LOST Season Finale: The Good, The Bad and The WTF?!
May 30, 2008 by Kath Skerry
UPDATE: Click here to share your thoughts on tonight’s LOST series finale?
LOST doesn’t return with new episodes until January 2009, but I think last night’s season finale provided enough questions and answers to keep people interested and speculating until then. Something tells me that LOST won’t be falling from our pop culture radar despite it’s long hiatus.
I’m completely overwhelmed as to where to start. The past? The present? The future? It would probably be more interesting if I could tell one from the other. But I can’t. I’m too confused. I wish Juliet would share some of that Dharma Rum because I could sure used some right about now. Oh it’s only 7am? My bad. I’ll wait until at least 8:45am to start drinking.
Before we get into to what exactly went down last night (besides the helicopter), I must say that while I truly enjoyed the two hour experience of last night’s LOST, I think I was a left a little underwhelmed. That being said, I think last year’s season finale set the bar so high that I may have been expecting a bit too much. Where last year’s finale turned the entire show upside down, last night’s episode served to answer some pretty important questions while setting us up for a new storyline when the show returns next year. I guess that’s what a good season finale is supposed to do. But this is LOST so I was expecting the unexpected (oh wait, that’s BIG BROTHER…dang).
As for what happened last night, well let’s set some expectations right now so you aren’t left underwhelmed. (1) I’ve only seen the show once and I watched it at 3:30am this morning. And yes, that’s going to be my excuse when people leave comments that say something like “GMMR I can’t believe you missed [fill in the blank]” or “Hey asshat, were we watching the same show?!“. (2) For those of you who listen to TV Talk with GMMR & Ducky, then you know all about our “Two Idiots Talk LOST” portion of the podcast. We’ll be talking more LOST in our next podcast but the rules haven’t changed – I’m still an idiot talking about LOST so don’t expect too much. (3) I may or may not have missed the 15 minutes of the show after Sawyer walked shirtless from the water. I was a bit distracted. Sue me.
So let’s do this. Here’s my take on LOST – the good, the bad, the WTF?
The Good…
- One of the biggest questions of the season was answered when we learned how the Oceanic 6 got off the island and why they lied. There are still a lot of missing pieces when it comes to this particular tale but I think we’ll learn more in time. But hey, talk about getting a bit of closure. That was kind of huge.
- How steamy was the Kate and Sawyer kiss? Wowza. I usually applaud Michael Emerson and Elizabeth Mitchell on their ability to be so ambiguous in their portrayals of Ben and Juliet, respectively, but I’m going to give a shout out to Evangeline Lilly for playing Kate as equally ambiguous when it comes to her feelings for Jack and Sawyer. After all this time I still don’t know exactly where Kate’s heart is. I just assume the angel on her shoulder is all for Jack, and the devil has her staying on the island and playing Jane to Sawyer’s Tarzan.
- Yay to Sawyer for being the hero and sacrificing himself for the woman he loves and his friends. See, he’s not all that bad. Hurley must have been feeling all kinds of guilty after that. And they didn’t kill Sawyer! He made it back to the island. Golf clap to the writers for that one.
- Keamy is dead! Sweet…I really hated that guy. But before he died, how awesome was that kick ass fight sequence between him and Sayid? Nice!
- Sun or rather Yunjim Kim! WTF was that last night? And I mean WTF in the best way possible. Where did that come from? Sun’s screams for Jin from the helicopter kicked me right in the gut and I still haven’t recovered. It was so raw, so emotional. Well we at least know what Yunjin’s Emmy reel will include this year. Stunning! Oh and I am a big fan of future bad ass Sun. Big fan. Oh and since we are speaking of her, Jack mentioned that Sun hated him. We know she blames two people for Jin’s death. Her father and…is it Jack? If so, I think that’s a little harsh.
- I can’t say that I’m as emotionally invested in Desmond and Penny as other LOST fans but it was still a touching moment when the two were reunited on the boat. Although I’m surprised Penny hasn’t moved on…it’s been a while. Yeah, I’m so not a romantic.
- Yes it’s another unanswered question to add to the list of thousands of unanswered questions, but I’m kind of intrigued about Charlotte’s connection to the island. After what Miles had to say I had these feelings that maybe Charlotte was once dead or something. I don’t know. Yeah, that’s crazy. But still….I’m intrigued.
