‘Lost’: J.J. Abrams’ opinion on the controversial ending
As a creator and executive producer, the small screen career of J.J. Abrams has been almost entirely defined by shows that either dominate the cultural conversation, notch huge viewing figures, or find cult classic status and a sprawling fandom willing to defend them to the death.
He’s been involved in Jennifer Garner’s Golden Globe-winning Alias, the Primetime Emmy-winning Felicity, the reality-warping Fringe, the sorely-underrated Person of Interest, the ambitious Revolution, the polarising Westworld, and the small screen Stephen King universe that spawned 11.22.63, Castle Rock, and Lisey’s Story to illustrate that point.
However, none of them could come close to matching the cultural imprint left behind by Lost, the sprawling mystery that posed so many questions with each new episode that it became one of the most heavily discussed, intensely debated, and hotly-contested shows of the 21st century.
The series was running out of gas long before its 121st and final episode aired in May 2010, but the finale was nonetheless savaged by many viewers who’d invested years of their lives into the ongoing unravelling of the story behind Oceanic Airlines Flight 815, only for the last chapter to reveal that every single key character was dead, and they were hanging out in the afterlife.
Abrams stood his ground over the opinion-splitting conclusion, suggesting to Salon that despite all the criticisms he’d faced, he never actually heard a suggestion that was better than the one audiences ended up getting. “For years, I had people praising Lost to death, and now they say: ‘I’m so pissed at you for the end of Lost,'” he said. “I think a lot of people who were upset with the ending, were just upset that it ended. And I’ve not yet heard the pitch of what the ending should have been. I’ve just heard: ‘That sucked.'”
Damon Lindelof lamented “the fact that I told people what to think about Lost is a big regret that I have” when he was caught in a reflective mood, but Abrams would unequivocally endorse the ending. A lot of people may have despised it with a burning passion, but the co-creator believed it was the perfect note to end on.
“I loved the ending, I thought it definitely provided an emotional conclusion to that show,” he explained. “There may have been specific technical things people felt they wanted to understand, like what the island was exactly or why it was. But it’s like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. If you show me what’s in there, I promise you it will disappoint me.”
Debate still rages over whether the Lost finale was a fitting way to wrap up a six-season arc or a cop-out that rendered much of the events meaningless in retrospect, but as one of its creative figureheads, Abrams’ opinion carries more weight than most.
