The End (Lost)
Encyclopedia
"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 finale
s, 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, "Man in Black
" (Terry O'Quinn
) begins to execute his plan to destroy the island as Jack Shephard
(Matthew Fox
) tries to stop him once and for all. Meanwhile, the true nature of the flash-sideways is revealed.
(Matthew Fox
), Kate Austen
(Evangeline Lilly
) and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
) head to the heart of the island
, while James "Sawyer" 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 Desmond agrees to go with him, provided he 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 knows he has to put the light back on at the source. 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 since people are unable to leave. Hurley asks him for help, and Ben is honored. Jack reawakens outside by a river and walks toward the spot in the bamboo forest where he first awakened on the island
, following the crash of Oceanic 815. After Jack collapses to the ground, Vincent the dog approaches him and lies next to him. Jack gazes happily at the sky while watching the Ajira plane fly overhead away from the island. Jack slowly closes his eyes as he dies, reversely mimicking the opening sequence of the series pilot, which begins with a close-up view of Jack's eyes opening as he awakes from being unconscious while lying on the ground.
, Desmond gathers many of the islanders at the benefit concert of Daniel Widmore
(Jeremy Davies
) and DriveShaft
. 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. 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
(Terry O'Quinn
) regains the use of his legs after being successfully operated on by Jack. He then 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", referencing the time they spent on the island after Jack's death. Kate arrives with Jack and instructs him to enter through the back of the church, where he comes on his father's coffin. The coffin acts as the catalyst for Jack's memories after he resisted believing his flashbacks triggered by earlier contacts with Locke and Kate. Jack opens the coffin lid and discovers the coffin to be empty. Christian Shephard
(John Terry
) then appears behind him. Jack slowly comes to realize that he is dead as well (cf. afterlife
). After an emotional embrace, 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, so they could "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 an emotional reunion, Christian opens the front doors, revealing another bright light that slowly envelops everyone inside the church and the survivors "move on" together.
, 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: 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."
After the finale, a post-finale special of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, titled Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost, aired at 12:05 a.m., showing three alternate endings, which turned out to be finale spoofs from Survivor
, The Sopranos
, and Newhart
. Lindelof and Cuse have stated that they shot only one ending for the finale. All three were spoofs of other classic finales and were produced by Jimmy Kimmel Live! 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.
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
. Also, guest stars Sam Anderson
, L. Scott Caldwell
, François Chau
, Fionnula Flanagan, John Terry
and Sonya Walger
are upgraded to the main cast in this episode.
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.
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.
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 Republic of 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.
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 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 viewers with the 7 p.m. special and the two-hour finale.
, "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."
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
also gave the episode a highly favorable review with an A+ rating, saying " great finale to one of the best TV shows of all time.”
and The Daily Telegraph
both reported that "The End" had 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". Dwayne Hoover, writing for Cracked.com
, similarly called the episode "disrespectful to intelligence". 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".
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
– "That show [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. Losts 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".
, the most "Emmy" nominations for a Lost episode. 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)". 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
.
In 2011, the finale was ranked #6 on the TV Guide Network special, TV's Most Unforgettable Finales.
Series finale
A series finale refers to the last installment of a series with a narrative presented through mediums such as television, film and literature. In many Commonwealth countries, the term final episode is commonly used in regards to a television series...
of the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
, consisting of the 17th and 18th episodes of season 6
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
. It is also the 120th and 121st episodes overall. As the final episode, it was first aired in the eastern United States
Eastern United States
The Eastern United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. The first two tiers of states west of the Mississippi have traditionally been considered part of the West, but can be included in the East today; usually in...
and eastern Canada
Eastern Canada
Eastern Canada is generally considered to be the region of Canada east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces:* New Brunswick* Newfoundland and Labrador* Nova Scotia* Ontario* Prince Edward Island* Quebec...
, and then aired simultaneously in the western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
, and eight other countries.
The finale was written by co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof
Damon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
and executive producer Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse is an AmericanEmmy Award winning screenwriter and producer, most famous as executive producer andscreenwriter for the American television series Lost for...
