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
LOST Merchandise/Contests:
Twitter:
  • Follow me for blog updates and other LOST related stuff here!  @LOSTAddictsBlog
Please Click to Support: 
  • I took a night job to pay some extra bills writing for http://www.gather.com/.  If you could, please click to view this LOST Recap on Gather to register me a page view.  It will go towards a very small financial contribution for my efforts.  Also, feel free to check out my other articles on the site. 
And of course Check out my other Blogs!


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:

1 – 200 of 717   Newer›   Newest»
hg said...

RECAP is UP!!!!

Anonymous said...

I think the finale sucked, and everyone else should agree with me.

Mike V. said...

I know Holly...I'm so sorry for the delay!

Unknown said...

Been waiting all morning, haven't read yet, but thank you for the incredible amount of work (love) that you have put in for us Losties..... good luck in whatever you do next. PS, i called one thing last week, Jack wasn't going to be the Protector.

Mike V. said...

Thanks Gallo! Yep, good call on Jack not being the "FINAL" protector. He was protector for a couple hours! lol

I appreciate the props and sorry for the delay. It was a tough one to finish! I started it at 6:00am and I just finished! lol Damn pictures took forever.

Anonymous said...

I am so happy your blog is up - I can't wait to read it, although I think it may take hours. :) Thanks for your dedication. I'm looking forward to reading what you took as fact, because I am still confused. Thanks again.

Kim B.

Gwen said...

Just starting the beginning of The Island timeline and had to pause to say, Mike, you Rock for that first sentence!

yowzah said...

This is what the show meant for me (from a very big picture perspective), before being influenced by reading your recap :-) :

Ultimately, this wasn’t primarily a show about a mysterious island, or a show about castaways (even though the show was obviously comprised of both of those things and a lot more). It was first and foremost about Jack’s spiritual journey. The show started with Jack opening his eyes, and ended with him closing his eyes as he died—his spiritual journey was the time in between. When he reached his destination—when he let go and embraced his destiny, embraced what he was meant to be—he reached his spiritual fulfillment and the show ended. Everyone in the church reached that destination in their own way—much of that journey was on the island for them too. But Jack’s complete journey was chronicled here. I thought it was beautiful and I look forward to my evolving insight about this show, much of which will come from this blog! Thank you so much, Mike and everyone here.

AUStarwars said...

Mike,

i'm still at work, im exhausted, and im 4 pages into my review..and im breaking to read all your hard work and your amazing screen caps...but please..please...just explain this to me so I can pick my head up from the keyboard i just broke banging my head:

"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! "

WHY are you cool with it? like is there a logical reason to be? I'm honestly "Lost" here looking for answers..pun intended...

crashriprock said...

Nice recap Mike a fitting end to the end

crashriprock said...

AUstarwars
When I first started posting in here I mentioned they used Macguffins here is a definition of a Macguffin.

A MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin or maguffin) is "a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot of a work of fiction".[1] The defining aspect of a MacGuffin is that the major players in the story are (at least initially) willing to do and sacrifice almost anything to obtain it, regardless of what the MacGuffin actually is. In fact, the specific nature of the MacGuffin may be ambiguous, undefined, generic, left open to interpretation or otherwise completely unimportant to the plot

Mike V. said...

LOL thanks Gwen and Kim! Hope you're satisfied with the final recap effort!

Yowzah...well I didn't really get into that (even though I totally called the eye closing being the last shot of lost...not that I'm here to gloat! :-) lol) But I would say Jack's journey is ONE of the stories of LOST. But I think all of these characters were on a path of redemption. But it all started with Jack...so it makes sense that it ended with Jack! He was the hero!

Holly...the EW's came! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

Okay..I'm sure there's more comments now lol

crashriprock said...

Alfred Hitchcock was the king of Macguffins.
Terintino used one in Pulp Fiction with the glowing suitcase.

They tryed using a Macguffin in the movie Ronan but made the mistake of making the Macguffin too much a part of the storyline

Mike V. said...

AUStarWars - I'm cool with it because I just love how the show ended. I'm not ready to really nitpick the small details. I cannot imagine this show ending any other way...and apparently, I'm not alone in this thinking! I heard Matt Roush was in its corner, and I can't wait to read his review!

And of course, I can't wait to read your 5 page dissertation! (eventually) LOL

Thanks Crash! I appreciate it!

hg said...

@MikeV - I hope they showed up in good condition. Thanks for the shout out in your recap, I feel like a rock star now!
It's the least I could do for all your effort on this blog, you've helped me immensely and am soooo glad I found your blog!

Anonymous said...

First off, they didn't die on the airplane!
The flash-sideways were Purgatory, not the island. The island was real! Christian said that everyone died, but not at the same time. Juliet died in the hole, locke was strangled, Shannon* was shot, sayid blew up, and so on, and so on. Basically, after they died they went to a place where they could spend some time, unbeknownst to them, searching for what really mattered in their lives. What we saw in the flashsideways was them finding the people that mattered most--and then remembering their lives and the most important events in them. Hurley and Ben apparently protected the island for a long time after jack died--that's what the last line between them was about. "live together, die alone." but Christian rebuked Jack: "Nobody dies alone." and when it was time for Jack to die, and everyone had gone, he was sure he'd been vindicated. But Vincent came out of the forest and laid down next to him. He didn't die alone.

Mike V. said...

Nevermind, I just re-checked...it's totally not him!

Mike V. said...

You're preaching to the choir Keith. That's all I talked about in the recap :-)

crashriprock said...

I just ordered my
Dharma-Clorian chewables from ABC

Anonymous said...

Mike--

Thanks for all youve done in making a Lost experience better. Kudos on on your hard work.

Mike V. said...

Thanks Anonymous!! It was my pleasure!

Funny Crash! lol

hg said...

was it me or did anyone else have a moment when Lapidus threw down the walkie, think he was maybe Smokey'esque in a way....my mind thought that maybe Smokey took over Lapidus and everyone was doomed again....I was pleasantly surprised he wasn't though

Mike V. said...

I don't know if it was just you or not, but I know I laughed my butt off when he threw that walkie down! lol It was pure frustrated Frank just trying to get things ready for take-off!

I was just so happy he didn't die on the sub!

Gidget Girl said...

Thanks Mike V., for your hard work and commentary! You've done a great job!

I wish I had found your blog earlier. It's fun to bounce ideas around and hear other theories.

hg said...

Yeah, I like Chesty! Good Times indeed!

Did the lights going out on Sawyer/Juliet awakening have any significance? That was random I thought. I guess their electricity threw the breaker.

crashriprock said...

I have written several screen and stage plays. None of wich has ever been read west of the rockies. I have a rather large collection of rejection letters that say they donnot except unsolicited material.

So to add to my collection (because I dont have one from Carlton Cuse Productions)

Im going to send him a queery letter pitching a show about people who are in a planecrash and end up on a freaky Island with a smoke monster.

When I get his rejection letter (having not read my queery)
Im going to put it on my wall under my Jerry Bruckheimer one

hg said...

I'm really shocked that Sawyer didn't call Hurley Chewbacca...that would have been a nice S.W. shoutout! (maybe he did and it went past me)

Mike V. said...

@Gidget - Thanks for the props! And you're totally welcome for the work and commentary! Sorry you found the blog so late, but I'll still be here for the foreseeable future! And keep in touch with what I might do next!

@Holly - I actually had pondered about the "pulling of the plug" being equivalent to the CORK being Uncorked in Island timeline...but I wasn't sure where I'd go with that line of thinking. But very funny with the electricity comment! LOL

@Crash - Okay??? lol


so one thing I forgot to bring up in the Blog is the whole concept of Michael being stuck on the Island still...and that's why he's not in Sideways land. I think that relates to how these Sideways folks eventually are the "enlightened" ghosts that we see throughout the series. I can't believe I was so close to guessing it in one of these blogs and I shied away from it! Eh..I'll still claim I had a hunch :-) lol

Anonymous said...

I think the entire six seasons was Jack's dying hallucination. He ended up in the same spot where he started and the "stab wound" that killed him was the wound that Kate stitched up in the first show. He died in the crash and the whole show took place in his head.

Mike V. said...

Holly - Well..I think Chewie was reserved for Jin! Remember in season 1 when Michael and Jin had some ability to understand each other? Sawyer calls them Han and Chewie lol of course Sawyer is the Han Solo on the Island...so in season 2 this was corrected by him calling Jin Chewie himself without a reference to Michael as Han lol Good stuff!

I liked the Star Wars references we got! We definitely needed an "I have a bad feeling about this" line!

Lauren said...

Awesome recap!!!!! I wasn't with you over the last 6 years, but I'm so glad I was able to share in the excitement and the sadness of LOST finally coming to a close with people who love the show as much as I do. Thank you. tear. I feel like this was the perfect ending, I'm totally satisfied and I DID NOT in any way think that would happen, but it did! I disagree with some people who think that the show was about Jacks journey, I feel like the ending made it pretty obvious that the show was about relationships, and breaking stereotypes. I loved that in the 2hr recap the writers said that they tried to take stereotypes and turn them on their head, for instance, rooting for a murderer (kate), an Iraqi torturer being a hopeless romantic(Sayid), and the ultimate man of science (Jack) searching for his faith. I cannot express how much I loved this show, and I just couldn't be any happier with the way it ended!

crashriprock said...

Hey everyone has a collection

The Jerry Bruckheimer one did come in the nicest envelope. Better than JJ Abrams.

and I love JJ Abrams he was the only student of Hitchcock that ever got it.

Mike V. said...

@Anonymous - it's definitely an interesting theory...but I just don't think they'd take away the stakes of the entire show by making us think it was all in their head. If you recall...they jokingly referred to this in Hurley's episode DAVE in season 2 where his imaginary friend (possibly ghost) told Hurley that the whole Island thing was fake and in HIS head. We have to remember that each week we got a different character's story and backstory. That would have been one elaborate dream of Jack's if he was creating stories for everyone..not just himself! lol

The ISLAND STORY HAPPENED. The sideways is some sort of after-life "waiting room" until they're all ready to move on! I just don't see any other way to theorize about it!

Mike V. said...

Lauren - you took the words right out of my mouth! (well, except the "AWESOME RECAP" part...I wouldn't be that cocky! lol Thank you so much!) Everything else though is exactly how I feel. I can't even express how great this episode was to cap off a great 6 year run. Thanks for finding the blog in the end and sticking it through to the end!

Mike V. said...

Sounds good Crash! LOL I don't mind Jerry Bruckheimer productions. I'd even say Michael Bay isn't too bad as a director. He sure can make things blow up pretty! lol

But yeah...J.J. has a gift. He is a visionary and definitely the new storyteller of this generation...he, damon and their whole crew. These are the Speilbergs and Lucas's of Today. I love everything they're putting out.

laine_lane said...

Hey Mike

I spend every Wednesday morning reading your recap with my coffee in hand and now Monday..errr afternoon for "the end" recap and I just want to say...THANK YOU!!!!
Your recaps = awesome sauce!!!

As for LOST...all in all...I get it and I am satisfied with the end game. It was hard for me last night to "let go"...but I think I'm okay now. After reading comments and re-watching the church scene...I am content. Not everyone is gonna love the end but as for me...I'm happy. People are just gonna have to look at the "waiting room/FSW" as the Titanic-esque ending.
We all still need to wait for the DVD release and see what the 20 minutes are all about before people go bashing the last 6 years...if you lasted 2-4 season without answers...LOST had to be doing something right to reel all you in...

Anonymous said...

I feel like I'm in mourning today! haha! I'm going to miss this show so much! And I'm right with you on the finale and how it went down. I LOVE LOVE LOVED how they brought everyone back together..I cried on each scene.

And can I just say how loud I shrieked when Sawyer and Juliette came back together? YAYYYYYYY!

Goodbye, LOST!

crashriprock said...

Well mike this is close to farwell
I did like your recaps the best. I didnt start reading the comments until I started posting so I didnt know you pegged the Sun Baby thing
Sorry
I didnt mean to troll your site so much either I was just having fun.

Keep up the piano playing and Ill see you in another blog Brotha....

word puzzle (no lie)
stopo

Mike V. said...

@Laine - okay I get it! I WAS LATE with this one! But the best things come to those who wait, right? lol Ahhh Heinz 57..good times. Oh right, thank you so much for the BLOG PROPS! Awesome Sauce...love the new lingo! I might use it. lol You're totally welcome...I'm glad that you found the recaps entertaining!

Agreed on those 20 minutes. Hopefully, they are significant answers that people have been clamoring for. We'll see though! But, yeah I think I've spoken volumes about how much I enjoyed THE END. So I'll spare everyone from gushing more! I'm glad you are content with it. And I am fully aware that people will just never want to like it. Some people may come around over time....they'll rewatch and they'll see that some of this stuff has been plotted since the beginning. Others....well they have just given up.

@Anonymous 4:56 - Totally agree! It was a beautiful thing! The Sawyer/Juliet scene was great too! Glad they finally resolved that triangle by introducing a worthy 4th party to the mix last season. It made their life easier after no one would accept Sawyer with anyone BUT Juliet! lol

Farewell to LOST indeed! And THANK YOU to LOST!

Mike V. said...

@Crash - Hey man...you don't need to apologize for the Sun/Juliet/Baby thing! I wasn't even claiming credit for it. I was just saying I think that a lot of us were thinking along those lines :-)

You weren't a troll! You were posting interesting information, you just caught me on a bad day those couple times! lol I appreciate all of your insights since you started coming around.

I will keep playing the piano, you can bet on that! And hopefully, yes...another blog will surface worthy of being a LOST successor! It's going to be a tall order!

Mike V. said...

OH god...I had to host some of the images (because there were so many) on another site. Apparently so many people are looking at them that you can't see them now! lol those urls do lead to the pictures though folks! Sorry about that!

JB said...

Thank you for all of your hard work, sincerely. The finale was horrible, hokey, and over dramatic. Tons of commercials. Not tying anything together. Entire seasons were irrelevant. Jack and Kate proclaiming their love was totally contrived. The first 2 seasons of Lost were some of the best television ever -- the last 4 were a way for people to make nonsense and money.

Anonymous said...

Mike,

I just recently (2 weeks ago) discovered your blog and am very sorry I didn't find it earlier. The ones I did read were OUTSTANDING!

But I have a question about the issue of events on the island being real.

If the events on the island were real, why did the producers go to such an extreme putting Jack in the same place and position he was when we first met him as he lay dying?

I believe we saw that tennis shoe hanging in the bamboo when we first met Jack. I don't have the DVD, but can someone review that and determine if that sneaker was identical to the one we saw in the closing scene? Seems to me that if significant time had passed, the producers would have been with it enough to show that shoe having aged considerably. If the shoe looks identical now, that would seem to me to be a clue that no earth time had elapsed between the 2 scenes.

Anonymous said...

This blog has been an integral part of the Lost experience for me. This last recap was spot-on. Thanks so much.

I was turned off by the ending at first, but it has begun to sink in.

One thing that still bothers me, and that I haven't seen discussed anywhere, is that the sideways world, while not exactly real, since they have all died in the real world, still mattered to them, right? But, when they had their revelations, they were only happy, and had no remorse for what they just "lost". For instance, Jack not really having a son. Did he really just not care that that was suddenly gone forever?

laine_lane said...

Mike...

NOT late at all...I was just being impatient :)
I think I broke my mouse trying to refresh your blog every minute.
You can so use "Awesome Sauce" anytime you like.

For the people who don't like the ending...I'm sure they will nag and @itch but in the end...either they will get it or they will forget about it and that just proves that they missed the bigger and enlighten part of the whole series... but hey... "to each his own"...

yowzah said...

Mike,

A couple questions about your take:

1) Let's say that Hurley lived 2,000 years protecting the island--did everyone have to wait 2,000 years to move on together? You get the idea.

2) What did the light going out have to do with smokey getting off the island? In other words, why did he need Desmond to do that to get off the island? For that matter, why couldn't it have been someone other than Desmond (unlike Desmond, someone else would have died, but what would Smokey care?).

E-Bohm said...

ok lets say that the island was real and FSW is the purgatory. Then did all of the losties have to wait in a groundhogs day type scenario until the last one died in the real world. Because like most of you are saying, hurley and ben might have protected the island a long time. Or did we only see Jacks purgatory and each lostie has there own? If they do each get their own then there needs to be more explaining as to why that would be because it appreared that once you go through the doors you "leave" as we heard several times. So which one is it?? Or the island was the purgatory place which seems to fit better.

