'Lost': 'Instant Dharma' summary of 'The End'

Ryan, will you write a book about the show? I don't mean a summary, or essay, but more what it was about?

I am a huge fan but don't know what to do about all of the moving pieces! I need someone with your expertise to put it all in perspective. At least if you don't someone else should!

Hello Ryan: Allow me to add my voice to all of the others (The Others!) in thanking you for providing such a thought provoking, insightful, and fun commentary week after week.

I must be honest that I'm torn about the finale. As everyone has pretty much agreed, it was an incredibly intense emotional experience and beautiful to see the redemption of the characters. And I agree that the show was ultimately "about" the characters. But the island was also a character (as was the totally unexplained Dharma Initiative/UMich tie-in) and the finale simply did not do it justice. If the show was only about Jack, et al, why not shoot it in a more realistic setting like every other show? After so much mythology for 6 seasons, I can't help but feel it's a bit of a cop-out for them to just say "well it was always about the characters." It's also perplexing when people say that "of course not all the answers can be given," when it was the show that raised the questions in the first place.

So here I stand one day hence. Admittedly moved and excited (especially, for me, seeing the restoration of Claire as a beautiful, intelligent, and loving woman), but at the same time trying hard to suspend critical thought.

I never got back on-line Sunday night after all because I decided to watch the finale again (sans commercials), hoping I'd feel better about it than I did the first time.

Alas, even though I wept almost as much the second time around, I still am so extremely bothered by the same things that bothered me so much the first time around. (Which I already posted shortly after it aired.)

(It short, I felt really ripped off by the sideways world being purgatory, and by how they used that to avoid telling us more about what happened to the characters in their lives post-island (or, in the case of Hurley and Ben, on-island), and left so many fundamental unanswered questions.)

I'm going to try now to read all several hundred comments that people have posted (and Ryan's essays) to see how others felt -- and see if my perspective is changed somewhat.

Okay I just read the recap, as well as all of Ryan's other essays since May 19th, and all of the essay comments since then -- so "all" that is left is the 262 recap comments and I'm all caught up!

But before I do so a few thoughts. I'm surprised nobody (unless it is in the recap comments) has mentioned "Places in the Heart". (Unfortunately, I actually thought of that movie while watching the finale... not a good thing.)

I'm also surprised that there isn't more outrage regarding Juliet's "it worked!" which was the worst dirty trick (of many) Darlton ever pulled. It was clearly intended to make us think the hydrogen bomb had done what Jack and Sawyer wanted, when it (apparently) was just dead-but-still-in-purgatory Juliet referring to the unplugging of the candy machine!

I glad I realized I "had to go back" to May 19th to get caught up on all the comments, since right away I saw a very perceptive comment by YankeeGirl and Bronzethumb regarding how sideways Jack's neck cut could be caused by Smocke. Kudos! (Late Kudos are better than never!)

FIFTYPENCE: "Op/Con - do I get royalties from your new moniker then ;)"

Yep! Ten percent of everything I make from my ramblings on this blog! :) (And thanks for the info on Blake's 7 -- I might check it out.)

RYAN - Thanks for mentioning "Veronica Mars"!

OP/CON [at 2:03]: "Okay, I admit it... I've been crying like a baby at every remembrance scene -- especially Kate/Claire/Charlie"

YANKEEGIRL [at 2:10]:"Me too Op/Con!!"

I can't believe how much the last ten minutes changed my attitude -- guess it started when Christian said "How are you here, Jack?"

I really think it defeats the whole purpose of the show (and one's education in general) to think that what we do in this life doesn't matter because we can always work things out in purgatory.

Furthermore, it really bothers me how quick Jack and other characters are to accept that (for instance) David doesn't exist, even though it seemed to him just as real as his "real" life. So how is the purgatory world any less real than the real one if he couldn't tell the difference at the time?

I was so angry about this ending, but I feel much better now that I've read so many other people's negative reactions.

NOT YET MEASURED: "Island: B Minus, Sideways: F"

Agreed! I'm so glad that so many people had such a negative reaction to the purgatory nature of the sideways timeline, and the fact that so much of the main story was given short shrift. Far, far to many great quotes to quote even a fair sampling, but I've at least got to quote a few (you know me!). And first I have to respond to BNC's statement:

"I gotta say, I know the Epilogue folks were REALLY intense on being right about this..."

I agree with much of what you said, BNC, but not this part. (At least regarding me.) If you'll notice, I didn't mention anything about the epilogue theory Sunday night -- all I talked about was how much I was enjoying (emotionally, not intellectually) the finale until it became clear that the sideways universe was purgatory, and that they had used that device to avoid a proper resolution to the main story.

