Lost: Season Six (1 Viewer)

[Josh Dial]

Originally Posted by Tim Gerdes


I didn't have a problem with the way they structured that Sun/Jin episode, and I was generally very happy with the finale. But that shot of the island in the season opener really bugs me in retrospect. It is one of the few instances where the show deliberately misleads us, simply to keep us from figuring out a big reveal.

It certainly wasn't for the characters' benefit since they didn't discover it, and while I guess it was part of their manufactured reality, "life" without the Island, showing us sunken Dharma barracks and the statue seemed necessary only to keep the audience from figuring out what the sideways reality was.


And yet, if the scene had just faded to white, out Jack's window, without the elaborate pan-down, it certainly wouldn't have impacted the sideways arc, or given anything away. It was just a deliberate cheat in an otherwise excellent season, and show.

It was definitely a cheat of sorts. Though, to be fair, we were shown ruins of things that were there before the 815 crash, so we were shown the island literally without the LOSTies; in the end, the sideways purgatory really was the LOSTies without the island.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Can't fathom how anyone can postulate how the time spent on the island was all purgatory but hey whatever floats your boat.


It was their life experiences together on the island that powered the shared creation of the sideways universe. To believe that perfect strangers with zero connections could generate the whole shared experience of 6 seasons of the island and then the sideways universe is a bankrupt concept. It was the emotional connections made while they were alive that provided the fuel for their shared afterlife moments.


Anything else is a diminishment of what the characters lived through together so they did not have to go beyond death alone.

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Jason Roer there are flippin' FOOTPRINTS in the sand! I really don't think the point of the last shot is that they all died in the crash.

I say to you this;

“You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?” The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

And in the 1642 Counsel of Jassy (Eastern Orthodox) it is the works of those and the power of the cross that carries those from purgatory to heaven. That their acts within purgatory would be judged by the creator to advance them to heaven. Catholics view this slightly differently, allowing those on earth to pray to assist those in the trials of purgatory to help them complete them. But in the end, both of those faiths are adamant back more then four hundred years that the trials of purgatory are a part of the LIFE that is judged by the creator. Now, you can poo-poo the eastern orthodox, catholic and mormon doctrines for having that viewpoint, but if they didn't then the actions conducted by those in purgatory hoping to get out would be pointless. in fact, the existance of purgatory would be pointless, your judgment could only be heaven or hell. How many crash landed? Hmm. All those people. All running around the beach like crazy, jumping up and down, drawing signs. All washed away but 1 set of footprints.

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

Again, like Sopranos, I hope the creators NEVER answer this question. I think the fact that it causes people to think about all the possibilities to be a significant positive for the show.

 

[Dave Mack]

matt, while i disagree with your take i would honestly be interested in your interpretation of the original cut of donnie darko if you've seen it.

 

[TonyD]

Originally Posted by Jason Roer

For what it's worth - the review I wrote for my blog today:


The Takeaway: When a dog licks your face; it's all good.

