Season Finale: Lost

“Lost.” For me, this season was a bit up and down. The major reason is the time travel storyline. It just didn’t do it for me. That said the season finale was the best season ending episode I’ve seen in years. I was telling friends I haven’t seen an ending like that since the first season of “24.” (Internal debate: After thinking about it a bit more, I thought the series finale of “Angel” was good as well, but then that was a series finale versus a season finale. Quibble.)
What I loved most about this episode were the philosophical debates at the beginning and at the end. I’m going to steal some quotes from the EW blog.

To start the show off a stolen quote from EW.com:

NAMELESS: They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt. It always ends the same.

JACOB: It can only end once. Everything before that is progress.

The above is just deep. Are we living in a vicious cycle or do we as humanity progress even though our history seems to imply we go through the same vicious cycle over and over again?

Then at the end:

My quick summary of what Jacob said: Ben, you have a choice.

From EW: 'Oh, so now after all this time, you've decided to stop ignoring me,'' Ben bitched. ''I did what I was told. But when I dared to ask to see you myself I was told I had to wait...What was it that was so wrong with me? What about me?''

The above is also deep. Choice. We always have a choice. That’s what I learned in high school and that is what recently got re-affirmed to me while seeing Michael J. Fox at the LA Times Festival of Books. There are certain restrictions that are put on our lives, but from there we can make choices. Ben was told to follow Locke’s orders, but it wasn’t something he had to do. As for Ben’s comments, it was filled with the emotions of despair and jealousy.

Everything in between was brilliant as well. I loved how Sawyer got pulled by Juliet to go from anti-nuke to pro-nuke. I loved the flashbacks with Jacob – especially the one involving Hugo. I loved how certain questions were answered such as the black freighter. I loved how the newest castaways got involved. I loved how Miles questioned how anyone could know if they weren’t causing their own future by planning to explode the bomb.

Here’s my one quibble: the gun battle between the Dharma Initiative and the Oceanic team. It was one of those moments where the bad guys couldn't shoot straight and the good guys were always dead aims.

Interesting theory from EW.com regarding how next season might start:

Jacob was “quibbling” during his flashbacks; he was building loopholes and failsafe devices into each castaway’s life that will allow them to cheat death by Jughead. By physically touching each of them, he marked them in a magical way. And now, he’s going to draw them to himself, i.e., the Island, just like the electromagnetic anomaly at the Swan site started drawing anything metal into is powerful singularity. Perhaps they will all be immediately beamed to the Island in reincarnated bodies. (The promo for next season seemed to imply as much, what with Jack’s eye shooting open and reflecting back the jungle.) Or maybe it will be like this: the souls of the annihilated castaways will migrate into their bodies at the point in time that Jacob touched them. And more, I’ll bet you that they will retain all the memories of their past lives. Which means, for example, that Young James Ford will have knowledge of his fate — and can choose to try to change it, if he wishes. This is part of the great gift Jacob has given them: Not only new life, but the capacity to create their own destinies — a destiny which could include, if they wish, to go to the Island of their own free will. And they will. Remember Jacob’s last, bloody sputter: “They’re coming.”

My comment: this theory would seem to imply that everyone goes back in time and they all get back onto Oceanic. I think this probably won’t occur, because then you’d have to get all the previous actors/actresses that were killed off to come back to the show, right? I think this is unlikely; therefore, I think there will be another storyline for the final season. I can’t wait.

Here are some blogs I read. I’ll start with the worst one. This from the LA Times, “’Lost’: Alpert says what?” by Patrick Kevin Day, 14 May 2009. The reason I dislike this one the most is because the blogger doesn’t tell the Biblical Jacob and Esau story correctly. He states that Esau killed Jacob. This isn’t true.

The next blog is also from the LA Times,“’Lost’ season finale fades to white,” Mary McNamara, 14 May 2009. It is interesting because the writer has a more neutral opinion of the season finale. She doesn’t give it the high praise that I and every single friend I’ve talked to about this episode gave it.

This final blog is from the EW.com, “’Lost’ recap: Starting Over,” Jeff Jensen, 14 May 2009. There might be better bloggers out there about Lost, but there can’t be very many. I admit that above I question one of his theories about how next season will play out, but then how can you not admire such a great brainstorm on his part? This guy comes up with the most fascinating theories and comments. If you haven’t come across this "Lost" blogger, you’ve got to start reading him after every episode next season. Trust me. (Or perhaps you should just read his past articles to get his thoughts on “Lost.”)