Damon Lindelof Explains How (and When) They Came Up with the 'Lost' Finale Idea

Damon Lindelof explains when the decision to end 'Lost' was first conceived, and how he and Carlton Cuse weaved and changed the series as it evolved each season.
#Lost #DamonLindelof #LostFinale
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[@brianbara3204]

I found myself amiong the relatively few who absolutely loved the series finale and cried a lot during the episode.

[@suicidesquid3581]

More people liked it than you may think.

[@Paindriller]

I liked it and in hindsight, cough, GOT, cough, it was a great ending.

[@TomCL-vb6xc]

I liked it because of the characters. Realistically, it was an awful and unnecessary last season. Of course it’s understandable because of the things Lindelof explained. I kept watching because of the characters and the last episode was sad because it was the last time you would see the characters. Lost had created such a fantastic group of characters that they managed to keep people watching through a 5th and 6th season that the writers admitted they didn’t originally plan for. It’s a shame but also a blessing.

[@BackwardAssassin]

Part of me thinks a lot of the people who said they hated the ending were just people who had actually stopped watching in an earlier season, and then watched the finale out of curiosity. A lot of the complaints that I’ve heard aren’t even valid because: A) they thought it implied the characters were all dead during the entire show. They weren’t. Or... B) Because of various questions that weren’t answered. Many of which actually were, just in earlier seasons, or just very subtly.

[@luciole4540]

A lot of people think the ending was great.

[@AdamPOpens]

Truth be told, Lost did such a brilliant job with its characters that I was going to love the ending of the show no matter what. I was so attached to them, through 6 years of re-watching, theorising, and having them be such a stable relatable constant in my life, that any sort of sad or moving ending was going to emotionally resonate with me in a powerful way. I'm not a religious person and nor have I ever been, but I still love how it ended and it still brings tears to my eyes on every re-watch. To this day Lost remains one of my favourite shows of all time, and aside from the odd mediocre episode, I love it from start to finish.

[@suicidesquid3581]

I'm with you on that, I loved the entire series.

[@richlizard709]

R u single?

[@apoplexiamusic]

At first i didn't really like the ending, also being non religious and interpreting it as more pro christian bullshit for network tv... but as i watched the whole series a second time i think they did a fantastic job considering how it could have been soooo much worse and the ending does fits very well

[@AdamPOpens]

@@richlizard709 Sorry I'm not Rich! Haha.

[@nj9766]

Adam Pratt Perfectly said 👏👏 couldn’t agree more with everything you said!

[@MrElephantBeach]

I really like that Damon is so willing to explain the thought process behind his work. A lot of writers will be vague and then basically tell you to come to your own conclusions. Personally I enjoy watching and having my own experience, and then finding out what the writers intended. It doesn’t ruin anything for me.

[@burninsherman1037]

Same. I like having my own perspective, and that of the person/people who created something. With some folks, though, I'm fine with them not giving their own interpretation of their work, because of how subjective it is overall. David Lynch, for example, I feel is a pinnacle of not explaining his work because it's so personal that he doesn't want to taint either his own, or his fans' interpretations of it.

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@_kaushin1540]

People that keep saying the Island is purgatory, do not understand that the Flash-Sideways are purgatory. The Flash-Sideways are what happens after each person's death where time does not exist. Which is how all of these people are all able to be there simultaneously.

[@ihdiinnotime]

Yes, everything that happened on the island happened irl, the last seasons "flash sideways" was the only purgatory part.

[@jjohnson4474]

I really don't understand how people can still think the island was purgatory. They said in the show it wasn't. And the creators of the show said it wasn't. Why do people continue to think that? Especially people who loved the show before the end and then got mad at at the end - yet continue to be mad at an ending that they are completely wrong about!

[@Tenpinmaster]

i got mad at the end of the show. not because i tought that they were dead the whole time (christian explains it quite well in the finale) so the first time i already got that. What got me Mad is that they didnt answer sooo much.. or answered it just slightly or with an answer that would make no sense (the whispers for example)

[@joshhunt4146]

Tenpinmaster I can’t think of a question that wasn’t answered to be honest. The whispers were the voices of the dead who hadn’t moved on yet. That made sense to me.