Anonymous said...

GFTP

(Gloating First Time Poster)


Way back, after The Substitute, I opined that Hurley would be the last man standing – solely based on his number 8 in the cave. In Asian culture (especially with the Chinese), it is the most fortunate of numbers.

To Jack and Colton - See boys, at least one of our theories turned out to be true.

Mike V. said...

@JB - I choose to disagree! But there's a cynic in every crowd and you're not alone! I appreciate your props on the blog. And you're welcome!

@Anonymous 5:10 - If it really makes you feel better you can go back and read all of my old recaps! They're all linked on the right hand side of the page! :-) lol j/k! I'm glad you found the blog and I'm glad you enjoyed them!

Why did they put Jack in the same place??? Come on! Pure poetry...mirroring...things coming full circle....closing the LOOP...ending where we began! I even predicted the final shot would be Jack closing his eye and I never thought that would mean the show was fake! Yes the tennis shoe is in the jungle in the opening episode....and in this episode it looks worn down...as if it was hanging there for 3 years! I don't think it looked identical at all!

Hope that helps...wasn't trying to shoot down a theory, just trying to help you see how it can be viewed differently :-)

@Anonymous 5:11 - Thank YOU so much for the blog props! You're welcome too though :-) For a split second, I questioned the ending...but by the time it was over..i was totally on board with it. It all just seemed so fitting to me! Yeah, the SON seems to be the biggest issue with Sideways. My take on it is that Jack needed to resolve his father issues before moving on...and he did that by experiencing fatherhood himself. I'm not quite sure that Jack really remembered an entire existence with his son though...if you recall Jack didn't even remember when his appendix was removed. It's almost like it was all a facade. It also explains why everyone was in Los Angeles in this "waiting room"....So, I think Locke statement "you don't have a son" was meant to tell us that Jack eventually realized that too...so it didn't matter.

Just my thoughts!

rhiamon said...

So glad the recap is up, though I haven't read it yet... before I do (and get my ideas challenged by both the recap and the comments I'm sure) I just want to state for the record that I'm pretty happy with the ending. Not THAT it's the end, but well, if it had to be...

Only objections are to the Kate/Jack and Sawyer/Juliet pairings (aaaargh!), but I can ignore them. :p

For me, the best thing this entire season has been seeing the redemption of Jack actually WORK. He's gone from being an insufferable jerk (alright alright, most of the time, not all) to being, yep, the hero we knew he would be in the end. Not the biggest surprise, but the journey was actually believable (as opposed to his and Kates little love story, but I have a feeling I'd better not get into that, lol).

Sure, there were lots of things I would have wanted to see more of, but that always happens when shows end, right?

So, thanks Mike! I'm off to read the blog and have a feeling it will take me a good long while - I know I'll enjoy every second! :)

PH said...

Hey Mike - great recap. There are still a lot of unanswered questions that hopefully gets answered when the DVD comes out. Are you going to post the questions you would like to see answered at some point like you did before this season started?

David Salako said...

Thank you Mike V. for your hardwork.
All things - good and bad - must come to an end.
My wife and I are really moved by the profundity and beauty of this story that has been told in "Lost".
The more we contemplate some of the scenes in the finale, the more we see the brilliance and feel that bittersweet "ache" as the characters move on - individually like Christian did - into THE LIGHT.
It has been almost 6 wonderful years following this odyssey and we are thankful that ABC allowed such a wonderful tale of fate, destiny, mythology, science-fiction, philosophy, faith, reason and free-will to come to life.
Bravo!!!
Can't wait for the DVD and Encyclopedia!

AUStarwars said...

Still Reading and Writing...

"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!"

Nah, we start to think of Superman II after Supes gives up his powers to be with Lois Lane and gets beat up by the Diner Guy.. ;-)

gunnar said...

Anon 5:10p

Jack is wearing different clothes in "The End" then in the pilot where he was wearing a coat.

I believe this is Jack's pergatory or whatever. This is why everyone there is as he remembered them last. Not as they were as they went on and had a life, family, children, etc.

I have low expectations of series finales as I like all have been let down in the past. Better then I thought it would be but I need some time to process everything.

Most important Mike my hats off to you. You made this journey more memorable with your weekly reviews. TY

Mike V. said...

@Laine - Ohhhh so you're probably 50% of the 21,000 hits the site had before the blog posted! :-) LOL j/k Agree with your closing statements! lol

@yawzah - 1.) I get the idea...but like Christian said.."there is no NOW"....time isn't an issue...they're all there at the same time...regardless of when they died. It's above our mortal understanding :-) lol

2.) Maybe no one would have been able to withstand that light...they may have died instantaneously... Desmond sure was screaming and burning as he approached that cork!

@E-Bohm - I actually get into this in this very comment post when addressing someone above! Like I said...they're all there at the same time...REGARDLESS of when they died. "there is no now"

@GFTP - LOL good call on Hurley! Of course, many of them survived...and they all died in the end too! But yes, Hurley probably outlived them all as he did become the protector!

Jeff T. said...

Mike,

Gonna miss your blog, although i never commented much, i always read it. Im glad you and i and whifty are all on the same page about the ending, i spent most of the day trying to explain it to people at work that the island was all real, and sideways was redemption/move on land. There are some "unenlightened" people out there, put intended, that really just dont friggin get it.


Any new shows look promising for a recap?

Later dude

Mike V. said...

@Rhiamon - Sorry again for the delay in posting! lol Totally agree with you on Jack's journey. It was fantastic! Agree, there are always loose ends when a show ends. But LOST did well in making me not care!

Enjoy the read!

@PH - Thanks for the props! I wouldn't put it past me to post some questions that I hope to get answered before the DVD comes out. I know DHARMA Food Drops better be included! LOL And something on WALT, since the promised he'd be in this finale and he was nowhere to be seen! But, I definitely need to take a few weeks off to rest my fingers and my brain! It's been quite a ride! lol

@David - You're totally welcome. Thank you for being a dedicated reader and commenter! Totally agree...the more I think about the end or rewatch some scenes...the more I loved it!

@AUStarwars....ahhh nice superman II reference too! I love when he gets his revenge on the diner guy at the end of the movie. Classic movie! lol

@Gunnar - Good call on the different clothes. I don't even bother to bring this stuff up because it just seemed so straight forward to me! lol I still think Christian explained the whole Sideways thing. It was ALL of their "purgatories"...a collective waiting room....they all went back to where they were when they were together...it was truly the most important thing they did with their lives. Matt Roush summed it up well....What Happened Happened, What Happened Mattered.
Thank you so much for the props! I loved every minute (well most minutes) of it! lol And thank you all for your continued support and great commentary!

Mike V. said...

@Jeff - Thanks buddy! So glad that you guys loved the ending too! Or if you didn't love it at least you still go it! LOL I'm not gonna be too harsh on the people that think differently, but I will admit I am still confused by it!

Promising new shows...ugh I dunno. The only one that comes to mind right now is No Ordinary Family on ABC (Michael Chiklis as the head of a family that develops super powers lol) Google the trailer...it actually looks better than it sounds! lol

I'll keep my eye out for something!

AUStarwars said...

Re: Shannon's "attacker" (see, im almost done)..why does he look towards the camera and we never see his face? I think in the end we are supposed to assume that boone just picked a random fight, or it was all set up..but i think he looks in the camera for a second, can you screen cap it Mike? I guess it doesnt matter, but it would have been interesting if they made it some random Other or something (missed opportunity imho)

Marie said...

I'm going to keep commenting if I feel like putting my ideas out there (of course I put a lot of my ideas in the post before the recap was up), but for now I want to say:

Mike, thanks so much. Your blog has helped me understand this show and kind of prepared me for this finale. I feel like because of how you helped me, I finally didn't need your help to understand the finale (no offense lol). As soon as Jack's eye closed and LOST was displayed on the screen, I got it. I actually said out loud "that was beautiful" (of course it was kind of blurted out as I was crying hehe). I completely agree with and understand everything in your final recap, but only because you helped me up to this point. Thanks so much for your hard work!!

Mike V. said...

@AUStarWars - I might be able to screen cap it but I think it's irrelevant! lol I'll look into it later!

@Marie - You're totally welcome! And I'm totally glad you didn't need my help to understand the finale. I still don't know what there was to figure out! LOL Oh yeah...I was a total mess with the entire finale when it came to crying! Actually my first reaction with the final image was "come on Jack...close that eye!!! come on let me be right!!" and there it was...the big eye closing scene that no one picked on my poll of 2 options of how LOST will end! LOL (well, I picked it!) Okay okay, enough gloating :-) I really did find the ending beautiful and I've said it countless times! lol I'm glad you found the blog so insightful! Thanks for being a dedicated reader!

yowzah said...

Hey Mike, thanks for your response.

I know I asked a few questions at once, and you answered most of them, but one you didn't: Why do you think Smokey needed the light to go out to get off the island? This seems like a pretty central question, but I don't know the answer. What would have happened if he tried to leave before the light went out.

Also, Smokey really wanted to get off the island, but if the whole world would be destroyed (or whatever), what good would that be for him?

Thanks,
yowzah

Anonymous said...

Mike ... " I even predicted the final shot would be Jack closing his eye and I never thought that would mean the show was fake!"

I didn't mean to imply that it would mean that the show was fake, just that all of the events took place in different realms of the afterlife, ie, purgatory (the island) and something akin to the gates of heaven (sideways).

It would be easier for me to believe that than to believe that than all those people surviving a plane crash virtually uninjured and the weird island with all of it's ghostly connections, strange energy and time warps was real.

However, that tiny little detail of the shoe showing age might be enough to convince me that the producers intended the island to be real, weird as it is.

Mike V. said...

Sorry Yowzah! I think the light going out and him leaving the island were 2 different things. Well, he still needed Jack or whoever the protector was, DEAD. (I think)...and he thought that by destroying the Island...that was the next best thing because then there would be nothing left to protect and they may have all died with it. So he was going to destroy the island and then leave. I don't know if that was always his plan.

Do we know if Smokey knew that destroying the Island would destroy the whole world? Yeah...I guess some things like that could be seen as being left maybe a little too vague. But, I think there's enough there to piece together an answer! not that this is what people wanted to have to do. They wanted to be TOLD the answer! Then again, if we were told the answer, we'd still question if that person was telling the truth! lol every answer leads to another question.

They did what they could!

Mike V. said...

@Anonymous 5:51 - My bad...I used the word "fake" incorrectly. I still didn't think it would imply that either though. I think the fact that the producers told us that the island was NOT purgatory because we need to believe in life and death stakes on the Island is enough for me to believe that it isn't And the fact that we were told that the Sideways IS this "waiting area"...and the fact that one they were enlightened they spoke about events that transpired at the "END" of the Island timeline (Ben and Hurley talking about #1 and #2 and not potty humor! lol) and Christian talking about how they all died at different times....it dunno..I just don't see any other interpretation of the show! I'm not even trying to be closed minded. It just is the only way that makes sense to me!

Yeah...there were some crazy things that happened on that island...but the island was SPECIAL...we were never going to get an answer to a lot of the things that made it special....but that ENERGY SOURCE on the island was attributed to a lot of the crazy things we saw. It was a Science Fiction show that delved into spiritual elements. Not everything was going to be explainable!

That's just how I see it!

Casey said...

Someone may have answered this already, but to the poster who said that jack lying in the same position with the same wound as season that Kate stiched up, therefore it all never really happened, isn't correct: The wound Kate stiched up was on Jack's left side, towards his back ... the wound in the final scene was on his right side stomach. Just an fyi, the whole thing wasn't in his head, and time had passed on the island, hence the deteriorated shoe

Mike V. said...

@Casey - good point about the cuts being in different places. And thanks for backing me up with the deteriorated shoe! :-)

Marie said...

I agree that we should just accept that the island was special. Jacob brought them to the island (and before that seemed to bring Locke back to life) so why not be able to keep them safe in a plane crash?

On another note: Mike, I'd like your opinion on my Walt-thoughts (posted earlier today, but on the other thread). The producers said on Jimmy Kimmel last week that we could draw some conclusions about Walt based on the finale. So....... at the end Ben apologizes to Locke and tells him he was jealous of him. Ben wasn't special like Locke, so he was jealous. My thought is that Ben and the others saw that Walt was special (via their spying) and Ben wanted to get him off the island so he wouldn't be a threat. Maybe so that he wouldn't take over as leader one day. I know in real life it is explained by the actor getting older/taller, but this is my take on the TV storyline of it.

Also, I don't think he was with them in the final episode because the most important time in his life was not his time on the island. Maybe he went on to live an amazing life and didn't need to go to this alt-universe to realize things, be reunited, and move on.

Your opinion?

yowzah said...

Mike, thanks. You know that every answer leads to another question, so... if Smokey needed the island protector dead in order to leave, why didn't he just kill Jack when he knocked him out with that rock? And why was he trying to leave before he knew Jack was dead? (it was Jack that chased HIM down and stopped HIM from leaving). It doesn't seem to me like he needed the island protector dead to leave.

I still don't know what it was that allowed him to be able to leave and I feel like I'm missing something, since that's a big part of what the show is about--his wanting to leave and the island protector protecting the world from Smokey.

Finally, any thought on what the submerged island scene from the first episode of this season was meant to convey? When was that? Was it real? I don't think you covered that in your recap.

Thanks again!

Mike V. said...

@marie - yeah agreed on Walt. I always wanted an explanation but just the fact of calling him "SPECIAL" is enough for LOST I guess. Darlton talked about this at TIMES TALK too. So Locke was special, MIB was special, Walt was special. Okay! Yeah...my wife was saying a similar thing of why Walt wasn't there with them "not an important time in his life"..... And Michael wasn't there because his spirit was trapped on the island. It all makes sense to me! LOL

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for this Blog Mike! Amazing! The End was the perfect end to a ledgendary show! Loved every second I watched through the tears.

Marie said...

@yowzah: I think when the light went out Smokey could leave. Remember Jacob telling Richard that the island was like a cork that keeps the darkness in? I think Smokey was the darkness. Once the light was out (the light representing the light in all of us, still not sure why it entrapped Smokey on the island) he could leave because it wasn't keeping him there anymore.

As for why he didn't just kill Jack... maybe he thought he had with that blow to the head? Or maybe he was hoping the island was really being destroyed and wanted Jack to suffer through the destruction?

In response to an earlier comment about why Smokey would want to leave the island if he was destroying it and therefore destroying the world he would be heading to: I don't think that destroying the island would destroy the whole world. Smokey wanted to destroy it because he was angry that he had been trapped on it so long. I think the idea of worldwide consequences means that Smokey would be released into the world and wreak havoc, not necessarily that it would be destroyed. Just my opinion!

Mike V. said...

Good question Yowzah. maybe he DIDN'T need him dead. I really don't know! lol Or, maybe he figured the Island sinking would take care of it.

It's all good questions you bring up with Smokey and the Protecting of the Island and why could he leave all of a sudden. I'm sure there's an answer there somewhere! I'll need to think about it. Ugh, thanks for making me question something :-) lol

As for the submerged Island in the sideways...they said in the pre-show...that they wanted to show the island underwater to let us know that it isn't a factor in these people's lives. I didn't bother to bring it up...because in the end...it seemed irrelevant that the Island was submerged....it was some sort of after life that all of these people were experiencing! And the Island didn't need to be a part of that story.

I dunno...whew...I just realized I've been on this computer for 12 straight hours. I may need to take a break! LOL

Mike V. said...

@Annemarie - Thanks for your kind words! And your'e welcome for the blog! I loved it too!

@Marie - that sounds better than anything I could have come up with! I think i'm just exhausted! LOL

Rob said...

I love how it all ended but I'm still confused with the whole incident thing at the hatch. Was a parallel timeline created when the H-bomb exploded? Or did the bomb not "fix" things at all? I'm assuming it did not fix things as the sideways land does not appear to be a parallel timeline. But if its not a parallel timeline then why is Jack's neck bleeding in the hospital? Please help me understand.

Unknown said...

Why did Katie change outfits from a black dress to pants/shirt in the church scene? I just can't figure that one out.

Mike V. said...

@Rob I revert back to my stance at the end of season 5. Whatever happened happened! The Island timeline never changed....jughead blew...and nothing new was created..they went back to present day.

