My Final Lost Thoughts - 5/23 - The End

The End.

So it’s all over. And that means what will probably be the final edition of my Lost Thoughts, although it’s entirely possible that will change. I may have more to say later.

But let’s get down to business. I absolutely loved the finale and found it to be a satisfactory ending to one of the best shows I’ve ever watched on television. To me, there was an emotional connection that I had with the show that was incredibly unique that I haven’t experienced in any other show thus far in my life. In fact, very few movies have provided me with the immense emotional experience that this finale of Lost, and by extension the entire series, has.

Given that I’ve received several text messages, instant messages, and e-mails attempting to get my perspective on what EXACTLY went down in that finale, I’m going to try and do a quick summarization of it.

The flash-sideways were essentially existential flash forwards.


A crude but effective MS Paint job that hopefully helps to illustrate the sideways world.


Everything that happened to the characters in the show, with the exception of the flash sideways, happened to them in the same way situations would happen to you or me in the real world. They all lived their lives. Jack died saving the island and by extension the whole world. Kate, Sawyer, Lapidus, Claire, Miles, Richard, and later on Desmond, all escaped the island for the last time to probably never return. They lived their lives with the experience of the island in their past, forever changed by it. Hurley became the protector of the island and Ben was his new Richard. Richard was no longer immortal, probably as a result of Jacob’s death and that immortal connection was severed.

When all of the characters died in their own respective lives, years and years later, this alternate world was created. Essentially a purgatory of their own design. Their shared experience, which provided each one of these individual characters a redemption that they would have otherwise been unable to achieve without the aid of the island, allowed their souls to pool together to create this world that was similar enough to their old lives that it was relatively simple, once they were all ready, to enter into the afterlife together. Whether you want to call that heaven or nirvana or whatever I think is up to you and your own spiritual background. I don’t think the name for it is that important. As to why this “purgatory” was necessary in the first place, I think it was so they could re-experience their lives in similar, yet better, ways that would allow them to better appreciate their island experience, but that’s just speculation on my part.

Desmond kick started this process when he was blasted with the electromagnetic radiation by Widmore and his consciousness essentially “died” for a moment and traveled to this future plane of existence. When his future, purgatorified self became aware of his past life, he then became aware of his ultimate death and why he was there, bringing the most important people to the church to usher them into their eternal life. Had it not been for Desmond’s mission, they would have ultimately met the same result, it just would have taken a little longer.
Who knows how long this whole process took? That’s kind of a question that we as humans are unable to answer in any real detail. We have a very specific worldview when it comes to the concept of time, and find it very difficult to conceptualize the relativity of time and the experience of time. We measure time on Earth as one second per second. But that’s not necessarily how time travels in the rest of the universe, let alone alternate planes of existence.

I personally speculate that this plane came into existence possibly thousands of years after the final shot of Jack’s eye closing and his death. I say this because Hurley was now the island’s protector, and it’s entirely possible and plausible that his reign over the island lasted longer than even Jacob’s now there was no evil force trying to get off the island. So once they all died, and not before that moment, this place sprung up and they lived their lives through it until it was ready for them to leave.

Some still aren’t ready. Ben became cognizant of all of the terrible things he did in his life and wanted to work them out before joining everyone for eternity. Ms. Hawking/Mrs. Widmore didn’t want to leave and really wanted to stay with her son Daniel Faraday/Widmore in this plane, which is why she was concerned about Desmond becoming aware of the plane’s true nature. Charlotte’s still hanging around for some reason, even though she never really had issues to begin with.

Ultimately the point is that all the experiences they had, everything they did, happened to them. They all became reborn within this purgatory plane of existence and lived their lives there, too. Only when becoming aware of their living pasts did they feel completely at peace and became ready to move forward with their eternal lives.

My Personal Opinion



Personally, I didn’t really like this idea. I feel as if the show got a little too existential at the end and now season six needs to be completely reevaluated on the basis of the fact that the sideways world WAS in fact purgatory. Almost ironic given the fact that everyone thought the island itself was purgatory when the show started, a claim that was subsequently vehemently denied. Yet, what makes this situation different is that theirs was a purgatory of their own design. It sprung from their desire to want to enter into eternity together, changed by their vehicle of redemption: the island.

There were hints of this with the idea of ghosts and spirits that were communicable. But to bring the entire show into a completely separate plane of existence may have been a little much for me. Personally, I think it’s a little stupid to be honest.

