The Last Baron
Since I have all but abandoned this blog, but put in some work on Facebook last night to write up my thoughts on the Lost series finale, I figured I'd at least cross-post it here...
You can let go now.
When we found out earlier this season that the whispers were people who hadn't "moved on," I think it set up the finale nicely. Now, make no mistake: everything that has happened on the show with the exception of the alternate reality in the 6th season actually happened -- the "flash-sideways" was set up by the characters so they could meet again after death (which happened at different times for all of them) before moving on. Perhaps their ability to create the alternate reality was the result of their time on the island, or perhaps it was simply because they could not move on without the memories of each other. Either way, it is best read as a metaphor on the importance of the moments and people important to each of us.
Regarding the flash-sideways mechanism:
Rather than being trapped on the island like the people they heard in the whispers, the characters were able to collectively work out what they needed to (which, incidentally, explains why Ben did not enter the church with them) and move on in death together -- hence the island metaphorically being at the bottom of the ocean at the beginning of the season. If anything, I'd say the flash-sideways represents a sort of purgatory ... or, better yet, a way to avoid the purgatory they witnessed on the island. The show itself is meant to be a meditation on the intersection of the characters' most human qualities: love, conflict, pro-creation, expression, and death. Even though our lives proceed along very different trajectories, we are all ultimately united by what makes us all human. In the flash-sideways, the characters are able to revisit their shared humanity as a way absolve them of their most inhuman acts. As such, the alternate reality provides an epilogue -- either concrete or metaphorical -- to the final events that transpire in the reality of the show.
Regarding notions of good and evil:
Fittingly, the events of of the finale shifted away from a battle between perceived good and evil forces to an emotional resolution that focused only on the characters' humanity. It is unlikely that a show about the complexity of the human condition would (or should) boil down to a mere clash of the titans. In the end, even the demigods themselves were flawed and complex -- just like the humans whose lives they influenced. In fact, the show itself never defined any character as being absolutely good or absolutely evil. While not all were able to find redemption by the finale, they were all shown to be capable of either extreme under the right circumstances. It is important to understand that neither Jacob nor the Man in Black represented an absolute. If anything, the two of them combined represent some sort of ideological paradigm. The ascendance of Hurley and Ben represents an evolution of ideas: the rules are allowed to change, but conditions of existence remain the same. As they did before, people will continue to live and die, but not all will find peace with what they have done. Even so, the intentions behind their decisions will never be purely good or purely evil. It is consequence -- not designation -- that ultimately governs how a person's decisions will be judged. The flash-sideways show us that this condition will remain constant even after the old guard is retired because it is part of the human condition: all have the opportunity to find redemption for mistakes because none are inherently good or evil. This theme -- the idea that there are no moral absolutes -- is easily one of the most important the show had to offer, and the show remained true to that theme to the very end.
Regarding any perceived metaphysical element:
What happens to the characters after the doors of the church are opened isn't revealed -- it might be heaven, or it might be something else entirely. Perhaps it is nothing? The writers had no intention of answering that question. Remember the joy Richard experienced when he found out he was beginning to age again -- perhaps the characters in the end were simply celebrating their own mortality.
I realize that's a stretch, but it is at least reasonable to say they were at least celebrating their own shared humanity. In my mind, the purpose of the penultimate scene was to convey that even though you may not realize it, every moment -- no matter how difficult or tragic -- may be one of the most important of your entire life. It is a reflection on experiences both positive and negative, experiences that mold each of our lives' stories -- not a comment on the afterlife. The writers made absolutely sure to add a pluralistic, all-encompassing spiritual element to the scene to be clear that the show is not a specific religious allegory (unless you want to interpret it as one), but is instead a comment on the universality of the human condition. My own secular interpretation of Lost is that it is a celebration of life and the events that unfold therein. It is sometimes painful, but it is ultimately worth living and celebrating.
In hindsight, all of the mysteries that were never explained seem trivial. Life is full of mysteries, but that doesn't keep us from living and, ultimately, dying. We need to appreciate it while we can.
