anybody else looking forward to the Lost finale tonite?

[dave from knoxville]

I know that people are of very different minds on this show, but I don't think it's hyperbole to say that it's one of the most amazingly well-plotted shows ever. It's really like an epic novel more than a string of episodes. And the finale fills me with hope that there is at least one more unforeseen level of strangeness within which all of the stuff to date will also make sense.

[JonFromMaplewood]

I guess I am alone in my disappointment with the finale this year.

Juliet was such a strong character in Season 3. Mysterious. Possibly good. Possibly evil. Possibly both. I vivdly remember when she first entered the Lostie's camp and there was a close-up of her pulling a knot tighter and tighter. It implied that she was possibly hatching a dastardly scheme. Nothing ever came of that. And she had the ability to heal/deliver babies. And there was the Ben/Juliet relationship that was so fascinating. Where did all of this go? By the end, she was just an indecisive love interest.

I was also disappointed that "the incident" turned out to be exactly what we expected.

Also, Jacob was a let-down. We finally meet him, and he is a D-List actor who we have never seen before this episode (Am I wrong on that? I am willing to be - and actually hope to be - corrected).

[Pidgeon]

I think Jacob's actor did the job well. I've heard people mention that he looks nothing like his appearance in the cabin. I think that was supposed to be Jacob's enemy (seen at the beginning of "The Incident"). They look almost exactly alike.

[dave from knoxville]

For obvious reasons, people have started to refer to him as Esau. And I agree; I think he was somehow imprisoned in that shack, the imprisonment somehow tied to the circle of ash, and that he fooled Ben and John into thinking he was Jacob, as a part of the grand scheme.

I'm making it all up, but for now, it works for me.

I think Jacob's actor did the job well. I've heard people mention that he looks nothing like his appearance in the cabin. I think that was supposed to be Jacob's enemy (seen at the beginning of "The Incident"). They look almost exactly alike.

[Pidgeon]

I heard a neat theory earlier about how the two are gods of some sort, conducting an experiment/game to decide whether humanity is worth saving. Jacob believes they are good by nature, and handpicked the losties to prove that. Where the "loopholes" and the statue come in, I have no clue.

[orator]

that's almost as bad as "it was all a dream"

[Trembling Eagle]

I guess I am alone in my disappointment with the finale this year.

Juliet was such a strong character in Season 3. Mysterious. Possibly good. Possibly evil. Possibly both. I vivdly remember when she first entered the Lostie's camp and there was a close-up of her pulling a knot tighter and tighter. It implied that she was possibly hatching a dastardly scheme. Nothing ever came of that. And she had the ability to heal/deliver babies. And there was the Ben/Juliet relationship that was so fascinating. Where did all of this go? By the end, she was just an indecisive love interest.

I was also disappointed that "the incident" turned out to be exactly what we expected.

Also, Jacob was a let-down. We finally meet him, and he is a D-List actor who we have never seen before this episode (Am I wrong on that? I am willing to be - and actually hope to be - corrected).

No, I was let down as well. The whole damn thing is a retcon
now all of a sudden it's the ultimate battle between good and evil, lame guys. It's the Matrix 2 all of a sudden.

Casting is amazing though I want to see Elizabeth Mitchell in whatever she does next.

[Gilly]

If this really is a modern day Biblical story, I would think that the survivors (of the crash and the island) are the 10 lost tribes of Israel (which would give a lot of meaning to the show's title) and I think in the final season we'll meet another group of people led by a character named Judah.

I really hope I'm wrong on that, because it seems too obvious and I think the last season would be a letdown. But, everything seems to be in place for that to happen. Desmond seems to be the perfect Joseph, Aaron is probably the descendant of Jacob, etc, etc... There has to be a twist, right?

[Trembling Eagle]

If this really is a modern day Biblical story, I would think that the survivors (of the crash and the island) are the 10 lost tribes of Israel (which would give a lot of meaning to the show's title) and I think in the final season we'll meet another group of people led by a character named Judah.

