Is it possible to be unsure of whether you liked something or not, but still be satisfied by it? Because after sleeping on it, that’s how I’m feeling about the series finale of Lost, complete with its Desmond Ex Machina, sideways purgatory and creepily Evangelion-like conclusion. Despite all the mythology and ambiguity, the show creators have always maintained that this was a character show, and “The End” certainly lent itself to that end.
I think the fans of Lost can easily be categorized by a Venn diagram, one circle for myhology/mysteries and the other for characters. There are some that care about one, the other, or both. I’m going to go ahead and pour out a glass for those obsessive folk in the mythology circle, because they are probably left feeling that Lost was the biggest con they’ve ever been privy to. Last night’s finale didn’t concern itself with questions like “what was up with all them baby mamas“, “WAAALLLLT“, or “what the frak is the island, anyway“. Instead, it devoted its attention to sending these characters off in a way that we could live with and ultimately, let go of.
If you haven’t seen it, beware of spoilers. Because they’re coming.
I suppose I’ll quickly start with the Island story. Or you know, the un-afterlife portion of the finale. Even though I’m fine with how they dealt with this side of it, I think it’s funny that the deus ex machina as a plot device is still alive and well in storytelling. It’s interesting that our two biggest sci fi shows of the last few years, Battlestar Galactica and Lost, both utilized it in full effect. With BSG it was the magical song-that-was-actually-coordinates, and with Lost it was the carrot-shaped-rock-cork that only Desmond could manipulate (even though Jack did it later with seemingly no consequences).
Desmond Ex Machina aside, the Island stuff made for an exciting conclusion to all of the build up we’ve been watching for season six. In true lost fashion, some of it was naturally clunky, and for a while there I thought we’d be watching the characters trek back and forth across the Island for two hours. That’s almost what we got, but at least they mixed it up with the carrot-cork, Frank Lapidus, and the epic man of science/ man of faith showdown in the rain by Jacob’s Ladder during an erupting volcano. I was waiting for Jack to shout something about the high ground and Locke being the chosen one, but I could live with a little slice and dice action to Jack’s appendectomy scar.
Then there was the Sideways story. Or purgatory, as it was later revealed. The King’s Cross for the Island castaways, with Christian Shepherd (I totally missed the significance of that name until they made a joke about it) occupying the Dumbledore spot. Yes, everything on the Island did actually happen. The Sideways world served as the holding pen for our characters, so they could all move into the light together, once they had all been woken up, so to speak.
Personally, it reminded me of the end of Evangelion, a similarly mysterious anime show with a rabid fanbase. It frequently made use of religious symbols and was about saving the world from fallen angels with the help of awesome robots. It’s all still a bit muddy for me, as I haven’t seen it in years, but spoiler alert: destruction happens, and the finale takes place inside the mind of the show’s self conscious main character Shinji Ikari. At the end, he finally comes to the realization that he can let go, and well, this happens. Click to the 2 minute mark and you’ll see something familiar.
Surprisingly similar to Lost, wouldn’t you say? I couldn’t help but think about this as I watched last night. I was half expecting to see Kate, Sayid and Locke line up and shout “congratulations, Jack!” as they cheered him on into the afterlife. Like Lost, Evangelion’s final episode ignored the mysteries and instead showed you Shinji’s own journey of coming to grips with himself and the people that mattered most to him.
And if I’m being honest, I’m still not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, I’m glad that so much loving attention was given to closing the book on the characters that we’ve come to know and love for six years running. Despite its over-reliance on a constantly teasing mythology, Lost has always been about the art of letting go, and how completely amateur our favorite maestros were at accomplishing that. The Sideways (is it even appropriate to call if that anymore) world represented everything that they couldn’t ditch on this side of mortality: wealth, love and reconciliation. Hurley was no longer the unluckiest man alive. Sayid had Nadia. Jack obliterated his daddy issues. Eloise had her son back. Desmond had Widmore’s approval. Ben had his daughter over power (and ultimately couldn’t let go).
For six seasons, we’ve seen these characters come to grips with their hang-ups, and the final step in that process was to have it all right in front of them, to taste it, and then to let go of it. While it’s all a bit new-agey, there’s actually something very poignant about it. Granted, some of the tension of the show is meaningless, since we jumped straight to the afterlife I suppose, but that’s besides the point. It makes me wonder if we spent too much time in the Sidways world, since it was all mostly fake (despite Darlton’s insistence that it wasn’t). The show knew what we wanted. Instead, it gave us what we needed: character closure. How else can you say goodbye to such a huge, bold and beloved series?
After all the attachment that’s grown to the characters of Lost, would a simple epilogue have come close to a satisfying ending? Harry Potter and Battlestar Galactica both tried the same thing, and I remember the reaction to that being less than stellar. It really comes down to that final scene, which placed all of the characters in a church together as they waited for Jack to become enlightened. Once he did, they could all pass together. This will prove to be silly for some, and touching for others.
Was it cheesy? It sure was. Was it a bit too new-agey? For me, it was. Should they have answered questions x, y and z? Probably. Was it a let down in some ways? Yup. Could it have used a final Desmond and Penny scene? Heck yes. For all of the show’s willingness to constantly tease us about mysteries that never came to light, I’ll always be a little sore, and in some instances bitter. But the most important thing for me is that while the end was a bit heavy handed, there’s a sense of satisfaction now that it’s past. There really is no need for me to ask some of these questions anymore, because I know how things eventually went down for the characters. And at the end of the day, that’s what I cared about. I wasn’t in love with the finale, but it doesn’t put a negative stamp for me on any of the incredible show that happened before it.
We’re entirely not used to seeing finales on TV these days, because they either continue on forever (Smallville, I’m looking at you), or end prematurely. I wonder when we’ll ever see a show this ambitious and brave in its storytelling, which lead to many colossal failures but just as many triumphs. I sincerely hope that Lost has paved the way for richer, fuller character studies in the future, because this has been one heck of a ride.
In the end, I guess there’s only one thing left for me to say: Congratulations, Jack. It was nice knowing you.
12 Comments