Lost - The Final Season (Spoilers)

[Mike Olbinski]

I really don't know what to think of any of that (except I liked it).

WHAT?

I used to do a lot of Lost blogs on Pop Critics and have done a few this season. I tend to have so many thoughts that I have to write them on my blog or else I can't sleep

Anyways, I think I figured out what happened tonight and wrote it up...would love to see if anyone agrees:

http://www.amikelife.com/2010/05/my-last-lost-post-ever-series-finale-thoughts/

Mike

 

[D-Dogg]

Stayed up for it; just finished. Glad we did. Excellent ending to an excellent show.

Charlie and Claire and Sawyer and Juliet's awakenings were touching...

Would LOVE to see the time that Ben spent as number 2 to Hugo. And why Ben decided to stay.

 

[CaptTurbo]

The only people i know that liked the finale are on this board.

I said I would hang in just to laugh thatthe writers fooled us with no plot, no actual story, and no way to wrap it up and I was right all along.

 

[CaptTurbo]

I enjoyed it thoroughly....no complaints here about anything. My favorite part(s) were when each of the characters had their moment of realization in the sideways world. I think I teared up on every one of them..

Why? You dont even know what they mean or how they cam eabout. If they were dead why were they living alternate lives. They just tried to make an ambigious ending that people of all religions can accept without being offended.

Pure junk.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Why? You dont even know what they mean or how they cam eabout. If they were dead why were they living alternate lives. They just tried to make an ambigious ending that people of all religions can accept without being offended.

Pure junk.

LOL

Your first response above this...it basically is what a lot of people will say who demanded answers about the Island. To them, that's what the show is about.

But if you actually paid attention to the writers the last few years, they always said all along that the story was about the characters, not the Island, it was just a vessel for the storytelling.

And people who write stories that involve the afterlife and purgatory...if they interpret it as they are living these different lives in that afterlife, how is it junk? It's THEIR story?

Now, I will admit...I do think the writers hurt themselves by focusing so much on the Island that we were expecting THAT to be the ending...but in a way, they did end that story with the killing of notLocke AND they told the story they wanted about how people, their connections, relationships, etc, are important.

I think the only people who have a problem with the ending will be those that always, ALWAYS demanded answers and didn't care about the characters (they were bound to be disappointed) and also people who don't like the religious aspect of the ending.

 

[bankybruce]

After thinking about this episode overnight, I have to say that I absolutely love the ending. I love throughout this episode that they really setup the ending. I love the references from the last few episodes that make sense, like Ana Lucia not being ready. I love Ben's redemption and how Hurley became the protector. I DO love the fact that all the questions of the island were left unanswered so it could be about the characters.

Here are a couple of small things that bugged me. Why was Richard and Frank not at the concert, but Faraday and Charlotte were there? Why did Richard, Miles and Frank not have a place in the church? It would have been nice to see a bit of closure to them since they were all troubled souls. You can say there were not core characters, but Libbie was in like 7 episodes and she was there. Shannon was there too, but what about Nadia? She was Sayid's true love, so it felt kind of forced to include there. That also goes back to Richard and his wife and how nice that reunion would have been.


Again, all small nitpicks, but over all, amazing ending.

On a side note, how about a Richard spin off? How cool would it be to see Richard in present day Las Vegas as a blackjack dealer by day, crime fighter by night. Miles could be his side kick an could help him understand modern technology. (just kidding by the way)

 

[Russ Smith]

After thinking about this episode overnight, I have to say that I absolutely love the ending. I love throughout this episode that they really setup the ending. I love the references from the last few episodes that make sense, like Ana Lucia not being ready. I love Ben's redemption and how Hurley became the protector. I DO love the fact that all the questions of the island were left unanswered so it could be about the characters.

Here are a couple of small things that bugged me. Why was Richard and Frank not at the concert, but Faraday and Charlotte were there? Why did Richard, Miles and Frank not have a place in the church? It would have been nice to see a bit of closure to them since they were all troubled souls. You can say there were not core characters, but Libbie was in like 7 episodes and she was there. Shannon was there too, but what about Nadia? She was Sayid's true love, so it felt kind of forced to include there. That also goes back to Richard and his wife and how nice that reunion would have been.


Again, all small nitpicks, but over all, amazing ending.

