Lost Series Finale: "The End"

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Despite being a huge fan of the show I've never posted in the Lost forum before since I've always avoided even the tiniest spoiler and because I have Losties with whom I talk about the show in real life and didn't really need an online outlet for discussion, but now that it's all over I wanted to come in and give my thoughts.

I rated the finale as excellent. As this final season progressed I was a bit worried that it was going to come undone, but all came together in a sweeping and deeply moving finale. The only other television episode that's had a comparable emotional impact on me was Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "The Body". This ranks as one of the all-time great finales for me and seals Lost as one of the all-time great series. As each character was awakened to their memories the rush of emotion was incredible. Kudos to everyone involved.

How one responds to the finale depends on what aspects of the show one was drawn to. What always connected very powerfully with me were the themes of loss, regret, redemption and second chances. The show explored these themes through the lives of these characters (most of whom were wonderfully engaging and vividly drawn) and essentially used the island and its mysteries as a mechanism to do so, often leading to those moments of great emotional impact that the show did so well. The finale was therefore tailor-made for a viewer like me, focusing on exactly the themes that I always connected with.

 

[exodus]

Anyone here play Rock Band?

That was awesome!!!

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Michael Emerson revealed the following on Attack of the Show:

"For those people that want to pony up and buy the complete ‘Lost’ series, there is a bonus feature, which is, um, you could call it an epilogue. A lost scene. It’s a lot. It’s 12 or 14 minutes that opens a window onto that gap of unknown time between Hurley becoming number one and the end of the series.”

 

[LitmusDragon]

Michael Emerson revealed the following on Attack of the Show:

"For those people that want to pony up and buy the complete ‘Lost’ series, there is a bonus feature, which is, um, you could call it an epilogue. A lost scene. It’s a lot. It’s 12 or 14 minutes that opens a window onto that gap of unknown time between Hurley becoming number one and the end of the series.”

Ahhhhhh that's the most interesting thing about the finale to me. Now I REALLY want the final set.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

Anyone here play Rock Band?

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5hbvUNmplw[/yt]

That wins several flash-sideways timelines.



Anyway, I've had a few days to think about the final episode, and this is how I see it.

The episode writers, Damon "Darlton" Lindelof and Carlton "Darlton" Cuse, as well as some of the cast who read the script, famously suggested that it was a final episode that made you think for a very good period of time before you understood and accepted it. Myself, I have watched it (unfortunately, only the once) and thought about it even more, and eventually I understand the direction it took and what they were trying to tell us. In many ways, we the viewers are very much like the Jack character in that the writers are telling us to let go - to put it another way, I see what they did there.

In that respect, I think this was the only real way the show could have ended, and it covered the main themes of the show perfectly - and as I mentioned it above, I found it particularly funny to see the battle-lines between Fans of Science and Fans of Faith drawn up just as it was on the show itself. Any other way to explain everything then leaves no mystery, no mystique, no charm, and would threaten to ruin things even more than if things were left hanging. The loose threads remaining would deservedly remain loose, open to interpretation, and we're left to decide what happens later. For all we know, the Ajira plane could've found its way back to Guam.

I was a little worried that the people gathering in the Christian Shephard Church of Latter-Day Losties would form some form of suicide pact that represented their "moving on" - especially since after they reclaimed their older memories they all seemed very serene and Stepfordish at times to the unenlightened ones like Jack. Thank goodness it all turned out to be a semi-purgatory and an allegory about Jack letting go!

Loved the idea of Hugo "Bigfoot" Reyes as the new Number One of the Island. I'm sure he would have done a great job.

I am a little peeved at the Christian Shephard Church of Latter-Day Losties in that they seem to operate a No Dogs Allowed policy. Still, at least Vincent was there in the real world to comfort Jack and ensure that our hero doesn't get to die alone. That image of the two of them lying down in the bamboo grove will remain with me forever.

Bottom line: I loved the ending, and the episode, and of course the show. I'll see you in another series, Brothers and Sisters.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

I am a little peeved at the Christian Shephard Church of Latter-Day Losties in that they seem to operate a No Dogs Allowed policy.

Maybe Hugo made Vincent the new Richard: he'll be on the island to give eternal comfort to those who need it.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

I am a little peeved at the Christian Shephard Church of Latter-Day Losties in that they seem to operate a No Dogs Allowed policy.

Maybe Hugo made Vincent the new Richard: he'll be on the island to give eternal comfort to those who need it.

[Ben] "Whhhhat about me? " [/Ben]

 

[stj]

Any other way to explain everything then leaves no mystery, no mystique, no charm, and would threaten to ruin things even more than if things were left hanging.

Explanation doesn't take away the charm. Explanation can be a burst of light stunning the senses.

Mystery has no charm. Random, unexplainable events have no mystique.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Mystery has no charm.

I disagree. Mystery can have considerable charm, and some things are better left unanswered, or at least without an explanation that is too specific. Giving answers to mysteries often replaces the sublime with the mundane. The nature of The Force in Star Wars and Wolverine's origin are examples of that.

 

[LitmusDragon]

Found this on another site, the "real" ending. Enjoy.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

^^^
That's the St. Elsewhere ending.

 

[stj]

Mystery has no charm.

I disagree. Mystery can have considerable charm, and some things are better left unanswered, or at least without an explanation that is too specific. Giving answers to mysteries often replaces the sublime with the mundane. The nature of The Force in Star Wars and Wolverine's origin are examples of that.

A sublime that cannot bear the light of day is a fraud. Or self delusion, perhaps.

