Lost Series Finale: The End

WARNING: This post contains spoilers for the series finale of LOST.

It'd probably be a better idea if I slept on it, but I'm sure I'll be busy with actual work and other stuff come Monday morning so why not just dive right into it now?

First and foremost, I loved it. It was touching, epic, and provided a satisfying-enough ending. At least for me. All of the character stuff was nicely done and all of the reunions and realizations had me in tears. I nearly emptied out a tissue box! The one scene I needed to happen in the finale was Juliet and Sawyer making their coffee date so when that happened, I was good (and gone). The most unexpected emotional moment was when Vincent came back in the end and laid down next to a dying Jack. Cue the waterworks.

But those LOST producers, they are tricky aren't they?

Ever since the show started, fans have been theorizing that the island is heaven/hell/purgatory. The producers have always said NO. And, well, they certainly had their cake and ate it, too, during the finale.

So no, the island is *NOT* the after-life, but the alternate universe we've been watching this last season *IS* a form of limbo/purgatory. How they could all be there was given a simple explanation by Christian Shepard by saying there is no "now" in this place. This place was "created" by all of them so they could all find each other before they all could move on. It's totally reminiscent of Rose/Jack and Titanic, but I'll take it.

Which means the non-limbo storyline (i.e. the island/real world/etc.) was left pretty open ended. Sure Jack is dead, but Hurley is the new Jacob and Ben is the new Richard. Desmond eventually finds himself back to Penny and baby Charlie with the help of Hurley/Ben while Sawyer, Kate, Claire, Miles, Frank, and Richard all get off the island to lead whatever lives they'll lead. For myself, I'd like to think Miles and Sawyer get into some sort of partnership while keeping in touch with Kate who's helping out with Claire and Aaron. Frank? Still flying. Richard? LIVING. IT. UP.

With that said, the ending probably disappointed some fans who wanted a little bit more closure on the island mythology and/or a connection between the island and the flash sideways. Unfortunately, it turns out the flash sideways had nothing to do with the island except for the fact that the relationships forged there were special enough that they all had to create this limbo to move on together.

And if you think about it, the end is quite fitting considering Jack's oft-repeated "live together, die alone" speech in the first season, because in the end, they all lived together, but died "together" as well.

Cue Michael Giacchino's haunting LOST theme. And we're out.