, and directed by executive producer Jack Bender
Jack Bender
Jack Bender is an American television and film director, actor, television producer and also a screenwriter. Bender was an executive producer and lead director on the ABC television series, Lost. He directed the series finale of Lost. Bender has also directed on other popular shows such as The...
. Unlike the previous season finale
Season finale
A season finale is the final episode of a season of a television program...
s, 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
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
and IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
called it the best episode of the season and praised its emotion and character. Negative reviews from the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
and The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
criticized the finale for answering so few of the series' questions. Web site Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave "The End" a score of 74 out of 100, suggesting "mostly positive reviews", while The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
reported mostly negative reviews.
In the episode, "Man in Black
Man in Black (Lost)
The entity referred to most frequently as the Man in Black is a fictional character on the American ABC television series Lost, and is the main antagonist of the...
" (Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) begins to execute his plan to destroy the island as Jack Shephard
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
) tries to stop him once and for all. Meanwhile, the true nature of the flash-sideways is revealed.
2007
Jack ShephardJack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
), Kate Austen
Kate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
(Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
) and Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia
Jorge García is a U.S. actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker and later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian.-Early life:García was born...
) head to the heart of the island
Across the Sea (Lost)
"Across the Sea" is the 15th episode of the American Broadcasting Company's sixth season of the serial drama television series Lost and 118th episode overall. The episode aired on May 11, 2010 on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof and directed by...
, while James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
) goes after Desmond Hume
Desmond Hume
Desmond David Hume is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick. Desmond's name is a tribute to David Hume, the famous empiricist author and philosopher. Desmond was not a passenger of Flight 815. He had been stranded on the island three years prior to...
(Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick
Henry Ian Cusick is a Scottish-Peruvian actor of stage, television, and film. He is well-known for his role as Desmond Hume on the United States television series Lost, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination....
), who was thrown into a well. Arriving there, Sawyer is confronted by Ben Linus (Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
) and the Man in Black
Man in Black (Lost)
The entity referred to most frequently as the Man in Black is a fictional character on the American ABC television series Lost, and is the main antagonist of the...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
), 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
L. Scott Caldwell
Laverne Scott Caldwell is an American actress known for her role as Rose on Lost.This Chicago native started her career in 1978 as a member of the famed Negro Ensemble Company, making her Broadway debut two years later in the Tony Award nominated play Home...
) and Bernard Nadler (Sam Anderson
Sam Anderson
Sam Anderson is an American actor.-Early life:Anderson was born in Wahpeton, North Dakota. He is a graduate of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. During the 1970s, Sam taught drama at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California.-Career:Anderson is perhaps best known for his roles...
), 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 Desmond agrees to go with him, provided he leaves the couple unharmed. Meanwhile, Miles Straume
Miles Straume
Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series Lost. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium as a crew member aboard the freighter called the Kahana that is offshore the island where most of Lost takes place...
(Ken Leung
Ken Leung
Kenneth "Ken" Leung is an American actor best known for his role as Miles Straume in the ABC television series Lost and roles in such films as Shanghai Kiss, Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Saw.-Early life:...
) finds a no longer ageless
Ageless
Ageless is an adjective describing a person or thing whose age cannot be defined, is nonexistent or does not change.It can also describe immortality, most specifically eternal youth.-Ageless people:...
Richard Alpert
Richard Alpert (Lost)
Ricardo "Richard" Alpert is a fictional character played by Nestor Carbonell in the American ABC television series Lost. Alpert is introduced in a flashback of the character Juliet Burke , where he claims to be a doctor for a bioscience company called Mittelos Bioscience; he is later revealed to...
(Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Gastón Carbonell is an American actor, known for portraying Richard Alpert in ABC's drama Lost and Mayor Anthony Garcia in the film The Dark Knight...
) 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
Frank Lapidus
Frank J. Lapidus is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Jeff Fahey. Frank is introduced in the second episode of season four as a pilot hired on a mission to the island where Oceanic Flight 815 crashed. He aids the survivors of the crash against mercenary Martin Keamy ...
