"The End" (Season 6, Episodes 17 & 18) - Series Finale

With the series coming to a close, I anticipated having an emotional response but I didn't think it would be frustration. And I wasn't frustrated with the content but the fact that my HD channel was having technical issues throughout the 2 1/2 hour finale! I've read this morning on the local TV station's website that equipment problems caused the signal to break up. I'm guessing someone forget to push the button and some electromagnetism leaked out. Fortunately, the finale is being re-aired next Saturday. At about 30 minutes in, I also DVR-ed the non-HD version which was not impacted so I was able to re-watch that prior to blogging.

Before I get into the finale itself, I wanted to comment on what aired before and after it.

Commercials

• The Verizon Final Transmissions that aired during the commercial breaks of the two-hour recap were well done. I thought the way the comments and feelings toward Lost from fans were cleverly presented intercut with scenes from all six seasons where a character was reading something (a note, a computer screen, etc.). And way to go, Lisa M. (whoever you are) for getting Cleveland, OH, in there. To a lesser degree, I also enjoyed the few Target commercials that used aspects of the show to advertise a product (wild boar/barbecue sauce, Desmond's computer/keyboard, and the Smoke Monster/smoke detector).

Jimmy Kimmel's Aloha to Lost

• Entertaining hour. Cool set, taking a page out of the Survivor handbook by recreating the beach. If you watched closely, young Jacob popped up a couple of times in the background. The three "alternate endings" as I had suspected were comedy bits - a Survivor spoof where Sayid gets voted out in tribal council; the obligatory Sopranos send-up; and of course, a Lost take on one of the best finales of all time: Newhart only this time Bob woke up in bed with Kate while executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse shared a bed nearby.
• Matthew Fox backed up Jimmy's theory that Jack's island experience was real and actually happened, but the final season (and the Sideways world) was Jack's "test" to determine whether he would go toward the light or. . . not. "There's room for interpretation based on your spiritual beliefs," Matthew said. "I knew that the final image would be [Jack's] eye," Matthew told Kimmel. "And I knew that he would die."

The Finale
After watching the finale the first time, I was ready to type that I liked the episode but didn't necessarily get it. Having now watched it a second time, I think I do understand it and I like it more than I thought. The reunion scene in the church reminded me of Mitch Albom's The Five People You Met in Heaven. Only for Jack, it's more like The 23 People You Met on the Island. Some may argue that as interesting a concept as it was, it didn't seem to mesh with the first five seasons of the show, at least not in the sense of answering all of our questions. I know the producers said the questions that would be answered would be the ones important to the characters and not necessarily the viewers. In past seasons, the characters experienced flashbacks, flash-forwards, and flash-sideways. Tonight, we witnessed their lives flashing before their eyes, appropriate since it is said this is what happens when you die.

Best Lines (Did you really think there would be only one?)

• "Y'all head to your Heart of the Island and I'll get the magic leprechaun out of that well." Sawyer's plan. I'll miss lines like this now that the show is over.
  
• "I've got a bad feeling about this." Hurley summing up the situation. And as any good Star Wars fan can tell you, this line was said in every one of the six movies.
• "This would be so sweet if we weren't all about to die." Hurley to Jack and Kate.
• "We built this place in '75 and lived here a couple of years and then the sky lit up again, so God only knows when in the hell we are now." Rose telling it like it is to Desmond.
• "I was shot by a fat man." Charlie to Charlotte, referring to Hugo's taser attack.
• "It looks like you were wrong, too." Jack to UnLocke after actually hurting him.
  
• "I saved you a bullet." Kate doing her best Dirty Harry after shooting UnLocke, referring to the moment earlier in the episode when she randomly shot at him and he told her to save her bullets since they were not harming him.
  

Did You Notice? - 2004 Parallel Time Line. . .I mean Sideways World. . .I mean Limbo. . .I mean Afterlife. . .

