The LOST Finale (Don't read if you haven't watched yet!)
I have been a fan of LOST since 2004. John and I did not watch the first airing of Season One. My brother, Chris, told us what a good show it was and that he thought we'd really like it. So we began watching the reruns of Season One. Some of the episodes were not shown because they ran out of weeks. The day Season One came out on DVD, I went to Sam's and bought it. We finished the season on DVD and often could not stop after just one episode. We were hooked. We watched in "real time" from that point on.
There has never been a television series that I have loved so much. I can't remember when I ever looked forward to a show the way I looked forward to LOST each week and each new season. One of the reasons I loved it so much was the in-depth character development. It wasn't just a story about plane crash survivors existing on a "magical" island. The show took viewers through flashbacks, acquainting us with each character; who they were, who they were connected to and what their unique "baggage" was. Most, if not all, of the characters had major parental issues with at least one of their parents. There were other relationship issues as well. And then there were the relationships that developed on the island.
Every character on LOST was deeply flawed. I loved the scene where Sawyer declared to Jacob that they had all been doing just fine prior to being chosen by him to come to the island and Jacob was quick to point out that none of them were just fine; they were all flawed. In spite of their many flaws and the baggage they carried, however, there were also endearing qualities ... and always the hope of redemption. More than once I found myself feeling compassion for an evil character while seeing the reasons behind his or her behavior. (Yes, even the smoke monster/MIB when his flashback story was told.)
I knew there was no way the writers could answer all of our questions. To be honest, I couldn't even keep track of all my questions. I would lose details from one episode to the next because the plot lines were so intricate and there were seemingly endless possibilities for tying up loose ends. I just knew that couldn't be done. The ending made the questions less important. And while I must admit that the ending, for me, was slightly anti-climactic, I thought it was a cool ending and I didn't mind the mystery. I kind of like the fact that many of the details are open to individual interpretation. The writers were brilliant in that they closed the story with an answer, but a moldable answer.
It seemed to me that the message of LOST was that faith and our relationships are what matter most in life. We cannot reach our destination - and become who we are meant to be - without being connected to others. For me, being a Christian, LOST was filled with symbols and themes of Christianity. I've read comments from other viewers who saw other elements. And I have friends who didn't think the story had anything to do with spirituality (which really surprised me because there was so much spirituality in the show from beginning to end).
The biggest disappointment for me was probably the absence of Mr. Ekko from the finale. I really liked that character and I expected to see him again. But since this turned out to be more of Jack's personal redemption story, with all the people connected to him playing a role, I can see why certain characters were not a part of the ending.
Getting back to the ending being cool, yet still a bit anti-climactic ... I can't imagine how the ending could have been anything other than slightly anti-climactic. It would have taken an entire season to answer all the potential questions. And for a show like LOST to take an entire season simply to give answers would have totally changed the show we loved so much. But even more than that, the writers have said they had a beginning, a middle, and an end in mind when the show was created. I can see now how this ending provided a great deal of latitude in character and plot development while heading toward the set destination. Along the way, I think LOST took the writers on an adventure that exceeded even their original expectations. There just had to come a point where they ended the ride.
Whether they all died in the same plane crash (which would be impossible, since some of the people in the church did not come to the island on that plane) or they all died at different times and were brought to the island for a reason before "crossing over" to the other side; we were not told. So much of the last six seasons is now open to interpretation. But that was always the fun part of LOST; trying to figure out what it meant. There was so much buzz about this show because there were a million different theories and we all loved hearing someone else's take on what the significance was of this, that or the other. The show generated so much dialogue and interaction between fans. It wasn't a mindless show. It kept us guessing and, therefore, always made us think.
I am fine with the ending. I enjoyed seeing the characters whom we knew had died being reunited with those we did not yet realize were dead. I loved the moments when the characters remembered their connections to each other and experienced the joy of being together again. Those were my favorite parts of the finale. The ending provided definite closure for almost all of the main characters. Many of the questions I was hoping to have answered don't really matter to me now. (Although I would like to know why Ben did not go into the church with everyone else.) I don't feel like I need to go back and watch it again with the missing puzzle pieces because I would "get it" more than I did the first time, though. It's a done deal.
Before the finale, I told my brother, Chris, that I thought I would like to watch it all over again from the beginning once I had the answers. And he said, "But knowing the ending could ruin it for you, too." And he turned out to be right. It's been a great ride and the best TV show of my lifetime. But, in the end, it is what it is ... fantasy. What made this show so much more than that, however, was our questions, our theories and what the actual theme was for us personally.
