Lost Season 6...

[Baldkin]

The way Christian explained it, made me not thing of purgatory in a traditional sense... it didn't seem like a punishment.

This made Desmond out to be a grim reaper, destined to show people they were really dead.

I don't know. For me, it just seemed like they said, "Oh, what's the easiest way to end this whole sideways thing?" "Let's just say they were dead the whole time."

No explanation of how long some people were there waiting or what they did while waiting. (I mean -- Boon and Shannon died... what... 5 years earlier than Jack? Who knows how long Sawyer & Kate lived to be).

 

At least it wasn't a snow globe.

[pretendastronaut]

But why does it matter how long some people waited, or how early others died before someone else?

 

I thought it was very good, but I went into it, not looking for answers to random questions, but just an end to a story, and in that way I really enjoyed the ride.

[homer]

Speaking of Shannon...I'm glad they brought her back. She was annoying but she was also hot.

[bjkrautk]

The way Christian explained it, made me not thing of purgatory in a traditional sense... it didn't seem like a punishment.

...

No explanation of how long some people were there waiting or what they did while waiting. (I mean -- Boon and Shannon died... what... 5 years earlier than Jack? Who knows how long Sawyer & Kate lived to be).

 

At least it wasn't a snow globe.

Some died before (Libby, Boone, Shannon, etc.), some died long, long after Jack (Kate, Hurley, Sawyer, Miles, etc.). There wasn't the same sense of 'now' in the alternate timeline / purgatory.

 

Obviously, I didn't get the ending quite right....but I did guess a lot of the points they'd end up hitting along the course of the episode.

[chadomac]

I'm surprised so many people are not understanding the finale. It seemed like they spelled out what happened as much as they possibly could have without insulting our intelligence. Even a woman that writes for the LA Times posted a review thinking that they died in the original plane crash.

 

I liked the ending a lot more than I was expecting to. I thought there was no way they could make me satisfied after how much this show frustrated me the past 5 years, but they did. Walt is my only issue... they made it seem like he was a big deal and then completely ignored him. Other than that, I am happy with the way it all went down - even if they milked it a bit in those middle seasons to make it last longer.

 

I figured out how it was going to end pretty early in the episode... when Elois was talking to Desmond and asking him if he was going to take her son (Farraday) with him... and at first I thought "ah man they're all dead" and hoping I was wrong. I wasn't wrong, but it didn't ruin the ending for me.

[RobertR]

Slept on it overnight and turned the finale over in my head a few times.

 

There's much that I could say embodies LOST at its best. The Island stuff pretty much all worked for me last night, right down to the final shots. Jack. Vincent. The sky. The plane. The eye closing. I found all of that very satisfying.

 

The conclusion of the alt timeline, less so. The reminders of why we cared for these characters in the first place were all well done, but Christian Shepherd almost literally opening the doors to heaven? That pretty much sucked all the drama out of the Season 6 alt timeline stuff. And came down way too heavily on the faith side of the equation. Faith in your fellow man, in all his complexity/contradictions, perhaps, but for a show that revolved around questions that seemed fairly literal minded.

 

Ultimately, the mythology of Lost with tropical polar bears, mysterious "infections", magical donkey wheels, Walt's specialness, Dharma air drops, the island not allowing children to be born, and the arbitrary rules set forth, led to more dead ends than answers. I get that they were trying to grapple with big issues, but there's no question that much of the mythology was muddled and inconsistent. THE PRISONER is still the gold standard for perhaps not answering the minutae of the mythology, but still being internally consistent. THE WIRE is still the gold standard of the decade as far as character work, big ideas, and internal consistency.

 

Overall, I'm satisfied with the series and the ending, although there clearly are plenty of flaws in the series. At its best, it was a model of terrific character work and acting, twisty, mind bending plots, interesting layers, and big philosophical ideas. But, in retrospect, there's no reason that many of the details needed to be handled in a sloppy manner. I certainly believe that the strengths of LOST could have been married to a tighter narrative and I can't fault the people that grew frustrated with that aspect of the series. Still, I'm going to miss it, especially since there doesn't seem anything of ambition on the networks to replace it with all the Doctor and Cop procedurals lined up for the new season.

