Lost Series Finale “The End”

"The End."

Spoiler alert: if you’ve yet to watch the “Lost” series finale, read at your own peril.

Television critics and “Lost” fans took to the Internet water cooler the moment after a white light engulfed Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) as he sat in a church surrounded by the crash survivors of Oceanic Flight 815.

And, thus, came the conclusion to the television phenomenon known as “Lost,” a satisfyingly poignant, thrilling, and nearly pitch perfect end to the show’s six-season run.

Since the Sunday night finale, TV critics from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times to Entertainment Weekly’s delightfully geeky Doc Jensen have opined poetically and analytically on what the show’s two and a half hour episode accomplished.

And, at seemingly breakneck speed, “Lost” fans inundated Facebook and Twitter with status updates expressing all manner of emotion, ranging from the jubilant to utter frustration and confusion.

The finale, appropriately titled “The End,” seems to have left many “Lost” fans with more questions than answers, much to their chagrin.

Truthfully, I simply do not understand the confusion surrounding “The End,” an episode that focused on just what Jack —via Juliet’s detonation of an atomic bomb— had set in motion in season six’s flash sideways scenes.

“The End” answered that question in a bold, audacious move:  the flash sideways world where we’ve seen Jack, Kate (Evangeline Lilly), Claire (Emilie de Ravin), Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Sayid (Naveen Andrews), Sun (Yunjin Kim), Jin (Daniel Dae Kim), etc. is a purgatory of sorts, a special place created by the castaways where they can reunite with each other as they await the move onto whatever is next.

The writers choreographed each of those reunions beautifully as characters became “island enlightened,” finally aware of their lives lived on the island and the special bonds they formed there.

Each reunion proved tissue-worthy.

Sun and Jin’s moment of revelation led to a hilarious run-in with Sawyer as the couple chuckled at the thought of Sawyer as a police detective.

Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) and Sawyer’s cutesy reunion at the hospital vending machine was lovely as were the reunions of Sayid and Shannon (Maggie Grace), Daniel (Jeremy Davies) and Charlotte (Rebecca Mader), Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) and Claire (and Aaron!).

The resurrection of the real John Locke was as tear inducing as it was celebratory.  His reunion with Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson), the moment where he abandons his wheelchair was, well, magical.

And, therein lies the likely rub for many “Lost” fans who found themselves deeply immersed in the show’s rich mythology and mystical elements.

“Lost” has always been at its best when it manages the right balance between exploring the island’s mysterious mythology —i.e.  smoke monsters, giant four-toed statues, polar bears, and the like— and diving into what makes its key characters tick and tock.

In fact, “Lost” fans more awed by the show’s time traveling sci-fi badassness and smoke monster awesomeness likely found “The End” tedious and sentimental, possibly even a touch too much on the spiritual side.

That, however, is precisely what “Lost” has been about from its earliest episodes:  the prospect of redemption, forgiveness, and maybe even transcendence no matter how flawed or wounded the soul.

Those themes have long been with “Lost,” the producers and writers using the island as allegory for the trials and tribulations each of us undergo en route to possible redemption, maybe even salvation—whatever the hell that looks like.

“Lost” made that allegory all the more literal with Sunday night’s finale as Jack battled Monster Locke for the fate of all humanity with all hell literally breaking loose in the process.

Long ago, the show’s producers, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, promised that what happened on the island mattered, attempting to quell early concerns among fans that the show would undermine events unfolding on the island by “making it all a dream” or revealing that “they’re all dead.”

Lindelof and Cuse took care to repeat frequently their mantra that what happened on the island mattered and had very real consequences.  Jack explained as much to Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) in “The End” as the Scottish fail safe appeared dumbstruck that his attempt to undo the events of the last six seasons failed.

“What happened, happened,” Jack told Desmond.

So, rest easy, “Lost” fans.

Jack really did defeat Monster Locke (with some “assistance” from Kate!); Desmond did uncork the island, letting evil free to roam however briefly; Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey) really did fly Claire, Kate, Sawyer, Miles (Ken Leung) and the suddenly graying Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell) off the island to safety; Hurley did take over as a benevolent island guardian, with Ben as his loyal number two for many years to come.

What happened, happened.  The events unfolding on the island over the past six seasons weren’t for naught.

But, what happened in the show’s final ten minutes proved the most poetic as we learned that Juliet’s detonation of an atom bomb had created a sideways world where the “Losties” could gain perspective on their lived experiences…and make that final journey into the unknown together.

Back on the island, Jack’s final journey back towards the small clearing where he awoke at the start of episode one was glorious in its execution and in its simplicity.

The good doctor had saved Claire, Kate, Sawyer, Miles, Richard and Frank; he knew as much as he lay dying in the forest, watching their plane fly safely off the island as he stared up at the sky.

That final moment where Vincent lay down beside a dying Jack almost proved too much to watch.

“Lost” premiered at a time when reality TV dominated television and only three years after terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center.  For years to come, I’m sure television scholars will tease out just what “Lost” was up to with its playful use of time, its diverse international cast, its function as political and cultural allegory (it’s a show about a plane crash and the survivors trying to make sense of it and their lives in the aftermath of a major tragedy after all).

With allegory comes interpretation, not necessarily easily outlined explanations.  (Isn’t that right, Jack?)

For now, let us be content with what will surely go down as one of the best written shows in television history.

And, a special thanks to the show’s creators, J.J. Abrams, Mr. Lindelof and Mr. Cuse for giving viewers six years of just that.

Amen.

Grade: A

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010 at 1:14 pm and is filed under Film Essays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.