Okay, this is a bit spoilerish.
As many predicted, the Lost finale seems to have polarized the fanbase. Most either loved it and thought it was the perfect ending or were thoroughly disappointed. And as always, I'm in the middle. I can see two sides. I rule.
There were flip sides to this show that made it great, two sides to the Lost coin: the characters and the mythology. Unfortunately, in the end the writers were only able to satisfy one side.
From the beginning, it was always a character-driven series. The heroes were forcibly upstaging the setting—as decided by the writers (and we let it happen)—because the characters were so unique and likeable. And diverse. Look how much time was devoted to flashbacks, starting in season 1 (which was the best season). Ultimately the acting, the popularity, and perhaps even the politics of the real world changed the plans. Some actors left the show for one reason or another, while others who were only supposed to be temporary stayed on because they impressed. In that way the creators of Lost allowed the show to evolve in ways they hadn’t originally planned. Clearly.
Then there’s the mythology, the milieu, of Lost. It just so happens that stuff was enormously appealing, to some of us more than to others. It created an epic mystique: Who are the shadow players on this island? What anomalies of science are at work here? How? Why? What does it all mean? Do fate or faith really play a part? Very intriguing sci-fi stuff, and Lost made it more interesting than just about any other TV show out there.
But in the end the writers only really addressed the characters. And from a ratings stand point, that’s probably what made the show so popular: the drama, the romances, the love triangles (blah!)—so much melodrama! And you know what? Most of it was awesome. Realistically, sci-fi still isn’t that mainstream. While it is getting more popular, American television, film, and audiences are still more occupied with cops, lawyers, criminals, crime scene investigators, coroners, philanderers, desperate wives, and pregnant teenagers.
Lost appealed to a pretty diverse group. Speculative fiction freaks (like me) got into it, and yet so did fans of bad reality TV and "good" reality TV and Survivor and readers of trashy romance novels and readers of good romance novels and lovers of social dramas and talk shows and celebrity gossip shows. And so on. That’s why Lost was popular. Somehow , the writers, producers, and director made a solid show which managed to please so many different types of people. Pretty amazing.
The season finale brought to a close the character arcs that began in the very first episode. In that I found it very satisfying. And while I know many will disagree with this, I personally think they were bold about the ending, ambiguous as it was. To address the afterlife, faith, and spirituality at all is damned gutsy. Spirituality isn’t popular in our culture, and a lot of people are uncomfortable when you venture onto topics of an afterlife or belief in any kind. Makes them defensive, especially if they’re anti-spiritual. And yet Lost did touch on it without catering to any one faith. Or perhaps none. It was all very interpretive and adaptable. That frustrates some people but if they had been very definitive about what the afterlife was like, people would have been up in arms. All things considered, well done.
But I'll admit, it was a bit too afterlife-lite, much like in What Dreams May Come.
And Benjamin Linus, mass murderer and complex character, opting to sit out for a while and not "move on" with the others quite yet? Nice touch.
They didn’t bring any real closure to the mythology of the island, the nature of its original inhabitants, the Jacob role, the smoke monster, the "light," the Egyptian motifs, the Sobek statue, the powerful electromagnetism, teleportation, the mysteries of time travel . . . and plenty more. In that I feel the writers pulled an X-Files on us: they tossed out lots of cool mysteries but never really decided what they were all about. I’m sad about that. They could have, perhaps, if they’d trimmed out some of the less relevant material (the Temple, the freighter, the leaving-then-going-back-to-the-island stuff, the constant flux of running around and dissolving and reforming camps . . . something!).
But it’s apparent that the show was more about the characters than the mythology. And so the finale came full circle and addressed only them. And I think they did a good job with that. Could they have done more to satisfy everyone? Yes, they could have, but they waited too long to start tying things up.
So I’ll proudly stand between the love and hate camps. It was an awesome show with a frustrating and yet strangely mostly-satisfying ending. It will be difficult for anyone to match what Lost accomplished—not just in ratings but in diversity. It’s damned hard to tell a good story with that much diversity and get so many people to pay attention to it.
