Lost: Season 6 Episode 17: The End – TV Review
By Krystal Clark
After six years of mystery and confusion, ABC aired the final episode of “Lost” aptly titled, “The End.” It was two and a half hours long and featured many characters from the past and present returning to add closure to the series. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse attempted to give us a fitting end to a show that changed the landscape of television forever. Whether or not they succeeded is up for debate…
The Players:
- Director: Jack Bender
- Writers/Creator: Carlton Cuse, Damon Lindelof, Jeffrey Lieber, J.J. Abrams
- Cast: Naveen Andrews, Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, Daniel Dae Kim, Terry O’Quinn, Nestor Carbonell, Michael Emerson, Yunjin Kim, Jeff Fahey, Emilie de Ravin, Henry Ian Cusick, Sheila Kelley, Ken Leung, Elizabeth Mitchell, Dominic Monaghan, Rebecca Mader, Cynthia Watros, Fionnula Flanagan, L. Scott Caldwell, Francois Chau, Jeremy Davies, Maggie Grace, Sonya Walger, Dylan Minnette
The Show’s Plot:
“Lost” centers on the survivors of the ill fated Oceanic Flight 815 who crashed on a mysterious island. They fight the elements, the island’s mysteries, and each other while trying to survive in uncharted territory.
Title of this Week’s Episode: “The End” Season 6: Episode 17
Pseudo-Locke tries to destroy the island and all of its inhabitants, while Jack attempts to stop him. Kate and Sawyer make their way to the plane to get off the island with Frank, Miles, and Richard. And in the alternate reality the passengers of Flight 815 discover that their lives aren’t quite what they seem.
The Good:
- Hurley the Protector: I called this last week when I said it was a little too predictable that Jack took over Jacob’s job in the second to last episode. Even Pseudo-Locke called him out and said he was an “obvious choice.” Hurley wasn’t a surprise because over the course of the season he’s been given a lot more responsibility and began taking on the leadership role.
- Ben Finds His Purpose: Ben has always felt like the red-haired step-child of the island. He was never good enough to be Jacob’s right hand man so when Hurley asked him to be his number 2 it gave him the approval he desperately needed.
- Familiar Faces: It was nice to see the old cast members return and reconnect with their significant others whether it be Shannon and Sayid or Sawyer and Juliet.
- Jack’s the Beginning and the End: The show started with a few images we all know too well, with the most famous being Jack’s eye. In the end, he sacrificed himself to restore life to the island and in turn got to go to his “happy place.”
- Vincent: Just because I’m a sucker for dogs I loved seeing Vincent again. His presence really made me think of the good old days and him laying at Jack’s side during the last scene was icing on the cake.
The Bad:
- Unanswered Questions: The show’s executive producers stated that the series finale wouldn’t tie everything up in a nice bow and it didn’t. There were still a few things left unanswered like, where does the island come from? What was the light cave? What did the numbers mean? Why was Penny in the church but her brother Daniel wasn’t? What was Jacob? What was the Man in Black’s name? If these things were answered at some point let me know and I’ll stand corrected.
Overall:
I take it that the island was real and wasn’t purgatory like everyone thought, instead that honor went to the alternate reality, hence the living Christian. Jack’s dad confirmed that they were all dead but never gave specifics about when their deaths occurred. He just stated, “Everyone dies some time, kiddo. Some of them before you, some of them long after you … there is no now here.”
Is that the sentiment we’re supposed to take from this finale? That through the extraordinary experience they all shared, they were able to tear a hole in reality where they could be together forever? Interesting. It was definitely an emotional ending and one that will have people talking but I’m not sure if I’m OK with all the plot holes they left open. I’m all for leaving a little mystery but for a show like “Lost,” you can’t finish its run by basically saying, “In the end they all died (at some point).” That just seems a little….light.
Rating: 8.5/10
Show Airs: Tuesdays at 9pm on ABC
Don’t forget to vote in our poll and let us know what you thought of last night’s episode.
Check Out Our Previous Lost Reviews:
- Lost: Happily Ever After – TV Review
- Lost: Everybody Loves Hugo – TV Review
- Lost: The Last Recruit – TV Review
- Lost: The Candidate – TV Review
- Lost: Across The Sea: TV Review
- Lost: What They Died For – TV Review
What did you think of the series finale of Lost? Were all your questions answered?
Monday, May 24, 2010 1:38AM
terrible ending – what a let-down
all that build-up, all that complexity only to have it be Jack's fever-dream as he dies
IT WAS ALL A DREAM – I DREAMED A LIFE … blah blah
lazy f*n Hollywood writers
Monday, May 24, 2010 1:43AM
I am tragically disappointed. Instead of having question answered I am left with even more questions and the going into the light is for me just a cheap no effort ending. O! I know we'll have them all dead, says one writer to the other. A great series let down at the end. Why can no one get a good ending?
Where did the island come from?
Where did Drhama come from and disappear too?
what were the numbers all about?
How did the light get to the island?
Who was the woman who killed Jacobs mother and how did she get to the island?
What did Daniels mother know that we did not?
Who made the cave that held the light?