Format: TV Lost has the best pilot episode I have ever seen. It captured us right from the opening frame, which quite literally was an opening - Jack's eye. A starting image that led to some of the most tense moments I've seen on television. Lost has the best finale episode I have ever seen... But apparently not to everyone. The internet was buzzing not moments after the finale ended. Many people were confused. Some were pissed. Some were drunk and only realizing this afternoon that they are confused and pissed - this of course could be because they woke up naked under an aerobed with an empty paper towel holder stuck up their keister, and nothing at all to do with the finale of Lost. Angry they are - but they shouldn't be. Let me explain why. Most oft noticed question by yours truly from scouring the net - What is the island? Seriously - you don't have that one? What is the island? We were given the answer a few episodes ago. The island is a mystical place that harbors the source of all light and goodness in the world. Light goes out, we all die. But the light did go out. Correction, astute viewer - the beam of light disappeared when Desmond lifted the stone out. But there was CLEARLY light under the cracked ground. It never fully went out and eventually Jack sacrifices his life to replace the stone and restart the beam of light - hence saving the world. Not too shabby for a little doctor from the states. Okay, okay - but everyone was dead for the whole 6 seasons? WEAK, dude! They died in the plane crash and then we watched - like - what - purgatory for 6 years? HUH?????!!??? I'm sorry - were we all watching the same finale? Cause the one I watched EXPLICITLY tells us (actually it was Christian telling Jack - but we were on the other side of the TV screen listening in) that EVERYTHING that happened on the island was REAL! That the time all of the castaways spent on the island together was the most important time they ever spent on earth - and that it was such powerful stuff (bonds of friendship and all) that they collectively created this sort of waiting room between the real world and whatever lies beyond. This tangible place in intangible space (Jimmy Buffett wrote that song during his brief stint as a quantum physicist) has no NOW (no time element) and thus as each of them died in their own time - they all arrived in this Gathering World. Our next clue that EVERYTHING on the island was real and actually happened is: once Jack realizes he's dead he asks if everyone else is dead too. Christian replies, "Some died before you; some long after you." Lastly we have the great moment between Hurley and Ben where Ben tells Hurley he was a great number 1 (referring to his tenure as Guardian of the Island). Hurley says Ben made a pretty great number 2. (referring to Ben being Hurley's right hand man on the island, post Jack's death). But, but, but - wait a second - if they all lived out their lives off the island - then why do they look the same in the Gathering World? Ha, ha - gotcha there, smarty J! No ya didn't. Remember what Kate says to Jack in the Gathering World (flash-sideways/alt universe - whatever-the-hell-ya-wanna-call-it-at-this-point) - she says, I missed you, Jack. I MISSED YOU. Because she lived a hell of lot longer than Jack. She made it off the island with James, Lapeidis, Miles, and Richard. She probably lived a really long life. Don't know how long - but she missed Jack at the end of it. When they all arrive in the Gathering World - they return to the form that all the others would remember them as. The way they were when they met - right after the plane crashed on the island. That's what this whole shebang was about - the bonds of friendship - redemption by community. They each of them had things to work through and together they did it. In the end, after their deaths, they arrive in the Gathering World - the place we all thought was an actual parallel universe that resulted from Juliet setting off the bomb. Desmond "wakes up" to the reality that he is dead and "lets go" first. He then goes on a season long mission to wake up the rest of his friends so they may all move on to the next plane of existence together. And in the end - Jack comes to the realization. Christian opens the doors of the church letting in a glowing light (that looks quite a bit like the light from the cave on the island. The source?) and all of them move on. I take it to mean they reassimilate into the source of goodness and light - in other words - back to the island. Remember what was said - there is a bit of the light in all of us. As to the many other questions people had - such as Eloise - why did she ask Desmond if he was going to "take" her son? Well - she killed her son in the real world, if you recall. In this Gathering World, she has somehow woken to the fact that it isn't "real". That it's just a stopping point. But her grief over what she had done in the real world compels her to be selfish and keep Daniel from moving on. She wants him to stay forever with her in the Gathering World. The Dharma Initiative? Group of scientists who come to the island to identify and experiment upon the mystical properties of the island. What else do you need to feel satisfied? What's up with the mystical properties of the island? Otherwise known as - How many midiclhorians does it take to screw in a light bulb? It's a frickin' mystical, magical place, dudes! No explanation necessary. What happens, happened. Walt? I got no answers there, brotha. Sometimes - ya just gotta let go. I was weeping almost throughout the runtime of last night's finale. The closure brought to the arcs of these unbelievably real characters we've grown to love over the last 6 years was so elegant, beautiful, and moving - that even now, as I type this the tears are welling in my eyes. This was very much like a funeral. We were putting our friends to rest forevermore. And yet like much of last night, I have an overwhelming sense of love stirring in me. A love for my wife. For my son. For my family and friends. And for my fellow man. Even NYC cab drivers. Paris in Fall. Cheers, Jason

I apologize for quoting the entire post....


Jason I think you nailed it right on the bullseye except for one thing.

That part I bolded I would delete and your blog would be perfect. I don't think they went back to the island, they went to the next place, heaven, eternity whatever you want to call it.

