Of course I’m talking about the ABC television series “Lost” which came to a memorable (and pretty final) end last night after 6 amazing seasons. And after watching intently and even emotionally, I feel the need to express my thoughts about the finale the day after.
For a show to have been so successful at keeping everyone glued to their seats waiting for the next plot twist or character turn - I found myself cringing more then lamenting the thought of “The End”.
But the feeling of anticipation was as strong as I’ve felt for any major television event in recent memory. That alone added to the tone of the final show for me personally.
To the most important reader of these thoughts, I should mention… the only reason I watched the finale, or this show at all for that matter, was due to my wonderful girlfriend and her father being such big fans.
When it first aired I made the mistake of dismissing it as a show that relied on too many gimmicks to keep their audience entertained. So it wasn’t until after much prodding and much procrastinating that I was left alone to watch the pilot and to begin my journey a little late.
From the first scene where Jack wakes up alone in the jungle - on this island where he would spend the most memorable times of his life - I was hooked. The deliberately slow introduction of characters, the mystery surrounding the island and all of it’s inhabitants, drew me in and never let me go. Until last night.
Letting go of these characters that some of us have invested 125 hours of our time to, giving the island it’s closure, and the cast themselves a fitting send off should have been nearly impossible.
I’m fairly certain that there will be plenty of debate as to whether that was accomplished or not, but for me it was the perfect ending to a show that played with metaphysics, quantum theory, psychology, and spirituality.
Season 6 it turns out, was one giant explanation. And really it depends on what questions you were looking to be answered. There were answers to be found in almost every episode, which given the ending, will be fun to revisit with new eyes later.
Who was Jacob? Who was the man in black? What was Charles Whidmore really up to? Was the island real? Was everyone’s time on the island real? All of those questions were answered either leading up to, or by the end of the 2 and a half hour finale.
Some metaphorical questions were left, as well as some technical questions. But those depend on what details you choose to focus on. My questions would tend to be more metaphorical ones.
Was it all a game of backgammon / senet between the light and dark Jacob and MIB? Did they represent the selfishness and selflessness of humanity played out with the flawed candidates as pieces… which eventually led to Jack’s sacrifice (as Jacob before him) and the man in black’s ultimate doubling cube loss?
What was the deal with Daniel Faraday / Whidmore’s mom? Were she and Desmond the anchors on each side of the board? Or was she just creepy? - I dunno.
What was the island? Was the island really like the cork of a bottle as Jacob tried to explain? Why did the source of all light have a cork in it (albeit stone) to work? (shouldn’t it have been the other way around?)
Personally, watching the finale, I was reminded of the Jim Croce song when mentally picturing Jacob corking the bottle to metaphorically show everyone what the island was… paraphrasing…
“If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I’d like to do
Is to save every day ‘til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you
If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do once you find them
I’ve looked around enough to know
That you’re the one I want to go through time with”
—-
At least I’d go with that more then “You all everybody”.
So, I really don’t know what the island was… Am I bothered by this? Yes.
But I do know that we got to see what alot of people do not get out of a television series finale. The end, end.
“I tried that once. There are no shortcuts, no do-overs. What happened, happened. Trust me. I know. All of this matters.”
- Jack to Desmond
Jack sacrifices himself like so many others did over the course of 6 seasons and we’re rewarded by knowing - no matter what timelines, or crazy “quantum leap” style jumps ; or what happened to Richard, Kate, Claire, Sawyer, Miles and Lapidus after they left the island ; or what Hurley and Ben did in their turn as protectors ; or when in time/space Desmond finally returned to Penny… that all of them end up together (after six amazing seasons) where they belong.
In the end, the fight for the island wasn’t a fight between gods, or tribes but a fight between two men. one selfless and one selfish. One who had help from friends, and one who did not. And everything that happened - from “The Others”, to the “Dharma Initiative”, to “Charles Whidmore” was the needed journey we had to take to get us to that final point.
Why was Walt on the plane? To bring Vincent.
And just as he watched over Jack a few times in the pilot, he stayed by his side at the end. Instead of an empty sky to look up at, we get the plane that carries the final survivors off the island for good. We get a victory. We don’t see confusion, we see a smile and a sense of peace. No more questions. We see the end.
