Monday, May 24, 2010

LOST: Season 6 Episode 17 & 18 - The End

Hello LOSTIES!!!!  You must excuse me, I am still wiping the tears away from an incredibly emotional 2.5 hour experience!  What an episode, what a conclusion!  The feelings for this episode will, no doubt, be all over the map.  The conclusion to the Sideways Timeline will be the cause for much debate about the whole point of the entire series.  From this blogger's perspective though, I can not think of a more fitting end to the show that captured our imagination for 6 years.  There is only one way to definitively END a story.  They need to show us the very "END"!  And folks, that's exactly what we got!  I will try to weigh in on my opinions throughout the recap of that very point.  But clearly, things are being interpreted in different ways.  And I am guessing this is by design!  The significance of the end will not escape me, but there is a significance in this blog posting at the same time.  This is my final LOST recap (do I detect some tears out there?  There are some right here!).   An era is about to end.  And while this blog is not going anywhere and I will be posting things in the future, there will not be a new hour of LOST to discuss.  So, this may be a bit emotional for all of us.  But we're going to get through it!   I will save my thanks and goodbyes for the end.  For now, I have to say that this final episode of LOST was one great THRILL of a ride!  I was on the edge of my seat, I was crying, I feel like I need to go buy something at Target (man how many commercials were there?  Can't believe I decided to watch LIVE!  The LOST-Inspired Target commercials were very funny though), and of course there was enough intrigue in the episode to leave us talking for days, weeks, months, years!   I cannot help but give this episode a major WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!   And my entire LOST experience one giant SUPER WOW!!!!  I dread this folks, but it's time to get to the next paragraph!


The End - "It only Ends Once, everything else is progress."  Everything that we have seen for 6 seasons and everything that was set up this season all culminates to one definitive ending point.  On the Island, Jack has been dubbed the "Protector of the Island" and he along with Kate, Sawyer and Hurley have been tasked with the need to kill Smokey before he destroys the Island.  Smokey has vowed to destroy the Island with the use of Desmond "the Fail safe".  He has seemingly recruited Ben to help him out in this task.   Richard was blown away by Smokey with his fate uncertain.  And Miles "RAN AWAY" from conflict to save his own tail.   Then in Sideways land, things to be shaping up where people are being "ENLIGHTENED" to where they are.  A Prison Break, a Concert and a Hospital play their parts in uniting everyone to where they need to be.  But there is one stubborn "last recruit" in Jack Shephard.  Considering how this one ended, I think we have to switch up our story lines.  Our Island story is coming first in our final recap!

Disclaimer: It is very surprising for me to see how many people are already coming up with different philosophies on how this show ended.  I definitely will keep to my normal style of recapping by posing various questions to ponder.  But there are some things that I accepted as FACT by the end of this show, and I cannot help but write the recap this way, especially when it comes to the Sideways resolution!  So, hopefully this may clear things up for some who are confused!   Here we go!

The Island

All the events that occur in the following storyline are REAL and happened while everyone was alive.  Don't let anybody fool you into thinking that they weren't! 

Assembling the Attack Plan


We rejoin Jack, Hurley, Kate and Sawyer after their encounter with Jacob.   Jack is standing in the waters where he was "REBORN" as the protector of the Island.  Kate and Sawyer watch from a distance, but then Sawyer moves in for a chat.


  • Sawyer is very confused on everything that has just transpired.  Jack is in the same boat.   He does mention how he doesn't feel any different than he did before.  
  • Gotta love Sawyer telling him to come down from his mountain and tell everyone what the burning bush had to say!  
  • Jack then fills the other 3 in on the big plan.  Go to the bamboo forest close to their old camp (where Jack's journey began).   There they will find the "heart of the Island."  
  • They resolve that the light must stay lit or "that'll be it for all of us."  This is probably something subject for interpretation, but it really seems like when putting all of these episodes together and seeing what was happening when that light DID go out, that if this Island's light went out, it may have had repercussions to the rest of the world.   If not pushing that button in season 2 caused an electromagnetic surge that could have destroyed the world, what's to say that distinguishing this power source and removing the metaphorical CORK wouldn't cause world destruction?   Yes, it is left very ambiguous in the end though and we can only guess.   That's going to drive many people bonkers!   And it probably drives people crazy when I say that I'm cool with it! 
  • Anyway, they realize that both sides need Desmond, or more alarmingly, Flocke needs Desmond to put out the light.  Jack mentions that Jacob never said anything about Desmond, then Sawyer implied that he really didn't say much about anything!    This all set up to 2 more fantastic Star Wars lines to have in this final episode and both come from Hurley. 1.) "That's kind of true dude, he's worse than Yoda!"  We'll wait on the 2nd line for a second.  
  • Because we have another great Sawyer line to get to.  "You all head to your heart of the Island and I'll go get the magic leprechaun out of that well."   I'm gonna miss this show! 
  • Sawyer and Kate have a joking commentary referring to Kate's urge to always follow along with people.  But she sticks with Jack this time. 
  • And then what better line to set up the final conflict than the one line that made it into all 6 Star Wars movies in one way or another?  "I've Got a Bad Feeling About this!"   Damon Lindelof promised at his recent Times Talk Live interview that the first 7 minutes of the episode would include some big Star Wars stuff.  He did NOT disappoint!  (Now, some may argue he DID disappoint in the FINAL 7 minutes of the episode, but alas...so the debate shall rage on for years to come).  
  • Jack, Kate and Hugo head towards the Heart of the Island.  Kate asks Jack why he took the job, and he responds that he was supposed to.  He didn't take it because Jacob wrote his name on the wall.  Ever since he became BROKEN after leaving the Island and ruining his relationship with Kate, he believes that the Island is all he has left.   It's the only thing in his life he hasn't ruined.  
  • Kate pretty much was picking up what he was putting down and let Jack know that he hasn't ruined anything.   She then says something that Sideways Jack tells Sideways Locke in the beginning of this season.  "Nothing is irreversible."   Awwwwwwwwww She still loves him!!  And the Jaters (including me) rejoice!
  • Leave it to Hurley to keep them on task, "This would be so sweet if we weren't all about to die!"  Too true, Hugo, too true!   And they continue on their trek. 

Meanwhile, At the Well
Flocke is pulling up the rope from the well, thinking that it might come in handy in a bit at one of his next stops.  Ben catches Sawyer spying from behind a tree and escorts him towards the well with his gun.



  • Sawyer and Flocke have a conversation about them both needing Desmond.  Sawyer assumes Flocke needs Desmond to destroy the Island. (Love that Sawyer called him Smokey too.  We all have called him Smokey, but I'm not sure he was ever called that on the show!)    Flocke implies that he will be leaving the Island.  We find out later that he has Desmond's sailboat lined up for this plan.  
  • Flocke agrees with Sawyer that he plans to destroy the Island and then gets into the fact that this will, in turn, kill all of Jacob's precious candidates in the process.  Sawyer updates Flocke on the situation that there are no candidates any more.  Then he gives Ben one more elbow to the face for good measure (I'm glad he got one more beating before the show was over!), he grabs the gun and then heads off.   Since there is no more Desmond to be keeping him there.    

  • With Flocke finding out that someone was the new Island protector, he had no interest in anything about Sawyer anymore.  
  • Then in a BIT of a stretch, we find out that Ben thought Flocke was talking FIGURATIVELY about destroying the Island because he had promised it to Ben when he was gone.  So, if Ben had any resolve to help Smokey out, I think he lost the desire after this, just as we had speculated in the last recap! 



  • Flocke apologizes that he left out the part where Ben could be in charge of the Island but that the Island would be on the bottom of the ocean.   Of course, this makes us think that the Sideways land was somehow a result of how things ended in this Island story.  But, it will turn out that the sunken Island has nothing to do with all of that.   He did invite Ben to come on his boat once he gets Desmond to do what he needs to do.  He'll sail away from the Island and watch it sink.  
  • Oh wait, what's this?  A little bit of John Locke's tracking skills are at work as he spots some DOG TRACKS!   Whoever called it that Rose, Bernard and Vincent would rescue Desmond last week, VERY GOOD CALL (Lost Addicts Blog Commenter Paolo called this FYI)! 


Casa Nadler
Welcome back Vincent to the show!  And of course welcome back Rose and Bernard!  We see that Rose and Bernard's life hasn't really changed much after time traveling back to 2007.  They still have their cabin that they built and they're still remaining non-confrontational.  But, they broke this "do not get involved" rule when they rescued Desmond.




  • Rose doesn't even know WHEN they are right now.  They knew they built the place in 75 and lived there for 2 years.  Then the sky lit up again (The Incident) and here they are.  They just don't care though.  They have been living their hippie lifestyle in peace.   She then asks Desmond to move on after he eats.  They do not want any conflict he has brought to interfere with their peace loving ways. 

  • TOO LATE!   Bernard returns with no food but a whole lot of conflict!  Flocke has arrived and he pulls out his knife ready for blood.  Oh man, was anyone else here super nervous?  After seeing him off Zoe so suddenly with that knife, it definitely provided the fear that he might strike the marginally important characters of Rose and Bernard! 
  • He gives Desmond the ultimatum to come with him or he'll kill Rose and Bernard.  While Rose and Bernard tell Desmond not to give in, he did the right thing!  How chilling was it when he told Rose "I'll make it hurt"?   Yikes this guy is creepy!  Kudos to Terry O'Quinn.  Give the man an Emmy for this season.  Seriously! 
  • Desmond asks for Flocke's word that he won't harm them if he goes with them.   Once again Smokey is forced to give his word and he does.  And so it would seem that Rose and Bernard go on to live a happy Island existence and possibly lived a happy and cancer free existence for many years to come!  How do I know this?  It's all in Christian's speech at the end folks!  
  • Desmond says he will do what Smokey wants.  And Smokey tells him chillingly "Yes, Desmond, you will!"  

Collision


Sawyer catches up with his crew and Hurley screams in fear of him coming out of nowhere.  "Easy Bigfoot, it's just me!"   Like I said, I'm gonna miss this show!  Sawyer won't be the only one joining this party.

  • Sawyer reports what he had found out in his "Recon" trip.  Flocke has every intention of destroying the Island.  And of course, Desmond is not in the well, so Sawyer thinks they need to get to him first. 
  • Jack sees the big picture and realizes that it doesn't matter WHO brings Desmond to the Light Cave.  They're all going to the same place.  Jack seems to have faith that he knows how to bring this conflict to an end.  
  • Cue the awesome Michael Giacchino music we hear in every finale when we get some journeying across the Island!  That, and the wide panning camera shots always give these finales such an epic feel! 

  • Meanwhile, Flocke, Desmond and Ben are journeying towards the cave of light as well.  Flocke asked Desmond if he knew where he was being taken.  Desmond said he assumed it was a place with a very bright light!  Flocke seemed alarmed that he knew this.  One could speculate on the reason that Desmond knew this, but I would suggest that he knew it because he had experienced it twice before now and survived it, and knew that is the reason he was here.  And he was hoping that by getting to this light again he could get back to his other plane of existence.  Of course, what he didn't seem to know is what exactly that plane of existence was that he saw.  We'll talk more on this later. 
  • And what do you know?  Jack and crew, and Flocke and crew are marching right towards each other!  Smokey sums it up, "Well this is going to be interesting!" 

  • Before Flocke can even finish his sentence, Kate has grabbed Sawyer's rifle and opens fire!  She is a woman on a mission to kill this man-thing for what he has done!   Naturally, the bullets are doing nothing but flying right through him, around him or whatever!  I love that Ben and Desmond hit the deck! 


  • Sawyer stops Kate from shooting and Flocke just says "You may want to save your bullets." and walks right past towards Jack.  Well, Smokey, little did you know but that just gave Kate her Action Movie "One Liner" for a big event yet to come!  One that almost had me jumping out of my seat and cheering like when Hurley ran over the others with the Dharma Van on the beach! 
  • You have to love Smokey's speech here to Jack.  "So, it's you.  Jacob, being who he is, I expected to be a little more surprised!  You're sort of the obvious choice. Don't you think?"   It was almost like Smokey took the place of Hurley for a second as the Audience's representation on the show!  I have always loved how they address what they think the fan's reaction will be within the show itself! 
  • Jack was quick to clarify that Jacob didn't choose him, he chose to do it himself.   Then Jack, with his confidence at an all-time high, suggests that he cannot stop Flocke from reaching his destination.  Instead, he volunteers to go with him.  And then Jack tells him that Flocke THINKS he's going to destroy the Island, but this is not what is going to happen.   What will happen instead?  "I'm gonna kill you."   NIIIIICE!!!  Even if Jack was wrong, at least he was going down swinging! 
  • Flocke looked a little nervous and just asked Jack how he plans to do that.   "That's a surprise."  Man, Jack got some quality lines in this one!  So, they agree to move onward to the cave together and see which one of them will be right.  




Operation: Blow Up Plane - Take 2
Don't worry, there was plenty to do for our Non-Season 1 and 2 LOSTIES as well!  Of course, we may have only thought that Miles was alive from this crew, but we were happily mistaken!  Miles returns to the barracks to rejoin with his crew.  

  • He radios Ben on the walkie talkie which Ben has to turn down very quickly because he doesn't want Flocke to know he has it.  If there was any question whose side Ben was on, that little move cleared it up for us!  
  • Well guess what guys? Surprise #1, Richard is still alive and Miles found him! 
  • Miles updates Richard on what happened to him and how he got launched into the jungle.  He then offers to get him some help.  I agree with Richard.  Help from WHERE?   Anyway, since they have no idea what was going on with Flocke and Jack's respective missions, his resolve is still to blow up the plane.  Of course, with us being in the know, this really confuses us!  But it quickly makes more sense.   And yes, I remembered that Claire was hanging out on Hydra Island too so that would get her back into the story! 
  • Later on, we see Miles and Richard at the dock getting read to take Flocke's outrigger over to Hydra Island.  Miles notices something different about Richard and then welcomes him to the "club".   Richard has a grey hair!  He is no longer immortal!   I guess maybe this ended with Jacob's death?  Maybe Jack taking over?  If anything, it signified that his obligations to the Island were complete.  But, to Richard, it meant more.  It signified that he still wanted to live!  

  • They head on over towards Hydra Island but here some screaming on the way.  I think immediately we know who is screaming!  Surprise #2!  FRANK is still alive.  The producers did state that the oversight of him not being mentioned in the sub sinking would be corrected.  They sure were right!  Of course, he's been laying out in the Ocean for a couple days now but seems pretty fine a couple scenes later!  But, you know, Jin blew up in a freighter and was out at sea for a few days during some intense time travel.   This is child's play compared to that! 



  • Frank quickly addresses the fact that if they leave on the plane, Smokey won't have a plane to leave the island with.  And, in a nod to the fact that he's been wearing that crazy shirt for 2 seasons now, he tells Richard "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a pilot!"  GOOD TIMES!   So this story does have a "leave the island" plot after all!  It totally seemed like Frank had been brought back in season 5 and 6 for no reason whatsoever when we thought he was killed off a few episodes back. So this corrects all of that!




The Cave of Light
On their approach to the Cave, Sawyer wants to catch up with Jack's plan, since he thinks it's absolutely nuts that they're all going together.

  • Jack tells Sawyer that is surprise to kill Flocke is Desmond.  He isn't exactly sure how it's going to happen but he said there has to be a reason that Jacob brought Desmond back to the Island.  Funny that Jacob implied that he didn't know how to kill Smokey but he knew enough to bring Desmond back?  Maybe he did know and just wanted Jack to figure it out for himself.  Jack refers to Desmond as a weapon.  Loved Sawyer's "That's a hell of a long con, Doc!"  

  • The crew arrives at the outskirts of the bamboo forest.  Flocke thinks that only he, Jack and Desmond should continue on.  Jack agrees with this sentiment.   I love that Hurley runs after Jack and tells him that he believes in him.  Remember in season 4 when Hurley chooses to go with Locke instead of Jack?  So great to see these guys back on great terms.  Jack smiles and heads in to begin the fulfillment of his destiny.  

  • One issue that I will mention about the finale is that they make various references to the weather on the Island, the coming storm.  And yes, it's all metaphoric.  I get that.  But Team Darlton had suggested that we were going to get more information about the Day turning to Night kind of weather that has always been on the Island.  Why we saw Jacob and the Man in Black sitting on a sunny beach, watching the Black Rock arrive and then a huge storm was summoned and sent the ship crashing into the statue in sliding into the jungle.  The Enhanced version of the Pilot episode that aired Saturday spoke of how the rain was used to symbolize that something BAD was about to happen.  That doesn't answer any questions about the elements and how they played a factor on the Island.  My only issue with this is that they said it would be in the show, and it wasn't.  If they never said that I would have been fine with it!   I guess this could be part of the 20 minutes of additional storyline that will be attached to the DVD and Blu-Ray release of Season 6 on August 24th.  I'll be first in line to buy it and blog about it! 
  • Anyway, the reason I brought that up now is because we hear a roar of thunder and then we see Smokey, as John Locke (who always predicted the weather patterns on the Island), saying that it's going to be a bad one.  And it sure was! 
  • They arrive at the cave of light and they spend little time taking the scene in.  They get right to work! Flocke ties the rope to a tree and they begin to lower Desmond down into the hatch...errr cave.  
  • Then we find out what has been motivating Island Desmond ever since his zap of electromagnetic energy.   He begins to tell Jack that none of this matters.  Flocke destroying the Island, Jack destroying Flocke.   He tells Jack that when he goes into that light he is going to go somewhere else where they can all be with the ones they love and never have to think of the Island ever again.    He tells Jack of what he saw in sideways and how they say next to each other on Oceanic 815.   He said how Jack seemed happy and how the plane didn't crash.  He said he'd find a way to bring Jack there too.  And then we get it straight from Jack's mouth.   "I tried that once.  There are no do overs, no short cuts.  What happened happened."  Jack is of course referring to THE INCIDENT.  I guess some will look at this conversation and believe that what Desmond is saying is the truth.  But one thing that Damon and Carlton said in a recent interview (Times Talk Live) was that the Answer is in what they SHOW us, not what people say.  And what they show us by the end of this episode is that what Jack says here is right.   So we did get a big answer tonight folks.  Whatever happened, happened!  Jughead didn't reset anything.  Everything they did when they were in 1977 including setting off that nuke, was all part of what made the incident THE INCIDENT.   And upon re-watching the show, this will make the most sense.  When you watch that DHARMA orientation video and Marvin Candle (Pierre Chang) talks about the Incident, you will picture everything that they went through in that season 5 finale and know that this is what happened!  PERFECT.  Obviously, we need to still talk about Sideways land to get into this more.  But I am 100% sure that this is what we were meant to think.   Island Desmond was speaking the truth of what he saw, but what he didn't realize is what that vision actually WAS.  It was not a "do over."  It was something else entirely.   Everything they are doing, MATTERS. 
  • They head into the cave.  And I am so glad they did.  I'd be the first to admit how hokey the entrance to that cave looked the first time we saw it.  But I didn't realize how big it was and how far the waterfall went down into the cave.  Very cool. 


  • Jack asks Desmond if he knows what to do when he gets to the bottom.  Desmond says that he goes where the light is brightest.  They begin to lower him down.  Flocke starts to talk to Jack about how familiar this all seems.  And they talk about how they lowered rope into the Swan Hatch all of those years ago and Desmond was waiting down there for them.   He said if there was a button down there the 2 of them could fight about whether to push it or not.  Just like old times.  Jack isn't buying into it.  Jack tells Smokey "You're not John Locke.  You disrespect his memory by wearing his face, but you're nothing like him.  It turns out he was right about mostly everything.  I just wish I could have told him that while he was still alive."   YEAH JACK!!  Don't worry, you can tell him anyway!    Flocke continues to refer to Locke as a "sucker" and he wasn't right about anything.  And when the Island drops into the ocean along with Jack, he'll realize that.  While they resolve to see which one of them is right, we do get a shot of them looking into the cave exactly like they looked into the hatch in the final shot of season 1.   AWESOME symmetry! 

  • Desmond gets to the bottom of the cave.  He sees a few skeletons in this cave.  Looks like the Man in Black was NOT the first person to venture in here.  But unlike Man in Black, these bodies didn't seem to be kicked out of the cave either like his body was.  I'm sure I could speculate on this for hours but I need to keep moving for now!  I do not, however, think one of these bodies is EVE (Mother) because her body was found in the other cave next to Man in Black's body.  
  • And then Desmond sees it, the water mixed with the light and the proverbial cork ends up being an ACTUAL CORK plugging in some kind of hole.   I could speculate again about what this all signifies, and I'm sure many people out there will comment and give their theories on it.  I will save it for the discussion.  For recapping purposes, all we need to know is that EVE and Jacob both warned that the light must never be put out or it goes out EVERYWHERE.  This seems like unplugging this hole, while ending up being essential, also could have world wide stakes.  Desmond, without hesitation, moves towards the light with a big smile on his face.   A nice touch that I didn't notice the first time, Desmond's nose began to bleed as he screams and approaches the plug/cork.  That is something we saw various times during all of the time traveling of last season.  He reaches the center, not without some difficulty, and begins to pull at this plug.   We should note that a lot of the sounds that all of this activity was making sounded very similar to things we heard when they were all time traveling as well.  I am sure this, along with Rose talking about the bright white light again, is significant to remind us that all of the time travel that happened on the Island and the movement of the Island were all part of this core SOURCE of energy mixed with the water.  
  • Once successful in pulling the plug, the light diminishes until it is gone.  And the water stops running. Instead, something else replaces this light.  And one might compare the look and sound to something quite VOLCANIC!   This is what I choose to believe since we always new there was a volcano somewhere on the Island.  (why not underneath?)    Smoke and Fire begin to rise out of the uncorked hole.  Symbolic of EVIL being unleashed?   Sure, why not?   But the immediate threat is that it seems the Island is about to start falling apart!  We hear Desmond scream in defeat "NO!!!!"  




  • Meanwhile Flocke temporarily claims victory over Jack telling him that he was wrong.  He then says goodbye to him and leaves the cave. 

  • Outside, the entire Island is shaking and rocks are crumbling everywhere.   Jack runs out and jumps after Flocke and slams him to the ground. Then he takes a swing at Flocke's face!  And then we see the man who cannot be injured in any way, has a cut on the face!!  We immediately think of when Rocky Balboa made Ivan Drago bleed in Rocky IV!   YOU CUT HIM!  He's a MAN!  He's not a machine!!  Another classic Jack line followed:  "Looks like you were wrong too!"  
  • So yes, for whatever reason, unplugging that hole made smokey a mortal human being, capable of dying.  WHY?  We don't have to know why.  Why not?  Because we're not going to find out why!  There could be some subtext to it all and people will find it.  But, for me, it showed that Jack knew what had to be done and he made it happen!  
  • Jack began to choke Flocke, but he wasn't quite done yet.  He grabbed a rock and slammed it into Jack's head.  OUCH!  Flocke runs off, but only so that we could be treated to a scenic and epic final fight on the cliffs.  How AWESOME WAS THAT?!?!  We'll get there in a second.



Catch-up on Escape Plan
Let's take a break to catch up with the other LOSTIES.  Miles radios Ben on the Walkie talkie again.

