Monday, May 24, 2010

The Other Side - Thoughts on the Lost Finale

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
I turned on the final episode of Lost, "The End", expecting that on the other side I would have answers to all my questions about the island, only to end up more confused than before.

My initial thought is this:
Lost is the ultimate post-modern TV show. There are no answers. Everyone is left to make their own conclusions. And the point of the whole show was not to get answers to all our questions anyway, but the whole point was the enjoyment of the ride itself - and it was a great ride indeed. You know - "it's the climb"!

Here are a few random thoughts/questions:
  • Did everyone actually die when the explosion went off at the end of season 5? And those who stayed on the island were just "holding on" and refusing to "let go"?
  • If that was "the incident" - then was everyone who continued to live after the incident actually dead?
  • Did the island actually sink?
  • What's up with the time traveling?
  • Was everything real up until the explosion at the end of season 5?
  • Are they saying that there is no such thing as reality or here and now, and we all live in a make-believe world of our own imagination, which we have created in order to "find each other"?
  • Did Ben and Hurley stay alive and work together on the island for a while before eventually dying and catching up with the others in the alternate reality?
  • What happened to Michael? Isn't he stuck on the island?
  • What the heck is that island anyways? Did it really exist? It seems to me that it did.
  • Who built all that stuff like the temple and the heart of the island? What's up with the hieroglyphics? What is the origin of the statue?
  • How did the Dharma Initiative find the island? Why were so many people looking for the island?
  • What's up with the smoke? I get it that the guy died, but why did he become smoke?
Maybe the most significant line in the final episode was when Desmond told Jack that none of what they were doing mattered anyway, and all that really mattered was what awaited them on the other side...

I've got a lot more questions - but I am interested in what others who have watched the Lost finale have to say.
Did you watch it? What did you think? What are your theories?

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:43 AM

    When Jack asked his father if everybody there are dead, he was replied that some died before him and some long after he died.

    Hurley's exchange with Ben points that they had some history of being #1 and #2 (managing the island)

    These and few other facts let me to believe the that the island is real, and most characters didn't die in crashes and the only part "after death" is the parallel plot that started with season 6.

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  2. Once I thought about it some more all that stuff became clear to me too. I still don't quite understand what Desmond meant with hitting Locke with the car in order to "help him to let go".

    It seems to me that the answer given to the question of what the island is, was simply given by Locke, when he said: "This is a place where miracles happen." No deeper explanation is given.

    So, the epic struggle was real. But what's up with the people who were "trapped on the island" like Michael? Was that spell broken when Desmond moved the stone and put the light out temporarily?
    Or was it that once Hurley became the caretaker of the island, he ran things differently and didn't keep people trapped there any more?

    Hmm... Lots to think about, but so many questions to which there are really no answers given.

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  3. I am just very glad i never started watching the show :D

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  4. http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1936291

    pretty much that's my opinion :D except for the last sentence termeszetesen :D

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