• On Christian Shephard’s coffin, the airport code stickers indicated it passed through Hong Kong (HKG) and Guam International Airport(GUM), the intended destination of Ajira 316.
• The church is the same location as Ms. Hawking's Lamppost Station.
• There were numerous lines with deeper meanings once you know the outcome, such as Desmond's "No one can tell you why you're here."
  
• Kate's comment on the religious overtones to Christian Shephard's name is more resonant now that we've seen the meaning of the "parallel" time line.
• Charlie is staying at the Flightline Motel. This is the same motel Locke found his dad, Anthony Cooper, staying at in “Lockdown." It’s also where Kate stayed in “Born to Run."
• Hugo's comment to Sayid that "if you stick with me, you'll be happy you did" refers to Hugo reuniting Sayid with Shannon.
• I was right in thinking the "concert" would include Drive Shaft. (Since this is the last episode blog entry, I hope you'll indulge me as I point out my correct predictions throughout. As for my theories that never came to pass, let's move on.)
• James Ford wears glasses, something his island self had to do but with makeshift ones.
• James uses the nickname Enos for Miles. He also used this nickname for him in the original time line at the DHARMA Initiative when Saywer was head of security. Enos was Boss Hogg's deputy on TV's Dukes of Hazzard.
• The name of the concert/benefit is Fusion. Appropriate as the two time lines merge in this episode.
  
• Juliet's last name is Carlson, her maiden name. She apparently changed it back after divorcing her husband, Jack (correct prediction #2). This also suggests she never married Edmund Burke, whose last name she kept in the original time line.
• The Kwons suddenly being able to speak English after remembering the island time line was a nice touch.
• Most of Jack's lines to Locke prior to the surgery were laced with double meaning: "There's always the chance I could kill you", "I"ll see you on the other side", and "If I can fix you, Mister Locke, that's all the peace I need."
• Claire walked under a stuffed shark hanging in the museum while trying to find the restroom. No Dharma logo was visible.
• The conversation between Desmond and Eloise Widmore was very interesting. Why was she concerned that Desmond might take Daniel?
• I liked the knowing smirk Jin and Sun had upon seeing Ford as a detective.
  
• When James passes Jack in the parallel time line, he calls him “Doc" even though he is not wearing his scrubs. This is Sawyer’s favorite nickname for Jack on the island.
• At the vending machine in the hospital, James gets an Apollo Bar, a candy frequently seen on the show.
• Juliet suggests having coffee (going Dutch) to Ford. These were her last words on the island before she died after the bomb went off in the season premiere.
• Ben, although receiving forgiveness from Locke, feels he must stay and not move on. He apparently feels he has not yet redeemed himself.
• Locke being able to walk is symbolic of the belief that in heaven all your physical ailments will be cured.
• Hugo's comment to Ben that he was a good Number Two implies Ben did assist him on the island after tonight's events.
  
• The church is symbolic of all religions, as the room Jack visits contains icons from many different religions and the stained glass window features symbols from Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and Taoism.
• Jack's dad reasserts for the viewer that everyone and everything that occurred on the island is real. Just in case someone thought it was all a dream.
• Christian also confirms all the characters are dead but that's because everyone dies. . . some having died before Jack, some long after. And because there is "no now here", that makes sense.
• What I've been calling the parallel time line, Jack's dad explains is a place the characters have all made together so they could find one another. Does this mean it is each one's ideal life (with all the violence, I think not) or just a way to bring them together when it's time to pass on? Christian also says it allows them to remember and to let go. So are we to believe any or all of what we saw ever happened?
• In the final scene in the church when everyone is ready to move on from the afterlife, all of the characters are settled into romantic pairings except Boone and Locke, who together had a teacher-student relationship on the island. The other final pairings ready to move on are: Sayid and Shannon, Charlie and Claire, Sawyer and Juliet, Rose and Bernard, Jack and Kate, Hurley and Libby, Desmond and Penny, and Jin and Sun. And why these characters and not others (I thought Walt was supposed to make an appearance)? Were these the actors who could make the trip to Hawaii?
  
