Lost

[marino13]

I was just fine with the finale. What they have accomplished with this show over six years and 121 hours is staggering. People get emotionally invested and want it to end their way, but you have to respect the degree of difficulty here. With, the depth of the characters that has been developed and the many layers of the story, what they have done is next to impossible.

[Vacant Horizon]

It wasn't necessarily a 'Christian heaven'. Didn't you notice all the symbols from the various religions in the chapel? It may have had a Christian tint because Jack was a Christian.

 

I feel very strongly that Lindlhoff and Cuse managed to do something that is rare on American Network TV. They managed to tell a compelling story that avoided pandering to 'the least common denominator'. They told the story THEY wanted to tell. I've never written a screenplay, treatment or novel. I envy them at their accomplishment

 

i did see the other religions's stuff. however, it was a church and the whole bright light was obviously a christian heaven. no big deal. at the same time, i may have been a bit harsh about the common denominator comment. however, everyone going to heaven at the end is very 'lowest common denominator' as far as i'm concerned. again, network television.

[caliber66]

Also, I'm disappointed Sayid was with Shannon and not Nadia.

[Hixter]

I think the BBC show "Ashes to Ashes" did a much better job ending the series (and "Life on Mars", too) with a similar finish. It was much more satisfying than the "Lost" ending. I wonder what the creators of "Lost" thought when they learned that their big Purgatory reveal was used to end another hit series two days earlier.

[Vacant Horizon]

Also, I'm disappointed Sayid was with Shannon and not Nadia.

 

that was ridiculous. i just wish they'd done something original other than true love saves the day and everyone goes to heaven. also, the poor baby went to heaven as a baby. not grown up in the least. that sux.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

that was ridiculous. i just wish they'd done something original other than true love saves the day and everyone goes to heaven. also, the poor baby went to heaven as a baby. not grown up in the least. that sux.

 

I'll put my spin here.

 

The "flash sideways/afterlife" was Jack's final test. What happened on the island happened. Those who died, died. Jack killed the MIB and Hurley became the island's keeper.

The FS/A timeline did not begin when the bomb exploded...it began when Jack died.

All the players in the most important event were present to usher Jack into letting go. Cuse and Lindlehoff got quite metaphysical here, but the final imagery and resolution is anything but a western religious spin. The religious iconagraphy from the world's religions were in that chapel.

They did get a bit into the cop show telling us what it was all about in the exposition at the end. But the explanation that they were all there as time and place did not exist should allay the fears that Aaron 'went to heaven as a baby'. They were all there as Jack remembered them from his time with them on the island. Therefore, John walked; Aaron was a baby; Sun was pregnant; Claire was with Charlie; Sayid with Shannon; Hurley with Libby.

[Analogman]

A few things regarding Lost:

 

1) It looks like they will be taking the perennial break this year during the last week of April. So that means no show on the 27th of April.

Lost will return on the 4th of May.

 

2) Jimmy Kimmel Live Update:

On May 23, fans of “LOST” say goodbye to ABC’s groundbreaking series. Following the finale, the stars and producers join Jimmy Kimmel for “JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE: ALOHA TO LOST” SUNDAY, MAY 23, at 11:35 p.m. - 12:35 a.m., ET on ABC.

After the final episode, longtime “LOST” fan Jimmy Kimmel hosts an hour-long analysis of and farewell to one of television’s most beloved series with appearances from executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, alternate endings, and live interviews with cast members.

 

The endings are toward the end of the show. (They are joke pieces.)

[theashtraysays]

I enjoyed the Target commercials. Other than that, it was an unsatisfying 2.5 hours.

[caliber66]

They did get a bit into the cop show telling us what it was all about in the exposition at the end. But the explanation that they were all there as time and place did not exist should allay the fears that Aaron 'went to heaven as a baby'. They were all there as Jack remembered them from his time with them on the island. Therefore, John walked; Aaron was a baby; Sun was pregnant; Claire was with Charlie; Sayid with Shannon; Hurley with Libby.

 

Right - and they only were like that after they had their epiphanies. Sun and Jin were able to speak English only after the scene with Juliet and the ultrasound, etc.

[okp greg]

I heard kimmel said something about Jack dying on the plane at the beginning of the last season & this whole season being him letting go, but I didn't see the show. Did he say this?

[Vacant Horizon]

I'll put my spin here.

 

The "flash sideways/afterlife" was Jack's final test. What happened on the island happened. Those who died, died. Jack killed the MIB and Hurley became the island's keeper.

