At Premiere Party, Fans Get "Lost"
Wow.
That's really the only word that comes to mind today - "Wow."
After months of waiting, theorizing and analyzing, the premiere of the sixth and final season of "Lost" has come and gone. And, in the show's typical fashion, I feel that many questions were answered, but many new ones have been uncovered.
I watched the two-hour episode on a giant projector at a premiere party at The Bell House in Brooklyn, N.Y., which was packed with a few hundred die-hard fans. Some came dressed for the occasion, sporting t-shirts with "Lost"-themed logos. Others were happy enough to simply be there, sipping a Dharma-themed drink and claiming seats two hours before the show began.
But people weren't simply saving seats and killing time. A whole different sort of show preceded the main event - a set by the recap rock band Previously on Lost.
Taking the stage in front of the projector, the band members recounted the exploits of the survivors of Oceanic 815 and their time on (and off) the island. Previously on Lost performed songs like "Be My Constant" (a reference to the love story between characters Desmond and Penny) and "The Ballad of Sayid" (an homage to the island's resident former Iraqi Republican Guard member, torturer and assassin), and finished with a musical retelling of the Season 5 finale - as if anyone could forget the hydrogen bomb explosion, or the discovery that John Locke wasn't quite...well, John Locke.
Finally, nine o'clock rolled around and the premiere began - with loud cheers and yells from the audience and then immediate rounds of "Shhhh!" followed by dead silence once the plot got rolling.
And what a plot it was. If you don't yet understand how engrossing the "Lost" universe can be, try listening to a few hundred people collectively gasp at the same time when (spoiler alert) they all realize that there are parallel timelines at work - one where the survivors are still on the island after the bomb detonated, and another when Oceanic 815 never crashes on the island in the first place.
During commercial breaks, my friends and I turned to one another, often in shock, firing questions at one another even though we knew many of those questions didn't have answers yet.
"Locke/the Smoke Monster said he 'wants to go home.' What did he mean by that?"
"How did the island end up under water?"
"How did Christian's body disappear?"
"What, exactly, happened to Sayid in the temple?"
When we weren't playing commercial question time, we were firing off exclamations of disbelief. I can't count how many times I heard people say "this is crazy," or, "my mind is blown" (myself included).
And when we weren't doing that, we were watching, transfixed, like the rest of the room. I'm glad I went to the premiere party - with a show that so often leaves its loyal viewers in the dark (ironically, "lost"), it was nice to be watching among fellow fans, sharing in that collective excitement, confusion and frustration.
It'll certainly be different next week, when I watch the second episode in my apartment, on my couch, accompanied only by my non-"Lost"-watching roommate (if she can stand to be in the same room with me during the show - I wouldn't blame her if she couldn't).
But I don't mind. I'm just happy to be watching. And, hopefully, to get some answers.
Jessica Derschowitz is a CBSNews.com producer and a huge "Lost" fan.
By Jessica Derschowitz