Series Finale, Initial Reaction to "The End"

It has taken me a long time to finally complete this post. I swear to Duct Tape that I literally spent at least 80 hours working on this damn post. Between taking notes from watching the episode, to typing them all out, to organizing all my thoughts in a coherent manner.. It has taken forever. But, I enjoyed it all. Working on this has really helped me to explore and understand the entire episode and how I felt about it.

I hesitate to say that it was everything that I'd hoped it would be, because really, I went into this entire season with a completely open mind, and was just allowing myself to fully enjoy it. With that being said, I could not have imagined "The End" being any better than what it was. The entire episode felt like an homage, a tribute, a love-letter even, to the fans of the show. It was a masterpiece. I had been anticipating this for years, since they announced that LOST would end in 2010, and, in my opinion, they delivered. It was thoughtful. It was heartfelt. It was touching. It made me realize that the past six years of my life were truly a great experience. It made me want to go back and watch the whole damn thing all over again. I fucking loved it. But, I also can understand why some people didn't like it. So, let's discuss all of that, and everything in between, shall we?

This is going to be a long one. Bear with me.

From Lostpedia

Here are some of my thoughts, questions, and theories on "The End" (Some of which were written while viewing the episode.):

Questions:

• Why was the Island on the bottom of the ocean in the flash-sideways/afterlife?
• How does Desmond know about the "very bright light" and that MIB would be taking him there?
• How does Jack know that they're all headed to the "heart of the Island" and that "Man in Black" will bring Desmond there? 
• How does Jack possibly know how to kill MIB?
• Does becoming the "leader" or the "chosen one" somehow enlighten you?
• Why has the "light" in the cave gone dim?
• Did Desmond destroy the Island in the flash-sideways?
• How did Boone "remember" his life?
• How in the hell does Desmond know what to do?
• Who built the structure inside the cave of light? 
• Why was Eloise always the one who knew what was going on?
• Did Desmond get back to his wife and son?
• What happened to the Ajira 6? What was their story when they got back to the real world?
• Why weren't Michael, Walt, Mr. Eko, and Ana Lucia in the church?
• How long was Hurley the protector of the Island?
• Did Hurley bring other people to the Island like Jacob did?
• How did they all die?

Most of these questions I don't really need, or even want answers to. They're just things that I was wondering. In my opinion, most, if not all, of the questions left to ponder after the series has ended, can be theorized or concluded about on the part of the audience. I am perfectly okay with that. I like being challenged, and theorizing about the show on my own. It will make the rest of the time I spend watching LOST fun, and interesting.

From Lostpedia

Notes:

