Lost Finale Review

Lost Finale Review

Over a year ago I wrote glowing review for the final episode of Battlestar Galactica. And yes, some of the answers we were given were not totally satisfying. But I didn’t care, because the characters, stories and themes were satisfyingly wrapped up and resolved. It was beautiful.

Two weeks ago Lost ended. I needed an ending that made the whole experience worthwhile. An ending that answered the endless list of burning questions, and which made up for the wealth of filler episodes that did nothing to move the plot forward. Instead, we got a steaming pile of crap. We got a magical phalic plug that is cleverly hidden at the bottom of a cave that emits a blinding stream of light. A cave which only two characters seem to be able to find, despite the blinding light. A cave that Jacob pushed his brother into, only for his brother to emerge as the black smoke. Oh, and by the way, this is never explained. In the final episode, two more characters venture into this cave and do not turn into smoke. If you can explain this, you deserve a medal.

Locke and Jack have a fist fight. In the rain. Jack wins. The island is saved. Some castaways escape. Some don’t. And I didn’t care.

What is the cave? The light? The smoke? The plug? Are these things supposed to be the answers I waited 6 years for? And spoiler alert: Jack’s dead. Just Jack. That’s the big twist. Only he wasn’t dead the whole time. Just for the last season of the show. I guess the writers were so lost in their own convoluted mess of a story that they couldn’t write a twist that affected the series as a whole.

Okay, so the twist was predictable and lame and failed to relate to the story as a whole. I still would have been happier if they had answered at least one question. You don’t create a show where the primary audience draw is a series of intriguing mysteries only to not answer a single damn question. Even Twin Peaks told us who killed Laura Palmer. There wasn’t even a thematic resolution. Staging the final scene a multi-denominational church does not give the show some metaphorical religious subtext, or give the show redeeming philosophical depth. It’s bullshit. Yeah, and Jack’s father’s name is Christian Sheppard. Brilliant.

I could go on to list all the questions I have to make a point. But I don’t want to waste either my time or yours. In fact, I wish to save you time. If you haven’t watched the show but are thinking about it. Or if you stopped and are thinking about starting again. Don’t. The end not only fails to justify the journey, but undermines it in every way.

Professor P