[@damdamdamdumdidum]

@@joshhunt4146 Why did the pregnant women keep dying? Why did they have to enter/leave the island at a certain angle?

[@geoffw2275]

I love the ending of lost. I would love to see him do something with Star Wars. It’s clear by his wall he’s a fan.

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@safmalik7472]

The show explores the relationship between the man of science (Jack) and the man of faith (Locke). Jack’s realisation that Locke was right all along is a major turning point in the series and pushes the audience to believe in the supernatural elements of the island. It’s funny because I feel like people of faith are more inclined to like the finale (if you believe in the afterlife) whereas those who believe primarily in science would oppose the idea of purgatory and the islanders moving on together after they died. I hated the ending the first time, however on a second watch which I just completed recently, realised I actually loved it.

[@romanz9848]

You're right, i believe in God and absolutely adored the ending. I am a man of faith and wished so hard for Jack to finally become one to and happily he did 😁

[@onebuffalo5402]

Thats what Im picking up a lot of as well. too many people missed the fact that man of faith v science was the main theme of the entire show; and it really seems like people who lack faith are mad at the fact that there was a lot of faith resolution. There was plenty of scientific resolution as well (w/r/t daniel and the actually physics of the island and why it cant be found). But if they gave a scientific reason as to why locke could walk, why the island healed, etc.. it would have cheapened the narrative because the entire point of the island is its mysterious. Getting all the answers in a concrete resolution would have ruined it for me b/c the island wasnt suppose to be some entity that could be understood by everyone.

[@Cthulhu013]

I'm most certainly a person who despises faith, religion and all that hodgepdge. But I loved the ending. Why? Because it's fiction. I can accept those ideas as fiction. It causes no harm as fiction. The funny thing is, it's not really faith that Locke operates on much or much later, Jack. They saw supernatural shit (or does that make it natural). It wasn't faith based, it was evidence based. Perhaps the only faith Locke or Jack really ever had was just the willingness to accept that they were on the island for a reason, which spoilers, only one of them would fully and absolutely realize via evidence until the final episodes. Everything else though was evidence based.

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@OliverHenaineOficial]

Isn't anyone going to ask what was the original ending they had in mind? Like, what's was the smoke monster initially, when did Jacob become into play... All those things that are not about what the series turned out to be, but what "it could have been".

[@wyatt1975]

Oliver Henaine Those are all elements introduced by Abrams. He didn’t explain it to lendaloft. He won’t explain it to us. He probably doesn’t understand himself. He introduced ideas that seemed riveting in a vacuum, knowing he wouldn’t be around to flesh them out. This is why an otherwise riveting and brilliant show sucked.

[@thac0twenty377]

He didn't know. Abrams always does his mystery box without an answer. Hack.

[@c_huntermc]

@@thac0twenty377 That's exactly the problem. There was no explanation planned for these mysteries. It was just something to be set up that somebody else would have to explain later. Just like Abrams did with Star Wars... but the joke was on him when it fell back in his lap to finish up!

[@richlizard709]

R u single?

[@joesmith5159]

thats the brilliance of making a show where you dont have to and also the stupidity of the ending......when you are ending it as they are dead....you can create anything you want with no meaning because they are dead and it actually isnt real....the journey of lost was great to watch but the ending really ruins it.....one of those shows i refuse to watch reruns because the show is ruined by the ending

[@shaniblack9697]

I'll admit when I first finished LOST that I wasn't huge on the ending, but when I re-watched it I thought it was great. It was so emotional and a way to say goodbye to such great characters.

[@leampunkt3678]

No matter how often I watch the show, special moments make me emotional and cry. I just need to hear the theme and I lose it. The very last episode makes me cry like a baby. When they have their awakenings, when they remember and see their iconic moments on the island and the music starts playing, they have me. When you still get so emotional over a series, when you still are all in whenever you watch it and the finale still brings you to tears, then the writers have done a bloddy hell of a job! Iconic show and still my all time favorite.