• I usually don't really watch or pay much attention to the "recap" shows, but I have to admit, this one was great. It was very nostalgic, looking back on the series, talking about its most important moments, while having the creators and actors also reflect on the whole experience themselves. Seeing all of those moving scenes from way back in Season One made me want to go back and watch it all over again, and it was great hearing them talk about how much it all has meant to them as well as the fans.
• One of my most favorite LOST stories that I've heard from behind the scenes was the story that Carlton Cuse re-told during the "recap" special, about how he and Damon Lindelof went to see the LOST Orchestra and Michael Giacchino score the scene of the raft launch in Exodus, Part 1, and how everyone in the room began crying, and when they finished, all of the musicians started banging their bows against their instruments. I really love imagining that all happening in my own head. I think it moves me so much because still, to this day, that scene is one of my all-time favorite scenes from LOST ever. I love the music, the acting, Vincent jumping into the ocean and swimming out after Walt, with everyone cheering, and how big of a moment it was for LOST. As I heard Damon Lindelof once described it, "It was us showing what a victory on LOST was." and it truly was. It was our first experience of what a LOST Finale was. I will never forget how watching that scene felt, because I still feel it every time that I watch it.
• I loved the messages from the fans that they played during the commercials of the "recap" show. I think my favorite was "I never understood Trekkies... Until I became a LOSTie!" because, well, I feel exactly the same way as this person did. It's funny because it's true.
• It seriously took me 10 days to re-watch this episode. I couldn't believe it myself. Before watching it, I was so certain that I would immediately re-watch it as soon as it ended. But, I didn't, for some reason. I think that I wasn't ready to let go yet.
• Listen, Darltonfrakking 2 hour clip-show? It's the finale. I think I know what happened. I'm pretty invested at this point.
• However, it was nice to hear Lloyd Braun's "Previously on LOST" one last time. Okay, maybe he deserved it considering the entire inception of the show was his idea and he ended up getting fired for being a genius. Cheers to you, Mr. Braun.
• I loved the opening sequence of the Oceanic Airlines plane, Christian Shephard's boxed coffin arriving, and flashing back and forth between the characters on the island and in the flash sideways.
• The music in this scene was fucking fantastic. Michael Giacchino enhances LOST every time he touches it.
• "You a Priest or something?" Delivery Man "Or something." Desmond
• I love how he asks Desmond if he's a Priest. Especially since Desmond actually was a Monk.
• I thought this was so strange the first time I saw the episode, before I knew what was really going on. Why the hell wouldn't this dude find Desmond suspicious? Why would he just hand over a coffin to him?
• "Who died?" Kate "A man named Christian Shephard." Desmond "Christian Shephard? Seriously?" Kate "Seriously." Desmond
• I love the look on Kate's face when she says "Christian Shephard? Seriously?"
• Seriously? Why didn't I think of that already? It's really funny what you think of in hindsight. 
• I have to say it because no one ever gives her credit. Both the character of "Kate" and Evangeline Lilly were absolutely great in this episode.
• "Hang on a second. You bust me out of jail, and make me put on this dress, so that we can go to some concert, and you won't even tell me why we're here." Kate "No one can tell you why you're here, Kate. Certainly not me." Desmond "You're the one who brought me here." Kate "I'm not talking about the church. I'm taking about here." Desmond "Who are you? What do you want?" Kate "My name is Desmond Hume, and even though you don't realize it, I'm your friend. And as for what I want? I want to leave." Desmond "Leave and go where?" Kate "Let me show you." Desmond
• I fucking love that whole scene. Desmond is guiding everyone on their path. I also love that Desmond tells Kate that they're friends. It makes me wonder if they had any sort of interaction after Kate left the island, and Desmond (hopefully) found his way back to his family. Did they keep in touch? 
• Kate asks "Why are we here?" Something that I enjoy about LOST and felt overwhelmingly in the end of the series, is that the show asks the same questions that we ask about life. We ponder the meaning of life, why we are here, our individual purposes, and yet, we don't have all of the answers. In fact, we don't have many of them. This is why LOST is so intriguing to me. It begs life's most important questions.
• I'm not even going to ask why Jack is standing in the water like an idiot because, well, it's just ridiculous. However, I am going to say that this totally reminded me of the first time that he saw his father, Christian Shephard, on the island, when he was standing in the water in White Rabbit.
• "So, you're the new Jacob, huh? Feel any different?" Sawyer "Not really." Jack "Well, Doc. How 'bout you come down off the mountain-top and tell us what the hell the burning bush had to say for itself?" Sawyer
• "Jacob told me that we have to go to the bamboo forest, out past our old camp. Just past it, he said I'd find the place that we need to protect." Jack "This place. What is it?" Kate "He called it the heart of the Island. All he said was that it's a light." Jack "And that Locke-Smoke-thing wants to put it out?" Hurley "Something like that, yeah." Jack "So, what if he does?" Hurley "Then, that's it for all of us." Jack "But, if Locke wants to put it out, then why hasn't he?" Kate "'Cause he ain't got what he needs. I'm guessing that'd be Desmond. That's where we were headed before your Inauguration. Sayid said Locke tossed him in a well." Sawyer "Jacob didn't say anything to me about Desmond." Jack "Doesn't sound like he said anything about anything." Sawyer "That's kinda true, dude. He's worse than Yoda." Hurley
• "Alright, y'all head to your heart of the island, and I'll go get the magic Leprechaun out of that well." Sawyer "We leave a trail.. Can you catch up with us?" Jack "Hell yeah, I can." Sawyer
• Oh, so NOW Sawyer can track worth a damn? He couldn't even find that damn boar.
• "I'd ask you along, but that'd take all the fun out of me telling you that you can't come." Sawyer "I guess I'll just have to resist the urge to follow you anyway." Kate
• I really liked that they threw in a call-back to Kate having to follow everyone on every trek they've ever been on while they've been on the island. I really love when they reference the earlier seasons of the show, when everything was simpler. If that's even possible on this show.
• "I got a bad feeling back this." Hurley
• Hurley got to throw in two Star Wars references into one scene. Awesome.
• Hugo and Sayid pull up to the Flightline Vacancy Motel, which I'm pretty sure is the same one that they went to previously, in Because You Left, when Sayid was attacked and shot by the darts, and also when John Locke conspired to helping his father, Anthony Cooper, fake his death and was caught by Helen, which he then attempted to propose marriage to and subsequently failed, with Helen having left him, in Lockdown.
• "None of this is ringing a bell, is it? You, me.. tranquilizer gun?" Hurley "You're insane." Sayid
• The look on Hugo's face when Charlie opens the door is great, and just perfect. That was probably my favorite scene in the entire finale. Hurley got to see his buddy, Charlie, again. Who knows how long he was waiting to see that dude.
• "Who are you? Why are you grinning like a sodding idiot?" Charlie
• You probably shouldn't answer the door if you have a "Do Not Disturb" sign on it, Charlie.
• Charlie has "FATE" written on his hand, just like he did in Pilot, Part 1.
• I love how Hugo squints to shoot the tranquilizer gun.
• "What was that?" Sayid "That was Charlie." Hugo
• "Why did you take the job, Jack?" Kate "Because I was supposed to." Jack "Why? Because some stranger wrote our names on a wall?" Kate "I took it because the Island's all I've got left. It's the only thing in my life I haven't managed to ruin." Jack 
• Alright. First off, Jack, you didn't have anything to begin with. Jacob made that clear. That's why you're here. Secondly, you're right. You ruin everything. You've ruined everything this entire show. Are you starting to notice a pattern here? You've been wrong about every single thing,even at the cost of several lives being lost, and yet, you still think you have a right to decide everything and be the one in charge. Shut up, Jack. No one feels sorry for the hero. At least, I don't. Okay. Rant over.
• One observation that I've consistently had over the final few episodes is that Kate has really made a turn for the better. She is the only one that's been asking the reasonable questions around here. It's about time that someone actually did that. Thanks, Kate.
• "You haven't ruined anything. Nothing is irreversible." Kate "This would be so sweet if we weren't all about to die." Hurley
• See, Jack. Right there. Kate is telling you that if you stop being so goddamned stubborn, she'll forgive you and you can just have at her right there in the damn jungle while Hurley awkwardly watches. It's just like Sawyer told you, "She's right there, Doc. Go get her." but you always have to make everything so damn difficult, don't you, Jack?
• Great job hiding there, Sawyer. 
• "As long as you're watching, why don't you join us?" Ben "What are you doing here, James?" MIB "I heard Desmond fell in a well, so I came to help him get out. Looks like somebody beat us both to the punch. Oh well." Sawyer "Do you know hwy I'm here?" MIB "I'm guessing you need Desmond to destroy the Island." Sawyer "That's absolutely right." MIB "Then what, Smokey? You going down with the ship? Suicide doesn't seem like your style." Sawyer "I'm not going down with anything. But, you, and the rest of Jacob's little candidates, absolutely are." MIB "We're not candidates anymore. (He elbows Ben in the face, and takes his rifle.) I'll be seeing ya." Sawyer
• I love how they're always one step ahead of Smokey now, and when they tell him that they know exactly what he's doing, the dude is just getting angrier and angrier.
• "When you said you were going to destroy the Island, I thought you were speaking figuratively." Ben "Because I said I would leave you in charge once I was gone? I'm sorry if I let out the part about the Island being on the bottom of the ocean. That being said, you're welcome to join me on my boat, because once we get Desmond to do what we need him to do, I'm gonna sail away from this Godforsaken place, and watch it sink. (Kneels down, and notices paw prints around the well.) I think there was a dog here." MIB
• How exactly can you destroy an entire island figuratively, Ben?
• Surprise, surprise. Smokey was lying. Didn't see that one coming.
• The way that Terry O'Quinn delivers the line, "I think there was a dog here." just tickles the hell out of me.
• I was so happy to see Vincent, Rose and Bernard again.
• "Morning. Sleep okay?" Bernie "Aye. Your camp is a lot nicer than the bottom of a well." Desmond "I think I'm gonna go ahead and take that as a compliment." Bernie "Are you gonna talk his ear off, or are you gonna get the man some breakfast?" Rose
• Oh, Rose. I missed your little snarky, sassy attitude. 
• "So, Rose. Tell me. How long have the two of you been living here?" Desmond "Well, we built this place in '75, and lived here a couple of years, and then the sky light up again.. So, God knows when in the hell we are now. So, Desmond. I don't mean to be rude, but after you eat, I'm gonna ask you to move on. We broke our rule with you." Rose "What rule is that?" Desmond "We don't get involved. Whatever got you tossed inside a well, that's the kind of drama Bernard and I don't want to have anything to do with." Rose "Fair enough." Desmond
• MIB and Ben show up with Bernard.
• Some people were wondering how they immediately knew that the "Man in Black" wasn't John Locke, but I believe he probably gave Bernard an indication that he wasn't, considering the terror on his face when they walked into he and Rose's camp. Rose just fed off of Bernard's body language. Plus, he did whip out his knife almost immediately. So, you have that, too.
• "I'll make this simple. Come with me now, or I'll kill them both right in front of you." MIB "You don't have to go anywhere with him." Rose "I'll make it hurt." MIB "I want your word. You won't hurt them. Ever." Desmond "Done." MIB "Then, I'll do what you want." Desmond "Yes, Desmond. You will." MIB
• I was so sure that he was going to kill at least one of them. Good on Desmond for saving their lives.
• What is it with MIB giving his word to people?
• "Do you have any idea where I'm taking you, Desmond?" MIB "Nope. But, I assume it's a place where there's a very bright light." Desmond "What makes you say that?" MIB "Oh, just a hunch." Desmond
• How the hell does Desmond know what's going on? I mean, no one even told him that the "Man in Black" wasn't John Locke, or why he would even need him for anything. Yet, somehow, Desmond seems to know all that is going on. It could possibly be because of his "flash" to the afterlife, in which he gained or remembered some information as to what happens.
• Charles Widmore needed Desmond for the same thing that "Man in Black" did, which was to go down into the light, because of his resistance to the electromagnetism, except that Charles Widmore wanted to use it to take the Island's powers away temporarily, and to use that to kill "Man in Black," but "Man in Black" was going to use it to permanently sink the Island. I'm guessing that Charles Widmore thought that the prolonged exposure to the intense electromagnetism would probably kill him, which is why he said "You're going to have to make a sacrifice." to Desmond.
• On Geronimo Jack's Beard, Jorge Garcia talked about how Henry Ian Cusick put a rock in his shoe in order to walk around in the scene's where he was supposed to have a limp in the whole episode. Now, that's dedication to your character.
• (Walkie-talkie static sound.) "What was that?" MIB "What was what?" Ben
• Man, MIB is totally losing his edge.
• Miles finds where Ricardo was tossed into the jungle. I am so glad that Richard didn't die. It would have been a shame to have such a great character go out like that. Although, that scene was pretty damn awesome.
