Lost was one of the most groundbreaking series of all time. Kicking off with an unforgettable pilot episode, the ambitious show grew more mysterious and complex as time went on. In the end, those who watched the series seem to fall into one of two categories – those who thought it was a thrilling and satisfying adventure and those who thought it turned into a frustrating, unsatisfying mess.

The show certainly didn’t go easy on building mysteries that kept the viewers guessing. In some cases, all the hints led to shocking and brilliant reveals. In other cases, they only caused more confusion. Take a look back at the series with the best and worst resolutions to Lost’s biggest mysteries.

Loved: Locke’s Death

John Locke was possibly the most interesting character in the entire series. From the very beginning, he was the man who believed the island was special and that they had crashed there for a reason. So it was a huge shock to see Locke revealed to be dead during a flashforward in Season 4 finale.

The reveal that it was Ben who killed Locke was a heartbreaking twist as he died confused and betrayed. When Locke reappears on the island, it added yet another mystery but soon revealed it was the Man in Black in disguise, setting up an intriguing threat.

Hated: Healing Powers

The reason Locke is such a strong believer in the island’s powers is that it seemed to miraculously heal him. In a shocking flashback, we see that Locke was a paraplegic before the crash, but is able to walk on the island. Likewise, Jinn discovers he is no longer sterile and Rose no longer has cancer.

The hints that the island is responsible for these strange healing abilities are resolved in the laziest of ways. Locke is simply told that he is special and the island has chosen him. They then explain away Jinn’s condition by saying men on the island have unusually high sperm counts. Not the most inventive writing.

Loved: The Smoke Monster

The Smoke Monster was one of the most threatening aspects early on in the show. For a long time, it is only heard in the jungle and kills a few characters off-screen. When we finally see it, it is shown to be a massive cloud of black smoke that can somehow attack people at will.

In flashbacks, it is revealed that the Smoke Monster is in fact the Man in Black. This is not the cleanest resolution and it does raise some questions, but the fact that the monster that has been terrorizing the heroes for all this time is the show’s villain just makes sense.

Hated: The Polar Bear

The polar bear has become a symbol for all those who think the show went off the rails by dumping mystery after mystery into the story without any ideas for resolution. While that might be an unfair assessment, the polar bear is bad.

In Season 1, the group runs into a polar bear that attacks them and is quickly killed. But how did a polar bear get to a tropical island? It turns out it was part of the Dharma’s research. It’s a simple answer but it’s so obvious the creator threw it in when they realized they had no idea why a polar bear was there.

Loved: The Others

Polar bears and smoke monsters weren’t the only threats to the survivors in Season 1. There was also a human threat lurking in the jungle. This villainous group was dubbed “The Others”. While glimpses of them are seen throughout the first season, they really show their rotten ways after kidnapping Walt.

When we finally get to see where the Others come from, it is revealed they are not animalistic savages hunting the group. In fact, they are living in a sophisticated community on the island with homes and running water. It was a nice reversal from what we were expecting.

Hated: Numbers

Hurley’s numbers have become a famous symbol in the show. The sequence of 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42 played a dark role in Hurley’s life and continue to stalk him by constantly appearing while he is on the island. It appears that they are an omen for danger. These numbers are also used to input into the island system inside the hatch.

Despite the obvious importance these numbers have in the earlier season, the show seems to lose interest in their importance or couldn’t think of a good resolution for them. In the end, no clear answer is given other than the suggestion they represent certain survivors which just seems tacked on.

Loved: Whispers

From early in the show, certain characters could hear whispering when in the island’s jungles. Most of the other characters thought they were crazy, but more and more of the survivors would end up hearing the same whispers. It seemed to be these whispers would occur when the Others would appear or some strange event would occur.

It is finally revealed that the whispers are from those who died on the island but were not ready to move on. They were meant to warn the survivors of danger. It is a bit of mysterious magic but a satisfying answer.

Hated: The Statue

In Season 2, while sailing around the island, some of the survivors come across a curious sight. There is a stone foot which appears to have belonged to an enormous statue that has somehow been destroyed. Sayid offers a cryptic assessment of the foot by saying, “I do not know what is more disquieting—the fact that the rest of the statue is missing, or that it has four toes.”

Clearly, the show wanted viewers to start forming some wild theories about four-toed mutants and creatures that can topple massive statues. Instead, it is revealed to be an Egyptian fertility statue which was destroyed by a tidal wave.

Loved: The End

We should all know by now that no show could possibly deliver a finale that satisfies all its fans. Lost had an uphill climb to wrap things up in a way that wouldn’t cause its viewers to riot. Yet somehow, they managed to pull it off pretty well.

Though many speculated from the beginning that the survivors were dead and the island was purgatory, it turned out that everything on the island was real and the life after was purgatory. Sure, it left tons of unanswered questions, but it managed to be an ending that many fans found touching and satisfying.

Hated: Walt’s Powers

Walt presented a very difficult dilemma for the creators of the show. As the son of Michael, Walt was the only kid among the survivors and kids tend to age very noticeably. So at the end of Season 1, Walt was taken by the Others and would only pop up every now showing that he now had supernatural powers.

The major cop-out of this mystery is that he just had powers now. That was it. It is very apparent that the show didn’t know how to deal with the character anymore so they wrapped some mystery around him in hopes it would keep him interesting without having to explain where he was or what he was doing.