- It was nice seeing Walt again even if it’s creepy to see how old he is. Seeing him reminds me of just how long we’ve been on this LOST journey. He was a little kid when all this began, and now he’s a man. Dude, I feel old. I hate you Walt.
- We finally find out who is in the coffin. It’s Jeremy Bentham!! Sweet! Wait…who’s that?! Hot damn it’s Locke. Why he goes by a different name I don’t know. Who was in the coffin has been a mayjah mystery since last season and kudos to the writers for throwing us a bone and answering that question.
The Bad…
- This comment belongs in both the “bad” and the “wtf” categories. Sorry, but I was irked by the whole ‘moving of the island’ storyline. I just didn’t buy it. Being a fan of LOST means that you have to buy into a lot of things, but meek Ben and his cut arm having the strength to turn this giant frozen wheel which moves the island to the point it disappears? Yeah, it was a little too out there for me.
- The reasoning for why the Oceanic 6 had to lie was a bit lame. There could have been so many other explanations that would have been more interesting. I guess I don’t understand why they had to lie in the first place, but if they did I think Lindelof and Cuse could have come up with something a little more interesting.
- Why kill Jin? What was the point? I’m sure it was to fuel the storyline for future bad ass Sun, but I find Jin such a compelling character that I would have liked to see his life off the island.
- Anyone else creeped out by future Aaron? Since I still believe he has something important to do with all this mess I keep waiting for him to turn into Damien or one of those children of the corn.
The WTF…
- I suppose there’s a part of me that could put most of the events of last night into this category, but I’ll try to stick to the stuff I truly am bewildered by. So let’s start with Christian Shepherd. I’m starting to believe that he’s just the Angel of Death. What was he doing showing himself to Michael right before the boat exploded?
- Back to this whole moving island BS. What is the possible explanation for a massive island just disappearing? Was Ben moving a big wheel that created a mirror to shield the island. I found this a little too far fetched…even for LOST.
- What’s with all the dead people? And is Bruce Willis among them? Claire disappeared with Daddy Dearest into the woods and every time we’ve seen her since she’s been creeping me the F out. Is she dead? (I’m assuming yes). Was Kate really having a dream or was Claire haunting her like the dead people haunt Hurley. I’m starting to believe that Hurley was playing chess with Mr. Eko. I refuse to believe that Hurley is crazy.
- Who is stalking the Oceanic 6 and why is Sayid kidnapping Hurley to protect him? From who? Or perhaps what? I get that their lie is being slowly unraveled but I don’t get by who. My brain hurts.
- In the reairing of last week’s episode, it was revealed that the other original survivors of 815 were Boone, Libby and Charlie. Why were they the ones chosen to “live”? Why did there need to be other survivors at all in this big scheme?
- According to Lostpedia.com, the voice calling Kate says “The island needs you. You have to go back before it’s too late”…but in reverse. Here’s the big WTF question from me….who are these people at Lostpedia and how in the name of all things holy did they figure that out?
- Where is Daniel? He left the island with the nameless people of Oceanic 815 but he never made it to the boat. Did he make it back to the island before it disappeared? I’m a big fan of Faraday and hope we see him play a bigger role next season.
- Why does everyone hate Locke? How the hell did he get off the island? Why is he going by Jeremy Betham? Did they really embalm Terry O’Quinn for that casket scene because dude, that was freaky looking! What’s with the guilt trip he’s putting on Jack about the events that happened after he left? Last I saw Locke he was a happy little camper as the newly appointed leaders of The Others. What gives?!
- Why do they have to go back to the island? WTF? I thought Jack’s plea to Kate in last year’s finale about going back was rooted in guilt for the people they left behind, but now I’m thinking there is something more to it. And why do they all have to go back? Even dead Locke?! Although, I must say that the minute Ben told Jack that Locke had to go with them I saw visions of Dead!Locke springing up from his coffin the minute they landed on the island. Will the island’s healing powers strike again?
- Anyone else see the commercial for ‘Octagon Global Recruiting‘ near the end of the show? It was one of those ads from the Dharma Initiative and seemed to be a shout out to Comic Con which also happens to be taking place in San Diego from July 23-27th. Smooth move Ex-Lax. I’ll be at Comic Con and can’t wait to hear from Cuse and Lindelof at the LOST panel.