How can a stone plug hold back a power source strong enough to destroy the island?
And why come they could not allow the island be destoyed?
I could go on all day!!!!!
Monday, May 24, 2010 2:02AM
Nobody could have had any thought that all the answers were going to be told, It was only 2 & half hours long not 2 & a half days, so we all know that it would finish with questions that is what lost is. I thought it brought closure.
Monday, May 24, 2010 2:07AM
was it a dream !!!!!!
Monday, May 24, 2010 2:25AM
OK ready? here we go…. I loved the season ending but it would be great if abc.com would let the producers create short or mini shows to answers these questions…
1. Why is Walt special?
2. What did the numbers mean? Or were they just random numbers?
3. Who was jacobs mother?
4. What is the Man in black name? Esau?
5. Why was Lock ( the villian) on the island in the first place? (is he satan? was he struck down from heaven after God kicked him out?)
6. What was the light?
7. Was the flash sideways all happening when desmond was being electricuted with witmore machine?
8. Why did lock say to Jack.. "You don't Have a son" while laying in the hospital bed? Is he Jack actually dead?
9. Why did Mr. Ecko have to die…. dang it!
10. I too can go on all day with questions…..
Overall, very good ending and yes they needed to end it because it was getting out of control… but please producers…for the love of God, answer them on abc.com….. thanks
Monday, May 24, 2010 2:56AM
I believe it why Lost has such an end as concealed!
in 5 to 8 months, one will speak about Lost 7 last season with 18 episodes minimum
Monday, May 24, 2010 3:17AM
What closure?
Monday, May 24, 2010 3:23AM
IT wasnt an ending!!! it was a goodbye, there is no way when it all started that is what they had in mind for the last episode, i mean why the hell was it showing flash backs to peoples lives if it was all supposed to be about one guy dying.. terrible terrible ending
Monday, May 24, 2010 3:28AM
I believe it why Lost has such an end as concealed!
in 5 to 8 months, one will speak about Lost 7 last season with 18 episodes minimum
Monday, May 24, 2010 4:51AM
What the writers lost (no pun intended) in the plot they made up for in emotion in the final episode. I agree that all answers could not be given but the major ones should have. The 2 1/2 hour episode which was in fact 1 and something hours with all the long ads, answered nothing…it felt like a roller coaster ride as you await verdict.
The way I see it is that the writers left the end up to interpretation, forcing you to answer your own questions. Because to answer some questions, causes further questions to arise (as per the woman who became Jacob’s mom). And we all have our own perceptions that sends the story in many ways which means no one will be happy at what the ending may have become.
But to choose to not answer any questions and tell you that Lost was not a reality with no timeline and no boundaries, will simply mean that everything that happened was meant for the person (or spirit if they were dead all this time) to gain something from the experience of the situation happening, and not to be concerned about the logical flow of why it happened to bring knowledge to the viewer. So to be concerned of what Ben did and the consequence of it was irrelevant, it was done because he needed to be accepted or to recognise the journey was to be accepted.
I am sure in years to come a common answer between everyone will arise and everyone will understand (even if the writers didnt – which can be a possibility) the same way they did when the Matrix series was released
But one last thing, there was obviously a life time after Sawyer and they left the island and when Jack seemingly die (or resting) etc. I think the sideways alternate reality was not a parallel reality in any form, but an experience subsuquent to their experiences on the island. I think when they all died (at various times in their life) and they agreed prior to that, that they will all meet again. The only way for them to meet again is at the start….the flight. But instead of remembering reality after death, the reality that shaped their life (the island) they continue to live in limbo as if it all didnt happen…which was their everyday life assuming the plane never crashed. And the only way for them to move on and realise that the world they live in isnt real, they had to remember the real one which was the island.
To answer why Penny was there and not the brother, it’s because his mother asked if Desmond was taking him too, and he said ”not with me” so he could not have been in the church with the rest of them.
But I am sure Lost the movie will soon be in cinema….assuming the guy who played Jack really didnt give up on acting.
Monday, May 24, 2010 5:06AM
wow…mixed feelings- its not that im satisfied just thought it could have been stronger- still leave some mystery for us but tie up some lose eneds- eloise hawking??? i just want a few questions on her answered…
does anybody else feel like because fans had already guessed this ending from the start that the producers sort of got scared and copped out? from season 2 people guessed about purgatory and once you have a overall story plotline you can;t really all of a sudden change everything- so they had to go with the whole flash sideways as the purgatory just so they could be like the island wasn't purgatory. then there is also the fact that season 1 did really have the biggest clue- jack waking up in the bamboofield next to the light source- something that the producers denied saying that this is a lie- well it wasn't was it?!!! i think they just got annoyed that people called them out- wish they had found another way to re-tell the ending.
Monday, May 24, 2010 5:26AM
This whole series could have been a two minute video – the plane crashes and everyone dies. I feel like I have completely wasted my time trying to figure it out. What a shame that they passed up an opportunity to create something far better.
Monday, May 24, 2010 5:30AM
I am confused. If they were all dead from the plane crash, why was Penny & Desmond there? And also Juliette? They were not on the plane to begin with. Were they even on the island? I am dissapointed with the ending.
