Originally Posted by
Udaman
Whew.
I don't quite know what to think. I LOVED the episode up until the last 10 minutes. Before that (especially at about the 1 hour mark), I was saying, "Wow - so much is happening, how is this going to last 2 1/2 hours?").
And then the end occurred....and we find out they are in Purgatory...clinging to their old lives and old haunts until they reach enlightenment and can move on. In the final scene in the church I kept thinking, "Why does this remind me of Titanic?"
So, random thoughts/likes/dislikes
1) There were some tremendous scenes in this. Jin and Sun (and Juliet as their doctor), and suddenly understanding, and speaking English. Just great. Sawyer and Juliet - amazing. Hurley in just about every scene he was in. Ditto for Desmond.
2) Obviously the sideways world was Purgatory...and if you discard the cheesy factor of that (which, admittedly, is tough), and step back and look at the full season, it not only makes sense with what the Producers/Writers were doing, they did a pretty damn good job of it. Sawyer was a cop - not a con-man - still trying to find the person who ruined his life, but realizing that wasn't important. Locke was a person who realized that walking wasn't as important as having love. Hurley had good luck. Kate was desperately seeking redemption. Charlie as well. Claire wanted to keep her child. Jin and Sun were tired of always striving for the support of their parents. And some weren't ready for redemption yet (Ben, even with enlightenment), Ana Lucia - who still was crooked. They did a good job pulling that together. I must admit.
3) So, what was the island? I'm torn here. As someone else said, it could be real (with time travel, planes crashing, electromagnetism, bright lights, people who can't die, etc, etc)...or it could also have been some kind of purgatory. I must admit, that latter seems more likely. Some kind of gateway between life and Purgatory. That would explain the "lists" and people getting taken away after reaching certain points (i.e. Ecko). It would explain why Christian's casket was empty. It would explain why he showed up with Michael on the boat before it exploded. It would explain why you always arrived on the island unconscious - either via plane or sub. It would really explain everything, since none of it was truly real. Of course, we also know that the producers were doing things as they went along, kind of making things up...so maybe they don't know, or, more likely, it changed as they went along. But I think deep down they always knew this was about dying and moving on...and I bet they start hinting that the island wasn't truly real.
4) Things I really liked: Hurley as #1 and Ben as #2 (and mentioning that at the end, which means they lived that way for a while). Ben saying, "Those were Jacob's rules." (again, I think this gives credence to the island as some kind of transition place between life and death. Jacob brought the Black Rock there because he could. Flocke wanted off because he wanted to cheat death. JMHO.). Kate and Jack - they pulled that acting off. Seeing Penny.
5) Things I loved. Hurley and "He's worse than Yoda." Sawyer with lots of Sawyerisms (blondie, tubby, etc). Miles - he was like me - always pretty confused, but going along for the ride. Plus he uses tape to fix things.
6) Things I disliked. Frank not being dead...yeah, they needed a pilot, but how could he have gotten off that sub (unless, of course, the island was never real)? No Ecko at the end (100% on the actor, but boy I would have liked to have seen him). The banter between Jack and his dad (yawn).
7) Thing I absolutely HATED. That Sayid was with Shannon. By far the worst part of this episode for me. Their love interest was way forced in Season 1, and didn't last long (what, a few days - maybe a week). And she's his constant? It should have been Nadia. In fact, in Purgatory he was dealing with his struggle to have her, to see her in an imperfect relationship and know that she could and should be with him - the person who truly loves her. This one single fact almost ruined the episode for me. Almost.
Overall, I liked it. I think they were all dead the entire time, and this was about redemption - with lots of messed up things thrown in, and some B.S. by the producers as they went along. But it was tremendous acting, and a great mystery, and they did a pretty damn good job wrapping it all up, all things considered.
Jack, Kate, Locke, Ben, Sawyer, Hurley, Juliet, Jin, Sun, Charlie, Desmond, Penny, Claire, Sayid, Richard, Rose, Bernard...thanks for being a part of my life. You will be missed.