Getting into the Hatch. Pushing the button. Contacting the freighter. Getting back to the island. Flashing through time. Protecting the Source. All of these phrases describe the amazing journey that LOST provided over six years. There was also a profound spiritual journey which no single phrase can adequately describe.
The End was a stunning culmination of two major components: the flash-sideways storyline of Season 6 and the on-island storyline across the entire series. Going into the finale I was convinced that one reality would simply merge with the other; it was just a question of how the writers could pull it off without negating the past.
The events on the island were as intense as I could've hoped. Desmond was the key to neutralizing the binding powers of the island long enough for Jack and Kate to defeat Locke. Frank's team prepped the Ajira plane just in time for a number of people to escape. Jack suffered a devastating wound but staggered through the jungle until he returned to where it all began. This storyline alone was worthy as a finale but there was plenty more to come.
Even in the final moments of the flash-sideways, when Jack entered the church and touched his father's coffin, I was still completely mystified. I had no idea how they were going to reconcile everything in just a few minutes. Jack did what I expected — he asked his supposedly dead father how he could possibly be there.
And then it happened. Four simple words permanently marked LOST as my favorite series of all time.
CHRISTIAN: How are YOU here?
I assure you I'm not exaggerating when I say those four words shocked me beyond all description. You know how all the characters had their awakenings? I had the same exact experience after hearing Christian's response. My mind raced through all of the flash-sideways scenes and memorable moments over the past six seasons. I couldn't quite wrap my mind around the fact that I wasn't witnessing a parallel reality of some sort. I recovered from this realization just in time to hear Christian describe what I WAS witnessing: a place they'd all constructed after their deaths so they could find each other — and most importantly, move on together.
I'm not going to summarize the events of the finale. If you're a LOST fan you either loved it or hated it and there's very little chance this review will sway you. But I will say this in the most gentle way I know how: if you're a person who dismisses spiritual concepts as sheer nonsense, or if you thought the final resolution was a cop-out in some way, then I genuinely hope your path eventually steers you away from such deep cynicism. I would hope that every LOST fan would reach a point where they could experience these moments in the way that I did.
There will always be people who cling to faux intellectualism and criticize anything with a spiritual theme. I understand that. But some will eventually come to realize that closed-mindedness is the downfall of both faith AND science. It's no better to blindly reject one or the other than to blindly accept it, which happens to be one of the many themes throughout the series.
Occasionally I'll see critics dismiss the finale and/or the flash-sideways as "tacked on." This makes me wonder if they ever actually paid attention to the show they were watching. LOST has ALWAYS been about the struggle to find your way, the challenge of navigating through competing forces of good and evil. We're all searching for answers. We all have our own ways of making sense of the world. But we also have something in common: we're motivated and sustained by personal connections made along the way.
The final scene of the flash-sideways wasn't "tacked on" in any way, shape or form. It is the most beautiful and appropriate resolution I could've ever hoped for and it's one I'll never forget.
Only one thing is more tragic than Nestor Carbonell getting snubbed for his Ab Aeterno performance, and that's Matthew Fox not winning an Emmy for The End. I've already gone through the stages of anger/grief with the Emmys so I'll simply say this: there may be performances as good as the one Matthew Fox delivered in The End, but there are none which surpass it.
When Jack embraces Christian in the church, those are not subtle or staged tears. That was full-blown sobbing, the kind I've only heard in real-life situations following a devastating tragedy. I am 100% convinced that Matthew Fox channeled something very personal in that scene. If I'm wrong and he was actually able to summon that emotion on a whim, then it's an absolute travesty he was denied an Emmy.
All of the main cast performances were outstanding. All of them. In some cases it was the actors' best work in the entire series, including Jorge Garcia who I thought was exceptional. Garcia was clearly affected by the script before filming even began, so I imagine it didn't take much for the emotion to pour out of him when it mattered most.
Jack Bender saved his best for last and earned his rightful place in the pantheon of directing. The End may have had the restraints of a television budget, but Bender makes it feel like a historic event every step of the way.