Monday, May 24, 2010 6:10AM
OK…
I have been reading a lot of reviews…
Jack died in the show twice, once in the airplane, once at the end. Which one was his real death? If it was the airplane, then what was the island? If LAX is the afterlife, then what is the deal with meeting your soul-mate on the island (Kate) after you died in the plane? What about kids, can kids be born after you have died on the plane? Also if they died on the plane, then why do they all need to meet up in LAX to go on to another afterlife. Isn't the island the afterlife? Or is it LAX? Or are they both purgatory or different versions of purgatory or what…
So then they survived the plane crash and Jack died at the end saving the world. So Kate flies away as he dies and goes on to live a full life??? But then in LAX she has been waiting for him… So she lives a full life minus her true love which she left on the island to die, because Desmond can't put the plug back into the big pool spa? If the island is real, what about Richard, he just flies away from the island after spending centuries on it? Where is Richard and his spouse in the church? Has he not died yet, or was he already dead? What about all the kids in the church, only significant others matter in the afterlife? Or only Claire's newborn who is not really a newborn, that is if the island is real…
I know the show wants us to just drop all the senses of reality and just enjoy the characters being meaningful to each other. But this is just so far of a stretch from reality.
The only plot line that can make any sense at all would be a concept of multiple after-lifes. The first after-life being the island, the second after-life being LAX, the third after-life being the white light.
Oh and wan't the mother of Jack's son in LAX Julia? What gives with that. Jack never had a son? Or did he?
What about the beginning of Season 6 when the island was under water. What was that all about?
I can go on and on…
Monday, May 24, 2010 6:18AM
o i'm shocked. what a stupid ending. i realy didn't expect to see such an ending. all this was just a dream?! i didn't understand, if kate,clare and others are leaving the island why are they dead. it's such a mess, have dozens of questions. i'm too much dissapointed………
Monday, May 24, 2010 6:49AM
Did some of you people even watch the finale? They pretty much came right out and answered most of the questions you guys are asking. Everything that happened on the island was real. They did not die in the plane crash. The sideways reality was in fact a sort of purgatory. There is no time in purgatory. Whether Charlie died 3 years ago, Jack dies now, or Hurley dies in 30 years, they can all be in purgatory at the same time. They met there so that they could all move on to heaven together. This is not that complicated. If people would pay attention I think they would enjoy the show a lot more.
I felt that ending could not have been better. Everyone is happy. Everyone is moving on to a better place. People who are complaining that not every question was answered should have paid attention when the producers said they would happen. Not everything always needs to be answered. That's the beauty of a show like this.
Monday, May 24, 2010 7:13AM
They didn't die on the first plane crash. Everything was real, as Christian told Jack-everyone dies eventually, some before you, some long after. The island was all real. The sideways flashes was purgatory.
Monday, May 24, 2010 7:45AM
I just finished watching the episode and I totally agree with Doug! Six years of my life to find out Jack just stumbled into a bamboo thicket after a plane crash and died. It was all a dream. Thats the kind of crap third graders write. Okay, so you want to make it all a dream. That's fine but then you have to connect all those images to explain why it was a dream. e.g. Why on his deathbed would Jack dream up a number sequence, dream up an egyptian temple, or the whole dharma initiative? At the end the writer's could have at least show flashbacks of his life showing the relationships i.e. The numbers were an old girlfriends telephone number, he went to egypt once with his dad and remember the temples, his family used to be a cult called the dharma initiative, etc. But to just have him die on the beach saying it was all him dealing with passing on is just crap and really weak writing because EVERYTHING between the plane crash and death meant nothing now. Of course ABC execs, writers, and actors walked away with a chunk of cash and we invested all our time trying to solve a mystery that didnt even have a solution. I guess we are the suckers for watching it in the first place.
Monday, May 24, 2010 8:01AM
[...] StoriesTrailersReviewsInterviewsLost: Season 6 Episode 17: The End – TV ReviewPoll: Did The Lost Series Finale Deliver?Monday, May 24, 2010 8:00AM – By Krystal Clark0 [...]
Monday, May 24, 2010 8:25AM
You obviously missed the point of the ending. They did not die in the plane crash, everything that hapened on the island was real and true life. The island was pretty much a gateway to heaven or hell. And Jacob was protecting it. Everything that happened throughout the whole show makes sense now and the theme of protecting the island was never lost. The writers of this show did an amazing job and should be applauded.
Monday, May 24, 2010 8:28AM
the writers of this show had the whole show written before they even started filming. Everything that happened makes perfect sense. The island was never supposed to be purgatory, it is a gateway between heaven and hell which jacob was protecting. It all makes sense and it was a great ending!
Monday, May 24, 2010 8:31AM
you clearly missed the point of the whole show..it wasnt a dream. but good try. the writers of Lost should be applauded.
