Basically, Flocke/Smokey/MIB/Esseau/that evil dude!, and Jack confront each other face to face. We jump into that pretty quickly. Jack, Desmond, and Mr. Smokey venture towards the island's heart - a light filled cave past a bamboo terrace that apparently has the ability to change humans into black smoke. Makes sense... But anyways, the Locke and Jack confrontation was totally nostalgic. Season 1 FTW with a huge role reversal. Jack is the man of faith, and "Locke" is the guy obsessed with leaving that island. Oh and Jack has huge respect for the real Locke now, which is nice.
We also learn Desmond is important because he's the only one who can survive the massive amount of electromagnetic radiation in the island's heart...for some reason. So he pulls out this wooden stake out from the hole, and all hell breaks loose. Maybe more literally than you're thinking. Am I the only one who thought Jacob's analysis of the island's purpose in Ab Aeterno a little too...literal? I liked the wine bottle analogy better when it was actually an analogy.
Yup, it was definitely way more plausible as a metaphor. So, what does the island just sit on top of hell? Or is the Earth's crust super thin there or something? Oh my god! Depending on how you look at it, the island itself comes down to faith vs. science. Hell vs. mantle - that's way cool!
As it turns out, by "unplugging" the...hell...hole? the Man in Black can be hurt! Which has been a major inconvenience up until now. Unfortunately the rules that restrain Smokey's actions also became alleviated, meaning he can kill any of Jacob's candidates he wishes - namely Jack. Jack follows Smokey to the cliffs, where he is trying to escape the island on a boat. A fight ensues, Jack is stabbed and nearly killed then and there, until Kate saves the day with a gun and a cheesy one-liner!
Well at least we'll remember Kate as the strong woman season 1 introduced who took a stand against evil, and ultimately saved the hero's life, instead of remembering her as a stupid island whore.
Oops, my mistake!
Well, then Jack, Hurley, and Ben hurry back to the island's heart to plug up that bothersome hellfire, while Sawyer and Kate hurry over to Hydra island to join Miles, Richard, and Lapidus (who's alive by the way, but who DIDN'T guess that!) as they try to make Ajira Flight 316 to fly again! From here, most of the results on Jack and Co.'s end is fairly obvious. Jack plugs the cork back in, realizing he is going to die while doing so because he isn't Mr. Electromagnetic Man, and he gives Hurley the island protector's initiation ceremony. Jack, you served the island well, a whole six hours is almost unprecedented by its previous protectors!
In the meantime, Sawyer and Kate attempt to get to Lapidus - their ticket off the island, only Claire is kinda, in the way. With a shotgun. And she's crazy.
I mean, would you honestly want to come across that in a dark alley? By the way Claire, take a shower! At any rate, Kate manages to break through to Claire and they reach the plane together in the nick of time. Somehow the plane flies away perfectly fine, and we're left to assume Lapidus, Kate, Sawyer, Richard, Miles, and Claire all return home safely.
Jack on the other hand, is not having nearly as much luck. He does in fact turn the island's heart back on, if that's the right terminology, and decides to sit there as the electromagnetism comes back, frying his brains out. For some reason the scene cuts to him outside later, and he stumbles all the way out to the bamboo patch where the series began. There...
Jack dies alongside Vincent, Walt's dog. On a more positive note, the "alternate timeline" is filled with happy memory-filled montages of past seasons of Lost. Actions between characters jump start each character's memory of the island, and all of their interactions with each other too. These montages, and the moments directly afterwards are the most wonderful things I've ever seen on the show. They're so filled with emotion and meaning, I love every minute of it. The flashsideways as we've been calling them, are actually glimpses of a purgatory of sorts, long after each character has died. By remembering each of their true lives, and reconnecting with their soul mates, they are able to move on to the "next world" which appears as a glowing light in the church they congregate in.
The only problem I have with everyone's "soul mates" in the purgatory like world, is Sayid's. His relationship with Shannon was not very believable, since he totally forgot about her once Nadia came back into the picture, and Shannon was just kind of an island exclusive girlfriend anyways. But that's totally okay because I love Shannon. Speaking of people I love, why didn't Ana Lucia join everyone?! She was in the previous episode, I mean come on! They were totally setting it up and everything. Other than that, I loved who everyone paired off with. Jack and Kate, Sawyer and Juliet (thank god!), Daniel and Charlotte, Sun and Jin (obviously), etc. etc.
The series ends with Jack closing his eye, which is a beautiful ending considering the series began with Jack opening his eye. The reason why I found the finale so good is because it gave us a decent amount of answers, but it gave all the characters definitive closure. This matters SO much more! Lost will continue to be discussed and talked about for years to come, and I think that is what makes a series truly phenomenal. So here's to Lost! Compelling mysteries, deep characters, educational merit, fantastic acting, and a satisfying ending all rolled into one! If you haven't watched this gem of a show, go visit NOW! You will not be disappointed. Watch all the way to the end. It is SO worth it.
I LOVE YOU LOST! :D
