The End (Lost)

"The End"
Lost episode
Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) in the bamboo forest with Vincent by his side. This scene mirrors the first scene of the series.
Episode no.	Season 6 Episode 17 & 18
Directed by	Jack Bender
Written by	Damon Lindelof Carlton Cuse
Production code	617 & 618
Original air date	May 23, 2010 (2010-05-23)
Running time	104 minutes
Guest actors
Dylan Minnette as David Shephard Neil Hopkins as Liam Pace John Pyper-Ferguson as Bocklin Alan Seabock as Sub captain Paul Mitri as Roadie Eric Nemoto as Oceanic rep Christina Souza as Jean Note: numerous returning actors are credited to the Main Cast

"The End" is the series finale of the ABC television series Lost, consisting of the 17th and 18th episodes of season 6. It is also the 120th and 121st episodes overall. As the final episode, it was first aired in the eastern United States and eastern Canada, and then aired simultaneously in the western United States, western Canada, and eight other countries.

The finale was written by co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Carlton Cuse, and directed by executive producer Jack Bender. Unlike the previous season finales, which were two hours long with advertisements, the series finale was expanded by half an hour, running two and a half hours starting at 9 pm Eastern Daylight Time, with a retrospective of the past six seasons running for two hours, starting at 7 pm.

"The End" was watched by 13.5 million Americans and received a strongly polarized response from both fans and critics. Reviewers from the Chicago Tribune and IGN called it the best episode of the season and praised its emotion and character. Negative reviews from the Los Angeles Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer criticized the finale for answering so few of the series' questions. Web site Metacritic gave "The End" a score of 74 out of 100, suggesting "mostly positive reviews", while The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph reported mostly negative reviews.

In the episode, the Man in Black (Terry O'Quinn) executes his plan to destroy the island as Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) tries to stop him once and for all. Meanwhile, the true nature of this season's "flash-sideways" narrative device is revealed.

Plot

On the island

Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly) and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia) head to the heart of the island, while James Ford (Josh Holloway) goes after Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick), who was thrown into a well. Arriving there, Sawyer is confronted by Ben Linus (Michael Emerson) and the Man in Black (Terry O'Quinn), who reveals his plan to destroy the island. Sawyer then steals Ben's rifle and reunites with Jack's group. Jack then tells Sawyer that he plans to confront the Man in Black. At the same time, Desmond, having been rescued by Rose Henderson (L. Scott Caldwell) and Bernard Nadler (Sam Anderson), is confronted by the Man in Black. The Man in Black threatens to kill Rose and Bernard if Desmond does not come with him, and he complies, provided the Man in Black leaves the couple unharmed. Meanwhile, Miles Straume (Ken Leung) finds a no longer ageless Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell) in the jungle, and they set out by boat to destroy the Ajira plane which would allow the Man in Black to escape. Along the way, they rescue Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey), who had survived the destruction of the submarine, and they decide to leave the island by using the plane.

On the way to the heart of the Island, Jack's group encounters the Man in Black's group. Jack tells the Man in Black that he is going to kill him, and together with Desmond, they travel to the heart of the Island. Jack believes that Desmond can kill the Man in Black because he thinks Jacob brought him back not as bait but as a weapon. Desmond tells Jack that destroying the island and killing the Man in Black do not matter because he is going down to the heart of the island and leaving for another place. Jack and the Man in Black lower Desmond down to the heart of the island and he reaches a chamber, leading to a glowing pool with an elongated stone at its center. Immune to the pool's electromagnetic energy, Desmond manages to remove the giant stone stopper in the center of the pool. However, the light goes out and the pool dries up, setting about the destruction of the island which the Man in Black predicted. A result of Desmond's act is an unforeseen side-effect of making the Man in Black mortal again. During a prolonged fight, the Man in Black stabs Jack in the same spot where his appendix was taken out and almost kills him when Kate shoots the Man in Black in the back, allowing Jack to kick him off the cliff to his death. The island continues to crumble and Jack realizes that he has to restore the light of the heart of the Island. He tells Kate to get Claire Littleton (Emilie De Ravin) on the plane and leave the island in case he fails. The two profess their love for each other and Kate leaves with Sawyer while Hurley and Ben follow Jack back to the pool.

