Lost: The 6th & Final Season Thread (Part 2)-The End*

The thing about the A bomb explosion that bemuses and amuses me (which I was reminded about last night) was not only were the survivors nearby not hurt or injured (other than scraps and bruises), but that in the midst of the crater Sawyer found Juliet's body in tact (she was lying beside the bomb when it exploded). Again, that incredulity fits into the producer's scheme of things. It amazes me that fans accepted that inconsistency and the 're-set theory' and 'time travel' aspect of the show, but cannot accept the 'death' premise of the show.

 

But Jack, the Island WASN'T purgatory, and the characters on it WEREN'T dead, so nobody's been betrayed.

 

I agree, and I've vowed to not watch any new show done by the same production team, so I can focus on something done with more integrity.

 

As I suspected, they were just flying by the seat of their pants and had no real "plan" to resolve anything.

This show gets far too much credit, because all they were ever really doing was throwing in a bunch of cool stuff, but there was never any sort of clever plan to ties things together and explain it.

I have a feeling that many that are "satisfied" with the ending now will eventually come of the opinion that it wasn't a very good story ultimately.

That's what separates great stories/movies from not-so-great stories/movies... the ability to tie it all together... often in an unforeseen way that makes you go ahhh.... but this was nothing of the sort.

I don't respect these guys as storytellers and I don't respect the way this show was handled. I won't ever dedicated myself to a show of this type again because I feel they've violated the assumed trust with the audience and made this whole thing a giant cop out.

 

It was purgatory...just not called that.


They were made ready for the afterlife...that's purgatory. They were somewhere between life and the afterlife...that's purgatory.

The writers of LOST can call it whatever they want, but it's still purgatory by definition.

 

The satisfied viewers are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome...

 

As I wrote before, I thought the ending was great, so I'm not griping. But I think that that defense is a technicality that certainly blurs the spirit of the producers' earlier statements. When asked they should have said, "Just wait and see". The show did up being about the redemption and salvation of lost [deceased] souls so that they could pass peacefully unto the hereafter. So, I understand why some might feel betrayed.

I also think that the exact moment of Jack's death in particular (which seems to be the reference point for the producers' vision of the show) is debatable and that all the events that align with that vision of the show may not co-incide with Jack dying at the moment of turbulence on the repeat Oceanic flight home. I think that a good argument may be made that he actually died in the initial crash.

 

Walt was always referred to being "special". As was the MIB my his mother. Ultimately I think Walt died somewhere along the line...and the manifestation we saw of Walt on the island telling Locke to get up because he had "work to do" was the MIB.

Either they couldn't handle the magnetic forces...or they are killed by smokey to make sure they don't become potential candidates.

Man and science poking around where they shouldn't be.

Both wanted to control the island.

 

I you had liked the ending would you still think of it as Stockholm Syndrome?

 

But catastrophic events -- like detonating Jughead or turning the failsafe key or, indeed, the plane crash itself -- have always been tools for character transformation rather than adhering to the laws of physics. When Desmond imploded the hatch, his clothes were blown off but he was otherwise unharmed -- but it DID cause his future visions and time-flashes. When Ben turned the donkey wheel, it had some pretty severe effects for those on the Island, but he was able to be blasted through time and space with no problem. So for me it was "logical" (within the show's logic) that Jughead's detonation would throw them back to the present time, but not physically harm them.

Some things in a show like this you just have to roll with. I've been defending the finale and I will continue to, but that doesn't mean I have NO quibbles with anything throughout the show's run. I have plenty of them, but for me, right now isn't the time for griping about them. I have the rest of my life for second-guessing, but right now, today, I'm satisfied with how it ended. To those who are SOOO angry and bitter, I think you wanted the show to be something it's not. I'm reading all these complaints about questions that weren't answered, but many of them WERE -- just apparently not to your satisfaction. Maybe sometime I'll try to go through them all and address how I feel they were answered, but I just don't have the desire to argue about LOST right now.

 

I still don't understand the defense that none of the Island/Mystery mattered, because it was really all about "the characters".