  • Miles updates them on their plan to fly the plane off of the Island.  He instructs them to get over to that Island as quickly as possible. 
  • While the radio is still on, Miles, Frank and Richard run into the other current resident of Hydra Island.  It's crazy Claire!   Claire thinks they are there to do Flocke's bidding and kill her.  We got treated to a little bit of the season 3 finale when Ben told Tom Friendly to kill Jin, Bernard and Sayid and we heard 3 gunshots.   We see Kate on the Walkie hearing gunshots while Claire shoots at everyone's feet.  Good times!  
  • Richard stresses that they are not with Locke.  She tries to tell Claire that they have a chance to leave this island.  They can be free of everything Smokey ever did to them.  Richard then asks Claire to come with them.  Even though she no longer is posing a threat to them, she still refuses to leave with them.   Looks like she's going to need some convincing from Kate!  



Storm and Island Destruction
After the uncorking of the Island's heart, we catch see Hurley, Ben, Kate and Sawyer struggling to maintain their footing.  A tree collapses on Ben.  Who would have thought that we'd see these 3 other people fighting to save Ben Linus?   But sure enough, they do manage to get him free! 

  • We get one more Sawyer jab at Jack as he states that "Locke was right.  This island is going down."   
  • Miles checks back in with the crew.  We see Richard and Lapidus patching up the plane and prepping it for takeoff.   Finally, they took care of that broken windshield!

  • Kate picks up the walkie and asks Miles about Claire.  She finds out that Claire does not want to join them on the plane to leave the Island.  
  • Lapidus tells them that he needs like 5 or 6 hours to get the plane ready to go.   Richard tells him that he pretty much has one hour.  (seems like a very Kirk and Mr. Scott conversation from Star Trek!)  
  • So now Kate and crew are on the main island and need to get to Hydra island in an hour?   It used to take them DAYS to travel back and forth.  Good thing there's a sailboat nearby!  And Ben had this information since he was "working" with Flocke.  It was/is Flocke's getaway plan.   


Jack vs. Flocke
Meanwhile, Jack wakes up and is a little shaky, he runs into the cave and screams for Desmond.  No response.  He knows he has no choice but to head out after Flocke.    We see Flocke on the cliff looking outward towards the sailboat in the stormy waters.   This is the cliff near the cave that he brought Sawyer back in the beginning of the season.  It provides the setting for one fantastic fight (and one ill-timed commercial break!).

  • We hear Jack scream "LOCKE!!!!!!!"  They face each other from a distance.   And then both of them come running towards each other with one goal in mind.  KILL THE OTHER MAN! 
(pause for commercial)

  • The clash into each other and begin to roll around the cliff.  They get up, they do some more fighting.  The scene was just awesomely shot and choreographed. No explanation from me could do it justice.  
  • In the end, it became a battle for control over the knife.  But as they were laying having each other in a chokehold, what an amazing shot of part of the cliff just collapsing off of the Island!  


  • Flocke grabs the knife and delivers a blow to Jack's side.  Oh no!!  He then gets the upper hand on Jack and throws him to the ground.  He puts the knife up to Jack's neck and we immediately can draw comparisons to the cut Sideways Jack keeps seeing in the mirror.  
  • Flocke then tells Jack that he died for nothing.  This can't be how it ends can it?   I know as I was watching, I took a break from my finger nail biting to utter these words in hopes that rescue was coming.  "LIVE TOGETHER DIE ALONE!!"  
  • Then, we hear a gunshot and we see it go straight into Flocke's back!   It's KATE!!!   And the crowd goes wild!  (except everyone that hates Kate)  

  • And then in true Die Hard or any Arnold movei fashion, Kate gets to deliver her big catchphrase that Flocke helped set up.  "I saved you a bullet!"  NIIIIIIICE!  
  • The Island continues to crumble and Flocke tells them that they're too late.   Jack has had quite enough of him and decides to just kick him off of the cliff!  And he doesn't just fall into the stormy waters.  No, he falls onto a very hard surface many feel below from where they are.  I would say that dude is SMOKE!  I mean...er TOAST!  


  • RIP Smokey, Flocke, Man in Black - Whatever you want to be called. You were a truly worthy adversary.  And I still like you for taking out Keamy's crew at the barracks and ripping off Montand's arm!     




Goodbyes

  • To expedite the leaving the Island process, Lapidus has to delegate some duties.  Because Miles worked as a maintenance man at some off-island apartment complex, he gets some duct tape and is sent to go adjust some electrical wiring issues!  Good times.  (by the way, I got feedback on Twitter that I use this expression too much.  In my opinion, this just means I never used it enough!)  
  • By the way, we do see Miles working on this later and the only part I want to quote is this "I don't believe in a lot of things, but I DO believe in duct tape!"  GOOD TIMES! 
  • Ben checks in on their status via Walkie Talkie and you gotta love Frank saying "Don't Bother me" and throwing the walkie aside!   Ben's response was quality too.  "Sounds like they're making progress."  
  • Just to remind us that the Island is still falling apart, we get a greatly timed quake.  
  • Sawyer insists they need to get moving.  Kate doesn't understand why it's still happening after Smokey has been destroyed.   Jack suggests that whatever Desmond turned off needs to be turned back on again.  The only man to do this?  Jack Shephard.   He tells them if it doesn't work, they still need to make their way to the plane.  
  • They all seemed to catch on to what was being said.  Just as many had speculated.  In the end, Jack would need to sacrifice himself for everyone else.  It was the only way for this Island drama to come to a satisfying conclusion.  At least, I know I have said that several times.  
  • Kate pleads for Jack to reconsider and that he should come with them.  It doesn't have to be him.  She tells him to let the Island sink.  He says that he cannot.  We are left to wonder why he can't.  But, since he has sworn to protect the Island, I would say that we are meant to believe that the stakes for the rest of the world are real.  Other people would probably argue that it's all pointless.  But I choose to believe there was a point to these 6 years worth of stories!  Of course, even if it was uniting these characters and giving them purpose and a new life, maybe that is enough in the end?  Naaaa, we need WORLD STAKES! 
  • Then the goodbyes begin.  And it was a very emotional time. (have I mentioned I was a crying mess this entire episode??)  
  • Jack and Sawyer have their handshake and reconcile their differences.   Jack wishes him luck, and he thanks him.  FOR EVERYTHING. awwwwww

  • Then Ben tosses the walkie to Sawyer.  I got a little emotional when Ben opts to stay behind.  He says if the Island is going down, then he's going down with it.  Perfect.  
  • I thought this might end with everyone deciding to stay with Jack in one more Live Together Die Alone moment.  But it was enough that Hugo decided to stay.  Of all of the people who would choose to stay in the face of danger!  This really got me!   Of course, he uses the ladder as an excuse!  Good stuff.  "I'm with you dude"
  • He then approaches Kate and tells her that she has to go and get Claire on the plane.   Kate asks Jack to tell her that she will see him again.  He doesn't really respond.  But we know when the next time they see each other will be.  And it isn't in this world!  So, instead we get the moment that every Jater was waiting for.  One big final emotional kiss.  I would say in this moment and a moment we see later in Sideways, it shows that Kate made her choice.  Sure, maybe she and Sawyer end up together off Island.  We'll never know.  But her true love was Jack Shephard.  
  
  • Whew, letting it sink in.  This was rough stuff!  And then they tell each other that they love each other and that is it.  Kate is a mess.  Jack moves on to fulfill his final mission.  





Saving the Island
Ben and Hurley help Jack back to the cave of Light (well darkness right now).   Hurley wants to know how they're all going to get down there.  But Jack informed them that he is going down there alone.

  • Right now they think Desmond didn't make it, and Hurley wonders how Jack will survive.  Jack knows that he is not going to make it.  He tells Hurley that he is already dead.  That stab wound was going to get him in the end.   It's not suicide, it's what is supposed to happen.  What he's supposed to do.  

  • And then he tells Hugo that HE has to become the Island protector.   Major kudos to anyone that called this after Hurley said "I'm glad it's not me" and when Jacob told Jack to hold the position "As long as you can".   Great stuff.  
  • And of course, Hurley didn't want the role at all and he fought it.  But in the end he accepts only in the condition that Jack takes it back when he comes out alive.  So just like Jacob, Hurley is given the role reluctantly, but sorta by inevitable choice.   Very fitting that the passing of the torch is done via an Oceanic Water bottle too.  I guess the latin incantation over the water or wine wasn't important?  Maybe they showed us it being done differently each time to signify that it was up to the protector on how to pass the torch?  I'm fine with that I guess.   Anyway, Jack does tell Hurley
  • And of course, Hurley didn't want the role at all and he fought it.  But in the end he accepts only in the condition that Jack takes it back when he comes out alive.  So just like Jacob, Hurley is "Now You're Like Me" and then he moves towards the cave.
  • Jack is lowered into the cave and he ends up finding Desmond down there who is still alive!   Desmond is very aware that the light did not do what he thought it was going to do to him.  He said that he put it out!   He thought he would leave and end up in sideways.  Jack ends up sending Desmond back up and tells him to go be with his wife and kid.  I just knew they'd end up back together!!  Desmond did try to resist knowing he was the only one that could withstand the electromagnetism.  But Jack had already made up his mind.  

  • By the way, this scene right here where Desmond is telling Jack he was right is the clearest indication you'll get that the ISLAND is not purgatory (I'm responding to 100s of comments on the discussion thread I posted on the blog here).   I cannot even fathom how this episode clarified that for people when the producers have said since Day 2 or 3 (obviously not 1 since we all guessed it in the beginning) that this story is not Purgatory.   Now, when we're discussing the Sideways story, let's raise the issue back up for debate. 
  • You gotta love that Jack tells Desmond "I'll see you in another life brotha" before he goes to plug in that hole.  Great stuff. 
  • Jack goes back, and with all his remaining strength, plugs in the hole!  He then collapses and waits for the inevitable. 
  • After enough time passes, the light begins to shine again and the water begins to run down the waterfall and into the cave's light.  All becomes right with the Island!  But Jack is still sitting in the light.  He is all smiles with what is about to happen to him.  


  • Hurley and Ben realize that he did it and begin to pull on the rope!   But they realize that it is Desmond who is brought up and not Jack.  Hurley screams after Jack.  But there is no response.  
  • Desmond appears to be okay.  Hurley is still trying to cope with the loss of Jack.  (We'll get back to Jack's story at the end)  Ben tries to console Hugo telling him that Jack did his job.   Hurley realizes this is his job now.  And he has no idea what he's supposed to do.  Ben gave him some advice.  Hurley should do what he does best and take care of people.  Awwww  He says he can start by helping Desmond find a way off of the Island.   Hurley wonders how because people can't leave the Island.  Ben shrugs this off saying that this is how Jacob ran things.  Hmmm, are they telling us that the inability to find the island and leave the Island was all Jacob's doing?   If so, maybe we just found out how Jacob and "some" of the others were able to leave the Island whenever they needed to.  Of course, I still wonder how they got Anthony Cooper there so suddenly (Richard did that too...why didn't he just use THAT way off of the Island instead of fixing a plane and flying it?  Oh well, I'm not going to nitpick.  That's my only one for now!)  
  • The point is, Hurley is going to get to make his own rules when he protects the Island.   He can find a better way to do things.  And then in an awesomely unexpected moment, Hurley asks for Ben's help.  He offers the role of his #2 to Ben.   He needs someone with experience.  And Ben humbly takes the role saying it would be his honor.   And there went the waterworks again!!! 


And so the torch has passed to Hugo Reyes to protect the Island for as long as he possibly can.  How long was this?  We never find out.  We only find out how it all ends.  And we'll get there. 





Escape 
Meanwhile, while the Island is still crumbling (pre-Jack "fixing") Kate and Sawyer end up taking a big dive off of the cliff to get to the sailboat, knowing they don't have much time.  Frank and crew are leaving while there is still ground to get off on.   Yikes that was a big jump!


  • Fast forward to Hydra Island, they arrive on shore and the Ajira flight is ready to go.  They see it prepping to leave in the background and also see the Main Island crumbling.   But there is one more thing that must be resolved.  Kate needs to recruit Claire!  
  • Kate pleads to Claire to come with them.  Claire knows that she is a mess and not fit to be a mother.  She doesn't even remember how to be one.  Kate tells her that nobody knows how until they are.   And Kate offers to help Claire.  In the end, Claire does decide to get on that plane.  And no, there will be no fulfillment of Desmond's vision seeing Claire and Baby get on a helicopter and leave the Island.  But we do see Claire get on a plane to GET to her baby! 

  • Meanwhile Frank is getting ready to take off, but then sees Sawyer, Kate and Claire run right in front of them! 
  • They all get on board and then head down the runway built in season 3 on Jacob's orders.  Built by Sawyer, Kate along with Juliet and various OTHERS.  And Richard, Frank, Kate, Sawyer, Claire and Miles all leave the Island safely to live their lives.  Claire will return to her baby and her mother.  There are SOME happy endings along with the uber Sad bittersweet ending.  






Flash Sideways
Are you still with me?  We're about halfway there!  In the sideways land, we continue the enlightenment of our LOSTIES in finding out why things don't seem quite right in Sideways Land.  And why they remember their Island lives.   I have to say just about every scene in Sideways Land had me in tears.  It was so well done, and when I rewatched the final 15 minutes of the show to justify that they had put together a fantastic ending, I cried again!  But let's dive in from the beginning.  

The Coffin / Church
The episode began with a musical montage of where our Sideways Losties are and Island Losties are.  In the Sideways land we also see Christian Shephard's Coffin arrive on an Oceanic Plane.   We see it reach the final destination of the infamous CHURCH where the Lamp Post station was in the Island timeline.  We see Desmond has already arrived there in the Camaro with Kate after their prison break-out last episode.


  • He impersonates someone being employed by the church to sign for the coffin.   He instructs the man to take the coffin around back. 
  • Kate asks Desmond when he returns to the car who died.  Desmond said that it was a man by the name of Christian Shephard.  Kate jokes at the irony of the name.  Really?  I man named "Christian" "Shephard"?   Especially with the heavy spiritual themes this final season brought about, the name is very ironic.  
  • Long story short, this is a setup for a scene later to come.  A scene that I had been waiting for since season 1 and really hoped that it would be in the finale.  But we'll get to that in a bit.  
  • Kate is still not sure what is going on and asks Desmond for some answers.  She wants to know why she was broken out of prison, she is wearing the dress and going to the concert.  She wants to know why she is here.  Desmond tells her that no one can tell her WHY she is here.  And he wasn't referring to the church.  He's referring to this sideways existence.  And it all makes sense by the end, even if it's not what people were hoping!  Desmond assures Kate that he is a friend and what he wants.  He wants to LEAVE.   This is probably meant to mirror the Man in Black's wishes to leave the Island.  But now people want to leave Sideways?  Huh?  Again, no sense in really questioning it, because it all makes sense in the end.   Desmond says that he will show Kate.  And we continue onward to the concert! 




Sayid and Hurley
So the enlightened Hurley is taking Sayid on a few errands to run.  The first is to grab Charlie for the big concert.  It turns out that the concert that Eloise Hawking was preparing for in "Happily Ever After" IS the same benefit that is in this finale.  I just assumed it was over by now.  But then again, it would seem that time doesn't really play a factor here.  Whoops, getting ahead of myself!

  • Hurley brings Sayid to the motel where Sayid's "safe house" was in the beginning of season 5.  If you recall, Sayid broke Hurley out of the mental institution and brought him here.  There were people waiting for them with tranquilizer darts and everything.  And Sayid got shot.   Hurley thought by showing Sayid this tranq gun, it might trigger some memories.  No such luck.  
  • Hurley tells Sayid to stay in the car.  If he doesn't, it's his choice but Hurley assures Sayid he will be happy he stuck around.  
  • Hurley knocks on the door to Charlie's motel room.  He answers.  And...well, the look on Hurley's face says it all.  He is so happy to see his friend.  But Charlie isn't FULLY enlightened yet.  He just saw glimpses of his other life.  




  • Charlie still is not interested in playing the concert.  Hurley suggested that this concert is the most important thing that he would ever do.  Charlie still isn't buying it.  Which led to an awesome scene of Hurley shooting Charlie with the tranquilizer gun!  Nice! 

  • Sayid is shocked at what he just saw.  "That was Charlie, " is all Hurley says and then he drives on.  
  • Note: we do see Hurley drop off Charlie at the concert.   This sets Miles in motion as he sees Sayid in the van!  He calls up Sawyer and sends him to the hospital to check on Sun who survived her gunshot wound.  She could be a target.  Nice! 

  • Next we see them staked outside of a bar where Sayid asks why they're there. Hurley said that he's not allowed to tell.  Similar to what Desmond said as no one can tell them why they are here.   Hurley brings up THE RULES!  Of course, these are different rules than the ones that governed the Island.
  • Hurley tells Sayid that he trusts Sayid as he should trust him.  He thinks that Sayid is a good guy and that he needs to not let other people influence him.   Maybe he heard he WASN'T good so many times that he started to believe in it.  He told Sayid he has to decide for himself who he is.   
  • While Sayid is in denial still a fight breaks out outside of the bar.  We see a blonde woman come out of the bar yelling "Leave my brother alone!"  Hmmmmm  The woman gets thrown to the ground.  The ladies' man and hero in Sayid comes out and he runs to save a damsel in distress! 

  • Who the attacker was makes no difference, but who the woman was?  Well, I think we caught on by now.  It's SHANNON!!  The both look at each other and the memories come crashing back!  Their Island relationship, their love for each other.  They instantly remember everything!  (by the way, I stand corrected on whom Sayid was referring to when he said to the Man in Black he wanted the woman back who died in his arms.  It would appear that Shannon may have been his true love.   Kudos to commenter Holly for calling me on this way back in episode 6 of this season "Sundown")

  • And yes, it would appear that Boone was in on it too!  Poor Boone never had a love interest besides his step sister, but somehow he got enlightened.  We just didn't get to see it.  (Similar to Rose and Bernard who already seemed to be "in the know")   Boone said he went through a lot of trouble to get Shannon back from Australia to be here.   For all we know that could have been a nod to the producers going through a lot of trouble to get Maggie Grace back on the show for this finale!  (she was tied up with conflicting shoots earlier in the season).  
  • The first of many tear-jerking Sideways reunions! 

The Hospital
  • The minute we read the subtitle from Jin telling Sun that a doctor was going to come look at their baby, I think we knew who it was going to be.  I saw this scene unfolding before my eyes.  I could see how they were going to wake up!   The Season 3 Sonogram where Sun finds out the baby is Jin's!  (Episode: D.O.A.) 
  • Before we get the doctor reveal Jin says if everything is alright "We can leave soon."  The word "leave" was used by the writers intentionally to fit in with the Sideways theme.  Jin and Sun just didn't know what they meant by it yet.  They feel like they're going to keep running from Mr. Paik (Sun's father) 
  • So the doctor walks in an sure enough, it's JULIET!  Her last name is Carson here as it would seem she never married that Burke fellow.  (Of course, she did marry someone else, but we'll get to that) 
  • Juliet realizes that neither of them speak english so she gets right down to business and begins the sonogram.  And we just know that it's coming!   She uses some of the same words she used in season 3's episode.  "It's a little cold" as she is applying that gel-like substance to read the ultrasound.  And then it hits Sun first.  She remembers!!  Then Jin looks at the ultrasound and he begins to remember.  The difference this time?  We see them remembering everything all the way up to their death.  So this is the first time where we can state that this definitely happened "AFTER" the Island timeline.  
  • Both Jin and Sun are enlightened and Juliet just keeps talking about the baby's heartbeat.  Except now they understand every word!   She asks if it's a boy or a girl and Sun just speaks in English.  "It's a girl!"  Jin says "Her name is Ji Yeon"  and Juliet, still unaware of what is going on, tells them that their English is just fine!  NICE!  Btw, I was bawling like a baby again here! 

  • Meanwhile Jack is prepping Locke for surgery.   Ironic conversation in more ways than one when Locke asks Jack if he is sure it's going to work.  Jack says yes, but of course there is always the chance that he could kill him.   We hadn't seen it yet, but Jack does finish off the Man in Black who was assuming Locke's image.   And of course the other meaning comes into play at the reveal towards the end of the episode!  Jack then tells Locke that he'll "see him on the other side."  All significant word choices by the writers I would say! 
  • Locke asks Jack if he had ever gotten word on his father's body.  Jack said that he DID get a call and was going to claim him later.  Jack is convinced that if he can fix Locke he will be at peace.  Not being able to bury his father. 
  • And the the next sideways scene is the big reveal of who David Shephard's mother is.  Drumroll......it's Juliet!  Good call everyone who said this from the beginning.  By the time we got to this episode I was torn between Juliet and Sarah, but Juliet definitely made sense for the way this was all going.  Of course, later on we will find out that the very existence of David Shephard is questionable.  Not questionable actually, his whole meaning for existence in this sideways land is to get Jack to deal with this father issues.  But, we'll get to that all! 

  • Jack and Juliet seemed to have ended on pretty good terms because they are all smiles when they talk to each other.  Juliet even jokes about meeting this Claire that Jack has managed to keep secret during their marriage.  Of course, we know Jack had no idea about his sister's existence.  David ends up bringing Claire as his "date" to the big show. 
  • Of course, on Juliet's way out she runs into Sawyer but they don't recognize each other this time around!
  • Later on we revisit Jack after surgery and it appears that he has accomplished what he set out to do with Mr. Locke!  A nurse points out that Jack's neck is bleeding again.   This time though, it immediately follows us seeing the scene where Jack's neck gets stabbed by Flocke in the Island timeline.  The clues were all there, we just needed to hear it for ourselves at the end! 
  • Then John Locke begins to wake up even though he shouldn't have so quickly.  Locke, then tells Jack what Juliet told Sawyer in the Island timeline right before she died.  "It worked"  Of course, Locke is referring to his legs but he is about to realize a whole lot more!  Jack tells Locke he needs to be patient as the recovery will take awhile.  But Locke is convinced that it worked.  He can feel his legs.  We then see John wiggle his toe!  And this sends a rush of memories back to John Locke starting with the plane crash when he realized he had regained sensation to his legs again!   LOCKE IS BACK!!!   Locke asks if Jack saw any of it.  Jack did not see anything.  Locke asks if Jack remembers and he starts seeing some things including the shot of looking down the hatch for the first time.   But Jack, in denial of what is going on, runs away.   Locke is ready to GO now.  Jack is trying to calm him down, but Locke is determined to leave to wherever he's supposed to go.  





  • Jack says that they're not going anywhere and he needs to go see his son.   Locke then tells Jack that he doesn't have a son.   Locke tells Jack that he hopes someone opens his eyes as Jack just did for him.   Jack runs off to the concert.
  • Meanwhile, Sawyer checks in on an enlightened Sun and Jin that just couldn't help but smile at "detective" Ford.   They tell Sawyer that they don't have to go on a hunt for Sayid.  They are safe and they'll see Sawyer there.   Where?  We're getting there! 
  • Sawyer heads down the hallway and bumps into Jack.  They don't recognize each other.  Sawyer just wants some grub.  Jack sends him to the vending machine where he proceeds to pick out an Apollo bar and it gets stuck!  Juliet came back from the concert because she was called there for something.  She happens to run in on Sawyer!  She tells him to unplug the vending machine and that usually lets the candy bar out.  Lots of great flirtation between the 2 but then when the lights go out and she gets the candy bar.  It's fireworks for those 2.  THEY REMEMBER!!   (note that she said "it worked" again!).   Juliet says "We should get coffee sometime" and Sawyer says the machine ate his dollar.  She says the line we've been waiting for.  "We'll go dutch!"  And they hug and remember some more and they remember Juliet dying and man, if people hate the mushy part of LOST, this episode was not for them!   Whew, I'm trying to get this recap done, but I'm all in tears just watching it again and snagging pictures!   And as they're crying and remembering and then Juliet asks Sawyer to kiss him and just like his last kiss to her before she died he says "You got it Blondie!"   