JEFFM: "So in closing, I was happy with the resolution to the story we watched over six years. But I was not happy with the resolution to the season six sideways story. It was as if it was a means of misdirection. They had everyone convinced that the two worlds would collide and affect each other. But they were two different stories."

THE BLACK ROCK: "And the whole ending church scene and enveloping light was so blatantly cliche. This saccharin syrup will please many, but those of us who are critical thinkers see this for the throw-away ending it is."

BOTN: "The Epiverse was not affecting the Islandverse, as we had maintained. This was true because the Epiverse was (as we had said all along) the end of the story...the EPI-logue."

SPLINTER: "i don't feel even remotely close to satisfied in this respect..."

I feel your pain!

EDDIE9: "I didn't find it credible that the reaction by everyone to realizing you were actually dead would be happiness."

JACOB'S REVENGE: "I'm very disappointed. "The End" was an unfulfilling ending that pandered to the church crowd. Much of what happened in this episode, especially in the context of recent episodes just didn't make logical, storytelling sense... C&L betrayed us and I'll be content to never see another show of theirs."

GRIMMBRO: "Is it just me, or is Jack the new island smoke monster? He was spat out of the cave (although we didn't see the spitting) and was positioned on a log much like the first smokey."

I noticed that as well upon the second viewing! (Answers my question as to how he got out to witness the plane landing before dying.)

JOHN: "guess to summarize, watching it over the past 6 years makes you wonder what was the point? Stop a supposed bad guy from leaving the island...and that was worth the lives of almost everyone involved?"

DCMEADS: "Do I think it was a good ending for Season 6- yes for the entire series- not so much. The question is will there be an afterlife church where Ryan, BOTN, Optimistic, A-Rob, Mri, other sean, JeffC, Splinter, BNC and all the regular bloggers cross over together?"

KATERHATER: "Like a lot of other folks, I was a true fan (never missed an episode!) and loved this show. That said, the more I think about it and let it sink in, the worse I feel about The End. Last night I think I was still pretty emotionally raw and more accepting; this was my favorite show, and I would have accepted pretty much anything LOST handed me in a finale. But having slept on it, I'm feeling a bit robbed."

MEMOIRGIRL: "Because the end of the show was Jack-centered, we saw his "heaven." If it had been Hurley-centered, we would have seen Hurley's."

CHRISK: "a razzie seems much more likely than an emmy. and it totally baffles me that anyone liked the sideways timeline. Such a contrived narrative sleight of hand to build an entire season around. The whole point was so we could see dead characters and have a big old reunion, nothing more. But i'll admit, I did cry when Vincent laid down next to Jack. I don't know why, but that hit me."

BOTN: "Once Desmond 'removed the cap', the sticky, buttery decadence overflowed into the world, overwhelming it. Jack put the cap back on the bottle, thus saving the world."

MIKE: "The light was what gave the smoke monster it's powers. Once it went out, he was powerless. But they had to kill him then because once they switched it back on, he would have gotten his smoke powers back. The scene in the S6 premiere where Jack is on the plane, Rose says to him: "You can let go now". It says to me that Rose was aware of what the sideways was, and she was telling Jack that it's ok to let go. That first scene was probably the first thing Jack experienced after he died in the series finale."

NOTYETMEASURED: "I don't think there are going to be any Lost-Cons in thirty years. I don't think there will be any in five years. Anybody hoping to revel/cash in should get started ASAP."

I agree that the finale did do a lot to damage the legacy of the show.

LABONDA: "But since the writers had known for so long that the end was coming, I don't see why they couldn't have tied up a few more mythology issues rather than raising more questions and frustrating people, and then basically abandoning all of it after spending so much time and thought building it up."

OCKRAZ: "...the spirit of everyone who dies may have the power to jointly create such an interim existence with those with whom they established the strongest emotional ties while living. This interpretation has the virtue of offering such a fate to everyone (not merely a select few visitors to a magical island) and being more consistent with Jacob's statement about his powers."

OK, have you guys gotten over your squishey emotional dessert that was the finale? I think it might be time for a reality check.

After the digestion of the finale has come full circle, at least for yours truly, I can only look at the finale as something that could have used some improvement. Since the writers seem to have an affection for Star Wars, let's look at the creative processes that went into that movie series. Take a look at George Lucas and his thought process that went into each movie and then into the reviled episodes 1-3. But also take a look at the creators of LOST and their style of writing this show. These are folks that detest simple straight-forward answers. With that in mind, I guess I wasn't really surprised by the finale. The twist or shocker COULD have been answers and that would have been truly surprising for the folks who've invested 6 years into watching the story unfold.

