Tyler Anderson

A single post about Lost’s finale wouldn’t do this amazing piece of work justice, and quite frankly would be far too long for any one person to want to read online in a single sitting. Because of that, I’ll be splitting my thoughts up into themed posts over the next week. This post is going to focus a briefly on the character moments last night’s episode (I’ll get into those more later), touch on religion versus science, as well as discuss my thoughts on the shooting of the episode, and pretty much the entire series as a whole. Needless to say these posts will contain lots of SPOILERS, so if you haven’t watched the finale yet you should definitely STOP HERE.

The Beginning… And The End

I cannot express how beautifully shot the opening scene of this final episode was. It’s truly a piece of art in itself. The shots of characters both on and off the Island, brought together by the central thematic prop of the episode, the casket, being taken off of the Oceanic plane, is truly a sight to behold. Re-watching that scene consistently brings tears to my eyes, and I expect it will for a long time to come.

Much can be said for the ending of the episode. Jack’s death scene just shows the storytelling and visonary prowess of Lost writers. Matthew Fox has known from the beginning that the final shot in the series would be his eye closing, and he confirmed that on last night’s Jimmy Kimmel Lost special. Say what you want about the decisions the writers made in weaving Lost’s tale, but you have to admit that the final scene of the series was one of the most well-done, perfect endings in the history of television. Let’s take a look back, all the way at the very beginning episode of the series. It starts with Jack’s eye opening as he lays in the middle of a forest of bamboo. He’s staring up at a blue sky. A mysterious dog, who we later find out is Walt’s dog Vincent, runs up to him and then runs off. As Jack gets up, and starts running through the forest to the beach, we see a shoe hanging from one of the bamboo shoots. Now lets return to that final scene from last night. Jack’s just woken up from falling out of the waterfall. He’s badly hurt, and is stumbling through the forest of bamboo. As he struggles to stay upright, he passes the same shoe from the pilot, now worn and tattered by the elements. As he struggles to keep going, he falls on his back, staring up at the sky above. The Ajira plane passes overhead, carrying Kate, Miles, Lapidus, Richard, Claire and Sawyer to safety. We hear a rustling in the jungle as Vincent runs up to Jack and lays down next to him. Slowly his eye closes and we’re greeted with a black screen displaying the show’s title for the very last time.

Now, I’ve started crying just from writing that. It was truly the best filmed scene in the best filmed show that I’ve ever seen. If you respect nothing about Lost, at least respect the incredible cinematography that goes into every episode.

On Religion and Science

The idea of religion versus technology has long been a very dividing force in Lost, ever since the days of old when Jack and Locke would be all “Man of Science/Man of Faith” and would fight constantly. Many people have felt somewhat put off by the finale because it drops science in favor of faith. Some people were drawn to Lost by the intrigue of the physics of the show: the electromagnetism, the time travel and quantum theories, the idea of parallel universes. Others were drawn because of the faith aspect, the theological and philosophical references that were interwoven in the story, and the debate between free will and fate. When the ending took an unexpected (to me, at least) turn down the theological route, revealing that the sideways segments really weren’t that at all, but were instead a glimpse at the sort of “purgatory” that the characters created for themselves, some viewers, especially my mother, got upset at the sudden victory of faith over science.

However I argue that ending the show in any other way could not have brought the same level of peace that the one we saw last night created. Say it was revealed last night that we were right all along; that the flashes were in an alternate universe where the survivors were slowly getting their memory back. What then? So they remember what happened on the Island, how would that have changed anything? Ending the show in that manner would have invalidated the journey the characters went on to discover their memories, because they would be remembering another life, and wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. No, the ending that was written was so perfect for Lost as a whole that I couldn’t really imagine it happening any other way.

Characters In Rare Form

In its gooey, cream-filled center, Lost is all about the characters, and last night did not disappoint in that regard. When the writers said that the ending would be emotionally satisfying for the viewers, I didn’t realize how right they would be. I found myself tearing up as every character found their memories and realized what needed to happen next. This was, bar none, the best way to end the series, regardless of where you fall on the technology/religion spectrum. I couldn’t help but cry at the perfection of every aspect of the end to this tale, whether it was Sawyer finding Juliet, Sun and Jin seeing their daughter, or Charlie rediscovering his love for Claire and little baby Aaron. Everything was so perfect, and for that I applaud the writers. They truly did a spectacular job.

However our satisfaction did not only come from the characters in their “sideways” forms. On the Island we saw many characters return to their old ways as the tension and danger grew. Some of my favorite moments of characters just being themselves include:

• Hurley making Star Wars references, such as “Yeah, dude, he’s worse than Yoda,” or “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” a quote taken directly from the original film.
• Sawyer’s return to nicknames, calling Miles “Enos,” which is a Dukes of Hazzard reference, and calling Hurley “Bigfoot.”
• Kate telling Sawyer that she’ll “resist the urge to follow [him] anyway.” This is in reference to pretty much her character on the entire show, but especially in the first season, where she would always follow characters into danger when she was told not to.
• Ben’s actions throughout the entire episode. He’s always been a morally ambiguous character, and one has to wonder whether he really intended to do as Smokey said or whether he was attempting to “con” him in some way.

Namaste

I know Damon and Carlton are telling fans to move on, but I just can’t yet. I’m still grieving over the end of this incredible show. Because of that, this is just a taste of the things you’ll be seeing from me this week, and I plan on explaining everything that you need clarified. So, don’t be afraid to post in the comments below any questions that I might be able to help answer. I’ll be addressing them all in posts throughout the week. Also, later in the week, be on the lookout for a full finale recap explaining every part of the end to this epic tale, leaving no stone, or gigantic Island plug, unturned. Until then, good luck, and Namaste.