• "You thought it would be a good idea to talk to the Black Smoke. It responded by throwing you into the damn jungle." Miles
• Miles and Richard decide to head to the plane to blow it up with the C4.
• In the flash sideways, Miles goes to Museum, and he notices Sayid in Hugo's Hummer.
• It's probably not a good idea to hang out in a yellow Hummer when you don't want to be noticed.
• Miles calls Detective James Ford, and tells him to protect the Korean witness.
• There have been all sorts of major plot-holes in the flash sideways with the "time" being messed up. Yet another example was Sun being able to leave the Hospital "soon" after being shot when she's freakin' pregnant. Yeah, okay. That would absolutely never happen in real life. This must be like the best Hospital ever. Oh, that's right. Mr. Perfect, Dr. Jack Shephard works there. People must be dying right and left.
• I guess I couldn't make it to the final episode without making fun of Jack. I really did like him in the end, though. But, I'll explain more about that later.
• Dr. Juliet Carlson is Sun's doctor. Of course she is. 
• Also, she says her name is Juliet Carlson, which I always wondered why she kept the name "Burke" considering that she was divorced from that dude that got HIT BY A BUS. Damn, I forgot how awesome that was. But, "Carlson" was her maiden name because her sister's name was Rachel Carlson. I wonder what ever happened to her..
• I'm not into blondes, and I've never really been into Juliet at all, but I have to say, the Doctor look suits her well. She can play "Doctor" with me anytime.. Also, I enjoyed seeing Juliet again. I always felt that her story was never resolved. She never go off the Island, and she never got to see her sister again, which is all she wanted. I wonder if they were able to meet in the afterlife. I hope so.
• Why do Baby Doctors always say that stuff they put on the belly is cold? Is it really?
• Sun "remembers" Juliet giving her an ultrasound on the Island, in D.O.C., at The Staff.
• "I remember." Sun
• "There's your baby." Juliet 
• Jin also "remembers" Sun from on the Island, when she revealed that she spoke English, in ...In Translation, the raft launch, in Exodus, Part 1, and their reunion afterward, in Collision, when Sun told Jin that she was pregnant, in The Whole Truth.
• Sun "remembers" more from her life, including giving birth to Ji Yeon, in Ji Yeon, Jin being on the freighter as it blew up, in There's No Place Like Home, Jin and Sun reuniting after Sun came back to the Island and Jin returned to the Present timeline from 1977, in The Last Recruit, and them both dying on the submarine, in The Candidate. They both remember.
• Sun cries. They look at eachother. Jin says that he saw it too.
• Juliet says that everything with their baby is okay. She asks if they want to know if it's a boy or a girl.
• "It's a girl." Sun "Her name is Ji Yeon." Jin
• "That's a lovely name. And, for the record, you two speak English just fine. Congratulations." Juliet
• That line, spoken by Juliet, reminds me of when Jin and Sun first were visited by Jacob at their wedding, in The Incident. Sun asks who that man was and Jin says, "I don't know, but his Korean is excellent."
• I love when anyone on this show has to go running through the jungle. I don't know why, but it gets me really excited. I suppose I'm just appreciating the little things in the end.
• "Whoa!" Hurley "Easy, Big Foot. It's just me." Sawyer
• Sawyer says that MIB is going to destroy the Island, but that Desmond got out of the well before they both got there. Jack says that it doesn't matter if they find Desmond first, because they're all going to the same place anyway.
• "Then it ends." Jack
• The "trekking" music is seriously my favorite track ever. I get so pumped every time it plays.
• The helicopter shot of them trekking is awesome.
• Why does John Locke have to wear a cap into surgery if he's bald? That seems a little unnecessary.
• "Well, there's always the chance that I could kill you, but I'm trying to make you feel better." Jack
• There goes Jack again with his fantastic bed-side manner.
• Technically, you kind of did kill John Locke, Jack. If you had believed him in the first place, and weren't so damn stubborn, then he wouldn't have gone off the Island to try to get you to come back.
• I love any interaction between John Locke and Dr. Jack Shephard in the flash-sideways universe.
• "I'll see you on the other side." Jack
• "I hope the brings you some peace." John "If I can fix you, Mr. Locke, that's all the peace I'll need." Jack
• "Welcome to the club." Miles
• "Looks like you got your first grey hair." Miles
• So, Miles and Richard probably join the "Hair Club For Men" after then get off-island. That's just awesome.
• Why do I already have grey hair and Richard Alpert is like 200 years old? Not fair.
• "I think I just realized that I want to live." Richard
• Dammit. Come on with the damn outriggers, guys. I really thought we were going to get the scene where we find out who was shooting at them in The Little Prince.
• I guess we can just assume that possibly it was people from way in the future that came to the Island and were shooting at them. Hopefully Hurley got their asses under control and quick. Alright, I'm getting ahead of myself here, so I'm just going to let it go.
• When they was something under the outrigger, I totally thought it was going to be the DHARMA shark at first. It reminded me of the scene, in Adrift, where the shark (Ezra James Sharkington) came up under the blown-up raft of Sawyer and Michael after Walt was taken.
• So, Frank Lapidus is alive. To be honest, I think that it's kind of disrespectful to the memory of Sayid, Jin and Sun, that he gets to live. Don't get me wrong, I love Frank, but for us to think that he's dead, and then he's not, and to know that he's the only one who survived out of four main characters, three of which were beloved and there since the very first episode, is kind of cheap if you ask me. That being said, I do really enjoy the character of Frank Lapidus, and the acting of Jeff Fahey, and I do understand that they needed him there to fly the damn plane off the Island. More on that later.
• Frank Lapidus is hanging on to about 108 life-jackets.
• Yet, his hair manages to stay dry. At least he won't need the Hair Club.
• Miles and Richard rescue him after the dead body of the submarine operator floats up underneath their outrigger canoe.
• Richard mentions that they're going to blow up the plane, but Frank says if they leave on said plane, that Smokey won't have a plane to take anymore. Not to mention that he's actually a Pilot. Frank is the only logical one speaking right now. Frank and Kate need to join forces and quickly.
• "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a Pilot." Frank
• Really, Frank? I kind of missed that. You haven't been wearing the same Pilot's uniform for the past two Seasons or anything.
• Also, back to Frank actually being alive. I also realize that our not knowing that he was actually alive prevents us from prematurely foreseeing the idea that the plane could actually fly off the Island, considering he's the only one that's actually capable of flying a plane.
• "Man in Black," Ben and Desmond come out of the jungle as Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley are walking down the hill, toward them. Kate immediately grabs Sawyer's rifle, and opens fire on MIB, while Ben and Desmond hit the deck.
• Ben and Desmond falling to the ground is hilarious. I think I rewound that one a few times.
• "Well, this is going to be interesting." MIB
• I fucking love Kate right here. This is the Super Kate that I remember.
• "You might want to save your bullets." MIB
• Oh, she will. She will.
• "So, it's you." MIB "Yeah. It's me." Jack "Jacob being who he is, I expected to be little more surprised. You're sort of the obvious choice, don't you think?" MIB "He didn't choose me. I volunteered." Jack
• Jack admits that he can't stopMIB, but says that he wants to go with him, and he knows that he's going to the far-side of the bamboo forest.
• "You're going to the far-side of the bamboo forest, to the place that I've sworn that I'll protect, and then you think you're going to destroy the Island." Jack
• "I'm gonna kill you." Jack
• Jack says that how he's going to do it is a surprise.
• Juliet is David's mother. 
• I didn't see that one coming. And, as if you weren't certain, they only mentioned it about eight-hundred times in the scene, just to make sure you knew that Juliet was Jack's ex-wife and also David's mother.
• "If you don't have anybody else, maybe you could take Aunt Claire. I'm sure she'd love to get out of the house." Jack "Oh, yeah, it's fine with me. In fact, I'm very curious to meet this mysterious sister that you never mentioned the entire time we were married." Juliet "Well, I'm sure you're gonna lover her. She's extremely pregnant." Jack
• This is one of the things that puzzled me the most right after watching it. David wasn't real. He was sort of a figment of Jack's imagination, or something that he made up, for whatever reason. My theory is that he was sort of a younger version of Jack. That is why they made the mention of how much David looks like him (Although that kid really could pass for Matthew Fox's actual son. The casting of children on this show is brilliant.), and all of the daddy issues that they threw in there. It was Jack dealing with all of the issues he had with his own father. He got past his own issues with becoming a father because he was afraid of having the same relationship with his son that he had with his dad. He became a good father, and at the same time, with "David" being a younger version of Jack, he also had one. It was probably one of Jack's biggest flaws and struggles in life, so I can see why they threw that in there.
• Another thing that I was confused about is why Jack and Juliet were married in the afterlife. Why would they be drawn to eachother? I guess they were because of the Island and having known eachother before, but it wasn't quite enough, because they were the ones to make eachother "remember" their lives. They were connected to eachother, but not strongly enough to be the one to make them see what was happening and where they were.
• James, who is at the Hospital to check up on Sun, comes out of the elevator as Juliet and David are leaving. Apparently David picked out a tie for the concert.
• Back on the Island, Jack tells Sawyer that he's going to use Desmond to defeat MIB.
• "I think he's a weapon." Jack
• "I can't believe Jacob would've brought him all the way back to the Island just so that Locke could make him destroy it." Jack
• "That's a hell of a long con, Doc." Sawyer 
• I don't know why, but I don't like that line. It kind of makes Sawyer seem one-dimensional, and he's not anymore. His character has come a long way since merely being a con-man.
• They reach the bamboo forest, and MIB says that it should just be him, Jack and Desmond from there on out.
• "Jack? I believe in you, dude." Hurley
• The light in the cave is dim. My thought on that is it has because there has been no one to protect it since Jacob died.
• MIB ties the rope he gathered from the well to a tree, so that they can lower Desmond into the cave. Just like John Locke did with Kate in Man of Science, Man of Faith.
• "This doesn't matter, you know." Desmond "Excuse me?" Jack "Him destroying the Island. You destroying him. It doesn't matter. You're going to lower me into that light, and I'm going to go somewhere else. A place where we can be with the ones that we love, and don't have to ever think about this damn Island again. And you know the best part, Jack?" Desmond "What?" Jack "You're in this place. We sat next to eachother on Oceanic Flight 815. It never crashed. We spoke to eachother. You seemed happy. You know, maybe I can find a way to bring you there too." Desmond "Desmond, I tried that once. There are no short-cuts, no do-overs. What happened, happened. Trust me, I know. All of this matters." Jack
• Jack saying "What happened, happened." is directed straight at the audience.
• Desmond is enlightened. He thinks he's going to die, and he knows that there is a place where he will be with Penny afterward, so that is why he has been fearless this whole time. He thought he was going to die and flash to the sideways-world.
• Desmond saying that they can go to a place where they "Don't ever have to think about this damn Island again." is exactly what makes me think that he is the one that destroyed the Island in the flash-sideways.
• Hugo and Sayid sit in the car, parked outside of a bar.
• "What are we doing here?" Sayid "I'm not allowed to tell you." Hugo "What do you mean, you're not allowed?" Sayid "There are rules, dude." Hugo "Who's rules?" Sayid "Don't worry about it. Just trust me, okay? I trust you." Hugo "And what, may I ask, have I done to deserve your trust?" Sayid "I think you're a good guy, Sayid. I know a lot of people have told you that you're not. Maybe, you've heard it so many times, you started believing it. But, you can't let other people tell you what you are, dude. You have to decide that for yourself." Hugo "I'm sorry. You clearly don't know anything about me." Sayid "I know a lot about you, dude." Hugo
• I love this exchange between Hugo and Sayid. I love that Hugo trusts Sayid and that he has him figured out. He knows exactly why Sayid is the way he is. I think that's been Sayid's whole story. Sayid is probably the most intelligent character on the show. He is capable of many things because of it. In his life, people have manipulated him into using his intelligence for bad things, and because of it, many people have convinced him that he is a bad person. I've never thought that was the case. Sayid has struggled with this the entire time we've known him. He has a good heart, and he struggles with a lot of guilt. I love that Hugo not only recognizes, but understands that. Sayid needs to stop listening to what other people think he is, and decide for himself what he is. I am so glad that Sayid got to die a hero. He truly deserved it.
• A fight spills out of the bar, one guy is getting his ass beat by another guy, a girl tries to save her "brother" and is knocked down, Sayid runs over to help her, and it's.. Shannon!
• "Looks like a gnarly fight." Hugo
• "Hey! Leave my brother alone!" Shannon
• Who didn't know Boone was "my brother" and Shannon was the one who said it?
