If all you care about is the destination, you miss all the joy of the ride.
And come on: Even if last night's Lost finale didn't provide many final answers, that was a fabulous, fun two hours of TV that masterfully propelled the story forward. It was, in turns, exciting, shocking, maddening, gorgeous, humorous — and ultimately heartbreaking, as Sawyer lost Juliet and yet another chance at love. Well-earned surprises are few and far between in series TV, and yet after all these years, Lost can still keep us puzzled over what's coming next and where our allegiances are supposed to lie.
We thought they were supposed to be with Locke on his determined hunt to kill the island's master,
We thought Juliet was dead as well, when she was dragged into the electromagnetic pit, until she perked up and set off the hydrogen bomb. Which is where the show came to its startling conclusion, with a cliffhanger explosion that, typical of Lost'shabit of twisting TV conventions, faded to white rather than black.
The plot was driven by Jack's determination to cap the electromagnetic leakage that crashed their plane by short-circuiting it with that bomb — a hunt that led to some 24-style shootouts. But the show also had one more, very important back story to tell: Jacob's. We time-traveled with him as he visited Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, Locke, Jin,
And then, thanks to machinations of the enemy occupying Locke's body, we saw Jacob murdered by a jilted, jealous Ben. Because on Lost, fate bows to free will and momentous events are often sparked by petty motivations.
Best of all, though, the episode was a welcome reminder that amid all the discussions of time travel and smoke monsters and electromagnetism, the key to the show's success is its characters, played by one of the strongest ensembles around. I for one cannot wait until next year to see what has happened!
Lost finally was very interesting last night. I have a theory as to where this is all leading. I believe that jacob and the other unnamed man in the beginning are suppose to be like a God and devil personas. I believe that the man dressed in black wants to prove to Jacob that people aren't good and cannot be changed. Jacob I think believes that people can be good and can change giving the chance to do it all over again hence why he brought them to the island to learn and sort of re-live their past mistakes. Like when Jacob saw Sawyer and told him not to finish the letter cuz he knew what he would become....when he saw kate stealing and told her not to do it again....when he saw Jack and told him that sometimes ppl just need a little push....when he was at the wedding of Jin & Sun and told them not to take their love forgranted...etc I believe the hydro bomb is just a way for them all to go back to a certain point in their lives and make the right choice. All Jacob asked of them was to be faithful and to trust him that is what he wanted from Ben but Ben wanted more.
ReplyDeleteI loved this episode and the back story on Jacob. Was Jacob the captain of the Black Rock? I can't remember if the captain's name was mentioned when they auctioned the ship's log but the clothing both men wore made it look possible. The actor playing Jacob was hot!
ReplyDeleteI think Sawyer's scenes at the end were brilliant. I hope he will realize that Juliet was the love of his life because it is clear that Kate belongs with Jack. He may even hate Kate for going along with Jack in the end.
Will next season pickup with all in 2007 but still on the island? And were the rest of the original Losties killed at the creeek? Can't wait to see and winter 2010 seems like forever.
Excellent season finale!! Sawyers reaction to Juliette being sucked down into the "shaft" was awesome. I actually got chocked up watching it! I can't believe this show will be over next year. Don't know how it will end, but it sure has been one h#ll of a ride!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd it was exciting to finally see Rose and Bernard. It's hilarious that they've been there in 1977 the whole time and they knew everything that was going on with the others, but simply chose to live their life together in peace and quiet.
ReplyDeleteA fire in my apartment could not have torn me away from that finale...simply amazing. At first, I thought that Widmore had taken on Locke's form, but now I think that guy with Jacob in the beginning of the episode, who told Jacob that he wished he could kill him, is the one who took the form of John Locke. The question is, who is he and who is Jacob, who was ageless like Richard but apparently is not immortal.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts crew - or how about Jacob and the other guy being like Jacob and Esau from the bible?? And why is it that they couldn't kill each other but that the guy who took over Locke's image had to use Ben to kill Jacob. And "who's coming???"
ReplyDeleteI was incredibly disappointed last night. One of the things I've loved about Lost's finales is that they have a great way of both answering season-long questions while asking another question. I didn't feel that a single question got answered last night, so I was disappointed.
ReplyDeleteYet now I realize that Lost did provide quite a bit of information, just nothing I was all that focused on (Jacob, how Jacob has intervened in their lives).
So, now I'm looking forward to next season and am prepared for the long wait.
I loved this season finale. Its basic message to the audience was to enjoy and focus on what is happening now because at some point there will be the one thing we all know is coming - the inevitable end of the scripted story. That aside, it seems clear to me that Jacob dressed in white and the unamed character dressed in black are the equivalent to good and evil at least when it comes to the concept of human nature. From their conversation, Jacob continues to draw certain specific folks in to the island to prove his theory. I wonder if the man dressed in black is the dreaded island monster? Anyway, it would be great to know what language Richard spoke so that the origins of this guardian group can be traced. As Jacob said, they (the guardians) are coming and obviously not in time to save him, but to find out what has transpired and deal with the unforseen development. The inherant evil of self interest in human nature is the loop hole in Jacob's theory of humanity being inherantly good. Something tells me Jacob knew this was going to happen and actually wanted this to happen to prove some redeeming point later on...perhaps this is where the hydrogen bomb is leading us...more prgress before the end.
ReplyDeleteStill think the island is alien spacecraft that has been at various times the seed of life on earth/the garden of Eden....Atlantis...and now the Lost island... and this week just makes me believe it even more. It would account for the time/space travel ability the island has not to mention most any other odd things that happen on the island that could be explained by advanced alien technology and this week we get the Ben and the Locke double walking into Jacobs lair with a big tracking shot to the distant stars...a tapestry with a feather/winged image being worshiped by ancients...a reference that they are coming ...the aliens? ... ( or maybe just those pesky other cast members coming back to the present ). Watched on TMC the old 1950's sci fi movie I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE... Contains aliens with problem pro-creating with humans...and a dead ringer for the smoke monster from Lost....hmm...But agree its the characters that keep you coming back each week along with the mystery.
ReplyDeleteWhat language did Richard answer her in, and what was his response?
ReplyDeleteRichard said in Latin: "He who will protect (or save) us all."
ReplyDeleteSome more ideas: The white light as Juliet was pounding on the bomb was not the bomb, but was the light from the electro magnetic core - maybe another time shift. Juliet will live.
ReplyDeleteJacob is not good - Jacob is evil and for whatever reason manipulating people's lives by pretending to be good. The other guy who said he wanted to kill him - he was the good guy.
The Locke who had Ben kill Jacob - he was the real Locke. The coffin guy is NOT Locke.
Great show - most entertaining (if frustrating) hour (or two) on TV.
hmmm some really good points
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