The FS/A timeline did not begin when the bomb exploded...it began when Jack died.

All the players in the most important event were present to usher Jack into letting go. Cuse and Lindlehoff got quite metaphysical here, but the final imagery and resolution is anything but a western religious spin. The religious iconagraphy from the world's religions were in that chapel.

They did get a bit into the cop show telling us what it was all about in the exposition at the end. But the explanation that they were all there as time and place did not exist should allay the fears that Aaron 'went to heaven as a baby'. They were all there as Jack remembered them from his time with them on the island. Therefore, John walked; Aaron was a baby; Sun was pregnant; Claire was with Charlie; Sayid with Shannon; Hurley with Libby.

 

good points

[Analogman]

 

I heard kimmel said something about Jack dying on the plane at the beginning of the last season & this whole season being him letting go, but I didn't see the show. Did he say this?

 

 

It was one of Kimmel's theories.

[tongue-tied]

I still don't get why or how they forgot the island in the first place, especially if this meeting was planned, and how would they plan it?

 

anyway, I've been thinking about two other details:

 

1) Did Miles become a millionaire with N&P's diamonds if the flight off the island was a success?

2) It was cool to have more Lapidus in the finale, but weird that he made no mention about the sunk sub or asked about the condition of anyone else on the sub, nor did Miles or Richard ask him what happened when they pulled him up (though one can assume Miles felt the dead vibes).

[m_thomp]

The way Christian explained it was that in the afterlife, time has no meaning, so it doesn't matter "when" people died. So kate and sawyer, etc got off the island but they eventually died, like all people die. Ben and Hurley stayed and took care of the island for many years, but they died too eventually. But they all decided to meet up in the afterlife. Meh.

 

This is how I see it.

 

I think the BBC show "Ashes to Ashes" did a much better job ending the series (and "Life on Mars", too) with a similar finish. It was much more satisfying than the "Lost" ending. I wonder what the creators of "Lost" thought when they learned that their big Purgatory reveal was used to end another hit series two days earlier.

 

This is so true. Lost was beaten to the punch.

 

Overall I must admit to being disappointed in the ending, but not the final episode, if that make sense. It would have felt, to me, a more natural conclusion if after the "reawakenings" the characters went on to live happier lives. But the 'they were all dead' thing just feels horribly and unecessarily tacked on, to such an extent that as soon as you know this fact huge amounts of plot from the original Oceanic crash onwards is just trivial irrelevance.

[bleedorange]

Overall I must admit to being disappointed in the ending, but not the final episode, if that make sense. It would have felt, to me, a more natural conclusion if after the "reawakenings" the characters went on to live happier lives. But the 'they were all dead' thing just feels horribly and unecessarily tacked on, to such an extent that as soon as you know this fact huge amounts of plot from the original Oceanic crash onwards is just trivial irrelevance.

 

I don't understand this point. How is it irrelevant? Every single piece of plot from the crash onwards had major significance to the lives of all the characters.

[Killer Whales]

The finale was for me, exactly what any great episode of Lost was: a dizzying, illogical, but intriguing plot that acted as a device to bring about emotions, and great character moments. Think about that classic Lost episode "The Constant." I will never claim to understand the logic of what happens in it, and I need no explanation for the time traveling, the nose-bleeds, or Desmond's whole electro-magnetism thing. However, the joy of seeing Desmond and Penny make contact is what sticks with you, and is what leaves you satisfied at the end. The same goes for Hurley realizing Jack's suicide mission, Ben asking for Locke's forgiveness, and Vincent laying next to Jack in the forest. It was confusing, at times frustrating (Sayid with Shannon??), but was emotionally strong and an absolutely thrilling ride.

 

As far as the flash-sideways goes, I took the whole season to be these characters trying to come to terms with their weaknesses that have defined them throughout the series, and with the memories of their lives coming back, they're finally able to give up their hang-ups. All of the stories we witnessed in this time-line deal with the same issues we've seen in the characters' back-stories: Jack's father issues, Kate's need to run from her problems, Sawyer's desire to find his name-sake, Locke's inability to walk, Ben's incompetence as a father and protector, Hurley being alone and without love, Sayid's violent past, Desmond's desire to be respected and in love, and Sun & Jin's relationship with Mr. Paik and their own dishonest behavior with each other. Them remembering their pasts and their relationships with each other, which came to define them even more so than these weaknesses, allowed them to finally let go and move on. I thought it was beautiful.