Monday, May 24, 2010 9:41AM
i got the whole ending (not hard to figure) BUT i just wanted show about a mysterious island and its mythology explored….the whole science vs faith…if i wanted a show about love, happiness i can watch the religion channel on cable or a chick flick- do you get where im coming from? i will admit it was emotional & great ending but i wish these 'many themes vs a sci-fi show' had bought up were two different shows all together thats all…so i could have enjoyed learning about the island itself etc…but thats life i suppose enjoy it find love etc etc…thanks for a cool 6yrs i suppose was gripping stuff…:-) p.s still think the writers are peeved people guessed this ending from the start…lol
Monday, May 24, 2010 10:50AM
I believe Daniel was not ready to move on like his sister Penny cause he still had unfinished business/issues to let go such as being with the woman he loved. Ben also had unresolved issues and wasn't ready to let go just yet, such as his guilt for his daughter's death and all the wrong decisions he made.
As for Daniel and Penny's mother, I believe she was special like Walt and Miles, but in her own way. So even when she died, she was able to remember her real life, whether triggered on her own or through some other means, but was not ready to move on just yet and didn't want her son to go either. Some people just can't let go…
Monday, May 24, 2010 10:51AM
However, there are still lots of other questions, which viewers deserved to have seen some sort of explanation for, even if it wasn't everything they would have expected. The finale's character resolution was good, but I felt like the writers may have painted themselves into a corner with all the questions they created throughout the series. As a result, answering them all could have come off as too forced as the "Across the Sea" episode was with the Adam and Eve skeleton explanation was. It was probably better to leave the questions be than to try to tie all the answers into one cohesive plot, which probably would have taken away from the emotional experience that the finale was.
Monday, May 24, 2010 11:10AM
Some of you apparently either don't watch the show, or watch it without paying attention. What the hell are you talking about Cory with it being a dream? Did you actually think Jack thought the whole thing was a dream? Everything on the island was REAL. Did you miss the end of the show with Jack and his dad saying everything that happened, happened. The sideways was a purgatory for when the characters died. It doesn't matter when they die because in this purgatory there is no "time." ….Christian explains this to Jack, but this is the scene I'm guessing you missed? Jack died in the same bamboo field he woke up in for season 1 to have the story come full circle. The plane above him is the plane Richard, Sawyer and the rest of them are on, notice how he has a sense of relief right before he dies knowing they got off safely? The problem is half of you don't understand the show. Try paying attention and maybe you'll get it…
Monday, May 24, 2010 11:28AM
you're an idiot…. everything on the island is REAL and the "flashsideways" is the actual purgatory that happens AFTER every other character dies, whether they die on the island or off island old age…
Monday, May 24, 2010 12:06PM
#9 – Ecco was killed off becuz he wanted off the show – he was also the only one not interested in returning for a cameo this season.
#8 – jack didnt have a son – that was apparently an imaginary world in the after life, though i am not clear why they bothered to create a new character for what turned out to be a meaningless sub-plot.
Monday, May 24, 2010 12:17PM
Congrats, this is by far the best comment i have seen. You summed it up very well. Other people seem to think the island was all a dream, including some overpaid reviewers; i dont know why.
Monday, May 24, 2010 12:50PM
what happened to my post from about 2 hours ago? Not approved??
Monday, May 24, 2010 1:04PM
they could have a better ending like another plane crashing on the island instead of making everyone dead all of a sudden and giving the feeling that you wasted several hours in following the series and that all drama and action worth nothing because they were already dead. Disappointing end by the brilliant writers.
Monday, May 24, 2010 3:55PM
This is what happens when a show asks for you to think: A bunch of people not getting it and calling it "stupid".
Monday, May 24, 2010 4:41PM
If Penny never died on the island, why was she in the church with Desmund at the end of the Final Episode last night??
Monday, May 24, 2010 7:53PM
Please people, do a google on Buddhism and read the basic tenets ("Dharma Initiative"…duh). It will help you figure most of it out, and yes, those asking for clarification of all twists and turns into extraneous plot bends that do not matter at all towards the shows message and relevence,,,will still be disappointed, clinging, grasping for meaningless answers.
Perfect ending.
Monday, May 24, 2010 10:05PM
What a baloney. People saying others need to pay attention or they just don't get it etc, bah humbug. THe ending was a cop out.
No different to BSG.
Oh My God, 6 and baltar are angels…
Oh My God, jack and the gang are all dead… Now it makes perfect.. wait, what?
the numbers meant? Walt was special why? Waiting for each other to move on? Desmond was able to jump around BEFORE widmores magical magnetic machine – why did anyone need to push a button after all this ? What were the symbols? Who made the statue? Who was the old mother anyway?
Oh I know, as long as you used at least 1/4 your kleenex box, everything else is acceptable.
Except for those of us who started watching a science fiction show and not Highway to Heaven..
Gosh to think, all they needed was jennifer love hewett in the cast, and we could have saved enough money to keep Heroes on the air.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 7:10AM
I wont be reccomending the box set to anyone, all you really need is season 1 and 6 because everything else was a waste of time and none of it even mattered anyway. Most people guessed they were all dead back in season one.
