Lost: The Final Boner

[R-V]

So how awesome was the clifftop showdown with Jack leaping down to tackle Locke? Also, thi:

You could argue that the Flash Sideways was entirely unnecessary. You know what? You would be right. On a plot level, you did not need it at all. It had no direct bearing on what happened on the Island. It turned out that, unlike what some of us thought (including maybe Island Desmond), Sideways Desmond's efforts to "awaken" his friends had no bearing on saving the Island or defeating Locke. You could have simply picked up season six in 2007, had everyone realize that Juliet's smacking the bomb did not undo the Oceanic crash, and ended the series with Jack dying and a few of his friends escaping.

You could, but you would have given up an emotionally powerful ending whose spirituality--though it may rankle some as Battlestar Galactica's ending did--bothered this big fat secular agnostic not one bit. To me, the closing of Lost was not telling me that I do or do not have an immortal soul; it was telling me what these characters lives meant. And that meaning, like all our lives' meaning, derived from the interactions they had with, and the memories they shared with, other people.

You could take that literally, as in: this is a picture of what happens when you die. Or you could take it metaphorically, as in: this is a story using spiritual imagery to depict the lasting legacy of human contact. (I personally see it that way, in the same way that I believe that religious scriptures are not literally true and yet are some of our most powerful and important stories regardless. Your mileage may vary, as they say on the Internet.)

My only problem I had with the finale wasn't that the reveal of the Sideways world was unnecessary, but that all of the events leading up to it were.  I'm guessing if we go back and re-watch season 6, knowing what we know, that some of the Sideways events will start to make sense in the context of some kind of "afterlife," but right now they all just seem like a way to confuse the viewers until we finally figured out what was going on.  Why did Jack have a kid in this life? Why did we have to see Sun get kidnapped and Sayid shoot some guys?  Why did we have to watch Sawyer's date with Charlotte?  I'm sure there's an interpretation of the world where it all makes perfect sense, but right now it just seems like all of the Sideways events were unnecessary distractions to string us along until we realized everybody was dead.

Obviously there was an element of stringing people along with a mystery. That's what Lost is, a mystery show. But the "why" is pretty simple - setting off the bomb worked. They got to experience what their lives would've been like if 815 had never crashed, if Ben & Juliet would've never gone to the island.

The only catch is that they didn't get to play out this version of reality until they were dead.

Well I get that, but why did the bomb put everything into effect?  Detonating it was supposed to actually put them back in LAX, alive.  It was supposed to be a reset switch for everything.  I guess we're supposed to interpret it as more of a symbolic act, where the bomb explosion was the point at which everyone decided to have their class reunion in the afterlife?  I have no problem with them stringing us along for the mystery with all the flash-sideways events, but I'd just like to know what was going on there actually had some purpose, and that there was a reason why nobody would remember their other lives until something triggered them.

I don't know why the bomb did it. Who put the bathtub plug down there that Desmond pulled out and Jack put back in? Who knows? I don't care. Some science stuff happened. Or some religious stuff happened. Whatever. The purpose of the flash-sideways was that everyone was dicking around in some sort of limbo, living what they thought to be their ideal lives or something close to it. They couldn't 'move on' until they accepted what actually happened in their real lives.

[PenPho]

Finally watched last night.
Why is everyone so sure Lapidus is dead?

Any confirmation anywhere?

I'm thinking it was the part where he got nailed by a submarine door and then it flooded with water, sinking to the bottom of the ocean.  I don't know though.  I might just be over-analyzing.

Totally satisfying final episode.

Also, Weebs was wrong.

[Kermit IV]

I'm going to go ahead and go the other way and say it fucking sucked.  All this time, the writers had me convinced that it WASN'T going to be a "they're just dead" finale.  And they were.  And that was a cheap and easy way to go.  And now I don't really believe that the writers had ANY clue how this show was going to end.  And I'm mad.  Boo.

[Weebs]

I'm going to go ahead and go the other way and say it fucking sucked.  All this time, the writers had me convinced that it WASN'T going to be a "they're just dead" finale.  And they were.  And that was a cheap and easy way to go.  And now I don't really believe that the writers had ANY clue how this show was going to end.  And I'm mad.  Boo.

I would agree with THIS if they were actually dead on the island.  That's what they said they would never do.  But they were dead in the alt-universe.  That's fair.

[Kermit IV]

Points:

I told you dicks Lapidus wasn't "dead."

Also, did I ever need to see Boone and Shannon again?  No.  No, I did not.

[Kermit IV]

DPointD:

So, in Kate's ideal world, she's still a dirty, unwashed criminal?  Has she just not told me how much it pays yet?

[Waco Kid]

I'm going to go ahead and go the other way and say it fucking sucked.  All this time, the writers had me convinced that it WASN'T going to be a "they're just dead" finale.  And they were.  And that was a cheap and easy way to go.  And now I don't really believe that the writers had ANY clue how this show was going to end.  And I'm mad.  Boo.

They were only dead in the sideways world.

[CT III]

I'm going to go ahead and go the other way and say it fucking sucked.  All this time, the writers had me convinced that it WASN'T going to be a "they're just dead" finale.  And they were.  And that was a cheap and easy way to go.  And now I don't really believe that the writers had ANY clue how this show was going to end.  And I'm mad.  Boo.

You should go back and unwatch the previous 6 seasons.

[PenPho]

Despite everything else...I'm just kind of glad this is over now and I can have my life back.

It was an entertaining 6 years, some of the best television I've ever seen at certain peaks, along with definitely the most confusing TV as well.

But now, after all this time, I'm just glad to move on.