 

[Steve Y]

I think we're officially down the rabbit hole with this whole "multiple purgatory" theory. If you're determined to believe it, you're still going to believe it no matter what! Fair enough. All I can say is... we'll have to agree to disagree.


"MattCR, why do you find it so easy to believe they were dead the whole time?"

Matt replies: "It's never BEEN easy!"


Sorry, couldn't resist. I do like your write-ups though, Matt.


As for the "flash sideways as epilogue" thing, it's been the #1 theory about the sideways world for months now. If you don't read tons of Lost theories on the internet, though, it makes sense you wouldn't know this. Not many people saw the "Purgatory" angle coming, however. My main fear was that our survivors would be left in the epilogue with no memory of their time on the island. When they all reclaimed their life (sorry Matt) memories at the end went a long way towards helping me accept that the two worlds wouldn't directly connect.

 

[Jeffery_H]

Originally Posted by Arild




Sure he does. "The most important part of your life was the time you spent with these people." You just chose to ignore that part, just like you've chosen to ignore everything else in the finale - and the series - that contradicts your pre-conceived viewpoint.

I can see both sides of this and neither one is right or wrong and therefore can be left open to any way you want to look at it. What you and some others are overlooking is if you look at it from what mattcr is saying, read the quote above word for word and do not insert anything else. Now, think about it from that view point. Life can be meant as a broad stroke of paint, "The most important part of your life was the time you spent with these people." which means Jack did know them and spent time with them in his life, but never specifically says when or other details.


Again, if you take a look at the movie I referenced which ended a lot like Lost, "Passengers", you will notice they were all in purgatory in the end and had to work through things on their own. What they thought was reality was not and some of the people that played a role in that reality they did in fact know in their life when they were living, but not the same as how they knew them in purgatory. As I said, the ladies mentor in the movie was someone else and it was either him or the old lady that lived next door to her that turned out to be her music teacher she had in school when just a very young girl. The people in her purgatory were all people she had known in her life and they were there to help her come to terms and move on.


Now, take that in the same context as some others are, like mattcr and you can see it can go either way. Bottom line is it does not matter though because it is open and that is what makes it so great. We can make it out for what we want to view it as and have fun with all of this. I don't know of another show that has caused this much talk in a long time, if ever. Certainly credit goes to the writers for all this no matter what.

 

[Jason Roer]

Thanks so much Tony. The reason I wrote that was as soon as Christian opened the door it reminded me of the light from the cave - the light Jacob, Jack, and Hurley were to protect. It was told to us that the light is in each of us - that if the light in the cave goes out, we all die. Thus I took it to mean the light is the source of all goodness in the world. And so I saw it as poetic that the next plane of existence was to rejoin the light. And the light is contained in the heart of the island. So for me, they returned to island. Just my personal conclusion to the series.

Cheers,


Jason

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Steve Y

I think we're officially down the rabbit hole with this whole "multiple purgatory" theory. If you're determined to believe it, you're still going to believe it no matter what! Fair enough. All I can say is... we'll have to agree to disagree.


"MattCR, why do you find it so easy to believe they were dead the whole time?"

Matt replies: "It's never BEEN easy!"


Sorry, couldn't resist. I do like your write-ups though, Matt.


As for the "flash sideways as epilogue" thing, it's been the #1 theory about the sideways world for months now. If you don't read tons of Lost theories on the internet, though, it makes sense you wouldn't know this. Not many people saw the "Purgatory" angle coming, however. My main fear was that our survivors would be left in the epilogue with no memory of their time on the island. When they all reclaimed their life (sorry Matt) memories at the end went a long way towards helping me accept that the two worlds wouldn't directly connect.

No apologies needed! The debate is good! It's why I love this forum As far as reclaiming their life.. then again, I'm the one saying as life is to the show, their soul moves on

And no, the show is never easy..


But we haven't spent a lot of time debating the other way, I've spent most of the time on defense.