When lock and jack had a fight , the false locke got hit and realised he can bleed, he then hit jack with a rock. Jack was injured on the floor and locke just ran off, thats rediculas, locke could have easliy picked up another rock and ended jack there and then.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 12:19PM
did anyone else notice that Desmond told Jack that the plane never crashed? It was at the time that Desmond was about to be lowered into the cave with the light during last episode. What is that all about ? Also can anyone tell me when Jack actually died….. If he didnt die until the very end of the last eposode, how was he able to be in the flash sideways??? I thought only people that where actually dead could be in that. Jack was actually in that flash sideways for loads of episodes.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 12:38PM
Oh, and another question I would love answered is this – when Jack was lying in the jungle dying, and he saw the plane over head, was that Lapidus flying the plane? And Lapidus, Richard, and Miles where on that plane, but not in the church, so that means they didn't die!! But Kate and Sawyer where also on the plane, but obviously were in the church. Does that mean that they were never actually on the plane??? I need ANSWERS. IT'S DOING MY HEAD IN.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 7:50PM
OK, a lot of ppl have their own interpretations of the ending, which I think was its point. I didn't personally like it but here's what I got from it:
Everything that happened on the island and with the plance was REAL and jack died after the whole glow hole incident in the cave just like it showed. And yes, that was Lapidus' plane with Kate and Sawyer. They all died at different times. Kate and Sawyer could have gone on to live long happy lives, they just met up with Jack later in their afterlife. Pay attention to the conversation Jack has with his dad he explains all that plus the purgatory.
As for who was in the church and why. I have no idea. Ben didn't go in because he obviously had some unresolved issues, Michael's stuck on the island, Walt is somewhere…being Walt. There were a few ppl who were missing and they don't necessarily explain why, and since this is Lost I don't expect them to do so either. It's that "find your own answers" stuff.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 7:09PM
-The island was on the bottom of the ocean in the purgatory universe. Consistent with the MIB's end game.
-Jacob previously stated that "It only ends once…everything else is progress."
-Jacob's mom told him never go down the "light hole."
-Jack failed as island protector as the light did, indeed, go out.
-MIB was killed and theoretically goes to purgatory universe.
-Conclusion – MIB wins, mankind as we know it was eradicated. Turnng the light back on starts a new cycle.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 8:30PM
1. Jacob said to his brother that there is no world out there, yet he left the island to touch people.
2. When the darma group were drilling into the magnet, someone's key was floating towards the well magnet. Yet the key they showed wasn't magnetic.
This shows the whole story is made up and doesn't follow any logic!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 2:23PM
Some say that the paralell sideways flashback was purgatory yet Hurley and Ben were still alive on the island at the end.
They can’t be in both places at once.
I think it’s like when you talk to a bad liar. Their story no longer makes any sense like the writers did with the LOST story.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010 6:05PM
Did anyone notice in the church all the symbols of christianity(cross), buddhism (wheel of life), yin-yang etc.. pay attention to jack's father words, in death there is no time. So the island is real, jack dies. parallel sideways flashback is purgatory. They wake up and realise their past life when alive by their connections with loved ones.. They meet in the church to go into the light together. Ben not ready because of his conscience. Daniel not ready yet as he didn't get a chance to have a full life with his soul-mate. Same ideas as matrix guess some didn't understand the computer technology concepts.
Thursday, May 27, 2010 1:21AM
The reason there are so many unanswered questions is because the writers can't explain them. They made the show up as they went along. They can't explain all the loose ends because they dropped things into the show thinking "why don't we do this" and "won't it be cool if we do that" without any regard to the inital logic of the show. The finale was a huge disappointment and I wish I hadn't bothered watching Lost at all. What a let down.
Thursday, May 27, 2010 8:43AM
[...] = 'a4de697cabd0e9ed8131c60179ba5d72' More If you’re still angry about the conclusion of ABC’s “Lost” there may be hope for a REAL resolution. The network is releasing [...]
Thursday, May 27, 2010 9:47AM
[...] felt one of two ways: you either loved it or loathed it! According to the comments that followed our review of the last episode a lot of you were up in arms about how Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse decided [...]
Thursday, May 27, 2010 10:46AM
Amazing!!!
That is how I would describe this series…Did I like how it ended…well the jury’s still out…not if I liked it or not…but if it was great…or excellent!!!
Yes there are a LOT of questions unanswered…but that’s what life is all about…some we find answers, sometimes there’s just a flicker of hope…but in the end…its all whether you had fun in the journey…did you spen time with the people who matter the most…and though they all just characters in a series…for me…I loved every single one of them…
The BEST answer I think was best summed up by “CJB” here on May 24′th , 2010 6:49AM…I couldn’t have said it anymore better… read what he/she said…
Gonna miss LOST a lot…
God Bless U All…
Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:47PM
So many stupid people making comments. So frustrating. It's like watching Idiocracy come true. Everything on the island happened. Pay attention!
Friday, May 28, 2010 11:58AM
Good note about how a stone plug could control all of that energy. It was even a stone plug that a man could pick up. I can only speculate that it was a "magic" stone plug. Maybe it was supposed to contain a special element that weakened the power of the light – like Superman and kryptonite. Without an answer from the writers, we could speculate on anything from "magic urine" to "purple visitors from outer space." There are an infinitne no of answers we could make up. That is why the writers should have given us more direction. Let to make our own ending up could turn a great show into a dumpy piece of crap.
