Lost received mixed reviews, the show often ranks high on critics’ lists for the best series of all time.
Notably, the finale of Lost, which aired in 2010, drew in almost 14 million viewers. After multiple seasons of build-up, fans tuned in to finally discover what, exactly, had caused the eerie occurrences on the island. During the last episode, major characters reunited in the “flash-sideways,” which represented the afterlife. Initially introduced as a series of short scenes, many of the survivors seemingly ran into each other while living alternate lives. However, once they recognized each other, they were able to move onto another plane of existence. Infamously, the episode ended with the key ensemble, including protagonist Jack Shepard (Matthew Fox), meeting in a sunny church after their deaths.
While speaking on The Storm podcast, Lindelof shared his reasoning behind the decision to feature the afterlife as a critical plot point. As he noted, he and the writers wanted to make a high-impact statement. Read what Lindelof said below:
“I think for me personally coming into season 6... and I'm going to switch between the 'I' and 'we' pronoun because you asked me a very specific question about me, but we as a collective, Carlton and I and the writers and [Jack] Bender to some degree was quite involved in a lot of the conversations swirling around what are we going to do in the final season in of building the sideway timeline. It was like, let's set five hours of content in the afterlife and just show it. That's the mystery. We're not going to give a satisfying answer as to why birds were flying into walls or what the fuck that jacuzzi is doing in the shitty temple to Sayid, but we are going to tell you what happens when you die... Let's feel our way through what the subjective emotional experience of being dead feels like versus 'where do you go.' Let's explore the kind of emotional underpinnings of this kind of... wandering space. So yeah, coming into the final season, I was basically solving for 'here's what it feels like once you're dead.' I haven't seen that done enough in popular culture, and I'm really interested in exploring that space.”
However, the finale of Lost ultimately alienated a large number of viewers, including a loyal fan base that had ionately scrutinized each and every narrative thread. Many viewers criticized the finale for forsaking seasons-long mysteries that remained unanswered. Notoriously, the ending shot of airplane wreckage also confused fans. Some continued to theorize that all of the characters had been dead the whole time, even after co-creator Lindelof refuted the claim. Recently, cast alum Josh Holloway, who played fan-favorite Sawyer, added fuel to the fire by similarly conjecturing that the survivors had been in purgatory since the plane crash in the first episode.
Although the finale of Lost often spurs hotly contested debates, it is undeniable that the series has left an imprint on television. While the ending may have disappointed fans with its inconsistent narrative, the overall show remains a beloved facet of media history. Lost demonstrated both the weaknesses of overcomplicated plotlines and the strengths of rich, thoughtful characterizations. Although it's been eleven years since the finale, its impact does indeed continue to this day.
Source: The Storm