The Final Episode of Lost Explained

When the final episode of the smash hit ABC show Lost aired on May 23, 2010, one thing was abundantly clear. A large number of the show's loyal followers were not pleased with the way the story was concluded. However, there are others who believe that the writers and producers wrapped up the series beautifully and that those who did not like it simply missed the point.

The number one issue that people had with the finale was that all of the characters turned out to be dead in the flash sideways universe. They took this to mean that the characters all died either in the initial Oceanic crash or when the atomic bomb went off in the 1970's. Christian Sheppard clearly explains to Jack in the final scene, however, that this is not true. He states that everything that happened to them on The Island was real and that the flash sideways universe was a place they created together to wait for each other until they could move on.

This clearly implies that the characters in the church in the final scene died at various times and for various reasons, some witnessed by viewers and others taking place long after The Island events of the finale. Christian explained to Jack that there was no "now" where they were, so the amount of time gone by was not an issue. For example, before entering the church, Hurley tells Ben that he was a great number two, which leads viewers to believe that Hurley and Ben spent many years on the Island together after Hurley took control.

Displeased viewers have also complained that many characters were left out of the final reunion scene, particularly Walt and Michael. Again, this was clearly addressed by Christian when he said that the characters in the church were there because the most important time of their lives was the time they spent together on The Island. Walt was a young boy when he left The Island with his whole life ahead of him, so it is likely that he had much more important experiences before he died. As for Michael, viewers had closure with his story several episodes prior when they learned that Michael's spirit was stuck on The Island as punishment for the murders of Libby and Ana Lucia.

The other general complaint about the finale was that the produces left so many questions unanswered. For six seasons, speculating over unanswered questions has been a big part of the fun of watching Lost. Had everything been tied up in a neat little package, "Losties" would not be able to continue theorizing about The Island for years to come. In addition, there were simply too many questions to answer and the show's producers stated at the start of the sixth season that they would focus on answering the questions that the characters themselves would most want answered.

Although the series has concluded, those who are longing for more answers may get their wish soon enough. Rumors have been circulating that the creators of Lost will write books focusing on the history of The Island and the time that Hurley and Ben spent protecting it. Although viewers did not agree on the finale, the controversy is a testament to how complex and interesting the Lost saga truly is.