 

Note: As far as Faraday goes, I think Eloise still hadn't forgiven herself for killing him, and the two of them needed come to terms with that before they could move on. This also roped in Charlotte, who's character really wasn't defined by the flight 815 crew. Walt was only there briefly early in his (hopefully) long life, so it makes sense to me that he wouldn't be in the church either.

[m_thomp]

I don't understand this point. How is it irrelevant? Every single piece of plot from the crash onwards had major significance to the lives of all the characters.

 

Personally, I looked forward to watching back from season 1 and seeing all the interactions, mythology and plotlines dovetailing to make sense when viewed as a whole. As a conclusion, it felt as though it wanted to make a statement that would be the grand 'final piece in the jigsaw'. The jigsaw, for me, was already complete, making the grand "Aaaaah!!!!" reveal redundant, largely because, if I recall correctly, the writers/producers had pretty early on dismissed the 'they're all dead' theory.

 

Reading through some critics reviews, someone called the summation as being marginally better than a 'it was all a dream' conclusion. I agree with that.

 

I'm not angry, or disappointed, I enjoyed the final episode, I just think for what the series is - entertainment - it sold itself short because it was already onto a winner but made an overeaching detour towards a symbolic 'bigger meaning'. Kinda felt like the rug was pulled, and not in a good way. Sometimes these things don't need an epic resolution to make perfect sense (eg The Sopranos).

[Atticus]

I am finding that many people's descriptions/criticisms of the finale are more baffling and a-logical than anything the show ever did (or didn't do)

 

I think I should maybe step away for awhile...

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

I enjoyed the Target commercials. Other than that, it was an unsatisfying 2.5 hours.

 

For me, this finale was fantastic -nearly perfect in tone and emtion. For those of you who didn't like it, I'm sorry that Lost ends as a disappointment for you, but I certainly do not agree.

[bleedorange]

Personally, I looked forward to watching back from season 1 and seeing all the interactions, mythology and plotlines dovetailing to make sense when viewed as a whole. As a conclusion, it felt as though it wanted to make a statement that would be the grand 'final piece in the jigsaw'. The jigsaw, for me, was already complete, making the grand "Aaaaah!!!!" reveal redundant, largely because, if I recall correctly, the writers/producers had pretty early on dismissed the 'they're all dead' theory.

 

Reading through some critics reviews, someone called the summation as being marginally better than a 'it was all a dream' conclusion. I agree with that.

 

I'm not angry, or disappointed, I enjoyed the final episode, I just think for what the series is - entertainment - it sold itself short because it was already onto a winner but made an overeaching detour towards a symbolic 'bigger meaning'. Kinda felt like the rug was pulled, and not in a good way. Sometimes these things don't need an epic resolution to make perfect sense (eg The Sopranos).

 

But they are only "all dead" in the sense that the sideways world represented a state of being after everyone has died, whenever that was (a Purgatory-like state). And I think it worked because there wasn't that final "Aha!" moment. The Purgatory allowed these characters to come to peace with and redeem their lives. Jack with his father issues, Kate's being on the run, Sayid's issues with his past and people's perceptions, etc. When they were ready to let go of their past selves and move on with this community of people, they could pass on to the next plane of existence. Which took on a Christian motif with Jack, but could be interpreted however one would like.

 

I thought it was beautifully moving and very emotional.

[barbkm]

I thought it was an amazing ending .. I cried and cried and cried. I'm happy that so many things were left unanswered because no answer is better than the wrong one. I still want to know who built the statue.

 

As far as the Western religion references, while there were reference to other religions (which I missed cos of my teary eyes), the Christian references were in abundance throughout. Hello, Jack's Dad was Christian Shepard? I'm no Jesus freak, but did go to Catholic school, and we called Jesus the Good Shepard all the time. And the whole water - to wine thing, plus piercing his side, sacrificing himself so others could live. Lots of Christan references oin one episode.

 

Now what am I gonna do on Tuesday nights?

[tongue-tied]

I thought it was an amazing ending .. I cried and cried and cried. I'm happy that so many things were left unanswered because no answer is better than the wrong one. I still want to know who built the statue.

 

As far as the Western religion references, while there were reference to other religions (which I missed cos of my teary eyes), the Christian references were in abundance throughout. Hello, Jack's Dad was Christian Shepard? I'm no Jesus freak, but did go to Catholic school, and we called Jesus the Good Shepard all the time. And the whole water - to wine thing, plus piercing his side, sacrificing himself so others could live. Lots of Christan references oin one episode.

