Thoughts on Lost Finale

So I watched the series finale last night like I’m sure many other fans did.  It was a special moment for me I’ll admit.  I’ve been a huge fan of Lost over the years and to me how I ultimately would feel about the show was dependant on how it wrapped up.

I was able to watch the series finale with the people that mattered most to me, my daughter and son.  Ironically my son had never watched a single episode of Lost prior to the finale.  I think that he just wanted to be a part of something big and share the moment together with me and his sister.  We were glad to have him on board and only said one thing to him before the show started…No Questions!!!  He did pretty well and only asked about 20, which were all met with glares and silence.

I haven’t talked with anyone about this yet or read anything else, because I wanted to summarize how I felt first.  Which I’m stil walking through honestly.  Rest assured, I’l check out everything when I’m done with this post though.  And I reserve the right to come back and make some changes

So my thoughts on the conclusion… At first I didn’t know what to think.  In strictly practical terms the show did not provide the formulaic ending some had probably hoped for.  That is, they did not spend 2.5 hours going down a check list of questions providing answers.  Likewise, the show didn’t provide you with the nicely buttoned up and packaged ending either.  You know the kind that shows you what happened to everyone after the sland, how they spent the rest of their life. Everyone living happily ever after and such.

But the ending felt right… Lost was and has always been a story about people.  The Island, Dharma, Jacob, Smoke Monster, numbers, tunnels, Temples, Polar Bears, Ships, Planes, Submarines, flash backs flash forwards, flash sideways, and so on were all secondary to the people and their stories their relationships with each other.  All of those things were necessary tools and devices needed to move the story along and provide the backdrop, the framework for the stories of the losties to unfold.  But those things were never meant to obscure us from the meaning of the show.

Ah the meaning…. Was there a meaning?  I don’t know, I’m the kind of guy that tries to find meaning in everything.  So yes I think there was a meaning in Lost.  What I’ll take away from Lost is the value of relationships.  For the characters of lost, their time on the Island was both the best and worst time of their lives.  Every character was fundamentally flawed and broken in one way or the other and regardless of where they were (on the Island or off the Island).  Some of them were looking for hope, meaning and purpose in life.  Others believed that they were caught up in a cosmic game between chance and destiny.  Some of them achieved great things, some of them little at all.  Ultimately, none of those things mattered to them.  The thing that mattered most to them was the relationships they forged together through the experiences they shared.  In those experiences they fought with each other and fought for each other, they hated each other and loved each other, they lived for each other and died for each other.  In this life and in the after life the thing that mattered most, the thing that brought the most joy (and most pain – but how can you have one without the other), the only thing that had value, meaning, and purpose was their relationships with each other.

While I hated the flash sideways all season I was finally able to see the genius and beauty behind them.  While it’s certainly not good theology on the afterlife, it’s a great point.  In this life and the next the most important thing is the relationships we have.  Without the richness of relationships we are all Lost, whether on an isolated island in the middle of nowhere or amongst a thriving mass of people.

My favorite scene of the series has to be the one of Benjamin Linus sitting outside the church at the end of the show.  Ben and John have a great exchange, then later we see Hurley and Ben having a moment.  If there was one character that was relationally bankrupt on the show it was Ben.  Sure he oved, he had relationships with people but they were always with strings attached, or for ulterior motives.  Maybe it changed a little bit for Ben when he became the Island’s #2.  It was interesting that Ben was a part of the group at the end though wasn’t it?  He belonged there, though he really didn’t belong but he did belong.  Above and aside from everything else that Ben did or was a part of Ben was ultimately defined by the relationships of the people that surrounded his life.  His story, who he was was forever entwined with theirs.  It seemed he had made peace with it all.  Maybe he finally felt accepted, maybe he finally felt like part of the group or maybe he finally realized he truly was a part of something big.

And that’s really what it’s all about isn’t it What Lost is about.  Whether your Ben Linus die hard Lost fans like me and you from the beginning or like my Son at the very last.  Lost gave us the feeling that there was something big, powerful, mysterious and beautiful to be a part of.  I’m glad I was a part of it.  I hope you were too.