The awakening scenes were just as much a credit to Bender as the actors themselves, for the shots needed to bring us in close to experience the intensely emotional moments. Notice how close we were to Charlie, Claire, and Aaron? That wasn't an accident or abitrary decision by Bender. He knew that was a moment where we'd want to reach out and embrace them all; the best he could do was pull us in as close as possible.
The effects in the island storyline were somewhat modest until Desmond was lowered into the source chamber. It's a special moment when he takes his first step into the pool surrounding the ancient plug. From there the intensity builds to epic proportions, and I remember forgetting to blink or swallow until that scene was over.
The crumbling landscapes and custom film/shutter speed during the quakes were a very nice touch. Even the Ajira takeoff was an absolute triumph for the effects team. They could've easily spoiled the moment by repeating the effects of the Ajira landing in Season 5.
The only effects-heavy scene I found disappointing was Jack and Locke's final battle. The storm clouds and horizontal rain didn't look very authentic, and Jack's jump-punch was borderline silly. Save that stuff for your comic book projects, Damon! When I see an epic fight I want twists, flips, and all sorts of crazy aerial tactics. When you're on a jagged rock surface you're not going to risk killing the stunt doubles so you end up with... well, what we got. Lots of rolling around and leverage moves.
Obviously it gets no more significant than a pilot or finale, but Longevity is an interesting thing when it comes to The End. The first time I watched it I was absolutely exhausted. The next day I watched it again and was exhausted all over again. I then erased it from my DVR and waited until the Redux rewatch to watch it for a third time. It's just too powerful and emotional to trot out any random day of the week.
Even though I didn't watch The End from late May through late September, it was very much in my mind every day in between. It's a different kind of longevity, and in many ways it's much better.
The End isn't just an episode I'll gladly watch again in the future, it's an episode I'll carry with me always.
I'll keep it simple and list the awakenings and their respective impact.
* Jin and Sun: steady flow of tears at this scene. If you read my review of D.O.C. you'll understand why. I could barely hold it together through THAT scene let alone an awakening which revisited it.
* Sayid and Shannon: mmmm, nope. Still didn't do anything for me. Sayid belonged with Nadia and I'm sticking to it.
* Kate, Claire, and Charlie: shameless, uncontrollable bawling at this scene. I started losing it when it was just Kate and Claire, but when Charlie followed with his awakening I started sobbing like a little girl.
* Sawyer and Juliet: you know the finale's something special when I actually shed tears for Sawyer. But truth be told, the bulk of my emotion came when Juliet closed her eyes and realized what was happening.
* Jack and Christian: whatever the level after bawling is, that's where I went. Even during the Redux rewatch I sobbed from the moment they embraced all the way to Jack closing his eyes. I don't know if I'll ever be able to make it through those moments with dry eyes. All I know is there's nothing wrong with that at all — yes, even if it's "just a TV show."
What's truly remarkable about The End is that on first watch I was extremely moved during all those awakenings — but I didn't even know the real reason why yet! After learning what the flash-sideways was, all those moments hit me exponentially harder the second time around. The finale might as well be four hours long; you need to watch it twice to get the full experience.
You don't have to be a spiritual person to appreciate what was presented in The End. If you were willing to indulge in a mystical island with smoke monsters, time travel, and crazy sci-fi concepts, then hopefully you were willing to let the finale speak to you in the same manner. Let's face it, nobody knows what awaits us after death, or even IF something awaits us. But there's never any harm in sharing our hopes for what might be on the other side.
I thought Damon and Carlton's presentation of an afterlife was extremely beautiful. It made me ask myself some deeply personal and important questions. Have I nurtured personal connections to the extent that I should? If such a place exists for people to reconnect, will anyone be waiting for me after I die? Only an amazing work of art would cause a person to even ask himself these questions.
To the critics out there, by all means, enjoy your Breaking Bad, Dexter, and Mad Men. LOST is the story that completely captivated me, entertained me, resonated with me in deeply profound and personal ways. There's a very good chance that no other story will ever affect me in quite the same way. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse should absolutely be proud of what they've achieved. They can rest easy knowing they've touched millions of lives in a profound and positive way.
Many thanks to those who endured my reviews and I hope you enjoyed LOST to the extent that I did. I'll see you in another life.