 

Hopefully Scorsese's BOARDWALK EMPIRE lives up to the terrific trailer as the fall season looks bleak to me otherwise.

 

Robert

[Principessa21]

I'm surprised so many people are not understanding the finale. It seemed like they spelled out what happened as much as they possibly could have without insulting our intelligence. Even a woman that writes for the LA Times posted a review thinking that they died in the original plane crash.

 

I liked the ending a lot more than I was expecting to. I thought there was no way they could make me satisfied after how much this show frustrated me the past 5 years, but they did. Walt is my only issue... they made it seem like he was a big deal and then completely ignored him. Other than that, I am happy with the way it all went down - even if they milked it a bit in those middle seasons to make it last longer.

 

I figured out how it was going to end pretty early in the episode... when Elois was talking to Desmond and asking him if he was going to take her son (Farraday) with him... and at first I thought "ah man they're all dead" and hoping I was wrong. I wasn't wrong, but it didn't ruin the ending for me.

Yup, yup yup.

I think "The Wire' is the best show and "Six Fee Under" has the best finale, but "Lost" just grabbed me. Love. I'm seriously sad it's over but happy the way it ended.

 

[chadomac]

I'm with you on 6FU's finale. That is one of my top 5 TV shows ever. Best finale for sure.

[TracyThom]

I was satisfied with the ending. IMO, it would have been better if the sideways world was heaven, but then again you wouldn't see Sayid acting that way in heaven.

 

Remember that the sideways world took place in the future, hence Hurley's comment to Ben, "You were a good #2" and Ben's reply, "You were a great #1." Perhaps some of the missing people from the church did things after they got off the island that did not deserve a ticket to heaven, or maybe they weren't ready like Ana Lucia. (Were Lapidus or Alpert ever in any sideways world storylines??) Reference Michael, Harold Perrineux was on the Lost Reunion on Jimmy Kimmel and said that Michael is stuck on the island for eternity.

 

I too was disappointed with no resolution with Walt. Also, what did Widmore whisper in the Man in Black's ear? After the Kimmel show went off the air, the cast did a Q&A that is supposed to be available on Hulu.

EDIT: I forgot to add... I'm pretty secure with my masculinity, but all of those reunions got me teared up. Claire and Charlie was the worst for me.

[zzzmanwitz]

Here's my take.

 

This show was really broken down to two things, the character story and the science/mythology of the island. I think the writers did a fantastic job with the character story from start to finish. Even Kate, who had been useless for nearly the entirety of the show, had her redemption. There were many mythological and scientific things that did go unanswered, but I think enough of the mysteries of the island were touched on. I really think what it came down to was after season 3 and the writers strike and whatnot, that cut down on the total episodes that were going to be created and the producers had to make a decision on which direction to go. Fully complete the character development, answer more mythology questions, or do a little of both. I'm glad they went the route they did.

 

I was satisfied with the ending. IMO, it would have been better if the sideways world was heaven, but then again you wouldn't see Sayid acting that way in heaven.

 

I'm pretty sure the sideways world represented heaven, or purgatory, or some sort of afterlife.

[bjkrautk]

Remember that the sideways world took place in the future, hence Hurley's comment to Ben, "You were a good #2" and Ben's reply, "You were a great #1." Perhaps some of the missing people from the church did things after they got off the island that did not deserve a ticket to heaven, or maybe they weren't ready like Ana Lucia. (Were Lapidus or Alpert ever in any sideways world storylines??) Reference Michael, Harold Perrineux was on the Lost Reunion on Jimmy Kimmel and said that Michael is stuck on the island for eternity.