• Sayid helps Shannon, they touch, and they both "remember" together..  Sayid helping Shannon build her first shelter, in ...In Translation, the picnic-date they had together, and their first kiss, in Do No Harm, Sayid helping Shannon pick up her and Boone's luggage, in Exodus, Part 2, and Shannon and Sayid in the shelter he built for her, before she saw Walt, in Abandoned.
• "Sayid." Shannon "Shannon." Sayid
• A lot of people seem confused or angry by Sayid ending up with Shannon instead of Nadia. To understand it, we have to take a look at Sayid's history and how he ended up in the flash-sideways. In the flash-sideways, it was clear that Sayid never thought that he deserved or was worthy of being with Nadia. She knew his past and he was always trying to get away from that past. Sayid was with Shannon because she never knew his past. Yes, I do still believe that Nadia was the love of his life, and he spent years looking for her. However, he did meet Shannon at the "most important time" in his life, as said by Christian Shephard. On the Island, although he did still revert back to old ways, he had sort of a fresh start. These people didn't know him before. They didn't judge him. So, that's why I think that Sayid was with Shannon, and I'm okay with it.
• Plus, Shannon is kind of Sayid's "what never was" chick, whereas, he actually got to be with Nadia, if even for a short time. He told Shannon that he loved her, and then she got killed. Man, Sayid has bad luck with women. He is a ladies man, though. It must be the hair.
• Also, Nadia may have moved on already. Right before Nadia died, she seemed to be at peace, in a way, telling Sayid to take her home. She may have let go and moved on already. Nadia in the sideways world may just have been something that Sayid created, like David for Jack, and maybe even Helen for John Locke.
• Another thing is that there really wasn't any other way for them to really big back the character of Shannon in any sort of significant way, so it works here.
• I wonder how Boone "remembered" his life. It occurs to me that maybe he already knew when he was on the plane and talked to John Locke. It seemed as if he had a sort of peacefulness to him.
• "I just got pounded, man. Thanks for taking your sweet time." Boone "It takes as long as it takes." Hugo "It was a pain in the ass getting her here from Australia." Boone "Yeah, but, dude, it was worth it." Hugo
• Shannon and Sayid kiss. Hugo and Boone watch them creepily.
• "Should I go get them?" Boone "Nah. Let's give 'em a minute." Hugo
• Yeah, more like a minute for you to watch!
• It was awesome getting to see Boone and Shannon again. Of course Shannon is getting into trouble and Boone is getting his ass beat and simultaneously trying to save the world. Just like old times.
• Miles calls Ben on his walkie-talkie again.
• Miles says that they're at Hydra Island, Ben tells him not to blow up the plane, Miles says they're going to fly it off the Island, and he tells them to get over there.
• Crazy Claire shows up. Always ruining the party.
• The walkie-talkies and Claire shooting in the sand reminds me of Ben on the walkie, and Ryan and Mr. Friendly shooting in the sand instead of Sayid, Jin and Bernard, in Through the Looking Glass.
• Claire thinks that MIB sent Miles, Richard, and Lapidus there to kill her, but Richard says they're not with him, but that they have a chance to get far way from him.
• "We can be free of everything he ever did to us, and never look back. We can go home." Richard
• I wonder if Richard ever went back to the Canary Islands.
• Claire refuses to go with them. Why does everyone on this show have to be so damn difficult?
• "Do you know what to do once you get down there?" Jack "Aye. I'll go where the light's brightest." Desmond "Don't get yourself killed." Jack
• I was so afraid that Desmond was going to die in this episode. He's the one character that I always thought deserved a happy ending. More on that later.
• I have no idea how Desmond has known everything that's going on. If he knew everything from his flash-sideways, then why didn't he know that he wouldn't die? Maybe he just knows some things, and not everything. Fuck it. Desmond is awesome. He can know things without having a reason. Because he's uniquely and miraculously special. That's fucking why.
• I'm cursing a lot in this post. It's the end. Deal with it.
• Jack and MIB lower Desmond into the cave.
• "This remind you of anything, Jack?" MIB "What?" Jack "Desmond, going down into a hole in the ground. If there was a button down there to push, we could fight about whether or not to push it. Just like old times." MIB "You're not John Locke. You disrespect his memory by wearing his face, but you're nothing like him. It turns out he was right about most everything. I just wish I could've told him that while he was still alive." Jack "He wasn't right about anything, Jack. And when this Island drops into the ocean, and you drop with it, you're finally going to realize that." MIB "Well, we'll just have to see which one of us is right, then." Jack
• MIB references Jack and Locke's argument over pushing the button in Orientation.
• I LOVE the dialogue in this scene. That exchange is just brilliant.
• I think that it completely redeems the character of John Locke. I love that Jack has carried on his memory and his purpose when he was on the Island. John Locke lives on through Jack. Who would've ever thought that would happen way back when.
• I just realized that Terry O'Quinn has done a phenomenal job acting on this show in the past two years. Not that I never noticed it before, or that he didn't do a great job before, because I did, but he's taken it to a completely different level. He's playing two characters at the same time. In this scene, he looks exactly like John Locke, except I don't see him as that character at all. I completely feel what Jack is saying, that he "disrespects his memory by wearing his face" and hate him for it. Then, in the scenes where Terry O'Quinn is playing the real John Locke, I see him as nothing but that character, and he makes me love him and miss his on-going presence on the show. There are not many actors that can play two more opposite characters, and have you completely hate one, and love the other, while see them as two separate beings. Just brilliant acting.
• I never realized how short Emelie de Raven was until a 14 year-old was towering over her.
• Juliet gets called back to the Hospital, so she leaves Claire and David to attend the concert by themselves.
• Man. Those people at the concert must've thought David was mackin' it with Claire.
• The scene with Charlotte waking Charlie up backstage was great.
• The note sitting on Charlie's chest while he's sleeping says "BASS PLAYER--WAKE ME UP FOR SHOW."
• "I was shot by a fat man." Charlie
• Charlotte meets Daniel after talking to Charlie backstage.
• Claire and David sit at table #23 with Desmond and Kate. Awkward..
• Dr. Pierre Chang welcomes the audience to the concert and introduces Daniel Widmore and the bad, Drive Shaft.
• Every time I see Liam Pace, I have to say "Chill, baby brother!"
• I wonder if the rest of the band were the same actors they had for Drive Shaft in previous episodes. I'm too lazy to go back and look, so I'll just have to rely on the awesome people at Lostpedia to figure this one out.
• Not to be too nit-picky, but that music was kind of terrible.
• Charlie stares at Claire, who is sitting in the audience, like a creepy pervert and she tries to avoid him, just like on the Island.
• Claire begins to go into labor, yet she tries to deny it, as per usual.
• On the Island, Desmond is in the cave, and he sees a few skeletons on the ground.
• I wonder who those skeletons were. It reminds me of when Mr. Eko got dragged into the cave by the polar bear, and there were skeletons, wearing DHARMA jumpsuits, and a toy truck in there as well, in Further Instructions. The skeletons in this cave were most likely people who tried to get to the light as well, or maybe people who even built what was inside the cave.
• The sounds inside the cave remind me of the sounds of electromagnetism, which is what the light actually is, I believe, and when the Island disappeared.
• In the cave, there is a pool, with a cork in the center.
• Who knew that the "cork" was actually a literal cork?
• I'm wondering what the hieroglyphs in the cave mean, and who they were created by. Another moment for Lostpedia to shine.
• The music in this scene sounds like something from a Walt Disney film to me. Well, it is ABC, and ABC is owned by Disney, so I guess it makes sense.
• Desmond steps into the pool, and it seems very painful to him, he screams, his nose bleeds, but he manages to pop the cork, and the water goes down the hole in the middle, where the cork was, and the light goes out.
• There seems to be some kind of lava and smoke that comes out from the hole where the cork was. The Earth begins to shake violently.
• They may be referencing the volcano that was supposedly on the Island in some way here, which was mentioned in The Man Behind the Curtain.
• Desmond screams "No."
• "It looks like you were wrong. Goodbye, Jack." MIB
• The Island shakes very violently, and rocks begin to fall all over the place.
• They did a great job on this episode, but, man.. those rocks were terrible. They looked like foam bouncing all over the place.
• Jack goes after MIB, tackles him, they fight, Jack punches MIB in the mouth, and he begins to bleed.
• Uncorking the Island apparently took MIB's powers away, as well as making the Island begin to fall apart.
• "Looks like you were wrong too." Jack
• MIB smacks Jack in the side of the head with one of those foamy rocks, but he gets knocked out anyway.
• Claire goes backstage to deny being in labor some more, even though she's super pregnant, and so obviously in labor, but lucky, Kate followed her. Kate tells some weird, awkward dude, that doesn't have any lines, to please go find a Doctor, but he can't speak, so he never comes back with one.
• "Small World, huh?" Kate
• Scary Eloise approaches Desmond.
• "I thought I made it clear that you were to stop this." Eloise "Perfectly clear. I chose to ignore you." Desmond "And once they know.. what then?" Eloise "Then, we're leaving." Desmond "Are you going to take my son?" Eloise "Not with me." Desmond
• Eloise was afraid that Desmond was going to take Daniel because they finally were in a place where they had a good family dynamic, a good relationship with eachother, and also where Daniel was happy doing what he loved and always wanted, which was to become a musician.
• Claire is in Super Labor, and Kate is Super Kate again.
• Charlie shows up, and Claire wants to know who the hell he is. Don't mess with a pregnant woman. Got it.
• Claire tries to literally hold the baby in, just like she did on the Island. I don't think that's gong to work, Claire.
• "No. I'm not ready. I'm really scared." Claire "I'm scared too. Alright? Really scared. But, I'm gonna need you to push, because I can't do it without you." Kate
• Claire gives birth to Aaron.
• While Claire is giving birth to Aaron, Kate "remembers" Claire giving birth to Aaron on the Island, and her delivering the baby, in Do No Harm, in the jungle. Claire also "remembers" Aaron being born.
• "It's Aaron." Claire
• "I brought a blanket." Charlie "Thank you." Kate "It's just a blanket." Charlie "Well, go ahead and bring it to her." Kate
• Charlie "remembers" Claire on the Island, pregnant, the imaginary peanut butter, in Confidence Man, the first time they met, which Charlie flashed back to, in Greatest Hits, Claire cutting Charlie's hair and him playing the guitar, in Born to Run, Aaron and the bjorn Charlie made for him, in Exodus, Part 2, them making up after the hatch imploded, and their kiss, in Live Together, Die Alone.
• "Charlie." Claire "Claire." Charlie
• They hold hands.
• I love Charlie's face when he realizes everything. Great job by Dominic Monaghan.
• They basically recreated the scene, shot for shot, and line for line, from the scene that happened in Do No Harm. I only wish that, somehow, Jin could've been there.
• This is officially the first time that I friggin' lost it while watching this episode. I think the whole emotion of Charlie dying just came right back to me. If you didn't cry watching that scene, you are dead inside.
• Charlie cries, he and Claire kiss, and he says hello to Aaron.
• "Do you understand?" Desmond (Kate nods.) "So, now what?" Kate
• The Island is going crazy (Which means they're merely shaking a camera.), a tree falls, and Ben pushes Hugo out of the way and saves him, which makes the tree fall on Ben instead (Redemption.).
• "Hugo! Get out of the way!" Ben
• Jack wakes up outside of the cave, calls for Desmond, but to not avail, so he leaves and goes after MIB.
• They try to get the tree off Ben, but they can't. Sawyer says that MIB was right, that the Island is going down.
• Miles calls Ben on his walkie, Kate answers, Miles asks what the hell is happening, Kate asks if he's with Claire, he says that she's there, but she doesn't want to go with them, Kate asks go with them where, Miles says that Lapidus is working on the plane now, and then they're taking off, Miles asks how much longer, Lapidus says that he still has to check the electrical and hydraulics, so it'll be about five hours, maybe six, Richard says they have maybe one hour, so Miles tells Kate to get their asses over there, because they're leaving in an hour.
• Frank Lapidus is fixing the plane, with a magic blow-torch, in the rain.
• "Son of a bitch!" Sawyer
• Sawyers asks how the hell they're supposed to get over there, Ben says he knows that "Locke" has a boat.
• It still bugs me that they keep calling him "Locke" when they also keep mentioning that he's NOT LOCKE.
• Uh, didn't we all know that he has Desmond's boat, Ben? Sawyer and Kate did use it too. But, to be fair, I can't even keep track of that thing anymore, though. It could be a total continuity error, and I wouldn't even know, because it seems like they've had that thing all over the place the past few episodes. I have no idea where it's supposed to be.
• The shot of "Man in Black" on the cliff, with the storm coming, and the waves crashing, with the boat below is just awesome. Sometimes, I watch this show and I'm just amazed at some of the shots they get. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to be there and see that every day.
• Jack shows up. Surprise, surprise.
• "Locke!" Jack
• MIB draws his knife, Jack charges down the cliffs, and does a FLYING PUNCH.
• WTF?! What assholes! I was so mad when they went to commercial! I think I literally gasped and then gave my television a Classic-Sawyer "Son of a bitch!" I'm sure there was a collective gasp from every single person who was watching this.
