So, thus begins the first chapter in my first-time viewing of “Lost.” I’m going to try and write my reviews in as vague, generic terms as possible, so as not to spoil anything for other “Lost” beginners who may be reading and watching along with me!
Right off the bat, I have to say this show is already as incredible and addictive as everyone says! The main element that grabbed me initially was the format of the show. As you probably know, there are these 48 survivors of a plane crash out of Sydney, Australia, and season 1 focuses primarily on 14 of them. However, it doesn’t just start the story from when they land on the island; the show takes the viewer back into the pasts of these characters to show who they are, what they were like in the real world, and how they ended up on this ill-fated flight. Each episode focuses on a new castaway, and periodically flashes back to that character’s previous life throughout the course of the episode. By the end of the episode, the viewer is left with whatever happened on the island in the episode, as well as a piece of one character’s back story. In this way, the show succeeds in telling two stories at once, which is the main thing that made this show different for me right away. In some cases, the back story answers questions the viewer may have been harboring about why that character is the way he or she is. In other cases, the flashbacks deepen the mysteries surrounding a character and raise even more questions.
So, in each episode we are introduced to another one of the 14 main characters, and we progressively see that (no pun intended) “no man is an island.” In fact, the flashbacks demonstrate the interconnectedness of all of the characters before they even stepped on the plane. For example, in episode 6, “House of the Rising Sun,” we see the back story of the character Sun, a Korean woman stuck in an unhappy marriage. In one scene of her in the airport before getting on the flight, we briefly see another character, Jack, arguing with an airline employee about why he needs to be on this flight. Furthermore, this scene had already been shown from Jack’s point of view in the previous episode, “White Rabbit,” as Jack’s flashback. I didn’t take the time to look back, but I’m sure if I had re-watched that scene in “White Rabbit,” I would have seen Sun in the background. This twisted “small world” theme gets even more intense during the second half of the season, and I’ll talk more about it in that post.
Another theme that I want to bring up is the theme of unseen horror. It kind of goes back to that old saying “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know.” In any tense situation, knowing what you’re dealing with considerably reduces the amount of fear and anxiety associated with whatever task you must perform. However, when the adversary is in any way unfamiliar or unknown, the tension heightens dramatically. The castaways soon discover that they are not alone on the island. Also living there is a monster that kills everything in its path, and a group of savage human beings known only as “The Others” who repeatedly antagonize the castaways in various manners. Sounds scary already, right? Well, the one thing that both of these adversaries have in common is that, at least throughout the first half of the first season, WE NEVER SEE THEM. Every time the monster attacks, all the viewer sees is trees being uprooted, minor characters with no “plot armor” being eaten, and the major characters with eyes wide in terror. We never see what this horrifying monster actually looks like. It’s the same thing with the Others. With the exception of one member of the Others who infiltrates the castaways’ camp briefly and a 2-second appearance at the very end of the season, the Others remain unseen for the entire duration of the season. All we see of them is the atrocities they commit; murdering castaways in their sleep and attempting to kidnap children, to name a few. I love this psychological mind game that the writers are playing with us! The more time that goes on without ever seeing these foes, the more they are built up in our minds as these terrifying entities. If we had gotten to see them from the beginning, it wouldn’t be half as terrifying because the element of mystery would not be there. As I think back to other TV shows that feature elaborate monsters, I realize that “Lost” reaches the level of “mind-blowingly terrifying” more frequently than shows like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” where viewers always see the monsters in all of their horrific splendor. (Don’t get me wrong, I am a HUGE Buffy fan, and that show is excellent for reasons other than being mind-blowingly terrifying. But that’s for another blog.) Anyway, point is, by denying the viewers the privilege of seeing the bad guys, the creators of the show have left a lot up to the audience’s imagination, and the human imagination’s capacity to create terror far surpasses anything that TV special effects could do.
The final thing I want to discuss that has stood out for me is the score. “Lost” actually has somewhat less background music than most other TV shows, which is precisely what makes it so amazing. Since the characters are on a deserted island, having no accompanying music adds to the realism of loneliness and desolation. When there is music, it adds so much to what’s going on in the script. I’m speaking mainly of a brief trumpet sound that plays frequently during points of suspense and fear. What we hear is several trombones blaring the same note, and then sliding down half a step and blaring that new note. I know it doesn’t sound too intimidating, but if you were to hear it, I’m almost positive it would instill some level of fear in you! The first time I really noticed this trombone sound, although it had been used several times already, was in episode 10, “Raised by Another.” We have just found out from the character Hurley that something’s not quite right about a minor character named Ethan. The scene then cuts to the characters Charlie and Claire, who know nothing of Hurley’s latest discovery, walking through the jungle, when they are confronted by Ethan. Ethan doesn’t say a word; he just stands there with a twisted, grotesque look on his face and, as the trombones blare, it cuts to commercial. During that scene, I actually jumped in my seat, put my hand over my mouth, and shrieked in terror. Nothing had jumped out at me, there had been no monster, and no one had been killed in a gruesome way; it was just a guy standing there and some trombones playing in the background. However, that perfectly crafted moment caused me to experience such raw terror, and I know that it will stick in my mind for a good long time.
Well, that’s it for now! I hope you’ve enjoyed my first “Lost for Beginners” post! Stay tuned for more on the “small world” theme, character development, and even a couple of criticisms as I review the second half of season 1, coming soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment