14 DAY TRIAL // When it premiered six years ago, ABC’s “Lost” was one of the boldest television projects, if only because it was as unpredictable as it was uninviting for a newcomer. After six years of adventure and the most mindboggling mystery, the show came to an end last night, Sunday, May 23. Depending on the kind of expectations one had from the finale, it ranged from highly emotional to downright disappointing, MSNBC reports.
*Fans who have not seen the season finale yet are encouraged not to read any further than this – major spoilers ahead.
Of course, given the kind of precedent “Lost” helped set up, it was only to be expected for the finale to be somewhat of a disappointment. First of all, fans who’d watched all the episodes until now would be sad and feel down because the show was ending. Then, those looking for answers would feel cheated out of them when the finale did not offer them – which it didn’t, the aforementioned media outlet says. Rather than come up with something that would justify the previous sixth season, the “Lost” finale rather seemed to gather up all loose ends and tie them together, no matter how and at what cost.
“Fans who tuned in to the ‘Lost’ series finale hoping to get all their questions answered may have been disappointed. Those who hoped for a believable explanation to the alternate-reality dilemma... well, for them disappointment doesn’t even cover it. But if, on the off chance, some pined for a partially satisfying, partially infuriating end to the twisting mystery, Sunday’s episode was a winner,” MSNBC writes. The alt-reality, the meaning of the island and ultimately the purpose of the show may have been lost on many viewers because producers failed to come up with good justifications for them.
“Those who spent the better part of the last six seasons wondering where in the heck the sometimes frustrating, almost always entertaining mystery could possibly go finally got their answer. If they can make sense of it, that is. In the end, the electromagnetically charged mystery island gave way to a hug-filled waiting room leading to a pan-spiritual afterlife, led by the aptly named Christian Shephard. Whew! It’s a daring way to end ‘Lost’ – leaving plenty of questions unanswered and winking out on what has to be its least satisfying twist to date. At least no one can say they saw that coming,” the same media outlet goes on to say.
Still, that’s not to say that the journey was not a wonderful and unique one. For a show that managed to last so long on the air without losing much of its initial appeal (albeit not attracting new audiences), and that stuck by the by-date announced by producers without giving in to industry rules of dragging the story on, “Lost” was an incredible ride. Millions of fans must be sad to see it go, regardless of how it ended.