Stellar final act. Loved it.
You can let go now.
When we found out earlier this season that the whispers were people who hadn't "moved on," I think it set up the finale nicely. Now, make no mistake: everything that has happened on the show with the exception of the alternate reality in the 6th season actually happened -- the "flash-sideways" was set up by the characters so they could meet again after death (which happened at different times for all of them) before moving on. Perhaps their ability to create the alternate reality was the result of their time on the island, or perhaps it was simply because they could not move on without the memories of each other. Either way, it is best read as a metaphor on the importance of the moments and people important to each of us.
Regarding the flash-sideways mechanism:
Rather than being trapped on the island like the people they heard in the whispers, the characters were able to collectively work out what they needed to (which, incidentally, explains why Ben did not enter the church with them) and move on in death together -- hence the island metaphorically being at the bottom of the ocean at the beginning of the season. If anything, I'd say the flash-sideways represents a sort of purgatory ... or, better yet, a way to avoid the purgatory they witnessed on the island. The show itself is meant to be a meditation on the intersection of the characters' most human qualities: love, conflict, pro-creation, expression, and death. Even though our lives proceed along very different trajectories, we are all ultimately united by what makes us all human. In the flash-sideways, the characters are able to revisit their shared humanity as a way absolve them of their most inhuman acts. As such, the alternate reality provides an epilogue -- either concrete or metaphorical -- to the final events that transpire in the reality of the show.
Regarding notions of good and evil:
Fittingly, the events of of the finale shifted away from a battle between perceived good and evil forces to an emotional resolution that focused only on the characters' humanity. It is unlikely that a show about the complexity of the human condition would (or should) boil down to a mere clash of the titans. In the end, even the demigods themselves were flawed and complex -- just like the humans whose lives they influenced. In fact, the show itself never defined any character as being absolutely good or absolutely evil. While not all were able to find redemption by the finale, they were all shown to be capable of either extreme under the right circumstances. It is important to understand that neither Jacob nor the Man in Black represented an absolute. If anything, the two of them combined represent some sort of ideological paradigm. The ascendance of Hurley and Ben represents an evolution of ideas: the rules are allowed to change, but conditions of existence remain the same. As they did before, people will continue to live and die, but not all will find peace with what they have done. Even so, the intentions behind their decisions will never be purely good or purely evil. It is consequence -- not designation -- that ultimately governs how a person's decisions will be judged. The flash-sideways show us that this condition will remain constant even after the old guard is retired because it is part of the human condition: all have the opportunity to find redemption for mistakes because none are inherently good or evil. This theme -- the idea that there are no moral absolutes -- is easily one of the most important the show had to offer, and the show remained true to that theme to the very end.
Regarding any perceived metaphysical element:
What happens to the characters after the doors of the church are opened isn't revealed -- it might be heaven, or it might be something else entirely. Perhaps it is nothing? The writers had no intention of answering that question. Remember the joy Richard experienced when he found out he was beginning to age again -- perhaps the characters in the end were simply celebrating their own mortality.
I realize that's a stretch, but it is at least reasonable to say they were at least celebrating their own shared humanity. In my mind, the purpose of the penultimate scene was to convey that even though you may not realize it, every moment -- no matter how difficult or tragic -- may be one of the most important of your entire life. It is a reflection on experiences both positive and negative, experiences that mold each of our lives' stories -- not a comment on the afterlife. The writers made absolutely sure to add a pluralistic, all-encompassing spiritual element to the scene to be clear that the show is not a specific religious allegory (unless you want to interpret it as one), but is instead a comment on the universality of the human condition. My own secular interpretation of Lost is that it is a celebration of life and the events that unfold therein. It is sometimes painful, but it is ultimately worth living and celebrating.
In hindsight, all of the mysteries that were never explained seem trivial. Life is full of mysteries, but that doesn't keep us from living and, ultimately, dying. We need to appreciate it while we can.
Stellar final act. Loved it.