Stories Should Make Sense

When it comes to a story, I think the events should make sense. Or the things that happen, which at first don't seem logical, should be explained somehow later on in the story. If they aren't, then I think that's a sign of very lazy writing, and for me, it ruins the story.

For example, take that TV show Lost. The people called 'the Others" on that island were treating the survivors of the plane crash very cruelly. They tortured and murdered them, and all the while, the audience was never privy as to why.

And I'm watching this show, and thinking, well, they want us (the audience) to dislike these "others" but even still, I wanted to know why the "others" were being so downright mean to the survivors. I mean, when people survive a plane crash, it would be normal to want to help them, tend to their injuries, do whatever you could for them. But no, they were so mean and cruel, it just didn't make sense. And now that the show is over, they (the writers) never explained why! You can guess it was because they considered the plane crash survivors as rivals, but rivals for what? The affection of the island? I mean the survivors were obviously not there because they wanted to be there. It was a plane crash for goodness sakes.

Ultimately, the writers were going after tension, as that's something that keeps an audience watching, but there was just no reason for it in that circumstance, and yes, it did ruin the story for me. And for a lot of other people, I might add.

Now, I'm watching that show called The Walking Dead. It's in its third season now, and this community of people ruled by a dude called The Governor just wiped out some military guys, but for no apparent reason. They posed no threat to them, they weren't rovers or vagabonds, and with their knowledge and training, they would have made good additions to their community. But instead, the Governor has his men surround them and wipe them out. Why? Other than guessing, there was no reason for it.

Maybe it will be explained later, but I'm getting the feeling that, like in Lost, there won't be any explanation coming very soon. We'll see.