REBOOT FINAL 4 THE END

It was a melancholy end to LOST.

Lost in the actual series ending was the huge community "sigh" that the reviews, debates, theories, and spirited discussions for the last six years had come to the end. The discussions were more about the on-line friendships and sparring partnerships than on the actual events depicted in the final episode.

THE END


The ending of LOST came down really into two camps: one which liked the final ending in the sideways church as a touching moment for the characters to reunite in a happy place; and one which disliked the ending since it was not based upon six years of monsters, time travel, crazy people, missions, science and a final battle to the death between an island guardian and Smoke Monster.


But even with the undeniable fact that the characters were all dead in the sideways world, the show remained open to vast interpretation.

The ending did not surprise me because I had been in the vocal minority that the characters were dead from the beginning. That said, there is plenty of room to criticize how the story was wrapped up the by the writers. At least the Big Premise was clearly stated in the end: they were all dead.


But many viewers did not like the idea of deceased characters running about in fantasy land for six seasons. Many base that view from TPTB comments from season one adamantly telling the world that the show was not about purgatory or hell. Well, in some respects, those viewers were conned or lied to by TPTB. Another part of the queasy reaction to the series conclusion is that the writers did have an opportunity to wrap a science-sci/fi explanation into the layered after life premise.

I strongly believe that the characters were dead before 815 crashed; so it appears that the crash was the symbolic transportation of lost souls into purgatory setting created by the flashbacks (part truth, part individuals' dreams, part nightmares and fears) constructed by the comic book world mindset of Hurley and the bookish nerdy historian Ben. The island was nothing more than an after life simulation. The answer to all the island questions is "it does not matter." Everything was a illusory prop to get the characters to find their redemption and bonds.

In a mind over matter setting, the island world seemed totally real but it was not; it was like a spiritual maze. Once you realized you were dead, and accept it, and some one else helping your along the journey to the next level, then your soul can be "awakened" in the sideways world (which in itself is another waiting room in the after life for passing the maze) to "move on." One cannot pass on without a strong, pure, emotional bonds and finding your "soul mate" to share eternity.

But many commentators did not buy the "soul mate" idea. Who was Boone's soul mate? And Locke? They were bachelors. They had no one in the church. Why?

And the concept that the sideways world had no past, present or future, just "now" seemed to be a convoluted statement so as NOT to explain the time lines, time skips or whether the passengers on Flight 815 ever "survived" the crash onto the island.

At least one person thought about the characters not present at the church. About MIB, does no one out there feel sorry for this guy? Wasn't he pretty much a victim? Okay, he developed a mean rage that would have seriously challenged Jack Nicholson in Anger Management. But before that, he just wanted off the island. And he was thwarted at every step by Crazy Mom. Killing her, which was somewhat understandable, is what led to Jacob's revenge for which this poor guy became, well, a monster. And, yes, he was a BAD monster, but do we have no sympathy at all for him?

Unanswered is why anyone had to die on the island, if Christian is to believed in the church that everyone there died "long before and long after" Jack died. We assumed that Jack died next to Vincent in the bamboo forest. We assumed Sayid died from the gunshot wounds,  but turned into a zombie ghost from the temple. Many assumed the people survived the plane crash, too. We knew Locke died off island, but he was all better in the sideways world. For if the sideways world was the "real" one, then what was the island world? People no longer wanted to debate that topic or grapple with the implications of the sideways final reveal.

No, the fans who liked the ending decided that the characters were more important than the story lines. That the island life was a path of redemption and sacrifice to create and live on in the sideways after life. In some ways, that simple ending to a extremely layered, tangential and layered plot lines was the only way out of the writer's painted corner. Just like in the community blogs, when the show was over, the give-and-take on-line friendships were also over. It was like the high school graduation; everyone said their goodbyes to move on to the next stage of life.

What everyone thought and obsessed on for the first five and half seasons came to naught.  In the after show commentary, people were not that upset that their personal questions remained unanswered, but the realization was at this point it did not matter. The finale put the final nail in the coffin for every character, literally and figuratively.

The ending was a mirror image of what we thought we saw and felt during the six year run.

What Happened, did not Happen.
Live Alone. Die Together.

And the final lesson learned: LOST's ending was like every Cub season since 1908.