The End

I’m planning to finish a draft of my recap sometime this morning but will hold off publishing until I get a chance to polish it a bit. “It only ends once” so I best try and provide you all with something worth reading, yeah? In the meantime, here’s a taste:

A perfect end to a beautiful episode. Lost is complete. I’m relatively certain many will not share my sentiments, as that wasn’t a Matrix Revolutions-style Architect explanation of an episode that’s going to answer every little facet of every question we’ve ever had on the show. There are significant questions that were not answered explicitly, and more still that weren’t really answered at all. As much as my recaps have dwelt on the “little stuff” that constitutes much of the show’s mythology, the majority of Lost’s best moments–the truly great ones–have been about the characters. Electromagnetic energy, Egyptian hieroglyphs, polar bears, food drops, names scrawled on a wall, lighthouses, mirrors and giant smoke monsters aren’t trifling elements to be cast aside, but dwelling on them can make it easy to lose sight of the bedrock thematic elements that have truly sustained the show. Faith, destiny, choice. What gives your life meaning?

I loved it and hope you all did as well. I’ll be back tomorrow with more.

Lost Reading

Some of the more worthwhile articles, videos and interviews concerning Lost I’ve read over the past week. This should tide you over ’til tomorrow (literature-wise).

Lost-ions – My updated list of the “Answers” we’re all looking for.

Locke Around the Clock – Former Newark Star-Ledger columnist Alan Sepinwall recaps “What They Died For.”

AICN Interview – An interview conducted with show co-creator Damon Lindelof shortly before the pilot aired in 2004.

815 Sentences About Lost – You get the idea.

The B.S. Report – ESPN columnist Bill Simmons chats with show-runner Carlton Cuse.

Totally Lost – A very entertaining video chronicling Jacob and the Man in Black in therapy.

May Lost Mysteries Never Come to an End – L.A. Times columnist Robert Lloyd does a good job verbalizing the true source of the apparent dissatisfaction many fans have had with the “Answers” that’ve been given this season.

The Men Who Made Lost – The New York Times did a great interview with show-runners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. Expect it to be the last one you’ll see with the pair for quite a while.

Countdown to Lost – “Entertainment Weekly’s” Doc Jensen does a good job at describing the thoughts of those of us just weird enough to continue analyzing the infinite facets of the show’s mythology.

Measure of Last Resort

I’m not sure what’s left to write about, quite frankly.

Aside from my usual hyper-analysis of every little Easter egg, I think I’ve said enough over the past two seasons about the major thematic elements that to do so again would be boring. We know that, perhaps, the single most important theme of the show that’s developed is that of choice vs. destiny. Faith vs. science. In no single character has this idea been more evident than in Jack, who finally “saw the light” (pun intended) earlier this season and made the choice to accept his destiny. Heh. But him choosing to embrace it is key. Jacob never had a real choice to accept the mantle of Island guardianship, and it’s resulted in countless deaths and suffering over the years. His finally coming to that realization is what will ultimately decide the conflict between light and dark once and for all (perhaps). Now, excuse me while I again talk about the major thematic elements of the show.

jack drinks

Continue reading “Measure of Last Resort”

Means to an End

Who were the “Adam” and “Eve” bodies in the Caves? Check.

Where did Jacob and Esau come from? Check.

How did Esau become the smoke monster? Check (sort of).

Why does Esau want to get off the Island? Check.

Why are Jacob and Esau at odds with each other? Check.

What are The Rules? Check (again, sort of).

Why can’t Jacob and Esau kill each other? Check.

What is the Island? Not quite.

sunset

Continue reading “Means to an End”

Meant to Be

Wow, I’m not sure where to start. What began as a “feels-like-filler” episode meant solely to move our players from point A to point B turned into an emotional farewell to two of our candidates, as well as re-emphasizing via inference just what our final endgame may be. It’s rare I can get past all the precise analysis of all the show’s (sometimes) trivial minutiae and focus on the story, but tonight had enough emotional weight to get me to put down the pen and almost shed a tear as Jin and Sun perished in the sub; finally together to the end. In stark contrast to the previous few episodes’ trite and seemingly rushed reunion between the two, their final scene together (The Abyss, anyone?) was poignant and affecting.

sub together

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Issues with Reality

With all the show has left to accomplish in its final run of episodes, you probably couldn’t blame Lost’s writers for going heavy on exposition while sacrificing storytelling that has really made the show the success it is. You can have all the smoke monsters, Numbers, whispers, polar bears and Dharma stations you want, it’s all meaningless without strong and engaging characters and a story to accompany them. While tonight’s episode didn’t mark the completion of Hurley’s character arc, the moments shared between his X-self and Libby-X were among the episode’s best, along with his inexorable grasping of the mantle of Island leadership of our candidates. Tonight’s episode has me primed (as if I needed help) for the last handful of episodes because, while I’m sure all of “The Answers” will be forthcoming, I’m expecting some flat-out great storytelling and engagement in the characters that’s made this show truly great.

michael_points
“The Answers are way the eff over there, man.”

Continue reading “Issues with Reality”

A Lot Can Happen in 42 Minutes

We begin with an ominous quote from show co-creator Damon Lindelof posted online after last week’s episode:

Next week, the conversation will change.

I’d say so. While the forthcoming battle between good and evil still weighs heavily over the precedings (along with the age-old “what the hell is the Island?” question), tonight’s focus was on the facet of season 6 that’s most driven everyone batty: the flash-sidewayses. Is it an alternate timeline? An alternate universe? Are they real? Let’s recall Juliet’s last words as she lay dying in Sawyer’s arms: “It worked.” “It,” we assume, was Jack’s plan to detonate Jughead next to the pocket of electromagnetic energy the Dharma construction crew had tapped during construction of Swan Station and effectively reboot the timeline, prevent Oceanic 815’s crash (and who knows what else), and give everyone their lives back. A lofty ambition that didn’t appear to have worked at season’s start.

clouds
Nothing quite says “lofty” like a bunch of clouds. I wonder if Billy Dee Williams will show up again on Lost.

Continue reading “A Lot Can Happen in 42 Minutes”