"Christian" Shepherd - Father of Lost

Lost reinforces the theme of religion throughout the show constantly. One of the first examples was with the introduction of the character Christian Shepherd. His name alone rings with religious symbolism. 

Dr. Christian Shephard played by John Terry

A Christian is one who belongs to the faith of Christianity. Within this faith is the belief in the holy trinity. Christian represents the father, the protector. Jack is the son, with much to learn. The smoke monster (the man in black) is, as you guessed, the holy spirit.

Okay maybe it was a stretch comparing Jack to Jesus and the menacing smoke monster to the holy spirit but you know what I mean.

Before the island, Christian was a prestigious doctor until he was brought down by his son when he performed an operation under the influence. Spinning in a whirlpool of despair, Christian runs off to Australia where he hopes to reconcile with his daughter (Claire). Ironically, Christian travels with Ana Lucia (another crash survivor). After ruining his relationship with Ana Lucia, Christian stumbled into a bar, meeting Sawyer.

While his actions and intentions in his mortal life proved otherwise, Christian's spirituality grew in his afterlife on the island. Only in the afterlife was Christian a representative of his last name. A shepherd is one who watches after sheep (represented as weak, defenseless and misguided) and provides protection. Without giving too much away,  the finale of the show revealed that Christian has always been a guardian. He watches over the souls of the survivors making sure they achieve nirvana in one life or the next. (My apologies if this is confusing. I assure you, because the show is longer, it is way less confusing.)

Christian Shephard may have had some skeletons in his closet while alive, but through death he was offered a second chance at redemption. The greatest gift the island could give is second chances.

See you next week Lost lovers.

The Sound of Being Lost

           The team that went into making Lost took professionalism to a new dimension. They were able to maintain the dramatic tone encompassing excitement that keeps you on the edge of your seat as well as make you feel closer to the show.

Giacchino at the Oscars accepting his award in 2010.

            One of the ways the show draws you in is because of the music. This imperative element lets one know when something exciting or comedic or heartwarming will happen. The music for Lost was successfully composed by Michael Giacchino, who has composed the score for numerous films such as Star Trek, Super 8, and Disney Pixar's Up for which he won an Oscar in 2010. 

            My favorite musical piece from the show is from season 2 right after Rose prevents Hurley from blowing up the food pantry after not being able to handle the responsibility. Hurley decides to hand out all the food to the plane passengers and try to be the good guy instead. The music that plays in this scene perfectly captures the moment and mood which is vital when entertaining an audience. The youtube clip below shows the scene with the music, unfortunately the small amount of dialogue is in Spanish.

            It was this scene where I fell in love with the show because of the perfect blend of emotion and spontaneity the show brings to the table sometimes. At the end of the scene, the show reveals that a husband and wife separated by the crash are alive. During this emotional scene the music is there to comfort you immediately. Only Lost could have characters and music that can evoke emotions never experienced before. Usually the end of the show ends in a BANG, usually leaving a cliffhanger for next week's episode. The episode with this scene ends very pleasantly with a musical conclusion, leaving the audience with some closure on the characters.

            Not only is the music fantastic, but it is fairly simple. Giacchino occasionally uses the same melodies for "same-genred" scenes.  For the action scenes, Giacchino use a variation of the same tune but will make small adjustments for each scene. In emotional scenes he will use the same music but change it slightly, customizing his music to fit each scene perfectly. He also did this for the Up soundtrack, still winning the hearts of millions.

            Great job on Lost and I'm looking forward to your future projects. 

Back to the Island

Flight 815 on September 22, 2004

What's so wonderful about Lost is that it is so well written and believable that it becomes a complex multi-faceted reality to it's continuous viewers. It is so complex that it should be viewed several times, especially for it's avid fans.

Not only does Lost deliver an amazing story with some of the most compelling characters, it is a cache of symbolism, morality, and philosophy. When one uses the names John Locke and Jeremy Bentham as characters, you should expect a little philosophy lesson here and there.

Many fans come up to me and ask me to explain the series finale to them because either they didn't understand it or didn't like it. I tell them that the island brought people together who were lost and had no direction. The final scene shows that, while everything that happened on the island was real, the only important thing in the character's lives was having someone to enter the afterlife with. While this may have disappointed some fans, I found this to be a comforting conclusion to the series.

What kept people hooked on Lost was the complexity of the characters and the unknown connections that they had with each other. Of all the minor characters, Christian Shephard is the focal point of relationships between the main cast, which is only appropriate since he is the one who leads them through the gates to nirvana in the finale. He is the father of both Jack and Claire, grandfather of Aaron Littleton, companion to Ana Lucia, acquaintance of Sawyer, and takes the form of a spirit before John Locke and Michael Dawson (before his demise). Additionally, multiple other characters crash into each other unknowingly adding ironic amusement for the audience.

What I will address in this blog is all the things about Lost that makes it a novel and compelling story that captured the attention of millions; from the minor characters like Scott and Steve to the significance that the soundtrack plays throughout the series. By pinpointing specific elements from the show, I'm trying to revisit the show and discover for myself why I enjoyed it so much. I want to experience the feeling that Jack Shephard obsessed about at the end of season 3. "We have to go back Kate. We have to go back."

It's been two years since the finale of Lost and I need to go back.