  • Whew rough stuff.  You still with me?  This is going to take years to read I know! 

The Concert
We finally arrive at the concert and everyone who wasn't anywhere else (Hospital, Bar) are here!  Lots of things going on here and of course David, Claire, Desmond and Kate all end up getting seated at table 23! (nice, one of the numbers made an appearance in the finale!)   Meanwhile Charlie is passed out on the couch.

  • It ends up being Charlotte that wakes Charlie up.  Why?  Because he has a note on him that says "Bass Player, Wake me up for show."  Good times!  
  • And then Charlotte and Daniel Faraday (Widmore) have their one scene where they see each other and somewhat recognize each other.  Actually, Daniel already has realized that something is off with this Sideways land.   Daniel is kind of showing off that he's playing in the band with Driveshaft.  But, as we learn later, it is not time for them to be enlightened.   Desmond tells Eloise Hawking that he is not going to take Daniel from her.  Well actually he said he wasn't going to take her son "with him".  So whatever that means, I guess when it was Daniel's time to leave he would leave!  But for now only certain people are to be enlightened and "leave".  


  • When we get to table 23, Kate and Claire immediately recognize each other from earlier in the season.   And then Pierre Chang starts the band off and lots of stuff starts happening.  Charlie recognizes Claire, Claire sorta recognizes Charlie.   Claire goes into labor!  And then she runs off behind stage.  Kate follows!  I think we all saw where this was going too and started to discuss the possibility last week! 





  • Sure enough, we get a scene where Kate delivers Claire's baby just like she did in the Island timeline.  And we get it at this point.  It wakes them both up!   It was highly emotional, but nothing compared to when Charlie arrives with blankets and Kate tells him to go up to Claire.  And then they remember everything.  EVEN THE PEANUT BUTTER PEOPLE!!!!  Ohh it was glorious!   Seriously, never have so many tears fallen in a single episode of TV!  



  • Desmond then asks Kate if she understands.  And she certainly does, but there is one more task left for her! 
  • Later on Jack finally arrives to the concert and we finally have the meeting of Jack and Kate in Sideways land.  Well, the OFFICIAL meeting, since the first time was just a bump on the plane that Kate quickly reminded Jack of.  Kate says this is NOT how Jack knows her though.  She goes up to him and puts her hand on his face.  
  • He starts to see the Island again and all of his experiences with Kate.   She tells him how much she has missed him.  At this point in the episode, we know that they had said goodbye on the Island, so it's important to note that this is the first time they are really seeing each other since then.  And we don't know how long it has been for Kate.  We're getting there! 

  • Jack doesn't understand what is happening to him, but Kate is going to bring him to a place where it all will be revealed.  



The Church
We return to the church where Christian's coffin was taken.  And John Locke is getting out of a cab.  Who is there to great him but an enlightened Benjamin Linus, with his hair and attire back to normal Island Ben stylings!

  • We have some amazing closure with Ben's character when he apologizes to John Locke for killing him.  He was jealous because Locke was special.  
  • John does forgive him for what Ben did.  And Ben says that means a lot to him.  But for some reason Ben decides not to join everyone in the church.  One might suggest that he needs to repent for some of the things he did in his Island life, so he feels he needs to stay there longer.  Maybe he wants to have a love life with Danielle Rousseau for a little bit before leaving.  I'm going to guess the former though, especially when we find out what is going on.
  • Ben then tells John that he doesn't need to be in that chair anymore.  And sure enough, John stands up and heads on into the church! 
  • When Locke goes in, Hurley comes out to talk to Ben.  He tries to tell Ben to come inside.  Ben says he is not coming.  At this point Hurley says that Ben was a great #2.  And Ben called Hurley a great #1.  If there was any doubt of WHEN this Sideways was taking place, that resolves it again right there.  This happened AFTER Ben and Hurley had served their time protecting the Island.  Of course, TIME doesn't really play a role here.  I'll say more in a few lines! 

  • Jack and Kate arrive to the church.  And Jack recognizes this as the place where he was supposed to have his father's funeral.  Kate says that he still is going to do that.   She instructs Jack to go in around back and that everyone will be waiting for him when he's ready (to leave).  



Revelation

Back on the Island

Jack wakes up in the same place that Jacob found the Man in Black's lifeless body.  Jack is still alive though for the time being.  He is a little shaky just like when he was knocked unconscious by Flocke.   He is still bleeding to death from the stab wound that Flocke gave him.


In Sideways at the Church

Jack heads inside and he sees his father's coffin.   Mirroring both the season 1 scene where Jack opens his father's coffin to find it empty as well as when he opened Locke's coffin at the end of season 4, Jack approaches this coffin.  He touches coffin and begins to remember.

  • We see scenes from seasons 1-6 of LOST.  Touching moments between him and all of the castaways, most notably Kate.  But I did see the scene where Sawyer told Jack about meeting his father in Sydney.  (always loved that scene!) 
  • Jack realizes what is going on and when he lifts open the coffin it is empty once again!  But before we have time to dwell on it we hear a familiar voice call out to Jack and we know that the scene we've been waiting for forever finally is happening.  

  • It's CHRISTIAN!  Jack cannot believe his eyes.  How can Christian be here, he died!  A fact that Christian indeed confirms.  So how is he here?  Christian challenges Jack to ask how is JACK here. 

  • And there it is folks, right before our eyes.  Some of us may have even theorized on it briefly at times.  But Jack is there because he died!  They all died....EVENTUALLY.  The Flash Sideways is revealed to be a place where all of the LOSTIES could meet before moving on.   Yes, some will call it a Purgatory, and with Ben staying behind to do some serious penance, maybe that's right.  But this should no way be confused with the ISLAND events that happened from seasons 1-6.  THAT WAS REAL!  Christian said so himself.  Everything they experienced is real.  And this Sideways is REAL as well.  They all had to find each other and resolve some of their issues and then they were able to move on to whatever is next.  What is next?  Well, as I have stated for many seasons, I never thought that this show would prove or disprove the existence of Heaven or Hell.  And it stayed true to that.  It left it ambiguous for all faiths to be applied.  But they did prove the existence of some kind of afterlife.  But, honestly, they had done that right from the start too.  We have been seeing ghosts on this show from day 1.  And I even started to speculate (but then got scared of being laughed at and backed away from it) what if the Sideways Land was the home of where all of these Ghosts that have visited Hurley and other people come from?  They seem to be all knowing.  Charlie made comments to Hurley like "I am dead, but I'm also here."  Christian visited Jack off of the Island where Smokey couldn't get to.  Christian visited Michael and told him he could go now (of course that may have been the Island or Smokey but I'm not too worried about it).    Ana Lucia told Hurley that "Libby says hey"
  • Another important distinction that Christian brings up is that TIME is of no importance here.  Everyone lived their lives.  Some died earlier, some died later.  But all of this awakening is happening now.   So Hurley may have lived for thousands of years as the Island's protector.   Kate may have went on to live a long life.  But they all ended up in this sideways land together because the Island time of their life was the most important thing that they all went through and they went through it together.   And now they'll move on together.   So maybe Desmond had a near death experience and that's how he saw the Sideways land?  Maybe when he turned that hatch key his life really DID "FLASH before his eyes".   It all really seems to tie together. 
  • I know people do not like this ending, but I think they have had it in mind for quite some time.  And, even if people think that they don't want to rewatch the show now, I most certainly do.  I definitely want to rewatch season 6 to try and pick up on some clues IMMEDIATELY!  
  • But how fitting is it that we get to see the definitive END of all of these characters?   Sure, there's lots of time in between that could be filled in if they really wanted to.  But it has been stated that the time they spent together was the most important.   And they Lived Together and most certainly will not go through DEATH, alone (thanks commenter Penner for that brilliant tidbit!) 
  • And the icing on the cake of this scene is the reconciliation between Father and Son right before Christian "shepherds" the LOSTIES into their next plane of existence.  And what an emotional scene it was watching all of these former LOSTIES in one room, get reacquainted?   We see everyone paired up with their true loves as well.  Sayid/Shannon, Desmond/Penny, Charlie/Claire, Hurley/Libby, Jin/Sun, Rose/Bernard.  Then we have Locke there with everyone.  We have Boone there.  Aaron is there.  And of course Kate and Jack!  

  • Everyone takes a seat to prepare to move on.  Christian opens the doors and a bright white light enters the room.   And the rest is up to speculation on where they went next! 



On the Island
We see Jack walking through the bamboo forest, where his journey began.  He falls to the ground in what we should assume is where he originally woke up.  Just like in the beginning, Vincent comes running out of the jungle but this time he takes a seat next to Jack.   Jack sees the Ajira plane flying overhead and he realizes his friends made it safely off the Island to live for another day and possibly many more years.  His job is done.  He did what he was supposed to do.  He saved his friends, he saved the world.  And now he can die in peace and meet up with his friends someday in the afterlife.  Just like we opened up on Jack's eye in the beginning, we now watch it close as he passes on to whatever is next.


BOOM LOST!!!!

WOW!!!! Just WOW!  Just watching it all again as I wrote this epic finale recap, it all just hit me again how truly great it was.  And how truly "SPECIAL" this show was from day 1 to this very day and quite possibly for years to come.  A perfect show?  Not by a long shot.  But you couldn't ask me to give it a more perfect send off.  It was truly beautiful.   Everyone is free to draw your own conclusions!  But I have no regrets in writing about this show for the past 5 years.  I wish I could do it for 5 more!  Yes, there are mysteries that still need answering.  But in the large scheme of things, I say they are not as important as what they accomplished.   That doesn't mean I won't begin to nitpick them after time passes and I'm ready to start doing so! 

So, let that be my first statement in saying that while the recapping is done, our work at this blog is far from finished!  There will be more posts everyone!  Not as frequent, no.  And I may need a little break after 18 straight weeks of writing them.  But I fully intend to write more!  There are 20 minutes of extra storylines that were filmed this year and will be included on the Season 6 Blu-Ray and DVD!  All with the intent on answering big fan questions!  You can be sure I'll take a stab at them in a blog.  The LOST Encyclopedia comes out the same date as the DVDs.  8/24.  I'll be there to discuss that as well.    We have formed a great community here and there is no sense in letting it slip away!  I will pursue other blogging efforts in the future so I urge you all to keep in touch to see what I might do next.   Definitely follow me on Twitter too!   I will keep people posted there on my next ventures.  

One final note of thanks to everyone who helped make this blog successful.  To all of my friends, family and co-workers who worked so diligently to make people aware of this blog.  THANK YOU SO MUCH!   I am forever in your debt.  To everyone that found this blog out of my shameless self-promotion, thanks for sticking around and spreading the word as well!   To my incredibly patient wife, thank you so much for putting up with me over the past 5 years as I decided to channel my LOST obsession into this blog that only progressively got more complex and busy over the years.  I promise to take you on that honeymoon now! (Just kidding, that's not why we didn't go yet! but it was still funny!)   And thanks for still marrying me last year even though you knew that this February to May period of your life was going to be truly hell!  :-)   Thank you everyone for all of your kind words over the years and for your many insightful comments.  This blog wouldn't have been half as fun without being able to go on the journey with each and every one of you.  And thank you last but not least, for your patience with me getting up this final recap.  It has been a very emotional experience for me but I am finally ready to say goodbye to LOST recapping.  (I think)

As I mentioned, please keep in touch as there will be more to come.  If you are done for good, I do not blame you.  I hope you enjoyed my ramblings as always and I'll see you in another life bruthas!!!   NAMASTE! 


Ending Credits
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Thanks to Apple, my iMac and TiVo Transfer for the ability to capture the wonderful Screen Captures. And by default thanks to ABC too for allowing me to post pictures on the blog! 















717 comments:

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Glenn R. said...

Hey guys, I encourage you all to consider my idea... it could be a fun way to continue the interaction on this blog, and to broaden each of our views on Lost, and just have some fun.

Here's my idea: We decide upon the ten biggest mysteries left unanswered on Lost. Then any one of us who wants to participate can take a week or two (or whatever works) to give our responses to those ten questions. When we're done, we send them to Mike. At his convenience, he posts them all (ideally all at the same time, after the deadline to turn them in).

At that point, we vote on whose answers we like the most. Maybe there would even be two categories for voting-- Most logically consistent, and most creative.

I'd be willing to donate a $50 gift card to the winner of the voting.

Mike, I don't think it would require too much on your part.

What do you ya'll think?

Glenn R. said...

Oh, meant to say a $50 gift card to the website restaurant.com.

David Salako said...

@Glenn R. - John Locke was meant to have his commitment to THE ISLAND deepen. He was also meant to sacrifice his life for it. So was Jack Shephard. Ben was meant to kill both Locke and Jacob as well as bring Locke's corpse back to THE ISLAND. Jacob knew this - it is why he didn't fight back. The 5 remaining Candidates - Jack, James, Jin, ayid and Hurley - minus Locke were meant to experience what they did in the seventies because it made Jack's purpose clear to him and ultimately Hurley's to.

gnni4 said...

Some great conversations going on here after the end.

Mike, I think that we need one more posting, a bit like the waiting place before The End, for all of our post show thoughts and banter, because we are getting into so much more than just comments on episodes 17 and 18.

I think that there are about 10 posters and still some lurkers that will be checking into the blog for eachothers thoughts now and then.

I don't need twitter, I have MikeV'ter! You keep checking the tweets and filling MJ and I in!LOL

MJ, that machine is my Hollander Beater, a giant Critter that chomps up cotton rag or all kinds of plant material into a pulp so that I can make paper from it. It was made for me by a wonderful papermaker and inventor in New Zealand named Mark Lander. (Have to give him credit when I can!)

I agree that there were many gaps and cop outs to the story, but I guess we have to just let it be part of the Whatever Happened, Happened. I am still really disapointed that James didn't bring Miles along, they worked together and lived together for much longer than he spent time with Jack or Kate or any of the other Losties that didn't flash back to Dharma time. James and Miles were close enought to even work together in sideways time for however long, and Miles was such a great mysterious charactor, that it just felt like he was dissed by not getting to become enlightened and either move on or stay to be with his family.

Floreen said...

@Mike V - I am sort glad to see that after the euphoria some of you came around to see that some of the plots thrown off the hip by the creators came back to bite them. I was saying all along that a plot has to be continuos and never drop one ball or else the fans will be screaming. That’s why I was saying that to use MJ words here, we shouldn’t get too invested in what they say, but what they actually do, or did in this case.

With the alumnus actors from Lost and other shows, I am always glad to see them gainfully employed, considering this economy and so many cancelations. Our Widmore guy - Alan Dale was in Ugly Betty as well, Candidate will remember that. Titus Welliver also played a small part in the NBC defunct cop show Life. Mr Friendly had a small part in this new show on ABC about the blue door and killer - Happy Town, maybe you Mike could do that for a blog in lieu of Flash Forward.

Since you you (Mike) want to re-watch the series from the beginning, I guess we all could do that, of course if we’re still gainfully employed ourselves and be able to weather out this economic depression. In this way with the enlighten eyes we have, we could keep the blog going by catching up on all the clues and unsolved mysteries. We could do a list of the Sawyer’s nicknames and funny lines we liked. But eventually we will have to move on and not like in my Memorial weekend jokes.

I will start here saying that the Mobius loophole - accent on the loop thing type of theory might might explain the food drop. Or maybe Ben did that to keep the Losties alive knowing that they will come in handy in the future. Or better yet - Why not Widmore and Eloise arranging that for the common cause? The freighter helicopter was able to reach the island.

The travel off the island as said to Michael was to keep a certain compass bearing, 3. something. Worthy to elaborate on it.

Floreen said...

@Glenn R - That process of deepening John Locke’s commitment started with Ecko believing in the pushing of the button and finished with Des turning the fail safe key. I was going on with it @ Mike and now I stand corrected. It wasn’t John or Des blowing up or imploding the hatch it was Samuel who manipulated the characters into it knowing that a parallel universe will be opened and bring things back prior to Locke’s birth. The loop already created as such, IMHO explains how Samuel got a lock on Locke before Locke was born and why he had a such affinity for the island right after the crash. And I think they went a few years back in time before the crippling accident which explains the fact that he can miraculously walk again.

Floreen said...

@MJ - NOT LOST AFFILIATED CONVERSATION. SKIP OVER FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE IF NOT A FAN.

I have a link here if you’re interested.

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/supernatural/supernatural-spoilers-from-the-36707.aspx

My fave was the episode where the boys were reliving the same day over again and again at the hands of the trickster angel. Especially when Dean gets hit by the car.

I don’t like the un-Biblical portrayal of the angels and what they do. With Sera, I think that if she does well, they may go for a 7 and some more seasons depending on what they arranged in contracts. Who know, but Jensen is getting married. I like the way the boys perform in those series.

I did noticed two similarities to Lost. The boys are 'dead' and the demons come out the mouth of the bodies they claimed/possessed as smoke.

Ain't that something?

Floreen said...

Evangeline Lilly on Craig Ferguson was a blast this night. She has showcased a lot of talent and the things was nothing to compare to Letterman. I didn’t see that one, I was hearing that she wasn’t in top performance.

Glenn R. said...

Josh Holloway "not interested in playing another Sawyer type"...

interesting new interview:

http://www.menshealth.com/men/best-life/life-lessons/josh-holloway-career-success/article/72447d15d2798210vgnvcm10000030281eac#

Mike V. said...

@Glenn - I think the silence is speaking volumes here! lol It's cool though, I'm sure I will still post something about unresolved mysteries eventually.

As for future viewings being affected - I think I expressed my opinions on this. Yeah, it may affect it a little, but I still don't think it will take away from the enjoyment of the show from episode to episode. The quality of the show was just that good!

(btw..Thanks for the Josh Holloway interview link. good stuff)

@David - I think I see both yours and Glenn's points. And both are valid! lol Yeah, the Island had these people destined for stuff, Jacob was seemingly aware of it all....but MIB still used situations to his advantage. He used Locke's love for the Island to manipulate him. He also created the donkey wheel which caused a lot of the time travel drama on the Island. So, while the Island seemingly decided what people's purpose/fate was....MIB seemed directly involved as well.

@gnni - I'm gonna hold off on posting another blog posting for now. It's not too difficult to click on "newest" when you get to the comments, is it? lol It's only been a week and change since the finale. I want the recap to be front and center on the site. We don't have to stay on topic of the finale in these comments. The show is over, the whole past, present and future of LOST is up for discussion! I'm still in my resting period :-)

Funny on MikeV'ter lol

I think the whole point of that Church Scene and who was in it...right, wrong or indifferent was meant to reflect the season 1 characters (cast) and their reunion. Season 6 was, yes, about bringing resolution to the entire series...but it was a direct mirror of events that happened in the first season. When they lost their first significant character (Boone)....the relationships built...starting then and moving on towards the series (losing people here and there) all seemed worth it in the end...because they were together. (If we can't Live Together...we're gonna die alone) Anyway....yes Desmond and Penny were there too. But of course, Desmond WAS a character in that first season...we just didn't see him. But he certainly did turn that light on in the hatch that Locke was looking down into. A Hatch that was a major plot point in season 1. Plus...it's DESMOND! You can't NOT have him there lol

Yes, Michael and Walt weren't there...but Walt's aging played a problem in it....and well...Michael is trapped on the Island. I think he knew he didn't deserve to be there. And I like what people said about this not being the most important time in Walt's life.

As for Juliet, Bernard and Libby being there -> Bernard was ROSE's husband...I think that is accepted. The name was mentioned in season 1 and we knew we would meet him eventually! No dispute. Juliet was Sawyer (season 1 character)'s true love. Plus a beloved character. She gets to be there! Libby -> same goes for Hurley (season 1 guy)

Yes, this doesn't answer WHY for the mythology nuts of the show who want to know specific reasons for why other people were not there. But it at least answers to me why the writers wanted these people in that church. It was a season 1 reunion (plus a few other friends). I have a feeling we'll get a Michael and Walt scene in the bonus features/deleted scenes of season 6. We'll see!

Mike V. said...

Anyway, that was just another perspective for the Church Scene.

@Florin - You do realize that I have been saying all along that after I "enjoy the ride" of watching the show, that I definitely will have things to nitpick on the show. So, there was no "coming around" for me. I am just distanced enough from the finale to begin talking about certain elements of the show that were a bit less than satisfactory. Even by discussing this, it by no means takes away from how I thought they wrapped up the show. I thought they did a beautiful job with it and based on the amount of questions that were out there...I understand how difficult it would have been for them to answer EVERYTHING and answer them to everyone's satisfaction. That being said, we all have our mysteries that we thought would be more important in the end game.

Funny about the Sawyer nicknames. Unfortunately, there's already a website out there that has been tracking those nicknames since season 1! It's a fantastic site. I'll look it up if I have time. As for doing a rewatch BLOGGING update. Not sure I want to get that into it. I know many sites will be organizing rewatches just like they did last season and that's cool. When I rewatch, I just want to do it for the fun of it. Just to enjoy the show. Not sit there with my notepad so I can remember things to blog about later. But, of course, I may get 10 episodes into season 1 and then decide I want to post something about it! So...we'll see how things go! As for Happy Town -> hmmmm I heard that show was already being considered a "candidate" for cancellation, wasn't it? I heard mediocre reviews for the show too. I want to blog about something that's going to be successful! LOL

The Food Drop - we'll see what they come up with. I feel 90% certain it will be on the Season 6 bonus features. But interesting theory with the mobius loop.

Yeah...there is the bearing for ships, the sub was used to transport people. But JACOB didn't use those things. And there is no way that Richard took a ship or a sub to get Anthony Cooper out of Tallahassee.....the man was suddenly in a car accident (out of nowhere) and then pulled into an ambulance...and then woke up on the Island. I mean...WHAT??? And meanwhile, was barely a few hours since Ben had ordered Richard to get him when Locke saw him in Ben's basement. No ship following a bearing or a sub could do a mission THAT quickly!

Cool about Evangeline on Craig Ferguson...maybe I'll check it out on YouTube!

For now, I must go to work!

Glenn R. said...

Hey Mike. Yes, silence does speak volumes! :-)

So, I read the following quote in an L.A. Times story a day or two ago and found it interesting. It is from the ABC guy who hired JJ Abrams to create Lost. If true, it suggests that Damon & Carlton may have deviated from the original premise of the show.

With Cuse and Lindelof silent, the L.A. Times went to the original source to get some clues into early notions of the island's origins. Lloyd Braun hired J.J. Abrams in 2004 to develop a drama about plane crash survivors on an island and also hired Lindelof. He was not at ABC when the show launched in 2004. "The island was going to be a character in the series and present an ever-present threat to the people on the island," he said. "Everything was going to be rooted in science fact so that, as crazy as things might seem, there might be plausible explanations for them."

(from http://mobile.latimes.com/inf/infomo?view=page10&feed:a=latimes_10min&feed:c=homeentertainment&feed:i=53932935&nopaging=1)

Glenn R. said...

It was statements such as the following by Darlton that made me feel some betrayal at their constant comments to "trust them". In one interview, Damon clearly tells us that we WILL find out where the statue came from and who built it.

