It's all over...even the crying

And so it ends...


Despite this overwhelming desire to waste my morning surfing, I've managed to resist reading the outtakes by other fans of the television show loved by so many...including me. I know there will be brilliant analysis over on Sussing Out Lost, and Lulaville is bound to share a post or two, but I wanted to share my untainted thoughts before taking in what everyone else has to say (okay, I have discussed it some with Mrs. Tony C and Heavy D, but we've got years of material here people).

First, I have to say I'm working hard to keep my Christian perspective somewhat in check and completely understanding that not everyone believes as I do. The show worked hard at being politically correct which ultimately is counter-productive because it ends up offending just about everyone rooted in a faith. The New Age nuance that drapes over the show has been both ambiguous and somewhat trite over the six seasons, but then again...that's part of the New Age philosophy by definition for some. I'll move on and promise to refrain from any Oprah Winfrey references...

I'm a big fan of any show/movie I choose to watch that holds me in suspense. Lost most certainly accomplished this for over 120 shows. Sitting on the couch with Mrs. Tony C at the conclusion of the pilot episode, I looked at her and said 'How in the world are they doing a series based on this?' I will answer my own question today...quite well, thank you.

There's no need to attempt a series recap, let's keep this post focused on the finale, which I believe was the best episode of the series. Let's be bold too and work backwards with the show's final scene of the Oceanic 815 plane wreckage littered across the beach. It took the very last scene to convince me...they are all dead and have been since the very first scene of the series.

I didn't want to buy into the theories the island was purgatory or some form of purgatory, but I have a hard time going any other direction now. The island was a place for our favorite flawed characters to right the ship before sailing into the light. Did they have a choice in the matter? I believe the presence of dichotomy - black and white, dark and light, good and evil, selfishness and selflessness -suggest they very much did have a choice, but Jack's profound monologue at the very series get-go, 'we either live together or die together,' suggest their fates were somehow intermingled. Jack's father, Christian, helps cement that fact when he stated last night 'nobody does it alone.'

I don't believe the creators were trying to sell us on the concept of purgatory in the traditional sense in Catholicism, but they very much established in the world of Lost, the soul is eternal and not bound by the limitation often boxed in a secular view of life experiences. What happened on the island was specific to some on Oceanic 815 but only another part of the infinite journey we all travel.

Do I still have questions? You bet, but I had no expectation that the writers would answer all the questions the show has generated through its run in the finale. I think it would have been a huge mistake to try...and a little condescending. Last night's show was exciting, emotional, somewhat confusing, funny and all the things we've come to expect as fans. I will miss Lost much like I miss Seinfeld and a number of my other favorite shows that have ended.

That's my initial take from the finale less than 24 hours later. I'll watch it again...and probably again. Not because I buy into the pseudo-theology the show created. I just find it to be great entertainment driven by relatable, imperfect characters.

See you on the other side...