Lost As It Pertains to Us and Our Own Lives by marai18

Lost, wow, what an incredible journey this story was. The ending to it really captivated me emotionally, and really sparked me to think about a lot of things concerning people, relationships, and spirituality. The final scene in the series finale was a beautiful one, I thought, and was very original and I don’t think it could’ve been done any other way. This is but my humble opinion, though, and I know there are several out there who would vehemently disagree with me, and that’s ok because it is their right to hold whatever opinion they please. Although to those who hated it because they felt cheated or lied to by the writers, I would encourage you to re-watch it, and think it over some more. You might find yourself surprised at what revelations you come to, but if you don’t want to, that’s your choice.

I have theories on a lot of the things presented in the finale, but I am not going to try and explain them here. I am simply going to express my thoughts on the series as a whole and what it meant to me personally.

First of all, I think the scene in the church with Christian and Jack at the end was incredible, and here’s why. Christian more or less explains the afterlife in such a way that it makes death look less daunting than we as people tend to make it. He explains it as being a celebration of the life you lived and the people you shared it with, and that creates a sense of inner peace and a willingness to let-go and move on because you realize you’re not alone and never were. Christian also explains it in such a way that no belief system is alienated or shoved down anyone’s throat. I think it would’ve been awful if the producers chose to emphasize one particular faith over another, but they didn’t and I’m glad. The church window depicting all the religions was a key factor as well as the fact that he didn’t explicitly say where they were or where they were going. I am personally a Christian, but who’s to say that my beliefs are accurate? I believe they are, and that’s what’s important to me, and to someone else they’re belief system is accurate and that’s what important to them. It is nice to see that there is no discrimination of the sort there.

Within Christian’s talk to Jack, he tells him that “the most important thing was the time that you spent with these people.” The writers, I think, ended the show on this note to remind us that the show was ultimately about the characters. I’ve never watched a show that captivated me and had me so emotionally invested in the characters as this show did. In season one, we were presented with these characters, all strangers, who survived a plane crash on a mysterious island. The writers probably could’ve done a straight up castaway-style storyline with none of the island weirdness that we saw, but it wouldn’t have been as good a show and it wouldn’t have really allowed for the characters to truly develop. The characters started off with this situation in front of them on top of all this craziness with polar bears, science teams, whispers, and other elements of mystery that captivated us all. Along the way, we get insight into their back story, which helped us to understand why they were the way they were and what motivated them to act in the manner they do in any given circumstance. After 120 hours of this deep insight into the psyches of these characters, I’d say it is impossible to not get emotionally attached to these characters. By the time the final sequence of The End aired, I was crying so hard, and I’ve not cried that like before over any tv show or movie, except for Black Hawk Down.

At any rate, what was so captivating about the character’s was the way in which they were all tangled up in this web, or as more commonly known, the six degrees of separation theory. It really makes you think twice about a stranger you pass on the street and how they could somehow be connected to you whether it was relevant or not. I now catch myself thinking about that every time I get on a plane or a bus. It also makes you realize that every single person has a story, and sometimes I can’t help but wonder what that guy sitting next to me on the plane’s story is. I don’t know if this happens to any of you or not, but whenever I’m out in public, complete strangers will just start talking to me and sometimes they end up spilling their life story more or less. Some people get agitated by that, but think about it, you may be the only person that will listen to them, and maybe they just needed to get something off their chest and you seemed like the best person to talk to. Sometimes just listening to them does wonders for them. The point here, though, is that we hold relationships with every person we come into contact with. These relationships are at different degrees, but through every person you meet or run into or speak to, you’ve strung another thread in the web. Lost does a great job at showing this concept.
As for the plot, I know many people felt like the show failed to answer a lot of questions and tie everything together perfectly in the end. I believe the producers when they say that they knew the final scene from the beginning, but that also left them with room to change things around in the middle. Yes, some of the ends they failed to tie up are frustrating, but I think the overall picture was resolved. I can feel disagreement already. I listened to an interview with Nestor Carbonell and Henry Ian Cusick in which Cusick makes a statement that I thought was very true. We all have these little questions about various things in the storyline that weren’t explicitly answered, but the overall bigger question was addressed and in the end, I feel like it made these other little questions not so important.

I read another theory on here in which someone talked about what was explicitly said and what was meant to be implied. I really liked this person’s essay because that was what I believe the point of the show was to viewers aside from the character aspect of it all. There were things that were explicitly answered throughout the series, and other things were implied based on facts we figured out about the island along the way. Of course, there are some things are completely open-ended such as the whole notion of the flash sideways, how it was created, and what its called. I truly don’t think they could’ve explicitly answered the larger question surrounding the island, what it’s purpose was, and the whole deal with Jacob and MIB because no one would’ve actually been satisfied had they tried to answer it. Most people, it would seem, liked the way it ended, and can appreciate how it is left open to interpretation.

However, the critics are unsatisfied because they wanted answers, and they really wanted to see how the writers would tie it all together. I understand the curiosity to see how it could be done, but I think that some of the critics were already bracing themselves for a bad ending and to them, that’s what they got. It’s a natural fact that if you go into something looking for flaws, you’re going to find them. I’m not in any way trying to judge or insult any critics of the finale, I’m just saying, its possible that the finale might’ve had a different effect on them if they had gone into it with a more positive outlook, of course, that’s not always true, but it can make a world of difference in any situation a person goes into.

Ultimately, though, Lost served as a great escape for people from their lives. Entertainment at it’s finest, does allow us to just put aside all our worries from our own troubles and just enjoy what is being presented to us. What makes Lost so special is that it not only is different from all the cop shows, medical dramas, and reality shows on tv, but it also has stirred people to debate and theorize on things that wouldn’t ordinarily cross your mind on a daily basis. Lost made philosophers of us all, I think, and that’s what is so incredible about this show. There just aren’t many shows out there that stimulate that kind of thinking and discussions, and I’d say it’s something our society needs more of.

Anyway, as I said, that was just a few thoughts I had on the series what it meant to me. I hope a lot of you took away a similar experience, and I am curious as to what other show could possibly top this one and generate the same kind of following as Lost did.