Lost: The End

The finale of ‘Lost’ was, much like the whole series, intense, imperfect, and always ambitious. Cynics and super-nerds will surely find flaws. Ultimately, enjoyment of the series comes down to the purpose / mission statement / conflict at the heart of the show itself: Science vs Faith.

If, as we learn, true happiness comes not from analyzing and poring over minutiae, like Jack at the beginning of the series, but from belief (or suspension of disbelief), like Locke, and Jack at the end of the series, then which side you come at it from will determine your love or loathing for the island and it’s inhabitants. While I would generally be more Jack than Locke, I think, something about this series I found connected with me more on an emotional level than an intellectual one, and may be why I loved it so much and was able to get…ahem…Lost.

Much like ‘The Sopranos’ finale, it left things open to interpretation. Many will find this infuriating, but for me, it worked and was true to the nature of a series that asked a lot of big questions and almost never spelled out the answers, instead choosing to leave pieces of the puzzle for you to assemble however you saw fit. Anyways, here’s my take on ‘The End’…

[EDITOR'S NOTE: BEYOND THIS POINT LIE SPOILERS. CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK.]

Getting back to the subject of Science vs Faith, let’s talk about the coolest parts of the episode: Jack vs ‘Locke’. The whole season (and really, the whole series) was building up to this confrontation. On that level, it did not disappoint. It was appropriately intense and, when they finally came face-to-face, the weight of their coming battle was palpable. Jack telling ‘Locke,’ “You’re not John Locke. You disrespect his memory by wearing his face, but you’re nothing like him. Turns out he was right about most everything. I just wish I could have told him that while he was still alive,” was a stand-out moment in an electric sequence where, looking down into “the heart of the island,” the episode knowingly called back to the shot from the Season One finale of the pair looking down into The Hatch. Their slippery-rock-running-jump-punch-vs-knife-fight was just as awesome as that sounds. The way it culminated was cool as hell, and actually, reminded me of Optimus and Megatron’s final battle in ‘Transformers: The Movie.’ (The beloved animated one from my childhood, not the Michael Bay monstrosity of a few years ago.) There really was only one way the battle could end, and no way it wasn’t going to consume them both. The running charge at each other, the pause mid-jump-punch (one last chance for the show to be an asshole and cut to commercial on an epic cliffhanger), the island literally falling apart around them, the way Locke’s body fell, in parallel to how he was paralyzed, all of it met or exceeded my expectations, which were pretty high as this was a six season buildup.

While the acting fired on all cylinders across the board, just like their characters, it all came down to Matthew Fox and Terry O’Quinn. I really hope they get recognized for the Herculean jobs they did throughout, and I feel like it was those two, and not the Dharma initiative or The Smoke Monster, that elevated ‘Lost’ above all other network programs. Take a bow, you sons of bitches. You deserve it.

Now, on to the big reveals. They weren’t dead on the island. As Christian and Jack told us respectively “What happened, happened,” and “All of this matters.” The flash-sideways was all of them post-death. Not quite purgatory, but more of a pit-stop for them to remember who they really were before “moving on,” as well as (possibly) a ‘gift’ from Island Hurley. A place to meet up with the most important people from the most important time in your life, and “move on” together. As Jack said way back at the beginning “Live together or die alone,” and here we were shown that the former choice is rewarded, even in death. And, yes, Rob. You were right about Hurley ultimately being the island protector. (Although, you said he’d be the next Jacob. Technically, he was the next Jack, so I’m only half-wrong. Ha!) In the end, there was no right answer to Science vs Faith, or Jack vs Locke, so it had to be someone else, and who better than the most selfless, pure-of-heart character on that island, Hurley. When we first met him in the pilot, he was bringing food to the castaways, and he’s been taking care of everybody on some level ever since. With Jack’s sacrifice, (another amazing scene) there really was no other choice, and for me, it rang true. I stand (semi-) corrected…

As far as all the other stuff, despite what Jack told us, it turns out it didn’t matter. Some of it was cool, and comic book-y, and easy for me to accept. Some of it you could surely find (and poke) holes in, but really all of that was just some dudes with ABC money seeing what they could get away with. In the end, the show came back around to where it began. It was all about these characters, who were actually lost before ever ending up on that island, rather than the mythology. Jack had to let go. Stop trying to think about everything and start trying to feel. Once he embraced that, he had his ‘awakening.’ Him finally catching his ‘white rabbit,’ and coming face-to-face with Christian, was hair-raising.

And when they said they had the ending in place right from the beginning of the series, I think they literally meant that final scene on the island, that brought everything full circle. It began with Jack’s eye opening, and ended with it closing. It could’ve ended no other way, and I thought that, if not the whole journey, then at least the final destination was perfect.

You were right, Jack. Nothing is irreversible. See you in another life, “brotha.”

– Nuv

[SEE LOST THROUGH MISS TEEN USSR'S EYES HERE AND HERE]