They could not allow the island to be destroyed because the light was on it. The light controlled all of the light in the world.
The woman who killed Jacobs mother said she had always lived on the island.
Each candidate had a corresponding number (I think).
One plane has 316 on it. (john 3: 16).
Friday, May 28, 2010 12:07PM
The man in black's name was never mentioned, but I think most people thought it was Esau.
i think the light was the "essance of life & goodness." It would go out all over the world if not protected from being lost.
The Smoke Monster was the Man in Black turned into the Devil when his brother tossed him into the cavern. The body of John became possessed by the devil. The devil wanted the light to be turned out.
The flash sideways was the inner desires of how the people wanted to live their lives, as well as pergatory.
The people did live and die on the island.
Of course, all of this is guess on my part.
Saturday, May 29, 2010 3:20PM
Here's the problem with the ending (and therefore the entire series):
L O S T as a whole appealed to 3 audiences: those who like mystery/fantasy/science fiction, those who like interpersonal, nightime soap drama (e.g. "Grey's Anatomy"), and those who were intrigued by the melding of these two genres. But because the ending was pretty much solely written to satisfy the interpersonal drama fans, the other two groups were left out in the cold and it is these two groups that have been cheated.
A huge section of the L O S T audience followed the show for the mystery/SF elements. Most fan blogs were awash in trying to figure out what the Smoke Monster was and how it came to be, what was the Lamp Post, what was Dharma up to, what was Widmore plan, what were the numbers, and, in season six, what was Desmond up to (i.e. was he going to somehow reconnect the two realities?) The soap opera fans have to admit that the L O S T blogs were not really following the life stories of the characters. For the most part, the interactions and backstories of the characters were self-explanatory and compelling but no more so than any other quality drama on television. No, what caught everyone's fancy was the crazy world of the Island and the conflicts over its mysterious power. The flashbacks and forwards added life to the characters but that was just frosting on the cake. The main event was the intrigue and suspense of the happenings swirling around the Island.
So, here comes the last 30 minutes of the series and we find out that the show was really more Grey's Anatomy than Twilight Zone. Those wanting a pay-off for the many questions presented, were told to take a hike. The show was about people not about mystery or science after all.
So to those who say it was a great ending and the rest of us should just forget about the mystery and science issues, to you I say stop being selfish and grow some understanding. This was obviously a serialized science fiction drama from the get go but gradually (and then at the end, frantically) moved to the realm of the soap. Interestingly enough, this makes the ending of Battlestar Galactica more satisfying to me because it, at least, Moore had the honesty to try to answer the big questions of the series, even if in a highly rushed and contrived manner. (con't)
Saturday, May 29, 2010 3:21PM
For 5 seasons, L O S T was about the Island, its mysteries and the conflicts between the visitors to the island. Without the Island the series would have just been another well produced, but pedestrian show about screwed up people. In those five seasons we did see people grow and learn, and solve (some) mysterious issues but that is why it was good. The LOSTies were surogates for the viewer. Most of us can identify with some aspects of the various foibles of the characters but even more than that, we wanted the characters to figure out what was up with the Island and then come out the other end being both emotionally AND intellectually discerning. Ironically, for several characters, they didn't leave the island any more emotionally mature than when they arrived (think Boone and Shannon).Furthermore, we should remember that, aside from Jack, Ben, Desmond, and Hurley, no one else left the island really intellectually knowing much more than when they arrived.
The writers lie and I don't appreciate it:
1. In season 6 a wholly new story was dropped on the viewership, a story that began with a lie, that being that the Island was at the bottom of the ocean (presumably as a result of "The Incident"). But at the end of the series we learn that the Island NEVER DID SINK! It is still there (we assume), just like it always has been only now with Hurley and Ben watching over it. Narratively, there is no reason that the writers should have shown the Island at the bottom of the ocean since, in the way-station purgatory reality, there is no Island AT ALL, at least not one that our LOSTies would have collectively created as part of their shared purgatory. It is clear that the scene of the sunken Island was a ruse to make use think that this was an alternate timeline and that whatever Jack and Juliet did at the end of season 5, "worked".
2. But it didn't work! Miles gets the last vibe from dead people and in this case, Miles tells us that Juliet says "it worked". Apologists now lead us to believe that Juliet's words refer to the vending machine and not to the use of the bomb. So Juliet's last thoughts of her life were about a vending machine in PURGATORY??!! The vending machine that all our LOSTies "created" in their way-station created-reality? So now we learn that Miles is able to hear dead people talking about shared fictional illusions in the dead person's purgatory? Bah! The writers NEVER led us to believe anything other than Miles was able to glean actual real facts from the last moments of the life of the dead person in question. He wasn't reading their after-life experiences in purgatory.