Yet, ultimately that didn’t stop me from loving the episode which really hit me emotionally in ways that I hadn’t expected it to. Although the way in which it did was slightly cheap in that watching these characters reunite was essentially just a reminder of all the phenomenal experiences I had watching the show. Nothing new was really gained by it, but it worked by tapping into six years of memories with these characters and knowing all they went through, I was happy to see them all back together again.
Seeing all those loved ones become aware of their pasts and embrace what they now know was touching on so many different levels. And it was fantastic to watch.

I did feel the first half dragged in places, especially on the island. I kept wanting to see the sideways world move forward more than what was happening on the island. The plot itself wasn’t incredible. It boiled down to “have Desmond remove cork, kill Locke, take off on plane, replace cork.” Yet watching it all culminate was definitely a sight to behold.

The episode wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. This being Lost, I didn’t really expect it to be. I expected to feel differently when I finished the episode though. I expected it to be more “awesome”. It wasn’t the feeling of “awesome” I was expecting, but I loved it all the same, albeit in a completely different way than I had anticipated.

There are still plenty of unanswered questions, which to be honest, doesn’t really bother me. I feel that I can fill in the gaps with my imagination at this point and give perfectly satisfactory answers. Would I like to know more? Sure. Absolutely. If they want to open up and tell me the things I want to know, I’ll listen. But right now, I can’t even think of anything that I really want answered. I’ve even come up with my own personal theory about the island itself. In fact, here it is!

Sean’s Personal Island Theory

The island is a byproduct of the creation of life on earth. It has always been there and will always be there. I feel like it’s as old as time itself. It probably even killed the dinosaurs. The electromagnetic energy that radiates from the light keeps the destructive forces from beneath it from consuming the earth. Had Jack not replaced the cork, the island would have been destroyed and eventually all life as we know it would have been consumed by this energy underneath the island which manifests itself as volcanic activity. I don’t think that it’s deliberately malicious. I don’t think it’s an entity. Just something that will happen if not kept in check, hence the need for a protector of the light. One of the ways it’s protected is by binding whoever touches the light in the form of a Smoke Monster through the light’s electromagnetic energy.

Desmond’s ability to withstand electromagnetic forces made him literally the only person on earth (probably) who could have removed the cork. Without him, the cork stays in place since no one can get to it. The alternative, possibly cooler, way to do things would have been for Jack to become his own smoke monster and have a smoke monster throwdown. Of course, they would have just been ending up battling for all eternity, making things pretty difficult to end the show on.

After Death

If one completely neglects the flash sideways as a whole, and focuses only on things that happened to the characters during their regularly scheduled lives, I think the show ended fantastically. To end the show on the image of a dying Jack’s closing eye, as Vincent lie near him to comfort Jack in his final moments, as a complete contrast to the first image of the show being his opening eye after his brush with Vincent, truly brings the show full circle in a way that I never would have expected. The people on the plane go on to live full and happy lives. Kate helps Claire raise Aaron. Richard discovers the comforts of modern life. Miles does something. Lapidus probably keeps being a pilot. And Desmond travels back to Penny and his son, and they live their lives. While Hurley and Ben continue to do their thing on the island for however long it takes for Hurley and Ben to die.

The Legacy of Lost



I feel satisfied by the show. I’m happy with it. Do I agree with everything they did? No, not necessarily. There are clearly some continuity issues here and there, some questions that needed answering, but I feel as if those are forgivable. What’s not forgivable is where the hell was Walt? I was expecting some Walt in my finale, and I didn’t get it. That was kind of lame. And one final question, what the hell did detonating the hydrogen bomb even DO? It didn't create this alternate reality, and the incident was clearly something COMPLETELY different since it would be difficult to build the swan over a nuclear waste zone. I really wish I could have that answer.

I’m not accepting Lost as a perfect show. But I feel a sense of satisfaction now that it’s over. I think the ride was worth it. It wasn’t what I expected, but nothing ever is. The ability of Lost to inspire thought hasn’t ended, but I feel they’ve given us enough information that we can come to relatively solid conclusions at this point. I feel comfortable in believing the things in which I believe about the show until new evidence is presented to make me believe something otherwise.

This isn’t like after the season three finale when I couldn’t figure out what it all meant, because it could mean so many different things. Instead, I feel I have everything I need. While there is certainly still some ambiguity there, at the end of the day, I loved it. And really that’s all that matters.

The point of the show from day one was to watch characters who were all Lost in their own respective lives somehow find their redemption and become better people for the experience. Even the most despicable of characters eventually became bastions of righteousness at some point. And frankly, I can honestly think of no better protector of the island than Hurley. He has been the one character whose positivity and optimism in the lives of others is unquestioned. The island helped him conquer his curse of the numbers and in turn he will help others conquer their demons.