So yeah, that’s kind of where my head is now…a bit all over the place. I’m counting on you to call me out on big moments I missed. What was your take on the season finale of LOST? Any ‘good’, ‘bad’, and ‘wtf’ moments to share?
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Filed under Lost, Lost Recaps
Long time reader but this is the first time I’m leaving a comment. Really loved last night’s episode but you brought up a lot of good points. It really did work well as a season finale but I think like you I was wanting something more.
Glad this recap was waiting for me when I woke up this morning. TV Talk with Ducky and GMMR is the best podcast out there and my new favorite part is Two Idiots Talk Lost. Can’t wait to see what you come up with for the finale.
Ben Linus in 08!!
-Mark
WHere is rose and bernard??? were they on the boat??? did they also die????
Rose and Bernard are still on the island (I think). Rose was talking to Miles as the last boat to the freighter left.
I’m not convinced that Jin is dead. He was on the deck of the boat and could have jumped before the explosion…crazier things have happened. Maybe he was picked up in the dingy by Faraday? I don’t think we should count him out.
I think Christian was telling Michael that Joseph and the island didn’t need him anymore and he could go…he could finally die.
Kath – great recap and good questions too! I was wondering about that Octagon commercial and didn’t realize that it was the same time as Comic Con – very interesting.
I agree that it will be hard to ever top last year’s finale, but I am glad for the answers we did get and the questions that are left to be answered. I think there’s still more to the whole issue of why they’re lying that probably will be explained more next season (oh, I cannot wait until January!)…. and I have to say I am still extremely sad that Jin and Michael were left on the boat when it exploded. But I still have some hope out there that maybe we haven’t seen the last of them either, though I have no idea how that would work out.
Also, I am a big Desmond/Penny fan so seeing their reunion was definitely sweet – I hope we also see what happened to them once they sent off the Oceanic 6. Obviously Penny still has a major role in everything because of her father, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing them again at some point.
Overall, I think it was a good finale, though I agree that I was expecting something more along the lines of last year’s finale – but still a great episode on its own.
Though they could have explained it better, I think the reason for lying is actually pretty solid. Widmore sent those people on the freighter to get Ben and they had orders to kill any survivors… Widmore (or someone) is the one who went to all the trouble to put a fake plane at the bottom of the ocean. It’s in his best interest if no actual survivors ever leave the island and certainly that they never tell the truth about what happened as it’ll raise questions about the “fake” truth that was already sold to the press. So, they had to lie to protect themselves. If they’re willing to go along with the original lie about the crash, then there’s no reason to kill them.
That said, what bothers me about the whole thing (though I’m willing to wait and see if they’ll explain it because it does seem like an obvious question) is why Widmore would just leave them alone. You’d think he’d want to know exactly what happened since none of his people can come back with a report. Perhaps that’s how Daniel will end up playing into things next season?
Rae – I agree they could have explained it better. I think I was taken back by the thought the whole idea about why they had to lie was figured out and explained away in a matter of seconds. It was one of the bigger mysteries people had been wondering about all season.
Mark – So glad you decided to leave a comment. I hope we hear from you more in the future.
Rose and Bernard are still on the island I think. Had they left with Daniel, I think we would have been shown footage. There was a reason just the nameless survivors were in that last boat.
Oh and how pissed is Kate going to be when they back to the island to find out that Sawyer and Juliet are making good use of their island time. you know it’s going to happen.
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Hey guys, long time reader first time poster!
I have a question!
Why was Daniel doing only 1 more boat run to the freighter? (i love is “riiiight, when i come back” mutter to Juliet, can he be anymore obvious haha) Does he know something???
Also, most laugh out loud moment:
when sawyer called Frank “Kenny Rogers”!
My husband will be so glad he’s not the only one that thinks Locke might just come back from the dead when they take his dead body to the island.
And I’m thrilled to find someone else that doesn’t think Hurley is crazy. With all the crazy things that happen on the island, why is it so strange that Hurley chats with dead Charlie and plays chess with dead Mr. Eko?
Daniel was only doing one more boat run to the freighter because he knew that Ben (or possibly Keamy since he seemed to know how to get down into the station) was trying to move the island because he heard people talking about “the orchid” which he knew was the station that was used to move objects forward in time. I’m sure he just figured that someone must be getting close to moving the island or maybe he was just worried that Keamy and those military guys would come kill them before he could get everyone off the island.