3. Desmond flashes between one reality and the other and this leads him on the quest to "awaken" his friends in purgatory. We know that Desmond didn't die in the electromagnetic field so what is he doing experiencing the afterlife with his fellow LOSTies? Furthermore, not only does he experience the purgatory reality but that experience gives him a sense of peace that he should follow Widmore (and we do ultimately learn that Widmore was visited by Jacob in order to vanquish the MIB). But now we know that Desmond COULDN'T have visited this other reality since that reality doesn't exist except as some existential way-station created by dead people.
So what do these three points tell us? I think it tells us that the writers, for all their advanced warning that they had only 6 seasons to tell the story, didn't have a way to finish the story. They THOUGHT they did and they put clues into the last moments of season 5 and the early part of season 6 about there being some kind of fracture in time and space but then, for some reason, abandoned that notion and decided that the characters were all dead, that there was no alternate timeline, that whatever Juliet was talking about as far as "it worked" didn't happen and the Island never sank.
(cont.)
Saturday, May 29, 2010 3:21PM
Summary.
The last season would have, in retrospect, been better if the writers had not lied to the viewer by including things in the way-station story line that would otherwise make sense if it were an alternate timeline but make ZERO sense if it is purgatory. I doubt I will go back and review season 6 knowing what I know now (that that the flash-sideways was a lie), but others will probably find that there were dozens of plot holes created once the writers decided that the flash-sideways was not an alternate timeline but rather a nonsensical "they're all dead" communal illusion. Communal illusions or "it was all a dream" narratives are interesting if they last a few minutes of a show but for a whole season? Pointless, and in this case, deceptive. They strung us along but in the end, had no way of giving us a narrative payoff. Ending with "they're all dead" and lots of unanswered questions, is a cop out. yes, we know it is hard to tie up loose end but then, the writers CREATED those lose ends in the first place. Don't pose a conundrum in a show like L O S T if you don't know how to resolve it. Any hack can write a mystery if he doesn't have to have a way for his characters to solve the mystery.
This is the ultimate problem with endings like this. We are already being asked to suspend our disbelief to follow a story that is obviously fictional. To learn at the end that not only was the story fictional but the writers go out of their way to TELL us it is fictional. This is why stories like Man of La Mancha are only watchable once, at least for the plot, because once you find out that the main character is telling a fable (a play within a play), we no longer can suspend our disbelief on the second viewing.
Such is the case for me with L O S T. The alternate storyline of season six will now have zero impact with me because I know that it never happened within the construct of the larger fictional tale. Viewers or readers of fiction have to be able to identify the story as POSSIBLY having happened at some point or in some place. But if the story itself TELLS you it never happened then what's the point?
So my problem ultimately is not that there were questions left unanswered or if the writers wasted time on unimportant points leaving important ones forgotten, but rather, that a whole season was wasted telling a story that the writers themselves tell us at the end never happened. That is a tease with no pay-off and for that, I loath the ending.
Ultimately, I can live with the Original Timeline story with Jack dying in the bamboo forest (even though the MIB, under similar circumstances, never made it out of the cave alive) but in order to now feel good about rewatching the series, I will have to wait until someone edits out that abortion of a purgatory timeline from season six.
Will one of you do that for me and post it to YouTube?
Thanks.
Monday, May 31, 2010 5:36AM
There are literally hundreds of movies that are under 2 hours that not only pose the level of complex dilemmas and mysteries as we have seen in LOST but they also manage to address the mysteries (think "Murder on the Orient Express" or "Memento" or "Minority Report". Your response ignores the fact that the writers wasted a whole season on a "purgatory" alternate reality when they could have spent those same hours giving us answers to the many questions they purposefully raised during the series.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010 4:44AM
All that maters in life is the journey and how you will create your soul better!
So when you die and you will be only left with it you can exist as a soul in heaven Great show great ending!! thats why we all search for ansures they didnt chew it for us we had to think! Thinking makes good to the soul!! They didnt die for nothing, the island was real, the side ways were the atemts for some of them not to let go! And yes at sime point they all die and meet again as souls before the light. Mabe in the next generation of lost reloaded the title of the 7 th season will be The Iland and how it all started (better not)
Tuesday, June 1, 2010 8:58PM
Jacob said to his brother that there is no life off the island.
And Jacob didn’t want his dark brother to leave the island.
BUT Jacob leaves the island to go recruit people and touch them.
How did Jacob leave the island.
How can he find his way in society – streets – trains etc.
If you were born on an island and never saw society, how could you go on your own.
How could Jacob even find these people???
Does he even know how to use a phone book?
Did he ever see a phone book or a computer???
But most importantly it’s the illogical non sense that Jacob tells his brother and is one reason he kills him so he can’t get off the island,
YET Jacob himself goes in the USA which he didn’t believe existed.
That’s just one thing that doesn’t make sense and as others pointed out there are so many things that the writers just made up with amnesia as they went along.
+ if they sunk the island, how come the fire light didn’t burn out.
Or when they return to the island wouldn’t all the plants be dead from living under the sea?
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 12:16PM
easy to understand is Jack and everyone died, dont care how they all died..
