AT: At least Vincent came back. Thinking about it, I bet Vincent was God. I have no other explanation as to why there are dogs (or Polar Bears) in purgatory. So Linus also stayed behind, along with Alex who wasn’t in the church, yes? Michael wasn’t there because he had told us earlier that he was stuck there to forever repent for the terrible things he did on the island. So he’s still working his way through? When did purgatory become Donkey Kong? And where were Eloise and Charles Whidmore? They were also missing from the church, no?
As for Ana Lucia, when Hurley paid her off Desmond mentioned that “it wasn’t her time yet,” which leads me to believe that she’s still working her way through as well? I think the only explanation for this ending is that the show was really all about Jack. We understand what happened to Jack (well, sort of) but as for the rest, we only saw snippets of their stories? I think that cheapens it a bit for me, but it’s the only thing I can think of that will make sense.
GM: Well, the show was certainly from Jack’s point of view for the most part, and he was the one who had the largest/most important character arc. Yeah, I think it ended up being all about Jack. Which I’m sure he would’ve loved.
(More on Techland: 10 Ways LOST Shouldn’t End)
Eloise and Charles Widmore didn’t really belong in the church, did they? Eloise, at least, seemed to know exactly where she was when talking to Desmond earlier in the episode, so I’m guessing that she, Charles and Daniel – and maybe Charlotte? Poor, backstory-forever-unexplained-born-on-the-island-even-though that-was-supposedly-impossible-except-when-it-wasn’t Charlotte – had their own purgatory experience to get through.
Getting back to the Jack-centricness of the show – well, the episode, at least – for a second, the only way I can not get caught up in “Why THOSE people? Why didn’t (Plot Element X) get resolved for them?” nit-picky-ness is to pretend that what we saw was Jack’s subjective purgatory experience, and that all the other characters experienced something similar but tailored towards them. Otherwise, I’m left wondering why Jack’s dad was so important to open the doors to heaven/hell for everyone.
AT: I’m not sure why they chose to close with Jack’s father. I would have rather seen Jacob there, further explaining things. It seems strange that Jack’s dad would have any more details on just what the hell was going on than the rest. Maybe it was a statement on that when you die, the people who meant the most to you will come together to help you make peace with your life and cross over. Christian Shepard certainly would have fit into that category.
(More on Techland: All of LOST in 108 Seconds)
As for me, I can’t decide if I liked the finale or not. I do like how the story wrapped up on the island, for the most part. I liked Hurley and Ben Linus became the new Jacob and Richard. I didn’t like that the rest escaped the island, to what? Die in another plane crash? I was so rooting for Richard to rediscover life as a mortal guy, though to be honest I was betting on him, Miles and Claire to die.
GM: I’m… okay with it? I didn’t really DISlike it, at least. I like that I was surprised by some things (Hurley becoming the new Jack who was the new Jacob, seeing Rose and Bernard again), but overall it felt kind of unsatisfying the more I actually think of it: What did pulling the stopper out actually do? Why was it, ultimately, so easy to kill the Man in Black (and why does no-one become a new Man in Black, a la Jacob? Although, I have to admit, I did kind of love that he was killed by someone other than Jack, even if it was Kate), and am I the only person who felt that that plot resolution was a massive anticlimax after a year of him being all smokey and unkillible? “Oh, the island’s collapsing, I’m mortal now. Oh, I’m shot.”
It felt like there was a lot of “And this is what happens because we say it’s what happens” going on, and also that a lot of it felt rushed. But, y’know, it was a relatively happy ending. It was fine, I guess.
(More on Techland: LOST S06E16 E-mail Chain: Jackob)
Peter “This is all I have to say” Ha: Motherfrakking Polar Bears!
GM: If the Man in Black had turned mortal, gotten into a fight with Jack and then been killed by a wandering polar bear, that would’ve been awesome.
And then the polar bear could’ve been revealed to be Walt in a polar bear costume, thereby delighting the fans who demanded to see him return, and also the large Lost furry fanbase.
Man, I should go into showbiz.
MW: I’m not unhappy. I am slightly annoyed that the creators obviously put a lot of effort into packing the finale with ‘answers’ and thus some things felt rushed. Like the death of smokey.
As much as I’m genuinely annoyed at the whopping pile of unanswered plot threads I guess I’m happy that what happened on the Island was real. Even if the other way around would have made more sense. “The Light” of the world is now more protected than ever at the bottom of the ocean. Which, I suppose, is a win for team Jacob.