[R-V]

I'm going to go ahead and go the other way and say it fucking sucked.  All this time, the writers had me convinced that it WASN'T going to be a "they're just dead" finale.  And they were.  And that was a cheap and easy way to go.  And now I don't really believe that the writers had ANY clue how this show was going to end.  And I'm mad.  Boo.

They were only dead in the sideways world.

Kerm, you do understand that everything they've shown in the 6 seasons actually happened, right? The sideways/waystation stories happened AFTER they were dead.

The end was a guy closing his eye after he watched a plane full of his friends get the hell off the island thanks to what he did. The beginning was a guy opening his eye after a plane crash of a group of strangers. I don't give a shit if they thought of the ending during season 1, after season 5, or whilst taking a dump last month. It was a cool and appropriate ending.

[Kermit IV]

I'm going to go ahead and go the other way and say it fucking sucked.  All this time, the writers had me convinced that it WASN'T going to be a "they're just dead" finale.  And they were.  And that was a cheap and easy way to go.  And now I don't really believe that the writers had ANY clue how this show was going to end.  And I'm mad.  Boo.

They were only dead in the sideways world.

I know, but it still seemed cheap and easy.  It's like the writers had their "surprise" ending spoiled by the fans, so they created the alt-universe and made THOSE versions dead.  I have a very hard time believing that they knew 2 years ago what was going to happen in the finale, and I thought it was pretty obvious over the course of the final season.

And, for the last time, I am NOT watching V.  Go back to being dead to me, ABC.

[Kermit IV]

I'm going to go ahead and go the other way and say it fucking sucked.  All this time, the writers had me convinced that it WASN'T going to be a "they're just dead" finale.  And they were.  And that was a cheap and easy way to go.  And now I don't really believe that the writers had ANY clue how this show was going to end.  And I'm mad.  Boo.

They were only dead in the sideways world.

Kerm, you do understand that everything they've shown in the 6 seasons actually happened, right? The sideways/waystation stories happened AFTER they were dead.

The end was a guy closing his eye after he watched a plane full of his friends get the hell off the island thanks to what he did. The beginning was a guy opening his eye after a plane crash of a group of strangers. I don't give a shit if they thought of the ending during season 1, after season 5, or whilst taking a dump last month. It was a cool and appropriate ending.

Yeah, I get that.  But then how come Sawyer and Kate have waystation stories?  They didn't die on the island.  Hell, neither did Locke.  Nor Hurley.  If that's the correct interpretation, then the writers were sloppy.

I liked the eye thing.  I liked several moments during the episode (mostly the comment that Jack was the "obvious" choice).  But I thought it was a huge disappointment.

[Tinker to Evers to Chance]

I'm just pissed that Alt-Artz didn't show up at the end.  It left me feeling hollow and dead inside.

[R-V]

I'm going to go ahead and go the other way and say it fucking sucked.  All this time, the writers had me convinced that it WASN'T going to be a "they're just dead" finale.  And they were.  And that was a cheap and easy way to go.  And now I don't really believe that the writers had ANY clue how this show was going to end.  And I'm mad.  Boo.

They were only dead in the sideways world.

Kerm, you do understand that everything they've shown in the 6 seasons actually happened, right? The sideways/waystation stories happened AFTER they were dead.

The end was a guy closing his eye after he watched a plane full of his friends get the hell off the island thanks to what he did. The beginning was a guy opening his eye after a plane crash of a group of strangers. I don't give a shit if they thought of the ending during season 1, after season 5, or whilst taking a dump last month. It was a cool and appropriate ending.

Yeah, I get that.  But then how come Sawyer and Kate have waystation stories?  They didn't die on the island.  Hell, neither did Locke.  Nor Hurley.  If that's the correct interpretation, then the writers were sloppy.

I liked the eye thing.  I liked several moments during the episode (mostly the comment that Jack was the "obvious" choice).  But I thought it was a huge disappointment.

Not the correct interpretation. They have waystation stories because they died. Doesn't matter if they died on or off the island. As Christian said, some of them died before Jack, some after. The common thread of everyone in the church was that their time on the island was the most significant part of their lives.

So how did you find out that the fans spoiled the writers' originally planned surprise ending?

[Kermit IV]

I'm going to go ahead and go the other way and say it fucking sucked.  All this time, the writers had me convinced that it WASN'T going to be a "they're just dead" finale.  And they were.  And that was a cheap and easy way to go.  And now I don't really believe that the writers had ANY clue how this show was going to end.  And I'm mad.  Boo.

They were only dead in the sideways world.

Kerm, you do understand that everything they've shown in the 6 seasons actually happened, right? The sideways/waystation stories happened AFTER they were dead.

The end was a guy closing his eye after he watched a plane full of his friends get the hell off the island thanks to what he did. The beginning was a guy opening his eye after a plane crash of a group of strangers. I don't give a shit if they thought of the ending during season 1, after season 5, or whilst taking a dump last month. It was a cool and appropriate ending.

Yeah, I get that.  But then how come Sawyer and Kate have waystation stories?  They didn't die on the island.  Hell, neither did Locke.  Nor Hurley.  If that's the correct interpretation, then the writers were sloppy.

I liked the eye thing.  I liked several moments during the episode (mostly the comment that Jack was the "obvious" choice).  But I thought it was a huge disappointment.

Not the correct interpretation. They have waystation stories because they died. Doesn't matter if they died on or off the island. As Christian said, some of them died before Jack, some after. The common thread of everyone in the church was that their time on the island was the most significant part of their lives.

So how did you find out that the fans spoiled the writers' originally planned surprise ending?

Walt showed up on my doorstop soaking wet and told me.

Okay, so why does Kate's alt-story blow for her?