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@johnchedsey1306]

Years ago I found "Chronologically Lost" where someone re-edited the entire series into chronological order of events. Some of it is disjointed, obviously, but once they're on the island it's a pretty interesting watch. They decided to put Flash Sideways after Jack's death, which makes sense. But what I noticed is season 6's island stories were interesting but the flash sideways not so much. Damon's concept is very interesting to hear about, but I would say they didn't quite nail it in the writing process. Of course, that is a very major concept to tackle so I'm not going to be harshly critical about it.

[@drakenfist]

That funny, I had the opposite experience. I thought the sideways were very well written but the island stuff was a mess. I do agree that viewing them together is a mess and a very odd experience because it's not until you get into Desmond's story in the middle of the season that there is a throughline between the two.

[@dimitreze]

flash sideways are the worst

[@TylerDurden9LB]

In hindsight, after watching the abortion of an endgame that occurred on GOT, arguably beginning after season 4 but undeniably the shit-fest of seasons 7 & 8, Lost's conclusion wasn't all that bad. It's an extremely difficult thing to pull off, and we know that from the endless failures of different shows to accomplish it. Like Damon pretty much said, Lost just got a little bloated. I was never intended to go on that long, and they did an admirable job with the hand that the network dealt.

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@mxbravo3108]

I was deeply moved by the finale, it made me think of my closest friend.

[@LuisSierra42]

Dude, i cried my eyes out

[@dkblack3461]

Me too, MX. I thought it was the most beautiful, touching series finale I'd ever seen. I was quite surprised to find out that so many people hated it. To each their own, but I found it truly moving.

[@ElectroLund]

God, I can't wait to watch it all again.

[@mxbravo3108]

@@ElectroLund I am just starting "The Leftovers" after many warm recommendations.

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@nickwittednonpareil]

I honestly preferred the ambiguity of The Leftovers ending. There's a few things that I'd have changed about Lost Season 6, but overall the show was and is brilliant. I'll never forget that pulsing beat drop every time they dropped a new cliffhanger.

[@EnglishMike]

Yeah, the storytelling aspect of The Leftovers finale was inspired. It gave us a consistent and plausible ending, but left something for our imagination to work with. Was it true? Did it really happen that way?

[@TheSlowvette001]

Couldn’t agree more. Lost will always be untouchable to me. Not because of how It stuck the landing, but more so because no show in my lifetime had so many plot twists/cliffhangers that we do mind blowing. The leftovers was Damon Lindelof, improving upon the things that he was burned for in Losts final seasons. Great show in its own

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@MrWilliamson9411]

I could spend hours listening to him talk about Lost

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@CLrooks]

I thought LOST worked beautifully. A lot of people misunderstand the ending. I still laugh at the people who thought the island was always purgatory, but the show itself was awesome!! I'll always love it.

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@arabianhighlander4160]

Demon Lindelof is the most genius tv writer/creator ever .. LOST & THE LEFTOVERS are my favorite

[@BigBandelero]

I would have liked to see a lot more of Richard’s back story.

[@markbuckley5109]

Me too, and Miles and Desmond

[@raidenwave4219]

*Ricardos

[@samanthab1923]

I would have loved that. Always imagined he was much older. The whole Richardus & speaking Latin.

[@Pedro_The_Neco]

That 1h episode dedicated to him was one of my favourites

[@izetyusein3323]

@@Pedro_The_Neco It is favourite episode of season 6.

[@azzu12]

Just started my 3rd Lost re-watch. It's crazy how interested I find myself with every episode even though I know what happens. I find myself binging episode after episode late into the night like it's the first time. Always will be my favorite show

[@ThePinkerton]

Still one of my favourite shows ever

[@chrislawson1988]

I love hearing Damon talking about lost making it and the his journey through it i love hearing about what they wanted to do plans everything anything the mysteries and characters. Very thought provoking

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@OurBrainHurtsALot]

Lost should have been on HBO. The nature of the story was very serial (not episodic at all), mysteries don't work that well in long series because eventually you have to force yourself to drag the mysteries on and on, which irritates audiences. You don't need to overdevelop characters just to have more episodes (sometimes less is more: one character, one flashback episode) and everything would have been more compacted and rounded. Just imagine a 3 or 4 season LOST produced by HBO 13 episodes per season. I think it would have been better than Leftovers. All in all I think they did a great and revolutionary job. When have you seen another drama show in modern network television achieving and doing all the shit Lost did? There's a clear pre-LOST era and post-LOST era in the history of tv series.

