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Lost! Explain this garbage to me. SPOILERS!

rubberdinghy

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Tooly Newbie

Tooly

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www.lostpedia.com

they left it pretty wide open for intrepretation, but im kinda leaning towards the whole purgatory state, after hearing jackface talk about it on kimmell last night.

after the show ended i immediately thought that the sideways was what happened after juliette hit the bomb and reset everything, but even in the alt world they all were still connected and all had to remember before they were set free

i dont know man that show was great but also a total mindfuck at the same time lol

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Freeker Newbie

Freeker

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Here are a couple great break downs of thE Finale:

In the final confrontation. Desmond was the only person who could go down into the light and unplug the cork. By unplugging the cork. The island lost all power. When the island lost all power ALL THE RULES COULD NOW BE BROKEN. Smokey/MIB lost all of his powers which made him mortal again but at the same time he could now kill the candidates directly. At the same time the island without its power was being destroyed…probably the whole world was being destroyed like “Mother†told her kids on what would happen if the light went out.

So MIB was now mortal and after a confrontation with Jack, he was finally killed. But the island needed to be re-plugged. Jack did this and sacrificed himself for the island. Hurley was left to be the new Jacob and Ben was his new “Richard†It appears that they had a successful long future not unseen but as Hurley told Ben in the ALT (which I am going to get into) “you were a good number 2†Ben: you were a good number 1†As for the people on the plane it appears that they escaped the island and probably lived happy lives back in the main land. The ones probably back in the island lived happy lives, like Rose Bernard, Cindy and the kids. As for Desmond he probably was able to get back to his family as well thanks to Hurley and Ben. Jack’s dying body was thrown out of the cave (like MIB’s body In Across the sea). He laid there dying looking up when Vincent came over and as he looked up and saw that the Ajira plane had been able to leave. He closed his eye and died.

Eventually like everyone does, they all died, from old age or however. (including Richard who started to finally age). Hurley probably died long after everyone else once he found his own candidate. When they finally died their “spirits†joined the others who had died before during the course of the series, they were in this type of “purgatory†which in season 6 was the ALT reality. Once in this purgatory, once they “woke up†or realized that they were in reality dead. They were able to “cross-over†probably to a type of heaven depending on your spiritual views. They lived happily ever after, in the great beyond.

As for any other unsolved mystery? How about Walt? Aaron? “Hurley bird“, the outrigger chase scene. Some answers may yet be solved in the extras during the DVD release. And a lot of answers are already answered. Aaron was never special, Walt’s story was over in season 5. All of the weird visions people (like Walt’s random apparitions) were probably just MIB’s turning into them, but that’s my other theory. ….

People might not like this purgatory ending but we have to realize that everything that happened season 1 - 6 on the island was VERY REAL. Everything happened. The only thing that was purgatory was the ALT reality, and I strongly believe this was a joke of sorts from the writers. People from all the way back in season 1 kept theorizing that it was Purgatory all along, well the writers played an ironic story on us, we wanted a purgatory storyline, they created it…..it was the flash sideways. Honestly this was the perfect ending cause we will be able to theorize for decades to come but more importantly our characters got closure and that’s what LOST was truly about it was about the characters finally finding redemption and in the end, even if it was in the ALT/purgatory world…they finally found it. ...Except for poor Micheal who is stuck for all eternity on the island as a whisper, for the sins he committed. But at least for the most part all the characters got a happy ending :)

AND

It seems like a lot of people are confused about the ending, I was not, assuming I am correct about it, here is an easy explanation.

Season 1 - They all crashed. All the characters we knew and loved the last 6 years DID NOT DIE HERE! I repeat, they did not die here.

Season 2 - Stuff happened

Season 3 - Stuff happened

Season 4 - Stuff happened

Season 5 - Stuff happened

Amongst this stuff, lots of people died!

Season 6 - Let's ignore the alt. universe.

More people died. At the end, the Hurley is the new Jacob, the new protector of the island. He may be there for thousands of years, but eventually he will die. Ben is his sidekick, the new Richard, he may be there for thousands of years, and eventually he will die. Desmond is with them, but Hurley will get him off the island, he is the new Jacob, he has powers. Eventually he will die.

Jack died (with Vincent, Matthew Fox's dog in real life, laying next to him, so ****ing sad). Kate, Claire, Sawyer, Lapidus, Miles, and Richard all flew off the island. Let's assume they lived happily ever after, but eventually, they all died too. Everyone dies! That's life for ya, death and taxes are the only two sure things.

