My Lost Finale

There is almost nothing worse to me than taking a bite out of what I believe to be a chocolate chip cookie only to discover the dark morsel is actually a raisin. Don't get me wrong, I like raisins, and I even like raisin cookies, but I don't appreciate the deception. There should be a social rule that requires raisin cookies be dyed green or something so it is easy to differentiate.

Any who, I wonder if all the back lash against Lost is similar to my feelings towards this cookie problem. People thought they were going to get all their questions about the Island answered while the producers considered the crash survivors of Oceanic 815 to be the main point. Along the way they deceived us a bit with all the Island mythology, The Others, and Dharma. But these were only important with respect to how they impacted the survivors. About halfway through season 6 I decided that I didn't care about answers; I only cared about how the survivors fared, and I think this helped with my enjoyment.

I really enjoyed the finale, especially on the second viewing when I could watch the story unfold instead of worrying about answers and how it was all going to end. I thought it was a perfect ending for Jack because his defining characteristic was his need to fix people and situations. His destiny was to fix the Island and save all of humanity. I thought it was rewarding as a viewer to see that all of the Oceanic 6 got what they came for, or needed in Sayid's case, from the Island. Sun was reunited with Jin, Kate was able to rescue Claire, Jack fulfilled his destiny, Sayid was able to put other's needs above his need to reunite with Nadia, and Hurley was able to save his friends. They saved the Island and themselves as a group, so I think it appropriate that they had to be reunited in the sideways world before they could move on. I was glad that the sideways flashes weren't some sort of alternate reality, but seemed to be a continuation of their spiritual journey.

Now to some of the criticisms I've heard. I think more than anything the sideways world was created to help people let go of their baggage from their lives in the "real" world. Each of them proved themselves at some point to be willing to make a sacrifice for their friends, and many gave their lives. I believe the "real" world was about identifying their personal weaknesses and doing their best to overcome them. I believe they created the sideways world when they detonated Jughead, and it became a place for them to forgive themselves and discover what was most important to them. I don't think that they needed to meet their true love to awaken in the sideways world, but it was more about reconnecting with their deepest emotional experiences from the Island. Jack felt tremendous guilt over Locke's death, so I thought it appropriate that he began to wake up after helping John do the same. I think once they forgave themselves for their mistakes they became enlightened and were ready for the next phase of their existence.

Some might be annoyed that Sayid was allowed to move on, and I thought it odd that Kate a known murderer was less remorseful than Ben. But this is in fact a fictitious world and within that world both Sayid and Kate helped to prevent the end of the world, so I guess I can extend them a pardon. As for Desmond and Penny being in the church, Desmond was responsible for the crash and saving their bacon and was undeniably attached to the survivors unlike any other outsider. Penny's boat rescued the Oceanic 6, so I have no problem with the invite.

Some thought it lame that Sayid ended up with Shannon. I think the only problem was that the show didn't sell their relationship enough during seasons 1 & 2. There is no way Sayid should have ended up with Nadia. That relationship was toxic to Sayid. When Sayid was with Shannon and she demanded that he kill Locke he couldn't go through with it, even at the expense of the relationship. He was a changed man on the Island and in his relationship with Shannon. I can't think of any good that came from his relationship with Nadia, and in the sideways world that he helped to create he wasn't even with her. Even in his fantasy world he couldn't be with Nadia.

Before season 6 I proposed, I believe, 18 questions that I wanted answered during the season. Some of them related to Dharma, specifically I wanted to know more about its origin and founding members. I guess that will have to wait until there is a spin off, because an understanding of the life cycle of Dharma wasn't necessary to understanding the journey of the survivors of 815. Dharma seemed to be a tool to help them on their journey. I also wanted to know what made Aaron special. The producers were asked about this in an interview a couple of weeks ago and they said that nothing made him special. The only person who said Aaron was special was the psychic from season 1 who admitted to being a fraud during season 2. The only thing I can see that made him special was that he became a tool for manipulating Kate and Claire by the Man in Black. We didn't learn why women couldn't get pregnant or survive pregnancy on the Island. The best explanation I can think of was that the Island protector gets to set their own rules for the management of the Island. I believe Jacob decided to prevent pregnancy either because the time for The Others to rule the Island had passed, and Jacob didn't want them to proliferate, or because he knew a war was coming and he didn't want too many children to be killed on the Island. We didn't get a complete picture of what the cabin was all about, but it seemed implied that the cabin belonged to the Man in Black, and he had been giving Ben instructions for some time.

We did learn what the smoke monster was, what the whispers were, the significance of the numbers, why Richard couldn't age, who the good guys were, what happened to Claire and why she left her baby behind, what Jacob's back story and motivation were and his relationship to the Man in Black, I believe we know why Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sayid went back to 1977 and Sun didn't (Sun wasn't a candidate), what was in the guitar case, if they rebooted time with Jughead, and who's coming.

I thought it an excellent conclusion to the story of the 815 survivors. For those of you who thought you were getting a chocolate chip but tasted a raisin, sorry dudes. Maybe the Island isn't done with you yet. Perhaps I don't mind that some questions were left unanswered because it gives me an opportunity to fulfill my destiny of creating a spin off or two. I need at least one movie recounting some aspect or time period of Hurley (and Ben's) stewardship over the Island. I'll phone Damon and Carlton and get the ball rolling.