Damon: For clarification, the four-toed statue was not too weird, we were telling an anecdote about how in the original draft of the script it had 6 toes and it was deemed less weird if it had 4 toes which was the compromise we made in putting it in the show , and we were like OK , it doesn't matter to us if it has 6 toes or 4 toes, as long as it's not 5 toes. But we are going to be revisiting the rest of that statue, where it came from, who built it and why it has 4 toes in the future of the show.

So, how many other times did they promise things like this in interviews, thus setting up our expectations, but ultimately not delivering?

From interview on april 18, 2008
http://blogs.chron.com/tubular/archives/2008/04/lost_an_interview.html

Mike V. said...

Glenn, yep, I remember all of that as well. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse had always promised a scientific explanation to the mysteries introduced to the show. Then around season 3/4ish...they modified their statement to say that anything we would find in a Michael Chrichton novel (i.e. Jurassic Park) could be on the show. So SCIENCE-Based Fiction. They said if we could wrap our heads around a mosquito being trapped in amber and blood being able to be extracted and create dinosaurs....then something like that could exist in LOST land - AKA time Traveling Donkey Wheels, Moving Islands LOL But they definitely abandoned some of this in the final season with their Spiritual-Based answers. They had themselves written into a corner though with the whole Faith vs. Science debate.

They also have discussed that a show needs to be organic...the show needs to tell the writers what it is trying to be. So, yeah, they may have abandoned their original concept on the way...determining that answering all of these questions scientifically would be NO FUN to the audience or maybe even to them and their creativity. Instead...they went with the "wouldn't it be cool if we did.....?" And if the answer was a resounding Yes, they went for it. I'm fine with it since the end product was fabulous to me.

but yeah...crap like explaining the origins of the Statue annoy me too. They also promised the DHARMA Food Drops....but the logistics of a certain season's story probably got in the way of providing those answers. They couldn't show us DHARMA Food Drops because the Hatch hadn't been built yet in season 5....originally they planned to answer that question in that season. But things changed. So...hopefully, things they promised answers on WILL be on that season 6 dvd in the form of a Q&A or maybe even filmed scenes!

Anyway...I'd love to debate this all morning, but unfortunately I'll be in meetings...Had to get my 2 cents in real quick! see you in the PM!

MJ said...

Too funny - but I was bemoaning the fact that I might not enjoy rewatching Lost like I thought I would to my husband. He just looks at me and says..'So it's taken 2 weeks for you to come down off your Lost high. Two weeks of thinking about the finale and you've started thinking about if you liked it afterall. It's time for the program babe - you need to start your 12 steps. Admitting you have a problem is your first one. I'm so proud' LOL He had a total straight face too.

MJ said...

Hey Florin - that is one of my fave eps ever. Just seeing Dean die over and over cracks me up. And I'm sure to non-Supernatural fans that sounds really bizarre to laugh at - but we know ! LOL

Strange as it seems but there have been lots of movies and shows that portray angels this very way - servents of god that are only there to do his bidding - which is not always good. I'm not a biblical scholar by any means but I'm pretty sure it has lots of instances where angels come down and do bad things on god's orders. It also a very popular theme that people replaced the angels as god's 'faves' and that caused a division among angels in heaven. Seen it many times in stories

Candidate said...

@ Ginni4
I had no idea that Saving Grace was getting cancelled. See...you aren't the last to know this stuff. I had no idea about 5-0 getting remade. I don't watch much T.V. either. I am pretty good friends with Holly Hunters son. Check this out...his name is Booty Hunter...for real.

More Lost alumni. Checked out a show called Brotherhood which starred the actress who plays Eloise (older version.) The show was pretty good.

@Mike

I'm psyched you liked the tribute to Lost and your shout-out. On The Wire that would be great for recaps of that. They are running it on the Direct TV channel 101 starting in July.

Cheerz

MJ said...

Davidsalasko on LOTR - Ah - I get you now. Sorry I mistook what you were saying.

Well - overall I really did enjoy the finale. And I DID know going into it that we would not get all the answers.

For some reason I just feel that the ending they chose will hamper my enjoyment of a re-watch. But who knows !

Didn't help that I started a rewatch of Babylon 5 - the first show to have a 5 year plan and get to finish that plan. It's a little dated now, but still love it and it's def one that you see the hints of things to come and see the veiled signs once you finished it the first time and rewatch.

Will def be buying the rest of Lost and will probably do a rewatch next summer as I doubt I'll have a chance this year.

MJ said...

Glenn R - I liked the idea ! I've only just now finally gotten caught up on all the comments

Davidslasko said 'John Locke was meant to have his commitment to THE ISLAND deepen. He was also meant to sacrifice his life for it. So was Jack Shephard. Ben was meant to kill both Locke and Jacob as well as bring Locke's corpse back to THE ISLAND. Jacob knew this - it is why he didn't fight back.' I'm not sure I disagree. Remember - they always HAD a choice. I don't think that any of them were 'meant' for anything. Jacob always gave them the opportunity to choose.

Gnni - thanks for the 411 on the Hollander Beater. Fascinating and something I have never heard of before. ;-D

And I totally agree that it would have been fab for Sawyer and Miles to have both been at the church. They had gotten pretty tight in Dharmaville.

Mike V. said...

@MJ - LOL that's a good time with the 12 steps. Of course, you're really going to throw him for a loop when you actually DO start rewatching the show anyway! lol BTW...I secretly have started rewatching season 6. Anytime I see my wife hit the blackberry, it's 5 more minutes of LA X for me! She went upstairs to get something, more LAX! I have about 15 minutes left in that episode. Could take awhile at this rate...let alone rewatching from the beginning again! But I will do it!! lol

As for Supernatural...I don't want to read too much in the event that I do watch it one day (long shot)....But considering how bizarre LOST sounds when attempting to explain it to someone who doesn't watch? I can't imagine anything in supernatural would sound TOO bizarre! lol

totally random note @Everyone - I heard that the TIMES TALK LIVE is available online to watch somewhere. Not sure where, but I'll look into it.

@Candidate - On the Wire, eh? first of all...I don't have Direct TV so that's a problem! (it didn't stop me from watching Season 3 and 4 of Friday Night Lights before they aired on NBC though. lol) I don't know much about the show either. I'd really like to start with something new...but there's a gamble with picking a new show as we saw with FlashForward. you just never know. Which makes me lean towards this idea of having a 1 stop shop site for whatever I'm watching. And I could just blog about whatever I was in the mood to blog about! lol I could connect the LOST blog postings to the site so they don't get lost, the flash forward blogs, the ahem...idol stuff, and then whatever else I decide to do. But...the big problems are...figuring out how to do this and then what to name the site!! lol And of course, finding time to do any of this is an issue as well. But I'm thinking about it.

Speaking of "THE WIRE" though, this is a show that I have heard so many great things about and that it is a PERFECT vision from start to finish. I really would love to get started on that....but I want to finish so many other things at the same time. For whoever says there's nothing to watch in the summer, clearly doesn't have Netflix or a credit card! lol :-) And don't forget True Blood and Rescue Me starting this month!

@MJ - Like I've mentioned too...while things aren't perfect, some random things may pop up and seem more relevant now that we have seen the ending "they chose".....Like I mentioned yesterday with Eko talking to the psychic's daughter who said she died and saw Yemi speaking to her. But yes...some things we'll just watch and laugh about because we'll know that they were never answered. Maybe some will do more than laugh and get angry! I still want to wait and see what they have for us on the season 6 special features. I think this may be the first time I actually watch the special features before running through the season. I'll just be too impatient. But I can't wait for the commentaries on certain episodes like Across the Sea as well. Good luck on finding time for your rewatch! I need some luck too! lol

Mike V. said...

@Glenn - looks like you have one recruit! LOL

@MJ - Yes Jacob gave them a choice...but did Jacob speak for "THE ISLAND"? Ilana fulfilled her role and then the "ISLAND" allowed her to blow up. Michael helped his friends and the Christian Shephard (Ghost, Island, Smokey? we'll never know) showed up and told him "you can go now"...and the Island allowed Michael to blow up. He really didn't have a choice to kill himself before that! It seems like there was a mixture of Fate AND Choice in the end.

BTW, I know this makes no sense! lol

BTW Part 2 - Way to read all of the comments! Impressive!

Mike V. said...

Per Florin's recommendation:
Here's Evangeline on Late Late Show

Mike V. said...

Times Talk Live with Damon/Carlton Okay so they are broken up into 10 minute segments. If you roll your mouse over the links on the right hand side you can see the full name of the related links to see what part comes next. Enjoy!

Mike V. said...

Part 6 a little bit after 3 minutes in...their answer about Aaron. I still can poke holes in it but it's still entertaining!

BTW...the whole thing is so good and entirely rewatchable lol (as I am finding out this afternoon...good time)

Mike V. said...

same part (6) there is the Walt discussion as well...Interesting. Carlton says "you will see Malcom (walt) before all is said and done" Ahhhh they never said "in the finale" LOL So crazy that we hear what we WANT to hear. lol So it's definitely Walt in the Epilogue or in additional footage on Season 6. Maybe Hurley and Ben do go to Walt or bring walt to the island years later. Very interesting.

MJ said...

Dude ! Should have known you'd be a Rescue Me fan ! LOL And I agree - between Netflix (how I wathed the wire) and just cable there is plenty of stuff in summer. WHich is why I probably won't re-watch Lost this year. I'd already determined to do B5 and Farscape, plus shows I like are back (Rescue, Burn Notice, Closer, Leverage). I know that some new shows start soon - have to start investigating if any look promising. Hey - maybe you could find one to blog about in one of these new summer shows ! Most start in the next few weeks.

And I refuse to EVEN acknowledge that you watch Idol since we seem to agree on most other shows. j/k ! NOT !

Ilana's choice was whether to go to the island, and Michael also had that choice on going back. Technically Michael made his choice when he set up his friends too.

Seems to me that fate was involved in their lives to lead them to Jacob feeling that they could be candidates - but after that choice seemed to take over.

Guess since we never actually got the 411 on who Ilana was and how/why she was helping Jacob it's hard to speculate for her though.

David Salako said...

Perhaps some folks will get their "Aaron and Ji-Yeon" romance that they wanted so badly!? lol!

A finality to the Walt and Michael relationship would be nice. Like sometimes happens in real life, that duo was kind of just left hanging in terms of any type of real closure and healing.

David Salako said...

I think Jacob had a romance that ended in tragedy and that Ilana is/was his daughter! Just my speculation though!

Mike V. said...

@MJ - I'd love to be blogging summer shows too...and I'm sure GATHER would love me to do it too, but I just need a break every year after doing the Spring TV season. It's so intensive. I don't like to be constrained to my house every night to watch TV at a designated time in the summer. And I think my wife likes that too! LOL But yeah, I'd love to write about Rescue Me or something like that. But at the same time, I like to just sit back and enjoy them!

BTW...I officially retired from Idol this year. The show was practically unwatchable this season! LOL I went through the motions this year...wasn't even interested.

Good point on the choices. But Michael did not have a choice in killing himself OFF of the island. Why? because the island wasn't done with him. Or maybe because Jacob touched him (though we never saw it)

I totally agree that choice played a huge role...just saying I can see both sides of the argument! lol

BTW...watching Jorge show up on Times Talk after Emerson talks about working with a character so much for the first time and that they may have stuff to do together now....seemed so vague at the time....but now we see hurley and ben - future protectors of the island...sitting with the Executive Producers on stage 3 days before the finale aired. Good times! lol

@David - Yeah, I would love it if we saw Walt, Aaron and Ji Yeon coming to the Island in this epilogue lol Yeah I'd love Michael/Walt closure too. I gotta think that was part of their plan too. Maybe even Hurley brings Walt to the Island so he can make his peace with his father. (going with Ben's advice to help people)

btw MJ - i listed out a crap load of TV I watch on the FlashForward blog comments lol

MJ said...

I hear ya on just relaxing in the summer. LOL That's why I watch most of that stuff too.

Haven and Rubicon look promising though.

Mike V. said...

hmmm..not sure I heard of them. Might have to check them out!

David Salako said...

I have to mention that a lot of my fellow "Lost" fans thought I was crazy when I said that Ben and Hurley had a destiny together way back in season 4. This was following their silent "sharing the Apollo bar" scene outside Jacob's cabin. Also knew that Hurley HAD to be the ultimate "Candidate" and Jacob's final choice - as MIB alluded to when surprised that Jacob would make such an obvious choice in Jack.
Many of the characters did make choices but fate also played a heavy role in getting them to their "destinations".
Hurley had a big ISLAND bird screech his name way back when! Gotta be the Chosen One right? lol!

MJ said...

The Event could be your next blog Mike. Look at this tagline ...

'A suspense-filled journey where the answers only lead to bigger questions.'

Imagine if they'd had that for Lost or FF ?? LOL

http://www.nbc.com/the-event/

Mike V. said...

@David - I will give you credit for calling out that candy bar scene way back when! I do recall you bringing it up prior to the finale. I didn't necessarily rule out Hurley as the final protector.... I just knew that Jack had to die before the end of the show...and that I've been bringing up for a long time. Obviously, since I totally called the last shot of the show! I have to dig up that comment when I almost word for word called the final montage (besides the fact of knowing everyone had died lol)

I can't wait to see what they have in mind for the Hurley Bird in this epilogue lol Jorge did confirm it will be mentioned. Good times.

@MJ - nice copy/paste onto both blogs! I'm too lazy to write my response again! lol So I'm copy/pasting my response!! "I think "THE EVENT" was a reality show. Isn't it? LOL Then again, LOST looked like a glorified SURVIVOR meets Giligan's Island when the promo's started airing LOL I was so against watching it...now it's my favorite show of all time, crazy! Great tagline for the event though lol I'll check it out"

Mike V. said...

I know no one has questioned me, but I had to share some of the comments I made from earlier in the seasons. BTW...the SEARCH feature on the Blog works really well! I just typed in Jack's Eye and I got a whole bunch of times that I mentioned his eye closing as the final shot lol David, you could probably search for your candy bar comments lol

March 11th Comments (on Episode 7 Dr. Linus Recap) Here is where I totally called the final montage:

"i really don't know if LOST is going to be a 100% happy ending. I think it's going to mixed and on a character by character basis. Some people's redemption could be death...others life. I do see the show ending in musican giacchino montage in whatever way it ends. I still like the idea of the last shot of the series being jack's eye closing...but i'd hate for Jack to die! It really depends how this sideways world plays into things. If it's the end-state...then we could see people dying on the island but still see how it was for a better life for all of them in "another life brotha" .... But i still think there's more to the sideways world than just an epilogue.

As long as you're not upset when you don't get you're Disney ending you should be okay! lol I think the ending will be a mix of happiness and sadness. But whatever the end result is....yes...THE LOSTIES will have prevailed!"


April 10th Comments (on Happily Ever After Recap)

"Yeah, lots of people are with you on that being the final scene. I still don't like it. I still like Jack's eye closing to the the final shot of LOST. When I think of things coming full circle...I take it back to season 1...not the season 5 finale. So if we want to mirror a scene that happened on LOST....I would say Jack's eye opening on the Island would be the scene to mirror. But eh....what do I know? lol "

May 19th Comments (on What They Died For Recap)

"That being said...I'd still love an ending where the final shot of LOST is Jack's eye closing!"

Okay, I'm done now! lol

Mike V. said...

earlier in the "season" not "seasons" sorry for typo!

Glenn R. said...

So, can you all tell me something that I may have missed? There was some debate after the episode where Michael appeared to Hurley and told him what the whispers were... about whether that was actually Michael, as opposed to Smokey? Do we know that that was actually Michael now? And the same for Isabella, that it was really her ghost?

Glenn R. said...

David, I'm trying to understand your point that John Locke's commitment was meant to deepen to THE ISLAND (your words) as opposed the "the Island" (my words).

Are you saying that it was actually the Island that was the higher intelligence pulling Locke towards his destiny during the time travelling, and not Smokey? Can you clarify?

Glenn R. said...

MJ - Glad to hear it!

I still think it would be really fun to have everyone in here take a stab at sharing their answers to the top 10 unanswered mysteries of Lost with everyone.

If anyone else can imagine jumping on the bandwagon & would like to share your wisdom and answers with the rest of us on the key unanswered questions for Lost, please speak up. Even if there were five of us, it could be fun.

Maybe I will organize it at some point, and create a submission form to make it easy for those wanting to participate.

Glenn R. said...

So, for those of you reading this, would you be willing to share a question or two (or more) that you would most like to ask Damon and Carlton about the show if you had a private audience with them?

At this point, it doesn't matter if they are "top 10" questions or not. Just getting any questions out there would be great.

Anyone?

Candidate said...

I just checked out that link earlier this afternoon. CC talks about keeping franchise alive. I gotta say that I was hoping for a plan. Other than the statements that ABC owns Lost and that they told the story they wanted to tell on the series... it kind of said nothing.
Looking at the heading this interview was conducted before the finale so they haven't come out of "Radio Silence" yet (I think???)

I know the tweet of Let Go and all but some Darlton guidance to a few authors is my true hope for the expanded universe.

There are 3 novels and 1 Meta fiction (Bad Twin) in print currently. I think the 3 novels were published by Hyperion before season 3. Has anyone read these? Are they any good?

I remember an interview with Darlton after the Sundown ep where they talk about a Smoke Monster ride at Disneyland. I think he was only 1/2 joking. Hey I would stand in line for a whirlwind via Smoke Monster through The Temple or a trip around The Island. I'm laughing with glee just thinking about how fun that would be.

I'm happy to say that I have to catch up on the comments. This is to say that I'm happy that we are still actively posting

Namaste

Candidate said...

Oh I just saw Mikes nevermind the link post. lol...too late

Candidate said...

@ Mike
not a bad idea on compiling mysteries. I think I would need an entire rewatch to ponder it all. The End just blew me away on so many different highly emotional levels I just don't know what to think. These mysteries are/were awesome but I would need some more decompression time to start pondering the unsolved mysteries. I've been thinking more on the open timelines that we haven't seen yet. Before Crazy Faux Mom and the future post Hurley and Ben.

But I did have something to start the mystery compilation. (Greatest Hits lol.)

The mystery of the Glyphs would be my first wonder or unsoved mystery. Were they Egyptian or Mayan or aliens or ???

So thats my mystery question that I want answered.

Mike V. said...

@Glenn - That was actually Michael in the "WHISPERS" scene and it was actually Isabella at the end of Ab Aeterno with Hurley and Richard. It was smokey in the black rock. Darlton confirmed all of these at one point or another in their podcasts/interviews.

Keep me in the loop with all of the Unanswered Mysteries stuff. I'm sure I'd want to do something! lol Looks like Candidate is interested too. At the very least we should be compiling a MASTER LIST of everything we're mentioning. lol

As for questions with D&C - I would just like to know what their thought process was with the show from season to season. Obviously, it changed along the way as the show evolved. I'd love to know the pressures they were facing before setting the end date, and I'd love to have been a fly on the wall in the writer's room between seasons 3 and 4 and saw them mapping out the end. I think I heard rumors that there might be a special feature on the season 6 DVD about this. They said they had the advantage of knowing 3 years in advance when they were ending so they could do some special stuff with this release. I'm looking forward to it!

Specific questions about the show? I'd have to think about. Obviously questions about Walt and Aaron they just work their way around answering! lol

@Candidate - Sorry that my "nevermind" post ended up on a different page of comments! Yes Darlton are still in radio silence. They're both tweeting again but about random stuff. Damon is in London right now and he got a classic European Vacation line out on Twitter "Big Ben. Parliament." nice! I think they'll break silence in August before the DVD/Blu release. Or right after. We'll see!

I would agree that I'm still not removed enough from the finale to be pondering all of these little mysteries! It was such a fantastic episode. That may have been a stroke of genius on the writers' part. Just keep churning out quality TV all building to a spectacular finale that in THE END, we just don't care about the mysteries LOL Their biggest LONG CON of all! I can't wait to rewatch though and see how everything does/doesn't tie together lol Still wondering if I should wait until before or after 8/24!

Snafu11 said...

@Candidate - I read "Bad Twin" and its a quick read. It does have some loose associations with LOST as they reference Hanso Corp & Paik industries. Not a very involved story but the theme of good/bad plus redemption are played out. If memory serves me.

The ficticious author was to have died on Oceanic 815 and the book was dedicated to his love, Cindi (the flight attendant that turned out to be an Other & tended to the childrens ;-)

Mike V. said...

And to go one step further, the Bad Twin fictitious author was named Gary Troup (anagram for purgatory lol) and he was the guy that gut sucked into the Jet Engine in the first 10 minutes of the pilot episode.

No point here, just throwing it out there for anyone curious or who had forgotten! lol

Mike V. said...

Finally watched the preview for THE EVENT. Now that I see the cast that is in it, I do remember hearing about this one. Looks like it has some potential!

David Salako said...

Key scenes for 'Lost' finale filmed at Honolulu Catholic school:
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1002304.htm

@Glenn R. - I'll respond to your "THE ISLAND" question later today. Currently on the road.

Mike V. said...

Thanks for the link David! Impressive that you're on the road but still put in the HTML code to get an actual hyperlink!

David Salako said...

Thanks Mike. I am a BioMedical Informatician by profession so I do know a little bit about programming! lol!

Mike V. said...

Nice lol I'm an IT guy, but not really on the coding side. I still know a few things, but I always have to look up how to add the hyperlink into the comments each time! I would love it if blogger enhanced this blogging section a bit! lol I should have it memorized by now!

MJ said...

Hah ! I always suspected you were in IT Mike. Lots of time to play on the web, but when there are meetings there are alot of them. LOL. I'm a programmer - though not HTML - and my husband is a Network Manager.

Mike V. said...

@MJ - I have no idea what you're talking about with the "web playing" :-) lol Ironically, as I am reading this and responding, I have to be at a meeting in 2 minutes! LOL

Mike V. said...

BTW...cool on the programming and network manager for your husband.

I'm a Business Sytems Analyst (BSA), but sometimes my peers use different words for the BS part of that! LOL

MJ said...

'BS'A ! Too funny

Glenn R. said...

So Mike, the funny thing is, when I first read the acronym BSA, I immediately jumped to "Blogging Specialist Analyst."

I guess that means your job must be to analyze the business systems at your work so as to optimize their potential for allowing time for Lost blogging analysis? Nice! ;-)

Mike V. said...

@Glenn - you got it! LOL

Candidate said...

@ Snafu and Mike
Gary Troup anagram...WOW! The writers did have a plan. Just by title alone Bad Twin is no doubt a foreshadowing. Yes I did my Lostpedia search for expanded novels and found the info about Gary and Cindi and the jet engine.

Mike V. said...

Candidate - for what it's worth I think they were just messing with all of the "it's all purgatory!!" conspiracy theorists back in the day and weren't necessarily foreshadowing the final season! Lol

Candidate said...

@ Mike
Yeah i'm sure they were messing w/ us but with purgatory but what I mean is the title itself. BAD TWIN like Jacob and MIB. This book was brought up very early on long before Jacob was brought up. I don't think we knew a character named Jacob yet (pretty sure.) Just the idea and concept of a book being called Bad Twin (to me) is more proof that they had a plan all along much more than the Adam and Eve skeletons. I still think this Bad Twin and purgatory clue was a foreshadowing even if they were messing w/ us. Of course many things on Lost have been left open to interpretation so that's just how I see it today...and of course may see things differently some other day. Aha the beauty of great storytelling.

Candidate said...

