If you haven’t seen the finale, then don’t read this. Obviously there are a lot of spoilers below.
I gotta say, I really liked the finale. I wasn’t a fan of this entire season, but the finale sort of made the journey worthwhile. First, I’m glad a few of my predictions came true, namely with regards to Desmond being involved in helping save the island, the redemption of Ben Linus to some extent, the duality of Locke dying in the island timeline and Locke’s legs being fixed in the sideways timeline.
A few people seem disappointed with the ending. I for one loved the focus on each of the characters during the finale, starting with the flashes between the two timelines at the beginning, and ending with everyone together. A lot of people seem confused with the final ending. I think that’s the point in some ways. Is it heaven? Maybe. Is everyone there dead? Maybe. I think Christian summed it up quite nicely — you are all here because you all meant something to each other, and found a way to basically all be together again.
I love the shot of Jack at the end, lying between the bamboo, waiting for the last little bit of life to seep out of him, and looking up, seeing the plane taking everyone off the island. Jack saved everyone again.
The whole point of the series was that all the characters were lost to some extend. Some, like Ben and Jack, found some redemption at the end. But ultimately, they all ended up together, in whatever place that was, and were, for a few brief moments, all happy.
If you’ve seen it, drop a comment while it’s fresh.
Incredible. Although I would be fully satisified with the writers’ literal interpretations, the finale still brought me to tears. There are so many different ways we could interpret what happened, but it all comes down to the fact that they all found peace in some way. So happy for the characters… yet so sad that it is over.
Great post! I for one enjoyed it immensely. The focus on the relationships, the love, and the ‘dharma’ (in its Buddhist connotation) is completely consistent with the series’ thematic principles.
I thought a big question was answered too: In the end, life/death, here/there. then/now are all very uncertain constructed states of experience; love is a unity that transcends them. Relationship transcends time and space, and even life and death. That’s life’s big question and the series’ big answer in the end.
The way in which this answer was delivered in the finale was superb.
LOVED the finale! Totally get it.. Law of Attraction’s best TV metaphor I’ve seen. We are all bound together to work out our “stuff”. When we cross over the veil of death.. all the “wounds” of our lives are left on the earthly plain. The characters seemed to me to be clearly defined as dead by the answers given by Jack’s dad. They created that other time line as a way to remember one another. Jack’s father explained it perfectly… time has no impact where they are .. and they only got together to remember who they were.. because the most important time of their lives was spent together. Those that left the island went on with their lives and died in their own time.. but were powerfully drawn together once they crossed over the veil into the next life. But because time has no power on that plain.. they all walked thru a bit of regular life to get acclimated to the idea of all being together.. makes sense to me.. anyway.. LOVED it! And, like you.. I did not watch much of it.. but the last 6 months my housemates watched it religiously and I started to get keyed into the “lost” world. I think it is a great metaphor for our own walk on this plain. We fret over the struggle when the struggle really is as wonderful as the exhilarating pleasures of it all.. and in the end.. death holds no power over us.. it is just a passage into another life.. without boundaries.. and we remain bound together to those we hold most dear.. 🙂
I enjoyed the finale. I have some qualms with the fact that I still don’t know what the hell the island is, but I understand that it isn’t necessary to spoon-feed us answers. I know that everyone has pretty much settled on the purgatory explanation of the flash sideways, but truthfully my first thought was that Jack was merely imagining a happy ending for himself and those he had met on the island. I saw it as a desperate attempt to comfort himself in death. I’ve been considering that others may ask how to explain the flash sideways in this situation, but I mean if we can credit unexplained wheels that can transport people randomly forward and backwards in time, what is wrong with an alternate universe? I prefer that explanation myself, but that could have something to do with my lack of religious beliefs.
Ever heard of a MacGuffin? It’s a plot element that only serves to drive the characters towards the end. The rabbit’s foot in MI 3 is a good example, or even the ring in Lord Of The Rings.
Maybe the Island is just a MacGuffin, a way to bring all the characters together and finally have them all be happy.
I see what you mean and it’s an interesting idea, but I would see it as a tad simple for all the detail added on to the island. The fact that there was the others, the whole Jacob/man in black, good/evil struggle, and the fact that reason they were all there is supposedly to continue the whole struggle and protect the light. It just seems like there is more there than just attaining happiness for the characters. They discussed saving the world by killing the man in black and protecting the island, but that wasn’t really brought to a close at any point. What was the purpose of the island further than that? What happens now?
Yah, I agree. I just meant that in the end I think the Island is just a secondary character to the big picture, which involves the happiness of the characters.
I enjoyed the finale. In keeping with the overall theme of Lost, it left me with a sense of mystery and intrigue while answering many questions along the way.
The island is unfinished business. It is where we go between life and death when we have unfinished business left. Maintaining the island being the ultimate in unfinished business. On the island of unfinished business people don’t ever die, they move on. There is no way off the island, other than to move on. There is no past or present or future on the island of unfinished business. There is no reality, no unreality. The people on the plane at the end did not escape the island, they moved on. Jack, ensuring that everyone he cared about was finished with their business, could finally move on himself. Ben, who was forgiven by everyone but could not forgive himself, has not moved on. Ben will return to the island of unfinished business, waiting for the next group, waiting for what he may not ever find, maintaining the island of unfinished business until he can finally be at rest with himself.
LOVE that idea Seking… great concept.. fully resonates..
Lauren, really agree with the alternate universe idea too… don’t think it matters whether the context comes under religion or not..
Did you notice all the faith symbols in the stained glass behind Jack’s dad when he was giving explanations? I was thinking.. that all faith when combined.. is just that.. FAITH not religion..
What unified all the characters in the end? LOVE… but whose to say that LOVE isn’t something in and of itself that transcends time and space and spans to parallel universes..
I think the episode can be seen as we see art.. We take out of it what we bring to it.. so your explanation has its truth… and another person who comes at this from a different vantage point has their truth… and everyone is right.. this also supports the underlying thread to interconnectedness… I love that it has people thinking.. and as this enjoyable blog allows.. us talking/ connecting… very nice!
Thank you. It did seem that a major theme in the show was faith versus science, which many people have mentioned. I agree that the interpretation of the ending will depend upon what we all believe individually and in that way the show has succeeded in making us consider the deeper meanings behind life and individual purposes.
I think Johnny Cash – A Satisfied Mind sums up the premise of Lost. Listen to this one and reflect back….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QphglQu3oL0&feature=fvw
Loved it, truly loved it. I *did* think the island was purgatory at the end, but then this morning I really got it.
So sad. I finally figured out I’m grieving all over again.
I loved it. I couldn’t have imagined it ending any other way, and I definitely spent the entire finale crying at all the tear-jerking moments. It was nice to have everything mostly wrapped up. That was a tough one for the writers to finish, and I think they ended it nicely.