Monday, 24 May 2010
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Life, Faith and the Lost Finale
By Justin at BeDeviant [Editor's note: This post contains spoilers. For those of you who have not seen the last episode of Lost yet, you might want to avert your eyes.]For the true multi-sensory experience, listen to this song while reading today’s post.
The show is over. LOST is complete. Everyone is okay.
That’s what I took away from last night’s LOST series finale: they were all okay. That was my thought as the curtain closed on LOST. “They all made it.”
They were with each other and time was never going to run out on them again.
They would never be separated again.
They had each other.Sure, there were plot holes that were left unfilled. We may not have gotten all the “answers” we were seeking, but that’s partly what made LOST, LOST. You didn’t get all the answers. We don’t know what was up with Walt, what happened to Sawyer, Kate, Lapidus, Alpert and Miles after they left the island, or what was really going on with Eloise Hawking.
But isn’t that just like life? We don’t get all the answers. We don’t know why 4-year-olds die of cancer, why crooked people seem to triumph so often, or why life has to be so painful sometimes. Sometimes there are no answers. LOST keyed in on this uniquely human aspect to life and worked it over, and over, and over.
LOST = Snapshot of HeavenI was so pleased with the finale because of the picture it painted for the possibilities of Heaven. A place with no time. A place where relationships with those we love are intact. A place that’s “real.” A place where we’re unfettered by past hindrances–where we can be the people we were created to be. A place where people can “let go.” Amen.
We see Jack’s tragic and consistent need to “fix people” be redeemed when he saves his friends and gets them off the island. We see Hurley become The Guardian–a role that we as the audience can believe. Hurley was more than comic relief, he was a soul saver. We see Ben light up as he’s asked to be a part of something without having to weasel his way in. We see John Locke walk. We see Christian leading our LOST crew into a wave of light, illustrated by the image at the top of this post. They’re all okay.
The analogy wasn’t perfect by any means. For instance, the writers of LOST were none-to-subtle in suggesting that “all roads lead to Heaven.” The closing scene with Jack and his father, Christian, was rife with universalism. In the screen cap below, you can see the stained glass window with multiple religious symbols–Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism and Christianity. I took this as a suggestion that it doesn’t matter what road you take, they all end up in the same place. This would be a nice, sentimental parting shot except for the fact that most major world religions believe that their way is the only way. In others words, Islam does not teach that all roads lead to heaven. Their way does and no one else’s. But I digress …
Our Deep Desire for the Spiritual LOST was able to go to places where few television shows bothered to tread. The show was deeply spiritual, and unashamedly so. The reason why it was so popular with so many people is because LOST alluded to a reality that we all hope to be true. “Everything’s going to be okay.” As human beings with inner spirits, we all pick up on this “behind-the-scenes” reality and hope beyond hope that it’s true.
That we’ll be with the people we love.
That there’s something for us after we die.
That light will conquer darkness.Certainly the Christian faith suggests this. Scripture teaches that God will make the wrong things right; that relationships will never be severed again; and death will be no more. Everything is going to be all right. Where we as Christians get this wrong is when we make Heaven a place that’s hard to get in to. When we put up religious roadblocks for people instead of realizing that God is at work in the lives of all people. Our job is to recognize it and amplify it. No checklists or picket signs needed.
Final ThoughtsAll in all, LOST’s series finale met and exceeded my expectations. It left me wanting more, not wanting it to end–the sign of any well-told story. I wonder if the LOST writing team got so close to capturing a snapshot of heaven that some people, for the first time, can actually believe it’s a real place. A lofty assertion for any television show, no doubt. But LOST was more than TV. It was art. It was story. It was life. It was good.
What did you think?
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About the Author
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- From: bedeviant
- Name: Justin
- About Me: A religious deviant who enjoys coffee, reading theology, graphic design, and spending time with his wife while creatively exploring the riches of the Spirit of Christ.
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Comments (10)
I have never seen one episode of Lost, but you post makes me want to go out and watch a few to see if I would like it.
I loved how Jack's death mirrored how he landed the first time on the island. There were a lot of plot holes left open but it did seem like a fitting finale.
*Yawn*
I agree with you completely...it seemed by the end everyone was redeemed in someway and although all the answers weren't completely wrapped up and a nice way I think they did the best they could.
I love how Lost was always about the search for faith even more than faith itself. You have to put yourself out there, examine what you believe and why you believe it. I find that to be very significant. Oh, and I thought the finale was beautiful. Loved it.
Here are my thoughts: The Island itself is a picture of life itself. Fraught with mystery, others, "monsters", and the unknown, we have to find our way around and through all of these while carrying our own baggage on the inside - fears, hurts, bad choices, the past. But it's here on the island that we first open our eyes and it's here that we lie down and close them for the last time.
I enjoyed your post. I thought it was very good and insightful.
Fantastic post. Thanks for this.
@NightCometh@xanga - Your so disrespectful. If you don't take interest in what he said then don't make light of it. Also, forgive me for taking an offense through your freedom of expression. It's just that I find the expression "Yawn" very offending. Bedeviant is saying his thoughts about life and afterlife sincerely and your giving the expression that it is not worth the thought.
For myself, although I never watched the show, I agree to the other comments that this is indeed a good and insightful thought. For some reason, while I was reading this post along with the music you provided I was brought to a peaceful atmosphere. I even looked in the window while the morning rises and saw a pack of birds flying together....coincidence much perhaps? but then just at that exact moment, when the music still drifted me to a dream like world, my heart was suddenly smitten by the ending tone of the music. It was completely unexpected, the sudden change of sound was from something so soothing and dreamlike to one that signified fear and destruction. What's more coincidence is that the change in sound came halfway as the birds were flying. So what I thought were heavenly birds flying from the sky, I came to realize were also dark birds. I guess it could be significant in portraying that life and death goes hand in hand together just like the song convey. It's like saying that in death or afterlife, one can fly in the heavenly sky along with all their love ones. So one does not need to worry.
@ralrose@xanga - You can take offense all you want, whatever.
I said *yawn* because I wrote a post about Lost and Christianity a few weeks ago that Revelife didn't feature. I have my reasons. Be a jerk if you want, you have that freedom.
Yay, someone else thought this with me! Well done :)