Lost: Its's Finally Over

It's been six years since Lost first aired on ABC. You either watched it, or you didn't. If you did, you probably watched every episode, like I did. Lizi was watching the pilot, and quickly hit pause, thinking I'd like it. She was right. It was fast, crazy, and different. Not many shows about plane crashes (especially with 9/11 only a few years earlier). Before I get into this, let me say I loved Lost - I thought it was really creative, and the way they tied things together (at least in the beginning) was amazing.

So we gave Lost a chance. We liked it. Plus, I'd never watched a show from the original pilot, and I've watched a lot of stuff: Seinfeld, The Simpsons, Six Feet Under, etc. I liked Lost in that it felt like there was something bigger that would ultimately pay off. It seemed different than, say, 24. It's nice to watch Jack Bauer shoot people but after a while it gets a little old. It's fun, but predictable. Lost wasn't predictable. It was a little ridiculous, yes, but it wasn't predictable. So six years. Every episode. And finally, it was ending.

I enjoyed the ending for what it was: warm, exciting, and generally pleasing. But it also left me feeling a little empty - I wanted a little bit more. I appreciate leaving things to question but it seems there was something unsatisfying with how it ended, at least for me. I think much of this has to do with the fact Lost started in one direction and the writers really took a turn in year 3. Again, I appreciate what they did, but I'm not sure I liked where they went. I liked the beginning stuff with The Others. I really liked the Dharma Initiative science stuff. Both became mainstays of the show but I think I hoped they'd be a little more instrumental to the Island itself, and in the end I didn't get that feeling.

My personal favorite moment of the show is when Locke is on the hatch and looks down into it, he screams "What do you want me to do?". And the light turns on and comes up through the hatch. That was a WOW moment for me, and honestly, I don't remember too many other ones. A little disappointing in the end.

Jack becomes Jacob, and Hurley then becomes Jack (with Ben as his #2). A few people left the island and the others died. Jack has to 'let go' in order to get to the afterlife, and they're all waiting for him. A nice ending. You either buy into it, or you don't. I don't think there's much middle ground. I liked that things revolved around Jack, but in the end, I still think I wanted a little more. I didn't get that WOW. Maybe I was expecting too much, but I didn't get the WOW.

The best final episode of a show I've ever seen was Six Feet Under. It was an incredible show, and in some ways has an unfair advantage because it's on HBO. It was the finest hour of television I've ever see and the feeling of closure and contentedness was amazing. I was left wanting nothing more. I'd seen all I needed and that was it. I've never since thought "I wonder..." with Six Feet Under.

I'm not suggesting leaving things to interpretation isn't good. I like letting people theorize and create their own view of what they see. But with Lost I just had too many questions left unanswered (What really was the light? Why Desmond? Why not Ana Lucia's time? What about the numbers? Who built the statue? What about the polar bears?? What about the *&%%ing polar bears????).

Lost was really fun, and for a few seasons kind of frustrating, and in the end I'm glad I spent some time there - wherever 'there' really was.