LOST : No Spoiler Alert

FTC-Hater said:
The ending is very complex and may not be comprehended by just anyone. But I'll try and break it down: you all lost the last 6 years of your life.

Damn, the writers got ya there.

Better luck next time bros
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Nah, I watched from the first episode and looked forward to each proceeding episode. I found it entertaining, so I gained something.

Sorry you missed out. :[
 


I thought that the ending was great.

They answered all of the big overarching questions.

What is there left that you guys seriously want answered? Its part of the shows mythology that some of these things are unknown.

Finale was flawless
 
Unconfirmed wrap up from someone in the Bad Robot studios. Either way, though, its a good explanation.

First ...
The Island:

It was real. Everything that happened on the island that we saw throughout the 6 seasons was real. Forget the final image of the plane crash, it was put in purposely to f*&k with people's heads and show how far the show had come. They really crashed. They really survived. They really discovered Dharma and the Others. The Island keeps the balance of good and evil in the world. It always has and always will perform that role. And the Island will always need a "Protector". Jacob wasn't the first, Hurley won't be the last. However, Jacob had to deal with a malevolent force (MIB) that his mother, nor Hurley had to deal with. He created the devil and had to find a way to kill him -- even though the rules prevented him from actually doing so.

Thus began Jacob's plan to bring candidates to the Island to do the one thing he couldn't do. Kill the MIB. He had a huge list of candidates that spanned generations. Yet everytime he brought people there, the MIB corrupted them and caused them to kill one another. That was until Richard came along and helped Jacob understand that if he didn't take a more active role, then his plan would never work.

Enter Dharma -- which I'm not sure why John is having such a hard time grasping. Dharma, like the countless scores of people that were brought to the island before, were brought there by Jacob as part of his plan to kill the MIB. However, the MIB was aware of this plan and interferred by "corrupting" Ben. Making Ben believe he was doing the work of Jacob when in reality he was doing the work of the MIB. This carried over into all of Ben's "off-island" activities. He was the leader. He spoke for Jacob as far as they were concerned. So the "Others" killed Dharma and later were actively trying to kill Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley and all the candidates because that's what the MIB wanted. And what he couldn't do for himself.

Dharma was originally brought in to be good. But was turned bad by MIB's corruption and eventually destroyed by his pawn Ben. Now, was Dharma only brought there to help Jack and the other Canditates on their overall quest to kill Smokey? Or did Jacob have another list of Canidates from the Dharma group that we were never aware of? That's a question that is purposley not answered because whatever answer the writers came up with would be worse than the one you come up with for yourself. Still ... Dharma's purpose is not "pointless" or even vague. Hell, it's pretty blantent.

Still, despite his grand plan, Jacob wanted to give his "candidates" (our Lostaways) the one thing he, nor his brother, were ever afforded: free will. Hence him bringing a host of "candidates" through the decades and letting them "choose" which one would actually do the job in the end. Maybe he knew Jack would be the one to kill Flocke and that Hurley would be the protector in the end. Maybe he didn't. But that was always the key question of the show: Fate vs Free-will. Science vs Faith. Personally I think Jacob knew from the beginning what was going to happen and that everyone played a part over 6 seasons in helping Jack get to the point where he needed to be to kill Smokey and make Hurley the protector -- I know that's how a lot of the writers viewed it. But again, they won't answer that (nor should they) because that ruins the fun.

In the end, Jack got to do what he always wanted to do from the very first episode of the show: Save his fellow Lostaways. He got Kate and Sawyer off the island and he gave Hurley the purpose in life he'd always been missing. And, in Sideways world (which we'll get to next) he in fact saved everyone by helping them all move on ...
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Then the second part:

Now...

Sideways World:

Sideways world is where it gets really cool in terms of theology and metaphysical discussion (for me at least -- because I love history/religion theories and loved all the talks in the writer's room about it). Basically what the show is proposing is that we're all linked to certain people during our lives. Call them soulmates (though it's not exactly the best word). But these people we're linked to are with us duing "the most important moments of our lives" as Christian said. These are the people we move through the universe with from lifetime to lifetime. It's loosely based in Hinduisim with large doses of western religion thrown into the mix.

The conceit that the writers created, basing it off these religious philosophies, was that as a group, the Lostaways subconsciously created this "sideways" world where they exist in purgatory until they are "awakened" and find one another. Once they all find one another, they can then move on and move forward. In essence, this is the show's concept of the afterlife. According to the show, everyone creates their own "Sideways" purgatory with their "soulmates" throughout their lives and exist there until they all move on together. That's a beautiful notion. Even if you aren't religious or even spirtual, the idea that we live AND die together is deeply profound and moving.