But this appears to be a profound difference in world views that cannot be bridged. It should explain how, when the finale finally, irrevocably commits the series to random and meaningless, the people who hoped, despite everything, for the sublime are finally disappointed.

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

Mystery has no charm.

I disagree. Mystery can have considerable charm, and some things are better left unanswered, or at least without an explanation that is too specific. Giving answers to mysteries often replaces the sublime with the mundane. The nature of The Force in Star Wars and Wolverine's origin are examples of that.

A sublime that cannot bear the light of day is a fraud. Or self delusion, perhaps.

But this appears to be a profound difference in world views that cannot be bridged. It should explain how, when the finale finally, irrevocably commits the series to random and meaningless, the people who hoped, despite everything, for the sublime are finally disappointed.

"What is art? Are we art? Is art, art?"
-Lisa Turtle

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

A sublime that cannot bear the light of day is a fraud. Or self delusion, perhaps.

In storytelling mysteries are sometimes better left partly or entirely unexplained so as to preserve their mystique. Wanting every little bit of backstory of a mystery or a mysterious character to be laid out in detail seems pretty anal to me. In this case I think they gave enough answers as to the mystery of the island, even if they didn't spell it all out.

But this appears to be a profound difference in world views that cannot be bridged. It should explain how, when the finale finally, irrevocably commits the series to random and meaningless, the people who hoped, despite everything, for the sublime are finally disappointed.

Some were hoping for the sublime and got it, especially since they don't see a lack of a 100% concrete, detailed explanation to every mystery as rendering the series random and meaningless. The characters went through a crucible, they made choices, they grew and changed, they made their peace. That's not random and meaningless at all to me.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

HOMER
Marge, I'm confused. Is this a happy or a sad ending?

MARGE
It's an ending, that's enough.​

This.

 

[Delta1]

I don't think anyone wants every little bit of backstory explained. But I do think many of us want a believably consistent universe, characters who act based on knowledge of that universe and not writer fiat, and conclusions to major plot threads. I agree with stj that a profound difference in worldviews exists, and both groups are probably stereotyping the other (although one much more than the other, IMHO).

I sympathize with the old-fashioned worldview. Stories should have a beginning, middle, and end. Something shown on screen should have meaning. If you raise a question, you should answer it, or at least explore it. I suppose the other worldview is a bit more postmodern: different narratives exist and may not be reconcilable, events may be random and meaningless, all we can do is follow personal narratives. The beginning-middle-end structure is unnatural, stories can only be slices of life.

The idea that the characters "grew and changed" seems to have been shot down in the flash universe, in which they all changed in random ways (not growth) or reverted to 2004 versions of themselves (not change). The only character who really grew was written out of the series very early on, and a major plot went thread with him.

 

[Lindley]

I am a little peeved at the Christian Shephard Church of Latter-Day Losties in that they seem to operate a No Dogs Allowed policy.

Maybe Hugo made Vincent the new Richard: he'll be on the island to give eternal comfort to those who need it.

[Ben] "Whhhhat about me? " [/Ben]

What about you?

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

I was addressing the idea of mystery as mystique in a general sense, not just in Lost. The idea that every mystery in a story needs to be revealed or else be deemed a fraud for not seeing the light of day strikes me as absurd. Did you watch Star Wars, prior to the prequels, and wish for a scientific explanation for The Force? Do you watch A Fistful of Dollars and wish for the backstory of Clint Eastwood's character to be spelled out? Would The Birds be a better movie if it was explained why the birds attack? My answer to all is no, and all of these are examples of unexplained mysteries creating a satisfying mystique.

So that goes to the question as a general principle. In terms of Lost, I don't think the actions and choices made in the sideways universe were random at all. They were connected to what the characters had been through in life, both on and off the island. The mystery of the island itself is certainly open to interpretation and wasn't all laid out, but then the island was perhaps more of a MacGuffin for the exploration of character and themes. Mileage will vary as to whether viewers are okay with it being a MacGuffin.

 

[Orac Zen]

^
FWIW I agree with just about everything you've said.

I can understand how this finale would disappoint people who want (or need) every question answered and every loose end tied - and people for whom faith / spirituality / mysticism / call it what you will is nothing more than empty-headed crap, for that matter - but for me it's a case of the journey being more important / interesting / worthwhile than the destination. TPTB were never going to be able to tidy everything up, anyway; they introduced far too much stuff, and perhaps that wasn't a good thing. But I don't much care that we didn't get every last detail explained; the show was never about that for me. The mileage of others clearly varies and that's fine. To each their own.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

^^^
Yeah, I can see how the finale wouldn't work for those with that sort of view of faith, spirituality and the afterlife.

Actually, the more I think about it there are interpretations of the island (based on what we saw on screen, if not explicitly spelled out) that make it more than a MacGuffin - that tie it into the themes of the show. If the light to be protected is a lifeforce that preserves the balance of good and evil or, to put it another way, preserves free will, then that ties very nicely into the character arcs.

Pretty much every other mystery through the course of the series can be explained by the ongoing war between Jacob and Smokey. Jacob and Smokey are playing a long game against each other, Smokey trying to kill Jacob, extinguish the light and escape and Jacob trying to defeat Smokey (who will destroy free will and unleash evil throughout the world if he wins). The Dharma Initiative, the Others, the passengers of Oceanic 815, and everyone brought to the island over the years all figure into this - with Jacob and Smokey making moves and exerting influence, each playing a long strategic game or, if you will, a long con.