As a single episode, I thought it was merely decent. There season 5 finale was leagues ahead of this one, and the first and second season finale's make this one seem like a waste of time. The final battle between Jack and Locke was a little too contrived for me. We'd seen it coming since like, what...7 weeks ago? It would have been so much more meaningful if Jacks opposite for the finale was actually John Locke and not smokey Locke. Their difference in opinion through out most of the series was very compelling, and for Jack's new nemesis to be Locke's doppleganger seems kind of an odd plot choice. Also, the writers have been surprising us for years with plot twists and reveals yet the storyline seemed to follow the most linear plot imaginable as it winded down to the finale. Jack is the candidate, and he gives his life to save the island. No mysteries answered, no new revelations, just..."Jack's dead, that's all folks, thanks for coming". The lack of answers is also another huge problem, which is why The finale, and season 6 in general, have tainted the magic of this series.
As a part of a greater whole, the finale (and to a lesser extent, all of season 6), is a disappointment for me. A pretty HUGE disappointment, actually. The writers picked and chose what answers they wanted to give us and more often than not, they gave us the answers we LEAST wanted. The Adam and Eve in the cave thing? It was cool finding that out, but by the time we got to it, it had little to no bearing on the big picture. In fact, that reveal came in a episode that really had NOTHING to do with moving the story forward. The whispers in the jungle thing? That was prevalent in the early part of the series, but not so much later on. Yet we get the answer in season 6 when we're looking for bigger and better answers. This is what really bothers me. The situation with Walt, the pregnancy thing, two VERY large plot lines that drove the show for multiple seasons, completely ignored in season 6. Not even a mention. They even throw Vincent in our face with out acknowledging the fact that it was Walt's dog! They bring back Michael for about 6 seconds of screen time and HE doesn't even acknowledge Walt. That to me is inexcusable. And it wreaks of a creative staff that wrote themselves into a hole and had no desire to satisfy dedicated fans who stuck by hoping to know what the hell was going on. Speaking of writing themselves into a hole...
The Side Flash/Afterlife thing is completely a mixed bag for me. It's clearly being left open for interpretations as to whether the characters died in the crash or not. But the bigger issue is the fact that season 6 all but ignores the events of seasons 1-5. There were so many cool, interesting developments (Desmond's/Faraday's time theories, Widmores intentions, the outrigger shootout, the "not penny's boat" thing) that just kind of got ignored in season 6. It's tough to swallow when you invest years into a show hoping to finally understand where they're going with the story, and they just throw an unnecessary curve ball to get out of answering anything.
As I'm writing this, I feel like I'm leaving out even more problems I have with the ending. I may need to write a second article. I will say, Lost is still my favorite TV show ever, I just wished it could have ended in a better way.
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