Let's assume that on the island they were have-a-heartbeat alive. It was a real place on the planet earth. Let's just assume I buy into that theory. If that's the case, then how is there an explanation at all for:


* Polar Bears,

* The Dead walking around and talking to them and having knowledge of it when they are in heaven

* Human beings who are semi-immortal or immortal

* The existence of a gateway blocked with a boulder to we assume hell

* The fact that no one could become pregnant, and those that do miscarry (which btw, is easily explained if they are in purgatory, as in purgatory you can't ensoul a body from the Guf)

* that new places, buildings and structures seemed to magically appear on the island when needed..

* The fact that multiple, significant murders happen here on the island, and yet, they receive admission into the afterlife so to speak, without going "down the whole" to evil.. if they are in fact, only battling their way to heaven through trials, no problem.. but if they were busy slaughtering real people, then God is awfully forgiving in a lot of sects

* That nuclear radiation meant nothing in a few years at all. Vegetation was beautiful.


Etc.


I don't see how it's so easy for people to believe it's -not- the purgatory, because otherwise you imbue a place with so many open traits that go unexplained or completely reversed by where they end up that I can't get my head around it.


But I'm glad that for all of us, it was enjoyable. Just in a different way.


Here's what we can all agree on.. the finale spoke in a lot of different ways dependant on your viewpoint, and it did a much better job of stirring debate then almost any finale in years.

 

[Jeffery_H]

Originally Posted by Patrick Sun

When the series first opened with Jack's eye opening, Jack was "lost", but when he closed his eye at the show's closing, he was at peace and he was "found". Jack had come full circle in a spiritual sense.

If everyone died from Oceanic 815 in the first episode, there is simply no need to fill in so many people's backstory, even of the fantastical characters (Jacob, MiB, their mother, Richard, etc.) Having time spent on the island reduced to a 4-month pitstop/purgatory period is rather insulting to the viewers of this show. The struggle for life, love, friendship, maintaining one's humanity in the face of the developments that happened on the island is what truly enabled these characters to live an extreme, but ultimately rich, human experience in the span of a short time period, but one where every inch of their being was on alert and fully alive. For me, this is not what purgatory is about.

To embrace the theory that this show was about about the purgatory experience, it would basically mean the writers decided to fall back on the St. Elsewhere solution, and that just won't do for the audience of today. But, the writers were able to sneak in 1 season of such a solution to bring Jack's own story full circle, and as the writers used the island to reflect and reveal character's character through a series of plot development.

But if none of it (island events) "really happened" to Jack, it's a pointless circle jerk for the audience, and, for me, an unembraceable interpretation, especially in light of what Jack's father says to Jack, and his father Christian even elicits Jack's own admission of his impending death when it's the very thing Jack was struggling to stave off until his comprehension and understanding of his situation was satisfied by his own sacrifice in securing the extended human existance of those he cared about in the end, else why struggle to save and help those in need? It is the very existence of the struggle that puts value on the human experience (seeking out love, companionship, exhibiting generosity with no strings attached), otherwise, why not just commit suicide and hope there is an after-life of sorts. Because that is not a certainty, and requires faith that another plane of existence is waiting for us. Not everyone is willing to play that game of spiritual roulette at the drop of a hat, it's an opportunity that needs to be arrived at without such pretensions of having all the answers.


We only have what we have in the here and now. The characters of "Lost" all suffered through the dramatic meat-grinder, and the writing concluded with the struggle being its best reward for having fought the good fight. The show went through great pains to give its viewer a peek into the rewards of coming to grips with making the leap of faith of accepting the inevitability of death. I'm not saying it's the most ideal in my own worldview, but it's the one that the writers felt gave its viewers the most emotional closure of the characters beloved by their fans in this 6-year run, even if some of them met their demise on the island.

I am going to say that I can see both sides of this, but for me I must disagree with most of your views. Watch the movie "Passengers" and you will find how it end to be quite similar to Lost. They too were in purgatory, but it was real life for them and they were living out their reality as a real world. Everything down to the TV, trains, planes, bars, love making, etc. were real. That does not negate any less it was purgatory in the end the same it does not for Lost.


