>but it was hard to avoid just randomly hearing about all the
>backlash from the ending. I actually started watching
>Leftovers in part because of some random longform about Damon
>and how it took him a really, really long time to get over the
>hate for the show. The Leftovers was borne after a long
>period of self-reflection and other projects... mix that with
>the Rapture-like premise and my interest was piqued.

man, fuck him lol. there was no end-game for Lost, and even making it up as he went along he had no idea what people liked about the show. if he wanted people to react positively, ANY other direction than "random thing happens to random people and it transcends reality for random reasons".

>Yup, I love how they're unapologetic about never giving the
>real reason for the Departure... it helps make the exploration
>of such so appealing. Humanity has this burning desire to
>examine and explain the world around them, and I love how The
>Leftovers gives so many rational (and irrational)
>possibilities to explain The Departure.

OTOH, he learnes his lessons. there arent any other "Why?" questions other besides the big one, and it doesnt really even matter.

contrast that with the smoke monster, the nature of the island, jacob, et. etc etc. all questions essential to a show whose main character is really its own mythology, and all given 2 mindless pen strokes.