SIDEWAYS - is the AFTERLIFE....Jack's neck was bleeding as a reminder for how he died. Flocke stabbed him in his side and then dug it into his neck. Everyone died and eventually ended up in sideways...they all ended up there at the sametime though...because time does not exist in this afterlife WAITING room/purgatorial place.

That's it! Take it or leave it! lol

Mike V. said...

@Sara - there's a refreshing question! LOL One that I don't have an answer to but it was at least funny! Maybe in the afterlife you can just get changed by imagining it! lol

Mike V. said...

Okay guys...I'm taking a break...maybe for the rest of the night. Enjoy the conversations..I'll catch up tomorrow!

Tyrone said...

Can someone please provide an explanation for why the island was under water? If you're able to provide an answer, could you direct it to me (@ Tyrone) as it will allow me to search the page easily? Thanks ;-)

Oh, and apologies if the question has been answered already.

Tyrone said...

Typical, I post a question that will bug me all night, just when the main man Mike V is signing off for the night :-(

Mike V. said...

Tyrone, I gave my thoughts on the island being underwater a couple comments above! Just check it out. Pretty much I said it didn't really matter in the end because it's some sort of afterlife!

Okay..now really SIGNING OFF! :-)

Tyrone said...

Thanks dude, I've just read it. Makes sense to me, at least for now.....lol

Rob said...

Alright thanks Mike got it haha

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for ur awesome job. Your recap is really the icing on the cake,which enlighten and entertain me all the past seasons of lost.
But to be honest, I don't like the finale. I really hoped that they could answer all those burning questions. They could not just throw in something in the show whenever they want and claim that they have big plans from day 1 and then just leave them unanswered. I know it is hard but that makes lost a great show. If they think that they can get away from this lousy ending, I would refuse to watch anything from the lost producers in the future.

Gwen said...

Congratulations on a great blog, I wish I had found it much sooner; it, along with all the comments gave me so much more insight into a show I watched but didn't fully understand (not that I understand everything now either).

I am feeling so much better about the ending today than I did last night. I was so caught up in the hope that they all lived AND got off the island I missed some great points of the show in my 'sadness'.

Again Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

hey mike great recap have been reading it this past season and it has kept me well informed of whats going on in lost and i agree about the ending Christian summed it up pretty much:) what I do have a question about is that shoe that appeared on the tree when Jack laid down to die with Vincent beside him, any clue? may just be a reference back to season 1 again!

Ed (Ireland)

Anonymous said...

Hey Mike yeah that shoe appeared in the pilot episode can't figure it out though what do you think it's about? mad that they knew all along how it would end up.

ed

David Salako said...

@Anonymous Ed - the white tennis shoe in the bamboo is seen in the very first scene from the pilot episode when Jack wakes up - Vincent watching - and runs towards the noises he hears.
It is the white tennis shoe that belongs to Jack that he put on Christian's corpse in Sydney.
In "The End" everything comes full circle and we see the aged white tennis shoe still in the bamboo and Christian Shephard wearing the same shoes as he walks into THE LIGHT in the church.
Very poetic, mirroring stuff.

george said...

The best last scene ever!!!
Jack dying and his ANGEL (Vincent)keeping him company...or dying with him.
I write abut it and it still brings tears to my eyes.
You, my friend did an extraordinary job.
My standing ovation to you!!!

Jenn said...

First, I would like to say that I am glad that the majority of you enjoyed the episode, especially you Mike, because you deserve it! But I just can't help but feel like I got sucker punched. Suddenly, all of the mysteries that sucked me in during the early seasons are completely irrelevant? Granted, I didn’t really care about finding out whether the ash kept the MIB in or out of the cabin, but some of the bigger mysteries didn’t even get answered (and when they did, at times, I was still left scratching my head). I just didn't feel like I was even watching the same show this season and was a little surprised that such an initially science-fiction type show ended on such a religious note.

I realize from reading the comments in this and other blogs that my opinion is in the minority, but it is just how I feel. I am certainly not trying to convince anyone else not to like the ending. Who knows, maybe after time and reading all of your theories, I may change my mind.

Mike, thank you for all of your hard work over the last few years. Part of my Lost experience was on Wednesday mornings reading your recaps. Instead of blogging about another show, have you ever considered writing a book? In my opinion, you are THE best writer about this show and with all of the unanswered questions left, I am sure that plenty of people would love to hear your thoughts and theories in one nice package. Take care and I hope to “see” you on the Flashforward blog next year (if they don’t cancel, that is).

David Salako said...

"FlashForward" has been cancelled by ABC.

ALBY said...

Dear Mike...My Long Lost Brotha...

For the last several years you have explained the mystery and story of Lost to me and many others on a continuing basis.

I would watch with utter confusion on Thursday...and Friday morning you would explain it all to me in ways that made perfect sense.

For those many moments of enlightenment, I would like to take this moment to thank you so very much for your compelling clarity.

Your weekly insight only added to may Lost experience...and made me sound much smarter than I really am when I explained everything about that weeks episode to my 9 year old the next day.

I will continue to check this blog on a regular basis for any additional information you can provide us Losties that we may have missed.

When last nights finale ended I was, at first, somewhat disgruntled. But as time went on, I came around to find last night episode very satisfying,indeed.

Your finale recap only added to my resolution of satisfaction with last nights final episode.

Once again, my Lost brotha, let me take this moment to say thank you for years of great reading...I look forward to continuing this journey with you in what ever form it may take.

Namaste!!!!

MacroSloth said...

I am sad to say that this finale was a major let down. The sideways timeline was purgatory? Really? Did the writers decide that 5 minutes before they filmed it? I spent half of this season watching a bunch of ghosts dreaming up a way to work out their issues before they died? Why did they have to forget each other in the first place? I guess the way purgatory works just so happens to play right into how you fabricate your contrived story? UHHHG. Lost, one of the best shows ever on TV, why'd you have to go out like that?

DanielZ said...

Ok Mike
Read the review, and the use of the mistery as a plot device not central to the history.

Now tell me, in your opinion, without the island, good/evil stuff going on, black and white references, and all the other things left unexplained that hook a lot of the people that are dissapointed at this finale..
how many seasons will a show like LOST get?

The only End was that we are all going to die (how surprising) and that there is an afterlife (which kind was not relevant, but aparently there is no hell in their vision since everything is reversible) so you have evil (Smokey) that get punished (got killed), and evil that can be redeemed (plenty of examples) and you are ok with it?

I do think that if you tap stuff like this you can go either full throttle or put the breaks on it, I think what they did was the horrible in the middle kind of delivery.

Now this reminds me a lot of what dreams may come (movie about afterlife and "waiting" for your loved ones) plus the matrix (we are here to do what we are all here to do) except we didnt get the shot from Neo in the machine mainframe

will be interesting to read your take on some of this

thanks and it was a really good reading even if I dont share your POV of the episode and the series as a whole

Linda Zoe said...

I liked the part where turning off the light took away Smokey's power so Jack could kill him. I liked the people finding their true loves. I did not like the "Everyone is dead, but we are all happy together, so let's go into the light." ending. I thought it was very weak. Also, if the survivors who made it off the island never had anything else important happen to them (marriage, children, etc.), they had pretty sad lives. Wouldn't you hope Kate had found a new love, had her own biological children, and lived a long, happy life? How would her husband and children feel to know she wanted to spend eternity with Jack and not them?

I liked the first seasons best, with all the science (even the unexplained science). I didn't like all the mystical stuff at the end.

My favorite memory of the whole show is the trusty little Apple II computer, still working reliably after 30 years. THAT at least is believable!

Anonymous said...

Hey Mike,

like few others too bad that I just discovered your blog only few weeks ago. Great work and real intense work you've put here.

In the final church scene did you guys realize when Jake is approaching his father's (empty) coffin the window in the background - with stained glass - has the major religion's symbols. The christian cross,the (ottoman) star and the cresent, star of david, hindu aum, yin and yang and finally the dharma wheel. It's definetely obvious that the sideways story is a purgatory but the writers seemed to be make sure that "whoever you are, you will end up here" kind of message is given correctly :)

Another thing I miss at the end is that Mr.Eko is completely missing in the last season. although he seemed to play a strong role at the very beginning of the show.

There are still many questions to answer, why the Island exists i.e. what does it represent actually in the whole story?; why smokey wants to leave the island so badly, could it be that he too wants to go to his purgatory and "move on"? I'm still guessting the writers really want to sell the bluray so badly, they reserve tiny bits for the august.

all the best...

DanielZ said...

"whoever you are, you will end up here"

Except in the Christian religions that is not exactly accurate correct? I dont know about the others but most Christ based religions will have Heaven/Hell so for the argument about this is open discussion in every aspect and imply there is no reward/punishment system is like the other way around, they want you to realize that the way they see it there isnt, just different levels or planes of existence, leaving the cross out of it will be a better fit, dont you think

Anonymous said...

why as the final scene did they show the burning fuselage with no apparent survivors? You didnt mention this scene in your blog...

gnni4 said...

Thank you Mike, I really didn't expect you to get the recap up until Tuesday -- You deserve a break, all that crying wears you out!

I loved your pictures, had to go to the gather site to see them all. Really liked the Michael in the eau de vie, such bliss on his face!

I realized that Juliet needed to be a mother and divorced in her sideways to understand that sometimes people just don't work together, but they still love each other and their children...like what happened to her in her youth. She never got it with her parents splitting up, and her sideways was her way of dealing with it. I loved it when I saw her and Jack still working together and being able to like each other without having the marriage work out.

To anyone not being able to understand the 'there is no when here' in sideways - the time factor, take a bit of string and lay it out flat. That is linear time. Now crunch it up into a ball where all the points touch at the same time, THAT is the sideways time. Even though their deaths happened perhaps decades or millennia from each other, they were no longer in linear time. I thought this was brilliant and explained why Locke and Sun arrived at the hospital together even though her shooting and his hit and run were days away. Also explained why the event that Eloise was setting up could have lasted so long, or why it took so long for the coffin to arrive. It just all made sense to me. Awesome!

I hope you enjoy your rest Mike, and look forward to your comments on the comments.

Thank you again, and thank your wife too! You may not have gotten the honeymoon, but you should have one heck of a 1st anniversary!

gnni4 said...

Jack in the eau de vie

(I'm mixing you guys up!)

josume said...

What is the island you ask? My belief is that the island is what houses the source of everyone’s soul. The island is the custom made compartment that holds the source…and the source is the mega-spiritual power strip that allows all mankind to live (eternal). That is why “CRAZY MAMA” told the twins that the everyone had a bit of the light within them. Light meaning their soul…but too much of a good thing can be dangerous. I can only imagine the peace that comes from wanting more of the source…all men will probably be drawn to the source because a part of them comes from that same source. So, its probably likely that one might feel the need to want more of that source….However, by getting more, it would eventually turn off the source….a mega-spiritual crash of sorts. If the source is turned off, then we all become empty shells, without souls….our own lights get turned off also, because our souls are ultimately powered by the source. Without souls, we ultimately seize to exist because there is no afterlife to go to and have fellowship with the ones you love. Which is why Widmore, Richard’s wife, made reference to the fact that if the MIB succeeds, then everyone would cease to exist…or, everyone would all go to hell, bad place…a place of nothing-ness!!! The only way for the MIB to escape was to ultimately turn the source off….which meant that everyone else, including himself, would simply be empty shells with walking expiration dates. And once those expiration dates came due, POOF, that was it. No more mind/spirit/soul/memories.....nothin. We simply would not be!!! What a tragedy that would have been.

josume said...

Part 2

People came to island through Jacob…and in the process of them being on the island, they realized the uniqueness of its power, and wanted to tap into it. They might have not realized it was the “source”, but there was something drawing them to it. DARMA probably came initially as a result of Jacob, and then eventually, the got greedy and wanted to exploit the source. The Others were also brought by Jacob as a result to protect the island from DARMA (that is to protect the source from DARMA). However, only Jacob and MIB knew of the actual “source”. MIB probably wanted to use DARMA as a means to an end…as a means to escape (just like he wanted to use his original people from across the sea….and he knew that they were greedy people back then, and he believed that DARMA would eventually go down that same path). Well, Jacob probably saw this coming….he probably saw DARMA becoming “infected” by the greed and desire to get to the “source”….although like I said, they didn’t know it as the source. They probably saw it as some type of magnetic draw of sorts…whatever they thought it was, they wanted more….The being the leaders of DARMA. So, as a result, Jacob needed the others to wipe the slate clean…”Purge” the land to protect the source. They pulled a “CRAZY MAMA”.

The island is real, and being that it is the cork that holds evil prisoner. Whether the evil be a smoke monster, or souls that performed evil deeds…being that the island held the “source” and all men had a bit of the “source” in them, it wouldn’t be hard to believe that the island was a scale and balance of source, weighing the condition of the soul at the time of death. The ultimate judgment that all island inhabitants must go through. Factors of that weighing probably included committing unjustified murder/suicide…accidental murder, purging or sacrifice was not taking into account as a negative factor. The result in being weighed and found wanting was being trapped on the island for all eternity….i.e. Michael…and as Micheal said, the whispers were those trapped souls. They were probably warning the inhabitants on the island of the fact that all of their actions were being weighed!!! How much imagery did we see of scales and balances throughout the 6 seasons? These were constant themes: the theme of protection, judgment, and redemption.

What about the time travel? That happened as a result of the wheel being moved. And what about the wheel? It was a mechanism that tapped into the “source” to move the island…but it was a MIB invention. And it was part of MIB’s plan all along. He probably knew that influencing Ben to move the island would start the time travel…and that would in turn influence John Locke to move it again to get off the island…and that would eventually influence the “RESCUED” losties to return, which gave MIB the loophole to kill Jacob. So the wheel? It was just a tool used in MIB’s long con to turn off the “source” and get off the island.

josume said...

Part 3

And those numbers? Well, MIB mentioned to Jacob that their people from across the sea were very smart. DARMA was also very smart, and as I mentioned earlier, DARMA was just an incarnation of MIB and Jacob’s people. So, they were very smart people also. Those numbers were probably the closest thing to quantifying the power of the source….who knows…but I am sure that DARMA was heavily influenced by MIB. Even Ben said that he thought he was summoning the “Smoke Monster/MIB” when all along he was the one summoning Ben. Who knows how many DARMA people that MIB pretended to be to influence them to do certain things.

And what was sideways world? It was very clear that it was the meeting place of all souls, before entering eternity. Those that made it to sideways world had probably been weighed and the did NOT tip the wrong side of the scale…so they moved on. However, they needed to come to some sort of reconciliation before getting the reward of blissful eternity. And all the mirroring imagery we saw this season were just tools to get the losties to the point of reconciliation. And most of them reached that point, and were able to move on. Others were not ready. So, lost spoon fed us a few answers, but they left a few others for us to think through. Ultimately, it was about protection, judgment, and redemption. Everything else was just progress.

So, it’s a long shot…but that’s my take. Hope you like it, and would like to hear your thoughts.

David Salako said...

I think folks are missing something important about the reunion scene we saw in the church. The scene is Jack's point of view after dying. This is why he remembers the other Losties as they are - this was how they were when he died.
The Sideways place is outside of time, therefore some of the others died before Jack did and some much later and in Hurley's case perhaps even thousands of year later.
When the other Losties died, their perspective of loved ones they remember will be slightly the same yet slightly different with other connections and relationships they may or may not have made.
It is kind of like how we saw the same events in previous seasons from different character perspectives and it illuminated the story.
For example, early season 2 when we saw the initial confrontation scenes with Desmond in the Swan Hatch from Jack's perspective, then from Locke's and then Kate's perspectives.
I also don't think that they will be walking into THE LIGHT together. They will have their beautiful and moving remembrance and reunion and then walk into THE LIGHT alone, like Christian did.
The realm they are moving on to is a different kind of existence beyond regular human comprehension. They will experience something beyond and greater than the great loves and relationships built in their earthly timeline.
I now understand why so much stuff was kind of "off" about Sideways reality - the color palette, the timeline of events, car license plates changing in every scene for the same vehicle etc. The reality has no "when" but possesses desires, hopes, regrets, memories etc.

David Salako said...

@Gnni4 - I concur!

Unknown said...

Mike -
First of all, thank you for this blog! It has been nothing short of AMAZING.

I started watching LOST last January in an epic 5 seasons in 5 weeks marathon. I read this blog after each episode (starting in season 2, of course). I really helped me piece everything together - you caught so much that I didn't have a prayer in tying together. This blog helped me be engaged and follow the storyline.

