A man awakens in a bamboo forest, disorientated. All seems to be quiet. He gets up, makes his way through the trees, and finds himself on a beach. To be confronted with total chaos: debris; injured people climbing out of a plane’s fuselage lying in tatters on the beach; a young woman (Shannon, played by Maggie Grace) stands rooted to a spot, screaming - breaking the silence, thus adding to the overall eeriness of the scene; a Korean man (Jin, played by cult actor Daniel Dae Kim) desperately calls out for his wife, Sun (major star Yunjin Kim). The audience is hit, like a slap in the face, with a grave realisation that we are witnesses to the aftermath of a plane crash.
That was a tense and stellar introduction to what was to become, the phenomenal success of 2004’s television moments: ABC’s Lost. Created by Damon Lindelof and Alias’s J.J. Abrams, Lost tells the tale of 40 or so plane crash survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. A modern take of Gilligan’s Island, one might think, but before the hour is up, the comfortable rug is pulled from under one’s feet several times. What business does the (now infamous) polar bear have in a tropical island, for instance? In Charlie’s (LotR’s Dominic Monaghan) words, “where are we?”. Without revealing too much details, the island seems to be a web of mystery with a heard but yet to be seen ‘monster’, slave ships, the mysterious ‘Others’, and hatches with hints to social and psychological experiments almost worthy of The X-Files’ government conspiracy mythology.
But what renders the show unique is not its seemingly paranormal leanings; it’s the characters that populate the island (itself a character too). The show is character exposition, working through flashbacks of the characters’ lives pre-plane crash, and how they came to be in Sydney (where the flight was taking off) and why they were on that particular flight to LA. Impatient viewers who need clean, uncomplicated resolutions need to turn back now because this is where the fun begins! The flashbacks are like pieces of a large jigsaw puzzle - pay close enough attention and you’ll notice most of their paths have crossed at some point in their lives. This is on top of the producers’ clever play with names like John Locke, Rousseau and B.F. Skinner (even Sayid is debatable). If you’re expecting linear storylines and early resolution tied up in a neat little bow, then this show obviously isn’t for you.
Continuing in the genius of characterisation, especially in a phenomenally popular primetime American TV show, is the presence of the Korean couple. Although we later learn that Sun does speak English, the interaction between Sun and Jin are completely in Korean, which makes their flashback episodes feel like a foreign film for those who are unfamiliar with the language. Sometimes, there are barely any subtitles, which adds to the alienation, not only of the characters, but also of us, the viewers. Their language barriers further isolates them, if the differences in cultures hadn’t already. Pushed to the limit, human beings will learn to communicate with one another despite all the cultural and language (or even political) differences, especially when their very survival depends on it. This is best reflected in how Sayid (Naveen Andrews), a former Iraqi Republican Guard skilled in, among other things, extracting information, becomes one of the trusted and dependable main characters; and the relationship between Jin, Michael (Harold Perrineau) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway), especially the communication system they seemed to have developed past any language barriers.
None of the characters are what they appear to be upon their first introduction as their backgrounds and histories are explored through flashbacks, giving new meaning to the old saying, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. Which also brings us to the idea of not getting too comfortable (or attached?) to certain characters - it is a mysterious island with beasts or the feared ‘Others’ roaming around. Assume that not everyone would survive.
As for me, I am a big fan, and having fun trying to piece the puzzles together each week. I am most definitely sticking around for more!
