I was on a plane when the very much anticipated Lost finale was aired. Despite all the hype, I tried to keep my own expectations in line. After all, I can’t imagine a TV show trying to solve all the mysteries of the universe in one finale episode. There were so many unanswered questions: the parallel universe, the good and evil, the dead who keep coming back and the living who keep going missing, the time traveling, the Dharma initiative, and everyone keeps asking, where the heck did the polar bear come from?!
So there were no earth shattering revelations in the final episode. In fact, most people think it’s a pretty big cop out. The whole plugging the light thing was pretty cheesy, the ultimate boss-fighting scene was less than impressive, and come on, did we really need to put symbols from EVERY religion in the church to be PC?
I have to say, I was disappointed too. I wasn’t looking for an answer to the question whether men are innately good or evil, I figured they couldn’t bring the polar bear back one last time, and I decided to just forget about all the extra characters that came and went. But… Purgatory?! Is that really the best you can do? After 6 years of coming up with the most bizarre scenarios, I hoped for just a little bit more. A cliffhanger, perhaps an answer that really poses a question. I have never been a fan of perfectly happy endings!
But I really didn’t have a better answer. And really, should people be looking for the ultimate truth in a TV show? So like many have said, I contented myself with the happy ending. Because in the end, I watched the show for the mysteries, but I loved it for the characters. Isn’t it the same way with life? We spend the entire time searching for answers to mysteries that will never be solved, struggling to find principles to live by, choosing something to believe in yet constantly doubting our blind faith. But when this life is over, when the end is near, do the answers really matter? Everything we know may be an illusion, but to us, the emotions felt real, the experiences seemed real, the people were real.
Just like everything else in life, this is my interpretation of the Lost finale 🙂
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