As for the finale - I felt it was perfect. What a great way to tie it all up.

I'm sure the hardcore fanboys will have all their questions answer in due time, as this series lives on into the future. I think that's part of what will help its rewatchability.

Thanks again, Mike!

Mike V. said...

Hey guys I'm typing on phone so I'll be brief. The wreckage. I didn't comment on this because I considered it not part of the show. Just for reminicing and all. Doc Jensen (entertainment weekly) just tweeted the following confirming my suspicions:

"EWDocJensen: The plane wreckage over Lost credits: not part of the story, say reliable sources. Meant to evoke mood. No Ajira crash, no time loops."

hope this helps!

Thanks everyone else for props! I'll respond in more detail in the morning!

Unknown said...

davidsalako - YES! I love that explanation. I think that you are right on the money.

Yes - we did get various characters' point of view. But in the end, Jack was our hero, and the entire flash sideways was his perspective of the after-life.

From that perspective, we can extrapolate the experience for the other characters.

David Salako said...

@vfxdrummer - Exactly!

Floreen said...

Didn't Ben actually saved Hugo from the crashing tree? I think Ben has been a hero in more than one occasion.

Unknown said...

Well, their all heroes to some extent, being main characters and all. And, you can certainly tell LOST from anyone of their perspectives. But, Jack was always the main HERO of the show. He is the star.

Anonymous said...

OMG, I just watched it again. I'm blown away, again. Thank you so much for your blog MikeV. It really was awesome and it helped me piece everything together. You managed to make my experience much more enjoyable. Thank you man. I will follow your blogs always.
Boom Lost, what a show! How we'll miss it and miss your musings.

Anonymous said...

Never posted over the years, but would like to say thank you for your weekly recaps, always looked forward to reading your blog after every episode. Great work, and very much appreciated.

Weasel said...

Just got done reading the blog, but have not read any comments yet (except the first 3 that are in view right now - and I do not agree with anonymous).

Awesome job on the blog. I think you really captured, in words, what the producers were trying to convey. Thank you very much for all your hard work and dedication to LOST, as well as us LOSTies, over the last 6 years.

I am wondering if the extra 20 minutes will be a question and answer with Hurley and Ben, sitting on a log on the beach by the remnants of the statue.

I am pretty busy at work this week and will have some long hours so I probably won't be reading or posting until later in the week, so NAMASTE until then.

Anonymous said...

I stumbled upon your LostAddictsBlog by accident last season. Thank-you for your meticulous and organized analysis. You helped straighten out my often-times confused brain when it comes to all things LOST. And thanks to your patient wife for understanding the obsession. NAMASTE!

Trent Frazier said...

You may remember that I live on Oahu, and after crying my way through last night's finale, I took a drive today to the east side of the island where much of "Lost" was filmed. I gazed wistfully at the gorgeous green mountains, and walked around the Buddhist temple where Jin and Sun were married. Because of "Lost," I now see this island with new eyes, and feel even more fortunate to live here.

I feel the finale was perfect. I couldn't be more satisfied on both emotional and intellectual levels. What began as a character-driven adventure mystery concluded as a deeply moving, spiritual work of art. I'm so grateful to the creators of the show, and to you for your wonderful blog!

Anonymous said...

MY NAME IS AFAN.

IM SORRY. BUT IM GOING TO SAY IT. I LOVE LOST AND HAVE BEEN A DIE HARD FAN SINCE THE BEGINNING.

BUT THIS LAST 10 MINUTES MADE NO SENSE.

THIS WAS WORSE THEN THE SOPRANOS ENDING.

FIRST.

YOU SAID JACK AT THE END FINALLY DID IT HE SAVED HIS FRIENDS AND SAVED THE WORLD????

FROM WHAT???

IF THAT WORLD WAS REAL. THEN WHERE WERE JAMES AND KATE AND CLAIRE ON THE PLANE GOING???

THE SIDEWAYS STORY MADE NO SENSE.

YES I KNOW THEY WERE DEAD OR SOMETHING AND TRYING TO FIND EACHOTHER AND BY THE END THEY DID ADN NOW THEY CAN GO TO HEAVEN.

BUT WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH LOST??? OR THE ISLAND???

IS IT THE FUTURE? BUT THEN WHY WOULDNT THE LOST PEOPLE REMEMBER EACH OTHER.


AND FINALLY THE QUESTION I WANT TO KNOW AND PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION SINCE NO ONE HAS......




WHEN DID THEY DIE????????????



WHEN DID CLAIRE DIE?


WHEN DID SAWYER DIE???


WHEN DID KATE DIE???


I NEVER SAW THEM DIE????


I SAW THEM LEAVE THE ISLAND.


IN SIDEWAYS I SAW THEM HAVE DIFFERENT LIVES.


WHEN DID THEY DIE????

WAS IT THE NUCLEAR BOMB???

WAS IT THE PLANE CRASH IN THE FIRST EPISODE????

WHERE IS MR EKO????

WHERE WAS WALT???

WHY WAS HE SPECIAL???

THE EPISODE WAS GREAT UNTIL THE LAST 7 MINUTES

THEY SHOULD HAVE ENDED IT WHEN JACK SAVED THE ISLAND.

IT SHOULD HAVE SAID LOST. AND THAT WAS IT.


A BETTER ENDING WOULD HAVE BEEN HURLEY WAKING UP IN HIS STAR WARS CLOTHING IN BED AND SAYING


"DUDE, I JUST HAD THE STRANGEST DREAM."

SHIT ENDING BUT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER THEN THIS....


I CANT BELIEVE THEY WENT DOWN THAT ROAD.

GOOD EPISODE BUT JUST POORLY WRITTEN.


PEACE

Ben said...

Okay, this is my answer to Yowzah (Yowsah) about Flocke not worrying about killing Jack when trying to escape the island. I think that there were two ways to get off the island, first kill Jacob and all of the candidates OR having the "cork" pulled and him being released. Since Flocke thought that pulling the cork was impossible, he opted to have everyone else bumped off, thus the a major plot line this season aka getting them all together, so they would die. I don't think that MIB realized that Desmond was special until later this season. To illustrate this point, he sent Sayid to go kill Desmond. Once MIB realized that he didn't kill everyone on the sub, he realized that Desmond was special enough to get him off the island. Once the cork was pulled, MIB had no reason to kill Jack. Does this make sense, or is it only me??

Floreen said...

@vfxdrummer - That what you said is true. I was very happy that all the characters found redemption and I was happy to see that actually No 2 was capable of self sacrifice in this finale just as in the SW, saving No 1 from the falling tree considering the actions of No 2 for all the seasons on Lost.

I also remember that Charlotte told us in season 5 that this place is Death than Richard did so too in this season. Nicely placed clues.

I was wondering from season 1 and then 2 if this might be a possibility I was associating with the '6th Sense' but got sidetracked.

It does make heroes out of every character tough, the general questions were answered leaving the small ones for me to answer, we got redemption in every way, I don't have to be angry with any characters and Thanks to Disney-ABC and all people involved, it was a nice six years we can be thankful for it.

Ian said...

Great recap, Mike! Thanks for all the work you put into it! I know a few people who didn't like the ending, but I'm with you: I thought it was fantastic!

Now the big series rewatch can begin, as well as my attempt to rank every single episode. That should be fun, huh?

By the way, congrats to your Flyers! I'm a Blackhawks fan, so whatever the outcome of the Stanley Cup Finals, someone in this commenting section is going to be happy!

Anonymous said...

Mike,

Thank you for your blog. I enjoyed it and I think your recap is right on the mark.

I did not like the ending, but the more I looked at it, the more I saw it as a fitting end.

I know a lot of people believe they all died upon impact, but like you said, Christian said it all happened, it was all real.

The whole part of Season 6 was for all of them to come to terms with the fact that they had redeemed their lives on the island.

I thought it was very poignant that they all waited for each other, even if it took 2,000 years. They were all friends. They needed each other and waited to move on together.

Some wondered why Aaron was a baby, it's how Claire remembered him. She never saw him grow up, when he left the island, he was a baby. They were all as they remembered each other.

Now, my question is, what happened to Jin and Sun's baby?

Unknown said...

did any of you guys catch the hilarious target ads that ran during the finale? I found one that was unaired and its even better hahahaha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0CDU6VhieY

Anonymous said...

I really don't understand all the anger towards the "they all died on the original flight" people. I think the writers left it ambiguous to make it open for debate afterwards.

All the evidence that people point to saying the island is real could just as easily be construed the other way. Christian said they are "real" in sideways world, so what does real actually mean.

Just because everything before the finale happened in another sort of existence (I'm not going to say the P word) doesn't mean it didn't happen.

For those that claim all the weird stuff that happened on the island was able to happen because it was "special", well how about because it was a "special" place not of this existence. Just somewhere between the real world and the sideways land.

I am personally happy that it was a "take what you want from it" ending and my view would be that the island time was a test time for the Losties to get them to the Sideways afterlife. Once they had got through it they could wake up in SW.

I'll probably be shouted down but hey, I enjoyed it! It was a stunning piece of television.

Matt

Unknown said...

Great job Mike as always. A fitting recap to a great show and your great run on this blog. Dad

Mike V. said...

Wow, even in THE END...lots of discussion still going on in my slumber! :-) lol Here's my attempt at catching up!

@Tyrone - welcome to the light! (for now lol)

@Rob - no prob!

@Anonymous 6:47pm - Thanks for the props! As for the end, yeah it definitely wasn't a SAFE ending (well...some may argue it was)...but it was definitely going to draw different feelings. There are some loose ends, there IS going to be some resolution (on the DVD, in the encyclopedia)....but they had to tell their story. I'm not going to fault anyone for disliking it. I was happy with it so I have made my peace with the show!

@Gwen - Thanks for the congrats! I'm glad you found insight in the blog. And sorry you didn't find it sooner! But at least you did before the end!

@Ed (and David)- Looks like you figured that one out on your own with the shoe and David helped you out a bit too! I don't know if I ever thought that this tennis shoe was Christian's though. I guess it would be very fitting if it was. But yeah..he was definitely wearing them when he opened the door at the end! Thanks for the props!!

@Anonymous 7:35 - Thanks so much! Totally didn't notice the stained glass. I'm gonna have to go back and check that out! I guess the ending was sad. But it was also kind of HAPPY, you know? Yeah they all died...but they were all together in the end. Really the only people that we truly saw die in the finale though were the Man in Black and Jack! Everyone else lived on for who knows how long?

@George - Thanks!!! I totally agree. I couldn't see a more fitting end. In fact, it was the only end (before seeing the show) that I thought would be fitting for the show! The whole Jack closing his eye thing. Vincent being there was great and made it even better!

@Jenn - So sorry that you didn't enjoy the episode! (or the season for that matter) I would argue though that the show really hid its Sci-Fi roots for a long time. They kept the show about the characters, but each season they got into a little bit more of the crazy stuff. Maybe and episode here and there. And then season 5 is when they let their "GEEK FLAG FLY" ....and the did the season of time travel. And they said that they wanted the final season to be more spiritual and that's what we got. I'm not saying that should make you enjoy it more...just trying to help! I had made my peace before the season that we wouldn't get a lot of the answers we craved...so I chose to enjoy the show for what it is. And, I really did love how it ended. And now they went the extra mile to satisfy fans and filmed 20 minutes worth of answers to put on the DVD? Brilliant move....people will complain about having to shell out some money to see them. But I was going to buy it anyway! LOL I'm glad they went out on their own terms and I enjoyed the ride! You're totally welcome for the blogging efforts and thank you for your very kind words!! a book???? Yikes, I don't know if I could swing that one! lol It would probably take me forever too! But, I won't rule anything out :-) (yet) And yes...so sorry you didn't know that FlashForward has been cancelled! One more episode on Thursday!

Mike V. said...

@Alby - Thank you so much for your very kind words! I'm so glad that you actually thought I knew what I was talking about over the years! LOL (j/k) Thanks for you pledge to keep checking in on the blog! I'll get something new up eventually. I'm ready for a break though! lol Glad that this recap helped you enjoy the finale a bit more too! :-)

@David 8:30 (not salasko lol) - Obviously, I disagree with you about the end. And I think more than ever that they had this planned out for some time now. Maybe not since the beginning, but it was a device to be able to provide some closure and bring things full circle. As I mentioned, I totally understand some people not liking it. But the more I think about it...I can't see any other possible way for LOST to end than by showing us the definitive END of all of them! Just my thoughts though.

@DanielZ - Hey, I'm not saying that the mystery and mythology wasn't a huge part of LOST. It totally was. But what answers to all of this in a final episode would help you sleep at night? In the end, we want to know how the characters end up. I don't even think I needed the producers to tell me that one. I have always cared about what would happen to all of these characters. I thought they did a superb job with it all. I appreciate that gratitude for the blog and I totally support you disagreeing with me! LOL It would be a little less exciting if EVERYONE agreed, right? :-)

@Linda - We are left to think forever on what lives these people lived after they left the Island...and yes, maybe it all WAS important. But the events that happened on the Island were the MOST important for all of them. It gave them purpose in life. I'm not going to try and think about the moral decisions these dead folk made in the afterlife. You bring up valid points....but it IS a TV show after all...and I was happy to see them all together at the end....to bring closure to a one of a kind Television show! And I too loved that HATCH computer! lol

@Anonymous 8:38 - Thanks so much for the blog props! Someone else pointed out those symbols on the stained glass a little earlier too. I totally missed them. But I agree...they wanted to leave the ending open for all faiths to interpret where they're going. As for EKO - there were some issues with getting him back. I don't know the history of it, but I know that he burned them pretty badly by wanting to leave in the beginning of season 3. But I think they still wanted him back for the finale this season. And something just didn't go right. And the producers already apologized for it. As for the questions...yeah maybe some will be on the DVD/Blu-ray...but I don't know about all of those! I think smokey wanted to leave was answered in Across the Sea with MIB never having seen what was off of the island. But yeah, they wouldn't have any issues with me buying the blu-ray..i was going to get it anyway! lol

I gotta go to work folks..I'll get to the rest when I'm there!

bolger said...

Thanks Mike V. for all the recaps and especially for this one. Great work, I never missed one since I discovered your blog.

My wife and I watched "The End" yesterday night and we were quite confused by the scenes showing the plane wreckage after the final "Lost". My first thought was OMG, they died initially after the plane crash, bodies fell into the ocean, nothing was real. Something like Bobby Ewing having been under the shower way back in the 80ies in "Dallas" (for those of you being old enough to remember).

Glad to hear that it wasn´t meant to be part of the show.

For the final episode I would have loved to have some more questions answered, especially about the loophole for MiB, the fertility and time travel stuff, but let´s just wait for the blue-ray/DVD Lost Complete 6 Seasons Edition.

Namaste!

Anonymous said...

Hey Mike!

Thanks for ALL of your hard work and commitment to such a brilliant experience that was LOST. I loved the finale and have closure and understanding....BUT I am blown away by the many people who think the island was purgatory!! LOL I do have 1 question that I know you can answer for me.......I get why Jack 'creates' a son for himself in the flash sideways...BUT why is Juliet his ex-wife??? Why her?? Why is she the "obvious" choice?
I also see that many don't understand why Walt wasn't at the church.......I don't think he could be......He was on the island a short time and once he eventually died and needed to create his "flash sideways"...there is no way he'd pick the LOST peeps to hang with. He was only a child when he experienced the island and I have to assume he lead a 'mostly' normal life once off the island...evenually got married had kids etc...and once he too passed he would have chosen those individuals of greater significance(wife, kids) in HIS life...which were not the LOST gang.

I also think Michael had no business in the chuch...he rightfully should be stuck on the island to whisper eternally......

I hope you can help be get my arms around the Juliet/Jack marriage! And for the record....I always thought they would make a great couple....as would Kate/Sawyer.

Take care!

Glenn R. said...

So, I'm seeing a lot of people around the net questioning:

-Why Shannon, not Nadia, for Sayid?
-Why no Helen, with John?
-Why no Ji-Yeon with Jin & Sun, in the ending?
-Why no Penny in the ending?
-Why no Ben in the ending?
etc.

So in relation to these questions, would you say it is your understanding, Mike (or anyone else) that we can explain all that away by thinking of that particular Sideways-purgatory story as being specifically JACK'S Sideways-Purgatory story? In other words, all the people who were in the church were those people who meant the most to Jack and only Jack?