I do think it will be a polarizing show for those of us with FAITH and those not as that is the reflection of the writers own personal beliefs. Just like in Lost, some may find their way and some may need time.


Also, I would like to point out something to you which I feel is important. As moderator, your terms are offensive "circle jerk". Really? You can't be more professional in your choice of words to others? You don't have to agree with anyone about your views, but at least act more like you should.

 

[Joe_H]

Last comment on this, but I also wonder how the "they were dead all along" people reconcile the fact that Christian tells Jack "These were the most important people in your life."

 

[Patrick Sun]

Are you supposed to make friends and enemies in purgatory? Just wondering.

 

[WillG]

Can you guys understand while satisfying on a character level, some would feel cheated intellectually by this resolution?

Sure,


I enjoyed the finale and thought it was well done and emotional and all for the most part. But, sure, I could see why some would be left unsatisfied. The finale and last season and a half before it pretty much said take the Polar Bears, Healing powers of the island, Dharma initiative, time travel, Widmore etc. and chuck it all out the window because all of that was merely means to an end. I kind have been comparing it in my mind to the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. Like 90 percent of what happened in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones was meaningless considering what was the real purpose of the story. I kind of agree that the based last night's finale, the whole story of Lost could have been very condensed. I thought that with a little more backstory, last night's finale could almost have been a feature film on it's own. I had resigned myself to the fact that fans were going to get a bit hosed if they thought they were going to get everything wrapped up a while back. When time travel was introduced, my eyes started to roll ever so slightly because I thought it was the writers giving themselves a license to make up anything they wanted to resolve plot points "It's just how time travel works in this story" Then when they started to really introduce Jacob and the MiB, it became clear it was to become a quasi-religious story and they would probably begin to abandon any scientific explanations of the island.

So, while I though the finale was satisfying from a character standpoint, coming around full circle in that regard, I can see how people can think that the overall story fell short of addressing the myriad of mysteries of the island (of course, I don't fault a story for leaving things ambiguous sometimes but there was just so much built up those first few seasons.)

 

[Arild]

Originally Posted by Joe_H

Last comment on this, but I also wonder how the "they were dead all along" people reconcile the fact that Christian tells Jack "These were the most important people in your life."

More importantly, it doesn't track with what we've seen earlier in the series. It. Doesn't. Track. For OH so many reasons. I'm sorry to say it, but those of you who keep clinging to that ridiculous theory just don't know your LOST.


For example... If everyone died in the 815 crash and the Island is purgatory, or any other form of afterlife, then - what about everyone else on the island? Like Ben, Juliet, Richard and Desmond? I know, I know - "they were people Jack & Co. encountered in life and therefore they went to the same place when they eventually died"... No. Just NO.


Because they series SHOWED us how all those people came to the island. Ben came on the submarine as a child. He didn't die. Juliet came on the submarine three years prior to the 815 crash. She didn't die. Moreover, her flashback shows she was brought there by people we KNOW had previously been on the island; specifically Richard and Ethan. So... the ONLY ways the "island = afterlife/purgatory" theory could even possibly be true is if either 1) People can come and go from purgatory as they please, or 2) The flashbacks never happened. Neither of these options make sense.


So, again; no. Sideways Universe = they're dead. The Island = real life. This is NOT open to interpretation, people. It's as simple as that.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Will,


Agreed.


I feel somewhat cheated by the finale.


It was if they completely ignored all the mysteries and questions

of the first few seasons and concentrated on the past two. Fans

were led to believe that there was a scientific explanation for what

was going on but all that was thrown in the can in favor of doing a

faith-based arc.


I still don't know what the Island was and perhaps that was the

biggest question of them all.


It was almost like the writers were throwing pasta against the

wall for the past few years to see what would stick. They had

an "idea" of what the show would be about but they introduced

all sorts of storylines and characters that seemed to go nowhere.

What was the point of the "Others?" Why did they take Walt?


