The End: What did you think of the series finale?

UPDATE TWO: Part two of Doc Jensen's analysis.

UPDATE: Part one of Doc Jensen's recap
here. Part two comes tomorrow.

Doc Jensen asks a question in the recap about what's more important: the journey or the destination.

I think that in life and in the show, it's how you got there that's most important. Without the doing, where you end up really doesn't matter. As Jack told Desmond, there is no easy path, no easy way out. If you cheat, you miss the point. You miss making connections that proved so important in that final scene the the church.


Original post:

Can't wait to hear (OK, read) your thoughts.

I think I need to sleep on it.

Did you love it? Like it? Hate it? Think it was OK?

Were all the questions you wanted answered, answered?

Although, I'm still digesting it all, as far as series finales go, it was up there with M*A*S*H and Six Feet Under. Agree? Disagree?

Apparently, the ending had been the way they wanted to end the show since way back in season one. At first I thought this was the church. But now I actually think it was Jack dying on the island and the show closing on his eye.

Here is Doc Jensen's instant reaction. Will post the full wrap up tomorrow when he does.

Live LOST show a lovefest

If you were lucky enough to attend the "Times Talks Live: LOST" show tonight at local movie theaters, you probably walked out feeling like you got your $12.50 worth.

The New York Times' Lorne Manly (who wrote last week's excellent feature, "The Men Who Made ABC's LOST Last") played host for showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse. The New York audience of LOST fanatics, like the ones in Dallas, cheered, applauded and hung on every word as the writer-producers discussed the creative process behind their cult hit.

Halfway through, actor Michael Emerson, who plays devious Ben Linus, walked onstage unannounced and joined the chat. Later, actor Jorge Garcia, who plays lovable Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, also strolled on to a storm of huzzahs.

Damon and Carlton dropped a couple of hints about who and what we might see in Sunday's finale. (Will there be a Star Wars reference in the first seven minutes? Damon says yes!) They discussed a few choice scenes that were shown, including Penny and Desmond's phone call from "The Constant."

But the best moment came at the end, when we got to see a short clip from the series finale. No spoilers here, but we'll just say that it hinted at the possible appearance of a beloved character we haven't seen since the Season 5 finale.

Lindelof, Cuse, Emerson deliver the Top Ten last night on Letterman

Here's a peek that just includes a few of the Top Ten spoilers (not really) for the series finale. One is about Betty White another is about creepy Ben dialogue.

Lost 6.16: "What they died for"

It's hard to believe that tonight we'll be watching the second to last episode of Lost.

It doesn't seem like that long ago, I read a review of the pilot and thought "That sounds interesting" and decided to check out the series premiere.

Tonight's episode sets up the 2 1/2 hour series finale. Expect answers, and, let's face it, more questions.

Want to know what we'll learn? (Not the answers themselves, though) Highlight the white text below: (Thanks to Hercules at Ain't It Cool News)

Everybody’s back, including Richard, Ben, Miles and Des.

It’s a big episode for Charles Widmore.

Major developments transpire in Los Angeles. We catch up with Hurley, Desmond, Kate, Sayid, Jack, John, Ben, Alex, Danielle and Ana Lucia.

We learn why Sun said “It’s him!” when she saw Locke.

We learn why Kate’s name was crossed off on the cave wall.

We learn Shepard, Ford and Reyes are not the only candidates left.

We learn this week which of the candidates succeeds Jacob.

If that's not enough, here are two clips from tonight's show:





Still not enough? Here's the series finale promo trailer. There appears to be no new footage. Just clips set to The Doors song The End.

Lost 6.15: Across the Sea

Tonight's Lost is supposed to be heavy into the mythology of the Island.

We'll see Jacob, Man In Black 1.0 (or at least in the first version we saw him as) and guest star Allison Janney (CJ on The West Wing). I'm not sure what role she'll be playing. But I wonder how she ties into the past of Jacob, MIB 1.0 and the Island.

There will be very little of the main cast in tonight's show. Originally, it was reported that none of the series regulars would be seen in tonight's episode. But apparently, that's not quite true.

Also, supposedly there is a flashback seen to something we saw in an earlier season that will show us that JJ, Carlton and Damon knew what they were doing all along.

Don't forget to come back here after the show to chat about what we see and what we think could be coming up.

The episode was written by Carlton and Damon and directed by Tucker Gates.

Can't wait? Here are two sneak peaks of tonight's show:

'Times Talks Live: LOST' in theaters 5/20

Here's your chance to hear LOST showrunners Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse talk about the show, just before the finale.

On May 20, theaters across the country will have one special showing of "Times Talks Live: LOST," a New York Times interview with the producers of LOST.

Tickets are $12.50 plus a $1 handling charge. Go to Fathomevents.com to buy your tickets online, and check for local showings and showtimes. Or, go to Fandango.com, another movie ticket website.

These online movie sites will send you a confirmation letter, and you'll need to show your credit card at the box office. Be sure to show up early for first-come seating.

