Lost Series Finale: "The End"

[Brent]

I was confused at first, but RoJoHen posted this explanation in the live commentary thread, and I'm going to repost it here because I agree with it as well and IMO this is the best explanation for what just happened:

No, they all died at various times in their life. Jack died on the Island like we just saw. Frank rescued people on the Ajira plane, but they all died at some point after living their lives. Hugo and Ben died at some point after watching over the Island.

But they all went to the Alternate Reality (Afterlife) and found each other!

So everything DID happen on the Island. Only the S6 flash sideways were "Purgatory", not the entire series, everything did happen, but as they all died, in the end, very end (probably why its called "The End) they all re-connected in "Purgatory" or an afterlife, before moving on, because it meant so much to them. So the Island is NOT a dream, and NOT purgatory. The Island is real, the Light is real, Jacob/MIB is real, time traveling Losties is real, and on and an on....

It also means we got NO answers to anything about the Island. What is the Light? What is Jacob's "Mother"? Who created all the stuff on the Island, who made the cork? How can it time travel and move? and on and on and on.......

 

[RoJoHen]

uh it came more of as they all died in the original plane crash.
and the whole thing had just been jack's imagination as he lay dying.

I didn't see it that way at all. Were you guys not listening to the dialogue between Jack and Christian?

 

[Trek4Ever]

I thought they didn't die on the island, which is why Hurley says Ben was a good #2.

That said, where were any of the Tailies? Anna Lucia "wasn't ready", but the same goes for Eko and Libby?

And of course, poor Michael is stuck on the island forever? Aroo?

For various reasons they still had to spend more "time" in purgatory. The best example is Ben, he was basically evil for much of the show and only began a road to redemption towards the show's end. But for his past deeds (and Michael for making that deal and killing Anna Lucia and Libby and I think Anna Lucia had a shady past and was even said to not be ready by Desmond) he still had to spend some more time in that reality/purgatory. Perhaps he will fill the role as Jack's father did in guiding the others who weren't at the church yet when they are finally ready.

 

[Elemental]

Excellent finale! Very satisfying. Probably about as good an ending as could be hoped for given the nature of the series. Farewell, Lost.

 

[Mr Light]

So... why was the Island buried under water in "purgatory", then? What was the point of that, aside from misleading us about the sideways universe? // I will say this about the finale. It certainly leaves the door wide-open for a sequel/spin-off series. One about the New Dharma Initiative finally rediscovering the Island and returning to conduct experiments. Will Hurley and Ben allow them to live there peacefully or resist their occupation? And then a second group shows up as well hoping to exploit the Island for profit (the way Widmore was supposed to be doing) and the two go to war with our characters stuck in the middle. Hurley and Ben would be back obviously, and you could bring back Kate, Sawyer, Miles, Richard, Frank, Desmond...

 

[Agent Richard07]

It was nice to see Frank again. You were right sideous. Shouldn't have doubted Frank. And they left on a jet plane.

Nice to see Richard kicking too.

Didn't expect Hurley to be the new island keeper. You guys were right about that. Wonder how long he lived.

Of the questions I expected to see answered...

- What is the light?

We still don't know.

- What was all that infertility stuff about?

Wasn't answered.

- Why couldn't Aaron be raised by another?

Answered in a post above.

- What will happen to Ji Yeon? I expect something interesting here.

Answered.

- How did the island sink? I'm pretty sure they'll address this.

The island lives on but sinks eventually.

- Why were the pictures on the wall in the house Miles visited different when he left?

Don't know, but I plan to give it some thought.

- Why can't two adversaries kill eachother?

No idea.

Predictions...

I think we're seeing the end in the flash sideways. Thats how it ends.

That's a possibility I'm working on too. Maybe they'll stop Jocob's beach buddy and/or Jacob himself and the island will get destroyed in the process for good in the finale. And maybe what we've been seeing in the flashsideways is the end result where everything's been fixed. If that's the case, it's a pretty good move as far as story structure goes... Dole out the long and happy ending little by little throughout the season. Makes more sense than trying to figure out how the two timelines will converge. I don't think it'll end in a traditional reset either because the losties back in LA X will somehow become aware of what happened.

