TV Review: The Series Finale of LOST

Last night, we watched as the six year story of LOST came to a close. And, just as Dorothy might have said after waking up, everyone was there, too. Last night’s show brought the return of nearly every major character from the series’ history including the much-missed Juliet and Charlie. However, as I sit back and think about the show (which ended about an hour ago – I’m writing this early in the morning), I’m not entirely sure that I “get” everything that happened there at the end.

This is what I think happened – let me know what you think…

Desmond uncorked the cork where the light was at the center of the island, thus allowing an opening for The Man in Black (Smoke Monster, Fake Locke, Evil, etc) to escape the island. Oh, and uncorking the cork also brought about the self-destruction of the island. Go figure. I think, however, that the uncorking of that cork also allowed for The Man in Black’s powers to go away and thus Kate was able to kill him and Jack was able to kick him down the side of the cliff and…splat.

Jack, Hurley, and Ben decide that they’re staying on the island while Lapidus (he’s not dead!), Sawyer, Claire, Miles, Kate, and Richard (who no longer has the gift of invincibility thanks to the uncorking) get out of Dodge on the Ajira plane, so to speak. Jack struggles to get back to the center of the island, is lowered down the hole by Hurley and Ben, hitches Desmond back to the rope to be lifted out of the hole, and recorks the island’s light hole. How weird does that sound, huh? Jack recorked the island’s light hole? It sounds like it’s a weird type of insult almost, like, “Shut up you light hole!”

But I digress…

Over in the sideways world, each of the castaways has a realization that they had an entirely different life on the island. As they each figure this out, they know that they have to go to the Church that was featured a few seasons ago when Jack was trying to go back to the island (remember the big swinging pendulum thing with Eloise Hawking?).

As everyone gathers, Jack is among the last to realize that there is a sideways world (more on that in a minute) and has to be convinced first by Kate and then, eventually, by his dead father. At this point, Jack realizes that he can see and talk to his Dad because he, too, is dead. Christian goes on to confirm to Jack that the reason why everyone was there in the Church was because they’re all dead, too. When Jack starts to talk about the timing of all of this death, Christian tells him that where they are there is no “time.” Silly thought on Jack’s part, I guess. Christian suggests that they’re all there because they all needed each other and that Jack needed them. Jack asks his father where they are going and he says that they should go into the Church and find out…so they do. Then there’s lots of hugging and remembering (albeit in a montage type of cut, so all you get to hear is music) and Christian walks to the back of the Church after everyone sits down. He opens the doors and a bright white light comes filling the room, engulfing everyone as they all begin to smile. And so we’re left with the thought that Jack and the gang must have been in some type of purgatory because they were engulfed by the white light and are now in heaven (or will eventually go to heaven when they die).

Does that make sense?

This idea is furthered by the final scenes of the series where Jack stumbles back to the place among the bamboo shoots where he woke up after Oceanic flight 815 crashed. In fact, the dog even comes back over and licks him a bit before laying down as Jack smiles and tries to force out a laugh. Then, right before he closes his eyes for the last time and dies, he sees a plane flying overhead. Is this the Ajira plane or the Oceanic 815 plane making it successfully across the island? Who the hell knows, but I have to assume that it’s the Ajira plane. Then, as the credits roll through the bottom of the screen, we see images of the Oceanic 815 flight all torn up on the beach. I’m assuming that the production people just wanted to create a nostalgia effect and sort of tip their hats to the diehard fans of the series that all began when that plane hit that beach.

I’m not entirely sure…

Other random thoughts about last night’s LOST series finale:

• Could they have put any more commercials in these two hours? Good grief! Thank God I had a book I was reading so I could mute during the commercial breaks.
• Though I was glad to see that Lapidus was still alive, I’m not satisfied with the resolution of the Charles Widmore storyline. Frankly, it was unacceptable to have him shot in the penultimate episode.
• What, exactly, did Ben have to finish up in purgatory before he went to the other side?
• I believe that the key to understanding all of this is understanding the timing of everything. The timing is everything…
• No resolution on Walt’s supposed magical powers? Anyone remember that stuff from the first season?
• Jimmy Kimmel Live was awesome. Jimmy did a great job with his interpretation of the series finale and I agree with his idea that when the sideways Jack felt the turbulence on the plane, that was when he died on the island and passed over into purgatory (to the plane). And I also agree with his idea that this series – LOST – was the story of Jack’s life, his trials and tribulations, and his eventual redemption and acceptance into heaven.
• How funny were the Target commercials that advertised smoke detectors by using the Smoke Monster? Made me laugh out loud when I saw it the first time.

A final note on the timing before I ask you guys for your impressions of the finale, if you have any. Remember that Hurley became the new protector of the island and that Ben was his second in command. Then, as Locke goes into the Church, Hurley pops out and tells Ben (who is sitting outside on a bench) that everyone is inside and he should come in. Ben declines and then says that Hurley was a great number one. Hurley thanks him and says that Ben was a great number two. There is a mutual appreciation and affection there that was not played out during this series. I think that this is the key to understanding Christian’s statement that there is no “now” and that everyone who was present at the Church was there because Jack needed them and they needed Jack.

Two final subnotes on this issue and then I’m done, really. First, Hurley and Ben clearly had a long-time together on the island for them to appreciate each other’s contributions as a number one and number two. So, while the story of LOST has come to an end, there is clearly more that goes on without us realizing it in what we saw in the last six seasons. Second, I think that Christian’s statement that everyone who was in the Church was also dead is, on its face, misleading. He could have just said that these people are here because Jack needed them and they needed Jack and that some are already dead and some have yet to die. In other words, if someone was in that Church then they’re going to be dead at some point if they’re not already (which is a bit of an annoying part of the story since, technically, anyone in the world could have been in that room if you believe that logic).

Anyway, what do you think? Did I miss anything crucial to the story? Hey, who else is excited that they get this hour of their lives back every week?! 🙂