And Jack, father issues and all, learned how to believe in something bigger than himself and saved the world in the process. His empiricism and the way he constantly butted heads with Locke led to a new change in his personality. While this led to his ultimate demise, he was eventually rewarded by a shared afterlife with those who experienced island life with him. And because of that, maybe the flash sideways weren’t so pointless after all.

And with all that, we learn that it’s up to us all individually to face our burdens and have the courage to “Let go.” Because I believe that’s what Lost was all about.

Lost Thoughts 5/11 - Across the Sea

The Deconstruction of the Man in Black

So, that's it people. He has no name. The Man in Black will forever be The Man in Black (or MIB for short), which is something that I'm not particularly happy about. Granted, the overwhelming possibility of names would have ultimately been a let down but I feel like the Man in Black is such a nebulous name that I feel silly even typing it. Which I have done four times already in this one post.

But now we know the history. It may be a history that we were not expecting, and a history some may not even like, but ultimately here it is. And I find myself asking even more questions at times. Who were those other people? Was it a random occurrence they found the island or had they been looking for it in an explorers looking for the Fountain of Youth sense? Precisely what IS the Smoke Monster? These are questions that I'm essentially positive we will not be seeing the answers to. It's absolutely too late in the game to address them at this point, especially because there's no question that we'll be moving at breakneck speeds towards the end of it all after next week.

Casting all those concerns aside for a moment, was this episode entertaining? Was it necessary? And did we learn anything from it? I'd argue yes for the first, maybe for the second, and absolutely for the third.

Lost in Expectations

What this episode presented was an interesting parable about two brothers who, despite being raised the same, end up with completely opposite points of view. Their adoptive mother, a woman tasked with protecting this island at all costs from the danger that lies in the heart of the island, has no trust in humanity. And she clearly sees much of herself in The Man in Black, thus grooming him to be her successor. In fact, in the season 5 finale, MIB uses the exact same phrasing "They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same." They ultimately have the same philosophy. Yet, he had no desire for such a life. Despite his status as the chosen one, MIB is more interested in seeing the world, now knowing his true origins and that a larger world exists. Meanwhile Jacob, who is arguably the better son by acting precisely how his mother wanted, is not given the same respect as his more subversive brother. And Jacob does all of this full well and knowing that his true mother was murdered by this woman who raised him. Yet, despite it all, Jacob is much more optimistic about humanity and their chances. He believes in their inherent goodness as opposed to the pessimism of MIB and Mother.

There was certainly an entertaining quality to the whole episode, watching neither of these characters become true bastions of good or evil. Both of them had a bit of a moral ambiguity that I felt would be not be nearly as prominent after the revelation of last week's episode. There was no question. The Man in Black was a bad man. Here he is just a man who wants to leave a place he was never supposed to be to begin with. His plight is certainly something that can be identified with on a basic level. And Allison Janney did a wonderful job as their rather jaded yet loving mother who apparently just wanted to be set free, as evidenced by her final "Thank you" to MIB after her murder.

The Necessity of the Island's History

There are three and a half hours of the show left. Last week's episode ended on this upswing of momentum that was obviously designed to propel us into the finale. And yet, we take a break from all of that to learn about characters who have literally been behind the scenes for the majority of the series. The result was an episode of Lost that on many levels didn't play as an episode of Lost. Much of the information that was learned could have been gained in conversations between characters. I do applaud the writers for attempting to do something very unconventional here in the last few hours. And I would argue that with a few tweaks this could have been an even better episode than it was, although I think it should have played earlier in the season.

One of my biggest complaints about the earlier episodes of the season was that we just had no idea what the stakes were. We didn't know which side was which or why the game was even being played. The writers said they wanted the audience to be unsure as to whether or not we could trust Locke, but after last week's episode it was clear that he was evil and needed to be stopped. The problem was, we didn't get that pure evil feeling from this week's episode either. This episode could have been placed VERY early in the season and it would have set up quite nicely what was occurring without all the uncertainty. And still, we could have believed that Locke's only goal was to leave the island and experience the world.

Information Overload and Some Rare Speculation

So what was gained by this episode? Well, I will say that I found the revelation of Adam and Eve to be interesting and enjoyable. That was one "question" I didn't feel ever really needed an answer though. I was perfectly content assuming that it was a man and wife who were shipwrecked on the island and died in the cave. Why people gravitated to that question is something that is beyond me, but it goes to show the level of detail many Lost fans expect.