I don't know how to explain what I am feeling. All I know is

that the show started out as being sort of an adventure where

the characters were exploring the Island, finding ways off of

it and meeting its unfriendliest inhabitants. There was always

this sense that what they were experiencing was very real and

that the mysteries they were encountering had a scientific

explanation to it.

Then the show became faith-based. Not that there is
anything wrong with that. I kind of liked the Good vs. Evil

storyline. It's just that everything that happened up to that

new story arc just fell to the wayside.

Then there was the finale....


I knew an hour into the finale we weren't going to get the

answers we wanted. It was apparent that we were being

distracted by emotional string pulling. It seemed all the

writers wanted us to watch were these characters rediscovering

each other which evoked emotional flashbacks of the prior

5 seasons.


Again, nothing wrong with that. It was done beautifully,

but gosh-darn-it, I was looking at my watch and saying

to myself, "are they going to give us the answers within

the next 15 minutes?"


The show's creators said not all the questions would be

answered in the finale. They should have said NONE of

the questions would be addressed in the finale.

I don't mean to come across as being highly disappointed.

As I noted at the start of this, I feel somewhat cheated.
I feel as if the creators of the show had a gameplan in mind,

but they made up too many things along the way that they

knew they would not be able to explain or come full-circle upon

so they created, what for me seemed as a distraction.

 

[Jeff Brooks]

And the debate goes on...


I just finished watching the finale, and I was pretty content with it. I loved the series and hate to see it end. For some reason, it seemed to end too quickly. I agree somewhat with what Ron just said.


Please forgive me if I am asking something already covered. I guess they could not show everyone in the church. I am still confused as to why Michael was not there. But, then, that leads me to Ana Lucia, too. And why was Penny there?

 

[Sam Favate]

Well, I liked the finale, but like some here I feel we should have gotten more answers. (Maybe some of you have answers for some of these, like what was up with the shot of the island under water in the season 6 premiere? Why did some people - Hurley and Walt and Miles - have special abilities while most did not? Why were women in the modern, post-Dharma age not able to have children on the island? Who built the statue? What was the device in the lighthouse with the mirrors?) I very much agree with Ron's latest post above.


I think the island was a source of life-giving or life-affirming energy and men either wanted to protect it or possess it, and that was the basis of most of the battles on the island - but not the conflict between Jacob and the Man in Black. I did see some of the 2-hour recap in which Lindelof said Jacob and MIB were just men, not gods. But of course, we continue to associate MIB with Esau, Jacob's twin. There are parallels, whether the producers want to own up to them or not.


Lots of Biblical parallels too - Hurley changing the rules is almost like New Testament vs Old (Jacob's more stringent, rules which sometimes had Jacob's heavy hand of vengeance). Jack is clearly Jesus - he sacrificed himself to save the others, took instruction from his father and was even pierced in the side.


The idea that time didn't matter in the Sideways world was like something out of Star Trek, and I am not suggesting that is a bad thing. BTW, Lindelof's favorite series, ST:TNG has its finale exactly 16 years before Lost.


I think the finale and the show are like good literature or good albums of music. You discuss and hash out its meaning over years, not hours. Ultimately it means whatever it means to you.


Here is a good article that tries to make sense of it all: http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/tv/what-happened-lost-finale-explanation.php

 

[Raymond_H]

I don't mean to come across as being highly disappointed.

As I noted at the start of this, I feel somewhat cheated.
I feel as if the creators of the show had a gameplan in mind,

but they made up too many things along the way that they

knew they would not be able to explain or come full-circle on

so they created the distraction that is now known as the show's finale.

I agree with all of this, my extent of being cheated might not be at the same level as I throughly enjoyed the finale because of how it called back from the characters in previous season. It was like a sequel clip show reunion to the clip show aired before the finale.


More than the overall gameplan ideas, I think their overall execution was all over the place. As pointed out, Matthew Fox has stated he always knew it was going to end with his eyes closing, and I felt that was very strong especially with seeing the Lapidus plane - so that execution was satisifying. I am talking more about the structure on how at least this whole season has played out, a lot of it could be classified as filler in hindsight imo. Which is too bad.