On a side note, how about a Richard spin off? How cool would it be to see Richard in present day Las Vegas as a blackjack dealer by day, crime fighter by night. Miles could be his side kick an could help him understand modern technology. (just kidding by the way)

Yeah I really liked the ending but I did have some of the same questions you did why some characters weren't at the end etc. I suppose the easy answer is to say they weren't "ready". I assume Michael wasn't there because he apparently was at odds with the show(the actor) and Walt had aged too much they seemed to all be at the age they were when on the island not the age they were when they died.

I too wondered why Sayid was there with Shannon and not Nadia but they did say it was the most important thing they'd ever done and Shannon was there(for awhile) and Nadia wasn't so maybe that was the reason.

I thought the rock/cork thing with Desmond was a bit too simplistic after repeatedly showing us the cork in the wine bottle thing the idea that a rock that clearly didn't fit all that tightly had been stopping the island from blowing itself apart and sinking was hard to believe.

The only things that bugged me were things I knew I wouldn't get an answer to, why all the early discussion about Walt being special and Aaron being special and then they're just totally abandoned without ever being revisited?

And the single biggest issue I had with the final season is they basically wasted weeks with Dogen and the Temple, in hindsight it had almost nothing to do with the story. It ran concurrently with Jacob being killed but wasn't essential to it. Basically its main purpose was to make Sayid "bad" so he could redeem himself with the bomb on the sub. They didn't really need the temple to create the factions with Locke against Locke.

Terrific show one that definitely changed the way tv is made and changed the scope of what can reasonably be done on tv.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Yeah I really liked the ending but I did have some of the same questions you did why some characters weren't at the end etc. I suppose the easy answer is to say they weren't "ready". I assume Michael wasn't there because he apparently was at odds with the show(the actor) and Walt had aged too much they seemed to all be at the age they were when on the island not the age they were when they died.

I too wondered why Sayid was there with Shannon and not Nadia but they did say it was the most important thing they'd ever done and Shannon was there(for awhile) and Nadia wasn't so maybe that was the reason.

I thought the rock/cork thing with Desmond was a bit too simplistic after repeatedly showing us the cork in the wine bottle thing the idea that a rock that clearly didn't fit all that tightly had been stopping the island from blowing itself apart and sinking was hard to believe.

The only things that bugged me were things I knew I wouldn't get an answer to, why all the early discussion about Walt being special and Aaron being special and then they're just totally abandoned without ever being revisited?

And the single biggest issue I had with the final season is they basically wasted weeks with Dogen and the Temple, in hindsight it had almost nothing to do with the story. It ran concurrently with Jacob being killed but wasn't essential to it. Basically its main purpose was to make Sayid "bad" so he could redeem himself with the bomb on the sub. They didn't really need the temple to create the factions with Locke against Locke.

Terrific show one that definitely changed the way tv is made and changed the scope of what can reasonably be done on tv.

Yeah, I have to agree about the Tempe stuff...that was some wasted time right there. Ugh.

 

[jf-08]

I think everything was Jack's final flash as he died in the initial plane crash.

Turbulence started S1E1.

Closes with Jack closing eye and credits roll with scene of crash.

Everyone in the church was on the plane (except for Juliette). No one else was there, Ben, Miles, etc weren't there.

Everything was about Jack dying in the initial plane crash and everyone near him dying as well.

The whole story is his perception on how these people he thought in his mid would be.

 

[joeshmo]

LOL

Your first response above this...it basically is what a lot of people will say who demanded answers about the Island. To them, that's what the show is about.

But if you actually paid attention to the writers the last few years, they always said all along that the story was about the characters, not the Island, it was just a vessel for the storytelling.

And people who write stories that involve the afterlife and purgatory...if they interpret it as they are living these different lives in that afterlife, how is it junk? It's THEIR story?

Now, I will admit...I do think the writers hurt themselves by focusing so much on the Island that we were expecting THAT to be the ending...but in a way, they did end that story with the killing of notLocke AND they told the story they wanted about how people, their connections, relationships, etc, are important.

I think the only people who have a problem with the ending will be those that always, ALWAYS demanded answers and didn't care about the characters (they were bound to be disappointed) and also people who don't like the religious aspect of the ending.

