Summary

• Lost faced criticism for its lack of diversity and problematic portrayal of race, despite initial acclaim for its diverse cast.
• The show left many unanswered mysteries unresolved, disregarding key plot points and ignoring important questions.
• Lost's finale was widely regarded as disappointing, with a divisive ending that failed to live up to viewers' expectations and damaged the show's reputation.

While Lost's mystery grew deeper and more complex, the island became the show’s main character.

Lost’s divisive ending provided an answer to the secret of the island, but it was one that many viewers had predicted years earlier. The specific details were changed, but the central thrust of the big revelation remained the same. Even some ardent fans complained that the series spent years teasing a smarter, more unexpected reveal than its finale provided. However, a look back at Lost proves that the show’s problems were there from the start. From sloppy writing to some problematic storytelling elements, Lost was never the masterpiece that viewers hoped it would be when the show debuted.

10 Lost Wasn’t As Diverse As It Seemed

Lost received a lot of acclaim back in 2004 for the show’s diverse cast. However, a rewatch proves that this praise was misguided. For one thing, most of the show’s main characters were white. Additionally, the Lost forgetting about Walt despite his pivotal role during the show's earlier seasons highlights just how problematic the show’s attitude toward race was.

9 Lost Had Too Many Unanswered Mysteries

The Smoke Monster's disappointing origins and Lost's failure to adequately explain many of its enigmas symbolize the series' larger issues in fulfilling its narrative promises.

From a polar bear that randomly appeared on the island to an inexplicable Smoke Monster to the unclear significance of Hurley’s infamous numbers, plenty of Lost's mysteries were solved sooner or later. However, the show also had a lot of enigmas that were straight-up forgotten about or ignored. The questions of who was shooting at Sawyer in the flash-forwards or what happened to Jack’s planned army were left unanswered by the end of the series. Instead of addressing these unanswered mysteries, Lost busied itself with new subplots.

Unlike many shows, Lost was written in real-time, meaning the writers developed the story as the series progressed. This approach contributed to some of the show's unresolved mysteries.

8 Lost Lasted Way Too Long

The revelation of the finale was always part of ABC insisted that the series could last for 10 seasons before the last episode was ever arrived at. Anyone who spent a few minutes online during the show’s heyday inevitably predicted that Lost's characters were all dead all along and the island was a form of purgatory. As such, they waited years for what felt like the inevitable twist, which didn't come. Yes, the flash sideways sequences were false projections after death, but the show-runners confirmed that everything on the island actually happened. Despite the fervent certainty of the fanbase about the ending, Lost’s showrunners still ended up dragging out the story over six seasons, a foolhardy decision that made the finale a far weaker affair.

7 Lost’s Most Infamous Love Triangle Was Unnecessary

Lost had a lot of convoluted love triangles over the show’s six seasons, but none of these was more annoying than the relationship between Kate, Jack, and the roguish antihero Sawyer. While Sawyer was a compelling character, he had no chemistry with Kate. Meanwhile, Jack was a dull leading man even before Lost set up an unnecessary love interest for him. This subplot proved that Lost couldn’t balance soap opera theatrics with its central mystery, but the series still attempted to do this to its detriment.

6 Lost’s Flashbacks Were Often Pointless

At first, it seemed like Lost’s flashbacks would each illustrate something new and important about each of the show's characters. Then, one of the most pointless bottle episodes in television history focused on Jack’s tattoos for an hour, and it became clear that the flashbacks could just be unnecessary padding. While this episode was particularly dismaying, it was far from the only case of Lost using flashbacks to drag out a storyline without adding anything to the main proceedings in the process.

5 The Smoke Monster’s Disappointing Origins

The Smoke Monster was one of the best cases of Lost creating a fascinating mystery, only to fail profoundly in its attempts to explain the enigma. The villain spent years acting as one of the show’s biggest antagonists, even killing off the fan-favorite ing character Mr. Eko. Then it turned out that the monster was Jacob’s human brother, who was trapped in the form of a Smoke Monster until the energy from the heart of the island was released. This revelation made Lost’s Smoke Monster simultaneously more perplexing and less interesting.

4 The Meaning Of The Numbers Was Predictable

Just as many viewers spent a lot of time theorizing that Lost was all about Purgatory, the most popular fan theory about the show’s recurring numbers was presented with great certainty from very early on. The prevailing theory was that the numbers represented the flight’s survivors, and it turned out to be the truth. The theory was eventually confirmed near the end of Lost season 6, but by this point, viewers had spent years waiting for an answer to a mystery that most of them had already correctly guessed.

The pilot episode of Lost was one of the most expensive in television history at the time, costing between $10 to $14 million. Its high production values set a new standard for TV series.

3 The Others Were A Wasted Opportunity

The Others seemed like a serious threat in Lost when they were introduced as a set of mysterious island inhabitants with their own plans and motives. Then, Lost slowly started to integrate them into the main cast until viewers realized that the Others were just another group of people on the island. Again, it took until season 6 for Lost to explain how the Others ended up on the island. However, for most of the show’s run, the series treated them just like any other ing characters.

2 Lost’s Budget Didn’t Save Its Aging Effects

At the time of its release, Lost was one of the most expensive TV shows ever made. However, this did not stop the show’s CGI from aging terribly in the decades since the series began. While the practical effects of the series still look great, the polar bear, the Smoke Monster, and many of the show’s explosions and underwater sequences look unfortunately laughable. What makes this issue worse is the fact that Lost’s otherworldly tone means it is tough to tell whether this uncanny appearance was intentional or not.

1 Lost’s Finale Was A Disappointment

Despite its initial acclaim for diversity and innovation, 'Lost' ultimately fell short, with a finale that failed to deliver on years of viewer speculation and a narrative riddled with unresolved mysteries

Much ink and bandwidth has been spent on the finale of Lost, but the ending was extremely divisive. For some critics, the show over-explained its central mystery, while for others, the decision to cut between a sentimental happy ending and a tense action sequence was the biggest problem. Regardless of where viewers stand, the critical consensus was that Lost’s series finale simply didn’t work — and the show’s reputation never recovered after this ending. While viewers held out hope that Lost would eventually explain its many minor lingering mysteries, the series finale proved that this was never going to happen.