Lost (5/17 SPOILERS!!!)

[DonTadow]

Or, alternately, they have something like 50 characters on the island and the ones that don't have compelling storylines, they want to take off stage to provide room for those that do have stories in them.

They could probably keep them around, just off at the edge of the screen, but 1) they periodically need to reinforce the danger of the situation and killing someone who's "done" lets them do this without removing the more compelling storylines from play (for the most part; see Libby for an example of how this isn't always true) and 2) people would keep asking to see Shannon, Ana Lucia and Charlie, which would eventually clutter things up with "done" characters.

I don't think there's a sinister agenda here on Lost, just them trying to manage a fairly rough story structure they've set out for themselves.

Yeha, but I don't think the writers are going to chalk this up to "coicodence" and that they just needed an effective way to write people off the show. They've already formed a pattern now of people dying after they have "completed" something.

 

[Sir Brennen]

Why do people have to die once they issues they have been struggling with are resolved? Why can they not simply go on to being a productive member of society, albeit a member who have a troubled past?

It seems to be an almost shockingly dark philosophy to say that once someone has overcome an issue, his or her reward for overcoming it is to die, to fly down and to become another gibbering ghost and so much rotting meat, to paraphrase Virgil.

Well, if you subscribe to the Island is Purgatory theory, a character's "death" is actually a positive thing, and for the character's who's demons have been purged, they're probably flying up, not down

However, if that's true, we don't know what Libby's issues really were, let alone if they were resolved by an abortive picnic, so why did she die? Also, how do the deaths of the Others, killed by Ana Lucia and Mr. Eko, fit into that theory? Or for that matter, the guy Ana threw into the pit that was really from the flight but killed by an Other?

And hasn't Hurley resolved his food issue? And come to grips with his psychological issues in the form of Dave? Or, with the death of Libby, is he now in a position to backslide, just like Charlie did once. Remember, Charlie did have his drug habit beat before, but then the island presented him with temptation again.

 

[Staffan]

Why do people have to die once they issues they have been struggling with are resolved?

Because that seems to be the way things work on Lost. Boone managed to deal with his issues regarding Shannon... and dies. Shannon overcomes her grief for Boone and starts to get into a relationship with Sayid... and dies.

Don't know if Scott (Steve?) had any issues to overcome, though.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yeha, but I don't think the writers are going to chalk this up to "coicodence" and that they just needed an effective way to write people off the show. They've already formed a pattern now of people dying after they have "completed" something.

This happens on a lot of shows, honestly. I don't think there needs to be any grander explanation than "we were done with Shannon, guys."

 

[Cthulhudrew]

Why do people have to die once they issues they have been struggling with are resolved? Why can they not simply go on to being a productive member of society, albeit a member who have a troubled past?

They don't- they only have to die when they've had sex, or are contemplating having sex (c'mon, Libby was getting blankets- we all know what that means, right? Nudge, nudge, wink wink, say no more squire!)

Of course, that raises some interesting and/or disturbing questions about Boone's death...

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I think you guys analyze this show about 10 time more than anyone I know who watches it. Cthulhudrew was right about the boat, it was the cliffhanger end of the show, did you expect it to have been resolved immediately? I think Jack had a good idea something was wrong with Mike, but there was a lot going on at the moment. Who can say if he would have had more to say on it the next morning, but Sayid figured it out first. Anyway I enjoyed it.

 

[Fast Learner]

Why do people have to die once they issues they have been struggling with are resolved? Why can they not simply go on to being a productive member of society, albeit a member who have a troubled past?

As mentioned, this is a producer thing.

It seems to be an almost shockingly dark philosophy to say that once someone has overcome an issue, his or her reward for overcoming it is to die, to fly down and to become another gibbering ghost and so much rotting meat, to paraphrase Virgil.

Yes, that is dark. An alternate perspective, though, is that once someone has overcome an issue, their reward is not having to deal with that issue, frankly one heck of a reward much of the time. Then you're faced with your next problem. Some day perhaps you will have overcome all of your issues and have the ultimate reward of no issues. Doesn't seem dark to me at all. It's that dying and rotting meat and such that makes is sound dark, not the overcoming is its own reward part.

This seems to part of the same sadistic philosophy that says life is only about the journey and only about the struggle. That way if someone works hard at something – like getting home from being trapped, or overcoming a personal problem – there is never a reward. They are just kept in a tight loop, running in circle, until hurting them becomes difficult, at which point you kill them, like any other cow to the slaughter.

Again, the killing is a producer thing, not a common life philosophy held by anyone but the most pessimistic.

 

[KaosDevice]

What I find odd is the producers have said on many occasions 'the island is NOT Purgatory'. Yet here we are in a situation that is very purgatory like, espescially in terms of the whole 'life issues resolution' thing. Add on to that the whole Purgatory theme that seems to be a big component of 'Bad Twin' and I wonder if the producers are either second guessing themselves or just were deliberately blowing hot air when they kept up with the whole 'there is nothing supernatural here' thing.

 

[Fast Learner]

However, if that's true, we don't know what Libby's issues really were, let alone if they were resolved by an abortive picnic, so why did she die? Also, how do the deaths of the Others, killed by Ana Lucia and Mr. Eko, fit into that theory? Or for that matter, the guy Ana threw into the pit that was really from the flight but killed by an Other?

The rule only seems to apply to castaways that we've really gotten to know over several episodes. The fact that we don't see Libby come to resolution, if you're a supporter of this theory, throws a great deal of suspicion on her as an Other.

 

[Taelorn76]

The rule only seems to apply to castaways that we've really gotten to know over several episodes. The fact that we don't see Libby come to resolution, if you're a supporter of this theory, throws a great deal of suspicion on her as an Other.

Or that they needed to write her and Anna Lucia off because of the DUI. No matter what spin actors and producers put on their deaths, both of their plot lines were way to rushed to tie up the loose ends. They needed them off the show and they used Micheals impulsivness and low WIS to do.