I have mixed feelings about the finale. On one hand, there were elements of it that I loved. Frankly, I loved every minute of it, up to the last ten. Then, I felt my mind screaming, “No. No. Noooooooo!” I wanted to love it, but in the end, it felt a bit hollow to me. It might be deemed a success because of the amount of debate it’s certain to generate, but in my mind, it doesn’t compare to the great endings of Battlestar Galactica (the recent reimagining) or Babylon 5 – despite the problems it had to face to come to an end at all. While those also generated a lot of debate, they were more satisfying overall, and for that reason, I feel that the Lost finale fell a bit short. Nevertheless, let’s examine my thinking.
WARNING: SPOILERS ABOUND
The Bad – Such Ado About Nothing
First, I want to talk about the stuff I felt really bitter about, because they weren't explained enough for my liking: The Dharma Initiative, polar bears, the Smoke Monster, all the intensity about fertility and babies, the weirdness around Walt (remember that from Season 1?), the big Tawaret statue and all those hieroglyphics, the temple and Dogen, the episode with Allison Janney that explained the origin of Jacob and his brother, that whole mess with Richard Alpert, the Numbers, for God’s sake, the Pendulum and Eloise Hawking, and the idea that you have to “kill him before he says a word to you. If you let him talk to you, it’s too late.” (which is exactly the way the Man In Black kills Allison Janney in the origin episode). And Seriously ? A literal “plug”? I realize all the fertility hysteria mean something, but I wasn't prepared for it to end up with such an “earthy” depiction, pardon the phrase - but saving the island by jamming a giant, phallic rock into a hole? Pretty primal there. Not too scientific. Some answers were provided, but many of them, we’re told are “up to your interpretation.” I’m sorry, but that’s lazy storytelling. I didn’t expect every answer to every question. But the answers provided were, in many cases, questionable, and in the end, there were far too many unanswered questions. Did they all die in the crash of Oceanic 815? Or did everything happen? The wreckage shown over the credits felt ominous and final.
What did it all mean? Seriously. If you want to take on the concept that this is all basically from Jack’s point of view, and it’s all about him letting go and being ready to move on to the next spiritual plane, that’s fine. But then, why weave this intricate, complex bunch of ideas about time and space, electromagnetism and mathematics, the wheel, all the scientific stuff you had there? Why this mythology about not allowing the other person (both MIB and Jacob gave the same instructions to people at one time or another) to speak to you before burying a knife in his belly? Why have The Others? What the hell?
I really wanted the ending to tie all of this stuff in somehow – maybe not answer every question I had, but I wanted something a bit more science-fiction-y, I guess. I’ve seen a lot of discussion that says that the way you take the ending depends on how spiritual or religious you are. I disagree. I’m a devout Christian, and I still wanted some science with my faith, here, thank you very much.
The Good – Stuff I Loved
Just because I’m bitching about some parts of the writing being lazy doesn’t mean I felt that way about everything. The filmmaking was breathtaking at times, just beautiful, and nothing lazy about that at all. I loved the resolution each and every character found. I loved the fact that Jack was finally able to "fix" Locke. I loved seeing Locke smiling, achieving complete redemption after being "UnLocke" all season long. I loved seeing Vincent come to lie down beside Jack, and in this way, thwart the “live together, die alone” portent. I remembered the repetition of the phrase, “What happened happened.” I choose to go with this idea, and believe that everything actually did happen, except for Sideways World, which I believe was a sort of “limbo”, the playing out of some realities for the purpose of final examination and resolution.
The Desmond storyline, depicting Des as wealthy but inwardly empty was great. As he achieves awareness of his “other life”, his love of Penny impels his drive to awaken the others, and this was very compelling. The “reunions” of Charlie and Claire, Ben and the Rousseaus, Sawyer and Juliet were among the most touching moments I’ve seen in a long time. The reunion of Sayid with Shannon was also quite lovely, and I felt that while others complained “why wasn’t it Nadia?” the reason for this was clear to me: Nadia and Sayid were never able to make a really pure connection. The reason for Sideways World was resolution – for some people, it’s hard to admit that having is not always so pleasurable as wanting. With Sayid, Nadia was the love that could never hope to last – it was tainted by her knowledge of his past and his guilt - with her, he could never "let go". But his connection to Shannon was just as real, if more brief, and though he admitted his past to her, she never experienced him as that man, capable of those things. The Sayid she knew had already moved on in that sense, and so the connection to Shannon was Sayid’s way of resolving (letting go of) that tattered past.
So, I’m going to have to choose to believe that the Oceanic crash victims did not die in that crash. I’m going to go with the idea that all of this stuff actually did happen, does exist, is real. That it had a purpose. That “what happened happened.” That the survivors of Oceanic 815 actually lived together on that island for a time. That the Oceanic 6 escaped to the mainland and returned to the island. That the Dharma Initiative was there on the island to investigate and research the effects of that incredible electromagnetic field there, and that Eloise Hawking was a brilliant scientist and the mother of Daniel Faraday – their names alone dictate to me that the science was important, otherwise, why nod to these great men of science. I’m going to believe that Rose and Bernard continued to live on the island, that Kate, Sawyer, Claire, Richard, Miles, and Lapidus returned home and lived for who knows how many years after that. I’m going to say I think Hurley and Ben managed the island for many years – thousands, even. I think what we saw in the end was Jack’s struggle to find the balance between the science he was trained in, and the need to find something more – to balance science with faith. And in the end, he does just that, and saves, not only the island, but the world.