• I liked that Christian was wearing the white tennis shoes as he moved to the light.
• Are we to believe that the light that floods the church when Christian opens the doors is the same one from the island? The light that is in all of us?
  

Did You Notice? - 2007 Island Time Line

• As promised, seven minutes into the finale, Hurley makes the Star Wars reference that Jacob was "worse than Yoda" when providing answers.
• I was right when after seeing the exclusive scene last Thursday that Rose and Bernard rescued Desmond.
  
• Kate says “Nothing is irreversible” to Jack to assure him that he hasn’t screwed up everything in his life. This is the same thing Jack tells Locke in the parallel time line about his spinal condition.
• Correction: Sawyer punches Ben in the face at the well with his fist, not the rifle butt as I previously reported. Sorry I was so excited I couldn't remember all the details.
• A few weeks ago I joked that the staircase leading up to the Ajira plane looked like it was right out of Gilligan's Island. I guess I should have saved that joke for Rose and Bernard's bamboo hut complete with a front porch and patio furniture.
• I knew Ben was not siding with UnLocke as indicated by him keeping in contact with Miles via the walkie-talkie.
• As suspected, Richard is still alive.
  
• Richard's gray hair indicates he may now be aging. The result of Jacob's ashes finally being burned up? I liked Miles comment "Welcome to the club" referring to his own salt and pepper hair.
  
• The dead body Miles and Richard find floating in the water is that of the commander of the submarine seen in previous episodes.
• Lapidus is still alive! (Another check in the I Got That One Right column.)
• Of course, we knew Lapidus was being kept around to fly the Ajira plane.
  
• Sawyer refers to Jacob’s plan to bring back Desmond to be used as a weapon as a long con, referring to his own past as a con artist as well as the specific episode title, “The Long Con."
• Desmond tells Jack that he knows about the parallel time line. While characters in the parallel time line regain memories of the original one, this is the only instance where someone in the original time line has seen glimpses of the other, suggesting that Desmond’s time in the electromagnetism gave him a glimpse of the afterlife.
• Jack repeats the phrase "Whatever happened, happened" often during this final season regarding the importance of events in the original time line and the fact that they cannot be changed, which we now know is actually true.
• So can we consider Richard's promise to Claire that they can get "far, far away" from UnLocke as a Star Wars reference? As in "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. . ."
• I liked how the camera shot falling away from UnLocke and Jack at the top of the waterfall mimicked the shot as Locke and Jack peered down into the just-opened hatch in the Season 1 finale.
• We finally find out the identity of the Adam and Eve skeletons and now we have a few more in the Heart of the Island? Apparently, others took the water ride but didn't survive.
  
• So there actually is a cork like Jacob said! A big stone one, but a cork nonetheless.
• You could hear the same mechanical sounds the Smoke Monster makes when Desmond stepped into the water.
  
• The water draining, the bright light going out, and the red light coming were accompanied by what sounded like machinery.
• Ben continues his redemption by saving Hurley during the island's upheaval.
• Presumably, whatever Desmond did to the island prevented UnLocke from reverting to his smoky appearance. Otherwise, Jack should not have been able to inflict damage to him.
  
• The piercing of Jack's side by UnLocke was in the part of his body where Christ was speared while in agony on the crucifying cross.
• As I once again correctly guessed, the mark on Jack's neck in the parallel time line was a cut from UnLocke's knife.
• UnLocke's fall to the rocks which undoubtedly broke his bones coincided with Locke's successful surgery.
• I'm curious how Ben was able to get out from under the fallen tree?
  
• Jack's knife wound was also where his appendix had been removed. I have the same scar. From an appendectomy, not a knife fight.
  
• Jack says "Find me some thread and I can count to five" to Kate after UnLocke stabs him, referring to the scene in the series pilot when Jack had Kate sew him up with thread and told her about his secret to avoiding fear by counting to five.
• The debate of who Kate will choose is finally settled with the kiss and the "I love you's" exchanged by her and Jack.
  