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 4:11PM
hey asshole, i was just starting to watch bsg… thanks for ruining the ending for me jack off.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 4:13PM
and also, watch the first season. it wasn't a sci fi show, it was a show about people. the sci fi and fantasy was the road that the show went down, the vehicle was aways the human interactions.
Saturday, June 5, 2010 4:41PM
I beg to differ. From the get-go the show was a mystery/fantasy. Remember, the pilot of 815 was killed by the smoke monster in the first episode. It wasn't very far into the first season that we see that, genre-wise, the show was mystery/ scifi/fantasy. Of course, good scifi/fantasy/mystery requires great characters and L O S T had them. But to say that it wasn't any of these but rather, just a drama about people is to completely miss the point of the show (up until the last 30 minutes of the series and then – yes, you're right).
Saturday, June 5, 2010 4:46PM
The Island never sank. That image was in the nonsensical "purgatory" storyline. There is no reason for us to see the Island at the bottom of the ocean since the purgatory is a "shared created reality". The LOSTies would have no reason to collectively imagine that the Island is sunk so the only explanation is that either the writers had another storyline in mind when that episode was edited OR they intended to mislead us into thinking that this storyline was actually an alternate reality. As it turned out, it was not an alternate reality but simply a way-station.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 1:00AM
How could it be a gate way to Heaven or Hell if they did not die in the crash. A gate way to Heaven or hell is if your dead.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 1:07AM
I think what people are confused about that the fact that they didnt show penny, kate,sawyer,ect die,then why were they there in the church..and were did the baby come form..If they dont show it then what are we suppose to think..And what about Richard,Jacob i didnt see them there in the chursh.
Sunday, June 20, 2010 1:08AM
Ok then were's Richard and Jacob…ect…
Thursday, July 1, 2010 7:13AM
Everything ended so abrupt and so fast cos i wanted to see Jack remarrying Kate and having a baby together and how the rest of the crews left the island, thwe likes of hulley and ben, benard and the wife and Jack in particular cos i wasnt satisfied seeing him left in the middle of no help
Friday, July 2, 2010 4:52AM
Awe this lost thing is hectiv I think they should at least give us some answers to the gaps or just of continued the show cause I think it could have gone on for some time
Wednesday, August 4, 2010 1:52PM
[...] s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1); })(); 0 More It’s been a few months since the final episode of “Lost” aired on ABC, and as you would expect the series didn’t really give a [...]
Tuesday, September 28, 2010 11:40AM
From which piont in the series was it just "imaginated" I dont understand….
Thursday, November 11, 2010 3:14PM
dude,dharma had stuff like computers,phones and other things.jacob knew
Sunday, January 2, 2011 5:27PM
The numbers wasn't random. (4-8-15-16-23-42)
The Numbers, as revealed in The Substitute are related to individual people. Written inside the Cliffside cave, many names appear with numbers beside them. They all are crossed out except for the six Candidates, with 4-John Locke, 8-Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, 15-James "Sawyer" Ford, 16- Sayid Jarrah, 23-Jack Shephard, and 42-Kwon, revealing that the numbers represented the candidates the entire time
Friday, January 14, 2011 11:37PM
Thank you dan for your verry detailed description of the “pergatory” plotline mistakes. You laid out every issue I had and gave a very understandable reason for why they were there. Best review I have read. It is good to know that some one else identified the same plot problems and that its not just that I didn’t get it but that it didn’t make logical sence.
Friday, February 25, 2011 12:19PM
The show was about a dying man and his death-throe-dream.
Plane crash happened.
Jack lay dying in the bamboo grove from a wound in his side/back.
Vincent the dog survived the crash and is by his side. No connection, just coincidence.
All of the events that follow are Jack's death-throe-dream where your life 'flashes' before your eyes but in a dream-like movie. You replay your past events; regrets; failures; roads not travelled; incorporate fanstastic things – monsters, strange forces, time travel, alternate timelines; you incorporate recent events – faces of people on the plane, the island you crash on.
In the end, you move towards the white-light (in the church) just before you take your last breath.
In the final scene, there lies Jack, with the same wound – in his dream, formerly sewn up by Kate, and now a new wound from an epic battle to save the Island/World against Locke/smoky – but really the same mortal wound that the show opened with and that he is dying from. [Continued]
Friday, February 25, 2011 12:20PM
[from previous post]
Jack dies and the final scene shows the actual wreck; on the beach; no survivors; no footprints; clothes still strewn about untouched. This is not the scene of the wreck after several years on the island. It is what really happened. No survivors except Jack – the sole survivor with the dog – and he just died.
That was the show, the story. To tell the story of a dying man's death-throe-dream as his life flashes before his eyes; what one might experience in their final minutes; the replay of their life as if watching it on a movie-screen; and in all the manner that dream-like-states allow – seeing dead people; correcting past regrets; paths not travelled; family whole again, etc.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011 3:19AM
You clearly do not understand the show! It was not Jack's dream. Oh my, watch it again!
The writers did a good job.
Friday, March 23, 2012 5:35AM
I love this show, but it is really confusing. I mean, first Richard says that they're all dead, and now they're not dead. What tey heck!! Why is the island so important? Why would so many people die to protect it?