(Jeff Fahey
Jeff Fahey
Jeffrey David "Jeff" Fahey is an American film and television actor. He has portrayed Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC series Lost and the title role of Deputy Marshal Winston MacBride on The Marshal.-Early life:...
), who had survived the destruction of the submarine
The Candidate (Lost)
"The Candidate" is the 14th episode of the American Broadcasting Company's sixth season of the serial drama television series Lost and 117th episode overall. The episode aired on May 4, 2010 on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by Elizabeth Sarnoff and Jim Galasso and directed by...
, 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
Something Nice Back Home
"Something Nice Back Home" is the tenth episode of the American Broadcasting Company's fourth season of the serial drama television series Lost and 82nd episode overall. It was aired on May 1, 2008, on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada...
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 knows he has to put the light back on at the source. He tells Kate to get Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton
Claire Littleton is a fictional character played by Emilie de Ravin on the ABC drama television series Lost, which chronicles the lives of the survivors of a plane crash in the South Pacific. Claire is introduced in the pilot episode as a pregnant crash survivor. She is a series regular until her...
(Emilie De Ravin
Emilie de Ravin
Emilie de Ravin born 27 December 1981)is an Australian actress. She is commonly associated with her roles as Tess Harding on Roswell and Claire Littleton on the ABC drama Lost....
) 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 since people are unable to leave. Hurley asks him for help, and Ben is honored. Jack reawakens outside by a river and walks toward the spot in the bamboo forest where he first awakened on the island
Pilot (Lost)
"Pilot" constitutes the first and second episodes of the first season of ABC television series Lost, with "Part 1" premiering on September 22, 2004 and Part 2 on September 29, 2004. The episodes were directed by J.J. Abrams, and written by him along with Damon Lindelof, based on a story by them and...
, following the crash of Oceanic 815. After Jack collapses to the ground, Vincent the dog approaches him and lies next to him. Jack gazes happily at the sky while watching the Ajira plane fly overhead away from the island. Jack slowly closes his eyes as he dies, reversely mimicking the opening sequence of the series pilot, which begins with a close-up view of Jack's eyes opening as he awakes from being unconscious while lying on the ground.
Flash-sideways
In the alternate timelineLA X
"LA X" comprises the 104th and 105th episodes of the American Broadcasting Company's Lost, marking the premiere of the sixth and final season. It was written by show runners/executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse and directed by executive producer Jack Bender...
, Desmond gathers many of the islanders at the benefit concert of Daniel Widmore
Daniel Faraday
Dr. Daniel Faraday, often referred to as Dan or simply by his surname, Faraday, is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Jeremy Davies. Faraday is introduced in the season four premiere as a physicist, suffering from memory loss, and is part of the team aboard the ...
(Jeremy Davies
Jeremy Davies
Father Jeremy Davies , an English Roman Catholic priest whose parish is based around Old Hall Green, is a former doctor and also a leading exorcist....
) and DriveShaft
Charlie Pace
Charlie Hieronymus Pace is a fictional character on ABC's Lost, a television series chronicling the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island...
. 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. 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
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) regains the use of his legs after being successfully operated on by Jack. He then meets Ben outside the church where Locke forgives him for murdering him
The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham
"The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" is the seventh television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost. The 93rd episode of the show overall, "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" aired on February 25, 2009 on ABC in the United States, being simulcast on A in Canada...
. 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", referencing the time they spent on the island after Jack's death. Kate arrives with Jack and instructs him to enter through the back of the church, where he comes on his father's coffin. The coffin acts as the catalyst for Jack's memories after he resisted believing his flashbacks triggered by earlier contacts with Locke and Kate. Jack opens the coffin lid and discovers the coffin to be empty. Christian Shephard
Christian Shephard
Dr. Christian Shephard is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by John Terry. He is the father of lead characters Jack Shephard , who becomes the de facto leader of the survivors of Oceanic 815 after it crashes on an island, and Claire Littleton , another of the survivors...
(John Terry
John Terry (actor)
John Terry is an American film, television, and stage actor.-Early life:Terry was born in Florida, where he attended Vero Beach High School. He was also educated at the prestigious Loomis Chaffee prep school in Windsor, Connecticut, and began a career building original custom log homes in North...
