LOST Series Finale Marks "The End" of More Than Just the Show

LOST began with mysteries and questions which would haunt its audience for six seasons. Vividly filmed on beautiful locations in Hawaii, with a cast full of hard working and fairly known actors who would become household names over the next few years, ABC's LOST quickly became one of the most discussed, theorized-about, and analyzed dramas in recent television history.

Tonight, the legacy came to a close. The LOST series finale event began at 7/6c, with the first two hours dedicated to cast commentary about their experiences filming the epic island drama. Rare glimpses of the actors in their true form; Naveen Andrews (Sayid) with a British accent, and actress Yunjin Him (Sun) commenting about how the collection of actors included cast members from Canada, the UK, Australia, and her home of Korea to "change the face of American television."

For the first hour of the LOST series finale, it seemed as though the storyline was intentionally woven around the couples of the show. Flash-sideways Jin and Sun Kwon remembered their personal experiences while Juliet confirmed the unborn baby was safe, just as she had done with the original Sun on the Island. Viewers had already seen that Desmond received his flash of insight after being reunited with Penny; the same applied to Hurley and Libby, though she had already remembered the original reality. The audience also finally discovered the identity of the mother of flash-sideways Jack's son, David: Juliet.

The first exception to this temporary rule comes in the form of Kate and Claire, who relive their original ordeal of Aaron's birth after a concert featuring none-other than Charlie, whom already had vague memories of a beautiful blonde woman. The two women suddenly recalled the original events, bringing Charlie into the fold after he touches Claire's hand, signifying the reunion of the LOST couple fans may have mourned the loss of the most.

Jack and Locke squared away over the fate of not only the island, but for conclusion of their epic argument over fate versus chance. The storyline began to provide déjà vu scenes for the fans in addition to cast-aways; most noticeably was the sight of John and Jack peering down at Desmond as he decided into the unknown, just as they peered into the mystery of the Hatch seasons before.

Desmond, having entered the heart of the island, proceeded to remove the giant cork keeping the pool of light contained. This started a chain of severe earthquakes, with both John and Jack convinced their version was correct. The two fought, and discovered neither of them was immortal, and their battle found final resolution on the treacherous cliffs overlooking the sea. Loche stabbed Jack in the side, and just before he could finish him off Kate shot Loche in the back, and Jack launched him off the side of the cliff onto the deadly rocks below.

Unfortunately, this didn't cease the terrible earthquakes. Sawyer, in typical fashion, disagreed with Jack's decision to re-cork the light in the heart of the island. Once more, the line in the sand was drawn, with some of the castaways choosing to follow Sawyer and some leaving with Jack. Hurley and Ben decided to return to the heart of the island, leaving Kate and Jack to indulge in a heartfelt goodbye on the cliff. Once more, Kate was torn between which of the two men she would follow-Jack, or Sawyer.

By this time, many of the Flash-sideways survivors have referenced an unknown location. Jin and Sun, who encounter the Officer Bob version of Sawyer at the Hospital, tell him they will see him "there," leaving the audience-or just me-to shout "where?" at the TV.

Jack, Hurley and Ben arrived at the mysterious cave of light, and Jack confessed to Hurley that it was he who needed to be the protector of the island-much to the delight of Hurley fans everywhere, including my Husband. While he resisted initially, ultimately Hurley accepted the drink offered by Jack and thus the mantle of protector. Jack traveled down into the heart of the island, relieved Desmond from his burden of responsibility, and replaced the cork in the pool of light to seal his fate.

Meanwhile, Frank, Richard and Miles managed to get the plane up and functioning, and were joined by Kate, Sawyer and a reluctant Claire just before successfully taking off to fly away from the island.

The finale of LOST came to pass with a flash-sideways of Jack arriving with the others at a Church. Only, the flash-sideways were actually a kind of flash-forward after all, and seem to be the cast-aways' on version of heaven. Or, more accurately, the period between arriving in heaven and leaving the reality of the living. Kate told Jack he could join them when he was ready, and he eventually made it inside to face the coffin of his father, Christian. Upon touching the casket, Jack received the flashbacks just like the others had, the ones he had been resisting. He opened the lid of the coffin to find it empty.

Turning around, he came face to face with his father, whom he knew to be dead. It was then that the audience-and Jack-finally realized: the flash-sideways scenes of this "better world" without the plane crash featuring all of the cast-aways still finding each other happened because they had died. Christian explained that some passed before Jack, and some after, but these series of events were their way of finding each other once more, presumably before leaving for "there," which was heaven. Kate even told Jack of how much she had missed him, leaving fans to wonder if she meant the time between his death and her own, or the time before Jack was "ready" to realize the truth.

Apparently, everything which took place from the premiere of season 6 until that moment, in the flash-sideways storyline, was actually the way each and every cast-away found a way to find each other again before moving on together, because the years they spent on the island were the most influential of their lives.

One of the most epic lines of the series was delivered by Jack in the first season: "Live together, or die alone." The finale of LOST suggests that those who come into our lives ensure that we do live together, and even if we die alone we will be reunited again-when it counts.

The final scene of the LOST series finale was as perfect as anyone could have asked for: a simple, close-frame shot of Jack's eye closing-the exact opposite of the first shot which opened the entire LOST storyline six seasons ago.

Ultimately, the ending seems like a last-laugh on the audience. Considering that fans originally thought, having seen the first season LOST, that the cast was trapped in purgatory--which the Executive Producers denied, if I remember correctly--season six seems to be exactly that in the end. The flash-sideways storyline is the period of time between the death of the cast-aways, and their progression into whatever lies through the door of light. Whether it is a coping mechanism, or just a beautiful tribute to the way they influenced each others' lives, I can't help feeling let down by the ending.