@ Glenn

cut snip paste

would you be willing to share a question or two (or more) that you would most like to ask Damon and Carlton about the show if you had a private audience with them?

I would like to repost my question a little more thouroughly.

Who are the people that drew the Glyphs on the temple walls / cave / and other places. When did this happen. Why did they leave. What did they do during their time on the Island. (yup all one question lol )

Question # 2 which could be connected with my first question, Who built the Tawaret statue and why/when.

David Salako said...

http://creativeoverflow.net/75-super-funny-t-shirt-designs/

Like the "Missing - Flight 815 en route to LAX" version!

David Salako said...

NBC's "The Event":

http://www.nbc.com/the-event/video/the-event-full-length-trailer/1228237/?__cid=thefilter

Might be a worthy successor to fill up our post-Lost void?

gnni4 said...

David, both of those links are AWESOME!! Thank you, icing on the cake of an excellent day for me.

Snafu11 said...

@Mike V - I forgot he the guy getting sucked through the engine was the author--sic memory.
BSA, LOL. We'll just leave it as you are an Artist... ;-)

@David - Thanks for the link---The Event does look promising. Hope it has some legs...

Floreen said...

@Snafu11 - Let's hope it will have legs but more important, they'll not going to be canceled by an incompetent executive.

I hate to be a downer, but I've seen too many shows with good potential been killed for no real good reason. NBC has a bit of history there finishing with the late night comedy thing. I don't even know, are they still a GE or a Comcast company?

Floreen said...

@Mike V - Sorry for been so late with my reply, but I am still ‘Lost’ in translation. You say capital ‘A’, I say small ‘a’ so I am a bit confused. So let me ask this therefore so we don’t get ‘Lost’ in Translation anymore.

Do you think that I didn’t liked the finale or the show itself? If so, the answer is a big No, I thought that there’s no doubt about it. I Did like the show from the beginning to the end. It’s just those Few hanging issues that gives me a cloud over otherwise sunny skies, that’s all, but using the frame of reference given to us, canon like in the finale, I try to piece the rest on my own. I did originally watched the show for the ride and enjoying it, only later I started to watch it for the clues and mysteries.

I was trying from my very poor pool of resources to give a few ideas as how to keep the thing going, given that you still have the energy to do it. I can’t say that I have the best ideas though, just floating a few for consideration well aware that with so many other sites dealing with Lost, sometimes I wonder what else new could I comment on.

Floreen said...

@Candidate - I submit here that the glyphs and other things like the statue for example had to have been built while the Island was in the Mediterranean sea and Jacob was very likely attracting Egyptians, some Greeks perhaps, definitely Roman candidate like Claudia. I also think the when Ricardo got there with the BR, the island had to be in between Tenerife and those little islands off the Iberic Peninsula and the New World where the ship was originally headed to. That of course implies that the island has been moved in time and space before, which I would dare to consider that it shouldn't be too far fetched. Just a thought.

David Salako said...

NBC does have a terrible record with canceling shows - except the endless "Law and Order" versions that is!
I sometimes feel that non-terrestrial cable TV is the only hope for thought provoking TV but even there the seasons are notoriously short!
"Mad Men" returns soon to AMC.
"Stargate Universe" is worth watching on SyFy although it needs some slight improvements if it is going to hook viewers for several seasons.
We were disappointed by "TrueBlood"'s second season on HBO, so still undecided if it will be given a 3rd chance.
"The Tudors" I find interesting but it does take a lot of license with the madness of the period of English history known as the so-called "English Reformation". Entertaining show though.

♡Kim♡ said...

I loved Lost. I loved the finale. I cried like a baby...and I am so so sad that it's over....but it is.

I loved the way the finale went, and I feel strongly that the show was NEVER intending to answer every piddly little question that came to mind - it was always about those characters we came to know and love. I couldn't think of a better way to end this program, considering how confusing, challenging and mystical it always was. I loved it...and I thought the focus on Jack (even though I cannot stand him) was PERFECT and worked VERY WELL as a segue to the end.

Gotta love some of those GREAT MOMENTS: Jin and Sun remember their own death; Sawyer and Juliet by the candy machine; every minute of Desmond; Hurley not wanting to let go of Jack; Ben not going into the church; and on and on....especially (for me) the last 8 minutes or so when they are in the church and Jack accepts. Wow. What a moment when Vincent lies down near Jack and Jack watches that plane overhead. Kudos to Lost and to the fans who loved it...

Mike V. said...

Hey guys, I'm back. Time for catch-up!

@Candidate - Yeah I remember the whole "TWIN" concept being a big topic of speculation back in season 2/3 when the "Bad Twin" book was making its island circulation lol I can't even remember any of the theories....but yeah it would make sense that if they had this concept of Jacob that far back...maybe they knew that he would have a twin brother as well. I still cannot get on board with them throwing the PURGATORY shout out back then as a HINT that half of the last season would be in the afterlife LOL I just don't think they knew they were going to go in that direction yet. But hey...maybe they did! And here's the thing...they could put all of this stuff out there. Themes and Clues....and then eventually make decisions 2 years later that would FULFILL those clues. Like maybe they didn't know that there was going to be a Jacob and MIB rivalry yet....but then they had this book called Bad Twin....and said...HEY if we made them TWINS, people will think we put this clue in the show 4 years ago! LOL I'm just being the devil's advocate though. I'd love to think they that they had an idea about these characters and concepts since the beginning (or near the beginning)....

@David - I checked out those designs. They were hysterical. lol Not just the LOST ones. Good times! The EVENT link, thanks for sharing again. MJ mentioned it a few days back and I checked it out then (I'll check your link to see if it's different lol) It does look promising! You can tell who they are gearing this promo to....it could be a success or another NBC Flop...and I agree with Florin....NBC just doesn't have the guts to stick with much! Of course, this could be the show that turns their luck around.

@Snafu - LOL on the artist. BS Artist lol I like it!

@Florin - I'm not even sure what you're referring back to! But I didn't think you hated the show or the finale. I understand that you're trying to piece the show together. I'll leave it at that since I can't remember what we were talking about lol

As for the Egyptians on the Island. Yeah, I think they left the door wide open for that story to be told by someone else. But the whole concept of the moving island resolved their issues of how certain people got to the island that we thought was stationary in the south pacific at one time. I still would love to get that story of the Statue though and all of the glyphs on the Island. Just sad that it wouldn't be Damon and Carlton delivering that story!

@David - I would argue that shorter seasons makes for a more quality experience. There is very little fluff in a 13 episode season, which makes a show like Mad Men very good! We saw that the 22-24 episode structure was hurting LOST in those 2nd 2 seasons. Yeah, the shorter season structure gave them some problems too and led to us always thinking "there's not enough time to tell everything!" but I still thought the show moved a lot better when they reduced the episode count. And, I watched True Blood's season 1 and 2 straight through last summer (was tivo'ing season 2 as we caught up on season 1) and I loved it! I wasn't sure why everyone was complaining so much about it. But, maybe it's because we were able to watch a bunch of them back to back without waiting a week for more of the demi-goddess lady lol (you know the Oceanic Rep for the Oceanic 6 gone crazy lol) I'll definitely be tuning in for season 3! Jason Stackhouse's lines alone makes it worth it.

Mike V. said...

@Kim - Glad you loved the finale! And glad you (sorta) came around on Jack at the end lol I thought Matthew Fox did a superb job this season, especially in the finale. All the moments you brought up were fantastic and yes, every time I watch that last 10-15 minutes...it is an incredibly moving experience!

btw @everyone - I started rewatching season 6. I just wanted to see how well sideways holds up after knowing what it is. I still think these are very well done stories to sorta re-experience how all of these characters got started in season 1 but with a bit of a different twist. There are also some hints here and there about where it was going. Charlie's "AM I DEAD?" in LAX was the biggest one lol But all of the character stories seem to be them making peace with their issues that plagued them on the Island. The whole thing with Hurley telling Sayid in the finale that he's a good person even though so many people told him he wasn't....made me think back to every scene in Island Time and Sideways time where Sayid did bad things....it was always based on someone else telling him to do it or hinting at it. (maybe not when he tortured Sawyer lol that was his idea)

Anyway, I also heard some people say that when we rewatch the show all of the TEMPLE SCENES will have been a waste of time. I'm through the first 6 hours of Season 6....and you know what? There really wasn't too much time spent on the temple. I think it was all in our heads! lol Sure, that's where they were "residing" for 5 of those 6 hours...but we also saw new locations such as the CANDIDATE CAVE with Sawyer/Flocke, the Lighthouse adventure with Hurley and Jack, Claire's psycho hut where she killed the OTHER with an ax. We returned to familiar locations such as the Barracks and the Season 1 CAVE where Adam and Eve were buried (closing the loop of the show by returning to all of our favorite sets) I think when people refer to the first 6 episodes being a waste, they are thinking of Kate's episode where we spent much of the episode in the Temple watching Sayid be tortured again and then Jack take the poison pill. That was 1 episode! And I still loved it.

And watching it after the show is all said and done makes me think even more how spectacular a job they did at setting up the end game for this show. But...just my thoughts!

Mike V. said...

Woa David, did you mean to post all of that 10 times? LOL j/k I'll fix it!

Glad you're enjoying the rewatch of Season 6 as well!

Totally agree on True Blood, I definitely loved the other story lines better than the crazy lady story. But it did culminate into some pretty hilarious stuff when Jason returned to town LOL

So, I just posted my seasons 1-6 ranking on Dark UFO (couldn't resist since a topic came up - i signed up and posted it lol) I'm gonna copy and paste it here. As always - this is subject to change!

Mike V. said...

BTW - agree about Carrie Preston on True Blood as well. She's fantastic and the only reliable waitress on that show! LOL

Mike V. said...

Here's my 6 season ranking for now LOL Feel free to chime in with yours!

"Hey Guys, Mike V. from the Lost Addicts Blog (which maybe no one has heard of lol). I've been reading this site for years, can't believe I never signed up to post until now! lol

Anyway, I can't resist throwing my 2 cents on the season ranking. Of course, the whole issue that everyone else is also finding with ranking this show is that one season inevitably has to come in LAST. And then people will all cry FOUL and assume people HATE that season! It's a very tough task to do. So that's my disclaimer before I dive in as well.

1 - I'm always a sucker for the season that got us all hooked (for any show). The fact is, for most people, if we never grew attachments to these characters and mysteries up front, the rest of the show would never have mattered. So, season 1 always remains the top for me.

3 - I did a whole defense for season 3 for the 815 Sentences About LOST project. http://815sentencesaboutlost.com/post/598372903/many-people-dont-give-season-3-of-lost-enough Yes, lots of filler, lots of Nikki Paulo, Jack's Tattoos and what not. But there was also Sawyer learning about Anthony Cooper and Locke's connection (and the gut wrenching murder scene), Introduction of Richard, flushing out of Benjamen Linus, Introduction of Juliet, beginning of Desmond's awesome dealings with Time Travel and flashes of the future, Charlie's epic "saving the day" sacrifice, and of course....the introduction to the FLASH FORWARD in my favorite (and many people's favorites) season finale - Through the Looking Glass. This season did so much to set up the end game of the show, and change people's thoughts on what the end game of the show really is. (yes, believe it or not, most of us thought that getting off of the island was how the show would end before season 3's end!)

6 - Tough to figure out where to place Season 6. It really was a grand finish to an excellent show! The problem with this show is that the journey was always going to be greater than the destination. But that being said, I thought the writers really brought their A game to give us a satisfying conclusion. I disagree that the Flash Sideways was a waste of time based on the resolution. It brought great closure to these character arcs that we had been following for 6 seasons. And the mirroring to seasons 1-5 in both Island and Sideways time brought a great nostalgic sense to the final season. A real sense of closure for not just the characters, but for all of us that have invested so much time into the show. Yes, light on some of the answers to many people's lingering nitpicky questions (I mean that in the most sincere way. I have those questions as well!), but what a fantastic finish to the show! All the way up to the beautifully executed finale. No complaints, no regrets for my 6 year investment (and my investment shall continue on)!

"

Mike V. said...

"
5 - I loved season 5 when it aired, but it has grown on me even more in the subsequent rewatches. What a brilliantly executed season! They convinced us all to believe in the craziest concept of an Island that moves through space and time, and certain people on the island were moving through time as well. WHAAAT!?!?! They sparked a war between fans of the show in an idea of changing the past even though they had already set the ground rules of time travel for the show. An amazing feat! But the season just flowed together so well too. Amazing to think since we were all over the Timeline. I loved the idea that they brought into the LOST world that some of these LOSTIES were directly responsible for their own arrival to the Island. (I think of John Locke telling Richard to check on him in 1954). Locke's off-island story and demise was a fantastic episode and that the suicide attempt turned murder scene between Ben and Locke will go down as one for the ages! We got a first hand experience with the DHARMA Initiative through our own LOSTIES' eyes. And the comedy in season 5 was at an all time high as well. Oh yeah...we can't forget the introductions of the Man in Black and Jacob! Just a fantastic season from start to finish. Can't wait to watch it again!

This is where it gets tough because I hate to rank any of these seasons LOW

4 - I really have no justification for putting season 4 this far down on the ranking list. It was a REALLY great season. And the fact that the writers had to scramble to figure out how to end the season in 6 episodes (after the writer's strike ended), it's just amazing at what they strung together. The Shape of Things to Come as their first episode after the writer's strike? AMAZING! Who lost out in the strike? The Freigher 4 and their back-stories. Yes, they fit Daniel and Miles into season 5 very well. But we never really got Charlotte's story. She essentially tells it to Daniel before she is killed in season 5. And who wouldn't have loved a Frank Lapidus back-story? So, I blame any season 4 deficiencies on the Writer's Strike! Flash Forwards was a fantastic concept and it worked very well through the season to reveal who got off of the Island and how it inevitably set up the plan to return. Learning who was in the coffin really drove the end game of the show. And let's not forget that the best episode of LOST was in this season - THE CONSTANT! (I'm always torn between this and Through the Looking Glass, but if you throw finales out the window....THE CONSTANT is hands down my favorite and many people's favorite). So why rank it so low? Well, right now I just have nowhere else to put it! If anything, I'd place it even with season 5.

"

Mike V. said...

"2 - This is the most painful. I LOOOOOOOVED Season 2. Really loved it. At the time I was watching the season, I couldn't get enough of that crazy Hatch and wanted more Desmond. I loved the mind games of whether or not the experiment was indeed an experiment or if not pushing that button truly would have end of the world implications. I loved Jack and Locke's rivalry coming to full fruition. I loved the encounter with THE OTHERS in "The Hunting Party" I loved lots about season 2 and still do! Why do I rank it last? Because, when rewatching, season 2 is the one that I can tell most that they were milking things. They didn't have and end date set, so the pace was incredibly slow. The introduction of the TAILIES may have not been executed perfectly. And, of course, not many people attached themselves to Michelle Rodriguez's portrayal of Ana Lucia. She definitely grew on me, but until that Collision episode when the 2 camps united, she was testing my patience with the show. Oh right, and one other thing that puts this season at the bottom. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT!!!!!!" I loved the mystery around Walt and his abilities (still wish we got that answer...maybe the DVD!) but WOW....Michael, chill out dude! The Adrift episode with Michael and Sawyer hanging out in the water and seeing the Hatch from another perspective was the definition of milking things for all it was worth! Yes, I enjoyed it at the time....but season 2 is kind of tough to rewatch without fast forwarding through certain storylines and flashbacks. But if we were ranking storylines....the entire HATCH storyline would be ranked very high for me!

Hope I didn't bore anyone! But I felt the need to throw my hat into the ring! "

David Salako said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mike V. said...

David, what's going on??? you keep posting the same thing! LOL

Weasel said...

So, I still have not caught up on the blog comments, but I had to post something....

G O H A W K S !!!!

MJ said...

Full trailer for new fall show The Event.

http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2010/06/the-event-see-the-full-trailer-for-nbcs-thriller.html

Mike V. said...

@MJ - Thanks for the link. This is the same video you posted earlier, right? It's the same one I watched when you originally posted the link and the same one that David linked to as well LOL Still looks good!

@Weasel - It was a highly entertaining game 5. The Flyers may be in over their heads this season but they are relentless. There are still 2 more games! GO FLYERS!

Candidate said...

@ Mike Well Written evaluation/ranking of 6 seasons. Was fun to read.

Over the weekend I checked out some of those links. The shirts were a hoot. I loved the Mario tee.

I also checked out a new show called Justified. Starring Tom Friendly and Bullock from Deadwood. Good show that has some good potential. The Event does look promising.

So the shows I thought worth checking out this Summer are Justified, Brotherhood and the return of Rescue Me. Shows that are in rerun that I've never seen but watching for the first time are Deadwood and The Wire starts in July. I'm also watching Star Wars The Clone Wars which is not very good but still watching anyway. (The Voice actors and diologue are pretty aweful but the stories are still good)

@ Florin. Thats a great start to the story or stories of the egyptians. I wish I had the talent to write a good novel to that story. I have ideas that I think would be "cool" but I don't have a plan and the ideas aren't really thought out yet. How's my request of Walt comics going??? lol

Mike V. said...

Thanks Candidate! Any chance I get to keep dwelling on LOST, I take it! lol

Yeah, I think I gave up on Justified way too soon. (I was 20 minutes into the first episode and just wasn't feeling it lol) I may have to check it out!

I'll definitely be watching Rescue Me when it returns. DEADWOOD is fantastic. It's a shame it never had an end, but it is great. If you love the HBO shows, then I'd check out ROME too. Season 1 was great and then they learned that season 2 would be the last so they advanced time quickly to show what the whole series would have been. In other words it's a 2 season masterpiece and I heard rumors of a MOVIE! I really think I need to start The Wire this summer also. I've heard so many good things. I'll just have to put off BSG and Breaking Bad though :-( I had every intention to watch The Clone Wars, but I just couldn't get into it! LOL

Definitely tons of stuff to watch though in the LOST void! And of course...MORE LOST Rewatching! :-)

Candidate said...

I liked the Temple. I never thought it was a waste plus Dogen explained a little bit of the sickness and being claimed. The knife story that reflected the old MIB/Jacob story was cool. There were answers and more questions (as always.) I'm not sure why it was attacked by critics and fans alike. I even liked What Kate Does ep which got terrible reviews. These people (reviers and critics) had it pretty "cushy" getting paid to write a few paragraphs every wednesday slamming the show because it was the popular and EAZY thing to do. Now I wonder who they will pick on next now that they don't have Lost to Kick around. I hope the press uses that space for something a little more constructive.

I had fun reading this morning and now moving on w/ my day away from the pewter.

Mike V. said...

I'm with you Candidate. I loved the Temple, loved the Kate episode too. Yes, not the best of the season but I didn't think it should have been panned the way it was. I think it was more than the media though. Many fans were just KATE haters until that final moment where she saved Jack by shooting Flocke LOL Ironically, many people hated Jack too so this just cracks me up!

Candidate said...

@ Mike
Rome was AMAZING. I bought the 2 seasons on DVD. I heard about an extention to Rome as well but I'm not sure what became of that project. I wonder if they are actually gonna do more Rome (in any form) or did it get shelved. I am going to watched Justified next week and probably catch the season rerun. So Deadwood just stops after season 3 w/no resolution? I think I read that somewhere. that's too bad. I highly recomend BSG. Don't put it off. The Final season is truly epic and the ending was awesome. Most people agree that the BSG finale was great. My opinion it's one of the finest endings to a T.V. series. The whole last season was epic. To Me, BSG was second best series only to Lost being # 1 all time.

Candidate said...

The Kate haters The Jack Haters... yeah too funny. I will admit that Kate was irritating at times in a few scenes but I thought the What Kate Does was a great ep. Action Packed a lot of running and quick moving. Yeah it HAD to be Kate to kill MIB in the end. (lol Redemption for Kate for a few awkward scenes.)

Weasel said...

whew... finally done catching up on comments...

a couple things for now and I'm sure more to come later:

I really hope those 14 minutes of dialog come on the season 6 dvds and not just on the special edition set. It would really be an insult to all the people who bought the seasons as they came out.

Watched the trailer for "The Event". Looks AWESOME!!!! Some good quality actors in there, too.

NAMASTE

and

GO HAWKS!

Mike V. said...

That's cool you saw Rome. I heard that they were moving forward with a Big Screen movie adaptation. We'll see! but yeah...no resolution to Deadwood...they kept talking about doing a movie...i think they even wrote it (a "FOR HBO" movie) but they couldn't get the cast back together. I guess they should have just sent the script to Hawaii and could have had LOST film it! LOL

I don't really want to put off BSG....It's gonna take some time though...I gotta convince my wife to watch the rest of it too. I think she likes it but not as much as me!

@Weasel - I think based on the latest things I've read, the epilogue scene WILL be on the Season 6 disc as well.....there is also the other scenes I think they filmed...unless that's what the epilogue is. But I think there will be a Q&A with Darlton too.

I agree on THE EVENT! I'll have to consider blogging it!

GO FLYERS!

Floreen said...

@davidsalako - I concur with you on NBC. I can only hope that if NBC becomes Comcast, they may not be doing that thing again or any time soon. Will see what happens, although a short two or so years ago, all networks canceled good show. It felt like a competition on who gets the most new shows off the air.

David Salako said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
David Salako said...

Apologies about the multiple postings of the same thing.
I kept getting errors saying the postings weren't going through and that I should re-post.
Strange.
Gremlins in the blogger.com system!
I to loved the BSG finale and would probably also rank it #2 after "Lost" as well!

Floreen said...

@Candidate - If I would be paid for, I would dare to take on a such project like the island during such ancient times. Only Lord knows how many Jack's, Locke's, Kate's and Sawyer's came and died on that island for Lord knows for how long.

Walt comics request? I didn't got it, but even if I would, the answer would be No. I got plenty on my plate as it is. And I am specializing on comic strips as the paper funnies like Non Sequitur, etc. I don’t do Marvel comics.

Floreen said...

@Mike V - I liked all episodes and seasons. I might be too linear here in my thinking, but the way I see it, unless we see them all from the beginning, we don’t get to the end.

As with the Egyptians, they came, they saw, they got corrupted by Smokey, they killed, they died. Smokey had to have purged the island of those guys as well. Now I am starting to think as how much more could they had done with Lost, if the funding and the intellectual, creative resources would have been allocated. Maybe they save that for later.

Mike V. said...

@Florin - I don't think NBC will ever "BECOME" Comcast. It's still the National Broadcasting Company network (one of the major 3 in the US) But Comcast does OWN NBC, just like Disney owns ABC. Comcast doesn't get much respect around these parts but it's pretty much because they have a monopoly on Philadelphia Sports! If you don't buy their cable service, there is a chance you're going to miss some Phillies, Sixers (who cares) or Flyers games! I have Verizon Fios and I still get the Comcast Channel, but they air some games on CN8 (another Comcast channel)....if you have DirecTV, forget about it...no local sports for you! lol

Okay, rant over. I guess my point is, I don't see things changing for NBC with Comcast in charge. But the fact that Jeff Zucker has finally stepped down from NBC Programming or whatever position they made up for him.....might change the tides there.

@David - No big deal about the multiple posts! So, I think I may almost have my wife convinced on watching BSG and The Wire this summer. We'll see how it goes! lol That's a lot of TV!

