Showrunner Damon Lindelof shall soon bring us the second season of The Leftovers, which promises to be a little different than what viewers may expect. To promote the kickoff, Lindelof penned a column in Entertainment Weekly to discuss his past show, Lost.
Discussing the wrong show would seem like a bizarre tactic, but Lindelof has caught hell for that Lost ending for five years. No matter how much praise one hears for their creative endeavors, the negative comments always dig into one’s soul. When it comes to a series finale, there’s no way to remedy complaints because of the finality of the situation. Not too long ago, James Gunn echoed the internet’s thoughts by calling the Lost finale a “nightmare” and “betrayal.” Likewise, George R.R. Martin is not a fan, which is interesting because plenty of people complain about Game of Thrones in the same way.
Lindelof would like the world to know that he’s okay with Martin not loving the ending to Lost. He’s still a major Game of Thrones fan. Lindelof watches the internet endlessly debate the show’s violence. He notices how viewers will tweet about being “done” with the show, yet they keep watching and complaining. Here’s some of what Lindelof had to say about television criticism:
“I don’t watch television to find things to gripe about, and I think we live in a clickbait-y media culture that exists to pick things apart. I love-watch Game of Thrones, so I’m immensely forgiving of things that perhaps are not the strongest attributes of the show. And despite the fact that George R. R. Martin has flamed the Lost finale, there is a schadenfreude aspect of me saying, ‘Well, I kind of hope Game of Thrones sucks at the end, too, so they’ll know it feels to have somebody say that to you.’ But I don’t think the Lost finale sucks. And I want Game of Thrones to end awesome, because I’m a huge fan, and I have every reason to believe that it is going to end awesomely.”
With the rise of the internet, television has become a spectator sport, so everyone tosses their live opinions out on social media. That’s the nature of the small screen in the digital age, and showrunners must adapt. Certainly, these shows benefit greatly from both positive and negative criticism. Lindelof loves to “love-watch” Game of Thrones, so he’s grateful that he quit Twitter. But he’s obviously still addicted to the stream.
(via Entertainment Weekly)
