It’s over.
It’s over and I feel empty. No other finale happening this week interest me. I feel sad and content all at the same time. I have been counting down to the series finale since 2007 and I never anticipated I would be so crushed on the days following the end.
I have not read any reviews or other opinions of the finale so I could remain unbiased, and for those who have not seen the finale, turn back now because I will openly discuss the series. Long story short: I am a fan of the finale. It satisfied me on my original viewing, it still entertained me on the repeat viewing and there is enough open for interpretation that fans will be given the chance to decide on their own. The finale will change how I view season six but it didn’t rewrite the history before it. Whatever happened, happened.
I was moved by the final act and thought it was great that everyone could get together and have a reunion. The sideways afterlife was a Vanilla Sky “Life Extension” life where you could do what you wanted, be who you wanted to be. Hurley saw himself as lucky, Jack had a family, and even though he was divorced they were still friends, Kate was born to run and Sayid wasn’t with Nadia but could be around her and watch over her. Baggage from their life carried over into their post life but how they dealt with it was how they always wanted to deal with it.
How the afterlife world was created and how they decided to meet at The Lamp Post Church are a mystery to me but they are ones that don’t change the fact that it happened. Daniel Faraday did not go with Desmond and the passengers because the Church gathering was for the survivors of 815, and his time to move on would come later. As to would Ben’s time, always an outcast, he would go when he was ready.
The island story in the finale was everything I could have hoped for. Not all mysteries were answered, and for a show about characters and the issues that affect them directly, I can accept this. The primary concern for the Oceanic crew was how to survive, to defeat the Locke Monster and leave.
Questions about food supply drops, how Tom, Ben, Richard were able to leave the island easily, who was shooting at the Losties in the other outrigger while they were time skipping were not important and didn’t need to be addressed. If a mystery was answered (Who were Adam and Eve?) then it was because it affected the group and was something they wondered too.
I believe Christian Shephard that everything that happened to Jack was real. That the people in the Church were real. Everything from September 22, 2004 until 2007 happened. The footage of the Oceanic wreckage at the end of the credits didn’t mean they all died. It was a gentle reminder to show how far we’ve come, and the ancient battle between Jacob and Man in Black was the backdrop that brought these strangers together. They were taught that if they don’t live together they would die alone, and we saw that even in death they go together.
The predictions I made before the finale were terribly inaccurate, but there were two that were partially correct if you draw outside the lines.
- Rose and Bernard will not be involved in any island conflict but they will be collateral damage from the battle, and Vincent will wait for them at the cabin like Seymour did in the Futurama episode Jurassic Bark.
- Lapidus and Richard are having a big BBQ on The Hydra enjoying the rest of the Dharma beer.
I figured Richard was still alive because a character like his wouldn’t die off screen. However, I did not expect to see Lapidus survive and when they landed on The Hydra I gave myself partial credit for the fact that the BBQ could happen. Rose and Bernard didn’t want to be involved in the conflict, they broke their rule by helping Desmond, and thankfully they were not collateral damage.
Although Vincent laying beside Jack as he died was one of the saddest things I have seen, if the Church reunion didn’t break me emotionally then this did.
Lost was a great series that had mystery and intrigue and characters were complex that they would be loved and hated over the course of the show. Part of the appeal was waiting a week for the next episode to air, to let time for the previous episode to sink in, to read theories and understand what the new questions are.
Lost is an easy show to binge on but it needs to be savored. The fantastic season cliffhangers are only topped by the brain melting premieres, the wonderful soundtrack gives life to the island and seeing the show start to finish is definitely rewarding.
I’ll miss you Lost. You confused and frustrated me, but gave me something to look forward to every week for years and I’ll see you in another life.
Update: I won’t seek out reviews or recaps of the show to understand the show, but I came across this one and I feel it says everything perfectly. Everything I believe about the finale, the Sideways and how it all goes together is written here and I feel it gives me a little closure.
