First, I want to thank everyone who came to the series finale party. It was a lot of fun. JY and TG flew in from Portland to attend – wow! SC and RS came in costume – cool! And RH and LM made some bomb-ass salads which sadly there were no leftovers for my post-Lost mourning meal. We had a great time with a rousing game of LOST Scattergories. Thanks SL for trying to keep it organized and AB for constantly shouting out of turn. Honorable mention to FCL and NC for some really good answers and KK for his hilarious gasps every time the timer went off. For those of you who couldn’t make it…you were felt in spirit and quite honestly there was no more room in my 400 sq ft living room…so it was all good!
The responses from all over the internet and radio is very mixed regarding the finale. Some are still stuck on the absence of answers even though they were warned repeatedly for weeks. Others think it was the best finale ever and are calling it the best show of the last 20 years. I am more in the middle with it being the best finale I could have hoped for. It was a good end and wrap up to the season…but I need time to really reflect on “best ever” statements. At this point I give it an 8. It would have gotten a 9 if it had Walt. A 10 if…I don’t know??? I am not sure what more it could have given me. At least 9 people came up to me and asked if I was going to be alright. I think I am. I feel complete with the series. I am mentally healthier than I am after a typical season finale and I think its because I am resolved. The writers finished the saga on the island and also gave us a nice epilogue to the story about the characters we had grown to love. I don’t think it could get any better than that.
Summary
So Jack was the true protector of the island. He believed that Desmond was the key to saving the island and defeating the SM. Desmond moves the stone from the light turning it red and causing the island to begin to self-destruct. In a sense, the magically essence of the island was disconnected. The SM became mortal in the body it was inhabiting. Jack was able to kill the SM but then had to repair the island. Also the storm instantly passed once the SM was dead. Jack understood that as the protector of the island, he had to give his life for it. So he passes on the power to Hurley, who was truly pure of heart. Once he put the stone back, island power was restored. Sawyer, Kate, Claire, Miles, Richard and Frank were able to leave the island. Rose and Bernard never wanted to leave and Ben and Hurley felt they needed to stay. Everyone else is presumed dead. Desmond, in theory, was able to leave the island in the future because Hurley was the new protector with new rules.
The questions that most people had regarding what the island was were answered. The Dharma Initiative was a research group that was studying the magical properties of the island. They were in constant war with the Others, led by Jacob, to continue their research. They were also at war with the SM, since his intent was to use them to get off the island. The Losties caused most of Dharma to leave by detonating the hydrogen bomb (the incident) after the time travel. Those that stayed were later killed by Jacob, using Ben as a young man to poison them. As Jacob continued to bring more people to the island, the SM used Ben to stop them. Ben was jealous and petty and allowed his own will to override the needs of the island. As a result, the SM was able to manipulate the Losties and ultimately assume the body of Locke and push Ben to kill Jacob. Once Jacob was killed, he needed them to kill each other so that there would be no one to protect the island or stop him. But I think at this point Widmore tricked SM Locke. I thought it was off that he would so easily tell him the secret to destroying the island. Not only could Desmond withstand the light and destroy the island, but it also made SM Locke mortal. And that was ultimately how he was defeated. Had he just killed Desmond, he might have made it off the island. But his blindness to destroy the island was his undoing.
Desmond thought if he moved the stone that there would be a flash and he would go to the flash sideways he saw. But what he didn’t understand was that that was death. He told Jack about his son and I believe that was why Jack later created his world in which he had a son. There is an old saying, “Fatherhood is a second chance at a quality father/son relationship.” You may not have had one with your parent, but you can create it with your own child. Each of them were given what they desired. Sayid wanted Nadiya alive. When SM Locke asked him what he wanted most, it was that she was alive, not necessarily with him. Sawyer wanted justice which he was never given so he became a policeman, just as he worked security for the Dharma Initiative. Him and Miles were partners there too. Claire found a family. Jin and Sun were together, although in secret, but there was always love. So Desmond was wrong, however it turned out better because Desmond was able to live his life with Penelope and his son.
The flash sideways is the epilogue to LOST. It was what happened once they all died, their after life. If you re-watch the Flash Sideways, people kept telling Jack to “let go.” He mentally created this alternate life. Because he had resolved his issues on the island, we seem as a better man in the flash sideways. But he had to let go of his pain and then was able to move on. Ben, for example, wasn’t ready. Locke had forgiven him, Hurley commented on how he had been a good second in command. But Ben had to resolve it for himself and accept the choice to move on. I have read people say, “oh so they were dead. It was purgatory. The entire series of Lost.” No, just the flash sideways. I compare to Bruce Willis in the Sixth Sense. He had created an entire existence because he could not accept the fact that he was dead. Once he did, he was able to move on.
