Before Game of Thrones came along to give it a run for its money, Lost held an unwavering distinction. The sci-fi has widely been considered to have one of the most divisive series finales of all time. Meanwhile, AMC’s acclaimed drama Breaking Bad has been on the other end of the spectrum. But more than a decade since Lost’s conclusion, one of its producers is standing by its controversial series finale.
Paul Zbyszewski is the Lost producer who broke down what he learned from working on the sci-fi series when it came time for him to step up as Helstrom’s showrunner. Interestingly, the Marvel series is now streaming on Hulu alongside Lost. Speaking of which, any time Lost comes up, you know talk surrounding the series finale isn't too far behind, and neither was a defense for it. Zbyszewski told Collider:
Sometimes on Lost, we got caught up in that a little bit. There were a lot of ‘Holy shit!’ moments. I came aboard late, in the last two seasons, where it was a little bit of paying for sins of the cool. It was like, ‘Okay, there’s some great, wild, crazy shit here but what does it mean? We owe it to the fans to tell people what that meant.’ At the end of the day, I think we stuck the landing on that one, much to people’s debate. Honestly, I stand by it. I think Damon took a lot of unnecessary shit for the Lost finale and I feel bad for him about that because I stand by it. I think we told an emotional story with an emotional ending, and it did what it was supposed to do. Damon’s brilliant, hands down.
So while fans may not have gotten all of their questions answered, they did get an emotional ending. That's something Paul Zbyszewski seems to believe counteracts Lost’s inaction on answering questions that viewers had waited six seasons to get. Ten years after the fact, Lost’s series finale remains one of the most polarizing for an assortment of reasons, with the biggest arguably being that lack of answers.
A decade is a long time to have to reflect and, to this day, Lost producer Paul Zbyszewski still stands by it. Of course, there are issues with Lost that went beyond the series finale. Since the show’s controversial ending, cast members like Evangeline Lilly have criticized other aspects of it. Lilly made the case for her character Kate losing her autonomy along with other things, and she is not the only one to speak out.
The Wire’s Lance Riddick has revealed that he still gets annoyed when he thinks about his character, Matthew Abaddon, getting killed off the show. As for the controversy around the series finale, a lot has been made of Lost’s tumultuous final season and the ending. In his defense of Lost’s conclusion, Paul Zbyszewski also sticks up for Damon Lindelof, amid all the heat he has taken throughout the years.
In the years since it aired, Damon Lindelof has taken up for himself too, poking fun at George R.R. Martin after Game of Thrones’ series finale did not go over well. Alas, Lost has given fans who loved and hated the ending something to debate until the end of time. As for discussion around a reboot, fans will have to stay tuned, though Evangeline Lilly does not want one.
Damon Lindelof has expressed enthusiasm for a reboot with a twist. Whether anything ever happens on that front is for fans to eventually discover. For now, Lost is currently streaming in its six-season entirety on Hulu, with the series finale there as well. For other sci-fi series, check out this fall’s premieres. And Helstrom is also currently streaming on Hulu.
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