Kate and Sawyer travel to Hydra Island via Desmond's boat Elizabeth, to the site of the Ajira Airlines plane where Lapidus, Richard and Miles have been quickly trying to make it air-worthy. Kate convinces Claire she can help her raise Aaron and they head for the plane. After Kate, Sawyer and Claire board the plane, Lapidus successfully gets it off the island. Jack leads Hurley and Ben back to the heart of the Island, where Jack convinces an emotional Hurley to take over as the protector of the island, stating Hurley was always meant to be the leader. Hurley and Ben lower Jack to the dry pool where he rescues a barely conscious Desmond. Jack manages to restore the light by replacing the stone plug, and is enveloped in the light that surrounds him. Hurley, in his role as the new protector of the island, does not know what to do. Ben tells him he should help Desmond get home and suggests there may be a better way of protecting the island than how Jacob did. Hurley asks him for help, and Ben is honored. Jack reawakens outside by a river and walks toward the bamboo forest.

Flash sideways

Christian Shephard's coffin finally arrives to Los Angeles, and Desmond signs for it. Kate questions his intentions, but he tells her that he is her friend, and he wants to leave. When asked where to, he promises to show her and drives off. Elsewhere, Hurley arrives with Sayid at a hotel, and Hurley shows him a tranquilizer gun to make him remember their previous adventure. When he doesn't remember, Hurley goes to a hotel room and uses the gun on Charlie, who refuses to go to the concert. They put the sleeping Charlie into the Hummer. Arriving at the concert, Miles sees Sayid and warns James Ford. He tells him to check on Sun Paik, who is at the hospital.

In the hospital, Sun is next to Jin in her bed, when Juliet enters and performs an ultrasound. This makes Sun remember when Juliet did an ultrasound on the island, and Jin remembers as well. Now speaking English, they tell Juliet that their baby is fine, and that Ji Yeon is her name. Meanwhile, Jack checks John before his operation, and tells him that fixing him will bring him peace. Afterwards, Jack meets with Juliet, his ex-wife, and tells his son David that Claire can go to the concert in his place.

Hurley has taken Sayid outside a bar, where they watch a fight between two men and a woman. Sayid helps the woman, who is Shannon, and they remember their life on the island. Boone tells Hurley that it wasn't easy to bring her from Australia, but Hurley says that it was worth it. In the concert, Charlie has passed out, but Charlotte wakes him up, and he meets with Daniel Widmore. Meanwhile, Claire recognizes Kate, and Pierre Chang introduces the band. Claire has a contraction and goes backstage, and Kate follows her. At the same time, Eloise Widmore speaks with Desmond, asking what he wants to do after everybody "knows." He answers that they will be leaving. When asked whether he is going to take Daniel with him, he says he won't.

Backstage, Claire enters labor, and Kate and Charlie help her. When Aaron is born, the three flash back to when Aaron was born on the island. Desmond appears and asks Kate if she understands. She says she does and asks, "now what?" At the hospital, John Locke is brought out of surgery, and he says that the operation worked. John watches his toe moving, and he remembers his time on the island. Jack watches, and he has a momentary flash. He wants to leave to see his son, but John tells him he doesn't have a son, and hopes that someone does for Jack what Jack did for him. Sawyer finds Sun and Jin, and offers them protection, but they say they don't need any. Jin tells him, "We'll see you there," and they leave.

Sawyer finds a vending machine and tries to buy an Apollo bar, but it gets stuck. Juliet appears and helps him. When they touch, they remember their life on the island together, while repeating the same lines that Juliet said when she died on the island. At the concert, Jack sees Kate and asks whether they know each other. Kate touches him, and Jack has flashes again. However, he is confused and resistant, so Kate tells him to accompany her so that he will understand.

