Beautiful Friend, The End: My Thoughts on the Lost Finale

Those of you who are behind on "Lost" or who, for one reason or another, do not want to know what happened during last night's final episode should probably stop reading now. Consider yourself warned.

So, "Lost" is over. Kind of hard to believe, isn't it? Sure, TV programs begin and end with a relative amount of frequency. But, honestly, how often do we get to witness the passing of a truly iconic TV show? The last one I can think of was the "Friends" finale and that was six years ago. Has there been a truly huge finale TV event like that since then? I don't think so. Some people will want to say that tonight's "24" finale should count, but I don't think it should. That show lost its way about three seasons back. This year was just the death rattle.

But, I digress.

The world has had a day to digest last night's final chapter of the "Lost" saga. The internets have been aflutter and much has already been said. Well, I've been at work all day, so, sorry if this entry into the "Lost" internet ether seems dated or even late.

While people have been ceaseless debating the quality of last night's ending, I want to go on record as being in the "pro" category. I certainly wouldn't categorize it as a perfect or ideal ending. Indeed, if they had handed the reins over to me, I don't know that that was the way I'd have wrapped things up. But, all in all, I thought it was extremely satisfying and struck all the appropriate tones.

"Lost" was a contradiction in a lot of ways. It hit on a number themes and ventured into several different story-telling genres. The central question that ran through everyone's mind throughout the show was encapsulated in the words uttered by Charlie in the very first episode: "Guys, where are we?"

On the most basic level, it was that question that the show set out to answer from the very beginning. And, frankly, if one had to evaluate "Lost" solely on how it accomplished that task, it fell a little short.

Those of us who have watched the show from beginning to end were never really treated with a straight-up explanation as to what the island was and why it was there. Sure, there were number of different stories of what took place in the island over the course of many centuries. At the very least, it had, at different times, been inhabited by Romans, Egyptians, and the Dharma Initiative and likely many, many others. It was protected by a mysterious guardian named Jacob and his brother, who spent his days haunting, tormenting, and even killing the island's inhabitants. We know that Jacob regularly brought people to the island to settle questions and disputes he had with his brother about human nature. And, we know that the island was a source of incredible power that resulted in things like miracle healings, time-travel, and an insane amount of magnetism.

After watching the show, we know a few more things about the island. But, even after last night's final episode, we still don't really know exactly what it was or why it was there. Sure, there was a crappy episode a few weeks back where Jacob's mother tried to explain to him what it was all about. Yet, her explanation was simplistic to the point of being stupid and, in the end, left so much to be desired that, in my mind, that episode was easily the low-point of the entire series.

So, yes, I suppose it's fair to say that, if the show was only about the mystery of the island, it was a narrative failure. However, I tend to think that what a story is about isn't any more important than how the story gets there. Luckily for "Lost," it excelled in that respect.

With the mystery of the island as a backdrop, "Lost" was always foremost about the characters. Now, there are the legion of haters who think they're really cool because they quit watching the show during Season 2 who say that that's a post-hoc rationalization for the weak overall narrative. But, those people are idiots.

From the very beginning, "Lost" attempted to give each one its characters a rich and compelling back story. Every one of the early episodes included a series of flashbacks into the pre-island lives of the characters. The later episodes had flash-forwards showing what some of them went through once they got off the island. The central story of what was going on on the island was always juxtaposed against the life and internal struggles of one of the major characters. The show, particularly during the first couple seasons, was as much about the character's finding redemption and second chances as it was about solving the island's many mysteries.

So, if you were one of those viewers who watched the first season thinking "I don't care that Locke used to be paralyzed, what's in that damn hatch?!" you were likely disappointed by the finale. And, I pity you.

If you were one of those fans who rejoiced in the in the triumphs of the many protagonists, you were likely thrilled with how it all played out. That's the category I fall into.

This last season was laced with a series of flash-sidewayses into a mysterious alternate universe. At first, it seemed as though the parallel world was the one that would have existed had the bomb that went off at the end of Season Five successfully altered the course of time. But, from the very beginning, it seemed as though too much had changed for that to have been the case. Over time, characters became aware of their seemingly alternate lives to the point where it was obvious that this wasn't a parallel universe, but something else entirely. Last night, it was revealed that this alternative reality was an afterlife, created by the characters themselves to allow them to find one another.

Emotional moment after emotional moment came as the characters all regained their memories of the events -- both good and bad, heroic and tragic -- that took place on the island. I'll admit to getting a little choked up when Locke remembered that the island had healed him and given him purpose and also when Sawyer and Juliet reunited over an unplugged vending machine. Holy crap, that was good stuff.

It was all explained by Jack's father, whose death was what led Jack to the island in the first place. And, as Jack listened to his fathers exposition, we watched as he himself stumbled to the spot where he first awoke on the island and finally died after saving the island from destruction.

I could go on and on about the characters, but I won't. Let me just say that it was always the characters that made "Lost" so compelling. And, in the case of literally each major character, the arc was completed in a way that had to leave any real fan of the show satisfied, even if you felt shortchanged on the answers.

Let me also just say that Hurley was awesome.

The other aspect of "Lost" that doesn't get enough discussion among most casual fans is the underlying themes. Throughout the show's run, the plot became a proxy for a number of philosophical conflicts. Faith vs. empiricism; redemption vs. condemnation; science vs. spirituality; free will vs. predestination; and man's inherent goodness vs. original sin. In one way or another, all of the major debates played a part in the finale. Of course, the episode didn't explicitly answer all the questions for the audience. I'd like to think that that's because the writers weren't vain enough to try to reach conclusions in the philosophical and metaphysical conflicts that have plagued mankind from the beginning of time.

But, I will say that, in the end, they embraced some sides more than others. Faith and spirituality eventually won out over science and empiricism. That was evidenced by the fact that final point of the story was the destination of every character's soul. "Lost" was ultimately about its characters' spiritual journeys. Free will was the obvious winner over predestination as every character's destiny was determined by their choices. Both redemption and condemnation were embraced evidenced by the fact that some of the characters made it into the church at the end, others remained on the island as whisperers, haunting whoever was there now (see: Michael).

Last night's episode was a home run on that level -- the thematic level -- as well.

All in all, I'm happy that "Lost" ended when it did in the way that it did. It's a show that I'll remember fondly and one that I'll probably try to watch on DVD again in a few years.

What did you all think?