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Arild



More importantly, it doesn't track with what we've seen earlier in the series. It. Doesn't. Track. For OH so many reasons. I'm sorry to say it, but those of you who keep clinging to that ridiculous theory just don't know your LOST.


For example... If everyone died in the 815 crash and the Island is purgatory, or any other form of afterlife, then - what about everyone else on the island? Like Ben, Juliet, Richard and Desmond? I know, I know - "they were people Jack & Co. encountered in life and therefore they went to the same place when they eventually died"... No. Just NO.


Because they series SHOWED us how all those people came to the island. Ben came on the submarine as a child. He didn't die. Juliet came on the submarine three years prior to the 815 crash. She didn't die. Moreover, her flashback shows she was brought there by people we KNOW had previously been on the island; specifically Richard and Ethan. So... the ONLY ways the "island = afterlife/purgatory" theory could even possibly be true is if either 1) People can come and go from purgatory as they please, or 2) The flashbacks never happened. Neither of these options make sense.


So, again; no. Sideways Universe = they're dead. The Island = real life. This is NOT open to interpretation, people. It's as simple as that.

I have watched every single episode of LOST. I appreciate it differently then you do. But I find I am baffled why it is so imperative for you to view any opposing opinion as "wrong". So, let me take this to a different place.


I have no contradiction at all with the flashbacks in relation to this being an afterlife.. in fact, I'm not at all bothered by it at all. I think it bolsters the case this WAS the afterlife, not the other way around. Think about it. You have numerous storylines about how their life went through issues - Sawyer and his seeing his parents die from being conned; Kate on the run for killing an abusive Stepfather, Jack struggling with his life, drugs in season 1, the loss of a father.


All of these events to all of the main characters were the key signs of why they COULDN'T MOVE ON from purgatory, they were not prepared to move on to the afterlife because the were not willing to let the world go. And as for most Christian mythology, the temptation of the flesh was strong, and they were repeatedly wooed to try and stay. More importantly, the random arrivals and then hidden nature of the island also feeds into this.


I believe Juliet was dead long before the losties arrived. As was Ben. And Richard was most assuredly dead. If "Real Life" means walking around with clearly dead people and talking to them (as happened repeatedly) then you're assumption of life for the show is very much like Christian's, that Life is but the prescence of a SOUL, not a beating pulse. In fact, I thought that point was completely re-inforced by the idea that they couldn't conceive a child.. which if they were in purgatory would make perfect sense and explain why it couldn't be handled medically... because you cannot call a soul from The Guf in purgatory.


It also explains the appearance of the light tower, the appearance of the statue ... a dead ringer to Dante's Canto XIV, in which a man is but a fashion of things; a leg of iron, and a leg of clay, in which the leg of clay is washed away by erosion and time, only his head and stature remain.




I understand the way you want to view it, and you can view those of us (and google, there are a TON of people who think as I do) but it's an opinion. I value your opinion. I disagree. You can disagree with my opinion, but I don't think it deserves a slap that those who believe as I do are simply "fools".





Patrick:

Are you supposed to make friends and enemies in purgatory? Just wondering.

Depends on which religioius favor you are. If you believe as do several, Purgatory is for almost everyone who falls short of heaven as well as those slightly redeemed from hell (in Dante's view) .. some may spend near eternity there and, dependant on your flavor of religion, they may be there to solely tempt you to sin to lose the grace of the creator so you can fall into hell. (a common theme in many eastern Christian sects).

Like I said, I find it very hard to see the show from the other viewpoint. I recognize you dislike mine. But again, why does this really impact anyone what I think. I'm not trying to convince anyone, I'm just stating what I think and that I enjoyed the show. You enjoyed the show. So, who got harmed?


It's like this: a friend and I watched Stephen Kings' "The Stand". We both liked it. I thought it was a great story of good and evil, he thought it was a good horror thriller. Who cares. We both liked it. Why we liked it was really pointless after that.

 

[Dave Mack]

they did explain the polar bears tho. remember the zoo, cages on the other island? the dharma initiative brought them there for research.