The End (of an epic series)

This blog is not about running, cycling or exercising (physically at least) in anyway.  It's about the end of LOST.  A series that has captivated me for years ever since I saw Season 2 Episode 1.  The rest is history.  LOST has been a staple in my life for all these years.  It's survived 3 girlfriends the current of whom made the extra effort and watched all 5 seasons through this past January just so she could enjoy the final season along with me.  She gets an A+++ for that extreme effort.  It been  a crazy roller coaster.  I've loved (almost) every episode.  Nothing has been more moving than the series finale last night.  It's had such an impact on me that
I felt compelled to blog about the experience of the series finale.  So here goes.

SPOILER ALERT! IF YOU HAVE SEEN THE SERIES FINALE OF LOST STOP READING NOW!  You've been warned.


LOST is a profound show.  It's a one in a million series.  The pilot itself was something not typically seen on network TV; so grand and epic.  The series has been a large part of my life and its no secret that this finale season has been on the top of my priority list since even before it started to air.  My Facebook account is evidence of that, much to the dismay of some friends who can't stand LOST.  They're those who don't want to be bothered with the deeper meaning behind it.  They just don't get it.

I on the other hand have loved the series, for its mysteries and for the characters.  It's an emotionally gripping show.  You find yourself loving and hating characters.  Find yourself missing those characters you previously disliked, and really missing those characters you've loved but were no longer on the show.  Season 6 has found us reuniting with those we had lost in previous years so it stood to reason that the finale would be the pinnacle of reunions.

I sit here now continuing to write this after watching the series finale for a 2nd time, and watching the last 10 minutes 3 more times after that.  I'll be honest. I cried this time.  I was close last night but I held it back.  Tonight, I couldn't.  Charlie and Claire, Sawyer and Juliet, Jack and Kate, Jacks island death and his spiritual transfer to the 'place they made together'.  It was an emotional overload and it made me love the series for what it was and always had been about:  the characters.  Whether it was their 'issues' or the 'coincidental' (read fate) connections that each character shared with the other.  The End brought the circle to a close, with those same people I'd come to love over 6 season.  They'd found the happiness they truly wanted, whether it was through redemption (Jack) or love (Sawyer).  It was a beautiful end.

At first I couldn't decide how I felt.  There are those who argue the show was pointless.  That the unanswered questions and never ending mystery took away from the show as a whole.  They feel that by not answering those questions they, the viewers have wasted their time over the last few season.  I beg to differ.  Did I want some of those answers these people wanted?  Sure I did.  How could I not want to know why Walt was special, why women who got pregnant on the Island couldn't come to full term while there.  Why THOSE numbers?  Why time travel?

Some people have issues just accepting things for what they are.  Those people are the same ones that are having a hard time digesting the finale.  Not accepting the core values of the show, the people.  The emotions, the love, loss, awakenings.  I was right there with the characters last night.  I realized I don't care about the mysteries.  I cared about the people.  Seeing the looks of joy on their faces, the happiness they all finally found...it was enough.  Jack with Kate, Jacks reconciliation with his father, the eye closing in a poignant reversal of the scene that started the series off.  I'm about to get emotional again....

The show I've invested many hours of time into is over now.  I feel like I've lost (no pun intended) a part of myself.  I've never felt this level of emotional bond to a TV show and frankly feel kind of weird about that.  LOST will be with me and many others for a long time.  It's a pop culture icon.  Something you can't get through life without encountering once, whether you loved it or hated it.

That's all I've got for now.

Time to got watch the ending agian