COp out just like BSG.

[sidious618]

BSG spoilers...

I was more satisfied with BSG's mythology wrap up than its story wrap up. I felt Ron kinda copped out a little with everyone saying how they're gonna die in the battle and... no one of consequence dies.

 

[Brent]

You could interpret it that "the island did it"

After all, Hurley probably somehow managed to set this all up with the power of the Island

 

[Delta1]

Pretty much all the major questions were answered.

Such as?

If anything, all this finale served to answer was what they set up in the premiere this season: the flash sideways.

And that was the one thing that didn't need an explanation, having been explained fairly well by Daniel Faraday back in season 5. Until they Jacob Laddered us, anyway.

 

[Yminale]

The Problem with "Lost" is the problem with all American TV. TPTB basically make the show until the series crashes into the ground. If "Lost" was made in the UK or Japan, the writers could plan the entire series and could come up with a better ending.

 

[Awesome Possum]

Mild BSG spoilers ahead...

How did BSG end? I never liked that show.

Basically it was "God did it".

That wasn't the ending. It was just one aspect of the ending that people who didn't like it are hung up on. Even then it wasn't "God did it", it was more like... Something is going on here that we don't presently understand. A lot of people who didn't like BSG's ending seem to ignore the fact that the story, the characters and the mythology got a propper wrap-up even if the "string-pulling" wasn't explained.

The only thing that wasn't really answered was Starbuck's death and resurrection, something I can live with. A show does not have to spoon feed everything to you. Even the whole God thing in BSG wasn't something that tacked on in the end, Head Six was talking about God during '33'. The whole Cylon God was a major part of the show, the fans were just expecting it to be aliens or something wacky from the old show. But no, it was what Head Six told us it was in the first episode. But no one, not even Baltar wanted to accept that.

Lost's finale worked. From what I can gather, the side-flashes was some collective afterlife for the characters. There they could slowly remember who they really were and reunite, then they could finally move on together. Some died before the finale and others years later, Jack happened to die at the end of the episode. I assume that Hurley and Ben protected the Island for quite a while, given the last lines they had with each other. I don't see how that was a cop out. They just didn't list off every single weird thing and explain it in detail, which would have been boring.

 

[Delta1]

The Problem with "Lost" is the problem with all American TV. TPTB basically make the show until the series crashes into the ground. If "Lost" was made in the UK or Japan, the writers could plan the entire series and could come up with a better ending.

But that's not what happened. This is the story they planned to tell.

 

[Yminale]

The Problem with "Lost" is the problem with all American TV. TPTB basically make the show until the series crashes into the ground. If "Lost" was made in the UK or Japan, the writers could plan the entire series and could come up with a better ending.

But that's not what happened. This is the story they planned to tell.

You're giving the writers and producers too much credit. Anyone could tell that these people had no clue what they were doing after season 2.

 

[Starbreaker]

I'm probably going to get my first warning in about 8 years, but don't subject yourself to watching 122 episodes of a show you "know is going to suck". If you hate everything that airs on TV and every movie you see other than a handful of stuff, broaden your horizons or go live in a fucking cave.

I was satisfied with the ending, even though there are still some unanswered questions. It gives me some stuff to think about. I don't need everything wrapped up neatly because I'm not 5 years old or mentally retarded.

 

[Ryan8bit]

I don't see how that was a cop out. They just didn't list off every single weird thing and explain it in detail, which would have been boring.

I don't think anyone was ever asking for lengthy, boring exposition. The show had a track record of explaining mysteries in a decent way when it bothered to, and some people wanted to see that. They wanted to see a resolution to what was there or at least not have things presented in a seductive way only to find out that they were being misled.

 

[sidious618]

The LOST producers said they had that ending in mind from the beginning and I totally buy it. It lines up with the first season very well. From the empty coffin to Jack's eye closing...

Ah, fuck, I gotta stop or I'll start to cry again.

 

[RoJoHen]

What was weird about the finale tonight, though, was that it completely made me forget about all the mysteries that had yet to be resolved. I don't even remember what I wanted answered. I was so satisfied with the character resolutions that nothing else mattered.

You can call it a cop out all you want, but this show has ALWAYS been about the characters. The Island mysteries have always been secondary.

 

[Awesome Possum]

I don't see how that was a cop out. They just didn't list off every single weird thing and explain it in detail, which would have been boring.

I don't think anyone was ever asking for lengthy, boring exposition. The show had a track record of explaining mysteries in a decent way when it bothered to, and some people wanted to see that. They wanted to see a resolution to what was there or at least not have things presented in a seductive way only to find out that they were being misled.

I think it answered most of the important things, like why they were there (Jacob needed a replacement) and stuff like that.

I would like to know what the light was, at least besides the thing that made the Island magical explanation. But it might not have an explanation that people can understand.

 

[Ryan8bit]

I don't need everything wrapped up neatly because I'm not 5 years old or mentally retarded.

