In other words, this is not freewriting, or fiction, or a pillow book list. Rather, this entry is a response to the cathartic ending of LOST, which I finally managed to watch last night. Since my concussion last month, I've found many things that I love to do extremely difficult. Staying awake while images flash on the screen like a siezure inducing cartoon is one of them. With little nudges from my husband, I was able to watch the much anticipated finale and I'm so glad I did.
There has been much criticsm of The Finale Chapter just as there has been much criticism of the series. I'm not surprised at this considering the show's popularity. Despite the plethora of negative criticism, I've remained an avid fan since the day I stumbled upon the pilot and in shock asked myself, "Whaaaat? Is this a movie?" I enjoyed those first two hours, intrigued by the idea of a series that seemed to encompass action, drama, mystery, and sci-fi.
At the close of the pilot, I immediately hit the web, hungry for more. What I found was a posting board named The Fuselage. Here, I spent roughly six months of my life, pausing only to eat, sleep a few hours, dote on my 4-year-old son, and of course watch LOST with my husband, my first lostie convert. On this site, I made many friends, asked many questions, received very few answers, and learned of the magician/genius known as JJ Abrams. I also gained a new obsession: Alias. At this point, Alias was about to start its 4th season, and one of my newfound lostie friends offered to send me the first 3 seaons on DVD. I watched them with baited breath and was not dissapointed. When I had seen each set at least 3 times I decided to reluctantly send them back home. To my surprise, my new friend, known only as "Rose," told me to just keep them: an amazing gift.
After six months, my husband and I both decided that I would have to quit The Fuselage cold turkey or lose all semblance of a normal life. I did eventually get back to reality, with only my hour of LOST a week, I managed to function as a part of society again. As Alias came to a close, I watched the finale with hopes not only for a satisfying closure to this beloved series, but also with the idea that if Abrams could pull this off, then there was real hope that an eventual LOST resolution was in sight. Alias did it. Now I thought surely LOST would be able to do the same.
I wasn't wrong. Spinning through the whirlwind that is LOST has been an amazing ride. I cherished every twist and turn, every hint at answers, and each reveal that left me with new questions. In the finale season, the writer's gave our characters a chance to work out their frustrations and come to a resolution: to let go. Through the characters' cathartic moments, I was able to also let go. Bravo. The finale was a perfect mixture of just enough answers to satisfy my curiosity and just enough open-endedness to leave me feeling that the story will continue for these characters. Just like a good novel or short story, I get the feeling that life goes on . . .