Thus, he did not know Ji-Yeon, so she wasn't there. Ben wasn't part of his intimate group. Helen was never a significant player in his own soul's journey.

It seems to come down to that -- who are the significant players in your own personal soul's journey.

That's really the only explanation I can come up with for a lot of the Sideways questions, such as those I mentioned above.

Of course, if true, it would beg the question -- what about Sarah, and Jack's mom? Why weren't they there also with Jack? Were they relatively insignificant characters in the deepest soulwork of Jack's life? And also, really -- why Penny? If Penny is there, it seems like Helen should be too.

Is this the way you are thinking about these issues right now, Mike? Or anyone else who might have thoughts on this?

Jolene said...

Great recap as always and great commentary throughout the seasons. Thanks for the fun!

Glenn R. said...

By the way, as far as my current feelings about the unanswered questions, here is some food for thought.

Has anyone in here ever read a book that you loved reading. But when you got to the ending, you found out that a majority of the major and sub-major and minor plots of the book were left unfinished?

I haven't. And it's hard to imagine that a book editor would ever allow a writer to submit a book that did such a thing.

As of this moment, I still absolutely LOVED the character journeys and storylines in Lost and in the finale. But as it sinks in more, I'm going through a deeper sense of irritation about all the unanswered questions.

To some extent, you read a book, or watch a series, because you are trusting the author and his/her editor to have put together a coherent story at the end, when all is said and done. And while they clearly had a coherent story for many if not most of the main characters, they clearly left innumerable dangling storylines EVERYWHERE! Every hour since the show ended, I'm thinking of more things about which we were expecting answers. And yes Mike, while we don't need/want the midichlorian level answers, I don't think you can say that they gave anything remotely close to that.

And YES, as a general rule, I LOVE stories which leave room for each person to interpret for themselves. But this was much more than that! They left out so many key points to the storyline, including many issues which they themselves told us were important to understanding the story.

Again, I felt incredibly satisfied, character-wise. But I didn't watch this show ONLY for the characters. And right now (and this could change tommorrow, I don't know), I am feeling frustrated.

Glenn R. said...

Which Lost Character Matches Your Fandom?

See link below. This is very funny! A breakdown of each Lost character as a personification of the different types of Lost fans:

http://justtv.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/which-lost-character-matches-your-fandom/

Glenn R. said...

To be clear, re. my post above... I am still a very happy Lost camper. The writers did soooooo many things right. I would never take back anything I experienced during my Lost Experience. But I'm just going through my process right now as I take in this ending they gave us, so incredible, and heartstopping and moving in so many ways. And yet so unsatisfying in others.

Others said...

WOW is right!!! I always thought you, the blog author, praised and loved the show more than it was worthy. Yet, this Finale was a perfect ending. I found a theory I was comfortable with and rewatched it again. We haven't taken down our Lost decorations from the send off party. We're not ready yet. Seems fitting.

T.A. Helton said...

Here's my take on why the island is on the bottom of the ocean at the beginning of the sideways story. To me, it signifies that the end has come...as in, something happened and Hurley and Ben were probably the last ones to make it to the sideways afterlife. They lived the longest. Then they were the last to get there after some major event on the island. If all of the characters have died then we're able to go in and see all of them connect in the sideways world. Hurley was a key player getting them all together. They couldn't start connecting until they were all there. Make sense?? It does in my head, anyways.

Mike V. said...

@Daniel Z - I wouldn't look too much into what religion allows what! I think it was supposed to be ambiguous enough in the end where they didn't try to prove any religion correct! That's always how I thought the show would be in the end. So, I'm glad they did that.

@Anonymous 9:05 - I think I addressed this in a comment last night. But the ending credits were not meant to be SCENES from the show....the final scene of the show was Jack's eye closing. Everything during the credits was just for reminicent value!

@Gnni - You're totally welcome! I definitely had to get that blog up yesterday, but I never realized it would take me so long. 2 hours is tough...2.5 hours? YIKES...it was insane! Thanks on the pictures too. I worked hard on them. Unfortunately, in the middle of the blog, I filled my QUOTA for Google...so I had to start hosting them from another storage site. So, I guess that's why some of them aren't showing right now. Glad you could see them at Gather though! Great point on Juliet being divorced and a mother in Sideways! Totally didn't think about that! Yeah...the time thing is a bit confusing...but once you throw time out the window...it all kinda makes sense! (if one can latch onto that concept lol) Thanks for the well wishes on the REST! You know that I'll keep commeting as long as people are commenting though! lol And I'll get something else posted eventually...just don't know how long "EVENTUALLY" will be. But time isn't a factor in the AFTERLIFE of LOST! :-) LOL on the 1st Anniversary! For the record, I know I said it in the blog....the honeymoon wasn't put on hold for the blog! LOL I just threw that in there as a joke! I'll be sure to let the Mrs. know that everyone thanks her! Thank you for reading and for your insightful comments!

@Josume - Totally on board with LIGHT being the SOUL. Great thoughts around it too! I have nothing to add to it because I think you summed it up very nicely in your first post. Your Parts 2 and 3 are also great thoughts! DHARMA wanting to Exploit the source so they needed to be killed. I'd add the US Military doing the same thing. The one issue I had with the comments was when you got into MIB....I don't think his plan all along was to live for 2000 years and KNOW that these people would eventually come! I think he was initially putting that wheel together to get OFF of the Island....but then it happened to play a part in his loophole that he found...later down the road. Maybe that's what you meant...but I just wanted to clarify! lol Good point that MIB may have been influencing others in DHARMA...hence the NUMBERS were infused into their thinking. Totally agree on your sideways thoughts as well! I think you really summed up the LOST experience very nicely...and it's open to various different interpretations. the one CONSTANT in all of this though...should be that the Island Experiences were REAL and they were Alive....and the Sideways was after they ALL "eventually" died. If everyone can come to a consensus on that, that we can actually ponder how it all came together lik you just did. Well done Josume!

Mike V. said...

@David - It IS one way to look at it that it's Jack's perspective. But I still say that this was a character-driven drama....and each character had a story to tell. In this season each character had a centric story in sideways and Jack wasn't always a part of them. I think the point they were making is that ALL of these LOSTIES returned to the same place from ALL of their perspectives. But I'm willing to let THAT be up for interpretation. At least they're both still discussing SIDEWAYS as DEAD LAND! LOL As for what happens when walking into the light...I guess that's up for interpretation too....but I think it would be kinda sucky for them all to be together, be happy and then walk off into the light ALONE! But hey, that's just me :-) Great thoughts and interpretation! And not sure what you concurred with Gnni on but I'll say THANK YOU if it was on any props she mentioned! lol

@VFX - Thank you so much! (I know, I'm getting to be a broken record!) And you're welcome! very impressive that you read the blog after each episode too even though you could've just hit play on the next one! I'm glad it made such an impression on you. And I apologize for not having season 1 and the first 6 of season 2 recapped! And I know tons of people ask, but I have no interest in doing it now either! LOL Totally agree on the perfect ending and yeah, we're all gonna have our questions. And I know I'll get back to them. And totally agree it helps the rewatchability. I can't wait to watch it all over again and see if I pick up on anything. Thanks for reading!! As I just mentioned to David, I disagree with the entire Sideways being from his perspective, but it makes sense why you guys would think so and why it could be interpreted that way. Since we are given a CHOICE in the end of LOST, I choose not to agree! LOL

@Florin - Do you mean in this final episode? I didn't notice...but definitely have to watch again if Ben pushed Hurley out of the way when the tree fell. But I agree with VFX. In this story, Jack was the central hero. They all had their stories and did heroic things in the show....but it all started with Jack and it all ended with Jack. It had to be that way!

@Anonymous 10:29 - Congrats on watching it again! I envy you! I'll get there eventually lol So glad you found the blog so helpful and enjoyable! I appreciate your readership and loyalty in any future pursuits I make! Thanks for reading! I will still continue to "muse" on LOST, but I will miss the recapping as well :-(

@Anonymous 10:29 (2nd one) - Thanks for finally posting in your token of appreciation! I appreciate yours and everyone else's readership!

Mike V. said...

@Weasel - Thanks man! I appreciate you saying that. I tried my best to capture what I thought they were conveying without hearing the words directly from them! lol And it was an honor and privelege to blog about this show for as long as I did. Thank you for all of your great comments over the seasons as well. That would be awesome if the 20 minutes were just Hurley and Ben sitting on a log and discussing some answers. I would LOVE that! Might be better than actually seeing everything lol! Enjoy work, and we'll see you later in the week for your thoughts!

@Anonymous 12:23am - Thanks for accidentally finding the blog and sticking around! Thanks for the props and I'll be sure to pass the word onto my wife too! :-)

@Trent - That's great that you were able to drive by some of the "LOST" sites yesterday. I'm incredibly jealous. If I'm ever out in Hawaii...I might need a tour guide! LOL So, don't move off of the island! Totally agree with you on the ending, as I've stated many times! Thanks for the props on the blog too and for your readership and comments!

@Afan - Yikes, easy with the caps lock! I understand your frustration and I tried my best to explain how the show fittingly ended. But there always will be questions and some that the producers never really intended to answer. And possibly some that they "copped out" of answering. For me, it doesn't take away from the great 6 year experience though! Of course, over time, I actually loved the Sopranos ending as well! I can't answer all of your questions but the first one....Jack and Friends saved the world....from ...it's open to interpretation....but possibly from non-existence! We don't really know what was going to happen...and I know that upsets a lot of people. But it seemed that the implications were that there were stakes for the entire world that needed to be addressed by the LOSTIES. Everyone on the Ajira plane was going back "ACROSS THE SEA" to where they came from. They left the ISLAND....I don't understand how that part didn't make sense! There has always been spiritual under/overtones to LOST and in the end, it was no different. We have seen GHOSTS all throughout LOST...some TRAPPED ON THE ISLAND...and some who seemed to be "ENLIGHTENED" and were helping the living. (Ana Lucia, Charlie, Christian Shephard, Isabella, Jacob - all ghosts that appeared to Hurley or Jack who seemed to steer them down the right path - I don't see how showing an AFTERLIFE...which has to be where these GHOSTS came from...even if it was after they went into the light....is not part of the LOST experience. It has been since day 1!) TIME does not play a factor in Sideways. So you can't say it was really "THE FUTURE" ....but it did happen after each one of them eventually died. Even though it was at different times for each character. We don't know when Claire, Sawyer and Kate died...they may have lived happy lives...but when they did die...all of the LOSTIES were together. I know it's an interesting concept to understand...but you'll get it! Eko - they tried to get him back on the show but couldn't. Bitter dispute..producers are very sorry. Walt - I heard he'll be on the 20 minutes in the DVD....but I thought he'd be in the finale. The Special thing? Hey, I'm fired up about that too, but I won't let it detract from the finale. Sorry you didn't like it! But maybe you'll come around on it.

MAN there is lots of comments...I'm still working on them! But wanted to post these for now.

Kath said...

To Glen R.....Sun and Jin's baby couldn't be there....she really had no life with Sun that the baby would ever remember and of course never met Jin......My thinking is that the LOST characters all got to choose their significant people to be with in 'the end'....Desmond of course choose Penny...not their son...maybe Des didn't make it off the Island and therefore didn't really come to know his son...Clare choose Charlie and Aaron...because her happiest times were with the both of them on the island...hence why Aaron is an infant in the church scene...and not the 3 yr old he came to be.....and my assumption is that Clare made it off the island and raised Aaron to adulthood.....YET in death her happiest memories were just after Aaron was born with Charlie.......I don't think LOST is ALL about Jack....yes, he is most flawed and had the most to overcome and became sort of the 'example' of personla redemption BUT I feel this was about ALL of the crash survivors...they all got to choose in the end.....Also....Sawyer had a daughter as well....yet she wasn't there either. Despite the 'daddy issues' in LOST I think this is more about Love and who was it that helped you to no longer be 'LOST' and to truly become 'FOUND'.

3labsman said...

Great job Mike--as usual! Thanks for clearing the fog for me on the island vs. sideways worlds. I was getting there but you saved me a lot of stress!

josume said...

Thanks Mike,

Yes thats what I meant about the MIB...I probably didnt explain it well because I just wanted to type up my thoughts as I was thinking them. But I think his original goal was just to get off the island with the wheel.

Also, yes, the Island world was real. I am not understanding how people were saying that it wasnt and that they were dead. And there was a lot left for interpretation, but thats the beauty of lost. Part of the beauty of the series was for all of us viewers to go on our own personal journey also. And to sum it all up, the most important part about getting to a destination is the journey. The journey is what brings about the justification for getting to your destination. Thanks for all of your wonderful posts and insights Mike...I'm your fan for life!!! NAMASTE!!!

Mike V. said...

@Benjamin - Makes sense to me!

@Florin - I'm confused ...you're not suggesting that they were already dead on the Island are you? Because I definitely can't agree with that! But I totally agree that the show ended nicely!

@Ian - Thanks! Yeah, I know a few who didn't like the ending either. And between this post and the "DISCUSSION" post I had up before the recap was up...I saw MUCH frustration being vented out! Ranking every episode eh? GOOD LUCK with it! I'm sure we'll still find THE CONSTANT and LOOKING GLASS and WALKABOUT at the top! But, I might rank this episode pretty high too! Yeah how about them FLYERS? I actually have always liked the Blackhawks too....mainly because of those old NHL Genesis games where I'd always use Jeremy Roenick to score lots of goals! lol But obviously, I'll be rooting for the FLYBOYS!! I just wish I was still as hardcore of a fan as I used to be. LOST Actually started in the year of the NHL strike, ironically, and when the NHL returned, my viewing of every Flyers game did not return! So I've been a fan from afar lately. I'll definitely be watching this final round though!

@Anonymous 3:32am - Thanks for the props on the blog! Glad you found your peace with the end! Yeah, we have been waiting for that Christian/Jack scene to happen forever....so I think we had to hold a lot of weight into what he was saying in the final minutes of the show. It was just perfect! Getting chills and welling up just thinking about it again! lol Well, now Claire may remember her child growing up...since she left the Island and probably raised him for years to come....but yeah...Aaron was a baby when their LOST experience started so that's how he is there. As for Ji Yeon? I don't know...good question. I guess there are lots of things that could be nitpicked...but Ji Yeon was brought up in their sideways scene of enlightenment so maybe that was how they covered that part. I dunno!

@Jeremy - yeah I loved the Target ads. I'll be sure to check this clip out later! Thanks for sharing!

@Matt - I don't know who is ANGRY at the people who think "they all died on the flight"....I am just utterly confused to why people would think that. The producers have said since day 1 that they weren't all dead in the beginning of the show. I think they are getting their last laugh on us now by making the Sideways Land some type of purgatory. Because they all DID die eventually by the end. By the final moments we share with them...we see their definitive end...that they're all together. But that last shot is of Jack closing his eye on the REAL Island adventure. He is about to enter that Sideways existence....of course...Kate, Hurley, Sawyer, Miles, Ben, Frank, you name it...won't enter that world for years to come. Boone, Shannon, Ana Lucia...etc....were already there. Why wasn't Michael there? His soul was trapped on the Island...the whispers. IT WAS REAL! It ALL was real. The Island was REAL when they were alive....the SIDEWAYS was real when they all were dead. Clear as day for me. And I don't really know any other way of explaining it to people! That doesn't make me angry at anyone for not agreeing. Just confused! So your thoughts are that there are different levels of death? A pre-purgatory where they crashed and died....then were tested to get to purgatory...then they forgot everything...had to find each other...and then move on? Here's a question...why would they even care about each other if they all met in death? None of them knew each other before that plane crashed! In my opinion, it just takes away from so much in the show if we believe they all were dead the entire time. And I do not believe for 1 second that this was the producer's intentions to convey that with the final episode.

David Salako said...

@ Mike V. - A little clarification, I don't think the entire Sideways was from Jack's perspective, just a lot of the stuff that pertained to him as well as the scene in the Lamppost church. I agree that they tried to show the Sideways realm from different perspectives as much as they could with time allowed.

Mike V. said...

@Dad (Tony) - Thanks so much for making a comment on the blog! I appreciate the props on this recap and for the entire run! Glad you took the time to read all of these novels over the years :-)

My dad gets his own separate comment!

David Salako said...

