I doubt there was ever a show that generated as many theories, conjecture and discussion about “what it all means” as much as Lost. Our protagonists crashed on an island with awesome properties. It healed the sick, made a crippled man walk again, it even could move in time. We encountered the Dharma Initiative scientists who were attempting to unlock and capitalize on the mysteries of the island. Further along the series we learned about the protector of the island’s secrets, his brother, his followers (the Others) and their centuries-long rivalry. It all seemed to pit our Lostees in a battle of good vs evil, free will against pre-destination. Supposedly, Jacob, the protector, needed someone to carry the torch and succeed him as the island’s keeper, and that’s why he brought those individuals (Jack, Kate, Sawyer,…) to the island. In the end though, Lost was really about none of those fantastical plot points.

As opposed to being a story about the supernatural, it turns out to be all about human connections and love. The fantastical story elements were nothing more than the setting for this drama. We got characters that are perfectly defined and flawed and we learned about them as they gradually learned about the Island and the new world they got thrown in. The storytelling was superb and never got boring. What is the island exactly? One big MacGuffin. It is important and it needs to be protected (protecting the rock from what exactly? No real clue). That’s about it. It doesn’t matter so much as the characters and their specific storylines.

To that end, did we really need 8 hours of the final season to tell the story of what happened AFTER the Lostees died? Did we need that much time for them to slowly “let go” and glide into the afterlife? I don’t know, but I do not think so. Granted it was all brilliantly told with very good writing and excellent acting. Still, I wanted more of the “main story”, of the “Island present”.

All that being said, Lost was a blast, a great show that I will miss watching. The host of characters was so real and so human that I cannot help but feel attached to every one of them. That is powerful stuff.

Namaste!