LOST: The End

It's been a few weeks since the series finale aired and I wanted to share my thoughts of the ultimate episode. I was going to blog about my initial reaction, but I figured that it probably would have been very muddled and all over the place. My mind was EVERYWHERE, the days following the finale.

I remember back in season three when they announced an end date. It was so exciting because this was one of the only shows in the history of television that wasn't going conclude via cancellation. But, at the time, I thought, "Wow. So, they'll end after season 6. That's like three years from now! We have time!" Season 4 (the freighter season) was kick-ass. Season 5 (the time-traveling season) was fun. But I never thought the day would actually arrive. I hate to sound so melodramatic. But if you know me, then you know that if LOST were an actual human being, then I would have shacked up with it years ago.

That said, the day did come and we threw a pretty damn fine send-off. Everyone was asked to wear black (funeral attire). There was an over-abundance of food and desserts. Elise brought down her giant, flat-screen, plasma television. And for five and a half hours, we were glued to the screen. For non-LOST watchers, there was a 2 hour recap of the series, the 2 1/2 hour series finale, and a 1 hour wrap-up with Jimmy Kimmel. ABC dedicated no less than 5 1/2 hours to LOST. Really...what other show was ever given that grand of a time slot?

Anyway, my series finale review...
If you haven't seen the episode, or caught up, please don't spoil yourself and read the rest of this blog. Just sayin'...you'll be pissed, if you do.

Beautiful. It was absolutely beautiful. This is coming from an honest fan that will admit that every episode of LOST was not perfect. In fact, there are a handful of episodes that I truly hate. (See previous post) But every minute of the finale was a bittersweet iconic image.

For weeks, I had read interviews with the writers stating that the episode would be conclusive, but there could also be threads left to the imagination. Therefore, I had resigned myself to the fact that there would be no shocking ending, no final stinger that would leave a viewer completely mind-fucked. Boy, was I wrong. While the ending wasn't heart attack-inducing, it was a surprise that made the audience think. Remember at the end of season 3? We had been watching an entire episode and, only at the end, we realized that it was a flash-forward and not a flashback? Well, they did it again! But this time, we've been watching an ENTIRE SEASON of this flash-sideways timeline, only to realize that it was "an afterlife" or sorts. WHAT THE HELL?! Suddenly, all of the small idiosyncrasies of the season made perfect sense. It answered the big question of: How does it all come together?

The island side of the story provided us with some mythological answers. It was very Indiana Jones-esque. Personally, I loved it. But I'll admit that I completely understand if someone hated this fantasy element of the show. Many of the articles and reviews on the finale criticized the literal "cork" in the light pool, but come on...there's been a smoke monster since the first episode. It's not like LOST has ever been a 100% realistic ride.

I'm not going to go into a full recap of the episode because, if you watched it, you know what happened. Some of my favorite moments were actually in the sideways-world. All of the "memory flashes" were FANTASTIC: Sun and Jin, Juliet and Sawyer, Claire and Charlie, Kate and Claire's poohnanny...

It was great seeing familiar faces again: Boone, Charlotte, Faraday, Penny, Juliet. Even Shannon came back for Sayid. I know a lot of folks weren't thrilled that Sayid's fate was with Shannon, but I thought it made sense given that Sayid said that he could never deserve Nadia.

I also enjoyed the questions left unanswered. There are MANY hanging threads the show left to the imagination. But honestly, if you think about it, you COULD answer MOST of the questions through logical reasoning.

Even though LOST is over, I'm really excited about the DVDs coming out, the LOST Encyclopedia release, and a few other bits and bobbles. I feel like I've handled the withdrawal well. For about a week after the finale aired, I was still talking about it and theorizing with friends. But, now that it's a few weeks later, I am actually going through days where I don't even think about the show. Is this what it feels like to actually have a life? Whoa!

So, now, what's to occupy this void in my soul? Dexter? Glee? Nothing will ever be as epic, mythological, or serialized as LOST. I have LOVED the discussions, theories, and feelings I've shared with friends and other fans. Maybe it's a good thing that the show left some things to the imagination, now we can continue our discussions FOREVER!

...AND EVER!

...AND EVER!!!

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Before: Our feelings prior to the finale!

After: Our feelings following the finale!

Much love,
Jono