It’s a week after the Lost finale and the dust is starting to settle. Gauging the reaction of commenters here on CliqueClack, as well as reviews and comments around the web, I get the sense that the majority of viewers enjoyed the finale. It certainly didn’t please everyone, but I don’t think it could have. I’m not here to try to change anyone’s mind about the finale or the series. You either liked it or not, and that’s OK. Even for those who didn’t love the finale, there were some great moments in the episode.
I have to admit that I’ve watched the finale (or at least the majority of it) three times now, and I think the emotional impact only grows with each viewing. As I’ve watched it, some little things have really popped out (as well as the bigger things). I figured I would take this post to point out some of my favorite things in the finale:
- The ending: It was controversial, but the more I see it and mull it over, the more I like it. It came a little bit out of left field and it would have been nice if it had tied into the series a little more, but it made perfect sense in the context of the show. At the end of the day, everything was about the connections that we make with other people and how we effect each other’s lives. I thought it was a great message and an emotional resolution for all the characters.
- The reunions: Even a lot of people who hated the ending seem to have really connected with all the reunions between the characters in the sideways world. I particularly enjoyed the Juliet and Sawyer reunion. They were one of the better couples on the show, in my opinion. It was a brief, but pure and happy relationship, unlike any of Kate’s relationships.
- No cheap deaths: So many finales just can’t resist to off a few characters. I can understand why. It’s the end of a show, you want to up the stakes and add some drama, and killing someone off in the finale doesn’t really matter anyway. For viewers, though, it’s hard to watch one or more characters get tossed aside just to fabricate some drama or emotion. I thought for sure that there were going to be some “shocking deaths” in the finale, but there really weren’t. Claire didn’t kill anyone, Ben didn’t get crushed by that tree. Even Miles, who I had pegged for death in nearly every episode this season, made it off the island and lived a presumably full life.
- The extended credits: I mentioned this in my review, but it’s worth mentioning again. I love that the producers listed just about every actor in the opening credits, together, in alphabetical order. It was a nice tribute to all the actors who returned to the show. Some were previously series regulars, others were just key recurring players. I thought it was a nice gesture to recognize everyone who had helped make Lost such a great show for six years.
- The return of Frank Lapidus: I’m a little ambivalent about this one. One one hand, Frank is totally awesome and it was great seeing him come back to save the day. On the other hand, are we really supposed to believe that he survived the sinking sub? The only conclusion that I can draw is that Frank is immortal. After all, he was one of the few characters not to appear at all in the sideways world. I just don’t think he ever dies.
- Richard is free: I was happy that Richard, now aging, got to leave the island and live out the rest of his life as a normal guy. I just hope that he kept some of the old documents and contacts that the Others must have fabricated for him when he left the island in the past, or he’s going to be very lonely.
- Sad Eloise: I thought it was a touching moment when Eloise confronted Desmond at the concert. All of her motivation really surrounded her relationship with Daniel. After causing his death in the past, and pushing him toward that future, she was obviously wracked with guilt. At the end of the day, she just wanted more time with her son in a better situation. The heartbreak in her voice when she asked Desmond if he was going to take Daniel was touching and sad — definitely one of my favorite moments.
There were a lot of great moments in the finale, and I am sure I am leaving some out. What was your favorite part of the episode?
Photo Credit: ABC
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Clacked by Bob Degon
on May 31, 2010 @ 13:58 EST5EDT
All good points. It’s not hard to spot the good about the finale and there really isn’t much you can criticize.
But the problem is: I’m really done with this show because of the “other stuff”. I feel like the show broke up with me, we had a large argument with each other afterwards involving a lot of shouting and crying and now I’m simply done. It still hurts and I don’t really want to think about it anymore. I need to heal, you know… not think about it anymore.
Maybe in a couple of years I can think back and say “Yeah that was a fun time” but right now it’s all so obvious that our relationship failed.
I was never really so invested that I was exposed to heartbreak the way some were. As I mentioned, I liked the ending.
I loved the entire sequence with Jack, finding peace with his father, walking through the bamboo, and the dog. *sniff* I also loved when Locke forgave Ben.
Looking forward to the dvd when we can see Hurley and Ben play 1 and 2.
For me it was like solving a really large riddle. Like a scavenger hunt with 119 parts where you tried to make sense of it all, clearing your way through the brushes with your mind instead of a machete and in the end the final answer was “You all won because you all did it together” and then you find out that you didn’t really have to go through the jungle you just could’ve sat there at the start and enjoy watching the lovely scenery and in the end all those people solving clues ended up there right at the start with you and the cluemaster tells you you are ALL winners because you found each other, you can hug now and it’s all great.
Nobody with any sense of competetivity or a slightly sharp mind can be satisfied with that. And you can really get frustrated over that.
I simply chose not to. I chose to all ignore that and with it, most likely, the whole show. No DVDs, no BluRays for me. Never ever again. I went so far as to delete all of the iTunes episodes I downloaded this season. I paid for those. I don’t want to think about it anymore… the ending was nice but that was that and now it’s over. Ende. Finis.
I guess on some level I can understand your pain. I dearly wish I could have stopped watching the finale of BSG when Galactica cruises over the moon. If I would have stopped there I could have been fully happy instead of getting punched in the gut when Starbuck disappeared.
The three parts of the finale that brought me to tears were as follows:
-Charlie and Claire reunited/awoken after she has her baby. Charlie was one of my favorite characters, and it was something special to see the real him again after he died.
-Sawyer and Juliet reunite and embrace, with lines spoken before. This was my favorite relationship on the show, and perhaps because it was not actually brief; it lasted years (unlike most of the others), we just didn’t see them. She made him a better man.
-The last ten minutes, with Jack walking through the bamboo and laying down to die. Vincent walking over to be with him was just the icing on the cake. I loved the way they edited this, interspersed with clips from Jack in the afterlife having a look of sheer joy on his face, while Jack in his final living moments rejoices with the realization that he has succeeded, and Kate and the others are safe.
Here were some other moments from the finale that I enjoyed especially:
-Jin smirking at Sawyer as he calls him “detective”.
-Jack yells Locke’s name before the final showdown. Dramatic cut to his darkened figure in the rain, moments before he charges.
-The reunions in the church, particularly Jack and assorted people: Jack and Sawyer, Jack and Locke, Jack and Boone, Jack and his father. Each was special for a different reason.
-Boone: “You have no idea how much trouble it was to bring [Shannon] here from Australia.”
Hurley: “Yeah, but dude… It was worth it.”
Kind of felt like characters speaking for producers here.
-Ben’s performance all around, especially in his apology to Locke and saying he was staying behind. While I’m at it, it was wonderful to see the real Locke for the first time in 2 seasons.
That’s all I can think of right now, but suffice it to say that I loved the finale and loved the show. There will never be anything else quite like it.