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This will sound ridiculous to people who don't watch LOST and/or think TV is a waste of time, but now that the series has wrapped up, I truly feel like a great friend has moved away. I didn't start watching the show until a couple of years in, just like I didn't start reading the Harry Potter series until the first movie came out. There are other similarities between my addictions to both Harry Potter and LOST, the most evident being that I became quickly engrossed in both, to the point where they've really had a profound impact on my life.
(People who fall into the categories I mentioned in the first sentence should just stop reading, as the rest of this post is a love note to a television show.)
Jack: Thanks for finally waking up. For five entire seasons, I disliked you, and this past season you did an okay job of bringing me around. I hated you at times, barely tolerated you at others. You were a thorn in my side because you just couldn't listen to John Locke, who might have been wrong about some things but was at least trying to find a way to connect to what the Island represented. You were so resistant to change! But I have to admit, even I got a little sad when your eyes closed at the end. I think the moment you had with Richard in the Black Pearl helped. You went from being this arrogant s.o.b. to being someone I felt could deserve Jacob's job. It was a catalyst moment, in any case, and you were well on your way. I'm sorry it took so long for me to warm up to you, but thanks for finally letting go of your daddy issues.
Sawyer: You, my friend, were in a lot of ways the Sirius Black character in this whole shindig, but with more growth. I liked you as the tough-guy sheriff and the heart-of-gold Dharma sheriff. I don't know why people insisted on comparing you to Jack, who was in every way inferior to you & your character. But that's what people do, I guess. Thanks for changing, becoming the best version of yourself. And even in the last season, when you seemed to revert back into the chip-on-the-shoulder douche from Season 1, I knew you had it in you to be a hero, and you came out swinging.
Benjamin: (ie Snape) You are my favorite character on television, and how will I live without you? Much like the final chapter of Snape's life, this past season has revealed the core of your being-- which was good! I knew it!-- and you redeemed yourself from all the shenanigans of the last five years. The scene with Ilana was the most heartbreaking scene of the entire series. But your exchange with Hurley in the final moments of the show was beautiful and well-deserved. Number 2, you're number 1 in my book. (But if you end up with Rousseau I will throw a fit.)
Locke: Everything you did raised more questions, but I would have followed you from day one. Thanks for showing us what a box company employee can really do. (I do have some lingering regret that you didn't throttle Anthony Cooper yourself, but I guess Sawyer needed it, too.)
Richard: Mmmmm.
To the rest of the characters: Thanks for being exceptionally interesting and non-expendable (for the most part). Kate never won be over, not once, but I guess she and Claire can raise a baby together; I have no problem with that. Lapidas? Way to survive a submarine explosion. Just spectacular.
To the writers: Thanks for having so few lame episodes. Television will not ever be as great as this. I felt somewhat let down during the final episode because it felt too nice, too convenient, and at some points like we were watching a recap show with a little bit of last-minute exposition. But overall, after a night to think about it and reflect, I think the show ended on a positive. Thanks for killing off Jack. He needed to sacrifice himself; I think he gained a better perspective by doing it. And thanks for letting us know that Rose & Bernard were okay. They may not be crucial, but they're good solid people who just wanted to be on retirement. I appreciate your letting them stay that way.
There are so many questions left unanswered, but the show wrapped up its major loose ends. The rest is up for conversation, which is a great way to end a show like LOST. Farewell, TV show. You were one of a kind.
(People who fall into the categories I mentioned in the first sentence should just stop reading, as the rest of this post is a love note to a television show.)
Jack: Thanks for finally waking up. For five entire seasons, I disliked you, and this past season you did an okay job of bringing me around. I hated you at times, barely tolerated you at others. You were a thorn in my side because you just couldn't listen to John Locke, who might have been wrong about some things but was at least trying to find a way to connect to what the Island represented. You were so resistant to change! But I have to admit, even I got a little sad when your eyes closed at the end. I think the moment you had with Richard in the Black Pearl helped. You went from being this arrogant s.o.b. to being someone I felt could deserve Jacob's job. It was a catalyst moment, in any case, and you were well on your way. I'm sorry it took so long for me to warm up to you, but thanks for finally letting go of your daddy issues.
Sawyer: You, my friend, were in a lot of ways the Sirius Black character in this whole shindig, but with more growth. I liked you as the tough-guy sheriff and the heart-of-gold Dharma sheriff. I don't know why people insisted on comparing you to Jack, who was in every way inferior to you & your character. But that's what people do, I guess. Thanks for changing, becoming the best version of yourself. And even in the last season, when you seemed to revert back into the chip-on-the-shoulder douche from Season 1, I knew you had it in you to be a hero, and you came out swinging.
Benjamin: (ie Snape) You are my favorite character on television, and how will I live without you? Much like the final chapter of Snape's life, this past season has revealed the core of your being-- which was good! I knew it!-- and you redeemed yourself from all the shenanigans of the last five years. The scene with Ilana was the most heartbreaking scene of the entire series. But your exchange with Hurley in the final moments of the show was beautiful and well-deserved. Number 2, you're number 1 in my book. (But if you end up with Rousseau I will throw a fit.)
Locke: Everything you did raised more questions, but I would have followed you from day one. Thanks for showing us what a box company employee can really do. (I do have some lingering regret that you didn't throttle Anthony Cooper yourself, but I guess Sawyer needed it, too.)
Richard: Mmmmm.
To the rest of the characters: Thanks for being exceptionally interesting and non-expendable (for the most part). Kate never won be over, not once, but I guess she and Claire can raise a baby together; I have no problem with that. Lapidas? Way to survive a submarine explosion. Just spectacular.
To the writers: Thanks for having so few lame episodes. Television will not ever be as great as this. I felt somewhat let down during the final episode because it felt too nice, too convenient, and at some points like we were watching a recap show with a little bit of last-minute exposition. But overall, after a night to think about it and reflect, I think the show ended on a positive. Thanks for killing off Jack. He needed to sacrifice himself; I think he gained a better perspective by doing it. And thanks for letting us know that Rose & Bernard were okay. They may not be crucial, but they're good solid people who just wanted to be on retirement. I appreciate your letting them stay that way.
There are so many questions left unanswered, but the show wrapped up its major loose ends. The rest is up for conversation, which is a great way to end a show like LOST. Farewell, TV show. You were one of a kind.