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@CB0915]

LOST was and is the greatest television show of all time. Come at me.

[@The_RedVIII]

Watch Dark on Netflix.

[@crayfishtelevision2894]

@@The_RedVIII I suggest the same!

[@Tenpinmaster]

@@The_RedVIII oof.. :D Dark beats Lost no probs imo.. :D

[@Steven-lb4bl]

Lost is wayyyyyyyyy better than Dark. And I like Dark

[@sonic2d989]

Agree to... agree!

[@agraciotti]

The sixth season wasn't great, but I love the finale and I'm always defending since then it was the perfect finale for the show

[@brianlaudrupchannel]

The sixth seasons plot is so thin

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@Erlisch1337]

hmm Ive never thought of that you can pretty much say the sideways flashes are actually flashforwards....

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@johncaiwa]

If you look at the ratings, seasons 4-6 had a lot less viewers, but the finale has a spike. I'm guessing that spike is all the people who stopped watching then came back to see how it ended. Also that would account for all the complaints. I loved season 6 and the finale.

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@winkiesdiner8238]

Lost was about its characters and the end was purely about them and their journey through life and death. I understand if you don’t like it (as long as you understand it) but Lindelof made the end he wanted to make and he’s still defending it no matter what. Respect.

[@greyeyed123]

Love your name. "He's the one who's doing it."

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@zoegara7793]

I wish season 6 paid off every questions and Jack died and woke up in real world and met kate

[@kuhpunkt]

What?

[@ShizuruNakatsu]

How come the black smoke went from being a monster, to being the will of the island, to being a security system that could be summoned, to being a judge, and then it turns out he was just some guy who wanted to get off the island the whole time? Or at least the smoke killed the guy who wanted to leave the island, but then it kind of acted as if it was him. In earlier seasons it definitely seemed like it was something different.

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@nj9766]

I loved the finale! They did an amazing job with the whole show!

[@NHSUKFan909]

I totally agree

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@FringeMusic107]

How are people still thinking the island was purgatory? If that's true, how did they ever leave the island? And how are they also in a church, in a world where the plane never crashed, moving on to the afterlife at the same time? Are they experiencing two purgatories? How is the last shot Jack dying when he's already dead?!

[@brent__earl]

The island was never purgatory. The whole "sideways" story in season 6 happened after all the characters died naturally. They were showing the original story of the island at the same time they were showing us the story of after they died when they were in "purgatory" or the "flash sideways" or whatever you want to call it where they all meet up at the church at the end. Does that make sense?

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@duncanralston5112]

Or JACOB'S LADDER - I always thought they were literally referencing this with Jacob's actual ladder to the cave with the names.

[@Story2ScreenMovieReviewPodcast]

Well I give Lindelof credit. Unlike DandD after the disastrous final season of Game of Thrones where they just ran away from the negative backlash, Damon is talking about the developments and the process on how the final season and episode was developed.

[@wabba67]

Yup. Then again, Lost ended a decade ago, GOT just a year ago. Let's see what DnD have to say about the show in 2030.

[@Story2ScreenMovieReviewPodcast]

@@wabba67 if they ever say anything at all. Are you aware of their disastrous Austin Film Festival panel where they admitted they lucked out on the show?

[@NostalgicTheFirst]

Did he ask Damon anything about The Leftovers?

