"The End" Online Buzz Part 1

Well I'm still trying to sift through my regular list of podcasts, blog posts, and online articles I usually go through before my weekend post. The difficulty this week is that they are all super-sized. Plus I am distracted by all the debates going on over how it ended. So it's probably best if I do this in two parts. I'll tell you what I've learned about the show so far and will add more in a couple days. But I'm still going to hold my tongue towards those who think the finale wasn't good. But don't worry, I am preparing a mini-thesis on why I feel it was the perfect ending.

One of the things I always love about a series finale is that the tears you see are genuine. The actors who are in Lost have been working together for over 6 years. They were shooting their last scenes together, ever. And not only that, the actors are saying good-bye to the characters they have played and come to love. It's all so bittersweet.

Details and Easter Eggs
I'll start with the biggest misunderstanding that is going around. Only the Sideways World, which we only saw in Season 6, was an afterlife. The entire group did not die in the original crash. Everything we have seen since Season 1, the island story, the flashbacks, the flash-forwards, all of that happened. They were not in some sort of purgatory the entire six years we've been watching. Oceanic 815 crashed, some survived, had a difficult time on the island, some left and came back, then some escaped at the end and went on to live long lives. Then in Season 6 we saw what could be called a "Super Flashforward" of their afterlife. When Christian explained it to Jack he said they were all real...some died before him, some after. If they had all died on Oceanic 815 that statement would not be true. They would've all died September 22, 2004. Also, before Jack lowered Desmond into the cave, Desmond tried to convince him there was another world, a world where Jack was happy. He concluded therefor nothing on the island mattered. But Jack wasn't buying it, he knew it did matter. And he was right. Many fans have been confused about this because of the shots of the crashed plane that rolled during the credits. That was probably not the best choice of the producers since the ending was already a little confusing. I believe they were just trying to remind us where it all started. But it did not mean they all died in the crash. I hope that clears it up for you.

I pointed out that Hurley took Sayid to the same hotel that was Sayid's safehouse. Well, not only was it the same hotel, it was also where Anthony Cooper stayed and Locke tried to propose to Helen in "Lockdown" AND where Kate stayed to dye her hair and collect her mail in "Born To Run."

Fans felt they got a nod from the producers when UnLocke told Jack he was the "obvious choice" to protect the island. None of us were surprised since Jack has always been the most central character.

Some people are concerned about what would happen to David with Jack and Juliet 'moving on.' But David was not real, he never was. He was a manifestation for Jack to work out his father issues. That's why John told Jack he didn't have a son. The comment seemed so cold at the time but now we can understand John was trying to get Jack to let go.

Theories
Jack was toggling back and forth between the scenes we were seeing. We know that Desmond had had visions of the afterlife because he told Jack about it. So maybe Jack was having those visions of the Sideways World. I'm not sure I believe this theory but it's worth mentioning.

Many people are talking about the people who were not at the church in the end. Here are a few good theories I've heard. Ben didn't go in because he will take on Desmond's roll in that world and will round up the next group who need to 'move on.' Micheal was not there because his spirit is trapped on the island. He will never get a chance to 'move on.'

A great theory I've heard was that Hurley could have set up the Sideways World during his time as the island's #1. Jacob definitely had powers which stretched beyond the boundaries of the island and the rules of nature. So it seems possible Hurley could have set up this 'holding area' where the group could upload to once their time on earth was done.

Jack and Juliet were the exes they both needed. In their lives Jack and Juliet had had horrible relationships with their ex-spouses. Jack's relationship with Sarah was riddled with distrust and guilt. Juliet's ex-husband manipulated her with fear and control. So in the afterlife they created they were a divorced couple who both got along because that is what they each needed.

I have a theory that Rose and Bernard had already had their island enlightenment before we saw them in "LA X." Remember Rose the first one to say to Jack it was ok to "let go" on the plane. Sun had admired them because they seemed so happy. And when we saw each of them in their jobs, they were so content.

Questions
I know you probably still have a lot of questions. It's been the biggest compliant I've heard: "But they didn't tell us why ______ (fill in the blank.) I want to gently remind you that we all knew there was no way they would be able to explain everything. I think we were all ok with that before the season started. But we all had our personal lists of unanswered questions we really wanted to know. Our thinking was "It would be ok with me if they didn't answer everything, as long as they answer mine." And now that it's over we are sad because a few of ours were not answered. Personally, I am sad we didn't get to see who was shooting at the Left-Behinders while they were in the canoe during the time-skipping. But if you look at the rest of your list, I think you'll find that they answered a lot of questions throughout Season 6. I also think we learned during Season 6 that answers kind of suck. When a mystery is explained, it loses it's mystery. For example, the statue was brought down by a ship and a rogue wave. That's it. It was a little disappointing. Another problem with answers are that they create more questions. Carlton Cuse said in a podcast "In the wake of every answer is another question." We all were dying to know about the origin of Jacob and when we found out then we wanted to know of the origin of his "Mother." Anther example is how we all wanted to know why the island was special, so they showed us the cave, then we wanted to know what was in the cave, so they showed us the cork, now we want to know what is under the cork. It won't ever end. We won't ever be satisfied.

But fortunately, Lost is not just a show about the mythology of an island. Long before we knew we were watching a sci-fi show, we were watching a show about people struggling to survive a plane crash. There were characters we all came to love, admire, empathize with, and root for. That is what made the show special. Darlton have always been honest that they were only going to answer the questions which were important to the characters of the show and that was a good call. Knowing that we would never be fully satisfied with the mythological answers, they focused on the characters and bringing each one to the end of their journey, to total resolution. And that was a much better ending than someone explaining where the food drop came from!

More in a few days!
Namaste!