The End
I’ll close by expressing my appreciation for the show as a whole. Lost truly was a unique achievement, both creatively and logistically. As much as I relish railing against the Hollywood studio system and the soulless broadcast network corporations, tremendous credit must go to ABC for committing to the show and allowing the writers to run with it, particularly in letting the creators end it on its own terms when it could easily have dragged two or three more seasons to milk every last cent out of the franchise. Kudos to Lloyd Braun and the network executives that came after. It’s a rare feat for a popular show to end like this.
And the show itself and perhaps its most important character: the Island. Or maybe it’s more appropriate to say Hawai’i. Production values, or the lack thereof, can drag a show down if they’re not there, but more often than there’s a typical TV standard in terms of what we see on screen in terms of locations and set pieces. There are few instances where locations can raise the entire show up a notch, let alone serve as the backdrop for the majority of scenes. Shooting on sets is the more rare occurrence with Lost, and this fact did more to lend authenticity to this show than any other facet of its production could.
The actors. With some exceptions over the years, the players have just flat-out brought it when called upon to deliver exceptional performances. Matthew Fox, Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson in particular should be lauded for their work throughout the duration of the show. There are plenty of good actors and actresses working today, but it’s not often you can be affected by a performance anymore.
Having a plan. The writers long maintained that there was an overarching plan behind the show. That’s not to say everything was fleshed out from Day One — it wasn’t. There was plenty of room for additional stories and improvisation along the way. That shouldn’t be tallied as a fault of the show. It would have been foolish to stubbornly stick to a set series of plot points spread across multiple seasons that could have rendered characters like Benjamin Linus simple bit players meant to guest start on only a handful of episodes. The writers were able to adapt storylines over time while maintaining a commitment to the foundational ideas driving the show and its mythology. That said, it’s heartening to know the finale’s final five scenes had all been conceptualized, if not fully written, back in season 1 (’tis true).
There are other facets I can speak on as well, like the commitment to having an international cast and staying consistent in using sub-titles for two of the show’s major players (Sun and Jin), or Michael Giacchino’s consistently tremendous score. Combined with the acting performances, tonight’s score underlined the climax of emotions that’ve been building over six seasons. Tremendous.
Terry O’Quinn called Lost a “one-time thing” in the 2-hour pre-show this evening, and I’m afraid he couldn’t be more right. I doubt we’ll see a show of this caliber, scope and quality on a network in the near or distant future. There won’t be another Lost. There may be shows we can all appreciate and enjoy on many levels, but nothing can quite compare to the last six seasons of drama, mythology, analysis, fandom, and emotion Lost has given us. I’m a sap for this sort of thing, it’s true; but I hope everyone who’s watched the show and read my recaps each week got as much out of Lost as I did. THANK YOU for continuing to read these; the 1500 or so folks who come here each week are the reason I’ve managed to find motivation each and every time out. It’s been one hell of a ride.
Tremendous as always Jeff. It’s been a pleasure to read your recaps over the past 5 years and I’m sad that it is at and end.
Thanks for all the recaps.
Thank you for the years of explanations and analyzing. Your blog has been amazing and something I’ve looked forward to reading every week.
I have a tad bit different theory on why Ben didn’t enter the church at the end of the episode. Do you think it’s possible that Hurley eventually made Ben the protector of the Island? And thus allowing Hurley to be in the church at the end while Ben (still living on the Island) did not enter because he is now suspended in time like Jacob was when he was the protector of the Island. I don’t know, just one of my ideas about a possible ending.
Nolan, I’d tend to say no b/c only the dead appear in the flash-afters, and Hurley referred to Ben as his number 2 before heading back inside the church.
Jeff – Thanks for the years of fantastic recaps. My wife and I love waking up the morning after LOST and reading your page. Great stuff! Thanks! Now what the heck are we going to look forward to???
Part 1 of Doc Jensen’s recap has posted: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20313460_20387946,00.html
Jeff, absolutely fantastic recap! There are no words! Thank you for your dedication to all of us true LOSTIES…..I would feel dead inside, except that I know that there are many rehashes and thoughts to work out in my head!! And, I can’t wait to go back and re see all of the past episodes now that we know “the end”. Put me down for that August date….I think my birthday is around that time……:)
btw, I am no longer a skater, because I penned that name before I knew about Juliette and Sawyer! That, truly was my most favorite scene – the Sawette reunion after their dramatic separation in last season’s finale! And, yes, the “jaters” got what they wanted, too!
Just got done reading this, and your LOST recap finale was at least if not better than the actual finale. Thanks for your dedication and analysis over the years – it is truly the end of an era. “See you in another life, Brotha!”
So sad it is over. Thanks for your recaps, Jeff. My Wednesday mornings will never be the same.
I suppose I could recap Two and a Half Men each week.
ESPN’s Bill Simmons chats with Alan Sepinwall, Chuck Klosterman and a buddy about the finale: click here.
To celebrate “The End” Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have answered Lostpedia user’s fan-submitted questions about their careers and their futures. Read our Q&A with the men behind Lost.
Jeff – echoing what others have said: Thanks for the thougt and insight you put into the recaps each week. It’s been a pleasure. Thanks from Kentucky. – les
I would love to know if the writers truly had an answer for everything or toyed with the viewers! I stopped watching a year ago but enjoyed the ending more than I expected. The scene on the ocean bluff was great TV and the kiss was possibly “a record breaker” for open mouth lol! Love EL! Thanks Jeff for your interesting and intense comments!
Sweet: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1807667/
Jeff, this was a great recap. I only wish I would have found you 6 seasons ago. Would have been great to hear your thoughts along the way. Maybe I’ll buy the box set dvd’s and read your recaps after every episode. alas, I’ll need to let go of this great show. For those who still want answers and everything spelled out, did you manage to understand any of the underlining theme here. Just Let Go.
-Regards
Matt
Can’t thank you enough for your efforts. I’ve absolutely enjoyed your perspective every week and always looked forward to it. You’re a class act House.
Take care.
Great recap as always meng, thanks for helping me make sense of this awesome show over the years.
Can I suggest you do in depth recaps just like these for each bills game?
Haha — if I do them immediately after the game, I imagine they’d go something like this:
I’m a HUGE lost fan and I love the show. But I could have sworn that years ago there was a special lost recap (after season 3?) with the producers where they said that the characters were NOT dead caught between heaven and hell or living in an after life. Were they lying to us? Beacuse clearly that was the case all along. I’m a bit confused and had a really hard time following the last 2 seasons. Another question: how dud the Darma inishitive know that this island ever existed before they came to the island?
The only time they were dead on the show was during the flash-sideways(/afters) during season 6. Everything on the Island DID happen and they were alive.
I don’t think we ever found out how Dharma discovered the Island, but recall they had the ability to calculate its location via The Lamp Post station in L.A. (under a church).
In the end we discovered Ben and Charles Widmore were both on team Jacob, even though Charles had been banished from the island by Darma. So why were Ben and Charles against each other all of season 5?
Widmore (vis a vis Keamy) killed Alex.
Vincent’s story:
That is definitely my favorite video of all-time.
The flash sideways wasn’t real life. It was somewhere between death and the after life, but everything else was real life. So…. What was with that last scene?!? Where we see the plane on the beach and no people? That suggests that they all died in the crash, but that’s not the message the producers were giving.
The shots of the plane were added by the network and not the writers/showrunners. So the shots are meaningless. I thought it was cool, but there’s no extra meaning to assign to them.