Now this is where the opening of Season 6 starts, once everyone is dead. They are all in purgatory. It all begins in the plane because this is where the most important part of their lives began, where they met the most important people they would ever meet, Oceanic Flight 815.

Problem though is, they are dead but not at peace. They all can't move on. They all miss each other. There are too many stones yet unturned. Too many sins not atoned for.

Charlie tried to kill himself, but he couldn't die, he was already dead! When he saw this, he then had a flash of what meant most to him while he was alive . . . Claire. He opens the door for Desmond, and Desmond opened the door for everyone else. Every person had to realize what they all had been through, the giant adventure. They had to see all the sacrifices they made, all the things they did, the HELL they went through, and they had to see it together. Jack was just the last one to figure it out in the afterlife.

Ben couldn't move on just yet. Having Hurley give him a thumbs up and Locke forgiving him wasn't enough. He killed his dad, he killed his daughter, he killed all of Dharmaville! He wasn't ready yet, he needed to atone.

Everyone else though, they were sitting in the church, much like passengers in the plane, and the two most important people, Jack and Locke, were in the front row, on a flight to their ultimate peace.

That was the tv show LOST! It was an adventure about a group of people who were alone, they had no one, they were dubbed a tremendous responsibility, and they were all LOST. In the end, after they saved the world, after they made sacrifices, they were all together in the end, no longer alone, no longer LOST.

And that is why it is the greatest show ever.

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bouche Apprentice

bouche

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There are a lot of empty holes left unfilled, but they don't all have to be filled for a good ending.

The big issue I had with the purgatory side-flash is that every wrap up is saying that everyone went on to live long an happy lives...and Hurley the longest thanks to the island.

So how come their purgatory all started at the same time? I suppose you could assume that once they were all dead, they're journey would start, but I'm not buying that. I think it's a hole in their story.

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ollie Newbie

ollie

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Stolen from a post on digg.com... this is the best explanation I've read yet.

Found on lostmediamentions this is some guy from Bad Robot (the company that produced Lost) amazing post:

Good stuff on here! I can finally throw in my two cents! I've had to bite my tongue for far too long. Also, hopefully I can answer some of John's questions about Dharma and the "pointless breadcrumbs" that really, weren't so pointless ...

First ...

The Island:

It was real. Everything that happened on the island that we saw throughout the 6 seasons was real. Forget the final image of the plane crash, it was put in purposely to f*&k with people's heads and show how far the show had come. They really crashed. They really survived. They really discovered Dharma and the Others. The Island keeps the balance of good and evil in the world. It always has and always will perform that role. And the Island will always need a "Protector". Jacob wasn't the first, Hurley won't be the last. However, Jacob had to deal with a malevolent force (MIB) that his mother, nor Hurley had to deal with. He created the devil and had to find a way to kill him -- even though the rules prevented him from actually doing so.

Thus began Jacob's plan to bring candidates to the Island to do the one thing he couldn't do. Kill the MIB. He had a huge list of candidates that spanned generations. Yet everytime he brought people there, the MIB corrupted them and caused them to kill one another. That was until Richard came along and helped Jacob understand that if he didn't take a more active role, then his plan would never work.

Enter Dharma -- which I'm not sure why John is having such a hard time grasping. Dharma, like the countless scores of people that were brought to the island before, were brought there by Jacob as part of his plan to kill the MIB. However, the MIB was aware of this plan and interferred by "corrupting" Ben. Making Ben believe he was doing the work of Jacob when in reality he was doing the work of the MIB. This carried over into all of Ben's "off-island" activities. He was the leader. He spoke for Jacob as far as they were concerned. So the "Others" killed Dharma and later were actively trying to kill Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley and all the candidates because that's what the MIB wanted. And what he couldn't do for himself.

Dharma was originally brought in to be good. But was turned bad by MIB's corruption and eventually destroyed by his pawn Ben. Now, was Dharma only brought there to help Jack and the other Canditates on their overall quest to kill Smokey? Or did Jacob have another list of Canidates from the Dharma group that we were never aware of? That's a question that is purposley not answered because whatever answer the writers came up with would be worse than the one you come up with for yourself. Still ... Dharma's purpose is not "pointless" or even vague. Hell, it's pretty blantent.

