Lost - season six (final)

[Dogg]

I just saw the last episode last night. Overall, I think it wrapped things up nicely. I had concluded early on that the island was way station or a sort of purgatory where some of the souls who died in the crash needed to find redemption before moving on. They didn't acknowledge that they were dead and were carrying a lot of baggage from their lives that had not been dealt with. When they were close to experiencing their awakening to their true fate, they were experiencing two different life outcomes at nearly the same time (like two different interconnected dimensions). These lives melded together and they awakened to the truth through certain triggers ie: the love between Sawyer/Juliet and Clare/Charlie. Jack's whole experience on the island with these people lasted in the last few seconds of his life, and that was shown by the opening and closing of his eyes.

I thought the last scene with the parts of the plane strewn about just showed that no one had lived through the crash and the whole experience on the island was the journey of Jack's soul from life to death.

is that your interpretation of the finale or how you think it should have went?


plane wreckage footage on the beach after the LOST screen was just backdrop for the credits

and the island wasn't purgatory, everything was real... everything out of Christians mouth was directly from the writers pen; a direct spoonfeeding of what was happening.

i think a few years back Damon/Carlton got scared and pulled a Dave Chappelle...

[Giggity22]

I really disagree with the critique for two different reasons. First, the writer complains about outcomes being too logical making them predictable. To me, that's good writing. It shows the writers had an idea of the direction they were taking, and led us there. Sure, twists and surprises are exciting. But if they are TOO predictable, then I think the viewer is left frustrated, because what happened was so illogical that it never could have been guessed. To me, that's like a mystery novel where the author doesn't bother to share clues with the reader. As detailed and analytical as viewers of Lost have been in viewing ... and researching the show, I think that some degree of predictability coming from logic is inevitable.

I think the problem here is that for all the twists and surprises from over the years, none of them really meant anything when it was all said and done. Its great to have this "holy crap" moments but what oood are they if in the end, you dont explain them all?
The purgatory ending was surprise to everyone because in season one, the writers and producers made it a point to say that the island was NOT PURGATORY. So then what do they do, they make up this alternate reality for the final season and make that purgatory. Thats lame and I feel its almost insulting to me as a viewer of this show. That ending would have been great if it was the season 6 ending. It was the series finale and it was based all on a storyline that was introduced in the last season. To me that makes it seem like they had no idea what to do with all the nonsense twists and turns over the years and just came up with the flashsideways so they could end the show.

Second, I take issue with the perceived lack of answers. As has been pointed out in this thread, Lost relied a great deal on shades of gray. To me, definitive answers would have been a big let down. We may THINK we want them, but imagine how anti-climatic it would be if we got them. Everyone had their ideas of what things meant. If answers were given definitively rather than being eluded to, then anyone with a different vision would be very dissapointed. The way it was done, we got the answers, but still got enough shades of gray that 3 days after the finale aired, it's still interesting to discuss what we all think it meant.

I have to disagree. Why wouldnt you want answers? This show hooked people in and kept them watching because they hoped that all those cool crazy plot lines would eventually have a pay off. For them to just abandon them and then say either "it wasnt important" or "we ran out of time" is lame. If it wasnt imporant, it shouldnt have needed to be used on the show. If you didnt have enough time, you could have condensed some of those filler flashsideways stories and use that time. Believe me, I didnt need everything answered but

The Temple was another plot line that I felt went about 4 episodes too long and really had no logical reason. It was set up in the season premier as this mystical place yet you learn nothing of it. Why if Dogan is alive can the smoke monster not do anything? Thats something they should have answered because it was a major point to that plot. Once he died, the temple was destroyed. Zoey. Why did Zoey become part of the show if she was going to be killed like an extra before she could do anything useful?

I enjoyed the episode. It was probably the best of the season. Those awakening moments were very moving at times. I just feel that as a series finale, it came up way too short. This was a show based on mystery and mythology and in the end it came down to some ending that in essence, had nothing to do with any of that. To me it was very disappointing.

[SQUATMAN]

I'm over my rant from Monday and have had time to reflect on and discuss the finale. I've let it go ........

Predictable or not, it was a valid ending. I no longer feel slighted. LOST was the only show I've watched faithfully in decades, other than Family Guy and The Simpsons, and Hell's Kitchen. It was a strange, wonderful ride. With such a convoluted show there will be plot holes and conflicts, and unanswered questions, and, for that matter, questions that have no answers. I'm fine with that.