Almost there, but still not quite. There was no sense of 'when' in the flash-sideways; the experience would have nominally been set in 2004 (when the plane should have landed in LA)...but the characters (once 'activated' - for lack of a better way to say it) came to that world with all the experiences they had in their real lives, before, during, and (in some cases) after their time on the island. Thus, when Jack died in 2007, he didn't come to the sideways 3 years after his father (who died in 2004). This is also why Kate missed Jack so much; she lived the rest of her life without him.

 

Ben and Hurley had served their term as protectors of the island by the time their characters got to the sideways world. They may have lived for centuries like Jacob and Richard Alpert did. They may have died when someone else found the island 6 weeks later. (Probably not the latter, as the two seemed far more complementary of the experience than a 6 week tenure would provide.)

 

We don't really know if the ....let's just say 'others' one last time... crossed over on their own. Ben Linus not being 'ready' at the end is telling in this regard; he had earned Locke's foregiveness in his mind, and possibly even Alex's, but not his own. The same holds true for characters like Michael (still lamenting having shot Libby and Ana-Lucia when we last saw him) and Eloise (still coming to terms with having pushed Daniel into a course that she knew would lead to his being shot by her). We don't have a final sense of resolution for these characters, because the show had to end at a certain point....but I prefer to remain optimistic that they would have found their way.

[8brewcrew]

Sorry if someone has already said this about the finale, I was too lazy to read through all of the replies. But here's my theory...

 

The flash-sideways timeline was Purgatory. As Christian stated, they are all dead in their flash-sideways lives. Also, when Ben is talking to Locke outside of the church, Locke asks him if he is coming inside. Ben says that he still has some things to work out and that he'll stay "here" (Purgatory) to work them out. This implies that his soul hasn't yet been cleansed to go to Heaven. I believe Michael wasn't at the church because his soul isn't yet ready to go to Heaven either. After they meet each other in the flash-sideways lives they realize that they are in Purgatory and have done the necessary to go to Heaven.

 

The events that took place on the Island were a way for the survivors to cleanse their soles. As we've known from the beginning of the series, they all have sinned and have problems in their real life. I still don't understand exactly what the Island is though. Why were they placed on this magical island and not just an ordinary island in the middle of nowhere?

[pitchleague]

The flash-sideways timeline was Purgatory. As Christian stated, they are all dead in their flash-sideways lives.

Just wondering out loud, does that mean that every human in the flash-sideways life are dead and they're all just waiting to "flash" with their loved ones that were most important in their life? The nurses? The airport delivery guy? Everybody?

 

And why didn't Jack and Juliet "flash" when they were married in the flash-sideways life? Or is it only applicable with the people that mean the most to you? (i.e. Jack flashed on Kate AND his father, Sayid on Shannon but not Nadia, Locke on being able to walk again, Charlie and Claire, etc.)

 

I still loved the ending and I thought it was about as perfect as you can make it without making it a 6-hour episode explaining everything. I like that I can have discussions with others on what was left unanswered, too, even though it is semi-annoying that they didn't answer them on the show.

 

But, whatever. It's a TV show. I'll move on. Although, I might have to buy the complete set of Blu-Rays in August. Special features and extras could answer some things. My wife wants to see outtakes, if they have them, since they all say there shenanigans on the set.

[pretendastronaut]

Although, I might have to buy the complete set of Blu-Rays in August. Special features and extras could answer some things. My wife wants to see outtakes, if they have them, since they all say there shenanigans on the set.

 

 

 

Jimmy Kimmel said in that web only session, that the Blu-ray was going to have features that explained more stuff that wasn't explained on the show.

[Raw Biz]

I'm surprised so many people are confused as to why Michael wasn't there. Remember like 5 episodes ago when Hurley saw Michael on the island. He said that he was a ghost and the whispers on the island were other ghosts. Basically all the people who did bad things or whatever to the island were "doomed" to remain ghosts on the island for eternity. So he had no chance to pass on in the afterlife and therefore couldn't be in the curch.

[Team Canada]

So why was Eloise so adamant in telling Desmond not to attempt to get everyone together? I don't see any reason she needed to care at that point.

