"Lost" Review: Finale Brings Satisfying Ending
BY JESSICA DERSCHOWITZ
After six seasons and endless amounts of debate, theories and unanswered questions, "Lost" came to an end on Sunday night with a two-and-a-half hour finale aptly titled "The End."
The shows' creators had a lofty task ahead of them - bring the show's complicated plotlines to a (somewhat) tidy conclusion, while (hopefully) pleasing the legions of dedicated fans -- and they tackled that challenge well. I think what we saw last night was the best ending a superfan could ask for.
(Warning, fans and curious on-lookers, serious finale spoilers beyond this point)
On the island, it all came down to Jack and Flocke (as in Fake Locke, or, the smoke monster/Man in Black assuming the form of the dead John Locke). Jack took on the role of Jacob, protector of the island, while Flocke continued his quest to destroy the island and escape to wreak unknown havoc on the rest of the world. But the two agreed on one thing - Desmond was essential to either outcome. So, really, I suppose, it all came down to Desmond.
Flocke, Jack and Desmond head to the cave that houses the light at the heart of the island. The three Island Wonder Boys enter the cave, which leads to a long, deep hole. Desmond is lowered in, and removes a large stone from the spring where the light comes from.
Suddenly, the light goes out and the entire island begins to shake. Flocke smirks - he was right, he says, and the island and everyone on it will soon be at the bottom of the ocean (as we saw in the sideways world at the beginning of this season). But then Jack punches him in the face, and he bleeds - turns out Jack was right, and with the light out, Flocke is now mortal.
That wasn't the only thing that happened when Desmond turned out the light. Richard, Jacob's immortal second-in-command, can now age again. Seeing him moved to tears by a gray hair was sweet and satisfying.
The epic battle-to-the-death came early, and I was glad for it - so much of the criticism of the show's later seasons (from fans and professionals alike) was that the drama's mind-bending plot twists and beloved characters seemed to be boiled down to a generic good-versus-evil showdown. So, when the two squared off and we weren't even an hour into the finale, I knew I'd like where this was going.
The Jack/Flocke battle in the rain begins. Flocke stabs Jack in the stomach and begins to cut his throat (we see the stomach scar - which Jack believed was from getting his appendix out as a child - and the unexplained neck injury on him in the sideways world), but Jack overpowers the former Man in Black and throws him off a cliff to a very painful-looking death.
In the sideways world, both timelines begin colliding - and all because of love. Desmond and Hurley, awakened to their alternate universe memories by Penny and Libby, respectively, begin to bring the other survivors together in order to help them remember. Sun and Jin are awakened by the sight of their unborn baby's ultrasound - conducted, of course, by fertility expert Juliet. Hurley brings Sayid to Shannon, and memories of their relationship on the island come pouring in. Suddenly, they remember each other's names, and what they meant to one another in the other timeline.
Sawyer, a LAPD cop in the sideways world, ends up at the hospital to check on Sun - the giddy looks she and Jin (aware of the other timeline) give the confused detective (still clueless to it) is sweetly hilarious. He's not in the dark for long, however - a chance encounter with Juliet at the hospital vending machine brings everything back, including Juliet's death on the island at the end of Season 5/beginning of Season 6. Their reunion was one of the best (and most tear-inducing) parts of the show.
John's awakening also came at the hospital (seriously, is there only one hospital in all of Los Angeles?), after Jack operates on him in hopes of fixing the spinal injury that confined him to a wheelchair. Almost immediately after surgery, John wakes up and is able to move his toes. That small feeling is enough to make him remember the island, and how it gave him the ability to walk again. For John, being able to walk was the one thing he loved and needed the most.
Many of the other revelations occur at a benefit concert for a local museum, which, conveniently, everyone was either invited to or was able to crash. A still-pregnant Claire goes into labor at the event and Kate follows her backstage, where she delivers the baby, just as she did in Season 1. Their dialogue about Claire being scared to push and Kate admitting she was scared too was word-for-word from the same scene in the first season, another reminder that we've (sort of) been here before.
Copyright 2010 CBS. All rights reserved. After six seasons and endless amounts of debate, theories and unanswered questions, "Lost" came to an end on Sunday night with a two-and-a-half hour finale aptly titled "The End."
The shows' creators had a lofty task ahead of them - bring the show's complicated plotlines to a (somewhat) tidy conclusion, while (hopefully) pleasing the legions of dedicated fans -- and they tackled that challenge well. I think what we saw last night was the best ending a superfan could ask for.