) then appears behind him. Jack slowly comes to realize that he is dead as well (cf. afterlife
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
). After an emotional embrace, 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, so they could "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 an emotional reunion, Christian opens the front doors, revealing another bright light that slowly envelops everyone inside the church and the survivors "move on" together.
Production
Damon LindelofDamon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
, producer, reported on his Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
page that the finale completed shooting in Hawaii on April 24, 2010, exactly six years after filming was completed on the show's pilot
Pilot (Lost)
"Pilot" constitutes the first and second episodes of the first season of ABC television series Lost, with "Part 1" premiering on September 22, 2004 and Part 2 on September 29, 2004. The episodes were directed by J.J. Abrams, and written by him along with Damon Lindelof, based on a story by them and...
. When interviewed about the finale, Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse is an AmericanEmmy Award winning screenwriter and producer, most famous as executive producer andscreenwriter for the American television series Lost for...
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
St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
, Newhart, and The Sopranos
Made in America (The Sopranos)
"Made in America" is the twenty-first episode of the sixth season of the HBO television drama series The Sopranos and the series finale. It is the eighty-sixth overall episode of the series and the ninth episode of the second part of the sixth season, which was broadcast in two batches with a break...
, 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: 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."
After the finale, a post-finale special of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, titled Jimmy Kimmel Live: Aloha to Lost, aired at 12:05 a.m., showing three alternate endings, which turned out to be finale spoofs from Survivor
Survivor (TV series)
Survivor is a reality television game show format produced in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe...
, The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, and Newhart
Newhart
Newhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990...
. Lindelof and Cuse have stated that they shot only one ending for the finale. All three were spoofs of other classic finales and were produced by Jimmy Kimmel Live! An ABC
ABC Network
ABC Network may refer to any of the following:*American Broadcasting Company, a private television network in the United States.*Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, regional radio and television broadcaster in Japan....
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.
All former series regulars who appear (Jeremy Davies
Jeremy Davies
Father Jeremy Davies , an English Roman Catholic priest whose parish is based around Old Hall Green, is a former doctor and also a leading exorcist....
, Maggie Grace
Maggie Grace
Margaret Grace Denig , best known as Maggie Grace, is an American actress. Originally from Worthington, Ohio, she dropped out of high school to move to Los Angeles with her mother after her parents' divorce. While struggling financially, she landed her first role as the title character in the...
, Rebecca Mader
Rebecca Mader
Rebecca Leigh Mader is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Morgan Gordon on All My Children and Charlotte Lewis on Lost.-Career:...
, Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
, Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
, Ian Somerhalder
Ian Somerhalder
Ian Joseph Somerhalder is an American model, actor and producer, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.-Early life:...
, Cynthia Watros
Cynthia Watros
Cynthia Michele Watros is an American television actress, who also starred in films and on stage. She is known for her roles as Libby on the ABC TV series Lost, Kellie in The Drew Carey Show, Erin in Titus, and Annie Dutton in Guiding Light...
) are restored to the main cast in this episode. Those who do not return are Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is a British actor, and former fashion model best known for his roles as Mr. Eko on Lost, Simon Adebisi on Oz and Nykwana Wombosi in The Bourne Identity.-Early life and career:...
, Malcolm David Kelley
Malcolm David Kelley
Malcolm David Kelley is an American teen actor. He starred in the 2004 film You Got Served as "Li'l Saint". He also appears in the television series Lost as the character Walt Lloyd. A regular cast member in the show's first season , he has appeared only occasionally since due to a dramatic...
, Harold Perrineau, Michelle Rodriguez
Michelle Rodriguez
Mayte Michelle Rodríguez , known professionally as Michelle Rodriguez, is an American actress. Following on from her breakthrough role in 2000's Girlfight, she is best known for playing tough-girl roles and starring in Hollywood blockbusters such as The Fast and the Furious, Resident Evil,...
