"The End" of an Era

I had written an entire entry with my usual sections for this finale, and realized that it just didn't work. I'm not going to dissect this episode, but rather reflect on it as the ending of an entire series.

This series ended well. We find out the use for Desmond, and watch Jack kill Smokey. Jack passes his duties on to Hurley and dies as the rest of our heroes fly off the island with Lapidus and his plane.

In the flash sideways, we realize that it was not a world where the bomb went off, but a purgatorial state they had all prepared for each other. Christian tells Jack that the people in the church were those who died before and long after him. He said that they were all waiting for each other to move on, or to let go. He says that everyone dies, and that all that matters is the time he spent with these people.

This pissed a lot of people off. Most people don't like religion, or spirituality. But if you haven't figured out that's what LOST is about after 6 years of watching it, you clearly have much bigger problems. The set was chosen very carefully, for it had symbols from every religion known to man, and alluded to neither of them. The whole premise of LOST has been about having faith, and believing that things happen for a reason. Though several of the burning questions about the island did not get answered, the purpose of the show was fleshed out perfectly.

To me, the Island represents your life. Or in this case, Jack Shephard's life. Life is a series of tests and choices. You meet several people from different walks of life, get presented with opportunities, and how you deal with them makes you the person you are in the end. That is why John Locke was one of the main characters' names in this show. John Locke was a free thinker who believed that everyone was born with a clean slate, and that their experiences in life make them good, bad, or in between. His way of thinking was the middle ground between Jacob and the Man In Black's where people are born either all good or all bad.

In real life, you encounter several things you don't understand, or people you may randomly be related to that will never get resolved or answered. People don't often tell you why they do things, and you may not know why things turned out the way they did; this show is no different. LOST doesn't follow most television formulas, so you might not find out an answer for five years, or even at all. Life is full of mysteries, and so is LOST. Get over it.

This episode was very heartbreaking. Seeing everyone reunite with each other and their memories had me in tears almost the entire two and a half hours. Sawyer and Juliet in particular really tugged at my heart strings. I was so glad to see her return as David's mother and to hold James again.

What I really liked that I didn't expect was Hurley inheriting the island and asking Ben to be his number two. I mean, of all the people in the entire series to put together to run the island! Ben and Hugo? But I digress. Their opposites make them attract in a way that was very sweet when they were nursing Desmond back to health. Ben telling Hurley he could change things about who leaves the island and how it was run was very endearing. Oh yeah, and he saved his life from a falling tree only minutes before. I can only imagine the years gone by with those two eating fish for breakfast on the beach, watching people being brought to the island.

Jack's giving personality made it easy for Hurley to take on the responsibility of the island. It also made it easy for him to give up his own life, and to break the heart of thousands of Americans (including myself) when he finally laid himself to rest. What a powerful scene! He lays down in the bamboo forest and sees Vincent running towards him as the plane successfully leaves the island. His friends are safe, his job is done, his purpose is fulfilled. He smiles as the color leaves his face, and his eyes close shut.

What powerful imagery! What a way to garuntee there wouldn't be a dry seat in the house! What a way to come full circle from the pilot episode, and just rip your heart out as the Karma Wheel has reached its end with our beloved spinal surgeon.


This series has been with me since I was a senior in high school. I started out watching it when I was 18 and am now 24. For the most imperative adolescent years of my life, where I am supposed to "find myself", I found myself LOST, and I wouldn't change a thing.

Namaste.