The flash-sideways timeline morphed into a string of deja vu experiences and at somepoint they all died, and I missed how and when that happened. Of course I missed a few episodes this season so that could explain it.
hrs-kevinsays
It appears that the entire flash sideways timeline actually takes place in the “afterlife” after all the characters have died in the normal courses of their lives.
christophersays
…it was more of a “do-over”?
hrs-kevinsays
There is much more sophisticated analysis of this on the various Lost sites such as Lostpedia.
Kate, thanks for doing this. I thought about doing it too, because the thread on the probation department is too darn depressing.
<
p>I’ve been watching the show since the beginning. My wife and were misty-eyed last night. I’ve always said that Lost is a love story: Desmond and Penny, Claire and Charlie, Hurley and Libby, Jin and Sun, Jack and Kate, even Jack and Christian … People who came to the show with that orientation were, I think, richly rewarded by the finale.
<
p>Some folks have said this morning that they were disappointed that the finale didn’t explain more. Just how did the time travel bit work? What, exactly, is the light at the center of the island? Where do the numbers come from? And so forth. I think there are two things to say about that. First, too much explication kills the mystery and wonder. Just think of the difference between the old Star Wars movies, where Alec Guinness makes “the Force” sound like the Tao, with the new Star Wars movies, where there is a little gizmo that measures the amount of “Force” in your blood. Second, stories are about people. I can’t imagine caring about the details of the technology or the mythology except in relation to the characters. I can’t imagine, even in principle, that an ending along the lines that people are claiming they want would have been satisfying. The whole series was rich in allusions, and giving all the answers would destroy the allusive charm of the whole project.
<
p>Also, I’ve heard folks say that they are upset to learn that the “Flash Sideways” story line took place after the characters’ death, in a kind of purgatory, and that it didn’t mean anything because it “wasn’t real.” On its face, this is silly, since none of it is “real”–it’s just a TV show. I think what these folks are getting at is what they think was the lack of connection between the two story lines. That’s a fair point, but I really liked the gradual blurring of the story lines as the season progressed. And anyway, the last shot of the series looked to me like the original crash site, but with no survivors, suggesting that maybe–maybe–even the main story line on the island was itself a kind of purgatory, where the flawed and suffering characters had to remain while they purified themselves.
<
p>Well, anyway, it was an engrossing story, and I for one will miss it!
<
p>TedF
christophersays
…that this diary was posted by someone who shares a name with one of the most key characters in this show:)
lasthorsemansays
Also never seen a single episode of American Idol or 24.
Does Fox pay other networks,news broadcasters to mention American Idol like a cheap infomercial or is media just one huge conglomerate these days.
thepaintshopsays
and now I’m almost done with college. It’s nice to see the happy ending, but I don’t think it was worth all the time I spent wondering what was going to happen next and what everything meant.
<
p>Some of the actors have gotten other roles, but do you think most of them will be fighting for the rest of their careers to distance themselves from their characters on Lost? Who, if any, do you think has a future? Any spin-offs?
centralmassdadsays
About Law & Order. Unable to copy the first line of the comment though.
The flash-sideways timeline morphed into a string of deja vu experiences and at somepoint they all died, and I missed how and when that happened. Of course I missed a few episodes this season so that could explain it.
It appears that the entire flash sideways timeline actually takes place in the “afterlife” after all the characters have died in the normal courses of their lives.
…it was more of a “do-over”?
There is much more sophisticated analysis of this on the various Lost sites such as Lostpedia.
Kate, thanks for doing this. I thought about doing it too, because the thread on the probation department is too darn depressing.
<
p>I’ve been watching the show since the beginning. My wife and were misty-eyed last night. I’ve always said that Lost is a love story: Desmond and Penny, Claire and Charlie, Hurley and Libby, Jin and Sun, Jack and Kate, even Jack and Christian … People who came to the show with that orientation were, I think, richly rewarded by the finale.
<
p>Some folks have said this morning that they were disappointed that the finale didn’t explain more. Just how did the time travel bit work? What, exactly, is the light at the center of the island? Where do the numbers come from? And so forth. I think there are two things to say about that. First, too much explication kills the mystery and wonder. Just think of the difference between the old Star Wars movies, where Alec Guinness makes “the Force” sound like the Tao, with the new Star Wars movies, where there is a little gizmo that measures the amount of “Force” in your blood. Second, stories are about people. I can’t imagine caring about the details of the technology or the mythology except in relation to the characters. I can’t imagine, even in principle, that an ending along the lines that people are claiming they want would have been satisfying. The whole series was rich in allusions, and giving all the answers would destroy the allusive charm of the whole project.
<
p>Also, I’ve heard folks say that they are upset to learn that the “Flash Sideways” story line took place after the characters’ death, in a kind of purgatory, and that it didn’t mean anything because it “wasn’t real.” On its face, this is silly, since none of it is “real”–it’s just a TV show. I think what these folks are getting at is what they think was the lack of connection between the two story lines. That’s a fair point, but I really liked the gradual blurring of the story lines as the season progressed. And anyway, the last shot of the series looked to me like the original crash site, but with no survivors, suggesting that maybe–maybe–even the main story line on the island was itself a kind of purgatory, where the flawed and suffering characters had to remain while they purified themselves.
<
p>Well, anyway, it was an engrossing story, and I for one will miss it!
<
p>TedF
…that this diary was posted by someone who shares a name with one of the most key characters in this show:)
Also never seen a single episode of American Idol or 24.
Does Fox pay other networks,news broadcasters to mention American Idol like a cheap infomercial or is media just one huge conglomerate these days.
and now I’m almost done with college. It’s nice to see the happy ending, but I don’t think it was worth all the time I spent wondering what was going to happen next and what everything meant.
<
p>Some of the actors have gotten other roles, but do you think most of them will be fighting for the rest of their careers to distance themselves from their characters on Lost? Who, if any, do you think has a future? Any spin-offs?
About Law & Order. Unable to copy the first line of the comment though.