Nothing??? Or are people still trying to figure it out?

A. Wow.
B. People are absolute idiots. ("Oh, so they died in the plane crash in the pilot and they've been dead this whole time. Now I get it!" No, moron- you don't. Seriously, it ruined our whole evening to watch all the clueless Lost fans on the news right afterwards.)
C. Wow.

So much to take in, so many beautiful moments, so many incredible things... this will probably be multiple posts. :-)

Well, they *HAD* to leave us a few more mysteries- who was the civilization that created the waterfall/heart area? Was 'mother' the last of that race?

SO GLAD Lapidus and Richard were recovered. I jokingly predicted Shanon (which still shocked me) and Rose/Bernard, which I was COMPLETELY NOT EXPECTING- that was very cool of them.

Unsatisfying little niggles:
No Eko.
Locke's ideal reality ended with him apart from Helen?
So WHO WAS shooting at the time-jumpers in the canoe back in season 5? I was SURE they were gonna come back to that!
Rats, never got to see the smoke monster transform...

Okay, that said... what a ride.
Jack became cool again (I'm going to kill you... (How?) That's a surprise.)
An awesome setting for a final fight.
A great plane escape sequence.
The score was incredible (especially for the plane escape and the finale).
A mirrored-ending, like many predicted (though the level of detail- with even the shoe on the tree and appearance of Vincent- was unexpected.)
Some great comedy moments. That they chose to begin the final 'Lost' title screen with a Star Wars reference just proved how cool these writers really are.
Hurley shooting Charlie- yet another awesome Hurley moment.
Sawyer clocking Ben and taking his gun. Hilarious.

And yet for all of that, the great action, the humor, the resolved storylines... this was a great finale because it was all about the characters. It was the character moments that really shone.

Ben getting two redemptive moments- saving Hurley, and asking Locke's forgiveness.
Charlie, seeing Claire at last.
Christian and Jack reconciling.
And too many others to list.

The moment that got me the most misted up, and my nomination for best moment of the episode... Sun and Jin's awakening. That was simply beautiful.

The MIB was dealt with nearly an hour from the end, and the escape and saving the island with nearly 15 minutes... and that's because these things weren't the true climax- the culmination of the character's arcs were. The show finished on drama, on character beats, on an actionless focus on the people, not the events- that was gutsy, that was brilliant... and it was respectful to the fans who had invested so much in these characters. It was a truly brilliant move.

The revelation of the sideways universe as a sort of halfway-point between death and heaven was... unusual. It raises a number of questions, and, viewed in that context, seems to contain a lot of unnecessary events. It's interesting that it seems bereft of those who were trapped as whispers (like Michael) and those who it would seem may have moved on already (like Eko) having been prepared for the afterlife already. And interesting that it will apparently remain for a time for those, like Ana Lucia and Ben, that aren't ready to let go yet.

The whole sideways-Heaven-prep-stage bit seems intellectually silly, making little sense (why not just go straight to Heaven? You'll all be reunited there anyhow- why bother with the between stage?)... but emotionally, it works, which I think is what they were going for. And it was a VERY emotional end- the dawning realization that everyone there is dead, that this place we thought was a parallel world happening at the same time was in fact a timeless place, and that the people awakening weren't just remembering seasons 1-6 as we assumed, but remembering their whole lives- Hurley and Ben's #1/#2 conversation implied that they lived long, full lives on the Island after the finale, and ended up here only after dying of old age... this place is like the Nexus from Star Trek: Generations- enter at any time, and all arrive at the same time; "From his perspective, he just got here, too." The greatest missed opportunity in the history of television, I feel, was at the end, with the doors open and the light flooding in, just before we end, to have Jack or Locke say "We/I once was Lost, but now am found..." Maybe that would have been too corny, and broken the mood, I dunno... it just feels thematically appropriate. (Of course, as the stained glass window and general all-dogs-go-to-heaven finale suggest, they were obviously going for a more universal, non-specific religious experience. While that was disappointing- though not unexpected or unreasonable, considering the broad audience Lost has- to our circle of Christian viewers, the continued almost-but-not-quite symbolism- including the prominent statue of Christ and the 'Christian Shephard' callout, were certainly intriguing and will be interesting to analyze in the coming months...)


Our final tally:
Lapidus, Miles, (BTW, were the freighter four conspicuously absent from the final chruch scene, or was that just me missing it? I assume they were, as we saw Daniel and Charlotte, presently 'unawakened') Richard (now aging normally, apparently, and about to discover the outside world...), Sawyer & Kate (now a couple, the S/Kater shippers fianlly win the day?), and Claire (returning as Aaron's mother?) leave the Island.

Desmond is implied to be soon leaving to reunite with his wife and child (thank goodness!)

Hurley, Ben, Bernard, and Rose remain on the island.

