Lost Virgin Diary – Goodbye strangers, it’s been nice; hope you find your paradise

The end has finally come. I just watched the series finale of Lost and this will be the final chapter of my Virgin Diary experience. It feels almost bittersweet. Summer feels like it has come and gone, as school is already in session for most local schools in my area and cooler temperatures this week have made me realize fall will soon be upon us. It therefore seems fitting that the show I began watching at the beginning of the summer is now coming to a close too. But you know what? I really enjoyed the ride and especially Season 6, Episode 17 “The End.”

I felt like the Lost finale did the show justice by allowing everything to come full circle. The flashback sequences of everyone seeing what had already happened in seasons past linked all the seasons and characters together with a beautiful score of accompanying music. I was flooded with their memories, once again witness to all of their laughter and all of their tears … all of their deaths and even a few of their births. I think most of my burning questions were answered along the way. Perhaps not all, but enough to leave me feeling overall satisfied. Maybe no one is ever really meant to have all the answers, in life or in death. One thing is certain. I’m happy they didn’t completely “undo” the plane crash and their connections with each other, for it would’ve felt like everything had been a lie.

What began with Jack ended with Jack and that, too, seemed very fitting. Ever the person who never gave up believing in people even when they were obviously lying to or manipulating him, Jack was fittingly late to the party. Imagine that. Late to your own wake. Because that’s really what the season finale was in some respects, a wake. It was a chance to pay your final respects to a group of unforgettable characters that touched you in a special way few series manage to do. I feel richer having known them.

Jack’s father, Christian Shephard (which I never completely appreciated the irony of his name before now), was there to guide his son home. Jack could finally be at peace and tell his father he loved him, as his father explained that he and the rest of the Oceanic survivors that had been his compadres and allies, and at time even his enemies, were all dead. They were all assembled together in the church, resplendent in their best clothes, appearing vibrant, young, happy and most importantly, reunited with the ones they had loved best and looking exactly as how they remembered one other.

Most of the ones I had cared about were back together again – there was Boone, there was Locke walking and talking and not the creepy black mist any longer, there were Des and Penny, Hurley and Libby, Sawyer and Juliet, Jin and Sun, Shannon and Sayid, Rose and Bernard, Jack and Kate and yes, even Claire, Charlie and baby Aaron. Notably missing were Michael, Walt, Eko and maybe a stray polar bear. Perhaps their contracts didn’t come through. I assume Aaron was a baby again because that’s how the rest of the Oceanic survivors would’ve remembered him. I assume Jin and Sun’s child and Des and Penny’s child were not there because neither had ever spent any time on the island. This final party was by invitation only. Only those Des felt were ready to move on were invited to attend, which apparently did not include Ana Lucia, anybody from the freighter (Miles, Daniel, Charlotte or Frank) or even Charles Widmore.

I’m not happy that they all died, but it was as I expected it. I never expected any of them to leave the island happily. I was a little puzzled as to why Ben didn’t join them in the church even when Hurley extended an extra invitation. All he said was he had some things he had to work out before he could let go. I assumed he wasn’t ready to leave Alex yet, but it was nice to see him apologize to Locke for being jealous of him. I was also surprised Jacob didn’t make an appearance, but then again, in the end you could say he and the island prevailed. The island’s source of power remained intact and everybody that knew about its existence was presumably dead.

Like a good shepherd guiding his flock of wandering, led-astray sheep, Christian opened the church door and white light flooded through and washed over Jack’s group as they all prepared to go home, which I took to mean heaven. They were all finally ready to move on together and I guess that’s a happy ending of sorts. I took comfort in the fact that none of them would ever experience pain, loss or separation again, and it made me wonder if your loved ones who have passed before you are really there to welcome you into the afterlife transition. I certainly hope so. Death has always been one of those things that keep me lying awake at night. I have a real fear of the unknown and of being alone.

The series began with a close-up of Jack’s eye opening as he was lying on the bamboo jungle’s floor after surviving the plane crash. I thought it was perfect that it ended with a close-up of Jack’s eye closing, as he succumbed to death on that same bamboo jungle’s floor, once again finding himself lying next to Walt’s dog, Vincent. By the end, I, too, was finally ready to move on. I’d like to say farewell to Lost with some of the lyrics to Supertramp’s hit “Goodbye Stranger”:

“Goodbye strangers. It’s been nice, hope you find your paradise.
Tried to see your point of view, hope your dreams will all come true.
Goodbye Sawyer, goodbye Ben, will we ever meet again?”

Memorable Quote:

“Everyone dies some time, kiddo. Some of them before you, some long after you.” – Christian Shephard
“But 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 – 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 leave. No. Moving on.” – Christian
“Where are we going?” – Jack
“Let’s go find out.” – Christian

Clacked by Kim Tibbs
on Aug 14, 2012 @ 10:00 EST5EDT