I don't know. The other seasons filled the current story and the back story of all the characters. Each person was flawed in their own way, and you needed the flashbacks to understand the motivations of each character in the "present" on the island. In that respect, the show was very successful, which the finale did give closure to each character's fate.

The other stuff: Dharma, Widmore, Black Rock, the Statue, is was all there to give the Losties a chance to redeem themselves. I'd like to watch the finale again, but I'm pretty satisfied the more I think abou it.

I understand that. They did a wonderful job of character development. But character development is done so you care about what happens to the characters. It shouldn't be the story. Look at it this way. If you were told at season 1 that you are going to watch this show for six seasons which will raise alot questions, which most will neverbe answered, but you will get to see who the characters pair up with after they die, would you have watched it?

Well that's one way to look at it. But another way would be:

If you were told at Season 1 that you are going to watch this show for six seasons and it will involve a juxtaposition of spiritual faith vs. scientific skepticism that will raise questions that will make you think while at the same time introducing characters and developing your understanding of the complexities that drive their motivations and show an underlying theme of acceptance, forgiveness and redemption while taking us on a thrill ride that will touch us deeply and run the emotional gamut from fear, anger, hatred and revenge to hope, friendship, love and grace and may leave you contemplating the mysteries of creation - would you watch it?

Granted - the show wasn't for everyone. I can't think of very many shows that are.

I disagree. If they had succeeded in "resetting" the time line so that none of it ever happened, I would have felt the entire 5 seasons were a waste because all of the events would have been erased, and we would have been left with a trite Time Paradox like Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann, or A Sound of Thunder, or a bad Back to the Future ripoff.

But the long con that was pulled on us was to make us "think" an alternative time line had been created when actually, the "Sideways" world happens way-way-way in the future after the last of the Islanders has lived their lives.

But if they had simply shown us this in time sequence, we would have had about 4 episodes of the Losties running around the Island, getting killed off one by one, until Jack kills MIB-Locke and restores the Island. At that point, would anyone want to watch the "future" Sideways story where each of the characters gets to sample what their lives might have been like without the Island only to realize in the end that the Island brought them what was most valuable to them? No.

Problem is, a LOT of people try to argue that the whole series was just Jack's dream or something, and yes - THAT would have been an unforgivable "Bobby in the shower" missive. But all that strangeness, all that drama, all of the friendships, all of the deaths, all of the losses, and all of the struggle WERE real - strange, but real.

Wiping all of that reality out by saying "Oh - we changed history and all of that never happened" would have been the cheap, easy and unsatisfying way out.




The Island is underwater because it was the collective desire of the characters to experience their lives without the influence of the Island. The Island wasn't "really" underwater in the "real" world.

The show is probably an acquired taste for those people that can appreciate nuances and don't necessarily want to be hit over the head with explanations. To this day, I still cannot watch any of the later 3 Star Wars movies (aka Chapters 1-3) because they just trampled on the mysticism and spirituality of the first 3 (aka Chapters 4-6). That, and I thought they were boring as heck!

One more thought - Seems that Desmond on the Island was just as fooled by "Sideways" world as we were. He got a glimpse of it and thought it was a wonderful co-existent reality that they could travel to after he pulled the plug, so-to-speak.

But Sideways Desmond understands the true purpose of the Sideways world and sets about reigniting the memories of each character so that they could complete their purpose in "Purgatory" and move on to the next spiritual phase of their existence.

I thought it was touching when Eloise Hawking scolds Desmond again to stop his meddling, and you realize that what she wanted was to hold on to her son and enjoy watching him do what made him happy since in her real existence, she showed him very little love and pushed and pushed him, and then ultimately killed him.

The con again was to think that Sideways and Island Desmond were coordinating with each other. I thought that until the moment that the "Source" goes out and Island Desmond screams in the horrible realization that he was wrong.


BTW - Who's up for a "The Island was really the last remnants of the Lost Continent of Atlantis" debate? Now that's a hit over the head answer that would explain a LOT of the mysteries!