And death takes the rest... for a time. :-)


I really don't think that this could have ended any better. It really did have everything, some fantastic character arcs, some incredible moments, great emotional impact, and a real sense of closure... while also a sense of the adventure continuing on for the characters, of not ending... I think I feel safe in calling this a masterpiece.

Also, from my wife- a musing on Eloise, her continued opposition to Desmond, and her motivations in light of the sideways universe revelations:
"I was thinking about Eloise being angry at Desmonde for trying to get everyone to remember, because then they would move on and leave all of this behind and she'd be alone and reminded of how she can't forgive herself and move on- which is why she was so freaked out about her son, I think, she didn't want to lose him but she also didn't want him to remember because then he would remember how she sent him back to the island to die at her own hand.

So, allegorically, it's kind of like an illustration of how people who feel so guilty that they think God can't forgive them, no one can forgive them, can only live in a sham of a world where they pretend like they don't know any better."

Semi OT, but...

Did anyone watch Kimmel to see the three "alternate endings"? I went to sleep beforehand, so I don't know if they were legit alternate endings or jokes.

How about a nit? Locke knocked Jack silly with that rock. Why not finish the job right there? I guess he's too freaked out about being mortal again to do it.

Another nit.

When Jack and Kate arrive at the church, she's wearing the black dress (yow!). But after Jack spends just a couple of minutes with Christian, and comes out, Kate is wearing pants and a green top. When and where did she change?

NANJAO: When Jack and "Locke" have their final confrontation on the cliff, Jack leaps at "Locke" and they cut to a commercial. That leap looks like something out of Dragonball/Pokemon/[name-your-anime]

ScottN - they were jokes. Haven't watched them yet, taped 'em to watch tonight. But they were definitely jokes.

"NANJAO: When Jack and "Locke" have their final confrontation on the cliff, Jack leaps at "Locke" and they cut to a commercial. That leap looks like something out of Dragonball/Pokemon/[name-your-anime]" - ScottN
Agreed. But I kinda liked it, for some reason. It was very "This is it" in tone. :-)

One other thing I forgot (probably the first of many): Best line of the show, and possibly the entire series:
"I don't believe in a lot of things...but I DO believe in Duct Tape!"

Duct Tape is like The Force. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

Addendum to the Kate clothing nit: Where did she get those clothes?

I thought I saw Nikki in passing somewhere in the church.

JKL put the three alternate endings up on YouTube.

Those were pretty good.

All right, so I've had the chance to mull it over a bit and I’ll say that I understand why some had issues with the finale of Battlestar Galactica. I didn't have a big problem with BSG, and for the most part I enjoyed Lost's finale, too, but little parts did bother me. This one really went to an unexpected place and though the highs were pretty darn high (it’s feel good that everyone, especially Mr. John Locke, is getting such a happy ending), it’s not in my top 10 series finales of all time or anything like that.

It focused on the characters, as the show so often has done to wonderful effect, and those moments were probably the tops for me. Ben apologizing to Locke outside of the church and ultimately deciding not to go in yet. Jin and Sun’s realization scene. Charlie's and Claire's. Sawyer and Juliet’s (yay!). Rose and Bernard making one last island appearance. Hurley breaking down when he realized that Jack was gone and reluctantly taking on both the role of island protector and reaching out to Ben for help and Ben’s acceptance of that job. For someone who thought Ben was going to die for his many, many sins (let’s face it, way more than Michael and that poor soul is stuck on the island) I was happy to see him finally get something he had sought his entire life. I wonder if post-mortem Ben is going to spend some time with Alex and Danielle, get some of that experience he didn’t get with his daughter before. Let’s hope he doesn’t wake them up, though. At least not Danielle.

I was glad Lapidus survived that sub sinking since when I thought he was dead, I was of the opinion that he’d been rather wasted this season. Being the guy that gets five of them off the island was great, as was knowing that both Claire and Kate would be returning to Aaron. Sawyer would probably be reunited with his kid as well, so I’m glad some of them made it off. Not at all what I expected, but I have to mention that the final shot of Jack's eye was wonderful.

I did wonder, given the Others love of the submarine, if that flight was the first time Richard ever flew in an airplane. Probably not if he went around the world recruiting people as he did Juliet, but it would still be kind of funny if it was.

It was good to see Shannon again, but it’s hard for me to believe Sayid wouldn’t want to spend eternity with Nadia. Then again, maybe she’s on the other side, too, waiting for him in the next life. I could see that guy with a lady on each arm.

I was always a bigger supporter of Skate than Jate, but then season 5 happened and... well, hard to argue with Sawyer and Juliet. I don’t know, maybe Holloway is just that good with chemistry. Perhaps that’s why Sawyer gets so much tail on the show. ;)

Honestly though, as much as I was a fan of Sawyer and Kate, especially given some of the events of Season 4, it was pretty clear that Kate's feelings for Jack ran pretty darn deep throughout the show. There was some love there, practically hero love at times.