It's a really cool and spirtual concept that fits the whole tone and subtext the show has had from the beginning. These people were SUPPOSED to be together on that plane. They were supposed to live through these events -- not JUST because of Jacob. But because that's what the universe or God (depending on how religious you wish to get) wanted to happen. The show was always about science vs faith -- and it ultimately came down on the side of faith. It answered THE core question of the series. The one question that has been at the root of every island mystery, every character backstory, every plot twist. That, by itself, is quite an accomplishment.

How much you want to extrapolate from that is up to you as the viewer. Think about season 1 when we first found the Hatch. Everyone thought that's THE answer! Whatever is down there is the answer! Then, as we discovered it was just one station of many. One link in a very long chain that kept revealing more, and more of a larger mosiac.

But the writer's took it even further this season by contrasting this Sideways "purgatory" with the Island itself. Remember when Michael appeared to Hurley, he said he was not allowed to leave the Island. Just like the MIB. He wasn't allowed into this sideways world and thus, was not afforded the opportunity to move on. Why? Because he had proven himself to be unworthy with his actions on the Island. He failed the test. The others, passed. They made it into Sideways world when they died -- some before Jack, some years later. In Hurley's case, maybe centuries later. They exist in this sideways world until they are "awakened" and they can only move on TOGETHER because they are linked. They are destined to be together for eternity. That was their destiny.

They were NOT linked to Anna Lucia, Daniel, Roussou, Alex, Miles, Lupidis, (and all the rest who weren't in the chuch -- basically everyone who wasn't in season 1). Yet those people exist in Sideways world. Why? Well again, here's where they leave it up to you to decide. The way I like to think about it, is that those people who were left behind in Sideways world have to find their own soulmates before they can wake up. It's possible that those links aren't people from the island but from their other life (Anna's parnter, the guy she shot --- Roussou's husband, etc etc).

A lot of people have been talking about Ben and why he didn't go into the Church. And if you think of Sideways world in this way, then it gives you the answer to that very question. Ben can't move on yet because he hasn't connected with the people he needs to. It's going to be his job to awaken Roussou, Alex, Anna Lucia (maybe), Ethan, Goodspeed, his father and the rest. He has to attone for his sins more than he did by being Hurley's number two. He has to do what Hurley and Desmond did for our Lostaways with his own people. He has to help them connect. And he can only move on when all the links in his chain are ready to. Same can be said for Faraday, Charlotte, Whidmore, Hawkins etc. It's really a neat, and cool concept. At least to me.

But, from a more "behind the scenes" note: the reason Ben's not in the church, and the reason no one is in the church but for Season 1 people is because they wrote the ending to the show after writing the pilot. And never changed it. The writers always said (and many didn't believe them) that they knew their ending from the very first episode. I applaud them for that. It's pretty fantastic. Originally Ben was supposed to have a 3 episode arc and be done. But he became a big part of the show. They could have easily changed their ending and put him in the church -- but instead they problem solved it. Gave him a BRILLIANT moment with Locke outside the church ... and then that was it. I loved that. For those that wonder -- the original ending started the moment Jack walked into the church and touches the casket to Jack closing his eyes as the other plane flies away. That was always JJ's ending. And they kept it.


In the end, for me, LOST was a touchstone show that dealt with faith, the afterlife, and all these big, spirtual questions that most shows don't touch. And to me, they never once waivered from their core story -- even with all the sci-fi elements they mixed in. To walk that long and daunting of a creative tightrope and survive is simply astounding.
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that can't be correct, i distinctly remember reading in a legit source that during season 1 they had no clue on future development and they had to bring in some people to help them or something, so the whole thing about why its only season 1 people in the church and them knowing the ending when writing the pilot is total crock.
 
SUP3RNOVA said:
The writers of LOST made it as they went, which means they don't even know how to explain everything they've come up with.
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What is bewildering to me is that you didn't figure this out the after the 2nd season. It was quite clear that the writers were just making it up as they went along. I actually stopped watching it because of this. Then for reasons I don't even remember I started watching again and as long as I completely suspended my disbelief, it was enjoyable again. (Although not as much as the first season.)

Because of this, I enjoyed the ending.
 
turbolapp said:
What is bewildering to me is that you didn't figure this out the after the 2nd season.
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I watched Seasons 1-5 three weeks before Season 6 started. It was all just one big mashup of episodes for me and once I started watching, I just wanted to finish it off to see everything explained.

