OK, now that I’ve gotten some time to let last night’s tremendous LOST finale sink in, I think I am ready to answer all your questions, from my perspective.
WTF was the ending all about?
I like to think of the end as Atonement. If you’ve seen the movie / read the book Atonement by Ian Mc Ewan I mean. like Atonement, LOST ultimately was about redemption to me. If you liked the book, there’s a good chance you liked the finale too. The sideways universe, purgatory, waiting door, whatever you call it, was in my mind the final act of redemption where everyone comes together one last time, because thats how God, or the author (or the writers/directors) wanted it to be. They led an imperfect life chasing their demons, loneliness, losing their loved ones and going through hell, this was their one chance of being together, happy, one last time before they moved on.
And I am happy with that.
So you are a man of faith then?
Always have been. I think at some point the directors decided to go one way, and it was the way of faith. For the longest time they brilliantly juxtaposed science and faith and earned a lot of fan base. But ultimately they needed a way out and the way of faith was the easier one to take. Not necessarily the wrong one to take, just an easier one. Its easier to convince people of faith vs people of science. If you were a man of science, you probably didn’t like the ending and feel deceived; if you were a man of faith, its much easier for you to accept that not all things had an explanation and not everything made sense. And yet it did in the greater context of redemption.
So what’s your theory?
Here’s what I think happened: The airplane did crash. People did survive. And whatever happened on the island, did, including all the crazy horse-shit about time travel, smoke monster, and all. Some people did leave the island and lived a normal life then on, while a few stayed back on the island believing in it and their own destiny with it. Technically the story ended right there when Jack died and the plane with survivors flew above him. They lived together, but eventually died alone off the island. Their one last act was be together again before they moved on. And I think the reveal at the end captured it beautifully!
Any lingering questions?
Many. I am not sure at this point I even care for the conclusions. During season 1 and 2 I used to spend hours on the net scouring blogs and lostopedias and coming up with theories about what’s going on. But somewhere down the line I let it go and started connecting with the characters. Yes the mysteries were important, but what stood out for me were the ensemble of characters who did their job well. I invested my time in Desmond,Hurley, Ben, Locke, Sayid, Rose & Bernard, and Richard. Most notably Ben and Locke. To me, they defined the series. Even if they had killed everyone off island in season 5 and made it a Ben-Locke-Desmond show in season 6, I’d still have loved it. Period.
Any final thoughts?
Not a lot except that to me LOST was a tremendous achievement in television. A lot of people are invariably going to say “Oh but if you want more realistic acting and better plot lines get HBO”. To me, thats not the point. For my needs, LOST fit the bill. I liked the way it evolved from a show of science to a show of faith and I absolutely adored the end. I have always been interested in spirituality meets science theme and LOST encompassed it extremely well for the most part.
Did they falter along the way. Yes they did. Did it matter too much in the end for me: NO.
Did they provide me entertainment and feeling of belonging to the characters? Yes they did.
In spite of all its flaws did the series draw me in week after week for the last 6 years: Absolutely. Do I regret any of it. Absolutely NOT.
Thank you LOST for last 6 years of amazing TV. See you in another life brotha.