. I hope you enjoy the book, and I welcome any corrections, nitpicks, praise (please? just a little?), and discussion at my email address, nikki_stafford@yahoo.com, or come on over to my blog. I cannot stress this strongly enough, however: the opinions in the following pages are completely my own, and if anyone out there has contrary opinions, I respect those. I dont expect everyone to have the same views as I do. What makes Lost so much fun to watch and discuss is how many possibilities this show presents to us. Ten fans can come away from any episode with 10 different interpretations of what they just saw, and thats what makes the show great, in my opinion.