• That scene and shot was pretty much the most badass, and awesome thing ever.
• Jack and MIB fight, MIB finally puts down his friggin' backpack, they exchange blows, MIB goes after his knife, which he dropped, Jack tackles him, chokes MIB, the cliff is falling apart, MIB grabs his knife and stabs Jack in the gut, turns on him, tries to stab him in the neck, Jack holds his arms just out of reach of killing him, but Jack's neck bleeds.
• This is why Jack's neck kept bleeding in the flash-sideways.
• On Geronimo Jack's Beard, Jorge Garcia talked about how Terry O'Quinn accidentally mixed up the real knife and the fake, collapsible one, not making the exchange during the scene, and actually stabbed Matthew Fox, although, lucky he was wearing a Kevlar pad underneath his shirt, so he wasn't injured from it. 
• "I want you to know, Jack. You died for nothing." MIB
• I hate using this word, but this scene was fucking EPIC.
• Super Kate shows up and shoots MIB.
• "I saved you a bullet." Kate
• You're damn straight she did. 
• I really think that was a moment of triumphant redemption for the character of Kate. Every single person that was hating on her can no longer hate on Super Kate.
• "You're too late." MIB
• Jack kicks MIB off the damn cliff, and he dies on the rocks below.
• In the flash-sideways, John Locke comes out of surgery, while a nurse tells Jack that he did nice work, but asks what happened to his neck, which is bleeding again.
• This was example #42 of them showing us what's going on, and we don't know it yet, nor did I even begin to see it coming. 
• John Locke wakes up prematurely from the anesthesia.
• "It worked." Locke "It went well. But, we won't know how well you responded to the surgery for some.." Jack "No, Dr. Shephard. It worked. I can feel my legs." Locke
• John wiggles his toes, just like he did when he crashed on the Island, as we saw in Walkabout.
• Jack fixing Locke, and not believing that he actually did, reminds me of Sarah, and how he fixed her, in Man of Science, Man of Faith.
• John Locke "remembers" wiggling his toes when he first crashed on the Island, as seen through his flashback, in Walkabout, after the crash, when he had the orange in his mouth, in Pilot, Part 1, when he taught Walt how to throw knives, in Special, when he predicted it was going to rain, while in the jungle with Boone, in All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues, and what he saw, in Walkabout, and later described as a "Beautiful bright, white light."
• "Did you see that?" Locke "See what?" Jack "You don't remember?" Locke
• Jack has a "flash" of him and John Locke looking down the shaft of the hatch, in Exodus, Part 2.
• I love the look on John Locke's face when he remembers Jack.
• Jack fights what he saw and denies it, as usual.
• "What we need to do is go." Locke
• "Will you come with me?" Locke "We're not going anywhere. You just had extensive spinal surgery, and I need to go see my son." Jack "You don't have a son." Locke "What?" Jack "You don't have a son, Jack." Locke
• This was reason #8 Billion that I should've seen the ending coming. But, nope, I didn't.
• Again, I love the look on John Locke's face when Jack resists. He's like "Oh, that's just like you, Jack. Of course you're fighting it."
• "Jack, I hope that somebody does for you, what you just did for me." Locke
• Back on the Island, Kate helps Jack on the cliff, and checks his stab wound.
• Jack's stab wound is in the same place that he had the scar in the flash-sideways.
• "I'm fine. Just find me some thread, and I can count to five." Jack
• That line just makes me smile.
• Sawyer, Ben, and Hurley show up at the cliff.
• All I could think during this scene was, "How the hell did Ben get out from under that tree?" and "Where the hell did they come from?" but, after thinking about it, we can assume that Kate went ahead of the group to get Jack so they could leave on the plane, while the rest got Ben out from under the tree, and then caught up with her at the cliffs. Not that it really matters. I just like working it all out in my head.
• Sawyer asks what the hell happened, Kate says that MIB is dead, and that it's all over, but the Island continues to shake.
• In the flash-sideways, James checks on Sun and Jin at the Hospital.
• I love the look on Sun and Jin's faces when they see him and find out that he's a cop, they're like "Of course you are, Sawyer."
• Detective Ford shows them Sayid's mugshot, and says that he escaped custody, and he needs to be there to protect them in case they're in danger.
• "It's okay. I am safe." Sun "We'll see you there." Jin
• Captain Frank J. Lapidus tries to fix the plane, looks through his manuals, says that he has to reset the electronics, he says there's something wrong with the hydraulics, down in the nose-wheel, and asks if either Miles or Richard are mechanical.
• "I worked for a contractor, renovating apartments for a couple of summers." Miles
• That'll do, Miles. That'll do.
• Ben calls Lapidus on his walkie.
• "Don't bother me!" Lapidus "Sounds like they're making progress." Ben
• I'm starting to wonder why they didn't just do this before. I mean, if the plane was fixable, why wasn't Frank Lapidus' first thought to fix it and get the hell off that Island? It would have been the first thing that I tried to do, especially if I were a freaking pilot. Alright. Disbelief suspended. 
• A lot more Island-shaking. This Island is going freaking crazy.
• Sawyer says that they have to go now, Kate says she doesn't understand, that "Locke" is dead, she asks why this is still happening, Jack says that whatever Desmond turned off, that he needs to turn it back on again, but if it doesn't work, or if he doesn't get it done in time, they all need to leave now, they need to be on that plane, Kate says that he can come with them too, that he doesn't have to do this, but Jack  says that he does have to do it, Kate says no, he doesn't, she tells him to let the Island sink, but Jack says that he can't.
• Jack asks Sawyer if he thinks he can get the boat across the channel in time, Sawyer says he can manage.
• Jack and Sawyer shake hands.
• "Good luck to you, James." Jack "Thanks, Doc. For everything." Sawyer
• Ben throws his walkie to Sawyer.
• "If the Island's going down, I'm going down with it." Ben
• "Hugo, you better get going." Jack "Nah-uh You think I'm going down that? I'm with you, dude." Hurley "Okay." Jack
• "Kate, you gotta go. Get Claire on that plane." Jack "Tell me I'm gonna see you again." Kate
• They kiss goodbye.
• I can't believe that I cried watching that. The entire series, I've hated Jack. I've hated the relationships, and especially the love-triangle. I loved her in the beginning, but I've been pretty indifferent about Kate since Season 1-2. And, still, that fucking broke me.
• Also, I'm a little upset that Hurley and Sawyer didn't say goodbye to eachother. What's up with that?
• "I love you." Kate "I love you." Jack
• Fucking finally. God. It's about fucking time, you guys.
• Also, DUDE. Hurley is sitting like RIGHT THERE while Jack and Kate are mackin' it.
• I've probably said this already (It's hard to remember everything I've said, because I've been writing this damn thing for days.), but I'm going to say it again. Evangeline Lilly acted her ass off in this episode. It's really great to see how far she's come since the show first started, when she was an unknown, and inexperienced actor. She's really grown into her own.
• Richard and Miles begin fixing the nose-wheel.
• "Can you fix it?" Richard "I don't believe in a lot of things, but I do believe in duct tape." Miles
• Thanks for throwing in the line dedicated to all the atheists and agnostics out there, Darlton. I believe in duct tape too. I really do.
• "Yo, chesty! It's Sawyer and Kate. We're on our way down to the sailboat, then we're heading to you. Don't leave without us." Sawyer "We're getting off the ground while there's still ground to get off, so if you want to go, you better get your asses in gear." Lapidus "Lapidus? Lapidus! Son of a bitch." Sawyer
• They jump off the cliff to get to the sailboat.
• I love how Kate makes a ridiculous face at the idea of jumping, but then just throws herself in. Also, Sawyer, it's probably not the best idea you've ever had to dive, head-first, over a crumbling cliff, with a rocky shore, and waves crashing beneath you.
• In the flash-sideways, James is still in the Hospital, and he runs into Jack in the hallway, asks him where he can get some grub, and Jack directs him to the vending machine.
• James seems to recognize Jack for a moment.
• James goes to the vending machine to get a candy bar, and his Apollo bar gets stuck in the machine.
• "Can I help you?" Juliet "It's okay. I'm a cop." James "Maybe you should read the machine its rights?" Juliet
• Juliet says that if he unplugs the machine, and then plugs it back in, the candy will drop, and it's technically legal. James says that he'll give it a shot.
• James unplugs the power and it shuts off the lights, but Juliet grabs his candy bar.
• "It worked." Juliet
• Their hands touch when James grabs the candy bar.
• They "remember" kissing, after Sawyer gave Juliet a sunflower, in La Fleur, talking on the shore, by the outrigger canoe, while they were jumping through time, in The Little Prince.
• "Whoa. Did you feel that?" James "We should get coffee sometime." Juliet "I'd love to, but the machine ate my dollar. I only got one left." James "We can go Dutch." Juliet
• They "remember" Juliet saying "We can go Dutch." before she died, in LA X, Sawyer giving Juliet the sunflower, them kissing, the two of them talking on the dock when Sawyer convinced Juliet not to leave on the submarine, and sleeping in their bed, before Sawyer got the call from Jin, that Jack, Kate, and Hurley were back on the Island, in La Fleur, Juliet looking out their window, in the barracks, after Jack, Kate, and Hurley arrived in 1977, while her bacon was burning, and Sawyer assuring her that nothing was going to change, in He's Our You, Sawyer trying to save Juliet at The Swan site, before she died, and Juliet ultimately falling down the hatch, in The Incident, and her ultimate death.
• "Juliet? Juliet, it's me." Sawyer 
• "Kiss me, James." Juliet "You got it, Blondie." James
• Jack arrives at the concert, and he runs into Kate.
• "I'm sorry. Where do I remember you from?" Jack "I stole your pen." Kate "What?" Jack "Uh. Oceanic Flight 815. From Sydney. I bumped into you coming out of the bathroom, and I stole your pen." Kate "And that's how I know you?" Jack "No. That's not how you know me." Kate
• Kate approaches Jack, touching his face, trying to make him "remember" everything. He has a "flash" of the first time he met Kate, after the crash, when he told her his "count to five" story and she sewed up his wound, in Pilot, Part 1.
• "I've missed you so much." Kate
• You can't help but think, from that line alone, that Kate probably grew to be an old woman, which is why she says she missed Jack so much. Knowing that Kate probably grew to an old age just makes me smile.
• Jack has another "flash," of when they first kissed, in the jungle, in What Kate Did.
• "What is happening to me?" Jack "I know. You don't understand, Jack. But, if you come with me, you will." Kate "Who are you? I don't.." Jack
• Jack, Hugo, and Ben arrive at the Heart of the Island.
• The Island continues to shake. Did I mention the horrible foamy, bouncy rocks?
• "How are we getting down there?" Hurley "We're not. I'm going alone." Jack "Dude, you can't go down there alone. Desmond didn't make it. How the hell are you gonna survive? (Jack shakes his head.) No. No way. I'm not gonna let you die." Hurley "Hurley, I'm already dead." Jack "You said you'd protect the Island." Hurley "And that's what I'm doing." Jack "You're committing suicide." Hurley "I'm not. This is the way it has to happen. This is what I'm supposed to do." Jack "You're not supposed to die! The Island needs you." Hurley "Hurley, it needs you." Jack "What?" Hurley "It needs to be you, Hugo." Jack "I can't. It's supposed to be you." Hurley "It was only supposed to be me so I could do this. But, if someone has to take care of the Island, if someone has to protect it, then it should be you. Hurley, I believe in you.'' Jack "Alright. I'll take it. But, it's only temporary. As soon as you get that light back on, I'm pulling you up, and I'm giving it right back to you. Deal?" Hurley "Deal." Jack
• I absolutely loved this scene. It is amazing to see how far the character of Hurley has come. I loved that he became the Protector of the Island. He's always been the voice of the audience, so it was kind of like Damon and Carlton were giving the Island to us. They were handing over the story to the fans.
• Jack says "I'm already dead." Interesting. It's amazing how many times they threw out there what was actually going on. It amuses me when I go back and watch things like that.
• Jorge Garcia and Matthew Fox were great in that scene.
• Jack does the ceremony with Hurley.
• That water was gross. Also, Ben gave Jack an Oceanic water bottle.
• I love how the ceremony to become the protector of the Island progressively gets worse. Jacob's "Mother" first gives him some wine, speaks in Latin, and the ceremony is all fancy and shit, and then Jacob merely uses some water, but at least speaks in Latin, and, by the time it gets to Jack, it's dirty water, in an old Oceanic water bottle, and no Latin at all. Hurley got screwed on his ceremony.
• "Is that it?" Hurley "Now you're like me." Jack
• Richard and Miles are done fixing the hydraulics, so Frank tries starting the plane, and it works.
• Hurley and Ben lower Jack into the cave, and the Island starts shaking again, making Jack fall.
• Jack finds Desmond inside the cave. He's alive.
• "The light. I put it out. It didn't work. I thought I'd leave this place." Desmond
• "You were right, Jack." Desmond "There's a first time for everything." Jack
• You're telling me, Jack.
• "I have to put it back. It was like a drain." Desmond "That's what you did, you took that stone out of that hole over there?" Jack "Jack, you can't. Even if you can turn it back on, it'll kill ya. It has to be me." Desmond "Desmond, you've done enough. You want to do something, go home and be with your wife and son." Jack "What about you, Jack?" Desmond "I'll see you in another life, brother." Jack
• Jack ties the rope around Desmond.
• Sawyer and Kate find Claire sitting on the beach.
• The Island is falling apart. The cliffs are crumbling and falling into the ocean.
• Frank, Miles, and Richard are backing the plane down the runway.