After all, any show (I don't care if it's LOST or BSG) that creates its own universe has a literary imperative to follow the guidelines (or RULES) established by the creators of that universe. LOST characters even emphasized the importance of rules. So then, we've got an island (it's own universe) with a set of rules that are constantly changing. Why have the rules changed or morphed over the years? Various reasons, but I suspect because there wasn't a clear direction for the show from the get-go. It was a house built on a shaky narrative foundation. (sorry)

Thus, each change in the "rules" creates new questions (or mysteries). Remember, these guys had PLENTY (I can't emphasize that word enough so I'll say it twice.) PLENTY of time to verify what the rules were AND give the viewers the emotional punch that we've come to expect. To say that they chose not to do that and focus exclusively on the character side of the story is, dare I say, a cop-out.

Look, we've been discussing the plot through various theories on this site. There were many ways that the producers could have wrapped this show up in a satisfying way. I know, I know! It's their show. They wrapped it up how they wanted to wrap it up. So did George Lucas with his Star Wars series. But if you've had a chance to watch the "behind the scenes" of episodes 1-3 (I highly recommend it.) you would see a creator of a concept who desperately needed help, though the people around him were too intimidated to offer it.

But we, as the viewers, don't have to necessarily agree with how they wrapped it up. And the more I think about it, the more the finale doesn't resonate with me. Sorry. It doesn't negate my opinion of the entire series, but it didn't stick the landing (in my humble opinion).

okay, i've been telling everyone that i'm "processing" what i saw until i can make a decision; that was code for i'll be reading what my friends on the blog say and hoping they help me see something that i missed; well....you guys are great (there's no doubt about that) but my initial reaction has deepened: i'm very disappointed :(

i love lost and i have not repudiated the entire series as some seem to have done; still. i am not pleased by how the mythology could have been discarded so blithely by the creators. i mean really. how could they? i know i mentioned the responsibility of the artist to the audience a while back but that was theoretical and this is empirical! how could they?!

the sideways world never appealed to me though in the last few episodes i got excited as it seemed something was about to happen. i never imagined the end result would be a kumbaya. i really think the sideways world could have been totally scrapped and season six could have been straight plot (how's that for a new narrative device?); all that extra time could have been devoted to answers to some of the many, many questions

"the sideways world could have been totally scrapped and season six could have been straight plot (how's that for a new narrative device?)"

absolutely. It would truly have been a clever and brilliant trick. Just imagine how much we could have seen of the still-living characters that we loved. The biggest lie that Darlton told in their interviews was that the show was still character-driven. Please. It was driven by dumb narrative shenanigans this season. Darlton clearly ran out of ideas before. If we throw out the sideways timeline, ab aeterno and across the sea, it might have been a decent season.

all that said, neither the finale nor the season destroy the series for me. I loved most of the first 3 seasons and enjoyed some of 4-6. For me, it was all about the journey and not the destination. Unfortunately, Darlton decided it was all about the destination--heaven.

Agree with many of you - emotionally satisfying, but not intellectually satisfying and, ultimately, a cop-out. I now have huge doubts that the writers even understood their own mythology. Seasons 2-5 all seem like filler and misdirection to me now. Plus, I don't like how people keep calling it purgatory - that's not even the right term b/c it is my understanding that purgatory includes some sort of penance or punishment, but for most in the sideways world I saw either happiness or aimlessness, but no punishment. I still prefer to think of it as a waiting room. But I have to add that, I feel I've seen this problem before - Alias. It seems that Abrams is brilliant in building a complex concept, but writers seem to fail in execution or get lost (pardon the pun) in heading to the endgame. Or perhaps it is the long-term storytelling that Abrams' concepts fail at, b/c his movies, in general, seem to handle plot devices well.

Yes, Brian of the North, I see your point on Star Trek, but I did think the movie was well done and had a lot of challenges to face, namely remaining loyal to the original franchise and not pissing off millions of hardcore, long-term fans, all while having a reasonable yet intriguing plot, which I believe it achieved.

Yes, Brian of the North, I see your point on Star Trek, but I did think the movie was well done and had a lot of challenges to face, namely remaining loyal to the original franchise and not pissing off millions of hardcore, long-term fans, all while having a reasonable yet intriguing plot, which I believe it achieved.