TITLE: “The End”
WRITTEN BY: Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof
AIR DATE: May 23rd 2010
I was going to write a review of the series finale as soon as I’d finished watching it but when it was over I found myself going over everything in my head. After that I went online and had a look at some of the reactions. Needless to say they were at both ends of the spectrum. Some were calling it the worst thing ever and that it made six years of the show worthless, which in itself is a ridiculous notion, and other were proclaiming it the best episode of TV ever. Hell, E! just named Lost the best show of the last 20 years, which I have a feeling the finale played a strong part in. After reading all this and with everyone weighing in on the finale I kinda lost interest in having my say. However, my friend Crystal just called me and voiced her disappointment that I hadn’t given my opinion on the end of the show. With her in mind here are my thoughts on the end of one of the best shows ever.
First off, I don’t buy Darlton’s claim that Lost has always been about the characters. That may have been the writers intent all along but a healthy dose of fans followed the show for the mythology first and the characters second. This season was certainly more focused on the characters with the mythology episodes seemingly used to answer questions raised in previous seasons, and I think now that the sideways world has been revealed as some sort of purgatory that side of the story also plays strongly towards the character side of things. Being an atheist I wasn’t particularly happy with the idea that now all the characters had awakened they could all go on to heaven together, but I can appreciate what the show was going for. When all the characters started to get together at the church I was sure it was the same church with the lamppost station that Eloise Hawking used to send the Oceanic 6 back to The Island. I figured they were all going to go back and live happily ever after. Guess I was wrong.
Lost has from the very beginning been able to introduce new characters and make them feel like a part of this universe. They’ve never felt like addons or third wheels. That’s a testament to the writers and the amazing actors. Chief among all the new additions to the show was Michael Emerson (Benjamin Linus). My understanding was that the character was written for a two or three episode arc but Emerson impressed everyone so much that he was written into the show fulltime. I loved Ben’s apology to Locke outside the church, and him commending Hurley on being a great #1 and I really feel like Ben found peace with everything he’d done. It was also great that Locke forgave Ben. That short scene between the two was absolutely fantastic.
Aside from the skillful writing and the mystery surrounding The Island, Lost was a success because of the stellar acting of everyone involved. I’ve harboured a grudge against Heroes since the show came on the air because fanboys insisted that it was a better show than Lost. I’d like to think that the 1st season finale of Heroes and the 3rd season finale of Lost which aired a few days later proved conclusively that Heroes wasn’t worthy to like the shit off Lost’s shoes but if you need further proof you should look to the quality of acting on the two shows. One of the many reason why Heroes was so God-awful was the absolutely terrible acting. Lost never suffered from this problem and this is one of the reasons why so many new characters could be introduced and all be embraced by the audience. Just off the top of my head after the 1st season the show was able to introduce Ben, Juliet, Mr Eko, Anna Lucia, Libby, Desmond, Penny, Charles Widmore, Eloise Hawking, Charlotte, Lapidus, Miles, Daniel, Richard, Jacob, the MiB, and probably more that I’m forgetting. All of these characters were superb additions and each actor portraying them did an outstanding job.
Despite my misgivings about whether or not Lost has always been about the characters I have to admit that this was a very moving episode. I haven’t cried once during the entire run of Lost, even when episodes are structured to bring about those kinds of reactions (like the one where Sun and Jin died), however I couldn’t help but tear up during some of the awakenings. Of particular note was the whole Kate/Claire/Charlie scene. I’ve never been a big fan of Charlie, he was always kind of a whiner, but for some reason that whole scene really got to me. However, my favourite awakening was the Sawyer/Juliet one. Those two were so great together and that scene was played brilliantly. I always liked the chemistry between Sawyer and Kate but it was more of a lustful relationship than one of love. Juliet and Sawyer loved each other. Whilst we may not have seen their relationship develop they effectively spent 3 or so years together living with the Dharma Initiative. They belonged together and I was extremely happy when it was those two who awakened each other and not Sawyer and Kate.