The odds on who is the next candidate ...

What are the odds on who will replace Jacob?

Doc Jensen at Entertainment Weekly made this lists of odds before the tragic deaths of Jin and Sun and the heroic death of Sayid. But it's still interesting to see what he thought about their possibilities as The Candidate, as well as our remaining Losties.

The entire article has more info. But here are the odds, as Doc Jensen sees them:

JACK
You got the sense from “Lighthouse” that Jacob really, really needs Jack to get over his bad self and dial into his Island destiny. The safe money is that said destiny is to spend eternity eating fish, spying on damned souls with magic mirrors, and plotting intricate redemption narratives for Island visitors.
ODDS: 3-1

BEN
It’s a fake-out! Jacob’s master plan all along has been to groom Ben as The Island’s new supreme being—but first, he’s had to break Ben of his pride and purge him of his sin, not to mention protect him from the Man In Black’s assassination plot. Bringing the castaways to The Island accomplishes both tasks. The most flattering theory of bad guy Ben is that knowingly or unknowingly he’s been producing challenges of character designed to prepare the castaways for their final conflict with Smokey. Actually, the total opposite is true. Jacob brought the castaways to The Island to test Ben’s character, intended to shape him into the kind of man worthy of Jacob’s loom-of-fate stool. Also, by deceiving Smokey into thinking Jack et. al. were his candidates, Jacob has been shielding Ben from Smokey — and co-opting Smokey into his plan to refine Ben’s soul.
ODDS: 5-1

SAWYER
Next to Ben, he’s the best yarn-spinner on The Island. He’s a precise judge of character. He’s also extremely well-read; judging from his library, he has a great grasp on universal themes like redemption and damnation, faith and reason. He also has great motivation to stay on The Island, as he killed a guy in Australia and should surely go to jail if he ever got back the civilization. Then again, maybe that sin makes him unqualified for Island divinity.
ODDS: 7-1

SUN
It’s about time The Island was ruled by a woman, don’t you think? She’s got a great name for a god. Also, Sun’s got the will and stamina for long-term redemption projects, as demonstrated by her unflagging search for Jin, who per my guestimations will be allowed to remain on The Island as her consort. They’ll get to bring Ji-Yeon over to The Island, too. I also think they can make the most of Island life. He fishes! She gardens! They know how to keep warm during cold evenings on the beach! Happily ever after on The Island will be like one long honeymoon for them.
ODDS: 9-1

HURLEY
Maybe the guy least interested in the job — which makes him the most dramatically interesting candidate for the job and therefore makes him an irresistible choice. Even though my Sun theory allows for Jin to stay, I suspect that the Jacob job is probably a solo act, and I think being alone would crush Hurley’s soul. The again, he’s got plenty of dead people for company. And really, who wouldn’t want to spend the rest of time hanging out with Ghost Michael?
ODDS: 12-1

SAYID
Zombie.
ODDS: 23-1

Lost finale expanded by 30 minutes!

The series finale of Lost has expanded to two and a half hours!

An extra 30 minutes of Lost awesomeness!

The show now runs from 8 - 10:30 Central Time with a clip show before it. And Damon and Carlton will be on Jimmy Kimmel that night.

Tonight on LOST: 'The Candidate'

This is ABC's official description of tonight's Lost episode, "The Candidate":

"Jack must decide whether or not to trust Locke after he is asked to follow through on a difficult task."

Here is how Brian interprets the promo on his excellent Lost...and Gone Forever blog:

Logic tells us that SmokeLocke is going to pick up right where he left off last week, heading to Hydra Island to reunite with his Candidates and to take on Widmore in “The Battle for the Island." Does Jack trust SmokeLocke? Of course not. Will he go along for the ride in an effort to try and understand SmokeLocke’s true intentions and figure out how to stop him? Most definitely. What is the “difficult task” that SmokeLocke tasks Jack with? The last time an episode description was worded like this, it was when SmokeLocke was convincing Ben to murder Jacob – could it be that this time it’s about Jack murdering Widmore? Maybe SmokeLocke promises to save all of his friends if he agrees to go along with him. Maybe he claims that the only way to save the Island is to go along with him. Either way, it’s going to be something that makes Jack question what his true purpose on the Island is, who he can trust, and what he should do. He’s going to be all alone in this decision, and it’s finally going to see if all that time spent staring out at the ocean paid off.

Time is getting very, very short for our favorite series. The Lost cast has wrapped shooting on Oahu; the producers have edited the two-hour finale, "The End," which will air on Sunday, May 23. We have heard that next week's episode, "Across the Sea," will be mythology-loaded and quite different from any episode of Lost that we have ever seen. And the series' penultimate episode that airs on May 18? Frankly, its title is so scary, so loaded, that I don't even want to mention it here.

Come back tonight and talk about "The Candidate" in the comments; I have a feeling there will be a lot to talk about. And don't forget, the ep runs a couple of minutes long, so be sure to set your recorders accordingly.