Lost The End (show finale)
May. 25th, 2010 05:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakBusy day ahead, so just a few thoughts; this isn't meant as a comprehensive meta post. I'll do one on the entire show, favourite scenes, least favourite and most favourite plot lines and so forth when I get around to it (upcoming long train journeys should help). But for now, with the finale still fresh in mind:
Prologue: the hardest thing to do is not to make comparisons to another show, which I'm itchng to, but not everyone reading my Lost reviews is also up to date on said other show, and I don't want to spoil anyone planning on catching up with other shows, so please, in your comments, avoid spoilers for other shows as well.
Overall impression: it mostly worked for me emotionally; logically, it doesn't make much sense, but then, if there ever was a story for which the cliché "it's the journey that matters, not the destination" was coined, it was Lost. Also, it's a good thing that my Jack dislike stopped half a season ago. I mean, I'm sure it'll come back once I start the big rewatch in some vague future when I have the time, especially when I rewatch season 2, but for now, I'm feeling all benevolently, which is good, since there was a lot of Jack in that finale. What also helps with the continued benevolence is the the twist with Hurley, i.e. Jack figuring out he was supposed to be the sacrifice/killer and Hurley the ultimate guardian, and being on board with that, something prepared with the writerly self-snark of letting Smokey, earlier, comment "you're kind of the obvious choice" to Jack and what a let-down that was. :) (When I heard that, I knew we were in for a twist on the whole successor of Jacob thing.) It also helps that all the other characters got ample emotional scenes as well, so that when Jack died for good, with the most shameless emotional use of a dog since Lassie (well done, Darlton!), I wasn't thinking "finally" as I might have in earlier seasons, but "aw". Even though I was inappropriately amused before by Jack's constant/true love/big trauma to bring back memories was his father, because, well, yes, figures.
Predictably, other than his goodbye with Hurley the Jack scenes that worked best for me were the one with Smokey ("you're not John Locke, and you're disrespecting his memory by wearing his face", because well, YES) and with real Locke; just as I was surprised in the season opener how moving I found Jack and Locke being able to help each other in the Rebootverse, which I suppose we should now call Castaways Limbo, instead of competing and being enemies, it was the same for me here.
On to the others: given all the emphasis on romantic relationships, I'm more than happy that there were a few memories-triggering encounters that didn't involve True Love's Kiss: for example, Kate and Claire remembering when reexperiencing Aaron's birth together especially (and in Lost Primeverse, Kate and Claire holding hands while the plan took off; they could have done more with that relationship during the middle of the season, but they did good in the first and the last third. Kate persuading Claire to return with them, not to condemm herself, was another favourite moment, because it went with one of the general Lost themes through the seasons; if you want to, you can change, and everyone deserves a second chance if they're willing to take it. (Though you are as likely to die in the process as you're to survive. Ahem.) I do hope there are at least a few fanfictions that speculate on Kate's and Claire's lives with Aaron post-Island and pre-Rebootverse. (BTW, Claire leaving in a plane means Desmond's vision that made Charlie sacrifice himself finally came true.)
Jin and Sun remembering when Juliet shows them their unborn child, this time together, was another beautiful moment, and their not so hidden amusement at Cop!Sawyer later was a lovely touch, but no prices for guessing which encounter was my favourite and made me sniffle the most: Ben and Locke in front of the church, of course. I knew Ben's memories had come back after the Desmond!beating and were already there when he was invited by Alex and Danielle (there is no way Dr. Linus would have been that overwhelmed emotionally). Locke's memories returning when he reexperiences the miracle of his healed body, and his conversation with Jack during and after was great, but like I said - nothing beats the two of them together, one last time. There was such a note of grace about it, in the regret and forgiveness. Part of me wishes John Locke wouldn't have moved on yet, either, because damn it, that canon high school AU is more appealing than ever now that they both remember, but thematically it fits that he leaves with the rest of the original castaways.
Incidentally: part of the "Reboot/Sidewaysverse/Castaways Limbo fashioned by collective thoughts and wishes" works and part doesn't - for example, Locke being with Helen but still crippled in connection with his father fits both what he wanted to have and the sense of guilt over his own actions and ongoing unresolved mixture of longing for his father and hate for what his father had done to him, until Jack helps him to let go of that. (It occurs to me both Ben and Locke recreated relationships with their fathers that were positive instead of negatives but where the fathers are the ones crippled and in need of ongoing support, only Locke crippled himself as well.) Eloise giving her son his musical career instead of a physicist one works. You might even say Sayid would be guilt ridden and masochistic enough to wish Nadia alive, but married ot his brother. Charlie, otoh? Works as a version who never had the island experience but not as something Island!Charlie would have wondered about and wanted. Like I said, it's not too logical, though most just brings on the right emotion so you don't care, like Hurley's expression when he sees Charlie again.