The finale was good, as many others say, not as good as last years shocker and all out WTF ending but a good amount of questions answered and new ones provided for us to think about for the next 8 months. I totally agree with the whole moving the island thing and it’s just a little too far fetched for me, even more so then the smoke monster that I still can’t seem to get used to. Though I didn’t think of the giant mirror idea that would give the illusion that the island was gone, I think out of any explination that one might be more believable. Give me the Remote makes a good point about the nobodies being on the boat with Daniel, extras are pretty dispensible, if you’re on a boat with nothing but those nameless people, bet is you’re a gonner. I’m honestly thinking that Jin is alive, he made it, what about that episode that showed Sun giving birth and Jin running around looking for a big stuffed panda…..unless that was a flashback, who can tell these days? I agree that people are liking the new bad ass Sun, she’s out for revenge for sure, I think the 2 people she blames are her father and Widmore although Jack thinks she blames him, but that’s probably because Jack thinks he’s supposed to be responsible for everyone and everything that went down on that damn island, at first it was noble but now it’s just annoying, get over yourself and stop trying to be such a martyr. Juliet and Sawyer are definitely going to be drinking that Darma Rum together and shacking up on the beach, can’t wait to see the reaction of all 4 characters in that twisted love square (Sawyer, Kate, Jack and Juliet) What I want to know is WTF did Sawyer say to Kate before he threw himself off of that helicopter, who would’ve thought that Sawyer was going to turn into a hero? Although I’ll have to say, I always knew he had a heart, he just needs some lovin’. What was up with Walt asking Hurley why nobody came to see him? Selfish much? Maybe next time he’ll ask him to give him those millions of dollars he won while they played games and bet on the island, wouldn’t surprise me. One thing I really don’t get is the people they named that survived the crash…what is that all about? Why pick those people? Boone? Libby? Charlie? Okay, I could maybe see Charlie but why Libby? Maybe because they didn’t think that Hurley would be able to keep her a secret since he loved her, oh poor Hurley (sigh) As for Boone, I dont’ know why they’d go and say that he was one of the survivors, why not Shannon? oh poor Sayid (another sigh) But hopefully these 8 months will pass by quick and before we know it we’ll be here wondering what new things and what more WTF moments we can talk about. I’m counting the days.
I really enjoyed the episode, especially the Penny/Desmond reunion, the Sun flashforward, and Sawyer’s sacrifice (and meeting with Juliet on the beach). Plus, now we know why Ben was wearing that parka in the middle of the desert.
I’ve been thinking about the use of Boone, Libby, and Charlie — all thee died on the island and all three have returned as ghosts/dreams. Have any of the other people done the same? I’m not sure what that might mean, but it seems like a possibly connection.
One last point — when Walt made the comment about no one visiting him, I was wondering how he expected them to find him. Were they supposed to just know that he was living with one of his grandmothers, probably under an assumed name? It seems like it would be far easier for him to visit them if he really wanted to see them.
The least believable thing for me–maybe even more so than moving the island, considering that this *is* Lost–is how the Oceanic 6 changed clothes after being picked up by Penny’s boat, so they were wearing things that looked like what they had on when the plane went down. Seriously?
The least believable thing for me, maybe even more so than moving the island (this *is* Lost, after all) is how the Oceanic 6 changed clothes after being picked up by Penny’s boat, so they were all wearing things that looked like what they wore when the plane went down. Seriously?
Turn up the volume on your lap tops, folks! We actually gets to know what Sawyer says to Kate: “I have a daughter i Alber***. If you find her tell her I’m sorry”
Okay, first off, I don’t think Jin is dead. I think that because he knew about the bomb he jumped off. He could feasibly be on the boat with Faraday. That would put two main characters in it and make it more important and worth keeping track of next season. Plus, I like them both, so I want them to still be there.
I do not think Locke will spring back to life. Christian didn’t. The only one we have really seen come back to life is Mikhail and he, like Michael, probably just wasn’t “allowed” to die yet. But Locke may become like Christian and serve his purpose as someone who’s “undead” or whatever you want to call him.
And in regards to the island, my friend’s theory is that it simply moved forward in time, not that it moved in place. They say in the Dharma video that the rabbit will appear to temporarily vanish. The island has probably done the same.
Was it just me or was anybody else as disappointed as I was in the special effects last night? My husband and I thought they could have done a much better and believable job with that.
