And so it ends in the bamboo field where it began, Jack on his back as the life oozes out of him and Vincent by his side. The Ajira Airlines jet flies over head(presumably to safety), he smiles and closes his eye. Pass me a tissue because the only other time I have ever cried while watching the end of a TV show is when M*A*S*H ended way back when I was a fresh faced(albeit VERY young) teen and had relatively skinny thighs and a rose coloured glasses.
As we go on, we remember
All the times we had together
And as our lives change, from whatever
We will still be, friends forever
There is a certain bond to be had when you survive a plane crash on a mysterious and dangerous island, fight side by side to stay alive, battle supposed hostile indigenous peoples, and throw in an angry column of black smoke bent on total world destruction and I can easily see why one would want to join that exclusive club. It’s not like the benefits to living on an island that no one can seem to find outweighed the disadvantages. I’d draw a T-chart for you, but I’m too lazy.
LOST broke ALL the rules.
First of all, the Pilot was the most expensive speculative pilot EVER shot for network TV. Not that I noticed as I was trying to figure out how the heck all those people fell 30,000 feet and actually managed to SURVIVE, only to be felled by a flaming arrow, falling out of tree (yes Boone, I thought you were hardier than that) or whatever happened to Scott/Steve. Next, it took us to places we never expected. Locke was paralysed?!?!?!? Yeah, who saw that coming? And let’s not forget the tropical polar bears.
As an aside, how DID the polar bear get his Hydra collar off?
Anyway, my point is this: For many reasons LOST captured the imaginations of millions of people from around the world and brought us together every week to see what was happening next and if we’d find out what that great column of black smoke really was. I never, EVER once considered that it could be WHO! The fact that Cuse and Lindelof negotiated a specific end date meant that we had a deadline. We KNEW that our favourite show wasn’t going to just disappear like the island at the turning of the frozen donkey wheel.
Here’s what I believe.
I believe that the island was real and this was the iconic scale that kept the balance between good and evil. It held the source of life, death and of rebirth. She was a difficult mistress and demanded many sacrifices of her inhabitants. But she was also vulnerable and needed to be protected from those who didn’t understand the power and from those who sought to exploit that power. “Mother” wasn’t the first protector and we can safely assume that Hurley wasn’t the last. Jacob needed a successor who could do what the rules prevented him from doing. He needed someone who could kill MIB, the monster that he had created. By the way, I think the “rule” about Jacob and MIB not being able to kill each other was a “Mother” thing, and despite her death, because THEY believed it, it remained that way for all eternity.
Jacob and MIB have been sending volleys of hostility back and forth over centuries. Jacob would bring people to the island and MIB would corrupt them. Until Richard arrived and explained to Jacob that people can’t do what you expect of them if they don’t know what it is they’re supposed to do. And that’s when both Jacob and MIB stepped up their campaigns. MIB to kill his brother and escape the island and Jacob to find suitable candidates for his eventual replacement.
This is where it gets confusing for me. Dharma, I think, was brought to the island by Jacob. MIB knew that there may be candidates among them (we’ve see some names on the lighthouse compass wheel) and, via a corrupted Ben, orchestrated the Purge. Ben was, after all, the leader of the Others and who were they to question his actions, right? Later the Others were trying to kill the candidates who survived the crash. All this was through MIB’s manipulations. By appearing in the darkened cabin, and refusing to allow anything that provided light, MIB was calling the shots. Of course Ben NEVER saw Jacob because he was being used and manipulated by MIB. The circle of ash around the cabin wasn’t to keep Jacob safe, but keep Jacob OUT!
Jacob wanted to give his candidates something he was never afforded. He wanted, no, he NEEDED to give them the freedom to choose to take the job. I’m not sure if Jacob KNEW that Jack would volunteer, at least not immediately, and over time he may have been able to foresee an agreeable outcome, but I don’t think Jacob ever really knew exactly how it would all play out. But he wasn’t going to force anyone who didn’t want it to take the position. Really, would you take a job that offered little pay, eternal life, extreme isolation, oh, and the knowledge that your life would likely ended by a vengeful monster?
I believe that with Jacob’s death, and the transfer of responsibility, MIB became vulnerable to the frailties of the human form. Whether Jack knew that would happen or not doesn’t matter. Jack believed that his fight to save the island and kill MIB was for the good and that he had something Jacob didn’t. He had the ability to sacrifice his own life if necessary to kill Smocke.
I believe Oceanic 815 crashed onto the island and that the ensuing struggle to survive, to leave, return and protect the island was all very real. The trip back in time and setting off Jughead was real. The pain and sorrow as each of our beloved characters died. Boone. Shannon. Libby. Charlie. The shocks of their deaths still resonate in my world.
In the end, Jack was able to do what he’s only ever wanted to do. He got Kate, Sawyer and Claire off the island. And he even managed to give Hurley a most amazing gift!
In the end, didn’t MIB get what he wanted? With his death came blessed release and he was able to leave, or at least his spirit did. I wonder if MIB and Jacob met in a sideways life at a church, hugged and cried and were able to move on as well. Somehow I’d like to think they were going in the same direction (I just don’t know if it were North or South, if you get my drift).
Desmond was the first to be awakened on ALL levels of consciousness and it was his job to act as the catalyst for everyone else. He knew when the time was right, and thanks to Chuckie Widmore (I’m so going to miss calling him that) he was better able to understand and accept what he needed to do.
As the season progressed, I was beginning to wonder about the “reality” of the sideways world. As each person became awakened to their memories, I was expecting some sort of mystical fade away to the island (too much Star Trek?) where they would be equipped to succeed in what ever task they were required to complete.
I also thought that the two “realities” would converge. They did, in a way. Just not how I expected it to, but this is LOST and when have I ever been right?
I believe that Ajira 316 landed safely at the first runway it found and oh the tale its passengers told!
I believe that Kate and Claire were reunited with Aaron and they all lived long, nearly happy lives. They did not forget those who were left behind and maybe Hurley and Ben came to visit every once in a while?
Maybe Sawyer found a better way to live his life until he could be reunited with his love. Maybe he and Miles formed an off island partnership and created LaFleur Security, specializing in keeping remote locations safe.
Maybe Frank went back to Eleuthera and opened a bar built to look like the temple and he has Richard mixing drinks and serving up age old advice to the love lorn.
I don’t know. But I’d like to think that the writers left these stories untold so that the fans could speculate for years.
Tomorrow (hopefully) you will get Part Two ~ The Sideways World.
Questions, Quotes, and Did You Notice will be separate posts as well.
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