Random Thoughts on Lost Finale and MVPs

Okay, so now that I got the spoiler-free review out of the way, let's get into the meat of Lost - here are some random thoughts on Lost's divisive finale, and my individual MVPs for each season. First a word of warning, since this is about the finale, this review needs a SPOILER ALERT!!!!

Finale

The finale to Lost was incredibly divisive, split between those who loved it and those infuriated that not everything was answered (which was amusingly summed up in a Christmas-themed episode of Community, when Abed finds a DVD of Lost Season One and says, "It's a metaphor, representing a lack of payoff." I don't always mean to be the one who cuts down the middle, but I really disagree with both the faithful and the disgruntled. To those who didn't like it, I think they might be so disenchanted with the unanswered questions that they missed a whole lot of brilliance. And to those who loved the finale, I have to say that there are some glaring conceptual problems that I can't get over.

So first, the good. Lost's producers always said the show was about the characters and not about the island itself. Accordingly, the final season did a good job of wrapping up everyone's story. Sure, the mysteries of the island were never really solved, but that wasn't important. And frankly, I like the fact that the island is left a mystery. There is literally NO explanation that would have satisfied everyone, so why not leave it a mystery? Besides, everything we needed to know about the island was clear - this is a magic place, it is a barrier that can keep evil at bay, and it needs some sort of protector to keep it safe. Do we really need to know anything else? Besides the magical stuff, I did feel there were a handful of unanswered questions that I felt should have been addressed and apparently the producers realized this early on - they produced a short epilogue that tied up all the loose ends that I cared about.  So I encourage everyone to find that epilogue and watch it!

As for the story itself, I loved the resolution of the island story itself. Jack's acceptance of his role was terrific to see and I liked his final battle with evil Locke. And I was incredibly moved by Jack's death scene, where he collapses in the same reeds where he first woke up in the series premiere. Just when you think he is going to die alone, Vincent the dog shows up out of nowhere to keep him company while he passes. That was a special moment that almost had me bawling.

The finale also made me realize just how tragic John Locke's story was. Not for the reason you may think. Yeah, it kind of sucks that he was right all along and Jack didn't believe him until it was too late. It also sucks that Locke was killed and his image taken over by the epitome of evil. But the real tragedy is that Locke's faith in the island, from the very beginning, was pretty much fostered and manipulated by the smoke monster. From the first season, he was basically a patsy for the entire series. That is a complete bummer and depressing (but still very effective).

Now, let's turn to the bad for a minute. As much as I liked the resolution of the island storyline, I really have some problems with the flash-sideways purgatory revelation. It isn't because I felt lied to (though certainly by implying that the alternate universe was caused by the nuclear explosion at the end Season 5 was a low blow on the part of the producers). No, the reason I am bothered by the sideways timeline is because I think the producers cheated. The reveal that the storyline was a Purgatory-like place meant that we were wasting our time the entire season to see how the alternate universe and the main storyline connected only to realize they have nothing to do with each other. They don't! Think about it. Other than that moment where Desmond can temporarily see both universes, the two really don't connect at all.

Unlike the flashbacks in the first season, the sideways did not reinforce anything going on in the island storyline. Which in of itself, would have been fine - Season 4's flash forwards were like that, too - but the flash forwards also led us on a story that eventually tied together. The purgatory revelation, on the other hand, showed that the flash sideways were actually irrelevant to the main storyline of the last six years! Before any one says, "but the reason they were all together in Purgatory was because of the island was the most meaningful time of their lives," I gotta say I don't buy that as an excuse. There is only one practical reason for the flash sideways - with a show as tragic as Lost, where so many beloved characters died horrible deaths, the producers engineered an entire alternate universe for the sole purpose of giving us a happy ending. That's it.

And I think that is cheating.

Now I would be lying if I said I didn't feel all warm and fuzzy when everyone reunites and hugs it out in the church. It was a really nice, emotional moment and the characters deserved a happy ending. I just felt that the producers cheated to get us to that point.

The purgatory thing also opens up some questions that don't make a lot of sense - why don't Bernard and Rose get to leave? In fact, why are they even there? They say that this alternate universe is a place where people have to reconcile with themselves before moving on, and it seemed like Bernard and Rose already did that when they were still alive. And why is Keamy there? And the gunfight between Sayid and Keamy leads to another question - what happens when you die in Purgatory?

