Lost kicked my ass last night. Emotionally I was spent and now physically the next morning I’m still drained due to staying up for the lame Aloha to Lost and letting my mind ponder for hours on end last night’s amazing finale. Here are just a few of the questions I thought of. I readily admit I might have missed some things as A) I watched half the episode through tear filled eyes and B) I’m freaking exhausted.
Where did Desmond go when Widmore through him into the electro-magnetic chamber?
I assumed that when Desmond flashed in this year’s episode he was travelling between the Purgatory universe (screw it I’m still calling it Sideways since that’s what we’ve all been calling it during the season) and the Island universe. After watching last night’s episode I think that was Darlton using a previous construct to pull the wool over our eyes. I think instead, Desmond did what Desmond does, and flashed through time seeing some of the actions he would take in the finale, and some of the aftermath (being reunited with Penny during Ben and Hurley’s upcoming reign). This would explain Desmond’s utter shock when lifting the cork didn’t work the way he thought it would and send him home.
Did Jacob always intend for the Man in Black to take Locke?
You could argue that Jacob had this all set up for a long time (i.e. Man in Black takes Locke’s form, Desmond comes back to the Island and releases the cork just long enough for Jack to kill Smocke). I’m going to say yes and no. Jacob knew Locke was special, a fact Ben certainly reminded us of later but I’m not sure he knew to what end until perhaps his own end. I think Jacob knew that gathering these people would lead to an end of some sort for him and his brother.
Was Charles Widmore the least redeemable character on the show?
I think “Across the Sea” established more sympathy for the Man in Black than Charles got in 5 seasons. I understand that people in the Sideways need to wake up when they’re ready but even there Charles is more concerned about greed, money and power than he is with his family and that seems to suit him just fine. (Please note I’m writing this off one viewing so perhaps he was lurking about in the final sendoff.)
What’s the deal with Aaron and Ji Yeon?
Aaron made out pretty well as he got his two moms (there’s your spinoff by the way or the island odd couple sitcom with Ben and Hurley). Not only did he get them in the Island verse after the duck tapped Ajira flight presumably got folks home (Kate apparently lived a long life per her comment to Jack in the Sideways) but he also got to crossover with them. I’m assuming his form wasn’t important as Christian Shepherd pretty much implied that physics didn’t matter much in the Sideways. Meanwhile Ji Yeon got orphaned and was presumably raised by her mom’s rather questionable family. Maybe Team Hurley helped her out but we’ll never know. Furthermore she didn’t even get a reunion with her parents other than a sonogram courtesy of our favorite blonde doctor. My partner argues that since time didn’t matter in the Sideways, Jin and Sun could have hooked up with Ji Yeon and hung out for a bit. I don’t see why this couldn’t happen but I think Ji Yeon will have her own Sideways some day and that when she does it will be with the people that were most important to her and her journey and sadly that would not be her parents.
When did I learn to let go?
After Smocke fell to his death I was sure he wasn’t done. In fact the next scene with a post surgery Locke waking up was simply terrifying. For what seemed like an eternity, I thought Smocke had jumped worlds and was going to choke Jack out and walk on towards the concert. Once it was revealed to be good old’ John I let out a sigh and knew it was all going to be alright and I honestly stopped caring about the devil face in the floor of the island or the skeletons at the base of the waterfall.
Was the Sideways universe necessary to telling the story in the Island universe?
Technically, I suppose not. In the end, the Sideways did not affect Island unless Hurley’s visitors (such as Ana Lucia and Charlie) came from there (this is one point I have no strong opinion of. Not sure whether those visits didn’t come from the Island or Jacob or even post Ark of Light (i.e. the church gathering)). You could have told this season’s Island story on its own. The bomb didn’t work except for catapulting our heroes back to the present, what happened, happened, and then there was pain, misery, a few spots of redemption and eventually the island itself persevered while many of our characters did not. I can also see why some might have anger that their time was wasted watching our character’s wake up in limbo when, for example, we could have found out about Dogan’s back-story or who was dropping off those Dharma rations post-purge. I think that’s a valid reaction but for me the Sideways was essential to sending the characters and the show off properly. All the “wake up” moments were brilliant and emotionally charged, especially the Kwons and Charlie/Claire. My partner said, “But you hate Claire!” The truth is a hated what she became post-Charlie but I loved her prior to that. The “wake-up” brought out the best in her which is as it should be in the Sideways. Think about how devastating it would be from an audience perspective to see all that sacrifice then ending the series with the Ajira folks flying off while Ben and Hurley set up shop. I think that would have been unsatisfying. Furthermore the Sideways did not undo the suffering. Jin and Sun still didn’t raise their daughter. Juliet still died horribly and never got to see her sister. Shannon died for literally no reason other than Ana Lucia’s itchy trigger finger. All these deaths and losses still mattered and still carried weight despite the fact that we got a happy reunion prior to the character’s taking their next step. The Sideways universe mattered, and my early reaction is that it will end up being equal in my memory to what happened on the island.
In the end I was completely satisfied with the ending and the series as a whole. Furthermore, in my sleep deprived state, I’m now ready to place it above Buffy as my favorite series of all time and above Angel for the best finale of all time. Like that finale it didn’t tie up everything but it paid tribute to the characters and what they lived, died, fought and loved for.
Elliot’s Top 5 TV Shows
5. Angel
4. SportsNight
3. Twin Peaks
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
1. Lost
Elliot’s Top 5 Series Finales
5. M*A*S*H
4. Twin Peaks
3. Firefly
2. Angel
1. Lost
Monday, May 24, 2010
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