[@maritimus17]

The ending was pretty cool; being a fan of hobby games and rpgs I thought it might end with a bunch of people play testing a hybrid hobby game of sorts and the table before them would show a board represented as the island littered with minis of the show's characters. I think that may have been too gimmicky though

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@illyillyill]

1:32 That was definitely a mistake if he truly believed that. I ...... i just don't think he actually believed that. No one wanted a "They are all just dead, and in Purgatory story" to explain all of the mysteries. Which by way, of course, that doesn't explain any of the mysteries. We wanted technology, we got a badly done bible story. Anything else would have been better. Aliens, Area 51 experiment, The Matrix, simulation theory, etc. NO ONE i knew wanted it to be a "It's just purgatory" That's why we all kept asking it. Most people i knew would have stopped watching after season 1 if that was the case. So to end the show in Purgatory while leaving most the mysteries unsatisfied felt like a slap in the face back then. lol. It really took a long time to get over how bad that was. It came out of nowhere. We fell in love with the show with scenes like "The light just doesn't bend right here hmmm" and to end it with, oop They are all in heaven yaaaay. It Felt like an intentional Nut kicking. I'm just being honest.

[@ENOREL]

I remember in that first season, people were making that purgatory guess. The show runners or writers made a point, to say it's not purgatory; then it turns out to be purgatory. LOL, right in the nuts. So, I was supremely disappointed. The Island that moves, the flash-sideways, the number code, scattering through time, the government influence, the others, the 4 toed statue. It incorporated more mysteries and weirdness and then, it didn't deliver; it was a total train-wreck at the end.

[@admiralrooster]

ENOREL no... it wasn’t purgatory lol the flash sideways in season 6 was but the rest all happened. Need to unfortunately look at the storytelling within the context of the business landscape too which he explains in a different video from this interview - which is essentially he wanted it to end at season 3, but after season 1 ABC were like... absolutely no way, so he was only staying on until end of S3 and hand off to other writers but midway S3 they decided to let him create an actual finish but it meant stretching out the story longer than they’d originally planned. Studio Interference at its finest

[@Hahecz]

1. The island is not a purgatory, only flash-sideways could be called that. 2. Origins of the light/electromagnetic anomalies were never explained, it could still be alien artifact or some future experiment with time travel. If we had 2 more seasons...

[@jeremiasteliasperez4507]

Most people hated the finale overall, the plot was a mess. Saying otherwise is revisionism.

[@LeRock815]

why is it so hard for people to understand that the whole show was NOT afterlife? the final season's flash-side scenes were, just as Damon said. It was able to give an epilogue to Jack's story and his death. Again, just like Damon said. I feel like most mysteries were explained, but leaving some is good. Explaining it all takes all the fun out of it.

[@emilio1316]

Lost didn’t sustain because of its mysteries, it was its characters. And the ending stayed true to them to the very end.

[@jessportersolo]

THISTHISTHISTHISTHISTHISTHISTHIS

[@samanthab1923]

I think it was a combo of things. Something happened the second season. They realized how hard it is to film in Hawaii & with a cast that size, friction. Cast & crew were tight the first year.

[@trevorfeelgood]

In the Uk And The Same time...Ashes to Ashes had the exact same ending

[@gabelogan5877]

I didn’t like how he and Cuse failed to resolve the mysteries of the show, but it’s fascinating how Damon explains their process. I’m so glad he and his partner didn’t sellout and try to keep the show going longer than it did.

[@maxjensen7029]

Mostly everything was answered, sure there are a couple things, but nothing that important, what are you referring to?

[@denniswijker7162]

I've always felt they ended up explaining WAY too much of the mysteries. And the problem with that is, for years and years people have made their own theories about certain elements. And then when it is revealed to be this one thing, it is a disappointing answer. I LOVED the show watching it, followed all the fan sites, read all the theories. But once it was over, I felt it didn't live up to it's setup, purely because ALL those questions were answered poorly. Just as an example, think of the whispering in the jungle. Originally set up in some of the very first episodes, and answered in season 6 (I think ?). For 6 Years people have come up with the most outlandish theories, everybody had their own thoughts on it. And once we knew what it was (I don't even remember, that's how little impact it had) it just lost all meaning.