(Warning, fans and curious on-lookers, serious finale spoilers beyond this point)
On the island, it all came down to Jack and Flocke (as in Fake Locke, or, the smoke monster/Man in Black assuming the form of the dead John Locke). Jack took on the role of Jacob, protector of the island, while Flocke continued his quest to destroy the island and escape to wreak unknown havoc on the rest of the world. But the two agreed on one thing - Desmond was essential to either outcome. So, really, I suppose, it all came down to Desmond.
Flocke, Jack and Desmond head to the cave that houses the light at the heart of the island. The three Island Wonder Boys enter the cave, which leads to a long, deep hole. Desmond is lowered in, and removes a large stone from the spring where the light comes from.
Suddenly, the light goes out and the entire island begins to shake. Flocke smirks - he was right, he says, and the island and everyone on it will soon be at the bottom of the ocean (as we saw in the sideways world at the beginning of this season). But then Jack punches him in the face, and he bleeds - turns out Jack was right, and with the light out, Flocke is now mortal.
That wasn't the only thing that happened when Desmond turned out the light. Richard, Jacob's immortal second-in-command, can now age again. Seeing him moved to tears by a gray hair was sweet and satisfying.
The epic battle-to-the-death came early, and I was glad for it - so much of the criticism of the show's later seasons (from fans and professionals alike) was that the drama's mind-bending plot twists and beloved characters seemed to be boiled down to a generic good-versus-evil showdown. So, when the two squared off and we weren't even an hour into the finale, I knew I'd like where this was going.
The Jack/Flocke battle in the rain begins. Flocke stabs Jack in the stomach and begins to cut his throat (we see the stomach scar - which Jack believed was from getting his appendix out as a child - and the unexplained neck injury on him in the sideways world), but Jack overpowers the former Man in Black and throws him off a cliff to a very painful-looking death.
In the sideways world, both timelines begin colliding - and all because of love. Desmond and Hurley, awakened to their alternate universe memories by Penny and Libby, respectively, begin to bring the other survivors together in order to help them remember. Sun and Jin are awakened by the sight of their unborn baby's ultrasound - conducted, of course, by fertility expert Juliet. Hurley brings Sayid to Shannon, and memories of their relationship on the island come pouring in. Suddenly, they remember each other's names, and what they meant to one another in the other timeline.
Sawyer, a LAPD cop in the sideways world, ends up at the hospital to check on Sun - the giddy looks she and Jin (aware of the other timeline) give the confused detective (still clueless to it) is sweetly hilarious. He's not in the dark for long, however - a chance encounter with Juliet at the hospital vending machine brings everything back, including Juliet's death on the island at the end of Season 5/beginning of Season 6. Their reunion was one of the best (and most tear-inducing) parts of the show.
John's awakening also came at the hospital (seriously, is there only one hospital in all of Los Angeles?), after Jack operates on him in hopes of fixing the spinal injury that confined him to a wheelchair. Almost immediately after surgery, John wakes up and is able to move his toes. That small feeling is enough to make him remember the island, and how it gave him the ability to walk again. For John, being able to walk was the one thing he loved and needed the most.
Many of the other revelations occur at a benefit concert for a local museum, which, conveniently, everyone was either invited to or was able to crash. A still-pregnant Claire goes into labor at the event and Kate follows her backstage, where she delivers the baby, just as she did in Season 1. Their dialogue about Claire being scared to push and Kate admitting she was scared too was word-for-word from the same scene in the first season, another reminder that we've (sort of) been here before.
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posted by baileyccc
In one of the other articles, I think it was "actiscenei" who said that they knew where the story was going, right from the beginning. I don't think so. I don't think they had any idea where it was going to end up.
They couldn't answer any questions because they didn't know the answers themselves. When it came time to end it they were in a pickle, so they just wrapped it up with more questions and had them all be dead.
As for the STAR WARS comment, clearly you do not like mythology; there is nothing to indicate holes of logic. Do questions exist? Are concepts difficult to understand? Those seem to be requirements of most of the worlds religions.
Some people enjoy when everything is not "cut and paste" and left to interpretation. As an English teacher, my job is to teach my students not to enjoy books/plays/stories, but to undertand them. Some can enjoy stories at one level, but one should learn to find the depth, metaphors and secrets put in by intelligent writers. Questioning means the brain is working.
The writers knew exactly where they were going from the beginning.
I totally disagree.
I couldn't agree with you more.
Dave
This was a show for adults who wanted metaphor, thought-provoking and not easily understood.
I think this finale brought it all home with Evil defeated, thereby releasing Jack from an unfinished life, an unfulfilled purpose.
Tahnks to the producers, creators, writers and cast for allowing the grown-ups a bit of mythology in a sea of "realistic drama" and "dramatic reality."