Summation.

IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED – LOST “THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS”, PLEASE AVOID READING THIS ENTRY UNTIL YOU HAVE SEEN IT, AS IT WILL SPOIL THE FINALE FOR YOU.

So the responses to the post earlier were not as forthcoming as I had hoped so I will just create my own interpretation of the season finale of LOST SEASON III.

I would have to say that this was in the top 5 episodes of the entire series if not the top episode for me. Not only was the acting fantastic, but the storyline, cinematography, and execution of the plot was flawless.

The episode took a methodical approach at setting up the storyline and arch for the remaining 3 seasons of LOST, but at the same time left room for more elaboration of what transpired on the island after the emergency rescue call went out. But, I am getting ahead of myself.

The episode was Jack centric and focused on a devolved and crumbling Jack. Pill popping, drinking in excess, and self destructing. In short he was a broken man that has slowly started to turn into his father, who by the time the episode is over- you are not entirely sure if Christian Sheppard is alive or dead.

The show switches back and forth between scenes of Jack’s descent and current happenings on the island- which included Jack leading the group to the radio tower, the killing of 7 others on the beach, the rescue of Sayid, Bernard, and Jin by Hurley, the death of Charlie after he turns off the jamming signal, the appearance of WALT as Locke is stopped from committing suicide, and the call to Naomi’s ship as she is killed by Locke.

I know that was a quick and vague recap- but the episode was two hours long and really involved.

The big twist in the show is that in the flashbacks- they aren’t flashbacks at all- but rather flash forwards to Jack after being rescued from the island. Jack’s devolving is a result of being back at home, and his yearning and struggle to go back to the island. There is a true sense that something went VERY wrong when the group was rescued from the island but there is enough ambiguity to let your imagination run wild in trying to figure out what that is exactly. The show culminates with Jack meeting mystery person (KATE) at LAX and crying and screaming that they have to go back.

Now everyone noticed that the name of the funeral home was an anagram for FLASH FORWARD, but here are a few other things that people might have missed.

1. The song that Charlie was making in his head as he was tortured. I think… Not positive, but I think was the song that Jack was listening to in his car as he drove to the funeral home.
2. I believe that obituary that Jack read – and later attended the funeral for was none other than Michael.
3. I believe that Charlie didn’t need to die but was rather written out of the show because the actor who portrays Charlie - Dominic Monagham, had long been rumored for wanting to leave the show and take advantage of his success in motion pictures. He is staring in a movie in 2008 called “I sell the dead.”

Here are the things that I will thinking about as I wait for the shows return next year:

1. I am curious to know if Naomi and her shipmates are actually the Hanso Foundation – which in my opinion would make perfect sense.
2. I am curious to see if the show picks up in the present tense- with all the survivors stories once they return home, or if the show continues on the island at the point of “rescue.”
3. I want to know what happens to Ben and the remaining “Others.”
4. I want to know who/what/why/ and how Richard Alpert and other “hostiles” are.
5. I want to know about the island in it’s entirety.
6. I want to know what “the temple” is.
7. In short- I want the same answers that have been looming for 3 seasons.

I will say that although I don’t feel I know A LOT about the underlying and overbearing questions of the show, the finale did make a lot of ground in the way of entertainment value. I believe that a lot of the fans of the show will spend the next 8 months discussing the “what ifs” and be more than happy to tune in when the show returns in February of 2008.