Lost Co-Creator Shares His Frustration with Fan Theories

The fans’ expectations and made-up theories about the storyline become frustrating for the show’s writer and creators as it greatly impacts the show’s consistent release of different seasons.

Similar is the case with Mr. Damon Lindelof, the creator of the TV show Lost, which was released in 2004 on the ABC entertainment streaming platform. The storyline follows the life of people who survived a plane crash and are now stuck on a deserted island with each other, but the only way to escape is to stick together and find a solution; otherwise, they will die.

In an interview, he shared his thoughts that fans’ theories become frustrating for them to fulfill accordingly. J.J. Abrams, who co-created Lost, has called the “mystery box” storytelling technique the model for a particular kind of Tv show. This intensity is required to keep that spark alive throughout the series, with major twists and turns, so that the audience can have an unexpected mind-blowing climax in the story. The curiosity increases as the show releases a thrilling dynamic trailer before the launch of the full season. But this can turn things into disappointments if it does not go as per the viewers’ expectations and theories.

Fan theories and their way of perceiving stories in other climax expectations give severe work stress to the creators and writers. So, creators are aware when their works spark controversy among the viewers since they are aware of all these fan notions. For his part, Lost co-creator Lindelof acknowledges that it could be challenging for that specific series to strike a balance between fan expectations and the storytelling goals of his co-creators.

Mr. Lindelof, while talking to Vulture, said:

“One of the things I was fascinated by was that one of the two questions we got asked most often was, “Are you making it up as you go along?” And the fans wanted the answer to that question to be “Absolutely not. We have a plan. We are executing that plan and understanding that not everything will work, but we’re sticking to the plan.” The second question they asked most often was, “What input do we have as fans?” Here’s the thing: They want the answer to be, “We listen to everything that you say, and it affects the outcome of what we write.” But then that would suggest that we don’t have a plan, and everything we’re doing is like the band that finishes a song and asks, “What do you want us to play next?” But we have a set list, so you can’t win.”

While knowing the consequences and expected reactions from the fans, Lindelof was all prepared for his sixth- release as it didn’t go as per their expected turnout. He knew it wouldn’t be a big hit this time as it was before after analyzing what had caught the minds of the fans who couldn’t project the series any better.

It wouldn’t be unfair to say that the fans Hated that season more than the previous releases ones, but the expectations of perceiving characters remained balanced somehow where the solid mysterious scenes were popped as a wrap-up. Despite all these challenges, Lost survived the backlash because of its mysterious plot, which keeps the interest intact. Undeniably the season kept the fans guessing the mystery revolving around them, and they waited for something extra that was already planned in their mind. Unfortunately, the disappointment took it all off, and the prominent characters did not get much attention as they were expecting from the fans.

In the end, a show like Lost can never fully satisfy all of its audience. And Lindelof does appear to have learned this lesson to heart. Even if the plot of the series eventually didn’t turn out as all fans had wanted, Lindelof and colleagues may still be pleased that it entertained many people for many years.

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Gary Wilson

Gary is a geeky-binge watcher who loves to pen down all that he watches. The night-owl has just got two hobbies, binge-watching all the latest shows and writing everything about them.