The End

BEWARE LOST FINALE SPOILERS

I'll start by saying this, I enjoyed the finale a lot. I thought I'd start with that as I know from experience that my writing style tends to be on the negative side. I suspect there will be quite a lot of angry and disappointed people out there after this episode. Admittedly I don't think there was ever a chance they'd be able to satisfy everybody and it's probably a good thing that they didn't try to. In the last few days someone (can't remember who) said that the finale would divide the fans into two. Having seen it that makes total sense, but I'm not sure which side I'm on. I'm in the middle with one foot on either side.

Whether or not you liked it will depend a lot on what had hooked you to the series in the first place, which seems to be a case of characters vs mystery. For me it was always a bit of both. It was episode four back in season one which first got me. The whole reveal of Locke and the wheelchair was brilliant and I've loved that character ever since. On the other hand the ongoing mystery was a big part of it. What was in the hatch? Who drew the black light map? Why doesn't Richard age? Of course those particular questions got an answer, but there were a lot that didn't. This is what will bring the divide. The finale was all about resolving the character's story not about revealing the nature of the island. As a result of that I found myself emotionally satisfied but at the same time not quite intellectually satisfied.

It was great to see everybody back that we'd lost over the years such as Shannon and Boone. I also smiled when I saw Sam Anderson and L. Scott Caldwell in the opening credits, it wouldn't be a proper finale without and appearance from Rose and Bernard even though they're minor characters compared to the likes of Jack. It did seem a little odd that Michael and Walt were missing they were such a big part of the earlier seasons. I wonder if there was a story reason for that or if it was just down to actor availability. I suppose you could say that Michael didn't deserve to move on with the others, but he wouldn't have been the only murderer in the group, Ben got to go. Edit to add: On checking I see Ben didn't go, but it looks like he was given the opportunity.

So the 'flash-sideways' turned out to be a metaphysical waiting room where you lived a fantasy life until you suddenly remember your previous life, at which point you can move on (presumably to heaven). I was not expecting that at all. I thought we were going to get a more science fiction type solution with alternate universes, especially after all the time travel in season five. I guess that would have taken another season to explain!

I do wish they'd spent a little more time this season explaining some more about the island and it's nature. I think it's safe to say that island has a will of it's own and could therefore be considered a character, in which case it deserves some closure too. We get to see Hurley become it's new protector but we still don't really know why it needs to be protected in the first place. A few too many times in Lost things have been explained with 'how' rather than 'why' which usually just leads to more questions. For example the giant foot from the season two finale was eventually revealed to be part of a massive Egyptian statue. Later we were shown how it was destroyed, but we still don't know who built it or why. Who built the temple and the glowing light pool? Who was the first protector and how did they find the island? Was anyone actually a native or were they all called? These are all questions I'd have liked a bit more information about.

Overall I'm not disappointed and I'm glad the show got a proper chance to end unlike so many others recently. I've been with the show for six years and I've enjoyed it all. It joins a list of shows, including Battlestar Galactica and Buffy, which I have become completely obsessed about and will re-watch many times. I wonder what the next one will be!

I don't know what Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse have got planned next, but whatever it is I'll be sure to give it a go.