I really hope I'm wrong on that, because it seems too obvious and I think the last season would be a letdown. But, everything seems to be in place for that to happen. Desmond seems to be the perfect Joseph, Aaron is probably the descendant of Jacob, etc, etc... There has to be a twist, right?

jesus christo I'm groaning so hard at your reply because that seems exactly the cornball route they are gonna go

bah.

[Wes]

I was pretty disappointed in the finale, too. I actually think the last two seasons have been big improvements for the show. The first season was great, but the second and third had all the signs of them flailing around trying to figure out what they were doing, with characters running in circles and plot points sometimes contradicting themselves in the same episode (the second season finale, where Locke tells Desmond that the button does nothing, Desmond is all "Oh, I hadn't thought of that, I guess you could be right, brutha!" and then Desmond remembers 15 minutes later "Oh, wait, there was that time I didn't push the button and a giant magnetic explosion almost killed me and destroyed the world. Slipped me mind!")

But TE's right, the casting has been a huge part of turning it around. They struggled with some additions in 2 and 3, but all of the people who showed up in season 4 on - except 2007 Hawking - have been great. I loved everyone they brought in from the freighter, especially Miles and Lapidus. Jeff Fahey is bringing it whenever they put him on camera.

Still, the finale was a lot of what they do that bugs me. Characters keep making their trademark changes of heart - Faraday just revised his time travel theory because the season was ending, Juliet turns into an emotional loser in the finale as Jon says above. And all the black/white foreshadowing stuff aside, saving Jacob's evil other until the fifth season finale and not even naming him until the final season feels kind of cheap.

But Locke's corpse tumbling out of that box was a pretty terrific "!!!" moment, and I do want to go back now and watch some of the episodes from this season to see how much they were tipping their hands about Black Lodge Locke after they get back to the island. They've given Terry O'Quinn some rough patches to work through with Locke, but the guy is consistently great.

And really, I'll be happy next season if Sayid survives the gutshot and atomic bomb, because I don't believe either is enough to kill him, and he spends next season killing Jacob, Evil Jacob, Ben, Widmore, Faraday's mother and the magic smoke monster by himself.

[erika]

And really, I'll be happy next season if Sayid survives the gutshot and atomic bomb, because I don't believe either is enough to kill him, and he spends next season killing Jacob, Evil Jacob, Ben, Widmore, Faraday's mother and the magic smoke monster by himself with his bare hands.

I fix.

[masterofsparks]

But Locke's corpse tumbling out of that box was a pretty terrific "!!!" moment

It really was. It was almost good enough to forgive my annoyance with the whole Kiss Me Deadly way of opening the box without allowing the viewer to see its contents. At least it didn't glow. Or, as in previous Lost fashion, at least they didn't show you people getting all "Oooh!" when they see what's in the box and then make you wait 25 episodes to actually find out what it is.

[Trembling Eagle]

But Locke's corpse tumbling out of that box was a pretty terrific "!!!" moment

It really was. It was almost good enough to forgive my annoyance with the whole Kiss Me Deadly way of opening the box without allowing the viewer to see its contents. At least it didn't glow. Or, as in previous Lost fashion, at least they didn't show you people getting all "Oooh!" when they see what's in the box and then make you wait 25 episodes to actually find out what it is.

I don't know ppl I saw it coming a mile away. We knew there would be a coffin of some sort in the cargo hold.
Then they beat you over the head with dead is dead and Scooby Doo-esque Locke is never around the same time as Smokey.

[Pidgeon]

I actually thought it was a frozen Charles Widmore inside it, or somehow the Ajira guys ended up with the hydrogen bomb that Jack had.

[Wes]

I had considered it being Widmore, too. It would have been great if it had been frozen Widmore, sneaking himself back onto the island as a corpse, and as soon as they dumped his body out of the crate, he would not only come back to life but also instantly grow back his totally excellent 1977 Charles Widmore Hair.