I also think that the reason Claire and Charlie are with an infant Aaron in the church is because those are the happiest memories Jack has of them. Kate and Jack were with an older Aaron as part of the oceanic 6 BUT those were not the happiest memories for Jack - miserable off-ISLAND 3 years. Ji-Yeon is not with Sun and Jin because Jack never met Ji-Yeon. I extrapolate that in Kate's, Claire's and Sun's "final exit" perspectives they will have slightly different versions of characters such as Aaron and Ji-Yeon.
Just my thought!

Deebo said...

Mike, first let me say your blog has been downright amazing these years and you have done an excellent job. Props to all posters as well, always great conversation here…that said-

I am in shock everyone is on board with this ending…All of us Lost fans need to realize that the writers just gave us all the middle finger and told us to screw off…Does everyone realize half of the entire season was wasted with purgatory? Does anybody understand that the writers expecting a huge audience dumbed down the finale and made it into a love fest to appeal to the masses…They showed the island underwater in the beginning for absolutely no reason, only to fool us…They should have never done flash sideways and should have done flashbacks to cover old mysteries (Widmore centric, Eloise centric, Dharma Centric etc..)

I was at comic-con when the writers asked us to trust them and they took the laziest way out of the story…I had a feeling after reading Alan’s interview with Darlton where they were usually uptight about the finale and gave the worst excuse for not tying up the outrigger scene…I’m not one of those who are upset about answer (though it would have been nice) but rather the sloppy writing (how did Ben get out from under that tree?) and their lack of imagination…Think of all the excellent theories on this site that were talked about endlessly and THIS is the way they solve the sideways? What a joke…Being such a Lost expert I thought you would have been a little more critical Mike and see the finale ( and season 6 as a whole) for what it was….Rant over

David Salako said...

The more I think of Eloise's words in the Lamppost station to Jack "re-create as best you can the original details..." and the mirroring of this in Sideways realm, a re-creation of some sort that is not quite right, I realize that these writers are genius.
The Lamppost was a gateway of sorts back to THE ISLAND and where Jack learned to "take a leap of faith". Mirrored in the same location being where Jack got his full realization and a gateway to THE LIGHT.
As someone mentioned earlier, Ben's "Thomas the Apostle" speech to Jack in the church back in season 5 also foreshadows Jack's "Thomas the Apostle" - aka as "Sixth Sense" to some - type conversation with Christian Shepherd.
Clever stuff!

Mike V. said...

@Bolger - Thank YOU for reading, for your comments, and for the props on the blog! Thanks for sticking with it too since you found it! Yeah, the show has never shown anything after that final BOOM LOST...so I didn't feel in the end it should be any different! The final shot of Jack's eye closing was perfect. It's crazy thought that people did think it meant something! Agreed...maybe those answers will be on the Blu/DVD....we can only hope!! Or at least maybe Darlton will make themselves available for some of the bigger questions we have had that they didn't cover!

@Anonymous 8:36 am - Thanks for blog props!! I'm blown away too as I've mentioned at the "everything was purgatory" thoughts going around. But I've said much on it already. lol For the Juliet question - I like what Gnni said above in the comments....that Juliet needed to be an Ex-Wife and have a Son to understand what her parents went through when they got divorced. They went out of their way to show us that flashback scene last season to show Juliet's parental issues that she brought forward into her relationship with Sawyer. So it makes sense that she had to experience it in Sideways just like Jack had to experience being a father! I agree with the Walt theory too...maybe this isn't the important time in his life. Agreed on Michael too! Of course...comparing Michael to Ben is very interesting...but Ben may have been able to repent over the many years as Hurley's #2! And he continues to repent when everyone else moves on at the end of the show.

@Glenn - As I mentioned above in response to David (and I see he has posted more)...I do not agree that it was only JACK'S sideways purgatory. But yes, I guess that would kind of explain it! lol As for Penny...she played a pivotal role in getting them off the Island...and is a pivotal person for Desmond...who is also there. I get what you're saying but I was fine with that! lol See my comments to David. I can't answer all of those questions, but for me...it was just cool that all of the LOSTIES were there together!

@Daniel and Jolene - Thanks so much! And thanks for reading!

@Glenn - I hear you on the unanswered questions. I haven't quite reached your level yet on the frustration as I'm still letting that awesome finale sink in! I want to rewatch the show and see if I still question things! Plus...see what other answers are on the DVD/Blu-Ray!

@Others - (nice name) - I probably have praised the show more that it deserved...you're right...I just couldn't help but love everything about it. It really captured my imagination from day 1 and I never looked back! Glad you loved the finale! And thanks for keeping it real! lol

Mike V. said...

@T.A. Helton - Makes sense to me and is a great interpretation! Maybe Hurley was a key player in getting them there. Of course...it doesn't make sense then that he was asking Desmond for what to do next....(i.e. I didn't know Ana Lucia would be here. Is she coming too?) Totally agree that the END HAD COME. I think the producers pretty much explain why the island was underwater in the Pre-Show to the finale...they said that they wanted viewers to realize that it doesn't play a factor in this sideways land. Yeah...right...of course we were going to question it though! And of course they wanted us to think about it when Flocke planned to sink the island! But...I guess, in the end, what they said is correct. it is all the POST-Island experience for all of them.

@Kath - Great point about Ji Yeon! And great thoughts on the significance on who was there at the end. I like it!

@3labsman - Thanks! I'm glad I was able to shed some light for you :-)

@Josume - Cool on MIB! I totally hear you about typing up thoughts as I think of them. Hence...the blog! LOL Totally agree that the journey is the most important part of LOST....we always knew it would be. Thanks so much for the major props!! Namaste to you as well!

@David - I gotcha David. You could be right, it makes sense! I still think that last scene was for all of them though!

Anonymous said...

Just want to give Mike props on a really awesome job. I've been a Lost fan since my boyfriend got me hooked during the second season (which was followed by a summer of previous episodes on dvd to catch up :)

i really enjoyed the entire series, but honestly didnt always understand what was going on. Luckily i found your blog for the final season! thank you so much for all of your insight and storytelling.

p.s. was Helen with Locke in the church in sideways land at the end? i dont remember, but i hope so... that love story was sweet and he deserved that happiness.

kt said...

Just want to give Mike props on a really awesome job. I've been a Lost fan since my boyfriend got me hooked during the second season (which was followed by a summer of previous episodes on dvd to catch up :)

i really enjoyed the entire series, but honestly didnt always understand what was going on. Luckily i found your blog for the final season! thank you so much for all of your insight and storytelling.

p.s. was Helen with Locke in the church in sideways land at the end? i dont remember, but i hope so... that love story was sweet and he deserved that happiness.

David Salako said...

@ktguf- Sadly, Helen wasn't at the church because Locke's "happy scenario" with Helen wasn't real. Helen died in real life and their relationship did not end well due to Locke's Daddy issues.

Mike V. said...

@David - Still good points with the Jack perspective (with Aaron and all)! I still don't agree! :-)

@Deebo - Thanks for the props before you get into the frustration! LOL I totally understand your frustration, but I also get why they did what they did. Yeah...half of the season was about re-connecting after death with the people most important to them in the post important time in their life. And I actually think it's kind of cool. I still say that the "AFTER LIFE" has always been a part of this show with the Ghostly appearances and all of that throughout the show. And it was always one of the questions I wanted an answer to. So, they kind of did answer it in a big way! I hear you on all of the loose ends and open questions, and maybe they'll explain them all in due time. MAYBE. My intent with this blog was never to criticize the show but to just enjoy the ride while we had it. I'm sorry if you feel I look the "lazy way out" in the end too! :-) But, hey, I'm sucker for the sappy stuff. And after 6 years with these characters, I think we deserved that episode. Maybe that makes me strange! I dunno.

@David - Interesting thoughts on Re-creating events and the Lamp post commentary! I like it!

David Salako said...

It is one of the reasons that Ben's hesitation to go into the church was also moving - his "happy scenario" in Sideways realm with Danielle and Alex Rousseau wasn't real either.

Anonymous said...

Mike, apologies I should have been more specific. I didn't mean you were angry, your recap reads very well as they always have done! If you check the discussion before your recap was posted there were a few posts basically saying "anyone who thinks the island wasn't real is stupid and should go away" or words to that effect.

I was just saying I think it was left ambiguous on purpose, why else would they show the original plane wreckage at the end?

I just don't see why there is such a leap from "the island is just a special place in the world" to "the island is a special place in another plane of existence".

This also answers your question about why they cared about each other after death. Essentially they were thrown together on the island! Just substitute real world island with "another place" and there you have it.

I also prefer this way because it generally doesn't sit well with me that they all died at completely different times and met up again in the afterlife. You could end literally any drama like that, no matter how the show pans out... "don't worry folks, look they all end up together in the end".

As I said before I think they did this deliberately, but I am glad most are so positive about their understanding. I can see why most people go with your summary but I am genuinely 50/50 about which is right (or what the writers really intended) but in the end it doesn't really matter does it?.

However, what does matter is that I have not yet said thank you for your Lostaddictsblog! It has been absolutely fantastic to read along the way and, I know everyone says it every week, but you really deserve some serious praise for it. Cheers mate!

Matt

Mike V. said...

Thanks KT! I appreciate the kind words and I'm glad you found the blog so helpful! I totally agree with David's sentiments on why Helen wasn't there at the end. That wasn't the most important part of HIS life....OR Locke's life!

Mike V. said...

@Matt - Yeah, I think I'm going to save those comments for a rainy day. There are so many of them! I tried to chime in on occassion. I'm sorry that I wasn't there to keep the peace with everyone! In the beginning I was deleting posts that had major profanity...but I'm sure it got worse when I stopped babysitting lol

I agree that things were left ambiguous...but I disagree it was THAT ambiguous where we're meant to take away from it that the Island wasn't real too. The original Plane Wreckage at the end was NOT part of the show. This was confirmed. How do we explain the fact that events were happening "OFF ISLAND" ...and that some of the Losties LEFT the island and then returned. As this all part of DEATH too? I just can't think that was what it was.

I agree you could end ANY drama the way they did. But I still enjoyed it! No, I guess in the end it doesn't matter. We're all free to think what we want! I do appreciate your gratitude for the blog and I thank you for the very KIND WORDS! You all have been great readers and have provided great commentary over the years and I thank you all for that as well!

David Salako said...

The plane wreckage montage shown at the end of "The End "was simply to show that iconic set they built on that beach in Hawaii that started the story telling of this saga. Where it began.
It wasn't to indicate that they all died in that oceanic 815 plane crash.
Even the camera lens that was used to shoot that footage looks different from how the show is normally shot.
I am pretty show the writers/directors/editors of the show never imagined that showing that footage as a circular book end and homage to the pilot episode would cause so much confusion.

Deebo said...

So why was Michael trapped on the island and does not get a happy ending because he murdered two innocent people? Sayid killed many and even killed 3 people in the sideways world where he could have sparred Keamy’s life…How many people in that church had committed murder and get to have a happy ending but no Michael? Sayid’s true love is his two week island fling with Shannon? So where was Jack’s Mom at the end? No one else wanted their loved ones to join them? I don’t think YOU took the lazy way out I just can’t believe you think this is the ending we deserved.

I think they did not clearly answer the Ghosts on the island…Why was Christian on the freighter? Why did we hear whispers when the others came? The ending they gave us was the one thing that we were told they would not do…I know they said no on-island purgatory but you get the jist…So what happens if Smokie got off the island? If he could spare Penny’s life why did Charles say they would cease to exist? I’m most sad that the rewatch value is gone I will sell all my Lost Blu rays and never watch this show again…Sorry last rant, I’m just that upset

An example of how bad the writing was- The procurers were going to make Illana Jacob’s daughter….That’s why when you rewatch Dr. Linus you can see they changed Illana’s dialogue but kept everything the same…That’s why Ben tells her about Alex dying because it was written as if he had killed Illana’s father…The writers were actually going to tell us she was Jacob’s daughter just for another sibling found cliff hanger with no intention of answering it…For knowing the end date for three years, they had the chance to put together the most cohesive story ever told on TV and decided to just scrap answers for love reunions in a fake purgatory world…So sad

Mike V. said...

@David - I agree that I doubt the producers had any intention of causing confusion. The show always ended before the BOOM LOST...anything after shouldn't have been interpreted that way!

@Deebo - I didn't say it was the ending we "deserved"...I just really enjoyed it! I really don't know what we deserved...but if you take all of the endings that people built up inside of their heads and you put yourself in Damon and Carlton's shoes... what really were they supposed to do? They had to tell the story they wanted to tell. Maybe that's not what everyone wanted to see though. You bring up good poitns with Michael vs. Sayid...and I'm sure there are ways to speculate about that. Maybe Michael being trapped on the Island "ISN'T" what kept him from being in that church....I dunno. It would seem like a waste for them to bring it up then in answering the whispers then!

All of those questions you asked are questions I still have. But they weren't exactly all answers I expected to get in this final episode. I think there will be more on the DVD./Blu ..not sure how much they'll be able to cover in 20 minutes or in the episode commentaries but I'll be interested to hear what they have to say.

Trust me...I get your frustrations...and I may be right in the same boat with you a few weeks, months, years from now. But my immediate reaction to the finale is one of happiness and enjoyment. And I don't think that will necessarily go away. It was a solid 2.5 hours of TV. It was a great way to cap off the 6 year experience. LOST has always intrigued but tugged at the heart strings along the way....and it did so in the end. Did everything tie up nicely? NO...not at all. The producers say "such is life"....i agree that this is a BS answer....but if they kept me entertained for 6 years...i don't care! I am excited to ponder about these little questions over time...i can't really answer them right now...but everything you brought up is a good question! That's really all I can say right now!

Deebo said...

Thanks Mike and your blog is helping feel a little better, I just needed to let out some steam…seriously amazing job with this site and still waiting for Fringe addicts!!!

Mike V. said...

Thanks Deebo - I totally understand you letting off steam! I still have to watch the last 3 episodes of FRINGE! lol I'll see if it makes me want to blog about it...but I think that ship has sailed unfortunately! :-(

off to lunch guys and then a bunch of meeting this PM. I'm sure I'm going to fall behind again! But I have the rest of eternity to catch up :-)

gnni4 said...

Life leaves us with questions unanswered just as Lost did. Not every question can be answered, or matters that much in the long run. I had a lot of questions left over after I lost my mother, there were things I never knew about my sister that I can never learn after I lost her. There are always going to be unanswered questions, dangling threads of our lives, unfinished business when it is all said and done, such is life and death.

There actually have been books that I have read that didn't answer all my questions, sometimes they lead to a sequil, sometimes they force the imagination, sometimes I have to read them again.

I think that Michael is stuck on the island because MICHAEL is stuck on the island...no one is forcing him to be there, but HE can't let go. Christian told him, "you can go now Michael" and instead of moving on, he remained stuck.

I love that we have (scratch that, GET) to figure this stuff out ourselves, to find what is important to us, and to leave the rest of it behind. That we still get to discuss the show and try to solve the mysteries. I think it would have been a great let down to be given all the answers and have it really be over when it ended.

Unknown said...

I think Jack turned into a smoke monster after being in the water and the light, just like old smokey. Then he killed Hurly and then Ben after they removed the stone in order to kill him. That is why the island is under water.

David Salako said...

I asked the same question to: why wasn't Margo Shepherd at the church reunion/exit?
When I look back on six seasons of "Lost", Margo wasn't at Jack's wedding either.
She was there during the "oceanic six" hoopla and Christian's "funeral without a corpse".
In the extra DVD stuff, they seem to indicate that Christian Shepherd deeply felt sad that he had married "the wrong girl".
Perhaps the strained relationship between the three of them will be expanded on in the Encyclopedia?
Perhaps this side story ended up being cut due to the realities of time constraints on a show such as this?

Robin said...

Mike,
I only found your blog this past season, but I have loved reading every word of it. Your recaps always caught some details or dialogue I missed and helped me to understand what was going on….as well as create my own speculations.
As I was watching this final episode, I was crying like a baby. I felt like I was at a funeral…then I realized, the episode itself was a funeral…Every awakening a eulogy to the last six seasons of the show. I’m tearing up again now. My favorite scene was when Vincent laid down next to Jack. Vincent’s story was the one I wanted resolved the most (out of the more obscure questions). And then to have him in that scene, yanked my heartstrings so much. When you’re a dog lover, any emotional scene with a dog is 10 times more emotional.
I still have questions that I know will never be answered. But this show was written by humans, people who make mistakes and aren’t perfect, so I don’t expect perfection.
I’m wondering if you could clarify one scene in this episode though…there’s a part where Eloise and Desmond are speaking to each other and she asks him something along the lines of “What happens when you’ve wakened them all?”. I can’t remember what Des said, but I came away with him attempting revenge. Not sure what the revenge is for, or if I even remember this scene correctly. I haven’t re-watched the episode yet…it will be a while, I still am recovering. I truly am mourning the loss of this show, like the loss of a friend.
Thanks again for all of your hard work. I look forward to your insight on the DVD material.
Namaste.
Robin

Unknown said...

