The End (Lost)
"The End" is the two-part series finale of the American serial drama television series Lost, serving as the 17th and 18th episode of the sixth season, and the 120th and 121st episodes of the series overall. It aired on ABC in the United States on May 23, 2010. In the episode, the Man in Black executes his plan to destroy the island as Jack Shephard tries to stop him once and for all. Meanwhile, the true nature of this season's "flash-sideways" narrative device is revealed.
The series 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 ET, with a retrospective of the past six seasons running for two hours, starting at 7 pm.
"The End" was watched by 13.5 million viewers, but received a polarized response from both critics and fans of the show alike. Reviewers from the Chicago Tribune and IGN called it the best episode of the season and praised its emotion and character. Reviews from the Los Angeles Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer criticized the finale for answering so few of the series' questions. Metacritic gave "The End" a weighted average score of 74 out of 100 based on 31 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews", while The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph reported mixed and "lukewarm" reviews. Retrospective reviews have been equally polarized.
Plot
Flash-sideways
Desmond gathers many of the islanders at the benefit concert of Daniel Widmore and Drive Shaft. One by one, each protagonist begins to recognize one another based on close contact with a person or object that was important to them throughout their time on the island, receiving flashes of memory. Eventually, most of them remember their past lives and are drawn to the church that was to be the site of Jack's father's funeral.John Locke regains the use of his legs after being successfully operated on by Jack. After remembering his time on the island through the flashes of memory, Locke attempts to convince Jack of the truth, but Jack, although also experiencing flashes of memory, resists the revelation. Locke later meets Ben outside the church where Locke forgives him for murdering him. Ben then meets Hurley, who says everyone is inside, motioning him to join them, but Ben elects to stay outside. As Hurley heads back inside, he says to Ben that he was a "real good number two...", to which Ben replies back that Hurley was a "great number one".
Kate later encounters Jack, and while her presence causes him to experience more flashes, he continues to resist. She takes him to the church and instructs him to enter through the back door, telling him the others will be waiting for him. In the church, he enters a room where there are symbols of Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam. He then encounters his father's coffin, opens the lid and finds it empty. Christian Shephard then appears behind him. Jack slowly comes to realize that he is dead as well. Christian reassures him that the events leading up to now actually happened and the time he spent with the people on the island was "the most important period" of his life. He explains to Jack that time has no meaning in this place and that they "made" the place to "find each other", independent of the time at which they died. Christian explains that place exists so the Oceanic 815 survivors could "let go" and "move on" together.
Jack and Christian go out into the church to meet the others. Everyone is able to see, recognize, and remember everyone else and their lives together. After reuniting, Christian opens the front doors, revealing another bright light that slowly envelops everyone inside the church.
On the island
, Kate Austen and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes head to the Heart of the Island, while James "Sawyer" Ford goes after Desmond Hume, who was thrown into a well. Arriving there, Sawyer is confronted by Ben Linus and the Man in Black, who reveals his plan to destroy the island. Sawyer then takes 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 and Bernard Nadler, is confronted by the Man in Black, who has Ben with him. The Man in Black threatens to kill Rose and Bernard if Desmond does not come with him, and Desmond complies, provided the Man in Black leaves the couple unharmed. Meanwhile, Miles Straume finds a no-longer-ageless Richard Alpert 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, who survived the sinking 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 tells Sawyer that he believes Desmond can kill the Man in Black because he thinks Jacob brought Desmond back not as bait but as a weapon. Desmond tells Jack that destroying the island and killing the Man in Black doesn't 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 Desmond 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 cork at 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 Jack when Kate shoots the Man in Black, allowing Jack to kick the Man in Black off the cliff to his death. The island continues to crumble and Jack realizes that he has to restore the light at the Heart of the Island. He tells Kate to get Claire Littleton 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 Claire 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 cork 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 Ben for help, and Ben is honored. Jack reawakens outside by a river and walks toward the bamboo forest where he first awoke after the crash. After Jack collapses to the ground, Vincent approaches and lies next to him. After watching the Ajira plane fly overhead away from the island, Jack closes his eyes as he dies from his injuries.
Production
, producer, reported on his Twitter page that the series finale of Lost 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 Matthew Fox and Terry O'Quinn's scripts explained the nature of the Sideways world; Lindelof and Carlton 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: 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, 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 broadcasts.
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.