I was happy that the episode was able to mix in a healthy chunk of action along with the drama. Jack facing off with Not-Locke was pretty cool and has been something that’s been building from the 1st season. I know that Not-Locke isn’t the original and that Jack’s come around to Locke’s way of thinking about The Island (he even says that Locke was right about everything and that Not-Locke is just wearing Locke’s face) but it was still nice to see those two faces going at it on the edge of the cliff. Not-Locke stabbed Jack fucking good. And after six seasons of Kate following after people I shouldn’t have been surprised that she turned up to shoot Not-Locke yet I was.
Finally, I’d like to briefly mention what a pleasant surprise it was to see Boone and Shannon return. Like Charlie I was never a very big fan of these two but I thought their inclusion was a further nod to the show and the characters returning the their 1st season origins. It never actually occurred to me that Shannon would be the one to awaken Sayid. I figured Nadia was his one true love and when he didn’t get together with her that he’d be awakened in some other fashion. And again, it was a touching flashback montage of their memories. It was also great to see Rose and Bernard on The Island. I’d forgotten about them completely.
When Jack became the protector of The Island last week I can’t say I was surprised. Jack has been the lead character since the very first episode so it stands to reason that he’d be the one to take over for Jacob. I know my friend Crystal would have been disappointed with that development because she hates Jack and wanted Hurley to be the one to take over. I know she’ll be happy that Hurley ended up being the protector of The Island. I also really liked the conversation between Hurley and Ben after Hurley took over. That desperate need of Ben to be important was validated by Hurley asking him for help. It’s something that Ben hasn’t really experienced in a number of seasons, that someone actually needs and wants him, and it’s fitting that Hurley, probably the purest Lostie, would be the one to show Ben that he’s needed. And that his need is in requirement of The Island only makes Hurley’s request more significant for Ben.
After last week’s episode there was ridiculous talk about Lost jumping the shark and that people weren’t going to watch it anymore. Just craziness. But that’s the type of devotion fans have for the show. Me on the other hand, I like to just role with whatever the show throws my way. I haven’t bothered to try and formulate a theory about what The Island is or why they were all brought there, so when that stuff is actually revealed I have the luxury of not being disappointed that my theory was wrong or second guessing the decisions of the writers. I think my approach to watching Lost is one that lead to me enjoying the conclusion of the show more than those who’ve invested a lot of time into developing a theory of everything that’s taken place simply because I have no preconceived notion of how I think the show should/would end.
More idiocy followed the finale with people saying it ruined the previous six years. I’m positive that anyone who feels this way doesn’t have the intelligence necessary to follow a simple conversation between Jack and Christian. Below is a transcript of everything that was said between the two in the church:
Christian: Everything that’s ever happened to you is real. All those people in the church, they’re all real too.Jack: They’re all… they’re all dead?Christian: Everyone dies sometime kiddo. Some of them before you, some long after you.Jack: But why are they all here now?Christian: Well there is no now here.Jack: Where are we dad?Christian: Well this is a place that you all made together so that you could find one another. The most important part of your life was the time that you spent with these people. That’s why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone Jack. You needed all of them and they needed you.Jack: For what?Christian: To remember… and to let go.Jack: Kate, she said we were leaving.Christian: Not leaving. No. Moving on.Jack: Where are we going?Christian: Let’s go find out.
Retards the world over are saying that the finale made the entire series a waste of time, presumably because they think the castaways were dead the entire time. It’s precisely because there are morons in the world who can’t follow a simple conversation that networks feel the need to make simple mindnumbingly shit shows like The Big Bang Theory. A look at what was actually said between Jack and Christian shows that this is simply not the case. Everyone was real. They crashed on The Island. They lived there for a time and clashed with The Others, the smoke monster and the freighter guys. It all really happened. The finale provided a bookend to show that that time on The Island was the most important time of those people’s lives.
As for complaints I would have liked a little bit more mythology in the episode but I guess the whole water thing and that underground cave can be debated over by fanboys until they’re blue in the face. I’m also not sure what happened to Desmond. Did he live or die after going into the cave? For a guy who was so important to The Island his ending was a little ambiguous. In addition, the one mystery which still has me wanting an answer is “the rules” between Ben and Widmore and why Ben had said he couldn’t kill him yet he did. That seems like something which is pretty important and is probably the one remaining question I’d like answered the most.
RATING: 9/10
CONCLUSION
I thought it was suitably epic, sad, heartwarming and poetic. A finale perfectly in tone with what the series has always been.