• Yes, a plane can actually go in reverse. Look it up on Wikipedia!
• Kate and Sawyer see the plane backing up from the beach. Sawyer says they have to go, Kate tries to talk Claire into going, but Claire says she can't because she's crazy.
• "Look at me. This Island's made me crazy. I don't want Aaron to see me like this. I don't even know how to be a mother anymore." Claire "Listen to me. None of us do. At least, not at first. But, you're not alone. Let me help you." Kate
• Claire finally decides to stop being crazy and go with them.
• "He says we're good!" Richard "You better pray we are, Ricky boy, because I'm gonna spin her around." Frank 
• I could've done without the whole "2012" scene with the plane taking off and the ground cracking beneath it. Seriously. That was kind of lame.
• Sawyer, Kate, and Claire flag down the plane on the runway, just before Lapidus is about to take off.
• Of course Lapidus doesn't hear his walkie-talkie.
• Who knew flying a plane was so damn easy. I had no idea that there was an actual gas pedal on a plane. It's a good thing I can learn how to do things from television and movies. I wonder if there's keys for the plane too.
• "What the hell? Boys, we got some late arrivals. Open the door." Frank
• Frank, you shouldn't be so surprised. They did tell you they were coming.
• In the cave, Jack puts the cork back in.
• Claire, Kate, and Sawyer get on the plane.
• It's so awesome that the runway that Kate and Sawyer didn't even know they were building is what ended up getting the both of them off the Island.
• Frank, Richard, Miles, Sawyer, Kate, and Claire are the Ajira 6. Funny, guys.
• The plane takes off, and ascends over the Island. 
• The music is awesome during that scene.
• The whole time they were fixing the plane, starting it, taking off, I was so sure that thing was going to blow the fuck up. I was just waiting for an explosion. Surprisingly, there was no explosions in this episode at all. That kind of makes me a little sad.
• Also, the sound of the Ajira plane taking off has been the sound of the flash-sideways all season.
• In the cave, the pool fills back up, the light comes back, and the electromagnetism sounds return.
• Ben and Hurley pull the rope back up, but it's not Jack. It's Desmond.
• John Locke arrives at the church, and Ben is sitting out front.
• "Hello, Benjamin." John "Hello, John." Ben "Is everyone already inside?" Locke "I believe most of them are, yes. I'm very sorry for what I did to you, John. I was selfish. Jealous. I wanted everything you had." Ben "What did I have?" John "You were special, John. But, I wasn't." Ben "Well, if it helps, Ben, I forgive you." John "Thank you, John. That does help. It matters more than I could say." Ben "What are you gonna do now?" John "I have some things that I still need to work out. I think I'll stay here a while." Ben
• "You know, I don't think you need to be in that chair anymore." Ben
• John Locke gets out of his wheelchair, and he walks into the church.
• "Goodbye, Ben." John
• That scene was just beautiful. I love that Ben apologized, that he said John was special, and he wasn't, and that John Locke forgive him for what he did.
• On the Island, Hurley and Ben take care of Desmond.
• "I think Desmond's gonna be okay." Ben
• "Jack's gone, isn't he?" Hurley (Ben nods. Hurley cries.) "He did his job, Hugo." Ben "It's my job now. What the hell am I supposed to do?" Hurley "I think you do what you do best. Take care of people. You could start by helping Desmond get home." Ben "But, how? People can't leave the Island." Hurley "That's how Jacob ran things. Maybe there's another way. A better way." Ben "Will you help me?" Hurley "I'm sorry?" Ben "I could really use someone with like.. experience. For a little while. Would you help me, Ben?" Hurley "I'd be honored." Ben "Cool." Hurley
• I really would like to think that they did help Desmond get off the Island, and back to his wife and son. As I've always said, Desmond is the only character that I believed truly deserved to survive the series. I'm glad that he did. Although, I am a little disappointed that we didn't get to see the conclusion of his character.
• Ben's face lit up when Hurley asked him to be his second in command. I think the way that they ended the characters of Ben and Hurley were perfect. Hurley gets the Island, and Ben, who has always been power-hungry, has to be his second in command. I think that's a perfect role for him. He doesn't get the power, but he gets to stay on the Island, and help Hurley. Plus, he's really good at listening, and giving advice, and talking people into doing things. It's just the right job for him.
• "Oh. Hey, dude." Hugo "Hello, Hugo." Ben "We're all inside." Hugo "I don't think I'm coming in." Ben "You know, you were a real good #2." Hugo "You were a great #1, Hugo." Ben "Thanks, dude. I'll see ya." Hugo
• The reason that Ben doesn't go in is probably because of Danielle and Alex. 
• Jack and Kate arrive at the church.
• I know that a lot of people can't see it, or are angry about the whole church thing, because it seems overly Christian, especially with the big statue of Jesus outside. But, the church was whatever they wanted it to be. The church appears that way to Jack because that is what it would be for him. I am not religious, at all, and I see it as more of a spiritual thing. I don't see it as a church at all. It's all about the way that you interpret it.
• "Do you know where you are?" Kate "This is where I was gonna have my father's funeral. He died in Australia." Jack "I'm sorry." Kate "Why did you bring me here?" Jack "Because this is where you were gonna have your father's funeral. You can go in around back." Kate "Wait. Where are you going?" Jack "Inside. I'll be waiting for you there once you're ready." Kate "Ready for what?" Jack "To leave." Kate
• On the Island, Jack wakes up on the rocks, just like the "Man in Black" did, in Across the Sea.
• I so thought that Jack was going to be the next Smoke Monster. That got me so friggin' excited.
• Back in the flash-sideways, Jack goes around back of the church, and enters a room filled with all different religious symbols, and his father's coffin.
• From Lostpedia: The stained glass window in the church shows symbols of the following faiths: the star and crescent of Islam, the Star of David (Judaism), the Aum (widely used as a symbol of Hinduism, but also present in Buddhism and Jainism), the Christian cross, the Dharmacakra (Buddhism) and the Yin/Yang disk (Taoism).
• I love that there is no dialogue or music in this scene. There is nothing. It is just completely silent. That definitely gave me chills. Just thinking about it gives me chills.
• Jack touches his father's coffin, and he "flashes" to his eye opening, in the very first shot of the series, and waking up, where he landed in the bamboo forest, in Pilot, Part 1.
• Jack touches his father's coffin again, and has a "flash" to him running through the bamboo forest, and onto the beach, arriving at the scene of the plane crash, taking care of Claire, and giving Rose CPR, in Pilot, Part 1, saving Charlie, after he was hanged by Ethan, in All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues, telling Hurley to take care of Claire, after the crash, in Pilot, Part 1, trying to save Boone, after he fell from the cliff, in the beachcraft, in Do No Harm, talking to Sayid in the jungle, taking care of Shannon when she was suffering from asthma, and talking to Sun, who figured out a remedy to help Shannon, in Confidence Man, after John Locke saved him from falling off a cliff, when he was chasing his father through the damn jungle, and what John said to him about it, in White Rabbit, Sawyer telling him the story of meeting his father, Christian Shephard, in Australia, right before he left on the raft, in Exodus, Part 1, when he called the freighter on the satellite phone, in Through the Looking Glass, leaving the Island on the helicopter, being on it with Kate, and their rescue, in There's No Place Like Home, Kate pulling a gun on him at the creek, in Lighthouse, reuniting in The Hydra station, when Kate asked him to save Sawyer, in I Do, the first time they met, when Kate sewed him up after the crash, in Pilot, Part 1, and their kiss goodbye, before Kate left the Island, in The End.
• Jack opens the coffin, but nothing is inside.
• "Hey, kiddo." Christian "Dad?" Jack "Hello, Jack." Christian "I don't understand. You died." Jack "Yeah. Yes, I did." Christian "Then, how are you here right now?" Jack "How are you here?" Christian "I died too." Jack (Jack cries.) "It's okay. It's okay. It's okay, son." Christian (They hug.) "I love you, dad." Jack "I love you too, son." Christian "Are you real?" Jack "I sure hope so. Yeah, I'm real. You're real. Everything that's ever happened to you is real. All those people in the church, they're all real, too." Christian "They're all dead?" Jack "Everyone dies sometime, kiddo. Some have been before you, some long after you." Christian "Why are they all here now?" Jack "Well, there is no now here." Christian "Where are we, dad?" Jack "This is a place that you all made together, so that you could find one another. The most important part of your life was the time that you spent with these people. That's why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you." Christian "For what?" Jack "To remember. And, to let go." Christian "Kate. She said we were leaving." Jack "Not leaving, no. Moving on." Christian "Where are you going?" Jack "Let's find out." Christian
• Wow. Who would've thought that Christian Shephard was gong to pop up there and reveal all of the secrets. It was kind of like he was addressing the audience. Yet, somehow, a lot of people totally didn't get it.
• For some reason, I really thought that John Terry wasn't going to appear in the Final Season. I'm not sure why, but when he came up behind Jack, it totally surprised me. I love being surprised.
• Thanks for the enlightening conversation there, Christian. I guess your name wasn't Christian Shephard for nothing. 
• Every time I hear Jack say "Dad?" it gives me chills and reminds me of when he first saw his dad on the Island, in White Rabbit.
• It's not Purgatory. Not Heaven. It's an afterlife. It's whatever happens after you die, to help you come to grips with your death. It is whatever you want it to be.
• They go see everyone in the church.
• Sawyer and Kate hug, Sayid and Charlie, Jin and Boone, Shannon and Sayid, Sawyer and Locke, Jin and Libby, Hurley, all greet eachother.
• Michael is not there because he was stuck on the Island, and Walt may not have even been dead yet.
• Ana Lucia wasn't "ready yet" as Desmond told Hugo, and Mr. Eko, perhaps, moved on already, because he was a Priest. But, really, we all know why he wasn't there. It's because they offered him the role, for a reasonable price, just like everyone else who was nice enough to come back, for the show, and for the fans, and the douche-bag, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, wanted five times that. That really upsets and disappoints me. I loved the character of Mr. Eko, and I lost all respect for that actor after reading that.
• On the Island, Jack makes his way to the bamboo forest.
• Jack and John Locke greet eachother in the church. They shake hands.
• "We've been waiting for you." John Locke
• I think it's pretty damn awesome that John Locke got the last words of the series.
• In the church, are Desmond and Penny, Desmond says hello to Jack, and gives him a hug.
• Boone and Jack also hug.
• Man, that part really got me. I remember when Ian Somerhalder left the show, and them saying how hard that scene was because of how Matthew Fox and he had become so close in the first season.
• On the Island, Jack passes the old tennis shoe, hanging in the bamboo forest.
• Jack and Hurley bear-hug.
• Charlie holds Aaron, while Claire, Sayid, Shannon, and Sun, look at the baby.
• Jack hugs Sawyer.
• Kate holds Jack's hand. They all sit down in the church.
• On the Island, Jack lays down in the bamboo forest.
• The juxtaposition in this scene is impeccable.
• Jack and Kate, Sayid and Shannon, Locke, Desmond and Penny, Rose and Bernard, Sun and Jin, Sawyer and Juliet, Hurley and Libby, Charlie and Claire all sit in the church.
• Christian puts his hand on Jack's shoulder as he walks by.
• In the bamboo forest, Vincent lays down next to Jack as he dies.
• Christian walks to the back of the church, and opens the doors, letting the light in.
• I love that Christian was wearing tennis shoes with his suit.
• The plane flies overhead, as Jack smiles.
• Jack closes his eyes.
• Silent "LOST" closing-screen.
• I lost my shit when Vincent laid down next to Jack as he died.
• I could watch the final 20-minutes or so of this episode like a thousand times. It is just absolutely beautiful.
• The music was absolutely fucking phenomenal in this episode. Bravo to Michael Giacchino.
• There were all sorts of call-backs in this episode.
• I believe that the "flash sideways" was created in the nanosecond of a difference between what really happened on Oceanic Flight 815 and what happened in the afterlife. Everything that happened on the Island, after the plane crash, happened in that split-second.
• From Lostpedia: The end credits of the episode ran alongside images of what appears to be the wreckage of Oceanic Flight 815 with no living people present. These were not part of the episode; ABC have confirmed that they were added as a soft, nostalgic transition between the ending of Lost and the next show.
• I never thought anything of the ending-credits. It was a farewell to the fans. It didn't mean the whole thing was purgatory. Jesus Christ. I just feel like people wanted to hate it.
• I loved how the end paralleled the beginning of the series, which is something that I had theorized would happen for a long time, and I really felt that it all paid off for me.
• Jimmy Kimmel Live!: "Aloha to LOST" was great. It was cool seeing Matthew Fox and Terry O'Quinn talk about the show, because it feels like we never get to see them too often. In fact, I'm not sure that I've ever seen Terry O'Quinn even do a talk-show before this. It was also great seeing a lot of the secondary characters, because we don't get to see them too often as well. The only thing is that I wish Henry Ian Cusick would do interviews more. I don't know if he never gets asked, or if he simply doesn't like doing them, but, for whatever reason it is, he's always left out somehow.
• Those Target commercials were great. I just became a bigger fan and supporter of Target.
• Best Finale ever. Hands down.

