'Lost' 'The End' Review

Was it worth it? That's the question that fans of Lost need to ask themselves after "The End." Was the ending, which mirrored the beginning-and made use of all of that mirror imagery this season was so fond of-of a long, twisting story, worth six years of investment? Well, the answer is...I don't know.

Before I get into how well "The End" wrapped up Lost, let me talk a little about the episode itself. "The End" was mostly excellent, but not where it counted. There were so many little moments that reaffirmed why I love this show. Really, there were. Half of my notes that I took while watching were simply names and exclamations (Vincent! Rose and Bernard! Juliet! FRANK!), and there were moments where I genuinely teared up. When Jin and Sun remembered their "past" I just about lost it. I loved that Hugo became the new protector, mainly because it made sense in the context of the show's six seasons. It was one of the only things that did, though.

"The End" was grueling, at two and a half hours, but it didn't waste a moment. Until the end. "The End" would be fitting and wonderful, if I could just ignore the last half hour or so. The beginning of "The End" was appropriate enough, full of the symbolism Lost writers love so much-the empty wheelchair, the shattered mirror, Jack's baptism-but it ultimately didn't mean much.

The main problem with "The End" is that it didn't tell the whole story. I'm not one of those Lost fans who wanted or needed every question answered clearly in black and white. I'm content to fill in blanks where I can. But, it seemed cheap to me that the finale centered on something (which, incidentally, still doesn't mean much at all to me. We never did get to understand the scale of the island's glowy light power.) that was introduced just two weeks ago. It felt rushed. It felt like we could have easily skipped a few seasons and ended up in the same exact place, story-wise.

The other glaring flaw, at least from this fan's perspective, was in the way the alternate timeline was handled. "The End" started out fun. It was amazing to see the lines begin to cross, the memories begin to reemerge, and the lives begin to fill in. But then, for what? After this season, what was the purpose of the alternate timeline? It plays like filler. Yes, it was great to see long-dead friends reunited. But totally unnecessary from a plot standpoint. And, frankly, I found it a bit too hokey for my taste.

I know, it sounds like I hated "The End," but in truth I don't think anything that Cuse and Lindeloff could have delivered would have met expectations. How do you end something like Lost? I suppose it'll be more satisfying upon further reflection (or less, depending on whether I can remember all those nagging questions that were raised and dismissed without a second thought), but as it stands now, I'm not sure that "The End" justified the ride. But, it doesn't really have to.