Today, in the aftermath of the long-anticipated Lost finale, I want to investigate good and bad ways to finish a storyline driven by suspense.
I have to admit up front that I am not a fan of the recently concluded Lost series. I’m not an anti-fan either; I just never watched it.
When the buzz about Lost started really kicking in, and everyone I knew began proselytizing the show like freshly shaved cultists, I started having Twin Peaks flashbacks. There was no way I was going to get psychologically invested in a show about weird goings on that would never be explained.
Once bitten, and all that.
Judging from the reactions of many Lost fans to last night’s finale, my caution was prescient. Despite resolution on a few interpersonal issues between the characters, I have heard from more than one Loster (Lostie?) that the end of the series left most of the questions completely unanswered.
But, looking at this problem as a reader/writer of fiction, it does highlight an intriguing aspect of audience satisfaction.
Resolution of suspense — emotional, narrative, or otherwise — is a hallmark of good writing in any genre. Even when issues are purposefully left unresolved (Is Han Solo Gandalf Captain Jack Sparrow really dead?!) it usually implies a promise of future resolution in the form of another episode.