• Yet another correct prediction: Jack sacrifices himself for the island and Hurley becomes the protector.
  
• To pass the torch of Island Protector, Jack performs the same ritual Jacob performed for him, making him drink some water and telling him “Now you’re like me." Jack does not however speak any Latin as Jacob did.
• Although the water in the stream is extremely muddy, what Jack captures in the bottle is very clear. Pure, you might say.
• The Heart of the Island took on a very Hell-ish appearance with the red light and billows of steam.
  
• Jack says "See you in another life, brother" to Desmond at the bottom of the cave, mirroring what Desmond told him when they first met. It has an additional meaning since the two meet again in the afterlife of the parallel time line.
• Similar to the Oceanic 6, the Ajira flight leaves the island with six people: Lapidus, Miles, Richard, Sawyer, Kate, and Claire.
• Ben's perception of Hurley as someone who "takes care of people" makes him the perfect candidate. It's also interesting that how Jacob ran things does not mean Hurley has to do the same.
• Jack is deposited on the rocks similar to how the Man in Black was after his journey into the Heart of the Island. The difference being that Jack survived. For a little while.
• As Jack moves through the jungle, he passes a sneaker tangled up in a tree. This was there in the pilot after the plane crash as well.
• The final scene of the series take place with Jack lying down in the middle of the bamboo on the island, the same place and set-up as the first scene of the series.
• I became the most emotional when Vincent laid down next to the dying Jack. So often as animal lovers, we have to make the difficult decision of putting our pets out of their misery (I've had to do it twice) and we often hold them or lie next to them as the end is near. It was very moving to see this reversal of the situation.
• The series ends with a close-up of Jack’s eye closing as he dies. The series opened with a close-up of Jack’s eye as it opened. This was the scene the producers had envisioned as the final image from early on in the series.
  

The Numbers - 2 3 4 5 6 8 10 15 16 23 42 108

• When Sawyer said he didn't know what was happening, Jack said that makes 2 of us.
• Richard asked Miles if he still had the C-4.
• Miles told Ford that Jarrah had "popped" 4 people.
• UnLocke told Jack and Desmond that it would just be the 3 of them going to the cave of light.
• Locke's surgery took place in OR 3.
  
• Desmond, Kate, Claire, and David were seated at table 23 at the benefit concert.
• Kate counted to 3 before telling Claire to push.
  
• Lapidus said it would take 5 hours, maybe 6 to get the Ajira plane up in the air.
• Jack joked with Kate about sewing him up and counting to 5 after his encounter with UnLocke.
• The Apollo candy bar is in G23 in the hospital vending machine.
  
• Hugo told Ben that he was a good Number 2.
  

Although this is my last blog entry recapping an episode, I'm sure it's not my last for this blog. I anticipate the discussion on this finale continuing through the week and maybe, once I watch it for a third time next weekend, I'll have more to say (if that's possible!). Plus, the sixth season is out on DVD and Blu-Ray in three months. Also out then is Lost: The Complete Collection.

People have asked me what TV show my next blog will showcase. I'm not sure any other show will ever inspire me the way Lost did or require my analyzing each and every detail. For now, I plan on just watching the new shows for what they are. But never say never!

I have found a website, blog2print.com, that allows me to convert the four years of postings from my blog into a hardcover book. That's my next project. It'll be fun to curl up with it and read through my thoughts once all is said and done.

Finally, I wanted to thank each and every one of you who visited my blog weekly to read what crazy thoughts were going through my head after a new episode aired. Many of you are my co-workers who were often my sounding board before I posted my recap while others I have never met. But for all of us, Lost made an impact. I know that the next time I step on a plane, I will wonder where - or when - I might end up. The sight of black smoke will now always have a malicious undertone to it. And I'll never be able to look at an animal-skulled fake baby the same way. Namaste! And I'll see you in another life, bruthas and sistas. Remember: We're not really leaving but moving on. Where to? Let's go find out.