browser life

I understand that several of you were bitterly disappointed in the finale. But I feel sorry for those of you who now say that your ENTIRE six year viewing experience was ruined because you didn't get what you wanted from the ending.

I was quite satisfied with the finale and gave it a 10. I am not a teenage girl, not a shipper, not a lowest common denominator. In fact, I am not common at all, and no amount of name calling is going convince me there was an error in my ways.

Here's my take on the alternate reality: It takes place in a church because Jack was expecting to attend his father's funeral there. If Kate had directed him to go somewhere he didn't recognize, he probably wouldn't have "remembered". If they had been waiting for a different character who wasn't the son of a man named Christian, perhaps the locale would have varied.

I liked the various religious symbols on the stained glass window. To me, that represented different paths to the same end. I didn't mind seeing everyone smiling because I think it would be cool to have a farewell party like that when we die.

The reason I was okay with the alternate reality was because it was timeless. In the previous seasons, we'd seen so many untimely deaths, longing for lost loves, jumping around in time. In the alternate reality, they are released from linear time and are open to some very wonderful possibilities. Who among us hasn't speculated how our lives might have differed if we had a re-do somewhere along the way? Some of them probably had very fulfilling lives.

It would have been nice to see Walt and Mr. Eko or to at least have it implied that they were there (I understand if they couldn't get the actual actors to appear). I guess Helen was missing from the gathering at the end because no one else from the island had ever met her in the real time line. Penny WAS there because the Oceanic Six met her and Charlie saw her from the Looking Glass station.

I noticed that Christian never used the word "purgatory", instead stating that this was a place they had created themselves (perhaps THIS was the end result of Juliet setting off the bomb?). It was never shown what was beyond the doors that opened. For all we know, they went into that light that was on the island, the good that is at the heart of humanity, the part of the island that is beautiful. Or their paths diverged beyond the doors, each according to their beliefs. Or maybe nothing happened at all because the reward of seeing each other again was enough.

As for the island time line, I found the cyclical ending with Jack poetic and Vincent lying next to him very moving. It was comforting that Vincent made sure that Jack wouldn't die alone. And Jack got to see the Ajira plane fly over so he knew that at least some of his friends made it off the island safely.

I had thought for a long time that Hurley would ultimately be Jacob's replacement because Jack would make some sort of sacrifice. I was surprised, though, that Ben agreed to be number two, a sign that he was FINALLY evolving as a human being. And I was quite relieved that Kate for once did not chase after Jack trying to rescue him when he didn't want to be rescued like she did so many times before, a sign that SHE was evolving too.

While I was satisfied with the outcome of the battle against Locke-in-Black, particularly that Kate shot him, it would have been cool if it had been longer and more involved. Thought it was weird that Desmond was wrong about what would happen to him but was glad he got back to his wife and kid. I was surprised that Richard got on the plane as everyone he had ever known had died 150 years ago.

Now, for those of you who have decided I am a blind worshipper of all that is "LOST", I am not. It was a TV show, and like all its characters, it was flawed. I seem to recall protesting bitterly about how truly awful "Stranger in a Strange Land" was.

While the show was not solely about the characters, the characters were EXTREMELY important. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been any flashbacks, flash-forwards or flash-sideways to reveal something about them. They would have just proceeded with the crazy island plot.

One of the ways they perpetuated the mysteries of the island was by having none of the characters ask any questions, or when they did, leave them unanswered. They kept secrets from each other, sometimes for no apparent reason, and there was a LOT of lying going on. The viewer was treated as one of the characters, left in the dark with only a hint at the truth. Why, then, were so many surprised that there was no giant reveal at the end? It was faithful to what had been going on since the beginning.

There is a lot of talk about the science of the show. If it had been truly scientific, we wouldn't have all the theorizing and arguing going on. This show required a MASSIVE suspension of disbelief because the sheer implausibility of the plot. Pushing a button to save the world, breeding polar bears to turn a wheel that takes them to Tunisia, setting up a fake plane crash at the bottom of the ocean, etc. etc. etc. But I willingly went along with these impossibilities because I enjoyed the heck out of seeing the Losties deal with them. I liked not knowing where things were going for the most part.

I do feel, though, that following the setting of the end date, the episodes started feeling rushed. If all six years had had the traditional number of episodes, there would have been time for more island background like perhaps the original inhabitants, the results of Dharma research such as mind control and the various stations, maybe a Widmore-centric. But the writers had bitten off more than they could chew, and it showed in the last three seasons.

But while "LOST" was definitely imperfect, it was still my fave TV show. There were moments so superb that I will always treasure them. I saw that the island was beautiful.