At Eloise's church, John arrives and finds Ben outside. Ben asks for forgiveness for everything he did to John, and John forgives him. Ben tells him that "most of them" are already in the church, but he will stay for a while. John walks into the church. Afterward, Hurley exits the church, sees Ben, and asks him to come inside. Ben says he won't, because he still has work to do. Before entering again, Hurley tells him that he was a real good "number two," and Ben replies that Hurley was a great "number one," referring to their time on the island when Hurley was made protector.

Kate takes Jack to the church and tells him that his father's coffin is inside. She says that once he's ready, he will be able to leave with the others. Jack enters the church and finds the room with his father's coffin. Touching it, he remembers all the time he spent on the island. When he opens it, however, the coffin is empty. Jack closes it and hears the voice of his father, talking to him. Confused, Jack speaks with him:

Christian: Hey, kiddo.

Jack: Dad?

Christian: Hello, Jack.

Jack: I don't understand. You died.

Christian: Yeah. Yes, I did.

Jack: Then how are you here right now?

Christian: How are you here?

Jack (after some silence): I died, too.

The two embrace, and Jack asks if he is real. Christian tells him that everybody is real here, that everybody has died, and that there is no "now" here. Jack asks, "Where are we, dad?" Christian says that this is a place that every one of them made together, so that they would find each other again, to remember and to let go. Jack says that Kate told him they were leaving, but Christian says, "Not leave, no. Moving on." When asked where, Christian says, "Let's go find out." They exit the room.

Final scene

The final scenes of the episode focus on Jack. He is shown in the church, meeting everybody else. Everybody can remember their life on the island. Then, while he embraces everyone, the scene changes to Jack on the island, where he is wounded and bleeding after having saved it. Jack walks through the bamboo forest and reaches the place where he woke up when he first arrived on the island, evoking the opening scene of the series. He lies on the ground, and Vincent the dog lies down beside him. Again, Jack is shown in the church with everybody sitting down. Christian opens the church doors, revealing a great white light. On the island, Jack smiles when he sees the Ajira plane flying in the sky, while in the church he is embraced by the light. As Jack dies on the island, a close-up shows his eye closing, again mirroring the series premiere when he wakes and his eye opens.

Production

Michael Emerson said that he found the ending "very satisfying".

Damon Lindelof, producer, reported on his Twitter page that the finale completed shooting in Hawaii on April 24, 2010, exactly six years after filming was completed on the show's pilot. When interviewed about the finale, Carlton Cuse stated that it had a real, definite resolution instead of "'a snow globe, waking up in bed, it's all been a dream, cut to black' kind of ending," referencing the series finales of St. Elsewhere, Newhart, and The Sopranos, respectively.

Only Fox and Terry's scripts explained the nature of the Sideways world; Lindelof and Cuse explained its meaning to the others while filming the church scene, the last time the cast members were together. They have expressed satisfaction regarding the finale; Daniel Dae Kim stated "If you think about how many pieces the writers had to put together in order to make it fall into place, it’s mind-boggling, and they did such a great job... For me it was very satisfying. After I read it, I had to sit for five or 10 minutes, just reflecting and digesting, because it definitely makes an impact." Emerson said:

I have received the finale by degrees. I read the script without the secret scenes, then I read the secret scenes, then I shot the script and each time I’m thinking about 'what does this mean?' When I first read it, the ending wasn’t clear to me – but since then it’s grown more clear and I have to say, grown more satisfying the more I think about it. I expect a mixture of satisfaction and consternation amongst the viewers when it airs. But once they rewatch it, rethink about it and possibly look at the saga again, gradually they will feel like they have just read a good novel—but you have to chew on it for a while.

