So I know initially this blog is meant for movie reviewing purposes, but come on. The greatest show of my lifetime is officially over, and I need an outlet. I'll be honest- whenever I stumble across a blog, I scan to see how long it is, so for similar purposes I'll try not to make this novel-length because, well...people will give up on the first paragraph, much like I would! Which would be somewhere around riiiiiight...now. BUT, I'll try to keep it short and sweet! And by 'short' I mean shorter than Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
So Lost is over. And it cuts like a knife! But it was a great ride, and it came to a pretty satisfying end, at least for me. I'm even willing to bet that those last 2 and a half hours were the greatest hours of Lost (and maybe even television history). I mean, just...just so much epicness, and I don't say that lightly because I hate when people use that word all the time. Because, not that much stuff is 'epic'. This was. That mid-jump punch, the Charlie/Claire reunion (tears, people...tears), Jack and Kate's goodbye, Ben throughout the whole episode, the church, the end...all just beautiful and literally epic. Never has a show so ambitious been aired on TV, I can say that with confidence.
As for the revelation of what the sideways timeline was...I'm happy with that. And I didn't see it coming at all. I know a lot of people think the fact that it was purgatory is ridiculous, but I'm a fan of it. At first it's sad to know that everyone died, but as Christian says, "Everybody dies eventually." And each character was faced with the option of staying in purgatory or 'moving on' into what I perceive to be heaven. Ben sitting outside of the church was particularly noteworthy to me. He wasn't ready to move on. He wasn't sure if he deserved it. I'm glad the writers did this, because throughout the show, Ben was a gray character. I think by the end we ultimately knew he was good, but he'd done too many bad things to reunite with everyone else in the afterlife, at least at that point. I also talked with a friend, and maybe his reason for staying was Alex. Maybe he was waiting for her revelation so he could 'move on' with her. Everyone else in the church had someone. Maybe Ben can't leave without his daughter. JUST A THOUGHT.
Now. That being said, I have to say, I'm left wanting more. I'm not one of those people who are pissed because we didn't get enough 'answers' (although there are some I wish we did get...what about Walt? Annie? ...other stuff?). I know the writers don't have to show us what happened on the island with Hurley and Ben in charge for hundreds, maybe even thousands, of years. But I want to know! And that brings me to my next topic. Spinoff.
I know Lost ended on top, and if the spinoff I'm about to propose isn't able to be executed with equal care and beauty, than forget it. I don't want this franchise to be pummeled into the ground until it looses its greatness (see: The Office), so again, if it couldn't be amazing, than I don't want it to happen. That being said, I've got some ideas!
-Hurley and Ben, post-Jack death and Ajira departure. How long were they there? I can say that having watched for all these years, some of the scenes between Hurley and Ben were the absolute best. The hot pocket? The Apollo bar scene? Their dynamic together is great, and teaming them up would definitely work. Hurley is the new Jacob, and his new task is to 'help people' as Ben said. It would be interesting to see Hurley slowly come into his new role, and I think Lost fans would watch it. It's not just Hurley and Ben, there's still Rose and Bernard, and that whole gang of Temple people who scattered after Widmore's people bombed the beach. And, as always, new people will come to the island.
-More mythological backstory. I don't think anybody would say that they really understand everything that happened in 'Across the Sea', and there's plenty more to explain about what happened after that, and even before that. I don't think an entire show could be based on this, but it could be flashback fodder. Maybe as Hurley and Ben uncover more secrets of the island, we could get flashbacks about how these things came to be. And maybe MiB's ghost could make an appearance? After all, Hurley sees the dead.
-The Ajira 6. Much like the last one, I don't think it could stand as it's own show, but there's definitely something there. I don't think we'd want to watch Kate and Claire raise Aaron (snoozefest), but what about Richard? Maybe he feels it was a mistake to leave? What could he possibly do with his life off of the island anyway? It's not like he knows anybody. And I know he wasn't one of the Ajira 6, but Walt! I feel as though he was being set up as a possible new-Jacob and then that story line was just thrown away. Why is he special? Was he originally meant to protect the island, or at least assist in its protection?
At this point, I'd be happy with anything, be it an actual spinoff show, a movie, or even novels (or EVEN comics. Yeah, I'm that desperate). I just think that with so many possibilities and so many fans who want more, it'd be a shame to see Lost end right here. Thoughts?
Hi there, I came across your blog and couldn't resist commenting on a Lost post.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see another Lost fan who found the finale satisfying and emotionally fulfilling. Too many of the people I've talked to about it thought it was "just okay".
I certainly agree about Walt; his is probably the mystery whose lack of resolution I'm most disappointed in.
For a spinoff, how about the Detectives Ford and Straume cop show? I loved watching their scenes throughout the flash-sideways--each has his own hilarious brand of sarcasm, and an interaction that manages to make Miles into the by-the-book straight man is something wonderful already.
Anyway, I enjoyed your post, and good job making it concise--that's a skill I certainly never learned when writing about Lost.