Just wondering though - if "everything on the island happened" how did the passengers of 815 get there in the first place ? Didn't Desmond tell Jack "the plane never crashed, I was sitting next to you on the flight from Sydney" ?

BTW, loved the Target commercials.

[chrisg]

Why wouldnt you want answers? This show hooked people in and kept them watching because they hoped that all those cool crazy plot lines would eventually have a pay off. For them to just abandon them and then say either "it wasnt important" or "we ran out of time" is lame. If it wasnt imporant, it shouldnt have needed to be used on the show. If you didnt have enough time, you could have condensed some of those filler flashsideways stories and use that time. Believe me, I didnt need everything answered but

This is what I keep coming back to, too, Giggity. And, more and more, I think it was meant to be a parable and, in that sense, the moral lesson took precedence over everything else and then is saying, ultimately, that those other highly specific details aren't important which obviously easily ticks people off. Either that or we'll get that 3 part movie with more answers, because otherwise they really royally messed up and I just don't see those guys -- Abrams, Lindelof, Cuse -- messing up like that.

I happen to like parables, though, so it took me a while to realize, 'I think this might be why I liked it and other people are ticked off' but they absolutely aren't for everyone. Glad you're feeling better, though, Squatman.

And ABC is re-airing the finale on Saturday with Jimmy Kimmel's after show after it. It's only a little over 2 hours in the re-airing, though, and I can't see them showing an edited version so there must have been about 25 extra minutes of commercials in the first airing. I just thought I'd pass that along in case anyone didn't DVR it the first time around or wants what appears to be a version with fewer commercials.

[mize77]

The first 1 1/2 hours of the finale seemed to have 5 minutes of commercials for every 5 minutes of Lost. Ka-ching, ka-ching--those ad spots must have been in the Superbowl range. However the last part of the show had fewer commercials breaks and longer periods of the episode itself. If they don't show as many commercials, it wouldn't take as 2 1/2 hours.

[nanarama]

I'm another one who was appalled at the the number of the commercials. I must admit, we were spoiled because we watched Season 5 on DVD and most of this season on Hulu. Not too many commercials there!
Also, as far as the ending is concerned, I don't see why they had to open more cans of worms that went unanswered as recently as this season. The temple, just for one example. It reminds me of a book I read years ago by a best selling author. While most of the book was pretty good, he introduced an elaborate sub-plot that when the book was over you were asking, "Huh? What did the home invasion have to do with anything and why did they put all that in when it never went anywhere?" While the finale felt emotionally rewarding to see the couples reunited, in hindsight I feel frustrated because of all the crazy plot lines that were thrown out there and never resolved or satisfied. On Youtube there's a short video that some college kids made that lists (some of) the unanswered questions. I got a kick out of it but was also a little frustrated to be reminded of more things I'll never have explained. (Probably because there is no explanation - they threw it out there and forgot about it.)

[PWS]

One very specific question... did I miss why the big statue only had 4 toes? Was it an animal headed being (back when it had a head)?

[gracie]

One very specific question... did I miss why the big statue only had 4 toes? Was it an animal headed being (back when it had a head)?

It had 4 toes and an animal head because it was some Egyptian godess called Tarawet (I think that's the name).

It's been a weird week without Lost to watch. I think I'm going to re-watch this season on Tuesdays at 9 so I can ween myself off the show.

[PWS]

It had 4 toes and an animal head because it was some Egyptian godess called Tarawet (I think that's the name).

It's been a weird week without Lost to watch. I think I'm going to re-watch this season on Tuesdays at 9 so I can ween myself off the show.

Thank you! Of course why did the Egyptians have a statue in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.... each answer leads to more questions... but that is LOST for you!
Now that I've read about it in WIkipedia it sounds faintly familiar... especially the part about her being the goddess of fertility and childbearing... very apropos for LOST.

[PWS]

Another unanswered question...that maybe I just missed the answer to... Did we ever find out why the women of the island had troubles with their pregnancies? But those who conceived off island did not? Or do we just assume it had something to do with the evil corked on the island or the "light" or the electromagnetic powers of the island? Thanks!