I think there's a huge difference between not wrapped up neatly, and loose threads chaotically strewn about.

And honestly, I loved the show, I looked forward to the finale, and I even very much enjoyed it because it was done very well. But I still feel like it didn't provide a proper sense of closure for what the series presented. I still feel frustrated at the sheer number of unresolved questions.

I hope you can understand this and not resort to calling others with the same opinion childish or retarded in the future.

 

[Agent Richard07]

What was weird about the finale tonight, though, was that it completely made me forget about all the mysteries that had yet to be resolved. I don't even remember what I wanted answered. I was so satisfied with the character resolutions that nothing else mattered.

You can call it a cop out all you want, but this show has ALWAYS been about the characters. The Island mysteries have always been secondary.

The show did feel like it was about the island and its mysteries, but jumped over to something else at the very end. I'm not too bothered by that either though. The finale was quite a whirlwind and right now, my thoughts are also on the character resolutions more than the island mysteries eventhough I haven't forgotten about them.

 

[T J]

BSG had a much better ending... after Lost my only response is, "What the hell was that?!!?"

 

[Delta1]

The Problem with "Lost" is the problem with all American TV. TPTB basically make the show until the series crashes into the ground. If "Lost" was made in the UK or Japan, the writers could plan the entire series and could come up with a better ending.

But that's not what happened. This is the story they planned to tell.

You're giving the writers and producers too much credit. Anyone could tell that these people had no clue what they were doing after season 2.

I'm assuming they're telling the truth when they talk about how they wrote the show. And they say they figured out what they were doing in season 2 and pretty much stuck to it. They had to adjust for Eko leaving the show, and they combined Henry Gale with the unnamed Leader, and probably made several other changes to their overall plan. But they have always said they had the arc worked out around season two, and that some parts like Adam & Eve go back to season one. They recently said Lost told the story they wanted to tell, and it's well known how they negotiated an end date with the network. So it's really a stretch to say they lost the plot after season two, and that the realities of network TV caused the show to crash. The finale was bad, but it was bad because they wrote it bad, not because TV made it bad.

 

[Ryan8bit]

The Island mysteries have always been secondary.

Secondary, but not non-existent, and certainly not a distant second. You can't have characters without plot and plot without characters. It's a symbiotic relationship.

And even as character stories, I guess I'm kind of missing a lot about why their afterlife was really important at all.

I think it answered most of the important things, like why they were there (Jacob needed a replacement) and stuff like that.

Maybe I see this differently, but if I was any of the four who Jacob explained this to, I would've asked, "But why me? Why me when there are so many in the world who are equally, if not more troubled? What exactly did you do to your brother? Why was everything so predestined to lead to this?" On top of that, I think Jack should've asked Jacob a billion more questions, but instead takes a leap of blind faith. Now, I think that faith can sometimes be good, but the transition of his character from being skeptical to just automatically accepting fate and faith without question to be somewhat of a stretch. Maybe I'm expecting more out of these characters.

 

[Dac]

I thought I was watching a rerun of Ashes to Ashes - IT WAS THE *EXACT SAME* ENDING.

BSG may well have been a cop out, but it was within the theme of the show. Since when did dying souls need to jump through time and blow up a nuke? Seriously, why? For me this is the biggest televisual kick in the nuts - ever.

 

[Awesome Possum]

The Island mysteries have always been secondary.

Secondary, but not non-existent, and certainly not a distant second. You can't have characters without plot and plot without characters. It's a symbiotic relationship.

And even as character stories, I guess I'm kind of missing a lot about why their afterlife was really important at all.

I think it answered most of the important things, like why they were there (Jacob needed a replacement) and stuff like that.

Maybe I see this differently, but if I was any of the four who Jacob explained this to, I would've asked, "But why me? Why me when there are so many in the world who are equally, if not more troubled? What exactly did you do to your brother? Why was everything so predestined to lead to this?" On top of that, I think Jack should've asked Jacob a billion more questions, but instead takes a leap of blind faith. Now, I think that faith can sometimes be good, but the transition of his character from being skeptical to just automatically accepting fate and faith without question to be somewhat of a stretch. Maybe I'm expecting more out of these characters.

He said he picked them because they reminded him of himself and he had apparently watched over them for years. Maybe he does this for a lot of people and slowly narrowed it down to just them, finally arranging for all them to be on Flight 815. As for Jack, I think that deep down he just wanted to protect his friends. If that meant becoming Jacob's replacement he'd do it. I also think that he was slowly going towards being a man of faith after Locke died and he realized that he was meant to be on the Island.

 

[Yminale]

You can call it a cop out all you want, but this show has ALWAYS been about the characters. The Island mysteries have always been secondary.

Stop making excuse for poor planning. The character were just there to get the story moving. "Lost" got dull when it was just about the characters and most people cared about the mysteries. Honestly you knew thing were going to fall apart once they piled on one new thread after another and never tried to create a cohesive narrative.