Still, despite his grand plan, Jacob wanted to give his "candidates" (our Lostaways) the one thing he, nor his brother, were ever afforded: free will. Hence him bringing a host of "candidates" through the decades and letting them "choose" which one would actually do the job in the end. Maybe he knew Jack would be the one to kill Flocke and that Hurley would be the protector in the end. Maybe he didn't. But that was always the key question of the show: Fate vs Free-will. Science vs Faith. Personally I think Jacob knew from the beginning what was going to happen and that everyone played a part over 6 seasons in helping Jack get to the point where he needed to be to kill Smokey and make Hurley the protector -- I know that's how a lot of the writers viewed it. But again, they won't answer that (nor should they) because that ruins the fun.

In the end, Jack got to do what he always wanted to do from the very first episode of the show: Save his fellow Lostaways. He got Kate and Sawyer off the island and he gave Hurley the purpose in life he'd always been missing. And, in Sideways world (which we'll get to next) he in fact saved everyone by helping them all move on ...

Now...

Sideways World:

Sideways world is where it gets really cool in terms of theology and metaphysical discussion (for me at least -- because I love history/religion theories and loved all the talks in the writer's room about it). Basically what the show is proposing is that we're all linked to certain people during our lives. Call them soulmates (though it's not exactly the best word). But these people we're linked to are with us duing "the most important moments of our lives" as Christian said. These are the people we move through the universe with from lifetime to lifetime. It's loosely based in Hinduisim with large doses of western religion thrown into the mix.

The conceit that the writers created, basing it off these religious philosophies, was that as a group, the Lostaways subconsciously created this "sideways" world where they exist in purgatory until they are "awakened" and find one another. Once they all find one another, they can then move on and move forward. In essence, this is the show's concept of the afterlife. According to the show, everyone creates their own "Sideways" purgatory with their "soulmates" throughout their lives and exist there until they all move on together. That's a beautiful notion. Even if you aren't religious or even spirtual, the idea that we live AND die together is deeply profound and moving.

It's a really cool and spirtual concept that fits the whole tone and subtext the show has had from the beginning. These people were SUPPOSED to be together on that plane. They were supposed to live through these events -- not JUST because of Jacob. But because that's what the universe or God (depending on how religious you wish to get) wanted to happen. The show was always about science vs faith -- and it ultimately came down on the side of faith. It answered THE core question of the series. The one question that has been at the root of every island mystery, every character backstory, every plot twist. That, by itself, is quite an accomplishment.

How much you want to extrapolate from that is up to you as the viewer. Think about season 1 when we first found the Hatch. Everyone thought that's THE answer! Whatever is down there is the answer! Then, as we discovered it was just one station of many. One link in a very long chain that kept revealing more, and more of a larger mosiac.

But the writer's took it even further this season by contrasting this Sideways "purgatory" with the Island itself. Remember when Michael appeared to Hurley, he said he was not allowed to leave the Island. Just like the MIB. He wasn't allowed into this sideways world and thus, was not afforded the opportunity to move on. Why? Because he had proven himself to be unworthy with his actions on the Island. He failed the test. The others, passed. They made it into Sideways world when they died -- some before Jack, some years later. In Hurley's case, maybe centuries later. They exist in this sideways world until they are "awakened" and they can only move on TOGETHER because they are linked. They are destined to be together for eternity. That was their destiny.

They were NOT linked to Anna Lucia, Daniel, Roussou, Alex, Miles, Lupidis, (and all the rest who weren't in the chuch -- basically everyone who wasn't in season 1). Yet those people exist in Sideways world. Why? Well again, here's where they leave it up to you to decide. The way I like to think about it, is that those people who were left behind in Sideways world have to find their own soulmates before they can wake up. It's possible that those links aren't people from the island but from their other life (Anna's parnter, the guy she shot --- Roussou's husband, etc etc).

A lot of people have been talking about Ben and why he didn't go into the Church. And if you think of Sideways world in this way, then it gives you the answer to that very question. Ben can't move on yet because he hasn't connected with the people he needs to. It's going to be his job to awaken Roussou, Alex, Anna Lucia (maybe), Ethan, Goodspeed, his father and the rest. He has to attone for his sins more than he did by being Hurley's number two. He has to do what Hurley and Desmond did for our Lostaways with his own people. He has to help them connect. And he can only move on when all the links in his chain are ready to. Same can be said for Faraday, Charlotte, Whidmore, Hawkins etc. It's really a neat, and cool concept. At least to me.

