TV Revivals: Can we try to find truth in ‘Lost’ once more?

If you think back to 2010, you have to remember the buzz and hype that surrounded the final season of “Lost.” It was considered to be bar-none one of the most arrested and engaging network dramas in some time. It gave us quite possibly some of the greatest flashbacks in history, and then turn things around further with flash-forwards and then flash-sideways.

Then, it had an ending that is perhaps as divisive as any out there. Rather than giving you a firm answer as to what the island meant or what happened to some of those survivors, the show shied away from that. There were some who ultimately escaped, but others within that world died. Maybe it was meant to be a metaphorical battle of life and death, a place where redemption could be sought in a variety of different ways and the worthy were allowed to move on. Or, maybe some people just turned up on a magical island and then got out. What we wonder now, in this latest edition of our TV Revivals series, is if there is a way to revisit this show to try to re-examine things, or maybe even introduce a new generation of people.

How it ended – Well, isn’t this up for debate? What we feel is that the flash-sideways did represent some sort of holding pattern for the characters, a place where they could go to remember and contemplate their future for good and bad. On the island we saw the end of Jack, and Hurley decide to take up the mantel of being in part its protector. There was an epilogue that was released in “The New Man in Charge” that helped tie up some loose ends regarding Ben Linus and even Walt.

How it could come back – The answer here is probably not “the adventures of Hurley and Ben,” since their roles at least within the modern timeline have been played out. Yet, is there a way to maybe answer a few lingering questions regarding what the island means, while still raising new ones? The only real solution is that you find a way to introduce new arrivals at the island, and then have it change and more to represent a very different adventure. If the idea is that the island is in many ways amorphous, shouldn’t it change with the people who are on it?

Could this ever happen? – In a word, no. While we’d be down to see Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse get together any day of the week, it’s probably better that they just do a different show. The ending of “Lost” is in many ways akin to “The Sopranos,” something that is so ambiguous that it would completely negate anything they once did if it came back. While it’s interesting to time-travel (like in season 5!) back to before the series finale and conjure up a different ending, there’s not much you can do now.

Also, we’re not ashamed to admit that we like the ending.