There is a mystical aspect to the show that will never be explained, and that's something I have always expected. The question of where Jacob comes from is answered, but where his adoptive mother comes from will never be, which she addressed in her almost meta-comment when she told the birth mother "Your questions will only lead to more questions." I feel that it's something the audience just has to accept.

The wheel's creation was addressed, but still not fully explained, since Mother went and destroyed the well prior to MIB completing it. There was also a bit of a jump in scientific knowledge regarding mixing water and light and getting off the island. Going from "metal does weird things!" to "turning this wheel by mixing the light and water will create the necessary conditions for leaving the island!" seems to be quite the leap in scientific capabilities. Either way, I'm still unsure to who ultimately ended up finishing the job MIB started.

Now normally I attempt to stay away from speculation, since it's not my strong point. I have been wrong far more often than I'm right, but I feel as if the pieces put in place here will allow me to draw relatively solid conclusions based on the evidence we have been presented with thus far.

Here is the history of the island as I see it. The island has alway been there. Someone has always been there to protect it. The mystical forces at work have always been there. And here's where it gets extremely speculative: The smoke monster, an essence of evil, a harbinger of destruction, has always been there. Trapped within the confines of the "heart" the island. This was information Jacob didn't have. All he knew was that he needed to protect the island from people and protect this light. When he tossed his brother into the light, knowing that it wouldn't kill him, that existing essence merged with the essence of the Man in Black and their mutual desire to leave the island became one. The man, who wanted to see the world, and the monster who wants to destroy it. And in that connection, the monster was released from his holding cell and free to roam the prison of the island using the MIB as a vessel.

EDIT: So upon further reflection, I feel as if that theory is completely wrong. That the light at the heart of the island turned MIB INTO the smoke monster. They are not actually separate entities but one in the same. The power that exists at the heart is shared to an extent with the Man in Black. And therefore if he leaves the island, he takes the heart with him. Which apparently will destroy life as we know it. A bad thing.

Some might argue that the monster is not in fact, The Man in Black, but just going along in that body the same way that he is with John Locke. But to those people I ask why would a monster who is using the body of John Locke invoke the imagery, memory, and emotions of the Man in Black? He talked to Kate sharing the memories of his "crazy person" mother. He said he was once a human. He became incredibly distressed when he saw young Jacob in the jungle. Clearly this thing was once a man, and not just simply using a man as a vessel.

Yet, questions still remain. Questions that will never be answered. How was Jacob able to so easily travel to and from the island in the present? What was MIB's dead mother? Was she a manifestation of the island or a ghost in the Hurley sense of the word? Who finished the Donkey Wheel? And what exactly IS the smoke monster? I posited my own personal belief of what the monster is, but indeed that could turn out to be false.

What They Died for and The End
This was easily my longest Lost post to date, and with good reason. It opened and closed many doors on so many different subjects and elicited a number of different thoughts about the ultimate ending of the show. In 11 short days, it will all be over after the final three and a half hours and I am highly looking forward to it. There were elements of this episode that were mildly disappointing, but as a whole I think it stands up pretty well. The thing is that our collective imaginations are far more capable than those of a few writers in California and when a mystery is presented that takes so long to be resolved but is compelling during the act of the mystery itself, any revelation is probably going to be a let down. Especially when we find ourselves believing even a small element of truth in one moment but when the real truth is revealed, it ends up being completely unrelated. I'm happy with how this episode turned out and in a way it made me more comfortable with accepting things as they are. Mostly I'm happy that we finally understand who these characters are that have been so integral to not only this season, but to the entire series as a whole.

Lost Thoughts 5/5 - The Candidate

This, by far, is my favorite episode of the year.

The majority of this season there has been a lack of that "Lost" feeling. The feeling that I got in so many episodes that were thrilling, dramatic, and all around entertaining. But for much of this season, watching it was like putting together a puzzle when you couldn't see what the pieces were making. There were elements of entertainment, sure. Yet much of it was not all that thrilling. Fortunately, starting last week, that changed.

What changed is that the characters who we have been rooting for over these last six seasons finally started taking control instead of aimlessly wandering around. They were no longer waiting for things to happen but instead made the decision to formulate plans. Plans to get off the island. Plans to stop Locke from leaving. Not quite the same as hoping that someone tells them what to do and far more dramatic for that matter. And in that drama, the long Lost feeling returned.