I certainly would not go so far as to say all the flash sideways scenes were stupid. A lot of people hated them. I could never say that because despite the flawed concept, I thought the execution was fairly well done. There were some wonderful character moments, particularly involving Locke and Jack. The dialogue, the acting, and the directing were all superb. Giacchino's score to the ending was an emotional powerhouse. And I loved almost all of the moments where our heroes "wake up" and realize what is happening. The best one was probably the Sawyer - Juliet "you want to grab a cup of coffee" reunion (The worst one was probably Sayid and Shannon's wake-up reunion, since I never really bought their relationship as true love. Sayid's true love was clearly Nadia).

Anyways, I could go on. The long and short of it is, the finale to Lost was pretty mixed. I loved the finale of the island storyline and felt cheated by the flash sideways storyline. It certainly did not make me re-evaluate my opinion of the show overall, which despite some real problems, still stands as a testament to what good television can be.

Okay, next post I am going to list my top ten and worst ten moments of Lost. Be ready! But first, here are my single season MVP Awards!

MVPs!

Season One

In many ways, this is the toughest season for me to pick. I think ultimately I have to give it to Matthew Fox, who plays Jack, the leader of the castaways. Audiences took to him in the very first episode from the way he took control on the beach after the crash, dashing from emergency to emergency and saving a whole lot of people in the process. From the beginning, he grounded the show and gave us a strong lead to care about. I personally liked that his greatest strength (his decisiveness) was also his greatest weakness. Jack's blindly charging into situations often saved people, but sometimes it also made things worse. I thought that was cool. And I credit Matthew Fox's excellent work with making us care for Jack despite his flaws. Honorable mentions go to Terry O'Quinn as the fan favorite Locke and Naveen Andrews as Sayid, both of whom are super cool in this first season.

Season Two - This year is another tough one. It was a good year for Terry O'Quinn, whose Locke had to deal with the button in the Hatch and then a crisis in his faith in the island. But then, a new player emerged onto the field, Michael Emerson, in a role that was supposed to just last for a few episodes. Emerson was SO good that they decided to not only kept him around for the rest of the show, but to make his character, Benjamin Linus, the leader of The Others. It is a superb performance of calculated malevolence and was an absolute blast to watch for the entire series' run. It all starts here.

Season Three

This one is easy. Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond. Season Three featured my favorite incarnation of the Desmond character, who I call Psychic Desmond. After recovering from the explosion at the end of Season Two, Desmond now gets flashes of the future - including haunting visions of Charlie' death. He spends most of the season running around, saving Charlie. Desmond was always a fan favorite, but in Season Three he was the true highlight. It doesn't hurt that he sports an awesome beard, a great costume (I want a blue shirt like that) and drinks a lot of expensive scotch - three big pluses in my book.

Season Four

Michael Emerson wins again as the vile Benjamin Linus. He was good the entire show, but this season took him to another level. Because now he wasn't just manipulating his own people and the castaways; he also had to deal with the mercenaries who came to the island to hunt him down. This is the season where we see the greatest range in Emerson's terrific performances. He is as conniving and strategic as ever, but we also witness him at his most vulnerable when his daughter is killed, at his most callous when he kills Keamy, thus dooming the freighter in the process, and at his most unexpectedly badass when he wipes out those two horsemen in the desert after leaving the island.

Season Five

If there was a season that Terry O'Quinn dominated for me, it was Season Five. The range of emotion he has to go through is ridiculous - throughout the season, you see him go from blindly brave in his attempts to rescue the castaways stuck in time jumping hell to his suicidal self-doubt back on the mainland to his otherworldly confidence when he returns to the island...it's the last that is most impressive, given what we learn about Locke in the Season Five finale. Only after that reveal do you go think back and realize just how different O'Quinn's takes on the Locke and Bad Guy Locke are. It's subtle work, and brilliant. Second place here would go to Josh Holloway. There's a lot for Sawyer to do this season as he tries to keep everything from falling apart in Dharma-land, and he deserves a mention for some real top-notch work.

Season Six

For me, this season was Matthew Fox's finest moment. The reluctant leader tries to take the backseat because whenever he asserts himself, someone gets hurt. But now he knows that John Locke was right, he knows now that he has a purpose, and he is just waiting to see how it all plays out. Compare the angry, stubborn 'man of science' from Season One to the 'man of faith' who calmly stares down Richard over that stick of dynamite, and you can see just how far the character has come. This season, he finally accepts his destiny and it is pretty awesome to watch.

I have also created a top ten list of the show's best and worst moments. You can find that HERE.