My very first reaction to the finale of LOST was anger. I didn’t get the answers that I wanted, but after reviewing the finale a few more times (3 more to be exact) my feelings towards the finale have done a complete 180. I have come to love the finale. The finale didn’t answer any of my questions, but I came to the conclusion that LOST was never about the questions. The unexplained mysterious were just there to make the viewers come back again and again. LOST has always been about the characters and their journeys of letting go. Our characters were “lost” is so many different ways, and when it was all said and done, they all found their way to the promise land. Here are a few things that I took notice of from “The End”:

“No one can tell you why you’re here Kate.”

The flash-sideways have been a mystery all season long, which is why there are so many theories on what the flash-sideways represent. I didn’t comprehend it at first but after taking my time with this episode, and listening very carefully, the flash-sideways are (takes a deep breath) purgatory. Yes, Yes, I know, but let’s look at a couple of facts: everyone’s life in the flash-sideways is perfect (Claire has her baby and is united with Jack, Jack has a son and has a stable relationship with is ex, Desmond has the respect of Charles Widmore, etc.). I could keep going on and on but I think you get the point.

Another fact on why the flash-sideways is purgatory is because all of the dead characters are back (Boone, Shannon, Charley, Christian, etc.). They all have their own lives, and they all have to come together in the church before they move on into the “afterlife”.

The only reason that our Losties haven’t moved on into “afterlife” is because each of them have forgotten what they had been through together. They all needed to reconnect with each other so they could, finally, move on.

“Welcome to the club.”

Miles tells Albert this after Albert receives his first grey hair. This might be the worst thing in the world for a normal man but for Albert it’s a sign that Jacob’s gift, or cruse, is gone. Albert can now age and die but he doesn’t want to die. Coming to peace with his wife, earlier this season, has made him see the light and appreciates his life. This is the reason why Albert isn’t in the church with the other Losties at the end because Albert has gone through his own purgatory, living on the island for 150 years. It is his life on the island where Albert came to terms with himself and his wife’s death.

“I just gave them [tickets] to your mother.”

Juliet is Jack’s ex-wife. What a shocker (not really). But the shocking thing is that Jack and Juliet seem to have a respectful relationship with one another. That is something Jack and Juliet have never had with their ex’s while they were alive.

”..a place where we can be with the ones we love…”

Desmond has always been special. That is something that we have known for awhile now, but Desmond doesn’t realize that until Widmore shocks the daylights out of him in “Happily Ever After”. In the flash-sideways Desmond doesn’t realize his purpose until Charlie drives Desmond’s car into the water, earlier in the season. Desmond has doubted himself throughout the whole series of LOST, but he finally expects his purpose when he sees the promise land through his flashes, both on the island and the flash-sideways. He realizes that he must use his special gift to help his friends and loved ones move on into the great beyond. 

“Who’s rules?”

This is what Sayid asks Hurley, and Hurley replies, “Don’t worry about it; just trust me okay?”. The person that makes the rules, in the flash-sideways, is God. The reason Hurley doesn’t tell Sayid that is it God’s rules is because Hurley needs Sayid to make his own decision. Sayid needs to comprehend that you aren’t what people tell you. Once Sayid comes to terms with this is when he rescues and touches Shannon in front of the bar. 

“What happened to your neck?”

The reason why Jack’s neck was bleeding in the flash-sideways is because the real world (island time) was bleeding into the flash-sideways world. If Flock (fake Locke) would have sunk the island, the flash-sideways and real world would be been destroyed. It isn’t until Jack saves the island is when everything is positioned back to normal.

“You don’t have a son Jack.”

This is a line that threw me for a loop the first time, but after watching it a few times I finally realized that it is true. Jack, in the flash-sideways world, doesn’t have a son at all. It’s a figure of his imagination so he can deal with is own Daddy issues. David could even be Aaron (insert dramatic groundhog here). This is the reason why David isn’t in the church when everyone else moves on, because he was never real.

The real Adam and Eve

It was always meant to be Jack and Kate. Jators FTW!

“It worked.”

This is what Juliet tells Sawyer when Sawyer unplugs the candy bar machine so he can get his Apollo bar that gets stuck in the vending machine. Doesn’t that line sound familiar? Think all the way back to the first episode of season 6 when Juliet tells Sawyer the same exact thing. She tells him, right before she dies, that “it worked”. “It” being the a-bomb going off and placing the island back in its proper place/time. This whole “candy bar getting stuck in a vending machine” is a metaphor for the a-bomb situation at the end of season 5.

“I have something’s I still need to workout…I think I’ll stay here awhile.”

The reason why Ben wasn’t in the church with the rest of the Losties is because he still has conflicts and people to reconnect with before he can move on. Ben has killed, manipulated, and back-stabbed many individuals. John forgiving Ben, at the church, is the first step in the right direction. 

“And you were a great number one Hugo.”

This is another line that threw me off when I first heard it, but after thinking about it, it becomes clear that Hugo and Ben were together on the island, protecting it, for many years together. I bet whoever landed or crashed on the island, while Hugo was in charge, got a warmer welcome than our Losties did.

 ”I died too.”

Another reason why the Losties haven’t moved on the “afterlife” is because the flash-sideways Jack still doesn’t recognize what is going on. Flash-sideways Jack is being as thick headed as he was in the previous seasons. It is not until Jack touches Christian’s (his father’s) coffin and has an extremely significant conversation with his Dad that makes Jack comprehend where they are and what’s the next step. Their next step is to move into the light and finally let go.

The End

When Jack finally sees the Ajira plane flying across the sky is when he knows that he can rest and close his eyes for good. Jack knows that he has saved his friends, which is why he smiles/laughs before he closes his eyes for the last time.

The overall meaning to LOST is about life. It’s all about the journey, not the end point. If we never let go of the past then it will always control us and hold us down from what is in front of us. By never getting go we are creating our own hell on earth, which is something our characters have learned through their journeys. I realize that this is the perfect ending to an amazing show.