I absolutely loved it, while it was nothing that I expected at all. It was very emotional. I think I just about had a nervous breakdown watching this. Okay, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement. But, I don't often cry easily, and this definitely brought on the tears. My immediate reaction was confusion, but that I also loved it. I felt a scene of serenity, and peacefulness when it was all said and done. I hope that I never forget the feeling I had when this episode first aired.

I was afraid that, with time, I would like it less, because after the initial twenty minutes or so after the episode ended, I started to have a lot of questions. But, I actually found that I loved it more and more as time went on. It was one of those things that I just had to sit around and let it soak in for a while. So, I didn't re-watch it for 10 days. That's a lot for me. I was certain that I would watch it much sooner than that. I wasn't ready to let go. And when I watched it the second time, I loved it even more. I came to accept it. It's over, and it was a tremendous experience. It's kind of crazy to say how much a television show has changed my life, but it has. Because, it's not merely a television show. This is an experience like no other. I think that I've learned and grown more in the past six years of my life than I have in any other years of my life. Maybe it's just happenstance, because I'm in my mid-20s (Alright. Closer to 30.) and those are probably some of your most formative years, and maybe it's that LOST came along at exactly the right time for me. Whatever the case may be, it just clicked with me, for some reason. The story just resonates with me, and I truly believe that it is the greatest story that's ever been told. And I am not going to apologize for loving it, and for not feeling like I wasted the past six years of my life.