As for the freighter guys not being there... Faraday’s obviously waiting for Charlotte to have her awakening. I don’t think he’ll be ready until that happens. I think they could have justified Miles, though. He lived and worked with Sawyer for three years and they were buddies enough to be partners in law and order in their purgatory universe. He’ll probably wake at about the same time as his dad, though.

It would be interesting to know what kind of lives those who escaped the island lived back in civilization before they eventually died and rejoined their friends. Undoubtedly, many a fanfic will be written about that. Someone on another board noted that Miles might still have Nikki's and Paulo's diamonds. If he does, I hope he spreads the love around to his fellow island escapees a bit.

I just finished watching the episode. It was good, but the ending was confusing. The flash sideways was just some type of purgatory conjured by the Lostaways? Is that why the stained glass window in the casket room had symbols from different religions on it? If so, why are people who didn't die there, like Kate, Claire, Hurley and Sawyer? The climax between Jack and MiB/Locke was great, so I think they should've ended with that, and Jack reactivating the light.

And why wasn't Ana Lucia there, given that Michelle Rodriguez was obviously available to appear in the previous episode?

I also didn't understand aspects of the island ending. Jack "died"? Why? Once the water starting flowing again, I expected his wound to be healed. Was it because Hurley took over, and Jack was no longer protected?

Kate and Sawyer were the classic Lost couple. I think they ruined that by pairing Sawyer with Juliet, and Jack and Kate.

So I guess MiB wasn't Esau. So why didn't they ever reveal his name?

"The flash sideways was just some type of purgatory conjured by the Lostaways? Is that why the stained glass window in the casket room had symbols from different religions on it?" - Luigi

Yes. That is correct. The stained glass windows has all of the symbols on it because the writers don't want to lose popularity for the show by identifying with one religion. ;-)


"If so, why are people who didn't die there, like Kate, Claire, Hurley and Sawyer?" - Luigi Novi

It's like the Nexus from Generations; this place is not set in a particular time, it just has the appearance of 2004. In reality, whenever one of them died- be it in season 1, season 6, or a natural-lifespan after that, they all ended up here. Or, as Guinan put it, "From his perspective, he just got here, too." So, this takes place 'after' everyone, including Hurley, Ben, and those that escaped on the plane, have died of natural causes.

"And why wasn't Ana Lucia there, given that Michelle Rodriguez was obviously available to appear in the previous episode?" - Luigi

Hurley said it himself in the last episode- "She isn't ready yet." Miles, Lapidus, Daniel, and Charlotte aren't there, either- they're still here in the sideways universe, but they haven't 'woken up' yet. They- like Ben- aren't ready yet, so they haven't woken up yet; their time will presumably come- as Desmond said to Eloise, "Just not yet."


"The climax between Jack and MiB/Locke was great, so I think they should've ended with that, and Jack reactivating the light." - Luigi

I think the choice not to was telling; the finale was about the character arcs, not the story arc. Hence the climax not being the ending. I liked this choice, but I know many didn't. To each his own. :-)

"Jack "died"? Why? Once the water starting flowing again, I expected his wound to be healed. Was it because Hurley took over, and Jack was no longer protected?" - Luigi

In Jack's own words, "I'm already dead." He died from his wounds. Remember, that pool was painful to Desmond, who only survived it due to his electromagnetic resistance; it wouldn't have healed Jack. Jack simply died of his knife-wounds and other injuries from the fight- something he was no more immune to than Jacob would have been (he was only immune to harm from his brother. Well... okay, so Jacob wouldn't have died here, but only because the wounds came FROM his brother. :-) ) The only nonsensical part, to me, is why/how he ended up back above-ground (did he crawl out) instead of dying down there... but clearly, it was for symbolic/mirror-ending purposes.

"Kate and Sawyer were the classic Lost couple. I think they ruined that by pairing Sawyer with Juliet, and Jack and Kate." - Luigi
Whereas I was relieved- Sawyer deserved better than the wishy-washy, faithless Kate... :-) and by the time of season 5, the Jack/Kate, and Sawyer/Juliette lines were pretty clearly established- both had made their choices. But, those clever creators had their cake and ate it, too... Sawyer and Kate DID end up together for the rest of their lifetimes- just not for an idealized eternity. So... Sawyer ended up with both! :-)


"So I guess MiB wasn't Esau. So why didn't they ever reveal his name?" - Luigi
He didn't have one, as we saw in "Across the Sea."

A pretty good summary of the lingering questions that were not answered.

He didn't have one, as we saw in "Across the Sea."
Luigi Novi: I thought they simply didn't reveal it because they wanted to do so later. So why wasn't he given one?

Other than the mother not having one, I don't know. I think he probably did have one, but the writers didn't think it was a pressing question. They might have thought it would be fun to leave the fans to speculate. I, for example, think of him as George.

Thank you, College Humor! A few of those actually were answered more or less, but it's nice to get them all in one place.