the LOST finale

Since the finale of like my all-time favorite show EVER - LOST was on a week ago today, I figured I'd throw out my two cents on what the finale was all about and how it 'ended.'  I have followed this show faithfully for all six years...even created bible studies around it's themes and characters for my group of college girls this past year.  So here's my thoughts:

LOST - my take: They all died (most on the Island) at some point. The alternate reality of the 'flash sideways' (that showed what would have happened had they landed safely and never crashed and how their lives would have still interconnected) was the 'fake reality' they created for themselves to figure out how to realize they are dead and get back to one another. I don't like the idea of 'purgatory' for that so I'm not calling it that.

I think it was summed up perfectly in what Jack's dad said "You all needed this place to find one another. The time you spent with these people was the most important time in your life." So once they all were brought together (by Desmond) and realized that they were dead and remembered the time (and death) they all had on the island, they were able to all reconnect and live together in eternity.

Basically, they were living lonely sad depressing lives before the crash and thought they could do it on their own. But the crash (and the island) brought them together to learn to love someone else and ask for help and be a family. So they didn't have to end up alone in the end. The show was mainly about relationships with the underlying aspects being faith vs. science, reality vs. alternate-realities, truth vs. myths, good vs. evil, etc. So the Dharma initiative was just a side story to keep you interested with strange happenings that dealt with the powers of the island. It wasn't meant to be a 'Must be answered' part of the show - as much as we wanted that. :)

My guess is that Jack thought that Kate, Sawyer, etc got off the island on the plane but I believe that the plane never actually made it and they crashed (which is how they all ended up dead). I also believe you didn't see people like Miles, Charlotte, Daniel Farraday, Frank (the pilot), etc in the church because they were not the main characters of the show that were on the original plane crash and formed the ties with the 'main' characters. That's why people like Libby and Shannon came back. Michael and Walt were probably not there because they didn't die (on the island or at all). The only one I truly questioned was Penny...she was never on the island and didn't really die (that we know of)...so it was a little out of sorts for her to be in the church.

I know I rambled, but I think that's a good take on it from what I have seen and interpreted. And I have been a faithful follower for SIX years now! :)