"I think Jack turned into a smoke monster after being in the water and the light, just like old smokey. Then he killed Hurly and then Ben after they removed the stone in order to kill him. That is why the island is under water."

I like this make believe. :)

David Salako said...

I found the scene that @Robin is referring to between Eloise and Desmond to be surprisingly moving.
Much like Jack's "David Shepherd" scenario, Ben's "Alex and Danielle" scenario and Locke's "Helen" scenario, Eloise's "Daniel Widmore the musician" and alive son scenario wasn't real either.
She wanted to hold onto it for as long as possible. This is why her party event seemed to take what could be perceived as weeks in Sideways?
For a character that seemed omniscient in "real life", she now was uncertain and unsure of the next step.
I think what happens when they all "awaken" is that they fully accept and come to terms with their real lives and then move on into THE LIGHT.

Anonymous said...

First of all, thanks Mike for all your work. Truly appreciated by all us Lost fans...

I was contemplating a comment earlier on the question of why Smokey's existence or nonexistence on the Island played into the destruction of the world as a whole... I believe the island is it is the "source." That is the source of all potential good in people, in love, in morality, etc. In other words the "light that exists in all of us, in death and in rebirth, etc" If that light were to "go out" it would destroy the existence of life as we know it. In other words, it would extinguish all that is meaningful in life and release the evil that had kept all the losties in a sense "lost" within their lives prior to the arrival on the island. Methaphorically, the writers were trying to tell us that once the light is out, Smokey (AKA all evil) would be free to be released and take over existence as we know it -- to end the light in all of us that makes the world good and meaningful. I didn't see this as a literal and physical destruction of all the world, but more of a destruction of the ability for mankind to find meaning in their lives -- to go on being "lost" for eternity. That is why Smokey becomes human again after the light is extinguished by Desmond. Smokey (AKA evil/darkness/etc) is now released and free to leave the island and corrupt existence forever ... To remove the source ("light") of all meaning existence/morality/love in world. Perhaps, in the grand picture, the writers were trying to say that every person has this island within him. That every person has this journey on their own island and that to move through life and beyond with meaning and purpose that they need to extinguish their own light briefly to reflect and understand that the evil/immorality/devil within them needs to be slain in order to regain "the light"/purpose/meaning within them in order for them to "let go" and make peace in death. The island represents everyone's own struggle between light and dark (i.e. good and evil) and that its a place we all visit in our own journey to ultimately end up with the people and memories that we cherish.

I believe the Sideways world was as you described... an "in-between" life and afterlife to find those memories and people that held meaning during our Real life ("the time that matters"). Sideways world is a timeless place that our minds journey to in order to let go and move on to the next stage. The Island was real, but only in the sense that it existed for these Losties to reconcile the things that held them lost and troubled back on earth. It is a place they can go to and from until they solve the mystery in their own minds as to how to obtain the peace of mind that will lead them to purposeful living and meaning and to proceed to the afterlife. That is how they ultimately travel back and forth to the island in seemingly mysterious ways.

For instance the Oceanic 6 that were able to leave the island had not fully grasped the purpose of the island's light. They left and returned to their real lives uninspired and unelightened. The did not slay the evil that tied the down yet. That is why they had to return -- to complete their journeys.

I don't know. These are just rambling thoughts I had to try to reconcile the big picture of this show. I know it sounds flakey, but I thought I'd put it out there

gnni4 said...

I was thinking about what was 'real' and what/who was 'not real' in the sideways.

Our Losties 'woke up' from their dream lives. Were all the bit players not real or just not awakened? Daniel Whidmore (Faraday) didn't wake up, he was not ready, or Eloise was not ready for him to move on, or for her to move on. Was Charles also awakened and just hanging out, or just Eloise? Was Nadia needing to spend time in a relationship with a man in trouble that she loved and she could actually help/fix, be a mother and would awaken at another time when she met those that were truely the most important during her actual life? Was Helen real, but needing to be with a man that she didn't need to fix, and would run into whoever was the most important one for her later and then would awaken? Did Ben choose to stay so he could explore the life he never got with a woman who loved him and his daughter and do right by them, and help them to wake up, or were they 'unreal'? I am enjoying all the questions, and where those answers can lead to.

Mike V. said...

@Gnni - Agree that it's great to be left with questions to still ponder. But also understand that not everyone will find that satisfactory! And if we start thinking about things too much...we get into the big bang line of questioning. Why is Michael not with them? He's stuck on the island? Why? because ...... But then why? because.......but why are we here? because the big bang happened. But what happened before that? It just never ends! I'm fine with the resolution they put in place and the ambiguity that they left. As for questions that they just did not have time to cover based on the format of the story and where they were...(i.e. DHARMA Food Drops, why Libby was in the mental institution, etc...) MAYBE we'll get resolution to them in this Blu-Ray extra!

@Gmmisp - I was wondering when someone would bring up that question about if Jack turned into Smokey. Would make for a great sequel! LOL j/k Not sure if that was a joke or not, but I guess it's possible that one could ponder that this happened!

@David - perhaps that will be explained in the encyclopedia. I'm not sure though. Interesting to note that Christiam may have felt sad for marrying the wrong girl!
@Robin - Thanks so much for the kind words! Glad the blogs helped you, and great that it was able to help you form your OWN theories too! I'd hate for people to take things I say as GOSPEL (well...except the fact that the ISLAND STORY WAS REAL AND THEY WERE ALL ALIVE! :-) lol). Nice analogy that the episode was a funeral. Oh yeah...that scene with Vincent crawling up beside Jack was perfect....it definitely made it even more effective! Great to point out that humans write the show too. It's very difficult to be perfect...and even if they were...everyone has different opinions on what perfect would be! I think all that Desmond pretty much told Eloise was....that when they're all awake...they're going to "LEAVE" (the recurring theme of the episode)....they were going to move on together. He also said that he wouldn't be taking Daniel. But it seemed to imply that someone ELSE might take him. But of course, we never got that answer! Maybe Charlotte and He would eventually connect. You're totally welcome for the hard work...and I'll see you when the DVD rolls around! :-) lol

@VFX - yes, the very 1st of the fan fictions that are sure to come. I look forward to some expanded universe novels about the adventures of Ben and Hurley on the Island! Definitely open ended enough to do something like that!

@David - that all makes sense with them coming to terms with their life and moving on!

@Anonymous 12:30pm - You're welcome! and thank you for reading and your comments! You could be right that it was never about saving the world from physical destruction. The ability to find meaning in life is a good theory too! You lost me when you started talking bout the ISLAND though. I think the Island was very real and not all in the mind. (I could be reading it wrong..but I have to leave for a meeting soon so I'm scrambling! LOL) The fact that PENNY knew about the Island and was looking for Desmond for 3 years...and finally got to him and saved him and some of his friends make me think that the Island was real and that there was an ability to physically TRAVEL to and from it. Totally agree about completing journeys and the oceanic 6 having to return and all of that stuff. But, now that I read it again...you may be saying that they were able to come and go from the Island because of their need for the Island to finish their redemption tales. All very insightful and interesting ideas! Sorry I didn't have more time to process it further! :-(

I gotta run to my meeting...happy commenting all!

Candidate said...

WOW mike. I just took a quick look at your recap and wanted to give you a wow wow wow on your screen captures. My favorites are the cave of light and waterfalls. I haven't read past your opening paragraph yet but really looking foward to it. This one I don't want to read at work w/distractions. I'm gonna wait and read and ponder in peace. Thanks for the hard work and guidance through this amazing journey. It aint over yet...It'll never be over for me. Check back in after I read.

JuanC said...

Loved the ending! couldnt have been better! i cried like 4 times! I was thinking and thinking and i jumped to a conclusion were if I have to compare the show to someone or give a physical face i would say the show its James Ford! if you recall the meaning of long con by sawyer, the show does the same thing to the viewer, its all a LONG CON where what you think it was WASNT,! and in the end if you thought of it, they made you doubt! so for me all of us got conned by the show in some sort of way!

thanks mike for the excellent recaps! i will still follow you on twitter and read your comments on the future blue ray!

see you all in another life brothas!

namste!

Unknown said...

Mike, That's what is great about the way it ended our minds can make up so many different scenarios. Maybe someday the writers will decide to let us in on the way they see it.

Anonymous said...

I can't think of anything you guys haven't already covered; there has been a lot of good discussion out there. Mike, I hope you don't have to keep typing the same thing too much more "THE ISLAND WAS REAL!" I agree with all of your theories, and appreciate all of your work and insights. I'm looking forward to whatever project you tackle next! But whatever show it is, it can never be as good as LOST!

I rewatched the final ep last night, after reviewing the recap and comments. It made a lot more sense, and this time when I watched it really tapped the emotions since I had a better idea of what was going on. Highlights for me included Vincent lying next to Jack as he was dying, Charlie being present during Aaron's birth when he missed it the first time, Sawyer & Juliette's reunion by the candy machine, Jack hugging his father at the church. I loved that Hugo became a confident, take-charge guy at the end but was still so sweet and compassionate (his face was BEAMING when he saw Charlie at the hotel!) So many good moments, even if I was a little disappointed with them not tying up all of the loose ends (like who was in that outrigger shooting at our losties?) LOL!!

Anyway, still a great show and I will miss it tremendously! Thanks again for all your efforts! Cajun QT

Richard said...

MIke,
Thanks for your effort. I can tell you put a lot into this.

1. BTW, I think the Sawyer/Juliette scene was the best. They are both great actor/actress.

2. As you know, I've been a "Ben is bad" guy who suspected some redemption in this episode. We got some. In IW when the tree fell on Ben I was wondering "is he going to drown with the island when it sinks?" When Ben didn't go inside the Church it was not surprising given how much he tried to kill/harass that group. And to some extent Ben's group was the Others(he was not an Oceanic survivor)or his daughter(although he did have a thing for Juliette). Ben would probably like to cross over with his "daughter" or Dad. Kind of interesting how in this land after seeing this scene you really understand that Ben may not have a group where he gelled. But in this world he has a "daughter", Dad and possible new Mrs Linus.

3.This land isn't really the classical Purgatory--I'm going to start calling it Dream World since it's like they all seem to get the happy ending--I don't mean this in a cynical way.

4.It would be interesting to know what happened to David and the others who completed this dream world. Are these "people" the same, that is, the spirits of the deceased, since they complete this kind of dream world? Were people like David and the many others made up by those we know(Losties) or were they in this DW as their own personal journey in the after life? I'm not going to get too wrapped up on this point, but it's interesting to ponder.
5. If they make a movie based on Lost, a sequel or prequel either one would be great. Although I'm kind of more for a prequel since we may get info on Mother and those before. Whereas I don't know who we could identify with in a sequel.

Steve said...

Ok, I'm back for another round. So, obviously the whole "MIB will be redeemed" thing never panned out for me. Fair enough. I am actually a little disappointed in how they handled his story though. I mean, as far as I saw, he was a man whose brother doomed him to a fate worse than death. All he wanted was to get off the island. Yes, he started killing folk, but he lived 2000 years trapped on the island, in a crazy undeath, you'd be kind of pissed too. I think what the writers should have done was to have him mirror his crazy mother's death. After he is shot, he should have looked at Jack (right before being thrown off the cliff) with a certain clarity in his eyes and said "Thank you". That would have ended his story arc much better for me (since, in a way, his death was actually granting him the release he had looked for for so many years).

Anyway, I digress. As far as the main story arc ending, I thought it was fitting. Have all the characters back together again. I'm not concerned about how everyone else died, because it doesn't matter. That I think it good storytelling (though I do have an issue with you using words like "prove there is an afterlife" and "everyone is represented" as an atheist, but I can let that pass ;) ). In fact, I think that would have been the perfect ending if they hadn't left so many loose ends.

See, the problem is, the writers were having so much success in the middle of the series, they started piling mystery upon mystery. They thought "our audience loves questions!" so gave us questions. A whole load of them. The problem is, that built us up to expect answers. Obviously, those answer didn't really come. In order to truly end this series (as a self proclaimed sci-fi) they needed to give us an explanation for at least three things they missed:

1) Why were all the ghosts trapped on the island? Obviously with the whispers, there were a ton of ghosts there. So, how did that work? Why was that the case?

2) What was "special" about the special people? Why were they special? Did it have to do with the energy at the heart of the island? Did they have an ability to tap into it (and, for example, see dead people, or heal dead animals)?

3) What's with the numbers? What is the origin of the numbers? Why are they important? This could have been let go, but they brought it back with the lighthouse and the cave. In the end, the numbers meant nothing. There was no explanation for them, for why certain numbers were attached to certain people, for why they were being broadcast, for why they had an effect on the real world (lottery), for why they were bad (unlucky). The numbers were one of the most chilling mysteries of lost in the early season, and just when we thought we'd get something (by them bringing them back) they completely backed away from it.

It just gives off the impression that there was no plan for some of these things. That they never had an answer, and that the writers, when they couldn't come up with a great answer, decided to just hope we forgot about it. Sci-Fi is supposed to give you answers, even if they are hidden in technology that is nonsensical. The energy source was electromagnetic energy, I buy that, but give me at least a cursory explanation on how that holds the power of life, death, and rebirth. Instead, the show seemed to decide it was a fantasy at about the time the writers figured out they had no way to explain what had happened.

Anyway, all in all a great show, but it would have been just that much greater if all of those mysteries that were introduced could have been brought together in a nice, neat, package that made us all say "woah...".

Siri said...

I love the recap and LOVED the finale. I have NEVER missed an episode of the show (including the time I was in the hospital birthing my son;)) What I want to discuss is Whidmore. I know we will never get all the answers but I am surprised they didn't answer more about him considering he was always a lingering character. I am also excited to buy the dvd's and rewatch the episodes to catch tidbits. Thanks for your time in writing these insights!

Anonymous said...

Mike,
I found your blog this past season and have thoroughly enjoyed reading it. One thing you brought my attention to is the use of mirrors in the flashsideways. I wondered throughout the season if those mirrors would come into play. Any thoughts on that now that the season is wrapped up?

Thanks for all your hard work! It sure has been a GOOD TIME!

Kath said...

Regarding: Michael and Ben

I think Ben not going into the church was the writers way of totally respecting the unity that the crash survivors have with each other. I do feel that Ben has totally redeemed himself however, it seems that he also felt he wasn't good enough to be in that church with the caliber of people that were in there. Hurley inviting him in was a sign of total acceptance...BUT not all would agree.....there were many people in that room that would have mixed feelings about him still........that being said it was perfect that he was 'there' to show his respect for the people in the church....yet NOT cross the 'line' and enter the church. I like to think he continued on in his 'purgatory' with his 'daughter' and Rousseau but i don't think that is the reason he stayed behind....i think it was all out of respect.

Michael on the other hand I feel is somewhat of a scumbag.....Remember... he killed 2 of HIS OWN (Libby and Ana Lucia)in cold blood...they had no defense...Plane passengers killing plane passengers is not acceptable....and the final insult was his betrayal to the gang by leaving the island...I get that he was a father and was looking out for Walt BUT the manner in which he did it.......not acceptable.

Ben has made true atonement and has never pretended to be anyone else other then the crazy guy that he was......Michael sealed his fate with his betrayal of his 'own people'.....that fate being...Island Whisperer!

Anonymous said...

I liked the ending, but some of the seemingly important questions werent answered. Im not saying all of the little stuff (like who built the statue) but some of the big THEMES.
What I find frustrating is that several concepts were introduced as IMPORTANT parts of the mythology on the show and then completely ignored.

1. Walt was essentially an unresolved tangent that was made out to be IMPORTANT in season 1 and 2 then totally abandoned and never paid off.

2. What was with Aaron? Why was he so important?

3. What about the whole issue of not being able to have children? It's the entire backstory for Juliet being brought to the Island, presented as an IMPORTANT mystery and then just forgotten about.

I didn't need these things explained in painful detail, but SOME sort of closure on it was promised to audience by the very nature of the show and was not delivered upon by the time the show ended. If they hadn't been such integral parts of the 1st couple seasons, it wouldn't matter but they were the central themes for years.

