What Happened, Happened
- The Island was real. Oceanic 815 crashed in September of 2004. The survivors struggled against insurmountable odds and mystical elements to stay alive. People found joy in life on the Island, despite the hardships. And in the end, through time-travel and magical deity things, through pain and death, through choices right and wrong, one man found himself and learned to let go.
- The Flash-sideways was a type of limbo. It’s purpose was to serve as a place for the survivors to meet up and move on together. Christian said it perfectly. “There is no now here.” Some people lived long lives (like Hurley and Ben) before they died and entered the FS. Others died on the Island (Jack, Charlie, etc.) And some people weren’t ready to let go and move on from their limbo (like Ben, Faraday, etc.)
- Michael and the other whisperers are noticeably absent from the FS. But, taking Michael at his word, he’s condemned to the Island because of the wrongs he’d done. He’s unable to pass on.
- The ending scene has been speculated for a while, with Jack laying down in the bamboo grove and closing his eye. Still, seeing the look of euphoric happiness on his face as he watches the Ajira plane fly overhead was a powerful scene. I think that everything we’ve seen on the Island has been one big flashback, beginning with Jack opening his eye in “The Pilot” and ending when he closes it in death. It’s like the “life flashes before your eyes” saying, and Jack is seeing his life unfold before him. Again, the joy on his face of seeing his friends leave is moving.
- Desmond’s line was spot on. Truthfully, it didn’t really matter about Jacob and MiB. All the mythology and craziness of the Island was not important in the end. Ultimately, what mattered was Jack’s choice to sacrifice himself for the Island and for the people he’d grown to love.
- The reunion with Christian was also predictable, but again, it was very powerful. For six seasons Jack has been chasing his father, trying to put him to rest, and finally he get’s his chance (sort of). I liked the symbolism of the empty coffin, of how death really wasn’t a constraint.
- I love it that Hurley wound up being the ultimate replacement for Jacob and that Ben got to be the Richard-like advisor.
- The Jimmy Kimmel Live special afterwards was pretty good, too. Rather funny, I say.
- I liked the cliff-side fight between Jack and Locke. Beautiful scenes.
- Initially I thought that the losties would be moving on to the Island, but I think that is completely incorrect now. They’re moving on to the afterlife, to the final destination, and it’s important that it’s left ambiguous on the show (since the show was very pan-religious and cross-cultural).
- I can’t really think of anything I didn’t like in this episode. It was handled wonderfully, and the cast performed brilliantly once again. It’s sad to see such an excellent group of actors bid farewell to the Island, but I’m excited to see where many of them go.
- I’m still not entirely sure what the Island is, why it’s special, and a few other things, but I’m satisfied with that, too. There’s no real reason in knowing. Like life, we experience so many things that are beyond our control and we don’t understand them. That’s what happened to the survivors. Their lives took them to some faraway Island that was crucial for the fate of the world, but ultimately, they all died. And really, the character journeys from being lost to found were the important things in the show, not the crazy Island.
- Thanks, LOST. Thanks for being an excellent show. Thanks to the wonderful actors, brilliant writers, amazing directors, beautiful musicians, and everybody else responsible for the series. It was an awesome ride that is going to be sorely missed.
Namaste!