In conclusion, I’m just happy to see Vincent at very end. He was my favorite character. And the Hugo and Ben thing on the island, the new Jacob and his new Ricardo thing?
Dude.
Edit: Ken Hart made a pretty cool post about the finale, too, right here.
I can think of endings that would have been better, sure. And the near total exclusion of the island-mythos stuff is what bothered me most. But not the characters' fate. That worked for me just fine. Not lazy in the slightest. After six years of being invested in these characters, it was a greater tribute than I've seen in any other show.
Again, meeting up in the afterlife is not new. But SHOWING it in depth sure was to me.
Guess I haven't watched that much TV, no. I'm pretty discriminating.
Unlike anonymous there, I love discussions of any kind, and the discussion of belief is certainly an interesting one... when there is room for discussion.
Lost's use of "spirituality" to end the series is lazy, easy "storytelling"; that's my opinion. It was not a risk, it was not bold. It was expected, and for a series that relies on the unexpected, that's a failure.
I'm not saying that exact ending was expected, but there was a lot of speculation about whether they were all dead, whether it was a dream, whether the island was heaven, hell, limbo, et cetera. So, ending with a heavy handed sequence about their particular brand of afterlife was no shocker. It was just lame.
And if you really think it's rare that a show or movie doesn't blatantly illustrate the "you get to go to the afterlife with your loved ones" motif, you've not watched nearly as much TV as I have.
"a lot of people are uncomfortable when you venture onto topics of an afterlife or belief in any kind."
That.
See, your issue isn't with Lost, really, but with a general, annoying societal trend: Lip service to religion, any religion but usually Christianity. A rapper thanking "God" in the liner notes of an album that advocates violence against cops or a music award acceptance speech that includes "I'd like to thank God first" from a pop singer whose songs inspire teen girls to be sexier isn't spirituality or religion. It's just bullshit.
I'm talking about actual spirituality. That, I say, is rare. And Lost's depiction was vague, and it was lite, because people tend only to care about religion when they get to be offended by it. People love to be offended. They thrive on it.
So does Lost now perpetuate religion-lite? Maybe. But I don't think so. For one, the faith vs. science argument was a fairly recurring theme of the show and it was never resolved (it shouldn't be) or made simple. And I think that suggesting that people (souls, whatever) get to meet up again someday, in some form, long after time or death has separated them is neat. And when shows or movies may hint or refer to it, it's rare for one to actually show it. That, I found to be a rare treat.
That's all.
I will wholeheartedly disagree with you that it was gutsy to make the end about heaven, as well as the idea that "Spirituality isn’t popular in our culture." There are many, many shows and films that end in "heaven" or "God did it", and spirituality (especially Christianity-lite based "walk into the light" afterlife) is one of the most cliche and basic story tropes out there. Do I need to list the shows about angels? Miracles? Do I need to cite every single athlete and actor who attributes their success to a higher power, or all of the everymen who grace our news shows to talk about how they've experienced a miracle because a doctor saved their baby, or that God saved them from the tornado?
Now, you know what would have been unpopular? If all of the Lost people went to the heaven of Sayid's culture. THAT would have made people mad!
But no, going to the warm glow of heaven, walking through a very protestant-looking church door (despite it's pan-religious anteroom that only Jack and his father experienced) is no risk. It's a straight cop-out.
I agree that more could've been explained, but we are talking about American television. The fact that Lost went six seasons was a miracle of its own. Now, will they one day, with more forethought, return to the island? Maybe explain a little more about the mythology? Possibly. They certainly left enough wiggle room.
All in all, I liked the ending.
And this eloquant post, too. :)
You know, I may well be the only person on the entire planet who has never watched a single episode of Lost. Despite all the hubbub, I don't feel as if I've missed out on much. Then again, I'm in the "cops, lawyers, criminals, crime scene investigators, coroners" camp, so that may explain it. ;)