All said, loved the show. No regrets.

JSano29 said...

People.....they all died in the original crash. Richard told everyone that this season when he said that the island wasn't real and that they were all dead. I know some don't want to concede that because they then they think they wasted several hours of their lives, but that is how it is. Sorry to burst your bubbles.

jfred17 said...

This may have been brought up already, have only had time to read about half the comments. But has anyone talked about the last shot of the episode showing the plane wreck on the beach? Any thoughts on that?

I did read a few comments about waiting for the 20 minutes of cut scenes that will be on the DVD. I think this is a bad idea to have in your head. It will more than likely not be that big of a deal and just another let down for all those people that need exact answers. JMO

Awesome Recaps by the way. Have enjoyed all of them. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

The LOST Finale was great.

Ok, let's get the negativity (sideways) out of the way first.

I'm fairly certain the 20 minutes of "extra" footage will not provide any answers. It is merely a ploy to sell more copies of the DVD. It'll be minor details, if anything

As a hater of the sideways story form day 1. I did NOT like the conclusion of that portion of the show. The sideways timeline was introduced in season 6, and makes up proably less than 5% of the story of LOST. The writers/producers made this timeline 50% of the information given in the finale, and about 90% of the CLIMAX of the series.

In retrospect, the sideways story made half of the season an entire waste....

HOWEVER, i loved the conclusion of the island timeline. Starting with the symmetry of Locke and Jack looking down the hatch and the cave and to the symmetry between the beginning of LOST and the ending with Jack's death. The island story was done so wonderfully. Classic.

Casey said...

My buddy and I were talking about the crash site at the end of the finale too, and he came up with this: they showed it to make sure people realize that the crash happened and that the island timeline was in fact real. I guess it makes the most sense out of any. I came up with the fact that I'm sure they spent a ton of money on it and wanted to get their money's worth by showing it again lol. I guess his was a little more insightful :)

jfred17 said...

Casey - Exactly what I thought. They showed it to us to reiterate that it really did happen and the island is real. I just don't trust my thinking and wanted to ask, haha.

Candidate said...

@ Gidget Girl. wanted to send props on your very insightful postings before the recap was up. Well written and easily understood by those who didn't. I'm still taking it all in.

Anonymous said...

In regard to the question of the role of children as an unsolved mystery of Lost posted by anonymous
"1. Walt was essentially an unresolved tangent that was made out to be IMPORTANT in season 1 and 2 then totally abandoned and never paid off.

2. What was with Aaron? Why was he so important?

3. What about the whole issue of not being able to have children? It's the entire backstory for Juliet being brought to the Island, presented as an IMPORTANT mystery and then just forgotten about. "


I wonder if the whole children mystery was tied into the fact that once a character became a mother/father she/he was no longer a valid candidate to take over the protector role. Maybe this was one of Jacob's rules to keep as many potential candidates around to take over the role. Like he mentions to Kate in one of the last episodes that she was crossed out in the cave b/c she became a mother and now had purpose and meaning in her life. Perhaps the others were just following Jacobs orders?? maybe kids are just not considered "lost" yet like the rest of the Losties and are banished from the island or taken away and sent back to the real world.

Deebo said...

@Kath- I can’t believe you think that Ben has earned redemption over Michael? Ben committed genocide, killed his own father, killed Caesar in cold blood, and not to mention his own daughter? After all that you want to say that Ben deserves redemption over Michael who killed two innocent people but lets remember his son was being held prisoner (not an excuse but just saying)

Casey said...

JSano29: Did you even watch the Richard-centric episode? You should go back and re-watch, because it clearly defines why he would have thought that he was dead and in hell. I thought that episode portrayed exactly why Richard was the way he was, the reasons he did what he did, and why his mindset would think everyone was dead and in hell. Stellar writing, I'd advise a re-watch ...

If you're going to take one character's statement about whether it was real or not (or they were dead since the crash or not), how bout Christian's statement in the finale as so many have discussed here. He said the island was real, plain and simple.

Mike, I'd like to agree with a statement you made a while ago about if it was all in Jack's mind, it would pretty amazing that he generated everyone's backstory/history that we all witnessed in season 1. If we believe the writers in their statement that this show was always about characters, their journey, and their relationships with each other, why then say it's all fake (which they didn't). I think it would have a much more profound impact on an audience if it was all real, and that I think that's what they gave us.

Apart from that debate, as much as most people hated the sideways world and felt like we wasted an incredible amount of time on it, i actually buy into their viewpoint of an afterlife. I like the idea of living out a life you wish you had, in terms of seeing what your life would have been with a different set of choices being made. Like me, I feel like I could have been a decent baseball player had I stuck with it past high school, got scholarships to play ball, etc etc, but chose to go a different route. What if after I die, I get to live out what it would have been like to play ball, and see how my life ended up? Kinda a cool idea, which is what I think they were going for in that sideways timeline, and if not, I guess that was my interpretation, which makes the afterlife a little less scary and more intriguing.

Unknown said...

Mike,

IMDB.com has Malcolm David Kelly making an appearance in The End. Hmmmm... This has deleted scene written all over it, no?

Anonymous said...

@Casey - You would have still struck out :)

Mike V. said...

@Gnni - I think based on what we saw of Eloise, Daniel and Ben in Sideways, we are able to conclude that other people there are real too. But I guess not EVERYONE is real - DAVID? I don't really know! It's possible Ben chose to stay and explore an honest life with a woman and daughter. I think he still wanted to atone for the evil things he did in life. I'm enjoying the discussion too!

@Candidate - Glad you like the screenshots! I apologize for the ones that aren't showing up on the site. If you go to those URLs in the picture...they'll show up. I hit my max quota for BLOGGER and it wouldn't let me add any more directly to the site! Thanks for letting me know though....Honestly, grabbing those pictures from the video is what took so long with getting the blog up! I didn't want to miss a moment!

@Juan C - Agree it was a great ending! Yeah, LOST has mastered the long con throughout the 6 years! And yeah, I did think that the sideways might be an "they're all dead" scenario....but they certainly made me doubt it! lol Good times. You're totally welcome for the recaps! Thanks for the props! thanks for the twitter follow and thanks for checking back in in August! (at least...maybe I'll get something up before then)

@Gmmisp - I think Darlton do plan to come out of "Radio Silence" after awhile. They told us that just like every other finale, they wanted this one to resonate with us and let us debate it before they provide their thoughts on it. I think after that happens, they'll elaborate on the show a little more and their thoughts for the finale. Some of this might even be on the commentaries on the Blu-Ray/DVD. Not sure if they'll do a finale commentary or not. I'd love it if they did!

Mike V. said...

@Cajun - I think we're getting pretty close to everyone being on that page with the Island being real! lol Thank you TOO for the blog props! You guys are all too kind! Totally agree, there will never be another LOST. I'm not sure what project would be worth tackling next. I don't want to fall into another FlashForward scenario! lol

I'm jealous of you rewatcing already too! There's too much TV on this week! And more recaps for me to type for those other shows! LOL (had to watch 24 last night of course!) I'll get there soon enough though. But yes...all of those moments were fantastic. I even like when Hurley asked Ben to be his #2...Ben's humbled reaction was awesome!! And the fact that Hurley...the man who threw a hot pocket at this guy...had come around to want to be around Ben for however many hundreds/thousands of years....pretty powerful stuff! UGH...don't bring up that outrigger scene!!! I want to still like this show! :-) You're totally welcome for the efforts...thank YOU for your readership and great commentary along the way!

Mike V. said...

@Richard - Thanks! Putting a lot into it is definitely an understatement! :-) lol I wish I could have put more into it! 1.) Sawyer/Juliet scene was fantastic!! 2.) I think we finally see eye to eye on BEN! lol All of that sounded pretty much how I see it too! 3.) I've been hesitant to call it purgatory as well. But, I don't like calling it a "dream world" either!! But I'll go with it. I like the whole "waiting room" aspect it. Of course WAIT suggests "TIME" and there is no time! Then again...Locke does say "we've been waiting for you" when Jack gets into the church. So who knows? 4.) Yeah, David still trips me up. Definitely interesting to ponder! 5.) I wouldn't hold your breath for that LOST movie....but there definitely are plenty of possibilities. There are characters that did not die...like i mentioned...even BOOKS about Hurley and Ben's Island reign could be interesting. We'll see! Damon and Carlton have previously joked/commented about someone interpreting their work in a REBOOT so many years down the road (like BSG...or like Damon/JJ are doing with Star Trek) I really have no idea how they'd reboot this show! LOL But that's my present-minded thinking.

Mike V. said...

@Steve - Totally agree that the Man In Black as every right to be P.O.'d. But every story needs an antagonist even if he is a little justified in getting to that point! Good point though...he could have said thank you. That would have been a nice touch. Of course, then we'd be speculating if he really wanted to get off the Island..or he just wanted to die! He told someone (i think it was Sawyer) after the temple incident "it's kill or be killed. And I don't want to be killed!" I agree on the fitting end and the good storytelling. As for FAITH and all of that...I did say that I never thought the show would prove the existence of God, the devil or Heaven/Hell. And they pretty much didn't. But obviously something happened AFTER DEATH. And it was some kind of afterlife. And I think that has always been a concept as part of this show. Did I say "everyone is represented?" I meant that...no faith was really excluded. But I guess thanks for letting that pass?? lol I agree that there were still loose ends. As for answers to those questions...i think there answer would be "This is what answers on LOST look like...anything additional would be didactic" LOL I heard that many times by them this season. I'm not saying it's right or it's wrong to do so...but why are the ghosts trapped on the island? For doing bad things. Why are some people that did bad things in Sideways land? NO IDEA. Maybe they didn't die on the Island (or near it - Michael lol) It's a good question...and based on the finale...I guess we could argue that things don't really add up. 2.) Who healed a dead animal??? But yeah...I thought their definition of SPECIAL was a bit vague. It's one of my nitpicks of the show. 3.) Numbers - they had sad way back in season 1 that they had no way to resolve those things lol But they did work it into the finale in some way. Some people in these comments have come up with some interesting ideas with them. But yeah...also good questions...just nothing that they were interested in answering for us.

It does give the impression of no plan...but the problem is, some of the things we wanted answers on were things that they never intended on answering. That doesn't mean they SHOULDN'T have answered them (they did try with the numbers). But I can see where audiences could latch onto certain things that they never really expected! I agree though...I always thought this show was going to have a scientific explanation (well fiction based on science)....I gave up on it in season 4 I think lol

All in all, great points as always Steve! I can't disagree. I loved the show, I loved the ride. I'll always have similar wishes but I can't complain about the road they took us on!

Mike V. said...

@Siri - Thanks!! WOW...you watched LOST when in labor? That is fantastic!! lol The only episodes I didn't watch on the night they aired was the PILOT (still was unsure I was going to watch it)....and Psalm 23 - I was in Miami...and wrote the blog the following monday! I think it was a good excuse :-) Anyways.... I agree that Widmore seemed to have been shortchanged. There were so many characters that I guess it got tough to service them all! You're totally welcome on the insights!

@Anonymous 2:57 - THANKS for all of the props and for giving props to the expression "GOOD TIMES!" lol The mirrors - actually Darlton talked about this at the TIMES TALK LIVE interview that I watched on the big screen. So funny though, I forget what they said! Pretty much that these people were looking in the mirror and seeing that something was off...and wondering if this is truly who they are. Jack saw the appendix scar...and he wondered how he got that. His mother told him it happened as a child...but we knew that wasn't true...now knowing that Jack was dead....we know that it certainly WASN'T true...and Jack was kind of realizing this! He didn't really remember it because it never happened. So yeah...the words aren't coming to me right now but that's kind of how I'm seeing it!

@Kath - I can agree with those thoughts on Ben...I think I agreed with similar thoughts that Richard had above on it as well! The ironic thing about Michael is that he killed both of them in order to free Ben! And yes...he killed 2 of his own. That's kind of what I was thinking too. But is the Island aware of this enough to say...ohhhh no you didn't!!! And then trapped him there when he blew up trying to HELP his friends on the freighter? I dunno.

@Anonymous 3:11 - I agree about Walt and Aaron, but the producers disagree with us. They felt that they kind of answered both. Again, this came up at TIMES TALK LIVE. They said that Walt was "SPECIAL" and the Others viewed him as a threat so it was better to get him off of the Island. We've seen other "SPECIAL" characters since then. THE END. I know...I found it kind of lame too! lol As for Aaron - the psychic said he was important...then the psychic clamied to be a fraud to Mr. Eko. This was them saying that Aaron was NOT important. The one thing that doesn't add up...why did the psychic know about Flight 815 then? He put claire on that plane...said she MUST be on that plane. Coincidence? I dunno. 3.) Yeah...i'm with you on this one. It was even brought back up last season when Juliet delivered ETHAN in 1977. It hadn't happened then...so some time after then...no babies could be born. After the INCIDENT maybe? After the purge? after Jacob made a rule? we don't know!! I hear your complaints! And I wish we had answers...maybe they'll be on the Season 6 DVD in extra detail!

Mike V. said...

@JSano - Richard didn't have the answers! He thought they were in hell because the Man in Black told him that! Jacob proved that he was NOT in hell. You can attempt to burst bubbles all you like. But you're wrong! lol Sorry to say!

@jfred17 - the last shot of the episode was jack's eye closing. BOOM LOST. That was it. It has been reported from reliable sources (Jeff Jensen of EW's reliable source...who might be damon and carlton for all we know but they're in radio silence) that the plane wreck was NOT part of the show. The show always ends before BOOM LOST! Jack's eye closing mirrored his eye opening in the pilot episode. Yeah...there is now a lot of hope on those 20 minutes of footage...I agree. I'm definitely not getting my hopes up. Anything I learn in those 20 minute scenes is just icing on the cake in August! Thanks for the props!!

@Anonymous 3:31 - I can guarantee that ONE of the things in those 20 minutes will be the DHARMA Food Drops, because Damon and Carlton alluded to this in a podcast. They didn't say it outright though. I don't think it's necessarily a PLOY to sell DVDs. I think they truly wanted to answer more questions but the format of season 6 didn't allow them to go back and tell more back stories to do it. Now...did they really invest a lot more money in building lots of sets for these 20 minute instances? Maybe...I dunno. I like someone's suggestion that it's Hurley and Ben sitting on a log and telling stories LOL Sorry you didn't like the Sideways stuff and the conclusion! I disagree that it made half of the season a waste. I think that great stories were told...and just because they were dead doesn't make the stories told any less real. I understand that people will not and do not like it...but I'm fine with it. I'm actually happier that it vindicated the Whatever Happened Happened Principle of THE INCIDENT! Totally agree that the Island timeline was done great! But I think it matched up with the Sideways timeline wonderfully as well.
@Casey - Interesting theory. I really think they showed it just to reminisce on where we had been and where we went to with this show. They didn't want to show scenes for next week's episode (because there isn't one) and they didn't want to promote another show while running the credits. They just wanted to give LOST a proper send-off. I never thought to look more into it! lol

Mike V. said...

@Candidate - Thanks for the heads up on Gidget Girl's comments on the other blog. I'll try to check it out! (no way I could get to all 450 of those! LOL)

@Anonymous 4:01 - Yeah that is a possibility that many had been throwing around with Jacob's rules ont he children. It's a decent one! And makes sense with some of the candidates becoming mothers and getting scratched off. The only problem is that the mothers died too when they got pregnant! So maybe it was a deterrent for women to TRY and get pregnant? I dunno. I sometimes wonder if the writers don't give us answers and then scour these boards to find the best theory and then make THAT the answer if anyone asks them down the line LOL Ahh good times!

@Deebo - If it's any help to Kath's theory...ben only HELPED in commiting genocide :-) lol

@Jfred - It's possible!

@Casey - Thanks for the props on my statement about the sideways! Totally agree about it all being real. I think that was the reason for Christian's comments at the end. Yeah, I never saw LOST going the route of showing the afterlife...but when all is said and done...I thought they did a fantastic job with it!

@Timothy - Yeah, Damon and Carlton even said at Times Talk Live that Walt was supposed to be in the finale. I don't know why he was cut! Unless he was hidden in some scene and we missed him! lol I'm guessing Deleted Scene or 20 minutes of Extra footage for walt!
Nice...I can go home now...I'm caught up! :-)

«Oldest ‹Older   1 – 200 of 717   Newer› Newest»