While I understand the frustration with not having answers to all of the mysteries, I do not understand how some people absolutely hated the ending. Some people are hanging on to questions that they can probably figure out the answers to on their own. This has always been a character show to me more than anything else. Of course, I absolutely enjoyed the mythology, probably more than anything. But, how can you care about the mythology, if you don't care about any of the characters? LOST is a show like no other because of all of the different things that it has to offer. It challenges you, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually.

I don't know what exactly people were expecting from the ending. I understand frustration, but I do not understand anger, or feeling as if it all were a waste. If you loved this show for even a moment, to me, that was worth it. If it taught you anything, it was worth it. If you never felt that way at all, then I ask.. Why did you watch? What would a better ending look like? Why did you want every single answer from creators that continuously proclaimed that they were not going to answer every single thing?

To these people, I ask that you give it a chance. You may not like it at first. But, give yourself a chance to do so. Watch it again. Fuck. Even watch the series again. With an open mind this time. Have a positive outlook on it all. Maybe you'll catch something that you missed the first time around.

Some people are also misinterpreting what actually happened. This was not Purgatory. It was not overwhelmingly Christian. It was an afterlife. A meeting place. A waiting room. Purgatory is where people go when they don't quite deserve to get into "Heaven" but aren't going straight to "Hell" either. These people created a place, a Collective Consciousness, if you will, where they could all find eachother before they could move on to whatever was next. The whole show wasn't Purgatory. The Island actually happened. It wasn't a waste of your time. Did you enjoy the show up until the end? If you did, then why ruin it for yourself? I think people put way too much weight on the ending. It was a great story, a journey, an experience, and I loved it. You have to look at the big picture. I am not going to apologize to you for absolutely loving it. You need to let go. Let the fear in.

There are not answers to everything we experience in life, and the same is for LOST, and that is what has made this show so wonderful, and real, because it allows you to explore real human emotions, and thoughts, and to ponder the things that people actually ponder about life. It is as close to the human experience as any story that's ever been told. And it helped me find myself in it.

I will probably be writing more extensively about the episode in the future, and then I'm probably going to do a re-watch of the entire series. I will write more about all of that later.

I found this at Dark UFO. It's called "Letting Go of LOST" and done by the LOST Lockdown Podcast. I've never listened to that podcast, but this is absolutely fantastic, so I thought I'd share it. 



THE END.

"See you in another life, brotha..."