APPEARANCES

“Men, in general, judge more from appearances than from reality,” the philosopher Machiavelli once said.  His remark draws a sharp division between the obvious and the subtle, and suggests the need to look for the latter, whereas the former is often right in our faces.

Was LOST a series of appearances or real events?

That is a core question.

As viewers, we judged the events on the small screen as facts in a complex puzzle which was supposed to have a clear resolution (the reveal of the puzzle box lid for example). 

A classic example of judgment by appearance is the single guy at a bar. He looks across the way and sees a beautiful woman. His immediate response is that she is the woman of his dreams. Perfect in every way. All is fine and good until he goes up to meet her. The reality quickly hits him with her squeaky voice, and insane, incoherent thoughts of a psychopath rather than a potential girlfriend.

Appearances can be deceiving to down right dangerous. It depends on how the reality of perception is cloaked from the projected appearance.

LOST was good at projecting the characters interacting with the island dangers. But pull back for a moment and ask the core question again: were all those dangers real or were they illusions of reality?

It makes a big difference on how the show would be perceived by the fans.