Archive for the 'TV: Lost – The Show' Category

Can you stomach one more LOST recap? Me neither.  Just kidding! 

I truly have “moved on” and “let go,” but I like “remembering.”  Plus, I feel like I want to put this out there. The six years I’ve devoted to the show deserve that.

I also want to give a shout out to Therese from Tubular.  They asked me to do a write-up on one of my favorite characters of LOST, and here is a link to that article!

Anyway, back to business…

I’m going to explain my views, just so you can add them to your collection. These are the views I had when I watched the show before discussing them with anyone else, and after watching it again, I still hold them dear to my heart. I’ve since found some people who agree with me, and others who believe differently.

For example, there are some theorists who think The Sideways wasn’t “real”…that it was a purgatory of sorts.

I disagree.  Kinda.  Let me explain.

Now, just because I disagree doesn’t mean I think people are wrong. I think that’s the beauty of LOST. None of us are wrong. It is what it is, and it all depends on who we are.

So, without further ado, here are some of my closing observations about LOST.

Is the entire Sideways a purgatory of sorts?
My view: No.

Okay, okay, let me explain. Some big names in the land of LOST Recaps have gone on record saying they feel the Sideways was a purgatory of sorts. That’s great. I respect that, and I can see where they’d come to that conclusion.

Personally, I see the evidence a little differently. I believe The Sideways and The Church are two different things.

As Desmond explains to Kate, “here” (meaning The Sideways) and “the church” (meaning the place they created together to remember each other) are two different things. He says, “No one can tell you why you’re here. I’m not talkin’ about the church. I’m talkin’ about here.”

To me, the church is a “gathering place” of sorts (some choose to use the word purgatory for this, and that’s fine, although that definition is rather limiting, in my opinion), but the Sideways really happened. I think Jughead was the boulder in the stream needed to divert the two timelines (like Daniel explained), creating the Sideways, and I believe what Christian told Jack about how they all created the church as a place to meet.

Add to this the fact that Christian explains to Jack that “Everything that has ever happened is real,” and that’s why I see a distinct difference in the two “places.”

Are they all dead?
To answer this question, I need to ask you this: Where?

Are they all dead in The Sideways? No. Are they all dead in The Church? Probably.  Yeah, okay, maybe.

Now, let me explain.

LOST is notorious for toying with the concept of “dead.” Does every one of them die? Of course, at one time or another. We all die.

Even Christian is careful not to give Jack a straight answer when he asks him point blank if “all of them” are dead. He says, “Everybody dies, kiddo,” and goes on to say that some have died before Jack and some “long after” him.

Is Jack dead? Yes, at the church. I can see that. To me, the conversation he has with his father proves that. It is interesting that Kate doesn’t go in the same door to the meeting place (church) as Jack does; Jack goes in the back.  Does this mean they are all just remembering Jack?  Maybe.  Are they really dead in the church?  I’ll get to this in a minute.

Are they all dead in The Sideways? Like I said, I really don’t think so. If Christian says it happened, I kinda believe it. If Desmond says it happened, I definitely believe it. In re-watching The End, I was reminded that Desmond tried to tell Jack about his Sideways Life, while ON the island. He tried to “wake him up” there. He told him he sat by him and the plane didn’t crash. He told him he was happy there.

I’m choosing to believe this means the Sideways really happened. I’m choosing to believe that Aaron was raised by Charlie and Claire.  Ji Yeon was raised by Sun and Jin.  Sawyer and Juliet get to live together.  Kate stops running.  Sayid and Shannon get to grow in their relationship.  Jack makes peace with his father’s memory, and so on.

I even have two views of the church.

First, I can see this:  They are all just subconsciously remembering everyone when they “go” to the church…

Or: When they are at the church, yes, all of them have already died.

Either way, we don’t know when this really is.

We don’t know when John arrives. We don’t know “when” any of them arrive. They all have on different clothes. Ben doesn’t have his arm in a sling. Hurley and Ben talk about their stint on the island after Jack’s death. We don’t know when this is. There is no now. Christian also explains that there is no “now” there. For some reason, I totally understand what he’s talking about. I mean, we don’t know “when” we’re looking at this place. 80 years could have passed, and this could be from 5 years ago, and it could be all at once.

That doesn’t mean the Sideways didn’t really happen.

Now, if you remember anything about the LOST observations I’ve had before, I’ve always been about trying to figure out the mysteries of the island. So, it would surprise you to realize that I don’t really care that they didn’t answer major questions.

Yes, I really am shallow enough that the moment Juliet and Sawyer kissed at the vending machine, aliens could have swooped in and turned the screen black, and I’d still be happy with the ending of LOST….because it means so much more to me than that.

So, there we have it. Those are MY views on how I’M interpreting the ending of LOST.

Part of me LOVES the fact that there is no clear-cut interpretation.  That is so LOST!

When I gave up looking for answers, the meaning just came to me: They all found each other. They all moved on. Does this mean they were all dead in the Sideways? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, the ending was beautiful.

As a shout out to all the remaining questions, I’m posting a link to a video. This video sums up the questions that are left, and it makes me laugh out loud.

AND!  If you’d like to see someone recap the entire series in less than 3-minutes, check this out!

Anyway, regardless of how you describe what they’ve shown us, and however you reconcile it in your head, we’ve come to the end. We know all we’ll ever know about LOST, and just like a good book, the meaning can shift and change as we do.  I’ll miss LOST terribly, but I was shocked to be happy at the end. I am truly happy for the characters.

I let go. I believed what they showed me. It was beautiful. The End.

Namaste & Good Luck!