The one thing that I was hoping for was that when Ben killed the guy by stabbing him, that Locke would have attached the pulse reader to himself in the vain hope that he could somehow save the people on the boat. He really DID seem concerned for them, and HAD he attached it to himself, he may have saved them while the battery was still frozen. What do you think…anyone…anyone?
Rae, maybe you can clear up the lie for me too. My big problem, and maybe I’m missing something really obvious, is how they will explain how they themselves survived. I understand their reason for lying to protect the survivors still on the island, but I’m assuming the Oceanic 5’s (minus Aaron of course) fake bodies were found on the fake plane as well. So how will that be explained. I think I should watch the press conference again but I don’t think anyone even brought up the fake plane in such blatant terms…or that any suspicion of it being a cover-up had been raised yet.
Here’s some of the story of the real Jeremy Bentham, via wikipedia:
“As requested in his will, his body was preserved and stored in a wooden cabinet, termed his “Auto-icon”. Originally kept by his disciple Dr. Southwood Smith,[11] it was acquired by University College London in 1850. The Auto-icon is kept on public display at the end of the South Cloisters in the main building of the College. For the 100th and 150th anniversaries of the college, the Auto-icon was brought to the meeting of the College Council, where he was listed as “present but not voting”.[12] Tradition holds that if the council’s vote on any motion is tied, the auto-icon always breaks the tie by voting in favour of the motion.
The Auto-icon has always had a wax head, as Bentham’s head was badly damaged in the preservation process. The real head was displayed in the same case for many years, but became the target of repeated student pranks including being stolen on more than one occasion. It is now locked away securely.”
I don’t think that body was Locke’s at all. And Jack may even know that…
I thought it was a damn good episode, especially for a season finale.
Out of everything from last night, even the island moving, i still do not believe Jin died. Sure earlier in the season you see Sun at his grave, but if he was not recovered because he was “deep in the ocean with the rest of the plane,” then it was an empty casket. And they did not show Jin actually dying. He was just standing on the platform looking up at the helicopter and that was the last we saw of him. If he were to really have died, the writers would have shown him dying, just like with the rest of the characters – Claire being the only exception/flaw in my idea.
I love your recap GMMR and everyone’s comments are great. I have one HUGE question though- that electromagnetic force that appeared when Ben was moving the island is the same one that appeared in the end of season 2 when Desmond blew up the hatch. So here is my theory: Did they move the island (in time or space or both) when they blew up the hatch? That would make sense as to why Penny’s men found it right after that happened. Maybe each Dharma station has the ability to move the island once. However the problem with this is that Ben said the person has to leave and never go back (but he could be lying, it is Ben after all) but Desmond doesn’t leave. Also Penny’s men could have just found it cause the island sent out an electromagnetic force. Does these theory even make sense? Let me know what you think.
I loved the finale! I think Michael is definitely dead (cause of Christian appearing to him) and Jin could be alive, that would be a nice surprise for Sun when they eventually go back to the island. I thought the whole episode was awesome and I am really excited for next year!
The recap over at Watch With Kristin says that Kristin has it on good authority that Jin is not dead. Yay!
Lizzie, I think Ben moved the island in time. Not sure what time they are living in though.
I still get the shivers every time I think of that scene with Yunjim Kim. Wow, wow.. I lost a few minutes after that b/c I was bawling.
Maybe I bought the whole moving the island thing a little more than others. Turning that funky wheel he initiated that huge magnetic white-out thing, like way back when when they didn’t type the numbers in the computer. If it affected time I guess essentially the island could disappear b/c the helicopter was no longer as close to the island as it was a minute or so before?? We know that the time on the island is off compared to actual time. Didn’t they note that in calling the freighter that one time? I too think Jin is alive. What else would finally convince Sun to go back to the island? If Jack figures out that Jin is alive, that would convince her. But from there I’m essentially as lost as anyone.
[…] flat to others. I probably have more thoughts but I’ve been so busy reading what everyone else had to say about it that I can’t promise that anything I’d write wouldn’t just be […]
The thing I kept thinking of after Ben “moved” the island was a previous episode where we saw him in the desert in his parka. If I’m remembering properly, when he went to the hotel during that episode, it was Oct, 2005. The plane crash and all the island time as we know it happened in 2004. Perhaps this goes with the island moving in time theory…