, Kiele Sanchez
Kiele Sanchez
Kiele Michelle Sanchez is an American actress who stars in the A&E Network drama The Glades. Previously she starred as the second-eldest Sorelli sister, Anne, a therapist in her mid-twenties, in The WB's comedic ensemble drama, Related. She was cast as a co-star in the third season of the ABC...
, and Rodrigo Santoro
Rodrigo Santoro
Rodrigo Junqueira dos Reis Santoro is a Brazilian actor.-Life and career:Santoro was born in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro. He is of half Brazilian and half Italian descent. In 1993, as Santoro was studying Journalism at PUC-Rio, he entered the Actor's Workshop of Rede Globo...
. Also, guest stars Sam Anderson
Sam Anderson
Sam Anderson is an American actor.-Early life:Anderson was born in Wahpeton, North Dakota. He is a graduate of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. During the 1970s, Sam taught drama at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California.-Career:Anderson is perhaps best known for his roles...
, L. Scott Caldwell
L. Scott Caldwell
Laverne Scott Caldwell is an American actress known for her role as Rose on Lost.This Chicago native started her career in 1978 as a member of the famed Negro Ensemble Company, making her Broadway debut two years later in the Tony Award nominated play Home...
, François Chau
François Chau
François Chau is a Cambodian-American actor. He is known for his role as Dr. Pierre Chang in ABC's Lost, and as The Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze....
, Fionnula Flanagan, John Terry
John Terry (actor)
John Terry is an American film, television, and stage actor.-Early life:Terry was born in Florida, where he attended Vero Beach High School. He was also educated at the prestigious Loomis Chaffee prep school in Windsor, Connecticut, and began a career building original custom log homes in North...
and Sonya Walger
Sonya Walger
Sonya Walger is an English actress known for her roles in the ABC series Lost as Penelope "Penny" Widmore, and as Olivia Benford on ABC's FlashForward.-Education:...
are upgraded to the main cast in this episode.
Despite being killed off in the twelfth episode
Everybody Loves Hugo
"Everybody Loves Hugo" is the 12th television episode of the American Broadcasting Company's sixth season of the serial drama television series Lost and 115th episode overall. The episode was aired on April 13, 2010 on ABC in the United States...
of the season and reprising her role only once more in the thirteenth, cast member Zuleikha Robinson
Zuleikha Robinson
Zuleikha Robinson is an English actress, raised in Thailand and Malaysia by a Burmese-Indian mother and an English father. She is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, and best known for playing Ilana in the ABC show Lost.In 2006, she played a Bengali character called...
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.
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.
Broadcasting
The episode was initially broadcast on ABC in the eastern United StatesEastern United States
The Eastern United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. The first two tiers of states west of the Mississippi have traditionally been considered part of the West, but can be included in the East today; usually in...
and CTV in eastern Canada, then simultaneously in the western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, Western Canada, Fox
Fox (Italy)
Fox is an Italian Entertainment TV channel, owned and produced by Fox International Channels Italy and broadcast in Italy by Sky Italia on Channel 111. Timeshifts of the channel are available at channel 112 and 113...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
and Cuatro in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, DiziMax
DiziMax
DiziMax is a series of Satellite television channels available on Turkish satellite television provider Digiturk. It consists of DiziMax, DiziMax HD, and DiziMaxMore and is available on Sinema Paketi ....
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Sky1 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, HOT 3 in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
at 9 pm Pacific Time
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
on May 23, 2010. Because of the time difference, its initial Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
simulcast airing was at 6 am (5 am in the UK) BST
British Summer Time
Western European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
. In Ireland, RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...
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 ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
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 in the United States. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
Michael Ausiello
Michael Ausiello is an American television industry journalist and actor. He was a Senior Writer at TV Guide and its companion website, TVGuide.com. On May 28, 2008, Ausiello left TV Guide for Entertainment Weekly and posted his first blog for Entertainment Weekly on July 2, 2008...
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
SKY 1
The Box is an entertainment channel in New Zealand available on SKY Network Television.The channel shows are a variety of the most recent shows such as from the United States, for example CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Simpsons, Family Guy, World Wrestling Entertainments hit shows, and...