So... They're all dead. And in a way, I was right. The sideways world was the aftereffect, or rather, the afterlife. The island didn't sink in the end, but like everything else, it "died" eventually as well.

Does that mean that in the alternate timeline Ben and Danielle are together?

Maybe Ben and Danielle will get together in the end and Ben will be a father to Alex again. Could happen.

Guess not, but they did touch on it in the penultimate episode.

Maybe they said the flashsideways timeline isn't an alternate timeline because it's the main one. And maybe everything we've seen on the show is just a sojourn from that "main" timeline.

Didn't get this one. The island was a real experience, but there was no alternate timeline.

I'm still thinking that we might be in for an additional surprise or two. It crossed my mind that maybe there is no alternate timeline and we're seeing ghosts still on the island.

Them being dead was one of my theories, but they weren't "on the island" as ghosts.

I don't think there's going to be another Jacob. I think they're going to put an end to the island once and for all. And before everything's over, Kate will be important somehow.

I was wrong. Hurley is the new keeper of the island, but oddly enough, Kate was important. She shot Locke.

I suppose we won't find out who the mother of Jack's kid is but I'd kinda like to know.

I'm guessing you missed her show's season finale right after Lost?

That's just a wild guess on my part.

Juliet! Let's see if that comes to pass.

Yep.

 

[Arrqh]

Here's something I don't understand. Jacob had magical god-like powers and could teleport on and off the Island at will and healing powers and all that stuff, right? So why didn't Jack display a single special ability during his brief term as protector of the Island? Why didn't he heal his own wound? Because Ben clearly expects Hurley to have magical control of the Island, he says Hurley can make it so people can leave the Island if he wants. This was one of my major disappointments.

Jacob never demonstrated magical god-like powers. He did probably have some ability to do cool things because of the island itself, but he probably had to figure it out. Besides, Jacob didn't heal his own wound when Ben killed him, Jacob's mom didn't heal her own wound when Smokey killed her, etc. The island was responsible for the magical healing we've seen over the years, not Jacob.

I was pretty satisfied with the ending, but I'm liking it even more after reading people's reactions. Apparently it was just ambiguous enough to drive discussion for pretty much ever... which really seems to be what Lost was best at

 

[ThunderAeroI]

Where was Miles and Frank in the afterlife meet and greet?

Should I assume they were there but he camera kept missing them?

 

[RoJoHen]

So... why was the Island buried under water in "purgatory", then? What was the point of that, aside from misleading us about the sideways universe?

Honestly, I'm not convinced that was purgatory. One has to wonder how Hugo and Ben eventually left the Island. I am going with the theory that, in order to "do things differently from Jacob," Hurley decided to sink the Island so it could never bother anyone again.

Of course, I have no real proof, but I like this theory.

 

[timmay2411]

Wait so what was the answer about Aaron?

 

[RoJoHen]

Where was Miles and Frank in the afterlife meet and greet?

Should I assume they were there but he camera kept missing them?

Or it's possible they had already "moved on" and didn't need to wait around for the other guys.

 

[Trippy]

uh it came more of as they all died in the original plane crash.
and the whole thing had just been jack's imagination as he lay dying.

I didn't see it that way at all. Were you guys not listening to the dialogue between Jack and Christian?

I was! You and I seem to get it Afterlife is non-linear...the only one was saw die were those who died on the island, and Jack died at the end of the finale.

Those who Frank rescued on the Ajiira, live their lives and die sometime in the future. Same goes for Desmond, Penny, and Hurley and Ben.

Ben's bench was purgatory He had some things to work out still!

 

[Mr Light]

"- What is the light? We still don't know. - What was all that infertility stuff about? Wasn't answered." To my mind these were both explained in "Across the Sea". Mother said the Light was the source of all life/souls for mankind. If it's destroyed then all life will be destroyed. They'd already said several times this season that the Monster was going to destroy all life on the planet. Ergo, vis a vis, concurrently, whenever a little baby is conceived and born in the world, a little soul swims out from the Island and into the baby. But if the baby is conceived and born on the Island, it doesn't register with the soul computer (it'd be like one of Santa's Elves wishing for a present) and so the baby is soul-less and dies before being born. Claire's baby was alright because it was conceived off-Island and already got the soul. Sun's baby was alright because it was taken off-Island before it was born and thus got a soul in time.