 

Plus a long shot of a statue of JC.

[m_thomp]

But they are only "all dead" in the sense that the sideways world represented a state of being after everyone has died, whenever that was (a Purgatory-like state). And I think it worked because there wasn't that final "Aha!" moment. The Purgatory allowed these characters to come to peace with and redeem their lives. Jack with his father issues, Kate's being on the run, Sayid's issues with his past and people's perceptions, etc. When they were ready to let go of their past selves and move on with this community of people, they could pass on to the next plane of existence. Which took on a Christian motif with Jack, but could be interpreted however one would like.

 

I thought it was beautifully moving and very emotional.

 

Totally get all that, and trust me, I thought the finale was great in how it pitched the emotional weight and tone (it wasn't too saccharine sweet and schmaltzy) and in the characters resolving their past behaviour/indescretions, and 'clicking' through the reawakenings to achieve a better 'tomorrow', or destiny. I liked the way each character had to discover their destiny for themselves, and whilst there was coaxing (Desmond), it played better when it was more subtle: the looks of 'we'd love to tell you, but can't' from both Jin and Sun to Sawyer when he called to check up on Sun was a great in the way that, without needing to spell it out, Sun and Jin were thinking exactly what we were shouting at the screen. In fact that almost broke the cinematic fourth wall.

 

In fact, for me, the scene that resonated the most was Ben and Hurley coming to terms and coping post-Jack. They, through each other, found their place, belief and worth.

 

But that was all it needed. It didn't then need the passing over bit. And here's why.... and these are my opinions/thoughts as to why, in no particular order:

 

1) As soon as you understand the characters are dead, the rest of their journey is null and void.

 

I guess this view is based on your opinion of an afterlife - whether one exists or not. The traditional view of the afterlife is that, as you said, you move to the next plane of existence. So, if you've led a good life you'll take on some higher form/move to a better place and vice versa. Let's be honest, most of these people (Kate, Sawyer, Sayeed, etc), driven to it in some respects, have led pretty shitty lives pre-death. Extrapolating that then their afterlife is gonna be that of a mudworm (and a nasty mudworm at that) or similar. So their journey is mapped out, and I have no interest what they do to make a better afterlife for themselves, but I AM interested in them atoning and making a better life for themselves. Put simply and cynically once they're dead, then they're dead. You can't change that and the afterlife thing only works for me if you show us what this takes the form of, at least beyond a token dazzling bright light.

 

2) The island represented the best moments of these people's lives

 

As I said, pre-death these people had shitty lives. According to Christian, and I'm paraphrasing here, the island saw them have their happiest moments. My God, this compounds how shitty their pre-death lives actually were. These people were tortured, imprisoned, shot at, had their babies stolen, subjected to medical tests, on the island, and this - save for the emotional human bonds forged with newly significant others - was in some way better?

 

3) Important themes get relegated

 

I loved all the themes of duality throughout the show - destiny/freewill, faith/science, change/the norm, good/evil - and thought that for a mainstream show to handle these was a brave decision and convincingly executed. Bring in the 'All Dead' twist/outcome and all that ongoing debate gets nulified by the sheer weight of the true destiny. It's like an univited guest coming to your party, drinking all your booze, causing a fight and leaving you as host to pick up the pieces: the outcome outweighs the initial point.

 

4) Where does 'X' fit now?

 

This is less important to me, but throughout the series things were given an inordinate amount of screentime to which you'd think would have some relevance in the outcome. So where do the following fit in the grand scheme of things/what was the purpose of (given I've never rewatched an episode, this is more for personal clarification):

 

- Walt

- Charles Widmore (beyond fathering Daniel and Penny) and his role on the island

- Hanso corporation

- Insert your own

 

That's it for me. I don't want this to come across as ranty, it's not, these are just my initial thoughts after watching it. I thought the show would've carried more weight without going down the previously-dismissed limbo/Purgatory route. Just think it was less edifying with this chosen outcome, and, popping on my cynical hard-hat, the result would have been achieved much swifter, and be as equally satisfying, had I foresaken watching Lost and popped on Ghost instead. joke

 

Fun while it lasted though, and what will fill the void now?

[Analogman]

'Lost': The Series Finale's Burning Questions

[augurus]

Most of those questions are superfluous.