First, the island story. Locke's plan to eliminate all of the Candidates made total sense but was absolutely a surprise. His long con firmly cemented his place as completely evil. The entire season, where he has been convincing the candidates they had to leave together, was a sham from the start. As Jack said, he couldn't kill them, so it would be up to them to kill each other. Placing the bomb in the backpack would have done nothing, but allowing them to detonate the bomb themselves is a different situation altogether. And unfortunately, Sawyer didn't trust Jack on this point.

Despite the fact that I knew a bomb wasn't going to take out the majority of the season regulars four episodes before the finale, there was a very palpable sense of tension throughout the entire scene and the entire episode for that matter. I knew they were going somewhere but I didn't know where it would be. And there was no way of knowing what sort of danger was lurking around the corner. Was Widmore planning on killing them all or did Locke have something up his sleeve? The answer seems to be both, but Widmore's motivations still aren't totally clear.

What it did do though was allow for Sayid to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Granted, if he wouldn't have taken the bomb and ran, he would have died anyway but still. The point was made that at this juncture he wanted his friends to live. He didn't kill Desmond last week and clearly was recognizing that he didn't have to be evil. Of course, after he was "claimed" what "unclaimed" him? I'm not really clear as to what "claiming" means, but I find it possible that it had something to do with his chat with Desmond unlocking the goodness within him. To see this redemption from Sayid was both emotional and exciting.

Yet, the true emotion was shared in a Titanic-like moment between Jin and Sun. These two characters who have been through so much and separated for so long become eternally entwined in this incredible moment of unity. There was no way Jin was going to give up and when Giacchino's awesome "Life and Death" theme kicked in, I knew they weren't bound to survive. Although I do feel like Sun should have said something like, "Maybe you should try and go home to take care of our daughter so she's not an orphan", the moment was real and extremely touching.

Ultimately this leads to the moment on the beach where Jack, Hurley, Kate, and unconscious Sawyer are dealing with the ramifications of what just happened and they all just lose it. The crippling loss and destruction of this most recent experience coupled with everything else they have been gone through over the years puts a poignant cap on an already stellar episode. Hopefully this sets that team into a more proactive mode because nothing is more thrilling than seeing characters at their lowest point rise up and confront that which put them there. That anger, hurt, and betrayal will all be funneled into an attitude of "We end this now." And that is something that I cannot wait to see. The look on Locke's face when he realized that they weren't all dead, that he could just feel the fact that he was still trapped, was a tiny victory that the characters have yet to understand or even know of.

The sideways world on the other hand was one that mirrored the island story rather nicely. Jack is finally understanding that there is something going on here that isn't normal. His connection to all these people from the same flight means something, although he doesn't quite know what it is yet. But he's starting to put the pieces together. His leadership role in both worlds is something that continues to grow as we move toward the finale. And his motivation to help Locke is the result of something, but again, it's something he doesn't quite understand. Locke's mind seems to be opening up as well, with his mentions of the button and how he wished people believed him while sleeping. In addition to Jack saying that similar line about being believed and Locke paused for a moment of recognition.

Here's my biggest gripe. I feel like the sideways world is the endgame. That the character's lives in the sideways world all happen after the island, which follows because characters from the sideways world are remembering their island lives. If this is in fact the case, having this knowledge almost lessens the sacrifices of characters in these remaining episodes. Granted this is all pure speculation, but based on what I have seen thus far, when Sayid, Sun, and Jin died, in the back of my mind I was telling myself "It's no big deal, they're going to end up alive in the sideways world anyway." This lessened the dramatic tension a bit, but not completely. There is still much to be revealed about the way these two timelines connect. I just wish that I didn't have this gut reaction to it because then I would have treated it the same way I treated Charlie's death. Or Juliet's for that matter when there were fewer clues as to how these worlds connected.

Also, some of the submarine stuff seems slightly convoluted. I feel like the C4 would have done more damage or the submarine would have had more emergency safeguards in the event that the sub needed to reach the surface quickly. Especially it seemed that they hadn't been submerging for that long. Of course, these are just minor nitpicks that were probably dramatic license to provide more compelling drama.

Overall, this episode didn't provide us with many answers. But I'm realizing more and more that answers aren't necessarily what I'm looking for first and foremost. I want to be entertained. I want to care about what happens to these people. And I want it to make thematic and dramatic sense. I am incredibly excited to see where this goes next, and I certainly feel as if next week's episode in which apparently no series regulars appear, will not only entertain but provide a history of the island along with many of the answers about what exactly this island is.

And the fact that they just extended the finale from two to two and a half hours on Sunday, May 23 at 9:00-11:30 makes me even more excited than ever. I can't wait.