That was disappointing. Perhaps I expected too much. It’s been consistently cryptic for five seasons, why stop now? Cynically, you could suggest that the series finale of Lost left so many questions unanswered in order to squeeze a few more dollars out of the fans in DVD sales.
Honestly, there were logic holes big enough to, er, fly a plane through. If the island and everything that happened on it were real, what was the point of the flash sideways? Was it just some sort of giant MacGuffin? And if flash sideways was just a staging post for heaven, why were there characters in the church who were still alive on the island? Ben, Hurley, Rose, Bernard, Sawyer, Claire, Kate? Was Desmond just some sort of crossing guard, there to point everyone in the right direction? What about Miles and Lapidus? Am I experiencing geek outrage right now? Maybe. Geek annoyance, at least.
Sure, it was about the characters, as Doc Jensen keeps telling us. Yes, I had a wee tear when Sawyer and Juliet recognised each other in Sidewaysland. But in the end, it all began to look like a thinly-veiled religious metaphor (Freud would have had a field day with that stone knob being pulled out of the hole in the island and letting all the bad stuff out, btw).
By contrast, the series final of Ashes to Ashes in the UK was at least clear. And it was plotted from the beginning of Life on Mars, as this interview with series co-creator Matthew Graham makes clear. Warning: only read this if you have seen the final or you just don’t care.
Glee returns this Friday (June 4); the episode directed by Joss Whedon and starring Neil Patrick Harris is six eps in and contains a fabulous flash mob sequence. Oh, who am I kidding? You’ve probably downloaded it already. Also Miranda starts on TV1 on Friday – but at 11.00pm.