I agree that it was about the characters not the island, or at least that was the intentions of the writers. But IMO here is where I think the writers made the mistake. Instead of making the island the vehicle the last 7 years I feel the writers made the island into its own character and only the last 2 years they decided "ah that's not the route we want to take". But the damage was done the first 5 years it already became a character. I still liked it a lot but there is absolutely no doubt in mind mind that the Island was a character and since the writers were trying to make it about characters I think they ignored one in the final.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

I agree that it was about the characters not the island, or at least that was the intentions of the writers. But IMO here is where I think the writers made the mistake. Instead of making the island the vehicle the last 7 years I feel the writers made the island into its own character and only the last 2 years they decided "ah that's not the route we want to take". But the damage was done the first 5 years it already became a character. I still liked it a lot but there is absolutely no doubt in mind mind that the Island was a character and since the writers were trying to make it about characters I think they ignored one in the final.

I dunno though...I still think the story of the Island was told and it was good.

The skeletons all down in that cave...shows that this may have happened before? It's a cycle...

I feel like the fight between Locke and Jack, the death of Locke, the rebirth of the Island...I really think they told a complete story there, just left the mystery of where this Island came from completely up in the air.

 

[Russ Smith]

I think everything was Jack's final flash as he died in the initial plane crash.

Turbulence started S1E1.

Closes with Jack closing eye and credits roll with scene of crash.

Everyone in the church was on the plane (except for Juliette). No one else was there, Ben, Miles, etc weren't there.

Everything was about Jack dying in the initial plane crash and everyone near him dying as well.

The whole story is his perception on how these people he thought in his mid would be.

Wasn't Penny in the church? She wasn't on the plane. Walt and Michael were definitely on the plane but not in the church.

My girlfriend had the same thought you did they all died in the plane crash but Jack's father clearly said everyone dies eventually, some before you, some after you, I don't think they mean that everyone died in the plane crash.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Wasn't Penny in the church? She wasn't on the plane. Walt and Michael were definitely on the plane but not in the church.

My girlfriend had the same thought you did they all died in the plane crash but Jack's father clearly said everyone dies eventually, some before you, some after you, I don't think they mean that everyone died in the plane crash.

I wrote this in my blog post, but I agree...like Kate and Sawyer finally leave the Island on that plane...Kate could have lived until she was 90, and then finally died and joined everyone else at the church.

When she went up to Jack at the concert...she was so missing him...she said "I've missed you so much."

That could have been from decades of being without him after all that happened.

Made it all more meaningful for me.

 

[bankybruce]

I wrote this in my blog post, but I agree...like Kate and Sawyer finally leave the Island on that plane...Kate could have lived until she was 90, and then finally died and joined everyone else at the church.

When she went up to Jack at the concert...she was so missing him...she said "I've missed you so much."

That could have been from decades of being without him after all that happened.

Made it all more meaningful for me.

It could have been even longer since Hurley and Ben could have been on the island for thousands of years.

 

[Chaplin]

I think everything was Jack's final flash as he died in the initial plane crash.

Turbulence started S1E1.

Closes with Jack closing eye and credits roll with scene of crash.

Everyone in the church was on the plane (except for Juliette). No one else was there, Ben, Miles, etc weren't there.

Everything was about Jack dying in the initial plane crash and everyone near him dying as well.

The whole story is his perception on how these people he thought in his mid would be.

Disagree. The island is real, the "flash-sideways" was Jack's purgatory after he died, which in realtime was the end of this finale. So in actuality, the "flash-sideways" were actually Jack's "flash-forwards".

As far as some characters not being there, Christian made it seem like the church was Jack's purgatory, but nobody else's, so whoever Jack wanted in that church was there. Perhaps he just didn't give a damn about Miles, Richard and Frank and that's why they weren't there. Perhaps also Ana Lucia too. It's like a purgatory movie playing in Jack's head as he dies.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Disagree. The island is real, the "flash-sideways" was Jack's purgatory after he died, which in realtime was the end of this finale. So in actuality, the "flash-sideways" were actually Jack's "flash-forwards".

As far as some characters not being there, Christian made it seem like the church was Jack's purgatory, but nobody else's, so whoever Jack wanted in that church was there. Perhaps he just didn't give a damn about Miles, Richard and Frank and that's why they weren't there. Perhaps also Ana Lucia too. It's like a purgatory movie playing in Jack's head as he dies.