There was all this symbolism to help us see Jack at peace – which I did love. Vincent lying down beside Jack, and Jack’s joyful acceptance of Vincent’s gift (simply being with a person can be the greatest gift you can give at some moments) - it allows Jack, in his final moments of life, to be at peace… with dog. (Get the anagram? Though a bit heavy-handed, it makes clear that the man of Science finally has made the complete conversion to Faith) Jack’s guide, Christian Shephard, tells him, “There is no “now” here,” and helps finally get Jack to where he is ready to “let go” and move on. So Sideways World really was just the “waiting room” where they all gathered to help Jack move on, and they gathered there after their deaths, which were probably many years after Jack’s. All of them are ready to move on now. Ana Lucia is not there, because as Desmond said earlier, “She’s not ready yet.” Michael and Walt are not there, because the island people are not the ones who are so important to them. Walt and Michael got off the island. Walt probably moved on with his grandmother, while Michael may never move on after murdering Ana Lucia. But why is Aaron there as a toddler? Why is Libby missing, if Hurley is there? Problematic. More questions.
The imagery was undeniably beautiful in most cases. However…
As much as I can say that I get it, I understand where they ended up (and I believe my analysis proves that), I still have to admit, the ending did not satisfy me. In fact, as the last ten minutes unfolded, I could hear my inner monologue going, “Uh oh. Uh oh. No. No, they wouldn’t go there. That’s too easy. That’s too "first season debate." No. Noo. Nooooooooo!”
It was like, they had a great thing going. The balloon was filling. It was getting fuller, and bigger, and more amazing throughout the entire two hours and twenty minutes, and then, someone just …. Let out the cork. And like a giant balloon would, it all just deflated in a horrid slow motion. Pfffffffffffttttttttt.
It was a letdown.
Why? Because it felt like Twin Peaks redux. Or The X-Files. Or Dallas. It felt to me like they had three years, knowing when they were ending, they had all this time to figure out a great place to end up. And this is it? You’re all dead, and you’ve been witnessing a purgatory-like existence, and now you have come to a place of spiritual enlightenment, and can move on. WTH?
One of the guys I was watching with said, “Well, do you all feel a great disturbance in The Force?” And I said, “Like a billion minds all crying out in pain?” and we laughed. But it was true. It was so Star Wars. So X-Files. So what? In the end, it made all of the great stuff kind of not matter.
Why didn’t they consult with Ray Bradbury for God’s sake, if they wanted this to be as important as they thought it was going to be? In my opinion, one of Bradbury’s greatest novels, Something Wicked This Way Comes, dealt with this exact idea – at the moment that Charles Halloway finds self-acceptance after fighting his self-hatred because of his age, his tiredness, his ordinariness, and is finally content with who and what he is, the evil forces he is fighting are quickly dispelled and the characters all move on. But the way Bradbury examined this idea was so lyrical and transcendant that it didn’t feel simplistic or cheap at all. He’s still alive, you know. You could have at least made the call.
Or me – Jeebus, I think I could have done a little better. I was thinking, Damn, this is awesome, I’ll bet they tie this all together by saying this isn’t an alternate or parallel universe, but rather, it’s a parallel timeline. In finest “Crisis on Infinite Earths” style (you knew I had to bring comics into it somehow), you have to operate on the premise that there can be only one. All of the multiverse must resolve into one cohesive universe. I thought, I’ll bet what they finally do is jolt everyone out of their sleepy, hollow lives and get them to remember the other timeline.
The idea of free will and choice comes into this when each character must decide – will s/he “let go” of all of the pain and wariness, and allow himself to experience the life s/he was meant for, reaching out for help and love, not trying to do it all (and walk) alone – and stay in the Sideways Timeline – or hold on to all the anger, suspicion, isolation, and unbelief, continue to attempt to control or bend life and others to their will – and stay on the island. I felt we were seeing the timelines beginning to merge (the blood on Jack’s neck, the shiner Ben had on the island and in Sideways World). I was sure that, by the end, each of these characters had one final choice to make, and that those who chose to “let go and believe” would end up in Sideways World, retaining the knowledge and memories of the island, and those who chose to hold onto their hate and anger and control issues would remain on the island – which would be at the bottom of the ocean by the end of the episode.
Barring them consulting with the Great Ray Bradbury, or with me for that matter, they could have given us a bone in one key way that they chose not to: when each of them had their flash of recognition, as each one saw their life on the island and remembered, they could have had Kate, Sawyer and Claire - even if they left out Miles, Lapidus and Alpert - remember the island, yes, but then continue on and remember their whole lives - flashes of Kate getting married (whether to Sawyer or someone else), having children, growing old; flashes of Claire in a psychiatrist's office, with Aaron, as Aaron grew up; and so on. This would have clued us in that the Ajira flight made it safely home, and that they lived on, and only showed up in the Sideways Land church when Jack was ready to move on - this is a Jack-centric episode. So all that happened, happened. And more. And when it was time, they all showed up for Jack.
And so. The saga of Oceanic Flight 815 comes to an end. Certainly, this will all be debated for years. Undeniably, the show was influential and unique. I just wish that when all was said and done, the writers hadn’t been so lazy and relied so heavily on material we’ve all seen a hundred times since … as someone pointed out to me… Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” back in 1930. I know there’s nothing new under the sun, but Lindecuse could have put this together in a much more inventive way and given us all a better ending. For a show that seemed to be all about resolution, it’s a shame this one wasn’t more complete and satisfying.
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