But, from a more "behind the scenes" note: the reason Ben's not in the church, and the reason no one is in the church but for Season 1 people is because they wrote the ending to the show after writing the pilot. And never changed it. The writers always said (and many didn't believe them) that they knew their ending from the very first episode. I applaud them for that. It's pretty fantastic. Originally Ben was supposed to have a 3 episode arc and be done. But he became a big part of the show. They could have easily changed their ending and put him in the church -- but instead they problem solved it. Gave him a BRILLIANT moment with Locke outside the church ... and then that was it. I loved that. For those that wonder -- the original ending started the moment Jack walked into the church and touches the casket to Jack closing his eyes as the other plane flies away. That was always JJ's ending. And they kept it.

For me the ending of this show means a lot. Not only because I worked on it, but because as a writer it inspired me in a way the medium had never done before. I've been inspired to write by great films. Maybe too many to count. And there have been amazing TV shows that I've loved (X-Files, 24, Sopranos, countless 1/2 hour shows). But none did what LOST did for me. None showed me that you could take huge risks (writing a show about faith for network TV) and stick to your creative guns and STILL please the audience. I learned a lot from the show as a writer. I learned even more from being around the incredible writers, producers, PAs, interns and everyone else who slaved on the show for 6 years.

In the end, for me, LOST was a touchstone show that dealt with faith, the afterlife, and all these big, spirtual questions that most shows don't touch. And to me, they never once waivered from their core story -- even with all the sci-fi elements they mixed in. To walk that long and daunting of a creative tightrope and survive is simply astounding.

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Jaimoe Newbie

Jaimoe

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Good write-up.

On an aside, I really like the casting of MIB (Titus Welliver from Deadwood - he played Silas Adams, one of Swearengen's confidantes) and Jacob (Mark Pellegrino, who plays Satan in Supernatural and was Rita's abusive ex-con husband in the first two seasons of Dexter).

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Kanada Kev Newbie

Kanada Kev

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It turns out that the final images of the episode were added by ABC, and were not part of the final story.

I really thought they meant something....like what the guy in that article thought too.

I was reading that article today too. I was confused by the 815 remnants as well. I thought it was displaying the possibility that they had all died there on the island. Doesn't make sense as the island is where they all got to know each other and was the "most important time in their lives".

I like that there is no RIGHT answer for it all, and instead, theories and interpretations. Network TV shows don't often make their viewers "think" (unlike some of the killer cables series ... BREAKING BAD f'in ROCKS!!!!)

wtzBE.gif

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Jaimoe Newbie

Jaimoe

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It turns out that the final images of the episode were added by ABC' date=' and were not part of the final story.

I really thought they meant something....like what the guy in that article thought too.[/quote']

I was reading that article today too. I was confused by the 815 remnants as well. I thought it was displaying the possibility that they had all died there on the island. Doesn't make sense as the island is where they all got to know each other and was the "most important time in their lives".

I like that there is no RIGHT answer for it all, and instead, theories and interpretations. Network TV shows don't often make their viewers "think" (unlike some of the killer cables series ... BREAKING BAD f'in ROCKS!!!!)

wtzBE.gif

On that last bit you said, you are dead right about the networks and how they don't want their audiences to think. Part of the problem is that popular shows often appeal to the masses, which by design, aim for the middle. Shows that fly-under-the-radar or find an audience regardless of not wanting to conform don't cop out. Lost never copped-out or went the easy route. Supernatual certainly goes for it more than almost any show on regular cable, but cult shows can do this. Fuck Grey's Anatomy and the dozens of CSIs that pollute the airwaves.

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Kanada Kev Newbie

Kanada Kev

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Fuck Grey's Anatomy and the dozens of CSIs that pollute the airwaves.

As Desmond would say, "right on brutha!" ;)

Thanks again for the great cable show recommendations btw. Best shows on TV by far (Deadwood, Rome, Firefly, BSG, Breaking Bad, Sopranos, Wire, 'Treme, etc. etc. etc.)

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bouche Apprentice

bouche

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They made it into Sideways world when they died -- some before Jack, some years later. In Hurley's case, maybe centuries later. They exist in this sideways world until they are "awakened" and they can only move on TOGETHER because they are linked. They are destined to be together for eternity. That was their destiny.

That answers one of my big questions.

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