In the end, what was so special about the characters? They were fascinating when the series began, but by the end they weren't "real" in any sense, just action movie cut-outs or plot devices. And yet we were suddenly supposed to care deeply about them?

Look at Sayid -- his motivations throughout were for Nadia, but we find out that blonde chick was what really mattered to him. How can anyone defend that kind of resolution?

And why did he die/come back in the final season? What was the point? Why the temple, for that matter, it added nothing.

 

I know that's my point. I am bewildered how fans who do not believe in that story telling paradigm are willing to accept a person's body could remain in tact enduring a nuclear blast beside it.

 

I don't think so. The island happened. The sideways world (including the "meeting place") was purgatory. Christian Shepherd then opened the door to heaven at the end.

 

See....that's the thing about this show. It's very interpretive. And the story is not told chronologically. Don't forget, we saw the entire island at the bottom of the sea. What does this mean? Does it mean that when the bomb went off that that's when they all really died, and everything after that was Jack's personal story of redemption? Does it mean that at some point in the future the light will go out forever and the island sinks? Does it mean that when Desmond moved the rock, and the light went out...that's when they all died and the island sank? You have to come up with your own interpretation. That's the way they wanted it.

 

How can the ISLAND be purgatory if several people LEFT it and went back home for two years? The SIDEWAYS was purgatory, but the Island was REAL.

 

It would have been better if Christian Shepard, at the last second opened the door.....to hell and Christian reveals that he is, instead, the smoke monster.

 

Ah, gotcha. We are on the same page here.

 

I thought Aaron was important to Charlie. He made Charlie a better person and he started to help other people instead of destroying himself.

Pat

 

The only question that really begged answering-- and went unanswered-- in the finale was what Widmore said to Flocke. It seemed important in the second to the last episode, but never came up again.

My guess? Widmore to Smokey: "You're f%#$ed!"

Otherwise, I'm pretty satisfied. The feeling of vague disappointment/post-series depression at the end of the show last night has cured into a ruminative & philosophical satisfaction by this morning!

 

So it looks like a largely positive reaction from those who understood the story and a largely negative reaction from those who didn't.

That sounds about right.

 

Because they didn't experience a nuclear blast - the flash happened just as the explosion was starting, sending them forward in time. Hence why we didn't see an explosion and then the flash.

 

I think part of the problem is that the fans were expecting a tightly written and cohesive narrative that would be tied up in last night's finale. Unfortunately, the series was not initially created as a self-contained mini-series but rather an open-ended series. When the show was conceived, I doubt the creators had any type of end game in mind. As the show progressed, it was decided to wrap it up rather than allow it to go on indefinitely, but I suspect we fans expected too much from the wrap up. It would be great if a show were conceived which the creators always intended to last a set period of time and inserted various "easter eggs" and mysteries throughout for a big pay-off at the end. Unfortunately, TV rarely works that way and the show gets cancelled long before such a concept works out. What you are left with is a show like Lost, where the creators make up "cool" things as they go along over the course of several seasons but invariably leave a host of questions unresolved at the end.

 

Itook it also that the magnetism of where the bomb blew may have taken the power down, sucked it in, not blew out

 

I understood the story just fine, I just didn't like it. I feel the question(s) that kept the show going, mainly what is the nature of the island and why is its existence so important, weren't answered.

This story was never about the characters, it was about the island. The Wizard of Oz is about characters, Oz just happens to be a magical land they inhabit and we never question it's nature or existence. The big question in Lost was never "how will Dorothy get home," it was "what is this island and what makes it special?". You can't end the series in a satisfactoy manner without answering its central question.

 

Ok, so the island was the source of all good in the world, and needed to be protected from humans who could destroy and end the world...or something like that.

And children couldn't be born on the island because...oh never mind, it's all about the characters!

It's also a source of intense magnetism, and time slows down, and you have to push buttons to keep it from exploding after some meddling hippie commune started digging...oh wait, never mind, doesn't matter. What matters is those great characters!

And there's Charles Widmore and Ben, who fight over the island but play by certain rules and so...wait, never mind. This is just a simple character study.

And the man in black, couldn't leave the island, because...well who cares...what matters is those touching, teary eyed character resolutions.

And so on...