Carbonell described the finale as being "all about everyone’s resolutions." Cusick said "There are so many walks of life getting together to talk about the show and so many issues to be brought up and that's exactly what the ending will bring up. People will be talking about it for weeks afterwards and that's what the show has always done."

Instead of being displayed along with ABC promotional material (which in most cases would consist of a preview of the next Lost episode), the finale's closing credits are shown alongside various shots of the Oceanic 815 plane wreckage. However, this footage was not added by the producers of the show and is not considered a part of the actual episode. ABC independently decided to add the footage as a soft, nostalgic transition between the final scene and upcoming local news broadcast.

After the finale, a post-finale special of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, titled Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost, aired at 12:05 am, showing three alternate endings, which turned out to be finale spoofs from Survivor, The Sopranos, and Newhart. An ABC source reported that the DVD and Blu-ray release of season six will feature twenty minutes of additional scenes, some of which will have answers to questions, cut from the storyline because of running time.

Returning actors

All former series regulars who appear (Jeremy Davies, Maggie Grace, Rebecca Mader, Elizabeth Mitchell, Dominic Monaghan, Ian Somerhalder, Cynthia Watros) are restored to the main cast in this episode. Those who do not return are Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Malcolm David Kelley, Harold Perrineau, Michelle Rodriguez, Kiele Sanchez, and Rodrigo Santoro. Additionally, long-time recurring guest stars Sam Anderson, L. Scott Caldwell, François Chau (incidentally, it's the first time Chau was credited for his appearance), Fionnula Flanagan, John Terry and Sonya Walger are upgraded to the main cast.

Despite being killed off in the twelfth episode of the season and reprising her role only once more in the thirteenth, cast member Zuleikha Robinson received an on-screen, main cast credit for every episode. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje turned down an offer to return because of salary disagreements. Despite the fact that it was earlier reported by Carlton Cuse that Malcolm David Kelley would appear, he only appeared in archive footage.

Broadcasting

The episode was initially broadcast on ABC in the eastern United States and CTV in eastern Canada, then simultaneously in the western United States, Western Canada, Fox in Italy and Portugal, Fox and Cuatro in Spain, DiziMax in Turkey and Sky1 in the United Kingdom and the Ireland, HOT 3 in Israel at 9 pm Pacific Time on May 23, 2010. Because of the time difference, its initial Spain simulcast airing was at 6 am (5 am in the UK) BST. In Ireland, RTÉ Two decided to air it on Monday, May 24 at 9 pm rather than its usual Thursday night slot in the interest of fans who did not want the ending to be spoiled. ABC charged up to $900,000 USD for a 30-second commercial during the May 23 U.S. broadcast.

Ratings and viewership

In its original American broadcast, "The End" was viewed by 13.5 million households with a 5.8 rating/15% share in the 18–49 demographic, coming first in every time slot and boosting ABC to the highest rated network on Sunday. The best rated half-hour (the last one) was viewed by 15.31 million viewers and earned a 6.4 rating/19% share in the 18–49 demographic. At least 20.5 million viewers watched at least six minutes of the episode according to ABC. After its first broadcast, the series finale became the 55th highest viewed series finale ever in the United States. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello called the ratings "Solid, not spectacular". According to Ausiello, even though it was the show's highest rated episode in two years, it was still "far from a record-breaking performance".

In the UK, 584,000 viewers tuned in to see the episode on Sky 1 during a 5 am broadcast. A later broadcast the following night was viewed by approximately 2.5 million. In Canada, viewers averaged over two million with the 7 pm special and the two-hour finale.

Critical reception

"The End" received a strongly polarized reaction from both fans and TV critics. Response to the episode was positive and negative in equal measures, both in the United States and internationally.

