Brief thoughts on the LOST finale
May. 24th, 2010 09:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaunthieDon't watch LOST? This post might not interest you, then. Or it might, because it's not entirely about the show. I watched the first season of LOST, and then dropped the show early in the second season for a number of reasons (lack of time, dislike of the hatch, recognition that this show could consume me, etc.). I really did like that first season, though, especially the characters, and so I've kept an eye on the episode summaries and things over the years. Plus, let's face it, it's worked its way up into "cultural phenomena" for a lot of the local population, to the point where having a basic idea of the show is useful in deciphering various pop-cultural references.
So anyway. I was curious enough about how they would wrap things up and "answer the question(s)" to multitask through the "here's what you missed" recap special, and then watch the finale. And I have to admit that the writers impressed me with how they chose to write themselves out of the various "corners" they'd put themselves/the characters into. I expected a lot of the overt Christian references and imagery (c'mon, Jack's last name is Shepherd, and his father's name is Christian), but the fact that they also went as strongly as they did with Enlightenment philosophy in the finale was a welcome surprise. Perhaps it shouldn't have been (more last name giveaways: Locke, Rousseau, Hume, etc.), but I never really expected a pop-culture modern TV show to also be a philosophical fantasy play. But the writers pulled it off. It takes a LOT of skill to render all of these interpretations of the ending as equally valid (and I would argue that they all are):
Yeah, giving each of these interpretations equal weight and validity takes serious writing talent. It also takes a fair bit of moral courage (not to mention a lot of philosophical pondering), so again, props to the writers. And props too to the actors, who were fabulous, one and all, in rendering tons of emotions and layers upon layers of meaning to pretty much everything last night.
Quick roundup of other random thoughts/impressions:
All and all, it was an interesting bit of storytelling last night, even for (and perhaps especially for) someone who wasn't a regular watcher of the show. I don't regret not watching the show regularly, but I don't regret the time spent watching the finale, either. Lots of food for thought, and I like that.
So anyway. I was curious enough about how they would wrap things up and "answer the question(s)" to multitask through the "here's what you missed" recap special, and then watch the finale. And I have to admit that the writers impressed me with how they chose to write themselves out of the various "corners" they'd put themselves/the characters into. I expected a lot of the overt Christian references and imagery (c'mon, Jack's last name is Shepherd, and his father's name is Christian), but the fact that they also went as strongly as they did with Enlightenment philosophy in the finale was a welcome surprise. Perhaps it shouldn't have been (more last name giveaways: Locke, Rousseau, Hume, etc.), but I never really expected a pop-culture modern TV show to also be a philosophical fantasy play. But the writers pulled it off. It takes a LOT of skill to render all of these interpretations of the ending as equally valid (and I would argue that they all are):
- It was all a great metaphysical battle between good and evil: Jack and the other Losties (with a few exceptions) all live and die more or less as shown over the course of the show, meet up in the afterworld, and go to heaven (or the white-light equivalent of your choice)
- It was all a great metaphysical journey of discovery: Heaven, hell, the afterlife, and all religions and religious concepts are all our own creations, we are all the imaginations of ourselves, and we make our own meanings of our lives and what comes after - and we cannot know what, if anything, will come after
- It was all the dreams of a dying brain: the entirety of the show was Jack waking briefly after the crash (eye opens), his brain frantically tries to make sense of everything, comfort him, and give meaning to his existence by imagining meaning and connection, and then he dies of his injuries (eye closes)
Yeah, giving each of these interpretations equal weight and validity takes serious writing talent. It also takes a fair bit of moral courage (not to mention a lot of philosophical pondering), so again, props to the writers. And props too to the actors, who were fabulous, one and all, in rendering tons of emotions and layers upon layers of meaning to pretty much everything last night.
Quick roundup of other random thoughts/impressions:
- A lot of "last shows" where the last episode is planned (as opposed to a show being cancelled abruptly) are love letters to fans, or sentimental revists to favorite moments, or one-last-hurrahs. This one was all of these, but it was also a huge love letter to the CHARACTERS that these writers had tortured, abused, and killed in job lots. That was unusual, and nice to see.
- "No one can tell you why you're here." "It all matters." "There are no short cuts. No do overs. What happened, happened." When was the last time I saw a show that emphasized consequences and personal responsibility (including the responsibility for figuring things out for yourself) like this? Possibly not since Sesame Street. Interesting. Not to mention REFRESHING.
- "I don't believe in a lot of things, but I believe in duct tape." Perfect. Just perfect. Also: "Christian Shepherd? Really?" Nothing like poking fun at your own obviousness, show.
- The various rememberings and reawakenings? Pure goopy AAAAWWWWW. (And seriously, who knew candy bars and ultrasounds could be such effective romantic props?) Wallowing in sentiment, but with just the right amount of leavening humor. Boone and Hurley's brief, quip-filled conversation while watching Sayid and Shannon reunite was just as perfect as any of the romantic reunions.
- Purely from this episode's standpoint, it looked to me that the writers didn't consider Sawyer and Kate a "true love" romantic couple (witness Sawyer/Juliet in this episode, not to mention Jack/Kate). If so, then NO true-love couples made it off the island - at least not alive.
- Hurrah for distant mountains, even in the final episode of a show. Assuming that any of this was "real" and not just Jack's brain trying to believe that everything will be all right in the moments between the first plane crash and his death a few minutes later, we don't know what happened to the six who flew away. We don't know what happened to Hurley and Ben and Desmond, or what all their lives were like from the time the plane flew overhead to the time they all died. There are all sorts of unanswered gaps and questions and mythos. And that's part of what makes a world real.
- I really liked all of the multi-religious statuary and images in the "cathedral" at the end. It was very Lockean (the philosopher, not the character on the show) in the "human beings cannot dependably evaluate the truth-claims of competing religious standpoints" portion of his philosophy. The dancing Vishnu in the reliquary was particularly amusing, and not preciously PC like the multifaith stained-glass window. But I also appreciated that it was heavily dominated by the Christian imagery and structure, because it was ostensibly from Jack's perspective, and that's his background. Plus I'm a sucker for a good cathedral.
All and all, it was an interesting bit of storytelling last night, even for (and perhaps especially for) someone who wasn't a regular watcher of the show. I don't regret not watching the show regularly, but I don't regret the time spent watching the finale, either. Lots of food for thought, and I like that.
