An Amazing End to an Amazing Series

Ok, so this is probably my last blog or post about LOST forever....or at least until I feel inspired to go back and watch it all from the beginning, which probably won't happen until season 6 comes out on blu-ray.  I went back to watch the season finale this morning at about 5 AM in the midst of another night/morning of insomnia.  For some reason, I can't sleep past 4AM, no matter what time I go to bed.  Anyways, I digress...

It has taken me 4 days to finally post my thoughts/feelings/observations about the finale of the greatest television show in the modern television era because I wanted to let it all sink in.  I wanted to not have a quick knee jerk reaction to what I thought was a brilliant closing to a brilliant dramatic experience over the last 6 years.  I also have been waiting to read some respected blogs and opinions from people who have been as invested in this show as a whole as I have been.

I guess, I need to start off by letting everyone know what my initial reaction was during and after watching the finale.  I sobbed and weeped like a little kid through various times of the broadcast.  Usually it was because of the pure glee that I got from watching people reconnect from his/her previous island lives.  Without fully understanding what was going on until the end, I was purely emotional because of the joy of seeing the characters being resolved with his/her true love.  It was at this point during the resolutions that they were enlightened to what was going on, and we as viewers from the outside were left to wonder what was going on.  I thought the realization of the "flash sideways" was brilliant, and poignant and exactly fit in line with how LOST was written and directed throughout the series.  Tragic heroes were celebrated.  Loves were reunited.  Questions were answered.

However great I thought the episode and series was, there were obviously many critics to how it ended.  I found that these people fell into 1 of 3 categories.  1)People who wanted more answers in the end. 2) Conservatives who were upset of the religious pluralism that was insinuated at the end, and a few other "non-christian" themes. 3)People who just didn't understand what had happened.   To those people, I say this:  Did you not watch from the first season?  When have we EVER gotten all the answers?  When has this show EVER been a Christian show?(Sayid was Muslim, the DHARMA initiative, Jewish names, Catholic statues and monestaries....etc)  and finally, if you haven't learned anything about LOST from the beginning, you cannot take things about this show at face value...you have to pay attention, and then let the images, ideas, and story soak in.  That's the only way to really enjoy it.  Just like a good book, the real benefit cannot be fully realized until you take it ALL in and chew on it.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I wanted to share a few things that I had noticed about the finale that you may or may not have thought, saw, or interpreted that way.  But again, that's the beauty of LOST.

My first reaction to the ending at the church, and the whole "flash sideways" universe was that it reminded me of the ending of The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis.  The Last Battle is the last book of the Chronicles of Narnia, a popular series.  Without giving too much away from the book(and the whole Narnia series) it ends with many of our favorite characters throughout hundreds of years of Narnian history together when some of them came to a fantastic realization that changes everything for them(and the reader) and to me, is one of the most emotional, joyful experience of all the Chronicles.  If you haven't ever read this series, I highly suggest it, especially if you have kids you can read them to/with.


Then Aslan turned to them and said:
"You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be."
Lucy said, "We're so afraid of being sent away, Aslan. And you have sent us back into our own world so often."
"No fear of that, " said Aslan. "Have you not guessed?"
Their hearts leaped and a wild hope rose within them.
"There was a real railway accident," said Aslan softly. Your father and mother and all of you are - as you used to call it in the Shadow-Lands - dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning."

The Fight between Jack and Locke/Man In Black reminded me of the fight between Neo and Agent Smith in the Matrix Revolutions with the rain and the obvious good vs. evil connotations.  It even though it wasn't as extensive of a battle as it could've been, it served its purpose.  We learned why Jack continually had the blood on his neck.  Another thought about the fight scene...when Locke stabbed Jack in the side, would he have died more quickly if he hadn't had his appendix removed by Juliet 3 seasons earlier? and if he had died more quickly then he wouldn't have been able to save the island the plane may not have taken off, his friends would've died, and they may not have ever been able to be together again. Hmmm Fate, Coincidence or something else?  Just something to chew on

On a personal note...Kate looked absolutely AMAZING in her black dress at the concert.  I'll just leave that one there.

A question that wasn't necessarily answered from season 3.  In Desmond's vision he told Charlie he saw a chopper coming to the island to take Claire and Aaron off the island so they could be safe.  Now I can think of 2 possible reasons why we never saw this scene play out.  1)  Desmond lied to Charlie to convince him to go down to turn the switch so that he may see Penny again.  2)  Desmond told the truth and if everything had played out like it was supposed to, then it would've happened.  We learned however, that the MIB who was portraying Christian Shepherd intervened and persuaded Claire to run off with him in the jungle.  If he had not done that, would Desmond's vision have come to fruition?  After all, there was now a chopper on the island that had not been there previous to Desmond's vision.  Hmmm

There are so many thoughts, interpretations, and theories on what it all means in the end, that there is no way that I could realistically touch on them all.  Here are some other questions that I have found from my readings that other people have had:  Why didn't Ben enter the church?  What did he have to continue to sort out?  Why was Sayid with Shannon and not with Nadia?  Where did the light in the church lead to? The Island?  What about Walt and Michael?  These are all good questions, and many will probably never be adequately answered for most.  However, for me the experience is worth the open ended questions.   Namaste

Last scenes of Lost