So here are my 2 or 3 cents on LOST. For those of you lucky enough to have seen the Show through carry on, those that are currently watching or may watch in the future, there will probably be some spoilage in the following paragraphs.
So off the bat, the finale in my opinion was great. It went out on a high note and doing everything that LOST does well. Drama, action, comedy, love, death, science fiction, good, evil, black, white, gray, faith, chance, the grounded and the ridiculous. It answered questions and yes it through out some new ones. Frustrating? Maybe a little, but its the sort of thing the show does and it will allow it to be debated for the next months and through the power of dvd and syndication, forever. The show is easily one of the best series ever produced simply because it has found a way to balance all of the things above, do so in a serialized structure, and do it consistently for 6 years (well at least 4 and a half years, I'm looking at you parts of season 2 and 3).
Through my readings on the internet and twitter, People either seem to be on board with the finale or dead set against it. Some even go as far as to say it was a waste of 6 years. Wrong. If one episode made it a waste of 6 years than you need to reevaluate your rating system. That's like eating a basket of fries and crying because there was no ketchup left for the last one. You weren't complaining about all those other fries, and if that last fry had been made correctly to your specifications, some of the other fries would have been over done. Or digested too quickly. Too salt. Ugh, the extra brown one. You get the idea.
What so many people over look is that the show has always been about the characters. The first and last shots are of Jack's point of view. Yes they crashed on this island. Yes Charlie is all "Where are we?". Yes there is a pillar of smoke and polar bears, four toes statues, barracks, hatches, electromagnetism and time traveling bunnies. But none of that means shit unless it affects the character growth of these people who are shown with some much depth, care, and defects. LOST is how these people feel, the island is just a place that is testing those feelings. Half of the story of LOST has taken place off the island, so why is so much dependent on that being completely fleshed out.
As soon as surly, suicidal Jack uttered to Kate "We have to go BACK!!" it was obvious that getting off the island isn't the point of the show, other than a metaphor. Live together, die alone. Those words have been uttered countless times throughout the series, and most of these people were simply islands when they arrived. Divorced, widowed, without lost lovers, literally and figuratively with out fathers, adopted, pregnant with a dead beat boyfriend, liver-less, through and through broken. The island tested these peoples survival, and they each ad to grow. Once these people grew, they were given peace. Some saw it on the island, like everyone's favorite ice cream swirl Rose and Bernard. Most got to see it through the afterlife, or at least found that they could look back upon their time served on earth and try to make amends for what they have done.
I felt that there was no more beautiful a scene as the final time Locke and Ben spoke. Ben, who truly was one of the good guys, didn't feel he was ready to move on after the things he has done. Locke now knows what Ben what fighting for and fighting against, forgives him. Its a step in the right direction, as is his time served as the Richard to Hugo's Jacob. But he has to be completely at peace before he can move on. Michael and Eko were not there in the church in the finale. Though it is known that Eko (I'm too lazy to look up his real name, and its 38 letters and two hyphens) wanted more money, he may not have been at peace on the island. Michael was not, that's why he is stuck there. But a small part of me realizes that's ok because it meant that Walt got to live a normal life in New York, probably followed by pro ball cause the kid was like 6'8" by the season 3 finale. Was he special? Yep, do I wish we got more of him? Yep. But in this world they created there are probably countless Hugo's, Walt's, Miles', and Locke's. Don't forget the Desmond's, Brotha. His uncorking of he electo-pool was a favorite scene of mine as was the following scene of jack being baptized in the yellow stream after re-corking it. To have John Locke live on through Jack allows the show to come full circle and gives Locke the respect that he was due after so much heart ache. I'm not exactly the religious type, but the death of Jeremy Bentham was the sign that Jack needed to go back. The others ended up coming along, but it meant nothing until their tried and true leader stepped up. Jack haters can hate, but he has always had the best interest of the group in mind, even when it didn't work. Locke did to, even wen they opposed. It really was faith and science merging that saved everyone. Some escaped the island, to take care of their baby, spend all their diamond money, or in the case of Richard and Frank, unbutton their shirts and sip Mai Tai's. Others perished. Hurley and Ben marched the island on. The cycle I'm sure continued, they come, the steal, the murder, etc. While it may have always ended the same on the island, in death none of these people had to die alone. Now they just have to wait for the next airdrop of Dharma ranch.
All of LOST's allure can summed up in the moments where Jack is convincing Hurley to be the next Jacob. Tense, emotional, faith, growth, and humor. Hurley was scared to take the job, but he did, because Jack believe he could. That scene worked not because Hurley talked to dead people but because we know he lacked confidence. We now that because of all the time we spent watching him struggle with weight, sanity, luck, and love. Was there some crazy sci-fi going on there? Sure there was, but who cares. All I saw was two friends sacrificing something for each other and the everyone else they cared about. It was a beautiful scene, a beautiful finale, and a fabulous send off. Now what am I going to watch?