 

After thinking about it overnight, I could have done without the whole flash sideways portion of this season. It was interesting until the reveal because you were under the impression that it was an alternate timeline from the universe diverging from the point they blew up the bomb or something, and it wasn't clear how the two realities would resolve; after the fact, however, I wish they hadn't wasted so much time on a plot that wasn't really revelant to everything else from the past 5 seasons.

 

Plus, the whole premise of this purgative state is pretty weak. So they apparently go through their entire lives over again? No one remembers anything from before they died until they connect with someone they love? It doesn't make any sense.

[greeg35]

On a sad note, I will not be watching lost tonight http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif

[jjfanec]

So why was Eloise so adamant in telling Desmond not to attempt to get everyone together? I don't see any reason she needed to care at that point.

I think Eloise thought Daniel would be going with the group and she did not want to lose him. Once she found out Daniel would not be going she back off.

[thebruce44]

After thinking about it overnight, I could have done without the whole flash sideways portion of this season. It was interesting until the reveal because you were under the impression that it was an alternate timeline from the universe diverging from the point they blew up the bomb or something, and it wasn't clear how the two realities would resolve; after the fact, however, I wish they hadn't wasted so much time on a plot that wasn't really revelant to everything else from the past 5 seasons.

 

Plus, the whole premise of this purgative state is pretty weak. So they apparently go through their entire lives over again? No one remembers anything from before they died until they connect with someone they love? It doesn't make any sense.

I was thinking about this too. It is pretty weak that the big reveal at the end was something that only pertained to this last season. The island and mythology has more questions than answers still, and that has been around for the entire run. The big finish was really just about something they added in right at the end.

[homer]

Some died before (Libby, Boone, Shannon, etc.), some died long, long after Jack (Kate, Hurley, Sawyer, Miles, etc.). There wasn't the same sense of 'now' in the alternate timeline / purgatory.

----------------------

 

That makes sense to me. But if that's the case isn't it kind of odd that they all had their moment of self discovery within the same short period of time? Or is "time" not really relevant since it doesn't exist in that world?

[Barbs4339]

I believe that everyone had a "constant" and that person is the one that when contact was made that they would flash on their Island lives.

[Dollarbill13]

I'm surprised so many people are confused as to why Michael wasn't there. Remember like 5 episodes ago when Hurley saw Michael on the island. He said that he was a ghost and the whispers on the island were other ghosts. Basically all the people who did bad things or whatever to the island were "doomed" to remain ghosts on the island for eternity. So he had no chance to pass on in the afterlife and therefore couldn't be in the curch.

There was an episode in season 2 where Walt (or an image of Walt) was shown and he was making whisper sounds. He wasn't dead at the time. Also, if you look at Lostpedia, people have transcribed some of the whispers. In one of them, Frank Duckett is heard saying "It will come back around" just like after Sawyer shot him in Australia. There is no evidence that Frank was ever on the island or did anything wrong to the island.

[Raw Biz]

I think a lot of the "problems" with Lost stems from the writer's strike. They ended up losing a bunch of episodes with that. Also, I think the writers were just adding mysterious things in without really having answers to them, hoping they would be able to put in answers later. Once it became clear that Lost was heading in a more religious direction (good vs. evil, purgatory, etc.), they probably figured the sci-fi questions weren't as important. While I wish a lot of the earlier sci-fi stuff was answered, I still think the finale was a great episode. I like to think of Lost as being basically 2 parts, seasons 1-4 and then seasons 5-6. 1-4 was a lot more sci-fi while 5-6 basically focused on Jacob & MIB and the other religious stuff. Looking at it that way, I think both parts were very good, though the first couple seasons were obviously the best.

[Principessa21]

Video about unanswered Lost questions. I'm surprised about how many I forgot about.

[pretendastronaut]

That video was interesting. Lots of things I had forgotten about.

 

There is a supposed post by a Bad Robot writer making the rounds, summarizing some points. No confirmation about who wrote it, but it's a good read all the same;

 

Link