If I was a drinker, which I'm not, I'd wager to say I woke up this morning with what I believe to be a "LOST hangover." My head hurts, I'm filled with part blame, part self loathing and I have little to no idea what just happened.
To all those Lost survivors out there, let us come and warm ourselves by the glow of the ending credits and console one another, shall we?
I scoured the Internet this morning for someone smarter than me to explain it, and the phrase that kept popping up most in blogs and reviews was that the show was "open to your interpretation." Surely ye jest right? I mean, this is a scripted show, not one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books. (Man, do you remember those?! Sigh.)
Apparently there are massive theories out there, with the collective one being that the island is Purgatory and that the people who crash landed on it were called there by Jacob to "redeem" themselves, in order to move on to the next life. They even go as far as to say several faiths were represented in the show, the Dharma Initiative being more Buddhist in nature in that karma played a role in these characters redemption. (Is that what we were supposed to get from all the "Namaste"??)
Another theory is that Hurley with his newly acquired role and powers as "island leader" was able to create the sideways flash lives as a way for the survivors to finally redeem themselves, find each other and move on together. Very Hurley-ish, right?
While Jack's sometimes dead sometimes not dead sometimes the Smoke Monster--father, told Jack that everything he had experienced was real, many people speculate that Jack and everyone who crashed while in purgatory, were all actually dead from the very first episode. These would all be interesting ideas and almost soul soothing in their clarity if in the past 6 years, they had actually ever alluded to any of these theories in a remotely concrete way. Was I supposed to get all that from Richard Alpert screaming like a crazy person around the fire, "You want to know a secret?? You're all dead!"
Well I didn't think he was serious.
So, what, in order to follow and understand what's happening in a show I'm now supposed to blog, text, Google and tweet and the such?! Call me old school, but can I really no longer hope to sit down with my bowl 'o ice cream and remote control with the hopes of getting all the information from just, oh I don't know, watching it on the television?? Am I expected to utilize all portals of entertainment just to understand the hour I just watched? If I wanted to hear a story that was open to my "own interpretation" guess what?! I would have written my OWN STORY.
(Cleansing breath in, cleansing breath out....)
Don't make ME the storyteller. Why do you think I pay my cable bill?? Yeah that's right, for OTHER PEOPLE to tell me the story.
Hearing the theory about Purgatory and redemption is actually a pretty great idea for a show...if one had realized. Of course, as interesting a theory as it is, it doesn't explain:
Where "the Others" came from originally?
The fact that if the island's caretaker was Jacob, and he basically hired Alpert as his "counselor", what the heck was Ben's job really besides being awesome at being real creepy?
Why can Hurley see dead people and Linus hear their last thoughts? Just 'cuz?!
4 8 15 16 23 42...those just Hurley's odd connection to the island or is Jacob just like the rest of us and uses the same numbers for all his passwords?
And if the sideways life all led to them going to heaven, why the need for the Macgyver type plane exit from the island. If Kate, Sawyer and Claire are dead, what exactly is gonna happen when they radio in to LAX for an emergency landing??
And not that I minded the whole giant island reset button as a way of finally killing off the smoke monster but really?? Jacob's been there how long and that never occurred to him? One call to Island Tech Support and I can guarantee you it would have been: "Sir, have you tried unplugging it and then plugging it back in?" Would have saved him years of aggravation is all I'm saying.
For me, there is a unique responsibility in the role of storyteller. You have to give your listener the freedom and excitement to roam and explore the world you have created for them, but you have to maintain control and ownership of that world. So that at the end of the day whether or not people end up liking the story, everyone gets to walk away with the closure that you played by the rules.
Don't get me wrong. When you take Lost in as a whole...the script, the characters, the backdrop, the mystery,the suspense, the emotions produced, and the fan base, it is truly epic in it's scope; and I'm certainly not sorry I went along for the ride.
15 comments:
and if they were all dead and vacationing on Purgatory Island, then how the heck did the Oceanic 6 get rescued and lead a "normal" life for 3 years...and Penny...um she was NEVER on the Island, how did she get the invite to the "dead club" at the church? soooo many questions created by their LAME excuse of a FINALE :o(
for a while i thought it was purgatory and thought i was really smart for figuring it out. then someone told me that the writers flat out said it was purgatory...but i couldn't help but think the WHOLE time during the finale that it was the only thing that made sense! my mind is still spinning.
**that was supposed to read "the writers flat out said it was NOT purgatory"
I am a huge LOST fan, and after maxing out my brain since the finale last night as well as participating a few chats online, here is where I am sitting as what the hell happened. I also listened to Jack's conversation with his father at the end which I believe pretty much sums up everything.
The island was real. Everything that happened on the island was real. The people were alive when they crashed. Several of them really did die there.. Boone, Juliet, Shannon, Sun, Jin, eventually Jack, etc. The FlashSideways was in fact, purgatory, as in was not real life. This is where all of our beloved characters were after they had died & waiting for each other so that they could move on (to heaven? or whatnot) together.