Perhaps this isn't why I was as emotionally attached, but I still think it was really weak to leave so many facets of the show up for "interpretation".
 
I spent all day avoiding threads like this because I didn't get to watch it until tonight. Awesome ending! I mean it wasn't supposed to be a documentary or something. Sure, your gona leave a few ends left untied after 6 years of episodes.

"see you in another life, brotha"
 
SUP3RNOVA said:
I watched Seasons 1-5 three weeks before Season 6 started. It was all just one big mashup of episodes for me and once I started watching, I just wanted to finish it off to see everything explained.

Perhaps this isn't why I was as emotionally attached, but I still think it was really weak to leave so many facets of the show up for "interpretation".
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Actually, this makes a lot of sense. Most of us let the intellectual attachment go after the first or second season but, as Roundabout touched on, we found we were still emotionally attached to the characters and the show. This conclusion offered optimal emotional release and pretty much no intellectual satisfaction. It looks like you didn't have the time to form much of an emotional attachment to the show therefore you were disappointed, of course, with the lack intellectual sustenance. Those of us that chose to abandoned logic years ago during these weekly hours were probably much more satisfied with the ending.

I imagine this is much like what religious people do. I only hope they aren't as outraged at their endings as you. ;)
 
kaveman said:
edit: another small part that i like is that Ben, the only character who is inherently evil and mal intention says he needed to stay and work some things out
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Ben stayed because if his daughter became "aware", she would have realized that Ben basically let that mercenary kill her back on the island. He choose to live a happier life in purgatory with his daughter and the French woman than to be with everyone else. Both the French woman and Ben's daughter knew Ben as a bad man on the island (despite his good intentions), and he wanted to keep it the way it was.
 
DanGlobalizer said:
Ben stayed because if his daughter became "aware", she would have realized that Ben basically let that mercenary kill her back on the island. He choose to live a happier life in purgatory with his daughter and the French woman than to be with everyone else. Both the French woman and Ben's daughter knew Ben as a bad man on the island (despite his good intentions), and he wanted to keep it the way it was.
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I don't agree with this at all.

I think Ben stayed because he wasn't ready to go yet. But not because of a side way/purgatory universe that wasn't real to begin with (whatever "real" is) He had a self actualization moment and was appalled at his own behavior. If you'll remember, right up until the end he was still killing people left and right. It was poignant, that Locke forgave Ben, but Ben wasn't ready to forgive himself yet. He wasn't ready to move on.
 
And the award for most EPIC television series goes to...

For me personally, having just seen the finale last night, I must say LOST was the most incredible tv series I have ever watched. Some time ago, especially a few seasons back, I used to wonder "when are they ever gonna explain the <INSERT RECURRING MYSTERY THEME HERE>?"

But as this last season started to wrap things up, I cared less about the logical / technical unanswered speculations - and more and more about the core story and the final fate of the characters. We weren't meant to look into the polar bear references and the true meaning of the numbers. Leave that to the fanatic nerds.

So the way the show wrapped up, and especially the finale, was absolutely pure awesome in my opinion.

Best. Series. Ever.
 
unrealalex said:
that can't be correct, i distinctly remember reading in a legit source that during season 1 they had no clue on future development and they had to bring in some people to help them or something, so the whole thing about why its only season 1 people in the church and them knowing the ending when writing the pilot is total crock.
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Matthew Fox said they told him during season 1, after they decided he would be sticking around that the series would end with him dying in the same spot he woke up.

As far as, the writers knew exactly where they were going..obviously not lol
 
I've found the ending of Lost has grown on me over the last few days as I've been able to digest it.

Ironically, I was livid and punching the walls at the end of the Sopranos when it first aired.. now, looking back, I realize it was perfect.

Sometimes "genius" has to grow on you.
 
Roundabout said:
I've found the ending of Lost has grown on me over the last few days as I've been able to digest it.

Ironically, I was livid and punching the walls at the end of the Sopranos when it first aired.. now, looking back, I realize it was perfect.

Sometimes "genius" has to grow on you.
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This. :)
 
They don't answer anything because they can't. I guarantee that the writers are as confused as we are. They made up so much weird mystical shit to create thrills during all the seasons, that there is no reasonable explanation which could tie it all together at the end. So they just leave it at that.

I am a huge lost fan, I just always expected that there was some deeper meaning that we weren't shown yet that the writers had in mind. I'm just disappointed how obvious it is now that the writers had no clue what they were doing all along =[
 
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