@Florin - Yeah, I'm sure that's what happened with the Egyptians based on the themes that they had brought up on the show. They definitely could have done a lot with it all, but as they said "That was not the story they were telling"....it had to pertain to these characters...and the Egyptian stuff just did not tie in...in the end. But, like you said, it just leaves the door open for more interpretations of the show. I just don't know how accepted non-licensed Damon/Carlton material will be accepted. I guess time will tell!

Glenn R. said...

Candidate, After thinking about your question back at me about what I would most like to ask Darlton, I sat down to type out my question. My response flowed well, but I found myself instinctively typing longer and going into the latest version of my feelings about the entire show.

At first I thought I should edit it out, since I've shared some of these feelings already, and most of you still left here seem to have moved on. But I decided to share both the question I'd ask; and the responses it evoked in me to write about that question. At the minimum, it's therapeutic for me! :-)

So if you don't want to be my therapist, or if you're not into longwindedness, feel free to skip!

I want to love Lost as much as I did a few weeks ago, so do poke holes in it, if inspired. In particular, my Tolkien analogy might be pokeable.

And so, Candidate, for what it's worth,. I'd ask the following:

If the original intention of the series was to have "everything... rooted in science fact so that, as crazy as things might seem, there might be plausible explanations for them," [quote from JJ Abrams] was there a point at which you made a conscious decision to deviate from that fundamental premise and instead make the show be primarily about the characters and their relationships? If so, when, and what went into that decision?.

Bottom line: I'd like to hear more about their thought process around that, and why they decided not do BOTH.

To me, the greatest stories do BOTH. Think Tolkien, for one. As more time passes, I feel more and more that they copped out on us. They really could have done full justice to both the plot and the characters! They could have had just as great (and I mean great) of a character-heartful-emotional-completion ending, and ALSO completed more plotlines in a way that would have made us all be in awe for the rest of our lives.

And yes--they could have done that without having to answer every question, without answering deeper questions to the midichlorian level. I am not saying that they needed to provide answers at that level. There were plenty of plotlines that could’ve been left open to our interpretations.

[continued in next post]

Glenn R. said...

[ctd.]
Also, I do not buy the commonly heard argument that "they could not have answered any of the questions that they didn't answer without disappointing everyone." For me, that is a faulty assumption. That's like saying Tolkien could have left out the scene that shows how Frodo/Sam/Gollum destroyed the ring, and just skipped to the happy reunion of all the friends and left what actually happened to our imaginations. Is there anyone here who was disappointed with that particular 'answer' that Tolkien gave? Did it add to our satisfaction with the story? I think so. I think there’s a good chance that if they gave us a good story with good character arcs and a well-thought-out, cohesive storyline, the odds were good that we’d be happy with their answers.

I am basically saying that they could have brought closure to a large number of plotlines, and satisfied the science/reason crowd to the same degree of success that they satisfied the faith/character crowd. They didn't have to choose one over the other.

Sadly for me, Lost now feels like the show that had the potential to be the greatest televised series of all time, but fell short in the end. So, Candidate, I'd love to know if there was some intention behind the choices they made, or if it was poor creativity, or just plain laziness. I still love the show, but maybe now more like a sibling, not as a passionate lover!

People tell me that Six Feet Under was one of the few shows that completed their six season show in a captivating, emotionally satisfying, and intellectually compelling way. As in, brought closure to all the characters and their arcs, and answered all the key storylines at the same time. Would people have been happy with that show if they only wrapped the characters in a satisfying way? Probably. Are they even happier that many key plot answers were provided as well? I’d put money on it.

Maybe one of my favorite quotes will help explain where I am coming from. It’s from Blaise Pascal:

Two extravagances: To exclude reason, to include only reason.

In any case, that would be the question I would ask those two rogues, preferably over a good microbrew, with plenty of time to shoot the breeze. Maybe one day…

And so we now return you to your regualary scheduled programming… feel free to go back to discussing summer shows… Thank you for the therapy session! Comments welcomed!

Glenn R. said...

And Weasel, I'm right with you:

GO HAWKS!

They're going to have to play the game of their lives in order to beat Philly in Philly. But maybe, just maybe...

Chicago SO deserves to break the 49 year lack of Stanley Cupfulness. Especially if you are a Hawk fan who also happens to be a Cub fan. Like me. :-)

Mike V. said...

Glenn - I read all of your comments, but I just have to focus on one for now! Okay, yes the Blackhawks drought is definitely a big one....but come on...it's been 30+ years for the Flyers too! If anything, this stanley cup is great for Hockey because both teams have been in long suffering droughts. The City of Philadelphia was in a drought until 2008 when the Phillies won......the last championship for the city was 1983 (Sixers)....last Phillies was 1980....eagles---never won....Flyers stanley cup in 76. So you guys had your big years with Michael Jordan! LOL Philly deserves this too...that's all I'm saying. but at the same time...no one expects anything of the Flyers this year because no one ever expected them to make the playoffs let alone game 5 of the Stanley Cup! So we're just enjoying the ride!

I'll be back to comment on more!

Glenn R. said...

Okay, Mike. It turns out I'm in a very... shall we say... WORDY... mood today, my friend! So, since you asked for it, I'll call your hand and raise it. I will grant you that Philly deserves their own championship. But I think I can counter each of your points over which city gets the award for the most longsuffering fans.

For example, I notice you did not respond to my comment about the Cubs! Can you beat waiting 102 years since the last championship? Didn't think so. 'Nuff said on that one. Moving along to the next.

30 years you say since you had a hockey championship? Yes, I'll grant you that you deserve a championship. But there is a big difference between 30 and 49 years! As in a 36% longer wait! I mean, 19 years, amigo... How old were you 19 years ago? Well that's the amount of time we've been sitting in the Stanley Cup waiting room longer than you have! Almost two decades longer. You can have your Stanley Cup. Just not this year against the Blackhawks! ;-)

I'll grant you the Jordan years. The one dynasty Chicago has had in the last 100 years. But, think of it this way. In my lifetime, I've followed 43 years of Cubs non-championships; 43 years of Blackhawks non-championships; 42 years of Bears non-championships; 42 years of White Sox non-championships; and well, um, 37 years of Bulls non-championships. Let's see, when I add that up it comes to...

=======> 208 years of major sports team futility out of a possible 215 in my lifetime.

Put another way, I've had to say "Wait 'til next year" 96.7% of the time I've followed a Chicago sports team in a given year. If you leave off the Bulls, that number rises to 99.1%.

I don't know... Can you top that, Mr. Numero Uno Lost Blogger from Philly?

MJ said...

@Candidate - strangely I loved BSG but hated the end. Not as much as I hated Soprano's finale, but did not love the BSG ending. Don't want to say much that would spoil though.

Sorry if I posted the same trailer for Event. Thought the second one was longer and more detailed !?! LOL Guess not.

Justifed ends this week - it's been a great show. Didn't think I would like it but I did.

Mike V. said...

@Glenn - I'm interested to know the answers to your questions as well, and while I agree they may have copped out on a few things...they still told a great story. Interesting analogy to LOTR....but there is a major difference between LOST and Lord of the Rings. LOTR was never meant to be compared to a mystery/adventure sci-fi thriller, which LOST was. It was a pure FANTASY/adventure novel/movie. They made up their own rules. It didn't have to be based at all in science....so yeah we could watch Frodo/Sam/Gollum destroy the ring and its impact on Middle Earth. LOST developed a reputation of creating lots of questions...and yes while they may have originally intended to come up with answers to it all...they learned along the way that LOST does not work when it's in 100% answer mode. I agree...maybe they could have balanced out the science vs. faith crowd in the end....And I think they tried to with connecting this LIGHT to the Electro-Magnetic presence on the Island. But it was definitely a FAITH-based finish to the show. I still will consider LOST one of the all-time greats...and my personal favorite...based on my 6 year experience with the show alone....which I think my 6 year experience will live on for many years to come. But I totally understand why/how some people can feel cheated at the end.

As for Six Feet Under....I never was a regular viewer but I DID watch the finale and it was really cool how they did it. And you know what? When it's all said and done..I would say that LOST's finale and Six Feet Under's finale were very similar in nature! That's all I'll say in case you decide to watch it. I would never know if they tied up plot points or anything like that, since I didn't watch the whole show. But the ending was awesome.

That's all I have for you right now! I don't think my comments will really help you in your therapy necessities, but it's how I feel!

(go flyers!!)

Weasel said...

Glad to hear that we will get the extra footage on the season 6 set rather than having to get it from the box set.

***** Sports talk *****
Well put Glenn! Hawks deserve the win this year, especially after getting so close last year. Go Cubs (even though they suck this year). Can you believe my wife is a Cards fan? I did, however, convert one of her boys to the Cubs :). Bears are my number one favorite Chicago team though (nice to have Chris Harris back btw)... I go to training camp EVERY year. I haven't watched the Bulls more than a couple dozen games/year since the Jordan/Pippin(Armstrong/Grant/Etc) years. Just not as entertaining, but I'm still a fan. And I do like the White Sox as long as they are not playing the Cubs :)
**** End Sports Talk ****

Weasel said...

Oh, and yeah Mike, how can you start talking about other sports droughts when this is the Stanley cup? This is about hockey! You think we should feel sorry for you because of your other teams :P (By the way the Hawks are 7-3 on the road for the playoffs this year)

Mike V. said...

@Glenn (regarding sports lol) - Yeah, I ignored the CUBS thing...that's just not fair! lol Didn't the White Sox at least win? It's not really fair that your city has 2 major league teams either now is it? Granted, I'm sure if you're a cubs fan you're a SOX hater. Well let me tell you how old I am and then we'll talk about the last time I've seen a Stanley Cup Victory Parade in our city. I'm 31 years old! yep..that's right...so NEVER! So you can have your 49 year drought...I still have never seen the Flyers win a cup! LOL Like I said...both teams deserve it...yes maybe the Hawks and Chicago need one more right now...but that won't stop me from rooting the ORANGE AND BLACK to hoist the CUP!!! (BTW....seeing Jordan in a Blackhawks jersey almost made me throw up! LOL)

Ahhh....i was typing as I was reading...now I see that you DO root for both Chicago baseball teams....that's ridonk! LOL Your chances of winning the world series improve by whatever stat you want to throw at me!

Yes, Chicago is a longer suffering city....but Philly definitely had the longer championship drought of the 2 cities (for all 4 major sports) Of course, I can only say HAD since we finally had our Phillies Parade in 2008...and I'm so glad it was them that did it. I can't stand the EAGLES! ...(well, the eagles are fine...it's the fans that drive me crazy lol)

I can't top you on your 208 year wait but I can still root for 2 more Flyers wins and a parade down Broad Street! (thanks for the LOST blogging props btw lol)

@MJ - I heard many people hated how BSG ended. Maybe i'll have a different experience since I'll be watching it all back to back. No problem on the event trailers!! I'll probably catch up on Justified one day to LOL

Mike V. said...

@Weasel, hey Glenn brought up the CUBS first! LOL And I still say a 34 year drought vs. a 49 year drought are both pretty significant!

Glenn R. said...

Mike, I appreciate your response, with one exception. You stated:

"LOST does not work when it's in 100% answer mode."

Well, I don't think that Lost ever was in 100% answer mode. And I'm definitely not suggesting that Lost should ever have been in "100% answer mode."

As my Blaise Pascal quote suggested (Two extravagances: To exclude reason, to include only reason), my view is that the OPTIMAL show would be one in which the show is honoring both, equally -- call it our left-brain and our right-brain. And I'd venture to guess that the stories we would all probably call our all-time favorites had BOTH strong and incredible character arcs and storylines, AND amazing and cohesive plot.

I'm open to be corrected on that. If someone can name their all-time favorite story that did not have both in spades, I'd love to hear it.

And btw, I have started to watch Six Feet Under. Only problem is that my gf and I are watching together, and she happens to live 90 miles away right now. So it's slow-going. :-( She is the one of the people who told me that it was closed out better than any show she's seen - on both the character and emotional level, and on the "wrapping up a myriad of plotpoints in a cohesive, believable way.

Maybe I'll get to the ending at the rate we are going by the end of the year! 8-|

Glenn R. said...

Oh, and just to be clear. I root for all things Chicago, and all things Seattle secondarily (with one exception). But in the pecking order in baseball, I am most definitely a Cub fan. That does not mean however, just like Weasel, that I will not root FOR the Sox when they are not up against the Cubbies! I've never understood that intense sports hatred thing.

And Weasel, btw, condolences to you on having to share a bed with a Cardinal fan! She must have a whole lot of other redeeming qualities to make up for that fandom of hers. :-)

Glenn R. said...

Hey, check it out... Amazon just started a Lost music promotion. You can download 72 songs that have been used on Lost at one time or another, and they are not from any of the Giacchino soundtracks.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_226369822_3?ie=UTF8&docId=1000487361&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=right-2&pf_rd_r=0HTTH9HG2VRKNMPBGXWH&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1264254342&pf_rd_i=163856011

If that insanely long link doesn't work, just go to the amazon mp3 main page and look near the top of the right column for the Lost logo.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/163856011

Mike V. said...

Ugh, after looking at all of those songs I just thought of so many more recommendations for Candidate's radio show LOL The first one I looked for when checking it out was Billy Joel's "Easy Money"...because...well I'm a big Billy Fan, and I remember that being in Everybody Hates Hugo in season 2 LOL

But Mama Cass "Make Your Own Kind of Music"....I can never hear that song without thinking of the Season 2 Premiere and Desmond!

I'll get to the rest of the stuff in a bit. Thanks for the link Glenn!

Mike V. said...

Glenn,

You're right, LOST was not ever in 100% answer mode. I maybe misstated by saying it doesn't work so factually. I guess my point was that it's always been about the questions...trying to switch gears and make it about the answers could have changed the look and feel of the show that we knew and loved in the final season. (or final 3 seasons for that matter once the end date was set)....

I will argue that my favorite episodes are THE CONSTANT and Through the Looking Glass (I loved the END, but I'll keep it out of the picture for now)
What did I love MOST about these episodes? The Constant: Yes, the Time travel and Back to the Future call-backs were fantastic....but I was mostly caring about the life/death stakes for Desmond and his desire to find Penny! Yes, the tidbits of the Black Rock and the Electromagnetism and Radiation helped fuel discussions for what happened to Desmond but in the end....the episode WORKED because we believed in Desmond's dilemma. Yes, at the time I wanted to know why his consciousness was jumping through time. And I guess looking back, we kind of got the answer. He was exposed to Electromagnetism/possibly radiation from jughead when he blew that hatch....this made the RULES not applicable to him...and he just became a cool character to do cool stories with lol I remember there being lots of discussion on this blog that got into the inner workings of physics and time travel and people trying to figure out what's going on. Do you know what my reaction was? I DON'T CARE I just loved the story! I didn't know then how they could ever answer this stuff to a mainstream audience without totally losing the audience. Same with season 5 as a whole...i never thought they'd ever delve into the Time Travel realm because they'd end up confusing the audience or messing up some continuity....but they figured out a way to keep the audience engaged...even if it was keeping Sawyer's shirt off or Hurley representing the audience.

When I look at Season 5 and Season 6 as them letting their GEEK FLAG FLY (s5) and letting their SPIRITUAL FLAG FLY (s6) I can pretty much accept what they did. Science: Season 5, Faith: Season 6 Did one win in the end? Well the show leaned towards Faith/Spirituality in the end....but the Science aspect was still there. But what was the one constant from season 1-6? The Characters. We always cared about the characters. Well, I did.

Through the Looking Glass....the main DRIVING mystery of that episode was unveiled in the final 3 minutes (but represented in the entire Jack flash forward) when we realized this show was not about getting off of the island...it was about their destiny and something to do ON the island. yes, Locke had hinted at it in season 1... Jack was a broken man...the man that wanted to get off the island more than anyone....and now all he wanted was to go back! That is a CHARACTER story. charlie drowns in the name of saving claire and aaron...(and they do survive until the end of the story)....that is CHARACTER! Yes, it was based on Desmond's flashes of the future....but we explained above...COOL CHARACTER DEVICE for storytelling.

Mike V. said...

THE PILOT is another example...the episode that set up the entire show. Show me the mythology in that episode that was never explained! Yes, we never really explained how people survived that crash with barely any scratches on them.....but we did learn that Jacob's touch made these people somehow connected to the Island and had some immunity to dying. Now Michael's inability to kill himself...i forget if he was on Jacob's cave or not. but we'll just assume he was at one time. But killing Ana Lucia and Libby wiped his Island clean Slate away and he became a trapped spirit somehow. But we learned why the plane crashed, we learned where the polar bear came from, we learned what the monster was (not the genetic or scientific compontents) but we learned all of it. we learned why the radio transmission was playing for 16 years....and why it was the only signal able to be transmitted.

I'm really not sure what my point is here. I guess I just feel that they did honor both....but in the end...each individual viewer had different expectations to what level the questions should be answered.

Yes, we all can agree there are lingering questions out there that they most likely were planning to address and just never did. But there are others out there that the writers never planned on answering and this was just a culprit of a show based on mystery. suddenly things that were never meant to be mysteries were all of a sudden a source of huge debate.

The REST? Yes, they didn't budget enough time to tell the stories they wanted to, or the story went in a different direction where they couldn't find their way back to answering certain questions.....and yes...some they may have just avoided answering.

I would love to have my shot at telling a story like LOST, to be in their shoes and trying to figure out a way to END it...so that I can know what decisions they had to make on a daily basis. We can sit here and judge, but in the end...they were the ones that had to do it! And, I loved the end product...so I guess I just don't want to complain too much!

The Star Wars Prequels? I defended them to death for a little while...but now I'm a few years removed and am fully able to bash them and how ridiculous they mostly were. I hope LOST doesn't end up that way for me! LOL

Mike V. said...

As for SPORTS, I will not judge how anyone decides to root for teams!

For Philly Sports, I am a Phillies and Flyers fan to the bone. always have been. At one time during and for 5 years after college I bled Orange and Black. I never missed a game. Then the strike happened....and guess what ironically started? LOST!!! I started to bleed the ISLAND and the Flyers took a backseat. I've still followed the Flyers but not with the same intensity. Probably has to do with getting older too, but whatever!

NFL - I'll follow the eagles and root for them, but I cannot say I'm a hardcore fan. I grew up rooting for the 49ers and still love them. Yeah, I was a bandwagon kid in my day...but one thing I can be proud of is the fact that I have stuck with the Niners in this decade of CRAP! lol (minus the Mariuchi/Garcia/Owens era and all the drama that came with that) But I'm mainly just a fan of the NFL...I'll root for my fantasy football team over any actual team if I must! LOL Hate those darn Cowboys though.

NBA - HATE IT, last time I seriously watched a game was the Sixers/Lakes Final back in 2001 lol

That's all I have!

Glenn R. said...

Jorge tells more about what will be in the extra footage coming out in August. Also, his feelings about the finale:

http://bit.ly/a5HmNn

Glenn R. said...

Also, this is pretty funny: An update on what all the Lost actors are doing next, as of this week...

http://bit.ly/aKW9Fw

Mike V. said...

Thanks for the links Glenn! I saw the first one with Jorge and tweeted it too yesterday. Ugh, sounds again like the epilogue is only on the Complete Series DVD/Blu-Ray. Of course, we all know it will be online a day or 2 after release! lol And, I'll be sure to post them on the blog or at least a link to them.

I think there will be lots of stuff on the season 6 stand-alone discs as well.

The 2nd link was pretty funny...some a little funnier than others. But I agree with the first comment on that site..."good attempt" LOL Kimmel did something similar at the end of Aloha to LOST and it was a good time as well! Which reminds me....that LOST Unnecessary Censorship thing that aired the Friday before the finale on Kimmel still has me rolling!

Kimmel - Unnecessary Censorship LOST Edition

Mike V. said...

oh right...and LET'S GO FLYERS!!!!!

Weasel said...

Hawks will be the Stanley Cup Champions tonight!!!

Candidate said...

Sorry for my delayed responses.
Lost Radio Show. I was thinking of Easy Money as well. Billy Joel totally rocks and I'm pretty sure the song was featured on Everyone Loves Hugo ep. The radio show will continue on a basis of when we can do it. We have a third installment which has aired on FM but not on a webstream basis. This will probably be available for downloading sometime this weekend.


BSG I LOVED the ending but again some fans hated the ending. My reaction was like a raised fist in the air and me shouting "&%*^ YEAH!!!"

Watched the series finale of Justified last night. This was only the second ep that I have seen. It's pretty good but I'm kind of failing to see the point of the story other than just some fine acting.

cant wait to check out the new links that have been posted. I'll have to check in later tonite.

Mike V. said...

@Weasel, given the choice wouldn't you want to win the Stanley Cup in your home town? lol you should be rooting for the Flyers tonight. And of course, since we have no choice we're fine winning game 7 on the road!!

@Candidate - It's definitely the "Everbody HATES Hugo" ep in season 2. I don't think they played it again in the season 6 episode of similar name lol Cool on the 3rd installment of the radio show.

LOL on the BSG ending. I guess I'll find out soon enough how I feel. My wife and I prioritized our Summer "CATCH UP" shows. BSG #1 and THE WIRE #2 (Breaking Bad is a close #3) It's gonna be legendary!! At least with BSG I can watch the season 1 finale and move right on to season 2 so we already are on our way!

Of course tonight is FLYERS BABY!!!

Justified fell pretty low on our LIST of shows...so we'll see when we get there! lol My wife is gonna make me watch The Good Wife and Parenthood before the Fall 2nd seasons start too...so we'll see what happens!

Comments slowing down here....kinda upsetting...but expected! Glad some peeps are still checking in! Maybe in July, I'll try to post something new (have a busy month up ahead)....and then In August we'll have the DVD/Blu-Ray stuff to dispute!

Anonymous said...

Post Finale Poster (PFP)


Close Encounter with a Lostie Kind

Hey Mike, Top flite job as always. My parents own a nice and secluded home in Oahu that they rent out. A few months ago, my mother calls me to say how distraught she was that the renters of their home were leaving after several years. Since I was in Hawaii at the time, she asked me to go pay a visit to the renter to persuade them to stay. (my parents are very,very old school). They gave me a name and so I called the renter to set up a meeting. When I rang the bell, a Lostie answered the door. Remaining calm and feigning ignorance as to the persons identity, I entered the home and sat down for a chat. I explained to the Lostie on how my parents loved them as tenants and if there was anything we can do to make them stay. The Lostie then explained that he/she was an actor/actress and that their gig had come to an end. Anyhow, I was invited to stay for lunch. While 99.9% of the conversation was non-Lost related, the Lostie did say that many people associated with the Lost production suffered from severe “rock fever” – necessitating casting , script changes, and numerous other complications. While I would have loved to ask so many questions of the Lostie, I thought it was improper for me to do so. Anyhow, we exchanged contact info and said our goodbyes.

Rock Fever – An intense desire to get off an island after an extended stay.

Mike V. said...

PFP - Thanks! And that is awesome that you met one of the LOSTIES in Hawaii! But I must say..totally uncool that you aren't going to share who it was! LOL

However, I do know that Jorge and his girlfriend Beth just packed up and moved in the past couple of weeks. And their poor dog Nunu got run over by a car not long after they were back in Los Angeles. :-( So sad.

Thanks for sharing the story regardless of how anonymous it is! LOL

Mike V. said...

Just passing on the word...Kristin from E! tweeted that she saw THE EVENT (pilot) and LOVED IT. She said she is totally gonna get sucked in.

Definitely sounds promising!!

David Salako said...