Positive

According to the web site Metacritic, "The End" received "generally favorable reviews" with a Metascore – a weighted average based on the impressions of 31 critical reviews – of 74 out of 100. IGN reviewer Chris Carbot gave the finale a 10/10, tying it with the initial review of "Pilot, Part 1", "Through the Looking Glass", "The Constant" and "There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3" as the best reviewed episode of Lost. He described it as "one of the most enthralling, entertaining and satisfying conclusions I could have hoped for." Carbot also noted that the discussions about the episode may never end, saying "Lost may be gone, but it will hardly be forgotten." Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times also gave the finale a perfect score, stating "Sunday’s show was an emotional, funny, expertly measured reminder of what Lost has really centered on since its first moments on the prime time TV landscape: faith, hope, romance and the power of redemption through belief in the best of what moves mankind." Robert Bianco of USA Today rated the episode perfect as well, deeming the finale "can stand with the best any series has produced". Hal Boedeker of Orlando Sentinel cited the finale being "a stunner."

Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune highly praised the finale, stating: "The first two hours were exciting and emotionally engaging, especially when the island castaways in the Sideways world began remembering their 'real' lives. ... But the last half hour or so took the finale to another level. ... The emotional part of the finale worked so well that I don’t care much about the analytical/structural stuff." However, she criticized the supernatural aspects of the episode, calling it "wobbly at best" and "vaguely unsatisfying". James Poniewozik of Time also praised "The End", calling it "full of heart and commitment." Zap2it's Ryan McGee also went on to praise the finale, calling it "a masterpiece." Jason Hughes of TV Squad stated that "as finales go, 'The End' will definitely go down as one of the more satisfying ones". Todd VanDerWerff of the Los Angeles Times felt that the episode "provides character payoffs we’ve been waiting for. ... The important thing ... is not answers. It’s resolution. And 'Lost' provided that in spades." Drew McWeeny of HitFix also lauded the episode, stating "no matter what I think of certain ideas or elements of not just this season but every season, I think "Lost" will stand as one of the biggest, boldest, strangest shows for a network to ever nurture and complete. The show existed on its own crazy terms for six years, and they've been six of the best years of TV I've ever enjoyed." Noel Murray of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A-" grade, calling it "enormously entertaining" and "mindful of what fans have loved about the show these past six years."

Entertainment Weekly writer Jeff "Doc" Jenson wrote an extensive two-part review of "The End". In it, he praised the final moments of the show, saying the encounter between Jack and Christian Shephard "spoke to and for any parent and child, young or old, who hopes for an afterlife where they can see their family again, especially their parents, and especially if they parted company with too much unsaid, too much unresolved. I know that some people found the Jack/Christian moment to be mawkish and sentimental. Not me. I thought—and felt—that the moment was painfully honest. It was direct and knowing about the very real and very frightening prospect of eternal separation and loss. I felt and could relate to the pain and the anguish and the yearning of both the father and the son." Richard Roeper gave the episode an A+ rating, calling it a "great finale to one of the best TV shows of all time."

Negative

Not all critics were satisfied with the episode: British newspapers The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph both reported that "The End" received negative reviews and disappointed its viewers. Alan Sepinwall of Star-Ledger was less enthusiastic of the finale, stating "I’m still wrestling with my feelings about 'The End'... I thought most of it worked like gangbusters. ... But as someone who did spend at least part of the last six years dwelling on the questions that were unanswered – be they little things like the outrigger shootout or why The Others left Dharma in charge of the Swan station after the purge, or bigger ones like Walt – I can’t say I found 'The End' wholly satisfying, either as closure for this season or the series. ... There are narrative dead ends in every season of 'Lost,' but it felt like season six had more than usual." Mike Hale of The New York Times gave "The End" a mixed review, as the episode showed that the series was "shaky on the big picture – on organizing the welter of mythic-religious-philosophical material it insisted on incorporating into its plot – but highly skilled at the small one, the moment to moment business of telling an exciting story. Rendered insignificant ... were the particulars of what they had done on the island." Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe gave the episode a mixed review as well, citing "The mixed episode offered an abundance of emotional resolution and vague metaphor, some of which was compelling (Sawyer and Juliet’s reunion, Jack and Desmond’s farewell) and some of which was quite hokey (the cork?! the light? Locke becoming human again?)."