By the time we see them all in the church, time is no longer of matter. Christian told Jack, some of them died before you, some after you, but now you are all here together- to move on together. And that because of what happened on that island, and being the most important part of all of their lives, they were waiting for one another in purgatory to move on together. This also explains why Kate says to Jack how much she has missed him. Because for all we know, she lived to be old & grey, missing Jack everyday, whereas Jack died that day on the island. We also can note this with the conversation between Hurley & Ben... saying they were great #1 and #2... seeming like they had been there together protecting the island for a long time. And of course Ben not going in the church, because he is not ready to pass on yet. Same as Michael, Eko, etc.
Okay, I know that I am blubbering now, and might be even more confusing. But after I came to these realizations I felt so much better about the finale and in fact I even love it. Now. After thinking about it so much! I hope this helps you!
Also, evidence that the FlashSideways is in fact purgatory- Jack does not have a son, as Locke points out. I believe that Jack created this son in his purgatory as a way to cope with his father issues. There were quite a few references along those lines.
Wow. I did NOT mean to write that much. This is my brain on LOST.
Chelsea explained exactly what I thought immediately after the show. Upon further reflection, I think the entire series happens in the blink of an eye in Jack's head as a way for him to cope with his life before he dies. He could have subconsciously recognized Hurley and remembered the winning lotto numbers and seen the comic book on the plane, which would explain why those numbers appear everywhere, the polar bear, and everyone's mystical powers.
Sayid was a stereotype that probably came from a middle eastern man on a plane. He probably had a crush on Kate and made her his love on the island.
Overall, I think that Jack wanted his life to mean something. He gave himself love, friends, and the father he always wanted. Before the crash he had no one close to him and really nothing to live for. At the end of the show, he lays down in the same spot he started at with the same wound and during the final credits they show the plane crash with no survivors on the island this time.
(steph not ben)
So I think the whole island experience was real. Jack really died that day. kate, claire, et al got off the island and went on to live some kind of "normal" life for however long until they died of whatever. hurly with ben protected the island for however long. then at some point in the future, after they ALL had died they had their reawakening experience together. I think a lot of time had to have passed from the day jack died to the reawakening because Kate told him that she had missed him so much and hurly and ben referenced their time together protecting the island. their side flashes weren't real but just an opportunity to reunite. no purgatory, just an opportunity for redemption. i think they left a lot unexplained, a lot of loose ends that were left untied because they weren't really sure why they put them in to begin with other than it made for a cool episode or two, and that last night's finale was a quick easy way to tie up the characters' stories without having to create an ending that made sense. As you can see I'm typing with my "bitter and dissappointed" font on.
All I can say is that I loved the finale and even shed a few tears. So sad that it's over!
(Ben this time)
My only real question/complaint (I'm pretty easy to please) is why Sayid was with Shannon in the church instead of Nadia!! Shannon was just his island fling while he was willing to die for Nadia. Nadia should have been in the church at then end instead of Shannon.
Thank you, Melanie! I was going to email you this morning because Alan seems to be totally ambivalent about the whole thing, which makes it no fun at all to complain or speculate about Lost. Here's my quick take on the finale: It was emotionally satisfying. I went to bed feeling happy for all those involved. Everything worked out, everyone's together, everyone's happy. Yay! BUT.... the more I think about it, the more irritated I become by the unanswered questions that I'm guessing even the writers didn't know the answer to. There are SO MANY OF THEM! And instead of the ending clarifying many of those mysteries, it just made them seem irrelevant. Like, who cares about Jacob and the smoke monster, the cohort at the temple and Whitmore, Hawking, and all those recently introduced characters that played brief and largely unexplained roles (and there's a much longer list of unanswered questions where that came from) - everyone ends up happy and together in the end anyway, so the whys don't matter. Now I'm stuck being curious (and frustrated) FOREVER.
In fairness, I have to say that Lost was a great show to watch and that I enjoyed it for six whole years.
Oh-and I don't understand some of the over the top rave reviews about the finale. I can understand enjoying it - I did. But you're really completely satisfied with that wrap up? Sigh. Its a crazy world.
ummm...can i just say that you blog just clarified a fact that i am NOT sad that i missed the ride? my brain cannot take anymore confusion right now anyway.
Great comments everyone!! Of course at the end of the day I loved watching the show and I agree, the finale was great fun to watch...my chief complaint is that there is this whole theory (maybe??) that the show based it's ending on, that we as the viewer were never fully clued into. It's not even like I can go back to seasons 1-5 and be like, "OH! Yes! I see it now, this was why they were on the island. It all makes sense now!" So, how was I supposed to make heads or tails of what was happening at the end when I had no point of reference to what this all referred to. I just wanted something more concrete to sink my teeth into and be like, "aha, this is what everything meant, this is what the island was, this is why they were there, this is what these "sideways flashes" were, etc." Because now I'm left to guess? We're all right? Nobody's right? If I hadn't gone online to see people's theory's I would not have had the slightest clue why what happened in the end happened. I think the show focused alot on the mysteries that were actually happening on the island and also about the struggles to either leave or come back, so, to have the end be about some other theme entirely felt like I had somehow completely missed the point of the show. But, again, Lost is one of the few shows that you can rag on and still love with all your heart:)
Your analysis is right on - as to be expected! But I must say that I'm SUPER glad I jumped ship last year!! This way I'm not suppose to have any answers, but I can sleep well at night believing that it will all make sense in the end.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Just read Jack's new quotes. Still laughing..............
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