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 viewers with the 7 p.m. special and the two-hour finale.
Positive
According to the web site MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, "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
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
reviewer Chris Carbot gave the finale a 10/10, tying it with the initial review of "Pilot, Part 1
Pilot (Lost)
"Pilot" constitutes the first and second episodes of the first season of ABC television series Lost, with "Part 1" premiering on September 22, 2004 and Part 2 on September 29, 2004. The episodes were directed by J.J. Abrams, and written by him along with Damon Lindelof, based on a story by them and...
", "Through the Looking Glass
Through the Looking Glass (Lost)
"Through the Looking Glass" is the third season finale of the ABC television series Lost, consisting of the 22nd and 23rd episodes of the third season. It is also the 71st and 72nd episodes overall. It was written by co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Carlton Cuse,...
", "The Constant
The Constant
"The Constant" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American Broadcasting Company's serial drama television series Lost, and the 77th episode overall. It was aired on February 28, 2008, on ABC in the United States and on CTV in Canada...
" and "There's No Place Like Home, Parts 2 & 3
There's No Place Like Home
"There's No Place Like Home, Parts 1, 2 & 3" is the season finale of the American Broadcasting Company's fourth season of the serial drama television series Lost, consisting of the 12th through 14th episodes. They are also the 84th through 86th episodes of the show overall...
" 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
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
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
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
rated the episode perfect as well, deeming the finale "can stand with the best any series has produced". Hal Boedeker of Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel
The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. As of 2005, the Sentinel’s president and publisher was Kathleen Waltz; she announced her resignation in February 2008...
cited the finale being "a stunner."
Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
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
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
also praised "The End", calling it "full of heart and commitment." Zap2it
Zap2it
Zap2it is an American website and affiliate network that provides news, photos and video, local TV listings and movie showtimes. The site is produced by Tribune Media Services , part of the publishing division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company...
'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
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
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
HitFix
HitFix, or the HitFix.com is an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information and providing reviews and critiques of film, music and television...
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."
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
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
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
also gave the episode a highly favorable review with an A+ rating, saying " great finale to one of the best TV shows of all time.”
Negative
Not all critics were satisfied with the episode: British newspapers The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
both reported that "The End" had 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
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
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". Dwayne Hoover, writing for Cracked.com
Cracked.com
Cracked.com is a humor website that was spun off the last attempt to revive Cracked magazine. It began in its current form in 2007.-Attempted relaunch of Cracked:...
, similarly called the episode "disrespectful to intelligence". Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
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
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
also spoke negatively of the finale, calling the series "one of TV's longest, lamest cons". Laura Miller of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
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".
International reaction
The series finale generated interest from observers outside the United States. 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
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
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
Ashes to Ashes (TV series)
Ashes to Ashes is a British science fiction and police procedural drama television series, serving as the sequel to Life on Mars.The series began airing on BBC One in February 2008. A second series began broadcasting in April 2009...
and contrasting it with the last ever episode of The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
– "That show [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. Losts finale, though, was not too obtuse."
Michael Deacon in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
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
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
) were "left cold" and "disappointed" by the result.
Some reviewers ended puzzled about the meaning of Lost. Tim Teeman in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
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
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
"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
Charlie Brooker
Charlton "Charlie" Brooker is a British journalist, comic writer and broadcaster. His style of humour is savage and profane, with surreal elements and a consistent satirical pessimism...
, 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
Danny Baker
Danny Baker is an English comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter. Since the late 1970s, he has worked for a wide range of publications and broadcasters including NME, LWT, the BBC, and Talk Radio....
called the end of Lost "an outrage".
Awards
The episode was nominated in 8 categories for 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards62nd Primetime Emmy Awards
The 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, took place on August 29, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PDT...
, the most "Emmy" nominations for a Lost episode. 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)". 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
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
The Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series is awarded to one television episode each year at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Often regarded as the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an individual episode of television, the nominees and winners often reflect outstanding achievement in...
.
In 2011, the finale was ranked #6 on the TV Guide Network special, TV's Most Unforgettable Finales.
External links
- Episode guide and photos at ABC.com