Viewers tend to have rocky relationships with Lost. For most fans, Lost was a special time in their lives, and they spent six years with characters they loved, pondering intriguing mysteries. There hasn't been anything like the show since, and it will likely go down in TV history as the biggest TV "event" of all time.
But the ending left a sour taste in many a mouth, and it unfortunately ruined the series' reputation. And the lame answers to the many mysteries are a big reason for its negative reputation.
These are the ten worst "answers" of Lost, ranked in order of sheer ridiculousness.
The Whispers Are Souls
One of the earliest mysteries of Lost was the whispers. Characters often heard foreboding and creepy whispers whenever they were alone in the forest, and it often meant that trouble was coming. Many people speculated their origin, only to find out that they were essentially ghosts. Yes, the whispers come from the souls of dead people who haven't "moved on" yet. What a cop out. Hurley's rushed response was borderline insulting, as if the writers were saying, "Well, let's get this out of the way because the viewers will be asking about it."
Desmond Has Mind Powers Because Of Electromagnetism
Beginning in season three, Desmond starts to have visions of the future. Not only that, his consciousness travels through time and inhabits his past self. This is best seen in "The Constant," when he continually travels from the present to the past. We get some nonsense about "electromagnetism" stemming from the hatch implosion, and then the show moves on, expecting us to take that as an answer.
Wait, what do you mean electromagnetism turned him into a time-hopping god? How does that work? Oh, it's probably just more "magic" nonsense. To be honest, we would have been more satisfied with a "he has powers, just go with it" explanation rather than bringing electromagnetism into it...
The Sideways Timeline Is Purgatory
The finale of Season 5 raised an interesting question: is it possible to change the past? While Faraday was adamant that it could not be done, he changed his mind after taking the variables into account. And the opening of Season 6 seemed to suggest that Juliet had split the timeline.
In one branch, the island remained and nothing changed. In the other branch, the island was destroyed and the events of Lost never occurred. But then we found out that it was not a branching timeline, but purgatory. It caused a lot of confusion — "they were dead the whole time!" — but even those who weren't confused were left bitterly disappointed and upset with the reveal.
Walt's Special Powers
Walt plays an important role throughout the first season, and to some extent, the second season as well. It's very clear that he has some type of special connection with the island, and has some sort of mental powers. He also showed some sort of teleportation powers in Season 2, as he appears to Shannon right before she dies. And the disappointing answer is that there are no answers. Walt is just "special"; he can teleport, and we just have to accept that. Many people didn't want to accept it.
Revived Locke Was Actually The Man In Black
Locke dies midway through Season 5, but we were briefly led to believe that he was revived after returning to the island. Of course, Locke remained dead, and the Man in Black was simply using his corpse to have a corporeal form. Being the Smoke Monster must get tiring. It wasn't an absolute blindside as there were hints that Locke was not quite himself — like his radically different personality. But it was still a disappointment, especially considering how divisive the mere existence of the Man in Black actually is.
The Confusing Numbers
Speaking of non-answers...the numbers. The numbers were another major mystery, and they were a part of Lost from the very beginning. In the end, we found out that the numbers correlated to Jacob's numbering system for the candidates. As if that wasn't lame enough, it also doesn't answer anything. Why were they broadcasting from the tower? Why do they bring people bad luck? Why are they seemingly cursed? Why do they constantly recur both on and off the island?
We did get an "answer" for the numbers, but at the same time, not really. And don't bring up the Valenzetti Equation either, because that was never included in-show, and therefore, arguably not even canon. If you have to do extra research to find answers, the show did a bad job in explaining it.
The Smoke Monster's Origins
"Across the Sea" remains one of the most divisive episodes of the entire show. Some consider it brilliant; others consider it a disappointing mess that all but ruined Lost forever. We're going with the latter, and for no other reason than the horrible Smoke Monster reveal.
There were countless theories regarding the Smoke Monster, and it remained one of the most prevalent questions throughout all six years of the show. And then we found out it was just the result of some magical reaction after the Man in Black fell in the magical glowing light hole. If you were standing outside at the time of the reveal, you could probably hear the collective scream of frustration across the country.
Jacob And The Man In Black
For that matter, Jacob and the Man in Black in general remain extremely divisive and controversial figures. While we had mentions of a "Jacob" as far back as Season 3, and while there are various "hints" of their existence throughout the first couple seasons — like Locke's black and white stones, debatable enough as that is — most people found their existence a total blindside that ruined the show. So much revolved around these two, and fans hated that the show went in such a mythological direction in Season 6. We don't blame them.
Magic Island
Perhaps the biggest question of all contained the most disappointing answer of all. "What is the island?" It's a question that permeated Lost throughout all six seasons, as it was clearly evident that it wasn't just a regular island. And then we found out that it was a magical island containing some sort of magical light that does magical things and keeps evil from invading the world or something. It was a crushing disappointment for longtime fans of the show, and it was the final nail in Lost's coffin. With this reveal, the show's entire reputation was lost and squandered.
Magic Light
Of course, the island was magic because of the magic light. What is the magic light exactly? Who knows. All we know is that the island harbors some type of light, and this light can do ca-razy things. Locke's sudden ability to walk? Magic light. Smoke Monster's origins? Magic light. The ability for the island to literally move through space and time? Magic light. Electromagnetic properties of the island? Magic light.
You can see why it was so disappointing — so many intriguing mysteries simply led back to "magic." It was a major slap in the face to six years' worth of intelligent speculation.