Superdog's Lost finale and series review
Was the finale a success or a failure? What about the series as a whole? Follow the jump to find out Superdog's thoughts on the ending of an era.
Ok, I think I've had sufficient time to decompress and take it all in. After watching last nights two and half hour series finale of Lost, I have spent several hours combing the web and seeing what the reaction is. And just as most of us predicted, battle lines are being drawn between two camps, those who hate it, and those who absolutely loved it. I believe those views fall along the lines of how you choose to look at Lost the series as a whole, which is why I will not do just a review of the finale, but also of the series as a whole.
I know the big answer you want is, Superdog which camp do you fall in? I'll give you the answer and then my reasoning after the brief recap of the episode. I wont go into too many details because I assume if your reading this you saw the episode. If not, minor SPOILER ALERT!!!. Basically on the Island world it was a race against the clock to get to Desmond, then to get to the light at the center of the Island. Desmond was rescued by Rose and Bernard, but was then quickly found by Flocke. The good guys, lead by the newly Jacobized Jack began heading to the center of the Island to protect the light cave from from Flocke. Although they had no idea how to do that but at this point all parties just want to get there and figure it out from there. The groups meet up with eachother along the way and they all agree to go there together. Once there they agree to lower Desmond down into the light and basically see what happens. Flocke thinks it will sink the island, Jack thinks it will give him a way to kill Flocke. Turns out they were both right. Desmond pulled a "cork" like rock out of the water pool which shut off the light and the water and began sinking the island. Apparently (although never explained) it also now made Flocke mortal again. Jack realizes this which leads to a one on one smackdown between the two on the side of a cliff. Classic Kirk Lizard alien fight ensures in which jack gets stabbed in the gut, and Flocke puts a knife to his throat causing it to bleed (which turns out to be why jacks throat keeps bleeding in the sideways world). Just when he's about to be sliced open Zoe style Kate comes to the rescue and shoots Flcoke in the back. Jack then pushes him off the cliff and Flocke goes crashing against the rocks below and dies. Never having us learn his name. (Bastard, he could have at least screamed it out as he went over the side). Kate and Sawyer head over to Hydra to escape with Claire, Lapidus (knew he wasn't dead), Miles, and Richard (knew he wasn't dead too). Jack, Ben and Hurley return to the cave to turn the light back on. Jack knows its a suicide mission and makes Hurley the new protector before he goes down the rabbit hole. Once down there he saves Desmond and puts the cork back which saves the Island. Hurley enlist ben to basically be his new Richard and the two presumably stay on the island and protect it for as long as they can. Jack crawls off into the bamboo and lays down to die with Vincent who comes to keep him company (I can only hope my yellow lab does the same for me one day). Jack watches the plane with his friends fly over head and escape and then dies in the same place where he first awoke on the island, and his eye closes bringing the show full circle. This then brings us to the sideways world.
In this world we are treated to a series of scenes where one by one the island folk begin to remember their island lives. They all have different sparks that initiate this, Jin and Sun seeing their baby's sonogram performed by none other than Juliet. Who in turn meets Sawyer at the vending machine and are enlightened over an Apollo bar exchange. Sayid meets up with Shannon and they are enlightened. Locke gets his ability to walk back and he is enlightened. And in the most emotional scene (IMO) of the entire series Claire, Kate and Charlie all become enlightened at the birth of Aaron. So now they are all enlightened except Jack. And they all are headed to the Church where Eloise Hawking once showed them how to get back to the Island. Jack is brought along by Kate, but he is still holding on to his sideways life. That is until he finally comes face to face with his father's coffin. Upon touching it he is enlightened, and opens the lid to once again find it empty. However, his father is standing behind him, and they have a conversation that basically reveals what is going on. They are all dead. That being said I must proclaim to the millions of idiots out there who are posting this thought all over the web. NO THEY DID NOT ALL DIE ON THE PLANE AND THEY HAVENT BEEN IN PURGATORY!!!!!!! The fact that so many people believe that the everyone died on the plane crash and that they "called it from the first episode".....and that the producers "promised they weren't all dead and in purgatory so they lied" clearly indicates that they were not paying attention and have their head up their assess. Basically, everything that happened, happened. The plane crashed, they all lived and the events of the island unfolded. Some died on the island (Boone, Shannon, Jack), some died whoever knows how long after the events of the show (Hurley, Ben, Sawyer, Kate, Aaron). However, the bonds that they created while on the island and their time there was so profound, they basically created a waiting room (sideways world) where they all need to be brought back together so they could move on together. And apparently they did, together, in the church. Except Ben who stayed behind presumably because he wasn't ready to move on yet. BUT AGAIN I STATE IT WAS NOT PURGAGATORY AND THEY DID NOT ALL DIE ON THE PLANE. If you believe that please rewatch the episode and listen to the Jack and Christian exchange, and also the Ben/Locke exchange and the Ben/Hurley exchange. They clearly show they did not all die on the plane.
Everyone understand now? No? Hence all the division among the "it totally sucked" and the "best ending ever" group. Now for your question, where do I stand? I'm firmly in the best ending ever group. I honestly loved this entire finale. For me it was one of the best emotional and character driven episodes I have ever seen of any show. And there In lies what I believe to be the core reasons for the differing views of the ending. Your opinion will be based on what you believe is the essence and purpose of Lost. If you believe Lost was a mystery show about polar bears, temples, time travel, and electromagnetism, and were hoping for a CSI style "it was the cab driver cause we have his dna" conclusion, then you would be sorely disappointed in the finale. If however, you are like me, and beleive Lost was a character driven show about the redemption of people, the human spirit and condition, and the connections we make as people to shape our lives and the choices we make, then you would think the episode was great. And for those who wanted mystery answers it's not like you people weren't warned, the producers have said since day one that the show is about the characters and their redemption. The Island and the mythology stuff were all the backdrop and the catalyst for the characters. Much like a galaxy far far away was the background for the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. In the end, the mysteries were the reasons for the CHARACTERS, not the reasons for the SHOW.
In conclusion, i would like to give a shout out to Billyblack. A few weeks back he basically told me that he had "let go" of the mystery portion of the show and resigned himself to not getting all the answers. I followed his example and did the same thing. I then went back and watched all of this season and started watching season 1, all from the perspective of character not mystery. Upon doing that I was "enlightened" and saw what Lost really is. To me, it is the best character driven show that I have ever seen. It has the best acting, writing, emotion, and commentary on the human spirit of any show in my lifetime. And for me the finale cemented that. So I raise my cup of island water, say a little chant/toast for a show that in my opinion was truly epic in its premise and execution.
And for those of you who are upset cause you didn't get all the answers you can always buy the season 6 dvds which promise to have special features with some answers. But for me, I am satisfied with this ending.
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superdog
5/24/2010
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