E-mail debate: 'Lost's flash-sideways

After flashbacks, flashforwards and flash-time traveling, "Lost" has introduced a new storytelling device for its final season: the flash-sideways. Two of WEEKEND's biggest "Lost" geeks Austin Morris and Cory Barker discuss the implications of new kind of flashes in this week's e-mail debate.

We now know that the storytelling device "Lost" is adopting for its final season has been dubbed "flash-sideways" by Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, and these sideways-flashes are depicting either an alternate reality or a parallel reality, one in which Oceanic 815 lands safely in L.A. and the Island is deep under the Pacific Ocean.

Complicating the situation even further, there are new passengers on the plane (hello, Desmond!), and our old friends may not be the same people we've grown to love (hi, nervous-to-fly Jack!)

I think it's a little too early to speculate on exactly what is going on in this alternate reality, but I think we were offered some clues in "What Kate Does," the third episode of the season. Kate seemingly remembered a stuffed killer whale in Claire's baggage, which I believe was Aaron's in Season 4, and Claire's name for her unborn baby -- Aaron -- just comes to her.

The lives we've already seen these characters live seem to be seeping into this alternate reality in ways that are certainly surprising the characters--they seem as yet unaware of what exactly they're experiencing, which I can only describe as intense deja-vu.

But beyond what exactly is happening in the flash-sideways story are questions of whether it's a successful move, or even the right move for the show to take in its final season. If people are asking the latter question, I wonder if we've been watching the same show for the past five seasons.

Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are going to take Lost where they want it to go at this point, and we're just along for the ride. For my part, I'm happy to stay on the ride as long as it's done at least as well as it has been in these first three episodes. The flash-sideways portions of "LA X" were totally compelling even after viewing them again, with the element of surprise taken away.

The idea that these characters would end up affecting each other's lives, regardless of the fate of Oceanic 815, is a marvelous conceit, and the focused flash-sideways in "What Kate Does" was a wonderful re-invention of Kate and Claire's relationship, which was such an integral part of prior seasons. If the "flash-sideways" stories continue to bring our favorite characters together and provide interesting callbacks to information we've learned from previous seasons, I think I'll continue to be hooked.

--Austin Morris

My primary concern with the flash-sideways lies in the fact that we don't have a lot of time. Now, I'm not one of those fans who expects every episode to be chock-full of ANSWERS!!!OMG -- case in point, I liked "What Kate Does" -- but I am still worried that it will take too long to get to the true point of these flash-sideways, and by that point, the audience will just be annoyed with them in general.

I understand that the point of them is to show us that the 815'ers lives would cross no matter if they crashed on the island or not, but in a sense, that feels like a convenient way for Lindelof and Cuse to explain away another "cool" way the story. I don't want to throw out the "gimmick" word, especially because I do trust the two of them, but it does feel a bit that way -- at this point. 

It feels like that the characters are slowly going to remember their island journey, but is that really necessary? From everything that I have read, the flash-sidways are only going to last half of the season and then by ep 8/9, things are going to coalesce into one story -- obviously the island story -- and so I'm worried.

I'm worried that we will have to see a number of contrivances that gets the now-remembering 815'ers together again so that they can go back to the island for whatever reason. Isn't that what we just did last season? As enjoyable as that all was, it was contrived enough, and there is no reason to do that again.  

--Cory Barker

I'm sort of with you on the conceit feeling a wee bit gimmicky right now. I'm not one of those people who wants the show to answer all my questions about it, either -- I'm willing to follow the show to whatever end it chooses, not necessarily the one I want -- but I do think that the oblique hints we've been given thus far that the characters lives are colliding with their lives in an alternate reality may not be enough to carry another episode.

"What Kate Does" was very self contained, and I liked that, but I still have nagging questions about the premiere, like what it means that New Otherton was built and the statue was still crumbled on the sunken island, and just why the hell Desmond was suddenly on the plane. In the case of the side-flashes, I feel like it's more imperative to get to the point than it is in the Island-story...and not just because this is the last season.

As to your point about contrivance...well, isn't just about everything in fiction contrivance? The art is disguising contrivance with real meaning, and I feel like Lost does that extremely well. I mean, I even liked Jack in "What Kate Does," which is an achievement for the writers.

--Austin Morris

Yeah, I mean that's my major concern. I think that "What Kate Does" kept my interest enough and as long as future episodes use that same formula where we see past island-pairs [Jack-Locke, Ben-Sayid, Ben-Locke, etc.] in new situations it will definitely be cool. I think it will be good enough to just sit there with tension hoping that one person will suddenly remember something.

But again, in season six, is that really worth it? Like you said, there are a slew of nagging questions just from the last few episodes alone, and again, don't want to be ANSWERSNOWMOREANSWERS type of fan, but something has to give in a sense.

The clear best parts of the first three episodes have been the moments on the island, with the flashes feeling like quick little moments that give us an idea of a person's psyche, much like flashbacks, even if the two versions of the character are not yet connected, but so far there is nothing THAT substantial. Obviously with Kate at the forefront, that is usually the case, and maybe we'll see how things go next week when we dip into the flash-sideways life of one John Locke.

For now, it's apparent we are both willing to trust the writers completely and have great hopes for the flash-sideways. And let's just hope we're right.

And oh yeah, Jack was THE MAN in "What Kate Does." S1/S2 Jack is back!

--Cory Barker