Hopefully the NBC execs will allow "The Event" to flourish and not try to suffocate what looks like a seriously procedural drama show. We know how much they - the execs - love procedural shows that require a loyal audience following...
I fear that this show may be better served on Cable TV but NBC may surprise us yet!
I am looking forward to it.

Glenn R. said...

No worries, Mike... we'll be happy to carry the cup home and have our celebration in a couple of days.

I do appreciate your concern though. You've always been a standup guy!

Here's to hoping we have a great game tonight! Personally my guess is that tonight will be the first game in the whole series where both teams might just bring their complete A-games. Wow, if that is the case, it could be an epic night of hockey, baby! Can't wait!

Watch out for Toews tonight... who received the "Best Offensive Player" in the Olympics a few months ago. I think he will shine!

Glenn R. said...

Wow, from Chicago's point of view -- what a game! Can't tell you how happy I am to have the Blackhawks streak ended after 49 years. It was exhilarating! Congratulations to the Blackhawks!

And, having said that, I do feel for you and your fellow Flyers fans, Mike. Your time will definitely come. The Flyers put up a heckuva fight and are clearly a team to be reckoned with for years to come. By far, they were the toughest test the Blackhawks faced in the playoffs. I have a feeling the Chicago-Philly Stanley matchup may just happen again, sooner than we think.

Glenn R. said...

Hey, a long brand-new Lost analysis roundtable that is interesting to read (especially with the increasing dearth of new Lost material out there for my still lost-hungry psyche). It's interesting to see what people think about the show in retrospect.

Only thing is, it's a very male panel...

http://www.411mania.com/movies/columns/141409/Get-LOST-6.09.10:-411-Staff-Roundtable-

Mike V. said...

@David - I think THE EVENT has the look of a SERIAL show, but I think I get what you're saying. NBC might push them to turn it into a more procedural show....a la a hybrid like Fringe or The X-Files. (Although, I think Fringe's mythology is slowly winning out!) Everyone wants to capture that audience that remained loyal to LOST for 6 years.....so if they are looking for that, then they'll want to try and adopt a similar formula. Tough to replicate success on that level though. We'll see!

@Glenn - Hope you enjoyed the loud roar of BOOs last night! LOL j/k What a game!!! The Flyers put up a great fight right to the end. The Blackhawks were clearly the better team this year, but man that Flyers team had heart! What a run in a season that they weren't even supposed to make the playoffs. Speaking of BOOs, my favorite part was when they booed Gary Bettman! LOL That is fantastic. But I think he gets booed everywhere. Not sure how I would have reacted to the Blackhawks hoisting the cup in Philadelphia if I was there. I think I would have had to pay some respect to the almighty CUP being in our house...even if it wasn't being delivered to our team. Although, I feel that Chicago fans would have booed the Flyers hoisting the cup after a game 7 too.

Anyway, good call on Toews and congratulations on a well earned CUP win after a long drought! I, too, would be happy to see these 2 face each other again in the cup. It was an awesome 6 games!

I read some of the roundtable, lots of great discussion! Thanks for sharing. I'll try to read a bit more later.

Anonymous said...

Post Finale Poster (PFP)

Hey Mike,

Now you know I can’t divulge the Losties name – landlord/renter confidentiality, ha ha!!!!!. Anyhow, I read one of your recent posts where you ranked the seasons, so I’ll put my two cents in. Season 3 is my favorite, sure it started off really slow (lots of fast forwarding), but man, it really picked up as the season progressed with some truly fantastic episodes. Conversely, Season 6 ranks at the bottom when compared to the other seasons. I think my problem with Season 6 is the fact that it is the only season of Lost that I have watched on TV. The show is soooo much more enjoyable to watch on DVD. The one thing I will say about Season 6 is that it makes watching the previous seasons of Lost more enjoyable. When you are a “awakened viewer” you watch the episodes with a totally different perspective

Candidate said...

@ MJ
I'm with you on The Sopranos finale. I totally hated The Sopranos ending and still do. I think it was the biggest cop-out in media history especially w/ all the hype. I think the building should have blown-up or something like that.

Candidate said...

@ Florin
sorry for the delayed response.
On comics and story outline. So I've been encouraging artistly inclined Lost fans (off and on this blog) to create Fan Fiction. Yes I've seen your work and know the style isn't Marvel but more of a classic style. I just think it would be so great to see some Walt comic strips done by you but if you don't have time to do it that's very easy for me to understand. We all have to work or unfortunately for some Find Work. Most Fan Fictions or art of any kind wind up being unpaid and volunteer work.

The outline on the Egyptians is a great one and absolutely in the style of Lost as far as "It always ends the same." So now it needs a few main characters who love,hate,decieve,discover their destiny,succeed,fail,make mistakes,correct mistakes,forgive each other and work together but ultimately are either destroyed or ammicably leave the island. This crew of egyptians now needs names...

to be continued??? maybe

Candidate said...

@ Mike thanks for the course correction on when Easy Money was featured. Yeah I will keep you posted on the download. We may have to wait one more week to post it but I will spoil it a little and say that there is an epic explosion. I had to tell ya just because we all know how much you like explosions.

Floreen said...

@Candidate - No problem with the delay. Yeah, that’s the problem with those of us aspiring artists who either are looking for work or have published some but didn’t got syndication, we wind up doing pro-bono work and nothing more. That’s not enough to pay bills and no matter haw hard it is we have to stop doing it because we can’t afford to keep it going.

I could start work on a such topic doing research, making plot and story lines then doing the drawing and coloring. I could get a few good artists to help with what they do best if things are out of my area of expertise but what would be the point if we don’t get paid?

No show like Lost would’ve been made if nobody would have been paid for.

Floreen said...

@Mike V - I get you with the cable and the monopolies. That’s one reason I am not having those services. The charges are too high, the gimmicks and the most important factor I always had in mind: Why buy it if I’ll have to work more hours to afford it and then discover that I don’t have the Time to watch it.

With the Egyptians just for one example, I agree, it would not have fit in the Ending Play. One episode like Ab Aeterno could have been, emphasis on it ‘could’, a nice touch and a sort of more mystery maker in terms of for how long this island has been, who could’ve been the Protector of the island before Mother Eve etc.

I would think that any make along the Lost franchise, would have to include the original producers in the process at least at the beginning or in screening the scripts to ensure that the canon is upheld, continuity and congruity with the original is maintained.

Mike V. said...

@PFP - well technically it's your parents that are the renters and you post as anonymous here so it could never be traced back to you!! LOL But I get it! I sure did love season 3 so I can't argue with you there. I can't believe how many people just look back on it with such hate. Even the silly episodes like Tricia Tanaka is Dead were fantastic....Sawyer, Charlie, Jin and Hurley working on a Van and calling Roger Workman Skeletor, teaching Jin English??? come on...that stuff is classic! LOL Anyway.....I hear you on DVD watching. It's great to watch LOST back to back. As for it making it more enjoyable? Well I'm 50/50 on that. I have loved the experience of watching one episode and then theorizing on what it all means and how it fits into the big picture. I have loved the summers of thinking about what the cliffhangers meant and what the next season would look like. But when rewatching...I love the experience of watching it all straight through.

Speaking of which...I'm watching BSG for the first time....(finally finished season 1 and started Season 2!) It's great knowing that I can watch the entire series and will never have to wait for more episodes to be produced and to air. I'm on my own schedule! BTW....the end of season 1 was fantastic and the start of season 2 was great too! Can't wait to watch more. I just hope my wife can get on board with it. I think I caught her napping a little during the season 2 premiere. lol

@Candidate/MJ - I had 2 reactions to the Sopranos Finale....hated it for the 5 minutes after the episode when I realized it was intentional. But then thinking more about it...I loved it!! Yes, it was a big cop-out...but at the same time...it's something that I always joked about doing if I ever made my own movie. You know...just to have things moving towards some big resolution and then just run the credits before even ending the movie. Of course, if I did it I probably would have been making a comedy so it would be taken that way. Sure, it would be a box office flop but it would sure crack me up! So, anyway, my point? David Chase created a great 6 season show (some could argue it should have been 2 seasons less and season 4 should have never happened. I might be in that group lol)...and there was so much hype for that finale...he decided to do something crazy. And guess what, we're all still talking about it! Another case when it's about the journey and not the destination. And yeah...it was the ultimate setup for a Sopranos Movie if he ever wanted to do one lol (which he claims he never would). So...years later...I think I have a Love/Hate relationship with those final minutes of that episode. The greatest part is...the rest of the episode really is hard to remember. Didn't AJ blow up a car or something? lol

Gotta go to a meeting...I'll do more comments later.

David Salako said...

I envy you Mike V., having BSG episodes to look forward to. BSG and Lost were two shows that my wife and I looked forward to watching every week and were definitely entertainment and thought provoking TV series highlights at the start of this new millennium.
Make sure you watch the "straight to DVD" BSG as well such as "Razor" and "The Plan" at the appropriate points when they were released in tandem with the main series.
I miss the enigmatic Cylons and their evolution and back story!

Mike V. said...

still gotta get to other comments...but David...I have RAZOR (borring everything from my Dad lol) but what is this "straight to dvd" thing you speak of? When does that come into play?

David Salako said...

"Razor" was kind of boring and so was "The Plan", however they do have little nuggets of information that add to the mythology of the show as well as viewing the familiar story line from a different perspective.

Mike V. said...

@Candidate - no problem on the "easy money" thing lol And yes, I sure do love explosions! A main reason why I want to see the A-Team this wknd. Well, that, and because I loved the TV show and I think they did a top notch job casting this movie!

@Florin - all good points on crazy cable services. Of course, considering I watch so much TV I probably am getting my money's worth! Maybe not with the premium channels, but there are certain shows I watch on those channels and I wouldn't want to miss them! lol

With the egyptians...the only way they could have tied it into our story was if Richard was part of the Egyptian crew and not the Black Rock crew. They may have been able to tackle it in season 5 with the time travel stuff, but there probably just wasn't enough time. Since it's a character driven drama...all stories pertained the characters that were relevant to the show. I would say the only exception was Across the Sea...but Damon and Carlton would argue that this was the reason they showed Jack, Locke and Kate at the end of the episode discovering Adam and Eve...because this conflict...this story they told was the entire reason of why all of them were on the Island.
I totally agree that if anything was to be made to expand the LOST franchise, I would love it to have Damon and Carlton's blessing. It might not be a realistic expecation though since they'll be moving on to other stuff and ABC owns LOST. Maybe even other writers/producers from the show like Eddie Kitsis/Adam Horowitz...if they gave their blessing I might be cool with it too. It's gonna be really tough to keep the thing going, but definitely worthwhile in figuring out a way to do it!

@David - Yeah, I'm glad I'm finally watching BSG. It really is a top notch show. I always knew it would be but I wanted to start from the beginning and I never had time! Hopefully, I'll be able to keep it up this summer! Thanks for the heads up on the extra movies...still don't know what that "straight to DVD" thing is. But I knew about RAZOR and THE PLAN. And of course, I see that the crazy woman from True Blood and Oceanic (season 4 finale) is on BSG too lol

David Salako said...

Re: "Straight to DVD" - they had all these 3 to 5 minute mini-episodes about Adama and some other characters during the First Cylon War that were on the Sci-Fi website and then released on DVD. I am also counting "Razor", "The Plan" and the "Caprica" pilot among them because they were released on DVD first and then aired on TV in some form.

David Salako said...

BTW - The crazy lady from "True Blood" that played the Oceanic 815 PR person in "Lost" is also well known for her portrayal of Ensign Ro in various Star Trek incarnations. She really did a great job with that character and first appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
My wife and I are thinking of watching the 7 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series on DVD - she has never seen them but when she heard it was the same writers behind the re-imagined BSG series she became very interested. I believe it is the best of all the "new" Star Trek series, by far the darkest and boldest in story telling.
Very similar ending to "Lost" to!

David Salako said...

Meant...the 7 ST:DS9 seasons not series!

Mike V. said...

@David - Thanks for the info on the mini-episodes. Do you know if they're part of one of the season compilations? I have season 2 and 2.5 right now. Maybe one of those has it? I'll check it when I get home. as for Caprica, I saw enough of that pilot I think lol Wasn't very interested. but maybe after I watch all of BSG I will be.

Ironically, I DID watch a lot of Deep Space Nine. I don't think I ever finished watching all of it. But I remember really enjoying it. Ensign Ro sounds familiar too....I'm sure I did see her in the various TNG eps I watched. I was never a full-time watcher of any of the TV shows I don't think. But I have seen a little of each. That's pretty crazy that the BSG crew did Deep Space Nine first!

David Salako said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DS9

Ronald D. Moore, one of the show's - ST:Deep Space [Nine] - main writers (who previously wrote for Star Trek: The Next Generation, and went on to create the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica) praised the show as the "ultimate achievement for the [Star Trek] franchise" in 2002:
I think Deep Space [Nine] was the show that really took Star Trek as far as you could take it. You have the original series which is a sort of a landmark, it changes everything about the way science fiction is presented on television, at least space-based science fiction. Then you have Next Generation which, for all of its legitimate achievements is still a riff on the original. It’s still sort of like, ok, it’s another star ship and it’s another captain – it’s different but it’s still a riff on the original. Here comes Deep Space [Nine] and it just runs the table in a different way. It just says ok, you think you know what Star Trek is, let's put it on a space station, and lets make it darker. Let's make it a continuing story, and lets continually challenge your assumptions about what this American icon means. And I think it was the ultimate achievement for the franchise. Personally, I think it’s the best of all of them, I think it’s an amazing piece of work.

********************************************

I think the BSG mini-episodes are on the BSG final season's DVD.
I'll check.

Glenn R. said...

David, are you referring to the webisodes? If so, you can still access all 9 of them online too, here:

http://video.syfy.com/shows/battlestar/the_resistance

Glenn R. said...

BSG is the only other show I've ever watched on live television in my adult life besides Lost! It also is one of my favorites. And I too am envious that Mike gets to watch it all at his pace without commercials and with a beginner's mind!

I was quite content with the ending, btw!

David Salako said...

@Glenn R. - I had actually forgotten about "The Resistance" webisodes. Thanks for the link. The other webisodes I am talking about had Adama as a young adult and some encounters with Cylons - pre "skin-job" models - during the First Cylon War on the 12 Colonies...I will find them...

Glenn R. said...

David, I'd love that, since I've never seen them myself.

Mike V. said...

@David - Cool stuff about DS9....I have a hard time remembering the details of the show but I do remember enjoying it! And thanks for the references for the mini-episodes for BSG.

Update: I'm through Season 2.0 (my wife gave up lol) ....big cliffhanger with a rift between Pegasus and Galactica....Ready to start 2.5 tonight! We're heading on a trip tomorrow and through the wknd, so I'll have to see if I can rip a few episodes to my phone for the flight! lol I'm conflicted though...I already have Lost's THE END sitting on my phone and waiting for me to watch again! LOL

I tweeted my biggest pet peeve of BSG...the damn opening credits! Why on earth to they "PRE-CAP" the episode during the credits!? This might be cool on a rewatch but right now, I'm averting my eyes...fast forwarding without looking...but still catching stuff. Who's brilliant idea was this!? lol

Okay, done for now. It's sad that we're not discussing LOST anymore! :-( I guess we're all patiently waiting for the 8/24 Blu-ray release. I think I may have convinced my brother to buy the complete set on blu-ray...so I can steal that Epilogue disc from him for a bit! lol

On my season 6 rewatch, I just finished Happily Ever After....so much crazier to watch this episode knowing what Sideways is all about. And how Desmond "woke up" in Sideways land. And how Charlie walked through that traffic without a care in the world. Yeah...he hadn't woken up officially yet...but I don't think there was ever any danger of those cars hitting him! lol Oh and the conversation with Eloise Hawking takes on a whole new meaning too. Good times!

Floreen said...

@Mike V - So, any new revelations or epiphanies out of the re-watching?

Please share, we love deep blue thinking.

Mike V. said...

@Florin - None that I can really think of that I haven't already stated. It's just "enlightening" to watch the sideways timeline now that we know what it's all about. You look at things a little differently now that we're not trying to see how it relates to THE INCIDENT and all of that crazy stuff. And you view the Island timeline as MORE ESSENTIAL because we know that it is the only true timeline that has living versions of our LOSTIES.

There are little lines here and there in Sideways that resonate and let us know that they they didn't just impulsely make this decision near the end of the season. It was in the cards since at least the beginning of season 6 (i still say they had it planned out longer. And it ties into all of the Ghostly visions that our LOSTIES - mainly Hurley - have been having) But no...no big revelations. I need to rewatch from the beginning of season 1 to see what starts standing out. But I at least wanted to do season 6 first!

Weasel said...

Finally getting back on here for the first time since CHICAGO BROUGHT HOME THE CUP!!! Was an awesome game, though.

Saw the new Prince of Persia movie last night! It was a pretty good movie.

Mike V. said...

Nice Weasel (not on the first comment...but yeah..it was a good game! crazy ending though) lol

I didn't see Prince of Persia, but I will admit I'm somewhat interested.

I DID see the A-Team though! THAT was a good time!! I was even inspired to go back and watch the first episode of the TV Show streaming on Netflix. Crazy how much they actually stuck to the concept lol But yeah, the show is just comical now if you try to watch it. but I love me some nostalgia!

Floreen said...

@Mike V - Okay the bad news first. My Google Gravatar website messed up my avatar, it was supposed to be a Egyptian gliph of my name. Now I have like 3 or 4 of them, and I discover today that my picture is missing, replaced by the smiley Google face. Then I logged in and my browser crushed.

I hope Google doesn't become a yahoo service. And although time consuming, I'll do my own avawork on my Adobe Photoshop.

The good news is that you have watched the show for the fun I'll assume mainly and that's good.
It is true though that second time around it does turn out to be a better experience.

I do wonder tough as per Weasel, how are we going to look upon Lost twenty years from now?

Glenn R. said...

Some people still don't get the Lost ending... Here Michael Emerson summarizes the ending for someone in 30 seconds as he gets into a car...

http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=8e73f7f5-9cb2-4435-8bf2-b534423a1778


Man, is that the new reality that celebs have to deal with these days? Having handheld video cameras stuck in their faces by schmucks who hold it up to their face without permission in random public locations. And all of it just seconds away from being posted and visible across the known world if they make the slightest miscue, or are slightly rude. Damn. Glad I'm not a celeb!

Mike V. said...

@Florin -sorry about your avatar probs...hopefully you get that all fixed! Anyway, I watched the show for fun and for the analytical part of it...obviously...I DID have a blog dedicated to the show after all! LOL But when rewatching it, I'm doing less analyzing and just enjoying the show for the great television that it is!

@Glenn - Thanks for the link. I still can't believe people can't grasp the finale! Oh well, at this point...people have made up their minds whether to like it or hate it....whether to love the entire show...or that the ending killed the show. I, for one, do not regret a single minute of watching it. It was a great run! And I look forward to doing it all over again! and again



and again


and....you get the idea!

(trying to rip some BSG to my computer and get onto my phone for the trip...in the end, probably would've been easier to just purchase a couple eps in itunes lol

MJ said...

Hey Mike - think this gives the correct BSG ordering for you

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Battlestar_Galactica_(2004_TV_series)_episodes

I started BSG and dumped it at first but my husband kept watching. Then I saw a few later on and was like damn this got good and caught up and watched with him.

I've been re-watching Babylon 5. It does seem a teeny bit dated now - but was the very first show with the 5 year plan - and they got their 5 years in. Almost got canceled twice but they hung in.

The first season reminds me of the orig star trek with the story of the week and learn about our own morals with alien stories - but on rewatch you see the seeds of their mythology being sewn and by end of season 1 it's on ! LOL Now that I';m in season 4 I am remembering just how much I loved that show.

Mike V. said...

Thanks MJ! Funny that the same thing is happening with my wife. She has dumped it...but I'm loving it! I may be too far ahead of her to catch up now, but we'll see! lol I did end up getting 4 episodes on my iphone for my flights. 4 BSG eps, LOST "The End", Dark Knight and Star Trek (JJ Movie)....I should be all set! lol

Cool about Babylon 5, I never really watched that one, I'm sure it's not very high on our list of things to watch either. But maybe one day! :-)

Anyone watch the Season 3 premiere of True Blood? It was good stuff! no crazy Menads roaming around...but we do have another LOST alum this season. It's Captain Gaunt (or however it was spelled) from the Freighter! lol I think he's a werewolf but we did not confirm it for sure yet. Crazy, silly, graphic show....ahhh good times!

David Salako said...

Saw the "True Blood" season 3 premiere - "Captain Gaunt's" accent - a cross between Australian, which he is and psuedo-Mississippi/Louisiana drawl - is funny!
There was a lot of graphicness as usual, this will be my final season if things don't improve with some of the character arcs on the show.

Mike V. said...

I gotta be honest. True blood is just a guilty pleasure show for me. It does have potential to be more than that but I enjoy it for what it is. I would give the season a chance to flush out and maybe you'll get your character arcs. We are getting a dive into sam's life a bit. But as long as jason stackhouse keeps delivering great one liners. (and the cop dude. Forgot his name for a sec). I'm good! Lol gaunt's accent is a good time!

So I just noticed that the lost finale recap was my 108th post on the blog. How crazy is that?? Lol

Ok time for my trip and to continue my bsg plunge! Talk to you all when I can!

LOST.ADDICT said...

i keep checking the page :D guess i can't still believe the fact that there are no more episodes :(( and at the end of the last recap you said that there's gonna be more, so where is it?? IM AN ADDICT AND I NEED SOMETHING :D i just wanna thank you for the great work you've been doing..but we still have to find a way for this not to stop, we have to keep it going :)

Mike V. said...

@Lost Addict - Sorry, I've been super busy this summer. Just got back from a trip out of town. I'm trying to think about what I could possibly post about that would be as relevant as the recaps have been. I do want to post something but definitely not as frequently as I have been. I have needed to relax a bit :-) lol Can you believe it hasn't even been a month since the finale yet? (I know, 2 days away lol)

I definitely am going to post updates in August after the DVD release and the Epilogue. But I'd like to do something in July too. Just gotta figure out what that something would be! :-)

I'm with you...I can't believe it's over and I definitely am not ready to LET GO! There are still people checking in on these comments though and discussing the show (among other things)...so keep checking in!

Mike V. said...

This is pretty cool...I have to find part 1. It was an interview BEFORE the finale but some interesting reveals...especially what might be on the BONUS Disc for season 6 (pregnancy issues, polar bears, walt)

Darlton Interview with Diane Sawyer

Mike V. said...

I clicked on this at the end of part 2...so hopefully the link works lol

Part One

MJ said...

I'm behind on True Blood by 2 eps now. Been away for a bit. Heard it's been pretty good though.

Have taped the new show Persons Unknown but haven't watched them yet either. LOL

Mike V. said...

I've been enjoying True Blood...I think David will enjoy this past episode for flushing out some Vampire mythology lol It was good stuff. And still enough comedy from the Jason/Andy duo for more good times!

BTW...i watched like 6 episodes of BSG on my vacation...any wireless connection I could find, I was downloading more to my phone. i'm hooked! Just got to the big hostage situation on Cloud 9 with Dana Delaney as a guest star. Rough ending to the episode...I won't spoil for anyone watching from the beginning like me. But wow...this show is awesome!!

AUStarwars said...

Mike,

I have the first four seasons of BSG and Razor, and unfortunately The Plan, if you need them at any point..

