letting go of Lost
by Craig | May 26, 2010 | In Lost | No Comments
So I’m definitely behind in the blogosphere when it comes to talking about the finale of Lost, but Lori and I just watched it last night and I can’t help but want to talk about it. Let’s start at the beginning. (Be warned, I am about to really nerd-out on this show. For those of you who might not be used to really thinking about the media you consume, you might find this uncomfortable or at least find it pretentious. Hey, it’s fun for me.)
The year was 2004. I was living on Wheatley St. in Ridgeland, Mississippi with my new wife and my twin sister. On September 22 I set down on the couch after returning home from work. As I spooned take-out Chinese into my mouth, I flipped the channels on the TV until I came across a commercial for a new show airing on ABC that night. From the trailer, I knew three things. 1) JJ Abrams was the creator. 2) There was a plane crash on an island. 3) The island was home to a polar bear. I decided that I would give it a go.
From the moment Charlie uttered the famous words, “Where are we?”, I knew there was something special about this show. For people that have never watched the show or have only seen some of it, what they know is mostly rumors of hatches, flashbacks, time travel and the aforementioned polar bear. For others however, Lost, became a world of intrigue, secrets and hidden messages. Although I have listened to Lost themed podcasts and have ventured into the world of Lostpedia, I would consider myself to fall somewhere in the middle of these two groups. I kept up with the show from beginning to this past Sunday night’s end, hosted and attended Lost parties, but eventually decided to leave the philosophizing and deducing to those more qualified. Somewhere along the way I just decided to just enjoy the ride without having to understand every detail or have answers to every question, which is somewhat poetic since that ended up being a central theme of the ending. Let me explain:
First of all, I thought the production of the pre-finale special, The Final Journey, was incredible. It got us super hyped for the finale and helped bring home everything that these characters had been through. Kudos to them for that.
Now, on to the actual finale episode. I loved it. Every single part of it. I adored it. I can’t say that I was surprised to see all of the controversy on the internet surrounding it. We should have known a long time ago that not everyone was going to be satisfied, but I think that was the point. The entire ending and the show in general seemed to be about letting go of having to understand everything and having all of our questions answered. Although I do not believe the show was simply Jack’s story, he was definitely the central character. Throughout Jack’s experience on the island he was at war between being a man of faith and destiny or being one of science and understanding.
Throughout the show Jack wanted to understand and to be able to explain things. He had questions and he wanted them answered in a clear and concise manner. After all, this is the way he was trained to think. As he ventured further down the rabbit hole, he received less and less answers and more and more questions. Jack was a doctor, a fixer. He was used to having control of the events of his life, even though he never did. Eventually, throughout this final season, Jack began to finally let go of his need for answers and began to simply believe. He finally simply believe that he was there for a reason and that no matter what happened that reason would be fulfilled. It ultimately was.
During the shows run, we as fans began to believe that the reason we loved the show so much was because of the mystery. The questions and the unknown seemed to bring us back every week. I think in the end we, at least I, realized that it was the characters themselves and the story of their journey that I really wanted to see fulfilled. As I saw each of the characters reunited with the ones they loved and the realization that these people were what was important and what mattered, I’ll have to say that it was some of the most emotional responses I’ve ever had to entertainment. When Charlie and Claire finally “awakened” I lost it. Maybe it was because she was holding a newborn, but something about it really got to me. I think if you walk away from the finale pissed off that your specific questions weren’t answered, then maybe you’ve missed the point. In the end, it wasn’t about polar bears and hieroglyphics, but about people, love and their journey of faith. I loved it when they answered a major question or even a minor one, but it never touched me like Charlie and Claire did. If you didn’t like the finale, I think you would like it more if you just let go. 
Of course there are still questions and mysteries. Where is Walt? The obvious answer is that he’s 18 now. But, what made him so special? Why was pregnancy an issue on the island? Why didn’t Jack or Desmond turn into a smoke monster? Honestly, none of it matters. That’s the point. We don’t always understand everything and it’s important that faith in our destiny be a higher priority than our concrete knowledge of facts. I know that I’m delving into philosophical issues here, but I can’t help it. Anytime something addresses spiritual issues on any level, I seem to find some semblance of truth in it whether it was intended or not. I actually talk a lot about understanding our faith and why we believe what we believe. I do believe it’s important to not assume a certain belief system or line of thinking can never change in order to have faith, but sometimes we become so caught up in wanting to understand our spirituality and wanting to make sense of God, that we lose our ability to have faith in what can’t be grasped or understood. The creation of religious systems is our scientification of a faith that isn’t scientific. We attempt to nail down God in order to feel comfortable with what we believe. The truth is that the essence of faith is something that requires us to let go of making sense and simply believe. Jesus has given us truth and the Holy Spirit gives us the ability to follow that truth, but that doesn’t mean that that truth will make sense. Jack had to learn to just go with the flow. Trust that there was a purpose in all that he was experiencing and just go with it.
One of the biggest questions I’ve seen is concerning who was at the Church near the end of the final episode. “Why wasn’t so and so there?” In order to understand who was there, it’s important to remember why they were there.
Still, I know that many fans were disappointed with the finale. Your more than welcome to your opinion, but if you simply want more Walt, then I have the remedy.
So, if your a fan, then it’s the end of a great era of television. All you have to look forward to is my weekly writing of fan fiction of Hugo and Ben in a buddy cop scenario. It was interesting to watch the Jimmy Kimmel special that aired after the finale. The actors, most notably Matthew Fox, had just seen the last scene for the first time themselves. Their visible emotion goes to show how special this show was. I’m not one of these people who feel like a piece of my life is missing, that’s a little extreme, but when Two and a Half Men and American Idol are the top shows on television, you’ve gotta at least be sad. Cheers to the creators, writers, cast and every other person who worked on Lost. You finally get to let go.
