Series The End
SPOILERS.
I spent six years of my life devoted to this show. I stuck through them in the good times, and the bad. I watched the show follow an underlying, albeit crooked path (Seasons One to Three) completely lose all sense of where it even was (Season Four) and simply get really, really bad (Seasons Five and Six).
But after it all, The End was worth it. Did it wrap everything up? No. Was it the plan they had from the very start? No. Was it worth six years of undying loyalty to a show which reached, at times, great peaks and great lows? Was it able to justify sticking with the show all that time? Would I recommend the show to anyone, having seen The End?
What it was, was a powerful and deeply moving episode. It was, without question, a good ending. The tears I shed upon witnessing Jack closing his eye, in the same spot we watched him open it, starting the whole series, as he lay dying were real. The painful lump in my throat as Jack smiled at the plane as it left the island. That was real, too. Even if it didn't explain much- hell, even though it explained nothing at all- the emotional satisfaction of knowing after death the "Losties" who have redeemed themselves (Jack, Kate, Sayid, Shannon) will be together once more was worth it alone.
One day, maybe, I too will be able to move on, and let go, like Jack. But having seen The End, having come so far through good and bad, I cannot take my mind off one thought; it was worth it.
Series Lost
Lost is a show about the survivors of a plane crash who stranded on a desert island. But it's so much more than that. Translated into nerd terms, this is a show about a desert island just like Neon Genesis Evangelion was about giant robots. I got into the series a few months before the final season began. I never saw a single episode before, and I was curious about the show. I was hooked instantly, and I watched five seasons just in time for the season 6 premiere.
I would start by giving a plot summary, but that would be like summarizing the Bible in a paragraph. The plot is incredibly complicated. You can very easily waste a whole afternoon trying to figure it out. Lost features Loads And Loads Of Characters. Some you will love, others you will hate, others will you love to hate, and all have a 70% chance of dying before the finale. This means everyone.
Season 1 opens up plenty of mysteries. Some get solved right away, some not till season 6, some not at all. Season 2 answers some questions, but opens up numerous more. Season 2 is also where the series started to go downhill. The plot went from being an intriguing mystery to solve to a convoluted story with subplots going nowhere, not to mention several glaring examples of Character Derailment. The first half of Season 3 continued this trend, with the show becoming so complicated it's almost unbearable.
But the Season 3 finale changed that trend, and with that, the series regrew its beard. Seasons 4 and 5 keep opening up new mysteries, but existing ones get solved too. But by the Season 5 finale, the mysteries begin to lose their allure, and, well, by this point we just want some damm answers. And thank God for season 6! For the first time in the show's history, more questions are answered than asked. Mysteries dating back to the first season were finally solved. All this culminates in what I consider to be one of the best endings out there. Of course, there are still quite a few questions that are left unanswered, but I like to leave a little mystery. It keeps the Epileptic Trees watered.
An ending note: This show has so many plot twists and cliffhangers that odds are even the most Genre Savvy tropers can't predict it. Stick with it through the Seasonal Rot, and you will be rewarded.