 

[RoJoHen]

Ben's bench was purgatory He had some things to work out still!

I wonder if he wanted to watch Alt-Alex grow up and try to redeem himself for her being killed in the real world.

 

[ThunderAeroI]

Can you imagine the reaction the real world had at Frank landing his plane in Guam with only four people on the plane?

Then they start looking into the people and find some guy who was a slave from Spain.

And the Oceanic people though their debriefing was bad, just wait.

You can expect more darmha to hit that island moments once that plane lands. They can still find it in the real time line.

Hugo better get ready for some company.

 

[cubbie]

The show is also about people who were lonely and didn't have anyone else they cared about, who suffer a catastrophe and come to depend and trust and love one another.

The sideways world was a place that they could meet up again before moving on. These people were important to them for the rest of their lives, however short of long that life was.

 

[Jetfire]

Average.

 

[firehawk12]

I thought they didn't die on the island, which is why Hurley says Ben was a good #2.

That said, where were any of the Tailies? Anna Lucia "wasn't ready", but the same goes for Eko and Libby?

And of course, poor Michael is stuck on the island forever? Aroo?

For various reasons they still had to spend more "time" in purgatory. The best example is Ben, he was basically evil for much of the show and only began a road to redemption towards the show's end. But for his past deeds (and Michael for making that deal and killing Anna Lucia and Libby and I think Anna Lucia had a shady past and was even said to not be ready by Desmond) he still had to spend some more time in that reality/purgatory. Perhaps he will fill the role as Jack's father did in guiding the others who weren't at the church yet when they are finally ready.

I guess the actor who played Eko still has a grudge against the Lost producers... 'cause it sort of doesn't make sense that he never shows up at all.

Someone mentioned that Ben was waiting for Alex... maybe. Eh, I sort of don't even want to think about it any more.

 

[label]

So... why was the Island buried under water in "purgatory", then? What was the point of that, aside from misleading us about the sideways universe?

Honestly, I'm not convinced that was purgatory

Ok, before anyone else comments about "Purgatory", there apparently needs to be some definition to that word provided:

a temporary condition of torment or suffering; "a purgatory of drug abuse"
(theology) in Roman Catholic theology the place where those who have died in a state of grace undergo limited torment to expiate their sins

Purgatory is a place where people are tormented or tortured to atone for their sins........a place where they are "purified" so they can enter heaven clean before God.

The sideways reality is clearly not purgatory.

At best, it's a staging area that people go to after they die and those connections with people they've met that are important determine who's in this "staging" area.

As for the finale, it had lots of intense moments......lots of emotional reunions.....lots of mystery and intrigue........I suppose it was everything in a Lost episode you'd hope to get.

Ben's character arc was handled nicely. Jack's as well. It was particularly nice to see the real John Locke again.

As I absorb the finale I suppose I'm finding that I liked it more than I thought once I realized everyone in the "sideways" reality was dead.

This episode really needs time to sink in and time to digest it in order to understand it properly.

My initial reaction : 9.1/10 - pretty stinking good.

 

[Mr Light]

"Jacob never demonstrated magical god-like powers. He did probably have some ability to do cool things because of the island itself, but he probably had to figure it out. Besides, Jacob didn't heal his own wound when Ben killed him, Jacob's mom didn't heal her own wound when Smokey killed her, etc. The island was responsible for the magical healing we've seen over the years, not Jacob." Jacob and Mother died nearly instantly from grievous wounds and didn't have time to heal themselves, while Jack stumbled around like a drunken sailor for a couple hours. Jacob healed Juliet's sister's cancer. Jacob appeared on and off the Island willy nilly. Jacob willed it so that the Island cannot be found or left (Ben said this in the finale). Jacob used prescient sight to observe the lives of all the candidates over the decades of their lives. Jacob continued to appear as a apparition even after his death, and magically temporarily resurrected himself by burning his own ashes in a fire.