The End

Good morning, friends.

I want to start by saying that I am a reader. There is little in which I find more joy than a good book – one that has twists and turns, one with interesting and well-developed characters, one with a great message; a book for which you are willing to stay up into the wee hours of the night because you just can’t put it down, but of which you might save the last 20 pages because you just don’t want it to end. A book that sticks with you for weeks even months or years (Blindness, A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Book Thief, The Bluest Eye all come to mind). This is what Lost was for me; another great story. A story I did not want to end. A story that kept me up at night (especially last night) trying to decipher.

I absolutely loved the finale. I know there are some who are disappointed with the lack of answers, but in my insomnia last night, I think I realized that a lot of answers were there all along, or they just didn’t matter. Yes, there are some that I would have liked answered, but wouldn’t it have been lame if it had been an hour of answers? I thought the resolution to Alternaworld was remarkably moving and the overall message of the series was beautiful.

I decided not to take notes while watching last night, but as I said, I tossed and turned all night thinking it through. Here are some finale thoughts:

I watched the pilot on Saturday night, and it was cool to recognize some of the references that were made this season. A few things I noticed:
a. Locke told Walt about his paralysis. Other than Walt, I think Rose was the only other person who knew (until Alternaworld, anyway).
b. Locke and Walt played Backgammon, which Locke stated was the oldest game (Mesopotamia). The whole game started right then . . .
c. Jin told Sun to “button up,” just like he did in LA X.

Sun and Jin:
· I think they were both candidates. I think they had to be together no matter what after all Jacob witnessed them going through to find one another.
· The fact that they remembered during the ultrasound was a way of saying that Ji Yeon is ok. That she was ok in her alternapregnancy seems to tell me that she is ok in real life. Sob.

Sawyer and Juliet
· Interesting that Juliet was Jack’s ex-wife, but it totally makes sense, as they were momentarily together on the island.
· I’m guessing Sawyer’s post-island life was about personal redemption. In his own way, he probably seeking justice – like the detective he became in alternaworld.
· I was so pissed when they first ran into each and didn’t recognize one another. But when they touched, it was all I could do not to completely melt down. “We’ll go dutch.” Oh my goodness!

Claire
· Remember how the psychic kept telling her that she had to raise Aaron? Now I don’t think it was an ominous warning about the future of the world. It was a warning for Claire herself. Aaron was her constant; he was how she would not be alone in the world. In the end, the psychic’s words were about her getting on that plane in the end. She had to go find her constant; she had to be with Aaron; she had to have her family (which I think included Kate).

Kate
· I can’t believe it, but I didn’t hate Kate in the end. She saved Claire and you know she helped her raise Aaron. And she did love Jack . . . after all.
· Thought it was hilarious when she said, “Christian Shephard? Really?”

Rose and Bernard (and Vincent, too)
· They knew all along who and where they were. Remember Rose told Jack on the flight, “You can let go now.” And Bernard didn’t seem surprised at all when Jack came to see him. They always were attuned with each other and their surroundings. I wonder how they finally died . . .
· Vincent . . . what can I say? Best dog ever!

Sayid
· In rewatching the pilot, I came to realize that Sayid’s character was such a huge play on our perceptions of people. In the pilot, Sawyer accuses him of being a terrorist, and Sayid played against type so many times. In the end, when he ran out of the submarine was such a great subversion of the suicide bomber.
· Why Shannon? Well, I think that though he loved Nadia, she was always too good for him; she could never really admit or accept his flaws, I don’t think. Shannon could because she was flawed also. By the way, how do you think Boone remembered?

Hurley and Ben
· Loved, loved, loved this development. Hurley has struck me all season as the perfect replacement, because as Ben said, he takes care of people. I would love to see how the rules changed under his leadership . . .
· Speaking of rules, I thought it was interesting (though questionably too easy) that all the crazy rules were seemingly arbitrary under Jacob. “That dude’s worse than Yoda.”
· Ben CHOSE to do good in the end, and he was rewarded with a true connection to the island. He also chose not to go into the church in the end. I think he wanted to wait for Alex to be ready; Danielle, too.

Desmond
· He must have made it home; he had to have made it home. Hurley helped him.

Locke
· I was not all that satisfied with the end of Flocke. It seemed almost too easy – I kept waiting for Locke to make an appearance in his own body. He did have the line of the night, though: “You’re kind of the obvious choice, don’t you think?”
· The great gift Jack gave him? Knowing that he’d mattered in his life. What more could someone ask for?


Those Who Were Not There
· The biggest question is probably Walt and Michael. Well, we know Michael was trapped on the island. I wonder if there is any way for him to move on? Walt? Well, remember when Locke went to see Walt in season 4? He realized that Walt had moved on, that Walt had a new life, and Locke decided that he could not ask him to return. He was only 10 when he was on the island; I would hope that he made more meaningful connections in his adult life.
· Daniel and Charlotte – Eloise knew the situation all along and was trying to stop Desmond from taking her son. She wanted to give him the life she’d denied him. Daniel and Charlotte seemed to recognize each other, but neither was really connected to Jack, so there was no reason for them to be there. They will find their own meeting place – maybe with Lapidus and Miles.
· Mr Eko – well, the actor wanted no part of the finale, but it also makes sense because he always followed his own path. However, I wonder if he isn’t trapped on the island, too, since he refused to repent for his sins (he had a point since he did it all to save his brother).

Lingering Mysteries
· Why couldn’t the Others have babies? Good question – everyone before and after them were able to. Was it self-fulfilling? Was Jacob punishing them?
· Others you’d like to discuss? I probably thought about it while I couldn’t sleep last night and might have a theory.

Jack
· Why was it so hard for him to let go/to move on? He seemed to fight it all the way. Was this because he was afraid he would lose everyone again, like he did on the island by sacrificing himself?
· I think that David was a projection of himself, and Jack a projection of his father. He needed to prove that he could have a loving familial relationship.
· When Christian asked him, “how are you here?” I almost fell off my chair, and immediately started crying. So many people online didn’t get it, so let me just reiterate what Christian said – the island was real, everything that happened there was real; alternaworld was a world they created for after they died.
· Watching him die; what a parallel to the beginning. The plane over head, Vincent by his side, eyes closing. Priceless.


I feel like crying now. I’m sad it’s over. It’s been a great journey, and I’ve enjoyed getting my geek on with you each week.

Closing the book is never easy, especially one as great as Lost.

Namaste,
LLL