I can accept that even though for us it seemed as though everyone woke up at the same time, time is irrelevant in death. What time do you think it is in death? When thought of that way, it makes sense that they all converged at what seemed like the same point. Time was sped up at different points to illustrate the time was not real. Locke was hit by a car, recovered, back at school, spine surgery and then at a concert walking in the span of 2 days. I think that was used to show that time was irrelevant in the flash sideways. Kate had said she had been waiting for Jack for a long time. I believe because he kept rejecting the flash sideways and leaving in the life he had constructed.
If the series would have just ended without the flash sideways, I think it still would have been okay. But the flash sideways allowed us to have closure with the characters and that those who died were able to find happiness in the after life. That was illustrated by Juliet. She died due to the hydrogen bomb. Miles channeled her once she was dead and she said, “it worked.” She was in her moment in time when Sawyer eventually died and met her at the candy machine. “It worked” is the same thing she said when he unplugged the machine and the candy fell out. They were reunited. It was a moment for us, but perhaps years for Sawyer. Again, time is irrelevant in death. And it allowed us to have our happy ending for the characters.
Questions
I did have some residual questions. The Losties didn’t take the plane because it was rigged with explosives. Frank, Miles and Richard didn’t mention the explosives at all. I thought they would at least have to dismantle them. They just got in, fixed the hydraulic system and took off.
I am still annoyed about the whispers. The answer that it was spirits that couldn’t move on doesn’t sit with me. It’s still pointless. Since the flash sideways is their death and there was never a coexisting alternate plane of time, the whispers served no purpose but to be spooky at times.
I know I’m a broken record about Walt, but I would have supported him being re-cast just to have one more scene with him. I would have liked a small shot of him like we got with Ana-Lucia. Or even Michael. That is really the last loop I thought they should have closed.
Okay…I just started reading comments from people all over the blogsphere. Glad to see that my review is pretty much the consensus.
I read that SM Locke took the explosives off the plane and those were the ones that were in the backpack that they took down to the sub. I thought it looked more complicated than that, but that would explain why the explosives were gone and why he himself was headed for the plane to get off the island (before the detour to destroy it). And how the remaining survivors were able to use it.
Also the reason that Ji Yeon was not in the flash sideways is that Jack never saw the baby and the flash sideways was from his perspective. Also Jin and Sun didn’t raise her. They died before they could so their reunion was about their love. She had a whole life separate from them. I believe her flash sideways would include those closest to her. That’s similar to explaining why Walt was not there. Walt was also raised by another so there might not be that reunion with Michael. Michael is still a whisper on the island. Whether or not he gets his reunion in the after life with his son, I think if it was John Locke’s flash sideways, then Walt would have been there.
Finally I want to separate 2 things though…I loved the finale. I think it was pretty perfect. What I didn’t like is that the writers didn’t use all of season 6 to answer the questions I wanted answered. I didn’t need it in the finale. I needed it earlier. When Jacob was explaining the candidates, I would have loved if someone would have asked about and gotten an answer about Walt. I think along the way we could have gotten some of the answers and it shouldn’t have been left for the finale to do so. Much like a football game resting on the skill of the kicker, I think it takes a whole team. In this case, seasons. So I wish people could separate their disappointment for not getting answers with the quality of the finale. If purgatory is not your thing, that’s something else altogether. But I am against hating it on the basis of lack of answers from the previous 6 seasons. But then again, when they did answer some questions directly, I didn’t like it. So maybe some things are better left to ponder. If I have learned anything about this show, what makes sense to me is completely confusing to someone else. The mythology of the island is not definitive.
Final Thoughts
I thought the show was an absolute wonder. I loved the touching reunions and the humor that it often brought (Sawyer calling Frank “Chesty”). I want to remember the show for those moments and not the missed opportunities to explain the mysteries. Even as Jack comes flying down in a flying punch for his ultimate fight with SM Locke, the scenes of survival and often times, brutality were gripping. And I haven’t spoken much about the musical score, but it left me crying at times (Charlie’s death etc). I loved this show and it will leave its mark for many years to come.
Conclusion
I think that’s it. I want to thank you all for the YEARS of positive comments, emails, and discussions about LOST. I don’t think there will ever be a show that moves people and our culture the way LOST has. So when we jokingly say, “what’s next?” I don’t think there will be another show to fill that void. So we go back to our tv’s, movies, books, friends and family. We move on from a shared consciousness, much as the Losties did. Connected in a way we could have never predicted and forever changed. I welcome thoughts and opinions in the comment section about the series finale and the show as a whole. I am putting my notebook away for now. It really has been great! Take care and until we meet again, c-ya!