See, I disagree that it was Jack's sole purgatory...if it was, the other characters "Awakening" would have been pointless, because it's not really them right?

Christian said "this is the place you all created"...so I'm fairly certain it was EVERYONE's purgatory.

 

[Chaplin]

See, I disagree that it was Jack's sole purgatory...if it was, the other characters "Awakening" would have been pointless, because it's not really them right?

Christian said "this is the place you all created"...so I'm fairly certain it was EVERYONE's purgatory.

Then how do you explain the absence of Miles, Frank and Richard?

 

[thirty-two]

As a "Skater" I was definitely bummed to see which angle the writers chose. Also, I have never for one second believed in Juliet/Sawyer pairing so I felt nothing from their reunion. They only gave us 3 scenes to believe in them, when the gave us 3 SEASONS for Sawyer/Kate. Boo!

The more and more I think about it, the more I loved Jack's death scene with Vincent. I've watched that particular scene about 4 times and I've cried every time.

I still am having trouble with the flash-sideways/purgatory. If it's everyone's purgatory why would they make Claire give birth, why would Kate be a fugitive, why would Sayid not be married to Nadia?

I think everyone at the church was paired up except Locke and Boone. How sad. And I never liked the Shannon/Sayid pairing. Nadia is his true love, sorry.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Then how do you explain the absence of Miles, Frank and Richard?

I can't, but Michael and Walt weren't there either, and Vincent either

I think that they had to pick a certain group that all connected with each other somehow, and those people you mention really weren't part of the original flight.

Anyways, I'm pretty sure it wasn't all about Jack.

 

[Evil Ash]

Then how do you explain the absence of Miles, Frank and Richard?

Christian also said something along the lines of how that for those in the church that the time on the island was the most important time of their lives. Its when their lives had meaning.

It may simply be that Richard, Frank and Miles had more important times in their lives.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Christian also said something along the lines of how that for those in the church that the time on the island was the most important time of their lives. Its when their lives had meaning.

It may simply be that Richard, Frank and Miles had more important times in their lives.

Exactly, good point. It's not like Frank did a whole lot there...he was along for the ride, but he didn't save the Island or sacrifice for it. Who knows what he did later in life.

And Richard's important time may have been with his wife or something, who knows.

 

[Pariah]

I can't figure out if I feel cheated because they answered almost none of the lingering questions or satisfied because they really did get me with the character connections in the finale.

I think in a few weeks I'm going to look back and feel cheated. They already knew we cared a lot about these characters and have "invested" in their connections...when the shine of getting a feel-good to finish the show wears off, I'm still going to be asking "why them?" and "wtf?"

Still, I enjoyed the show--both last night and throughout--immensely.

 

[Russ Smith]

according to E! online the producers wanted Mr. Eko to come back for one scene but the actor declined, he demanded 5 times what Lost was offering him for the scene which presumably was just his way of saying no. Apparently he originally left the show because his parents had died and he wanted time off to deal with it, his character had originally been slated to be there for 4 years but they killed him off because he asked out.

 

[Russ Smith]

Disagree. The island is real, the "flash-sideways" was Jack's purgatory after he died, which in realtime was the end of this finale. So in actuality, the "flash-sideways" were actually Jack's "flash-forwards".

As far as some characters not being there, Christian made it seem like the church was Jack's purgatory, but nobody else's, so whoever Jack wanted in that church was there. Perhaps he just didn't give a damn about Miles, Richard and Frank and that's why they weren't there. Perhaps also Ana Lucia too. It's like a purgatory movie playing in Jack's head as he dies.

I think it's really hard to be definitive. The people who think they all died on impact of the plane in many cases are saying so because of the last scene with the credits where we see the wreckage of the plane like at the beginning of the show, but now there are no survivors, just the wreckage. Those people think that scene said everyone died on impact.

I don't agree, but I can see why people get that from that scene.

So as to why some characters were there and some weren't it's really an impossible question to answer.

 

[Evil Ash]

I still am having trouble with the flash-sideways/purgatory. If it's everyone's purgatory why would they make Claire give birth, why would Kate be a fugitive, why would Sayid not be married to Nadia?

Its purgatory, not heaven. They had demons in life before they were ever on the island. Jacob said that were candidates because that they were alone and were screwed up. So it makes sense in a way that they would have to face their demons before passing on.

Just as an aside, the Target ads were pure GENIUS