Smokey becoming mortal and stuck in Locke's body the moment the "light"/energy/whatever is put out is something I had more or less expected (it had to be something like this if you didn't want to let Smokey alive, but an actual physical fight as a climax doesn't work for me here any more than it did when DS9 and Star Tre: Generations did it. Double standard time, because, otoh: Kate being the one who actually kills him via shooting him did so work (and brought back the triad from the end cross cutting in Across the Sea again, the dubious good guy, the ambiguous mother and the tragic bad guy, aswee_warrior put it). Mind you, despite his threats to Rose & Bernard in order to get Desmond's cooperation, I still felt a bit sorry for Smokey at the end. The show never credibly proved his departing the island would have done anything than loosen an admittedly dangerous individual on the world (especially since the finale demonstrated he lost his powers the moment the island energy was switched off, so to speak), and I still think after two millennia stuck in smoke form with only the person who did this to you as company, villainhood is not a choice anymore. Though wee_warrior's theory that Smokey isn't identical with Jacob's brother, though he believes he is, the death of Jacob's brother only gave him consciousness, could, if you want to, be supported by the afore mentioned Smokey and Jack conversation in the cave when Smokey reminisces in "I" form about something Locke and Jack experienced together, Jack angrily tells him off about not being Locke (and Locke having been right about most things), and Smokey looks for a moment confused and pissed off as if recollecting that no, he's not Locke. If you ascribe the believe he was always a smoke entity who gained his sense of identity from Jacob's brother at the moment of the later's death and after Locke's death and acquisition of Locke's body adopted some of Locke's memories and traits, resulting in occasional identity confusion, that works. If I have to choose, though, I'm still going with Smokey as the Titus Welliver twin; it's just too mythic not to use.
(I do wish they'd have given him a moment of relief at his death, as I hoped they would, though, because at least this way, he does finally leave.)
The Sayid-Shannon reunion was a nostalgia moment combined with inappropriate amusement, like Jack & Christian, because, well, I had to remember that back in s2 people used to complain about Sayid's "the woman I loved" outbursts re: dead Shannon weren't really jiving with his Nadia declarations, and the show had been so careful not to mention Sayid/Shannon after s2 again and harping on Sayid/Nadia. Inappropriate amusement or no, though, I'm all for Sayid (and Shannon) getting a Castaway Limbo happy ending.
Neat detail: when Jack stands in front of the coffin, you can see the window behind him which has symbols of: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Most pleasant surprise: Lapidus alive. And not just because that means I was right not to list him among the dead two episodes earlier.
Best line: "I don't believe in many things, but I do believe in duct tape." Miles, I'll miss you. And the rest.
More to come in the next days and weeks, I'm sure.
Prologue: the hardest thing to do is not to make comparisons to another show, which I'm itchng to, but not everyone reading my Lost reviews is also up to date on said other show, and I don't want to spoil anyone planning on catching up with other shows, so please, in your comments, avoid spoilers for other shows as well.
Overall impression: it mostly worked for me emotionally; logically, it doesn't make much sense, but then, if there ever was a story for which the cliché "it's the journey that matters, not the destination" was coined, it was Lost. Also, it's a good thing that my Jack dislike stopped half a season ago. I mean, I'm sure it'll come back once I start the big rewatch in some vague future when I have the time, especially when I rewatch season 2, but for now, I'm feeling all benevolently, which is good, since there was a lot of Jack in that finale. What also helps with the continued benevolence is the the twist with Hurley, i.e. Jack figuring out he was supposed to be the sacrifice/killer and Hurley the ultimate guardian, and being on board with that, something prepared with the writerly self-snark of letting Smokey, earlier, comment "you're kind of the obvious choice" to Jack and what a let-down that was. :) (When I heard that, I knew we were in for a twist on the whole successor of Jacob thing.) It also helps that all the other characters got ample emotional scenes as well, so that when Jack died for good, with the most shameless emotional use of a dog since Lassie (well done, Darlton!), I wasn't thinking "finally" as I might have in earlier seasons, but "aw". Even though I was inappropriately amused before by Jack's constant/true love/big trauma to bring back memories was his father, because, well, yes, figures.
Predictably, other than his goodbye with Hurley the Jack scenes that worked best for me were the one with Smokey ("you're not John Locke, and you're disrespecting his memory by wearing his face", because well, YES) and with real Locke; just as I was surprised in the season opener how moving I found Jack and Locke being able to help each other in the Rebootverse, which I suppose we should now call Castaways Limbo, instead of competing and being enemies, it was the same for me here.
