ELEMENTAL ASPECTS

In any grand storytelling, the main characters are pushed along by events in order to come to some final revelation or conclusion to the ills that had befallen them. The means of moving the story along is through the use of secondary characters, interesting settings, conflict, actions encouraging reaction and resolution.

We know how LOST ends. But what were the fundamental or core elements in the six seasons that made that conclusion possible. As millers would say, one has to separate the wheat from the chafe.

The final scenes involve two different places: the sideways church and island. Were they both critical to the resolution of the characters fates? Yes and no.

The church was used as the meeting place for the lost souls who found themselves in friendship and common adventure. They had to "wait" until Jack arrived, and apparently the only way to get Jack to the church was to stage his father's funeral. The reunion could have occurred anywhere in fake LA, at the concert or at the hospital. What the church provided was some symbolism that the main characters were dead.

The island was used as the back drop for most of the conflict, terror, betrayal, learning lessons and bonding moments between the main characters. Was the island itself a necessary aspect of the conclusion? Could one have used a different setting to bring together the characters together to ward off supernatural plot lines? Perhaps, but the use of a "plane crash" as the impetuous to throw diverse characters together in one perilous group was a good dramatic choice.

So there is some valid reasons that the island and the church were used to develop and end the LOST saga.

Then, we must peel back the need for all the characters present at the church. Were they necessary parties to conclude the story?  Doubtful.

Now most religions, agnostics, and spiritualists cannot believe that there is nothing after one dies. Since human beings are highly intelligent but cannot answer the fundamental questions of their own existence, the conclusion is that there has to be a greater being, a greater purpose or "something" else when one's mortality ends. What is next is unknown, and a great many writers throughout history have given their speculative prose on the subject. But the LOST writers did not. We were bathed in the white light wash of nothingness; no explanation what was next for the characters.

If you believe the story was really Jack's story, then meeting his father was a "key" resolution. But even at the meeting at the coffin, there is very little interaction or resolution to their personal conflicts or bitterness. Once it is known that they are dead, nothing seemed to matter to them. All one's cares, emotional baggage or regrets vanish when you are dead (is that the lesson of the series?) So if this was Jack's story, it could have ended with Christian taking Jack into the church to meet his mother or other family members to move on together, as family, into the after life.

But that did not happen. When Jack enters the nave of the sideways church,  he is greeted by Locke, who kindly tells him, "We've been waiting for you." He then greets Desmond, Boone, Hurley, Sawyer and Kate. Joining them are Charlie, Claire, Aaron, Jin, Sun, Sayid, Shannon, Rose, Bernard, Juliet, Libby and Penny. Along with Christian, these are the only characters who find their end.

Why were all these people in the church "more" important to Jack than say, his mother, or his hospital colleagues, or any friend from his childhood? This aspect of the conclusion literally wipes out the meaning and consequence of all the back stories, and all the back story secondary character involvement in the plots.

The writers probably thought that many viewers had emotional connections with the various characters so they needed to give those viewers some closure in the final scenes. This catch-all type of sentimental ending is a growing trend in American entertainment. In  recent American entertainment, characters act like clowns, fools, and unlikable jerks only to turn icky sentimental in the last reel.When main characters like that have a sentimental, happy conclusion for no apparent reason, the viewers become lost.

To conclude Jack's story,  did Christian, Locke, Desmond, Boone, Hurley, Sawyer, Kate, Charlie, Claire, Aaron, Jin, Sun, Sayid, Shannon, Rose, Bernard, Juliet, Libby and Penny have to be there at the church?

Rose and Bernard: no. This couple's real connection was between themselves. They did not Jack or the others to find happiness or peace. On the island, they went off on their own to get away from those people. Clearly, Rose and Bernard's presence at the church was unnecessary, immaterial and counter-intuitive to the characters own actions.

Sayid and Shannon: no. Besides the fact that Sayid pined for another woman throughout the series, there was no connection with Shannon to any other character, including her brother Boone. Sayid was a second class citizen to an outcast in the survivor beach group. He turned evil in the end, so his presence is no support to Jack's awakening or conflict resolution.

Desmond and Penny: no. Desmond tried desperately to get away from the island and the people who were there. He was not part of the 815 group. He was a loner who only wanted to have one person in his life, Penny. And when he did, he cut all ties to the O6 crew. Penny had no connection with anyone else at the church. So like Rose and Bernard, their presence at the church resolves nothing in the Jack story.

Jin and Sun: no. Like the other married couples, Jin and Sun led an isolated existence on the island. Sun made a slight connection with Kate, but not enough to call her a close friend. Jin's only connection to the group was his loyalty to Sawyer, during the time skip to 1970s Dharmaville. It would seem that Jin and Sun would more likely find final comfort with themselves and their child in the after life than at Christian's funeral.

Charlie, Claire and Aaron: maybe. If this was about Jack's passing, then his step-sister has a place but during the course of the series she was odd footnote in Jack's life. But then again, if this weak "family" tie brings this sub-group to Jack's conclusion, where is Jack's mother? She was more important in his life than Claire or Charlie.

Hurley and Libby: maybe. Jack had no connection with Libby. She is only deemed Hurley's "reward" for being a good person. Hurley himself had an odd relationship with Jack. He was a follower. He was also the butt of Jack's irrational wrath at times.  One cannot say they were ever as close as blood brothers. But since Hurley was such a beloved character by fans, he had to be present at the end, smiling to the camera as if to say to the audience "everything is cool."

Locke, Boone and Juliet: no. If Locke was a symbol of Jack's professional failings, then there should have been other patients with greater impact on his life present at the church than Locke. Boone was a true island medical failure - - - Jack could not save him. If Boone represents the regret or guilt of Jack, then that has no place in a sentimental wash of resolution conflict with his father. Juliet was one of Jack's tormenters in both existences: as an island captor and in the sideways world as his ex-wife. She only had a passing connection with Jack so her presence in the church does not add element of resolution conflict in the Jack story.

Sawyer: a probable yes. If there was any rival in Jack's life (besides his father), then it was Sawyer. Sawyer brought out the best and worst in Jack's personality. Sawyer's actions led to Jack turning away from his scientific, analytic anal retentive ways to turn into a human being. That being said, Sawyer was not by Jack's side fighting the final battle. So, Sawyer's presence at Jack's after life launch may be puzzling but could have its place in the broad specter of Jack's character growth.

Kate: an improbable yes. If Jack's story boils down to a love story, he winds up with the flippant Kate. Why the light switch turns on for Kate when there back story is filled with troubled times is another one of those wishy-washy boilerplate endings that many people loathe. Why was Kate of all the women characters in the series, the "right one" for Jack? And why did Kate wind up with Jack when she was married to and in love with a Florida policeman (and to our knowledge, never divorced). Even non-Kate haters hated this aspect of the ending. The only explanation was that Kate "saved" Jack by shooting Flocke. But even in that emotional moment, Kate did NOT stay by Jack's side. She fled the island. So where was that everlasting connection?

So, if one really wanted to focus in on Jack being the story of the series, the final resolution could have happened anywhere - - - surrounded by Christian and/or Kate. The rest of the ending presents conflicting and more unanswered questions.

If the sideways world was a mirror image of what the characters truly wanted in their lives, Jack's mission statement of "Live Together or Die Alone," has the aspect in the conclusion of one "Die Together or Live Alone."