Let's see......

The first Protector of the Island was the last remaining survivor of Atlantis. After witnessing the evil that brought about the destruction of their civilization, he (or she) is determined to prevent that from happening again. Heck - "Mother" could have been that Atlantean. That would also explain why she felt people were evil.

The lure of Atlantis would explain why so many tried to find the Island all these years - not so much that Jacob brought them, but that he merely made it easier for some to find the Island.

It would explain the ancient artifacts on the Island - they weren't built by those who came later, they were remnants from the once mighty Atlantean civilization.

The actual "Donkey" wheel was from Atlantis and was used to channel the continent's power. The replica made by the Man in Black looked poor in comparison.

It would explain the power of the Island and how it had the ability to travel through time and space.

The numbers could have been part of the mathematical code that gave Atlantis its power, and why Jacob used those numbers for his candidates.

Then again, Atlantis is kind of a cheap and trite answer for stuff we can't explain, like the Bermuda Triangle, the Pyramids, the Mayans, the Anastasi, the Bimini Road and so on.

Nice posts, PR. That sums up my experience pretty well.

ABC released a statement saying that the shots of the original plane crash at the end of the show were NOT PART of the finale! They added it to ease the transition from the ending to the local news!!!!!!!!!

I spent hours trying to figure out if the ending was the ending and what happened, happened...then why was all the wreckage right where it was at the beginning of the show!!!

well, now we know!

last call for flight 815, all aboard....

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllllltttttttttttt!!!!

Heard an interesting theory yesterday. The funeral at the end was not Jack's but the viewers of the show signalling that it was the end of the series. (Jack was in the congregation and not the coffin.) Each person in the cast represented a viewer and their feelings towards the show. Jack represented the viewer who enjoyed the entire show and was happy with the ending. Jin represented a person who watched for 3 years before they started to understand it. Kind of neat theory.

Interesting take. But, I have to wonder, which character represented Saladin's feelings toward the show?

Ben - he's not ready to come in and join the group yet...

IMHO - That was the beauty of LOST - It was written in a way that everyone could have their own interpretation as to what the show meant or even the explanations for many of the show's mysteries.

For instance - the Smoke Monster - it was clear the Smoke Monster was unleashed after Jacob threw his brother into the light, and that the Smoke Monster incorporated all of the brother's frustration and anger, but earlier in that episode, when the camp was destroyed and everyone killed - how could the Mother have done all of that without a little help from Smokey? So did Smokey pre-date that incident and was simply enhanced by the brother - or was the Smoke Moster first created when the brother went in?

Rather than trying to nail down everything into a neat little box that would have explained all of it, they left just enough to provide the basis for multiple explanations without spelling it all out which ultimately would have left everyone with a sense of disappointment.

It's kind of like haveing this beautifully wrapped package under the Christmas tree that you can't wait to open and you imagine all kinds of wonderful things, but when you open it, you find it's an ugly sweater and you think - I liked this present better when it was still wrapped under the tree!

You don't have to tell me, I know that I am officially obsessed. Never watched Lost, didn't get into it the first season so just never got started on it. In the final couple of weeks I got interested in the concept from all the advertisements and have just spent the last month watching the entire series all the way through. Also kept in time with the 3 threads here on BOL which I found to be very interesting and a great addition to the show.

Although I had to keep reminding myself that there was no point in responding to a post as it might be 2 or 3 or 4 years old.

Yes it was a huge investment of time, but fascinating to see for the first time all the way through. Don't know if I could have kept up with all the details over a 5 year period.

At any rate, thanks for all the explanations and laughs along the way and for anyone that hasn't seen it, I do recommend. Really, really loved all the Sawyerisms!! Netflex has the first 5 seasons and the format and playback is very good. Finding all of season 6 was really tricky, might want to wait till Netflix or the dvd is available.

If anyone else wants the 3 threads, pm me and I will send you the links. Very good companion to watching each episode.

I still want to know what the Dharma shark is...

The Other White Meat?