I think the writers and creators of LOST are brilliant. The actors were fantastic and must have had the time of their lives doing this show ... including filming in Hawaii for six years! Even if I had been disappointed by the ending (which I was not), I would never regret the six years of watching. It was entertaining, engaging, thought provoking and so much fun to speculate about with others. After six years of all that, how could I possibly be disappointed?!
There has never been a television series that I have loved so much. I can't remember when I ever looked forward to a show the way I looked forward to LOST each week and each new season. One of the reasons I loved it so much was the in-depth character development. It wasn't just a story about plane crash survivors existing on a "magical" island. The show took viewers through flashbacks, acquainting us with each character; who they were, who they were connected to and what their unique "baggage" was. Most, if not all, of the characters had major parental issues with at least one of their parents. There were other relationship issues as well. And then there were the relationships that developed on the island.
Every character on LOST was deeply flawed. I loved the scene where Sawyer declared to Jacob that they had all been doing just fine prior to being chosen by him to come to the island and Jacob was quick to point out that none of them were just fine; they were all flawed. In spite of their many flaws and the baggage they carried, however, there were also endearing qualities ... and always the hope of redemption. More than once I found myself feeling compassion for an evil character while seeing the reasons behind his or her behavior. (Yes, even the smoke monster/MIB when his flashback story was told.)
I knew there was no way the writers could answer all of our questions. To be honest, I couldn't even keep track of all my questions. I would lose details from one episode to the next because the plot lines were so intricate and there were seemingly endless possibilities for tying up loose ends. I just knew that couldn't be done. The ending made the questions less important. And while I must admit that the ending, for me, was slightly anti-climactic, I thought it was a cool ending and I didn't mind the mystery. I kind of like the fact that many of the details are open to individual interpretation. The writers were brilliant in that they closed the story with an answer, but a moldable answer.
It seemed to me that the message of LOST was that faith and our relationships are what matter most in life. We cannot reach our destination - and become who we are meant to be - without being connected to others. For me, being a Christian, LOST was filled with symbols and themes of Christianity. I've read comments from other viewers who saw other elements. And I have friends who didn't think the story had anything to do with spirituality (which really surprised me because there was so much spirituality in the show from beginning to end).
The biggest disappointment for me was probably the absence of Mr. Ekko from the finale. I really liked that character and I expected to see him again. But since this turned out to be more of Jack's personal redemption story, with all the people connected to him playing a role, I can see why certain characters were not a part of the ending.
Getting back to the ending being cool, yet still a bit anti-climactic ... I can't imagine how the ending could have been anything other than slightly anti-climactic. It would have taken an entire season to answer all the potential questions. And for a show like LOST to take an entire season simply to give answers would have totally changed the show we loved so much. But even more than that, the writers have said they had a beginning, a middle, and an end in mind when the show was created. I can see now how this ending provided a great deal of latitude in character and plot development while heading toward the set destination. Along the way, I think LOST took the writers on an adventure that exceeded even their original expectations. There just had to come a point where they ended the ride.
Whether they all died in the same plane crash (which would be impossible, since some of the people in the church did not come to the island on that plane) or they all died at different times and were brought to the island for a reason before "crossing over" to the other side; we were not told. So much of the last six seasons is now open to interpretation. But that was always the fun part of LOST; trying to figure out what it meant. There was so much buzz about this show because there were a million different theories and we all loved hearing someone else's take on what the significance was of this, that or the other. The show generated so much dialogue and interaction between fans. It wasn't a mindless show. It kept us guessing and, therefore, always made us think.
I am fine with the ending. I enjoyed seeing the characters whom we knew had died being reunited with those we did not yet realize were dead. I loved the moments when the characters remembered their connections to each other and experienced the joy of being together again. Those were my favorite parts of the finale. The ending provided definite closure for almost all of the main characters. Many of the questions I was hoping to have answered don't really matter to me now. (Although I would like to know why Ben did not go into the church with everyone else.) I don't feel like I need to go back and watch it again with the missing puzzle pieces because I would "get it" more than I did the first time, though. It's a done deal.
Before the finale, I told my brother, Chris, that I thought I would like to watch it all over again from the beginning once I had the answers. And he said, "But knowing the ending could ruin it for you, too." And he turned out to be right. It's been a great ride and the best TV show of my lifetime. But, in the end, it is what it is ... fantasy. What made this show so much more than that, however, was our questions, our theories and what the actual theme was for us personally.
I think the writers and creators of LOST are brilliant. The actors were fantastic and must have had the time of their lives doing this show ... including filming in Hawaii for six years! Even if I had been disappointed by the ending (which I was not), I would never regret the six years of watching. It was entertaining, engaging, thought provoking and so much fun to speculate about with others. After six years of all that, how could I possibly be disappointed?!
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