Dont worry...after the 1/2 way point of season 4, you'll be disappointed ;-), another show that wrote themselves into a corner with a big mythology section they just glanced over and didnt end it well..sound familiar ;-)

Mike V. said...

I'm hearing mixed things about the BSG finale...some loved...some hated. But considering how you and I felt differently about the LOST finale...i'll probably love BSG!

Plus, I'm not spending hours and hours pondering about each episode of BSG like I did LOST...so some of these topics that I think should reach conclusion by the end may not be much of a concern to me. But we'll see I guess!

Thanks for the offer on the DVDs. My Dad has lent me seasons 1-3 so far, so I should be good for a bit. (also Razor)...i'll need the first half of season 4...and then i'll probably get the 2nd half on blu since it's available through netflix! LOL

Anonymous said...

I wanted to make 2 comments...1st is, way back at the 1st or 2nd season of LOST I remember reading a comment by the writers that they had/knew the ending but knew that not everybody was going to like it. Mission accomplished! lol
And 2nd, while I haven't watched THE END again, did anyone notice Flocke's hands starting to bleed on the rope while Desmond was being lowered down to the light? I thought that was interesting. His mortality was already starting to wane?
I know it's been like a month already after the grande finale but hope there's still some interest in comments. :) ~b

Mike V. said...

@anonymous - I'm always interested in LOST comments! It sounds like the producer's message about what they have known since the beginning has changed over the years. Their final stance on it was that they knew what the FINAL SHOT of LOST was going to be since near the beginning. Granted, that's really not a big leap, because "I KNEW" what the final shot of LOST was going to be for awhile too. Well, it was more that I hoped it would be Jack's eye closing and was satisfied immensly when it was! But HOW they got to that point of Jack dying a heroic death is what may have changed. I don't remember them necessarily saying that not everyone would like the ending, but it's definitely a fair assumption with a show like this. It's tough to please everyone when you start dishing out answers (or not enough answers as many of the complainers have stated...or not answers to the quality of their liking ...yikes....those producers had a tough job ahead of them!)

I did not notice Flocke's hand bleeding at that point you mentioned...I'll have to check it again. But my opinion would be that he became "MORTAL" when the hole was "unplugged" and the light and water stopped.

Anonymous said...

I thought so too but it made me wonder, since he couldn't be stopped with bullets or a knife...but rope would make him bleed?! lol
And as I was writing this, I don't recall Jack's hands bleeding. hmmmm.....
Please let me know if you get a chance to check that out. And I will do the same if I get to it before you
by the way...have to send more props to you for your awesome blog. I always looked forward to your recap and all the comments. Sometimes it made me look pretty savvy around the water cooler during our LOST discussions at work lol!
~b

Mike V. said...

@B - I checked it out...I don't see any noticeable signs of blood on Flocke's hands. But, I'm looking on my computer, so maybe I couldn't see very clearly lol

Thanks for the huge props on the blog...I'm glad the discussion here could help you out in watercooler discussions! I had so much fun doing this blog and discussing with everyone. Hopefully, I'll be inspired to write some more before the DVD release in august. Just have to think about it some more! :-)

Mike V. said...

hey guys, just wanted to let you know I read a confirmation today that the Ben and Hurley epilogue will be on both the Season 6 DVD/Blu-Ray and The Complete Series. So we're all good! :-) lol The epilogue will be called "The New Man in Charge" ...makes sense to me! It will also be 11 minutes. So I guess there will be 15 minutes worth of something else then....Considering Darlton talked about Pregnancy on the Island, Dharma Food Drops and Walt....hopefully this is where that will be covered. But, I'd also be fine with a standard Q&A with them where they are straight forward with answers lol

BSG update: Up to the season 2 finale. It's been a crazy ride!

MJ said...

WHile rope being pulled with wieght thru the hands can cause bleeding I don't think it was blood but mud and water from the rope laying in the water while they lowered Des.

Anonymous said...

I watched it last night too and definately there was something streaming on his hands. I also thought the camera seemed to make a deliberate shot of that. Oh well, it doesn't matter too much any more. The muddy water makes sense...but blood would make it more eerie! lol
I look forward to August and the DVD release! I expect to spend some cold winter nights watching the series again.
~b

Mike V. said...

Yeah, there was definitely a close up on both Flocke and Jack's hands, but I just didn't see any blood. I tend to agree...probably mud and water and all kinds of nasty stuff that Hurley eventually drank out of that 3 year old Oceanic Bottle LOL Good times

BTW guys...Happy 1 Month of LOST Mourning! I asked on Twitter so I guess I should ask here too. "Have you 'let go' and 'moved on' yet?" I certainly haven't! Still can't wait to do another rewatch...just trying to decide when to start it. I have to finish season 6's rewatch first lol (and of course i've watched the finale 3 times already)

BSG update: Finished season 2! Good stuff. Now I forget if I'm supposed to watch some mobisodes or dive right into S3! I'll check that wikipedia thing lol I am really enjoying it btw!

Mike V. said...

Totally Lost Final Episode goes up on ew.com tonight at midnight eastern standard time!!!

Glenn R. said...

Hey, it's a definitive look (including pictures) of everything that will be included on the Lost Collection DVD set to be released in August for a nice fat price of $229, or $279 for Blu-Ray!

It includes a Senet board, among other things.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/popcandy/post/2010/06/dvd-preview-what-can-fans-expect-from-lost-the-complete-collection/1

Oh, and by the way -- Congrats to the US Soccer team for their amazing last-minute finish!

Floreen said...

Yeay to the US Football Team, oh Soccer. Who do heck came up with that name, soccer? And where is the rugby

Mike V. said...

Thanks Glenn! I retweeted Pop Candy's article about all of that yesterday and then forgot to post it here too! lol She also saw 1 minute of the epilogue and was itching for more. We get a Where and When...and something about ben with Dharma food of sorts lol Btw..if you look at the amazon links on the bottom of the LOST Blog posting...you'll see you can get the Complete Series on Blu for $194! lol I'm still opting for Season 6 alone....I think I can live without whatever extras are on the complete series disc. As long as the epilogue is on season 6 and it sounds like it will be.

Yes, GO TEAM USA! Landon Donovan working his magic! Amazing goal at the end of the game.

Without further adieu...here is the link to TOTALLY LOST! And it was awesome and surprisingly touching. lol That Michael Giacchino music could probably be put to a tape of paint drying and it would trigger some tears from the viewer! lol
Totally Lost Finale

Enjoy folks!

Anonymous said...

Hello MikeV,
It was great you called the final scene of Jack’s eye closing in the bamboo forest!
I just finished watching Totally LOST Finale on ew.com. Being from Wisconsin, I was pleased Michael Emerson’s favorite line in the series was “You guys have any milk?” I always felt this line was a take-off on the Got Milk? campaign slogan.

I believe LOST fans are the most loyal and connected (by internet blogs, email, and texting) community of fans ever seen! They have provided thought-provoking as well as far-out theories (my own included) on every aspect of the LOST show. They are very open with sharing their likes, dislikes, opinions and views. I have “let go and moved on” from the series. All traditional Hawaiian songs end with the lines ”Let the story be told. This is the end.” I feel this is what the production crew for the LOST series has accomplished. A great story has been told over a six season span of time and it ended well. I am happy.
LOSTFan

Glenn R. said...

Check it out! There was a Miles and Lapidus siting in Washington D.C.! I'm thinking that this is really a virtual-world continuation of the Lost plotline, and that Darlton are secretly giving us clues about what may have happened after the plane left the island!

Maybe you're back in business, Mike! ;-)

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2010/06/hey_isnt_that_lost_actors_jeff.html

Mike V. said...

Thanks LOST Fan! Now, I can't go that far to say that I called Jack's eye closing in the bamboo forest lol Just that his eye would close (most likely resulting in his death)....and I called the musical montage leading up to it going between Flash Sideways and Jack's demise (happiness mixed with sadness causing a barrel of audience emotions lol)

Anyways...yeah the "you guys got any milk?" line was the one that sealed the deal for Michael Emerson becoming a prime player on LOST for years to come. It was awesome! I am definitely happy with how lost wrapped up...but i have yet to "LET GO and MOVE ON" lol I love this world that they created and I fully intend to re-experience it all again..and I can't wait to see what they have in store for us on the final DVD/Blu-ray! But as for being happy with the ending...yes I have let go of any lingering questions I had. Anything that's on the Season 6 discs will just be icing on the cake for me!

@Glenn - I sure hope that was a joke! LOL A pretty funny one at that! But yeah, it's nice to see that the cast are still running into each other off the show. I think Titus Welliver and Mark Pelligrino seem to be pretty chummy too....they've worked on a couple shows together now but it sounds like they want to do more together...stage shows, movies...you name it. Pretty crazy!

BSG Update: 5 episodes into Season 3....still good stuff!

Floreen said...

@Mike V - Yeah you called at lest two good ones, congrats. You're absolutely right also about Ben and the famous line with milk. But I would like to believe that Ben will be famous for the whole ensemble the part gave him throughout the series. And to think that the producers thought of him for only three episodes according to Michael Emerson.

Mike V. said...

LOL thanks Florin.

I wasn't arguing that Michael Emerson won't be known for his entire role as Ben on LOST. It was a very memorable role. But you mentioned the 3 episode stint...what I was saying was that the "milk" line is what sealed the deal and made him a valuable asset to LOST and the flushed out his character...made him officially the leader of the others and made him a series regular cast member the next season. They had hoped it would work out that well, but it was when he delivered that line that they knew they had something special.

Floreen said...

@Mike V - I know you weren't and I agree with you totally.

I was just saying that it would've been a jinx if that would've been the case and a great injustice to Emerson. I say Emerson so we don't confuse him with Michael the character.

The line is and will be an iconic sound/linguistic byte for ever and I guess if that's what sealed his fate to be a regular, how can I argue. IMHO and I don't brag here, but I have never doubted he'll be a regular of some sorts cause I had a good feeling about his performance until the line, so I guess that line was the icing on the cake.

Anyhow, Emersons' performance did not disappointed anyone 'til the very end, me included.

Mike V. said...

Hey guys, thought I'd share this. Not sure if I found it funny or not! I guess some of it was funny but I still LOVED the finale!! Animation was pretty good too.

STARZ Parody: How Lost Should Have Ended

@Florin - I gotcha...we're on the same page!

Floreen said...

@Mike V - Thanks for sharing, the animation good

... and, I don't know, cause, Dude, it was, well, entertaining...
really it is a nice thing to say it at least.

can't think of anything cool said...

Ok Mike V.- I have not posted anything for a while now, maybe as far back as half-way into season 6. But I kinda feel compelled to post now. I have been checking your blog and comments frequently, as well as other ‘Lost’ blogs, trying to absorb something new that I can take from the show. I’ve been trying really hard to keep an open mind on the beloved show that once consumed my life, literally. One of my co-workers asked me about my excitement for the show right before the finale, he said "What are you going to do when it's over?" And I said "I don't know, maybe have a life again."

Anyone who knows me knows that for 5 seasons, I absolutely loved Lost. I was truly fascinated by this show. During season 6, something happened. It wasn’t just the ending, it was the season. I cannot help but feel like the creators have let me down. And I know that there are people that completely LOVED the ending. I, however, and unfortunately am on the other side of almost HATING the ending. And hate is a strong word, but that's how I feel. I have read your thoughts as well as others who loved it. I tried to be on the side of thinking that everyone needed to meet before moving on, and that’s a good thing. And to some degree, it was. I love that Kate & Jack were ‘together’ or whatever, but Sayid & Shannon? The whole entire show, except for the 2 weeks Sayid & Shannon were together, was all about Sayid loving Nadia. He loved Nadia after he left the island, even in his own sideways created ‘life’; HE STILL LOVED NADIA, but ended up with SHANNON in purgatory? It’s like the creators just wanted to bring back Maggie Grace for the wow-factor. What????

I can't stop thinking about it. The Miles, the Eloise, the Widmore, the Desmond, the Walt, the Charlotte, even the Paik, all of these characters had so much more story to tell, yet the creators decided to bring in new characters that we really didn't bond with. Within the first 5 seasons, they built up these much-loved familiar characters with such hope and promise of background stories, yet with the end of season 5 and in the final season, they give us MIB and introduced us to the temple folks (that nobody ever bonded with- on the show or in the fan base), and gave us the weird scientist folks, and through back-story, like what, 1 episode of crazy mom teaching Jacob & MIB to hate. They could have done so much more with their story…And the ‘reveal’ of Adam and Eve, yeah, they pretty much showed they had no idea what the crap they were doing. They just proved the OPPOSITE of their famous, “When you see who Adam & Eve are, you will know we KNEW exactly what we were doing since day one”…Huh?!?

can't think of anything cool said...

And please don't get me started with the "Flash-sideways". What a freakin joke! For all this time, from day one, the creators insisted that the island was not PURGATORY, so they're gonna 'blow our minds' in the finale by giving us a *wait for it*---- PURGATORY! What tha...? Yeah, they got us, huh? For those people saying they LOVED it, that’s good and I’m glad you all can walk away with happy feelings or whatever, but I am not going to hide my anger over a show that had so many promises (literally & figuratively) of answers and excellence, but ended so poorly. I’m not just talking about the ‘food-drop mystery’, the ‘Hurley-talking bird mystery’, the ‘why is Walt so special mystery’ crap. I’m talking about all of it, the original stories that had us wondering ‘why are woman unable to survive pregnancies’, ‘what is Desmond’s destiny, why is the island not finished with him, yet’, ‘what’s up with THE RULES’??? Ugh, this show could have been so much more…

I just felt like I have been quiet about my confusion of the Lost ending for too long. I remained quiet trying to absorb and give the final season the opportunity to sink in and really feel what the lovers of the show have felt, I just can’t get there. If anyone else here can give me any enlightenment or anything that can get me to love it again, I’m open. I just haven’t found it (yet?). And I’ve been looking for over a month now…

Mike V.- You are totally awesome, and I appreciate all you have done for me & the show. I would love to continue to follow you on whatever you decide to take on as your next blogging experience. I tried ‘Flash-Forward’, and followed your blog on it, and if you remember, I lost interest with the direction the show went, and the show eventually lost others interest as well, as it was cancelled. I believe I saw you enjoy ‘Rescue Me’. You could do wonders for it! I love that show too, watched the most awesome premiere of it last night. After I post this, I’m going to look on the internet to see what others are saying about it. Hope to see ya in another life, brutha!

Mike V. said...

@Can't Think - Welcome back! Okay, bear with me, I'm probably going to respond to your comment as I read it! lol I hear you on possibly having a life again after LOST! lol It's been a nice month and change where I haven't had the masses dependant on me getting my blogs updated for all of this shows...LOST most particularly! lol Not that I'm complaining, I loved doing it! And I definitely want to do it again with another show. But a break is always welcome!

I understand your feeling that something may have been missing from season 6 for you. Maybe deep down, I have similar complaints. I can say that I had totally different expectations for where LOST was going, but I still think the story that they told was fabulous. Were there holes? Of course...big ones! But I still liked where they went with it. Do I still have questions? Yep...maybe some will come in the form of DVD/Blu-Ray Q&A, Epilogue and Encyclopedia. Maybe some will never get answered. But it doesn't ruin for me the journey that I was on with everyone for 6 years! The journey was always going to be the most exciting part of this show. Any possible answer they could have come up with to this stuff never could live up to what we had built up in our minds.

Sayid/Shannon - I hear you on that one. Even I never saw them building that up over 6 years that Shannon was his real true love. But, if you go back to season 1 and 2...he really did love her...and he pretty much forgot all about his intent to get to Nadia as he fell for her. I think part of the problem was logistics in getting Shannon into the LA X episode. They may have built up this bond a little more if that was the case. Maybe not. You have to remember...when he told Flocke that the woman he loved DIED in his arms...he COULD have been talking about Shannon. I disagreed at the time...but others corrected me. We actually didn't witness Nadia dying in Sayid's arms...only Shannon. I don't think it was for a wow factor...i think it was their intention. It was all about the bonds they made on that Island that were the most important to them.

Mike V. said...

Totally agree on Eloise, Widmore....they seemed to have more stories to tell. As for Desmond...I think they probably could have closed his story loop at the end of season 4 but the audience loved him! It would have been unacceptable to not have him in the final seasons. But yeah...when they start talking about these RULES not applying to him...i would have loved a whole show dedicated to exploring Desmond and his whole life. I wanted to know why he was dishonorably discharged and all of that stuff. Charlotte? Don't care. Paik? Yeah, I thought Sun's Dad would be more important. Widmore...yeah, there definitely were some plot holes there, but I loved that Ben killed him. I thought that was essential. Eloise...how I would LOVE for them to explain all her knowledge on time travel...no way she got ALL of her information from that journal! (the guy with the red shoes)....but I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Even just the history of Eloise and Widmore and how they got to the Island...why she left (the producers explained that it probably had something to do with her being pregnant with the son that she just killed).....but yeah...tons of story there. I totally understand though that it wasn't the CENTRAL story of the show....it was supporting characters that flushed out our main characters' story. So much Expanded Universe potential for these characters to flush them out in Novels, Spinoff shows (doubtful that would ever happen), movies, video games, cartoons? lol, comics, whatever.... it could happen!

As for the Adam and Eve thing....well...if they knew Smokey used to be a man....(and they did show Smokey taking human form as early as season 2...1 if you want to count Christian Shephard in episode 5...although we didn't know it was smokey at the time)....they may have known that Smokey was going to be Adam. (maybe at least at the end of season 1 when they started flushing this stuff out more) Eve...could have been anyone....a Love interest of MIB (that was where I was going with it from early on this season)....or a mother or whatever.....and that they could have flushed out later. But they could have known from early on that it would be smokey related. Maybe not. It doesn't detract from my enjoyment of the show. I knew there was no way they'd be able to prove they knew what they were doing all along with that answer.

Yeah, did the pull a fast one on us? (or a long con...call it what you want) Yeah a little bit. They claimed to know what they were doing from the beginning. They slowly, over the years, revealed to us that there was a 50/50 truth to that. They had ideas of where they were going, but they had to let the show evolve into what it wanted to be. If certain things weren't working (Nikki/paulo), they had to cut them....if other things were working (BEN LINUS) they had to roll with it.

Flash Sideways: I'm rewatching Season 6 and I think it has actually been an enjoyable experience still for me. Even knowing what Sideways is. Does it all work? Well, no....but there are little hints here and there to show where they were going with it. The reason I loved that it was some kind of LIMBO state? Because it validated that everyone on the Island MATTERED. They beat us over the head with Course Correction and Whatever Happened Happened since season 3...for them to show a RESET world where they actually changed the past? I just didn't like that idea. And I never bought into it. So, it took all season, but we finally got the answer to the season 5 cliffhanger in the final minutes of the series. The ultimate vindication for all of my battles! in season 5 and 6! lol Oh, and I also enjoyed the story too...I thought they did a great job with it.

Mike V. said...

Funny that all of those mysteries you listed under "CRAP" will be on the Special Features of Season 6 DVD/Blu lol Also the Pregnant Women dying will be included as well. I think we got the answer to Desmond not being finished with the island...he had to TURN IT OFF to help kill the Man in Black lol As bizarre and ridiculous as it sounds...you got that answer! lol The Rules...they said they were not going to answer all of the rules specifically...but they answered the fact that Jacob made up these rules. The protector of the Island can make the rules.

could the show have been more? sure....but it closed out with the characters we have grown to love. If we didn't have that...none of those mysteries EVER would have been as compelling as they were. Look at Flash Forward. Hey, I loved that show too...but on a completely different level from LOST. The characters were mostly one dimensional....they spent too much time creating this convoluted conspiracy and less time making us care about the people living in that conspiracy!

Mike V. said...

I'm sorry that you cannot appreciate what they did in the final season. Believe me...I get it! There were all types of fans of this show. I happened to appreciate all aspects equally...so it was going to be pretty tough to disappoint me in the end lol I followed them on blind faith, and I enjoyed it in THE END. Do I wish we explored some of that other stuff you mentioned? YOU BET! But I understand why they couldn't on some of them. Logistics and TIME. It had to fit within the scope of the story they were telling in that episode or that season. They couldn't answer the DHARMA Food Drop in season 5 because the Hatch hadn't been built yet and the incident didn't happen yet. They MAY have been able to answer the women dying when conceiving on the island. There were lots of tidbits here and there....and they even threw something in as recent as season 5 with a baby being born in 1977 (ethan). Sawyer suggested that maybe whatever happened to cause the issue hadn't happened yet. My guess would be then, that the PURGE is what caused it. Why? i have no idea. We'll see on the dvd!

Anyway, I'm rambling. I hope you can take something from my ramblings. But trust me, I hear where you're coming from. I'm equally frustrated about some of what you speak of. But I still understand where Darlton where coming from too. They had an impossible task in front of them. Meeting EVERYONE'S expectations when everyone all had different expectations. And they couldn't answer everything in the time they had left and it wasn't important to the conclusion of the story. There are other avenues they will use to give us more answers....and then after that...I guess it's up to us? or anyone involved with future tales of LOST. We'll see!

Mike V. said...

I appreciate your props on the blog and my awesomeness! I will update this blog and my other blogs if I figure out what I decide to do next. I still think my best option is to either write for Gather or create a site where I can discuss various shows but not be a dedicated blogger for any particular show. Unless one really takes off! I just don't know if I'll have that kind of time. We'll see. I did watch Rescue Me last night and thought it was fabulous...hey we even saw another LIMBO! LOL I don't know if I could find too much to write about with it though. I just love watching it and enjoying the banter between the Ladder 62 boys and the endless Janet/Sheila/Tommy escapades and figuring out if Tommy is ever going to quit that crazy bottle! I'm sure there are undertones to the show that I could dive into and analyze to death...but I just don't want to! lol I just want to sit back and enjoy it. Probably similar things can be said about Mad Men...but I think I would bore myself to sleep if I tried to look into the 60's and try to validate if everything they're doing is accurate and what not lol I'm a Fall-Spring Blogger guy! And I am gonna have to check out the new crop of shows to see if there is anything that catches on. Lots of potentials out there. We'll see!

Thanks again, and I hope to see you in another life as well brutha! Check back definitely at the end of August for a blog update after the DVD/Blu-Ray release. And maybe a post next month if I can find inspiration to write about something. I probably should have just posted this response as a blog post! LOL

AUStarwars said...

http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/05/unanswered-lost-questions-video.html

Sheer Brilliance..I couldnt have put a better list together myself..

Floreen said...

@AUStarwars - Now, don't get us started ;-) We could always find some more...

But good point and well taken.

Floreen said...

@Mike V - I don’t know if you remember our debate on Why didn’t Jacob died when the BR crushed in the statue during the sudden storm and under that huge wave? Now that AUStarwars posted a good link...

... I think that the weather could’ve been manipulated - on a limited basis tough, by Samuel/MiB through his moods.
When he was in a really bad one, he got stark raven mad, the Super Storm gets on, the BR is lifted like a surf board on a top of a 100 feet high wave and is used magically like a ramming battery against the statue so the statue gets destroyed and not the ship.

I guess some magical powers saved Jacob from been killed in the rubbles or from drawning by tons of water. Maybe that’s when he was captured and imprisoned in that cabin?

Glenn R. said...

Carlton was cornered into a short interview a few days ago:

http://www.craveonline.com/entertainment/tv/article/lost-carlton-cuse-leaves-the-island-106067

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