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun gave the episode a highly negative review, writing "If this is supposed to be such a smart and wise show, unlike anything else on network TV (blah, blah, blah), why such a wimpy, phony, quasi-religious, white-light, huggy-bear ending. ... Once Jack stepped into the church it looked like he was walking into a Hollywood wrap party without food or music – just a bunch of actors grinning idiotically for 10 minutes and hugging one another." Max Read of Gawker was also particularly scathing, calling the finale "incredibly dumb" and remarking that "it ended in the worst way possible". Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times gave the episode 1½ stars out of 5, saying that many fans would wish "for a time slip that would give them those 2½ hours and possibly six seasons back". M.L. House of TV Fanatic felt "bored" and "especially disappointed" by the finale, and that the show's resolution was "overarching". Peter Mucha of The Philadelphia Inquirer also spoke negatively of the finale, calling the series "one of TV's longest, lamest cons." Laura Miller of Salon.com suggested that the finale episode was a failure because of its fanbase, calling the series "the quintessential example of a pop masterpiece ruined by its own fans." Daniel D'Addario, also writing for Salon.com, listed "The End" as one of the "worst finales ever", describing the series as "a show whose twists and turns didn't always seem to be undertaken by people who knew what they were doing."

International reaction

The BBC's Entertainment reporter Kev Geoghegan said: "Honestly, the show ended the only way it could have possibly ended. It was emotionally satisfying while some of the questions were answered and yet others will remain a mystery. All in all, the show was wrapped up rather nicely with a positive affirming kind of message." Geoghegan, however, criticized the lack of redemption for the Man In Black, calling him "a man who saw the limitations of his life on island and saw his destiny elsewhere" and saying that "killing him resulted in a loss of balance on the island".

Shane Hegarty in The Irish Times said the finale episode was "about resolution rather than revelation" but admitted that the final scene in the alternative timeline was "somewhat of a letdown", while comparing it to the recent similar ending of Ashes to Ashes and contrasting it with the last ever episode of The Sopranos – "[The Sopranos] was not about mystery, but its final scene was so inscrutable that fans are still squinting in an effort to figure it out. Lost's finale, though, was not too obtuse."

Michael Deacon in The Daily Telegraph expressed his relief that the show "didn't culminate in the revelation that the plot had all just been a terrible dream" and said he was "beatifically surprised" at the "great" ending. The same newspaper reported that reviewers from the United States (apart from the reviewer with the Chicago Tribune) were "left cold" and "disappointed" by the result.

Some reviewers ended puzzled about the meaning of Lost. Tim Teeman in The Times referred to "a global scratching of heads" in his review but concluded "The questions are ceaseless: it may be healthier, as one online fan put it, 'to just accept it and move on'". Steve Busfield and Richard Vine offered a slightly more prosaic explanation for the remaining mysteries when they wrote in The Guardian "if you were after answers about the other mysteries of Lost, you may not have found them ... The aptly named Lost will continue to baffle, infuriate and delight fans for an eternity. Or at least until the box set." TV critic Charlie Brooker, also writing for The Guardian, remarked that the episode's plot "made less sense than a milk hammock" and that its final church scene "might as well have been a pretentious building society advert". British comedian Danny Baker called the end of Lost "an outrage".

Awards

The episode was nominated in 8 categories for the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, the most Emmy nominations for a Lost episode. The episode was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards in the categories of Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. For the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, "The End" won for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, while other nominations included Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series, Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score).

In 2011, the finale was ranked No. 6 on the TV Guide Network special, TV's Most Unforgettable Finales.

External links

• "The End" at ABC
• "The End" at IMDb
• "The End (Part 1)" at TV.com
• "The End (Part 2)" at TV.com