On to the others: given all the emphasis on romantic relationships, I'm more than happy that there were a few memories-triggering encounters that didn't involve True Love's Kiss: for example, Kate and Claire remembering when reexperiencing Aaron's birth together especially (and in Lost Primeverse, Kate and Claire holding hands while the plan took off; they could have done more with that relationship during the middle of the season, but they did good in the first and the last third. Kate persuading Claire to return with them, not to condemm herself, was another favourite moment, because it went with one of the general Lost themes through the seasons; if you want to, you can change, and everyone deserves a second chance if they're willing to take it. (Though you are as likely to die in the process as you're to survive. Ahem.) I do hope there are at least a few fanfictions that speculate on Kate's and Claire's lives with Aaron post-Island and pre-Rebootverse. (BTW, Claire leaving in a plane means Desmond's vision that made Charlie sacrifice himself finally came true.)
Jin and Sun remembering when Juliet shows them their unborn child, this time together, was another beautiful moment, and their not so hidden amusement at Cop!Sawyer later was a lovely touch, but no prices for guessing which encounter was my favourite and made me sniffle the most: Ben and Locke in front of the church, of course. I knew Ben's memories had come back after the Desmond!beating and were already there when he was invited by Alex and Danielle (there is no way Dr. Linus would have been that overwhelmed emotionally). Locke's memories returning when he reexperiences the miracle of his healed body, and his conversation with Jack during and after was great, but like I said - nothing beats the two of them together, one last time. There was such a note of grace about it, in the regret and forgiveness. Part of me wishes John Locke wouldn't have moved on yet, either, because damn it, that canon high school AU is more appealing than ever now that they both remember, but thematically it fits that he leaves with the rest of the original castaways.
Incidentally: part of the "Reboot/Sidewaysverse/Castaways Limbo fashioned by collective thoughts and wishes" works and part doesn't - for example, Locke being with Helen but still crippled in connection with his father fits both what he wanted to have and the sense of guilt over his own actions and ongoing unresolved mixture of longing for his father and hate for what his father had done to him, until Jack helps him to let go of that. (It occurs to me both Ben and Locke recreated relationships with their fathers that were positive instead of negatives but where the fathers are the ones crippled and in need of ongoing support, only Locke crippled himself as well.) Eloise giving her son his musical career instead of a physicist one works. You might even say Sayid would be guilt ridden and masochistic enough to wish Nadia alive, but married ot his brother. Charlie, otoh? Works as a version who never had the island experience but not as something Island!Charlie would have wondered about and wanted. Like I said, it's not too logical, though most just brings on the right emotion so you don't care, like Hurley's expression when he sees Charlie again.
Smokey becoming mortal and stuck in Locke's body the moment the "light"/energy/whatever is put out is something I had more or less expected (it had to be something like this if you didn't want to let Smokey alive, but an actual physical fight as a climax doesn't work for me here any more than it did when DS9 and Star Tre: Generations did it. Double standard time, because, otoh: Kate being the one who actually kills him via shooting him did so work (and brought back the triad from the end cross cutting in Across the Sea again, the dubious good guy, the ambiguous mother and the tragic bad guy, as
wee_warrior put it). Mind you, despite his threats to Rose & Bernard in order to get Desmond's cooperation, I still felt a bit sorry for Smokey at the end. The show never credibly proved his departing the island would have done anything than loosen an admittedly dangerous individual on the world (especially since the finale demonstrated he lost his powers the moment the island energy was switched off, so to speak), and I still think after two millennia stuck in smoke form with only the person who did this to you as company, villainhood is not a choice anymore. Though wee_warrior's theory that Smokey isn't identical with Jacob's brother, though he believes he is, the death of Jacob's brother only gave him consciousness, could, if you want to, be supported by the afore mentioned Smokey and Jack conversation in the cave when Smokey reminisces in "I" form about something Locke and Jack experienced together, Jack angrily tells him off about not being Locke (and Locke having been right about most things), and Smokey looks for a moment confused and pissed off as if recollecting that no, he's not Locke. If you ascribe the believe he was always a smoke entity who gained his sense of identity from Jacob's brother at the moment of the later's death and after Locke's death and acquisition of Locke's body adopted some of Locke's memories and traits, resulting in occasional identity confusion, that works. If I have to choose, though, I'm still going with Smokey as the Titus Welliver twin; it's just too mythic not to use. (I do wish they'd have given him a moment of relief at his death, as I hoped they would, though, because at least this way, he does finally leave.)
The Sayid-Shannon reunion was a nostalgia moment combined with inappropriate amusement, like Jack & Christian, because, well, I had to remember that back in s2 people used to complain about Sayid's "the woman I loved" outbursts re: dead Shannon weren't really jiving with his Nadia declarations, and the show had been so careful not to mention Sayid/Shannon after s2 again and harping on Sayid/Nadia. Inappropriate amusement or no, though, I'm all for Sayid (and Shannon) getting a Castaway Limbo happy ending.
Neat detail: when Jack stands in front of the coffin, you can see the window behind him which has symbols of: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Most pleasant surprise: Lapidus alive. And not just because that means I was right not to list him among the dead two episodes earlier.
Best line: "I don't believe in many things, but I do believe in duct tape." Miles, I'll miss you. And the rest.
More to come in the next days and weeks, I'm sure.