[@maxjensen7029]

@@denniswijker7162 Answer the mystery, everyone is mad, leave it open to discussion and keep it a mystery, the writers are lazy and dont have a plan. There's no winning for them

[@joshhunt4146]

Yeah, I can’t think of a question that wasn’t answered if I’m honest

[@greyeyed123]

@@joshhunt4146 They even answered "What happened to Shannon's inhaler?" as a joke. If memory serves, they often joked about that in the podcasts. (The only questions I remember them not answer were who the "Economist" was, who was shooting at them when they were in the outrigger...and I think that's it. Maybe how Ben had the strength to swiftly push Hurley out of the way of a falling tree, lol.)

[@user-rh4fc2dg8e]

Goddamn , man...."What would the story had been, had the executives let you end the show when you wanted to??!!!" Why, oh why, did you NOT ask this!!!??????????

[@indieeasmr7101]

I really like the idea of the island being purgatory, and I can recall there being sooooo much speculation on what the island was and how everything would end. My biggest disappointment with the show writers is that they felt a need to "fool" the audience instead of just sticking to the story. They had so many diversions and left turns that it muddied up the storyline and made it more confusing than enjoyable. There's nothing wrong with red herrings and mystery, but when you provide question after question after question, it becomes less and less believable and the story gets lost. If they had stuck to the original three season structure and delivered a more concise story, I'm sure it would have been perfect. Not really their fault, they had to stall and it messed things up.

[@andreasvb1142]

True. The island was not purgatory though. Only the flash-sideways in S6 was.

[@indieeasmr7101]

@@andreasvb1142 I know just saying I like that idea!

[@kuhpunkt]

@@indieeasmr7101 But why do you say "instead of just sticking to the story" then?

[@_kaushin1540]

Damon Lindelof is one of the best writers around. I watch everything he is attached to. LOST, Prometheus, World War Z, The Leftovers, Watchmen, The Hunt. He also wrote Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk which was superb (and I am not a fan of the Ultimate line of books). Chef's Kiss...

[@hinglemccringleberry7265]

Leftovers and watchmen are his absolute best imo!

[@_kaushin1540]

@@hinglemccringleberry7265 LOST is my favorite show of all time. The Leftovers is a Masterwork in all things. Writing, music, acting, directing...

[@hinglemccringleberry7265]

@@_kaushin1540 loved lost as well - but at the end hated it. Watched it again years after - it still is a mixed bag for me with the way things get wrapped up with the new religious stuff in the end. But I think it is cool, if other people enjoy the hell out of it! I can still relate because parts of it are so awesome! ;)

[@hinglemccringleberry7265]

@@_kaushin1540 yes, the music in leftovers! ... I love it too! Such great scenes with music - the main theme, the well with the classical piece, the karaoke in the inbetween world, Regina King jumping on a trampoline to wu-tang clan....

[@crayfishtelevision2894]

@@_kaushin1540 Try "Dark" on Netflix ;)

[@onebuffalo5402]

anyone mad about the religious ending clearly didnt watch the show with any sort of intellectual foresight. The ENTIRE MAJOR THEME of the show was Man of Faith v Man of Science. If they provided a scientific rationale for everything the island is and was then it would have ruined the entire overarching theme. The fact that the island remains somewhat shrouded in mystery when its all done and resolved something scientifically and somethings religiously is what made the symmetrically strong story telling. The only issue I have with the 6th season is Jacks kid is a really cheap way to throw people off the scent of what is actually happening in the flash sideways. b/c it makes no sense (and ive read plenty of theorys on how its meant to parallel jack and his father). But at the end of the day it was a cheap gimmick to sell the alternative universe idea over the reality of purgatory.

[@triplea1313]

Woah.

[@EnglishMike]

In a very strange coincidence, the final episode of "Ashes to Ashes", the sequel of "Life on Mars" aired in the UK the same week as the final episode of "Lost" aired in the USA, and guess what? They both hit on the exact same idea for ending the series. "Life on Mars" is a police procedural where a modern day detective finds himself in the 1970s after a car accident. There are hints that he's really in a coma in hospital throughout the show, and its sequel, which involves a female detective finding herself back in the 1980s, until the final reveal the day before the Lost finale! (Note: This is the original British version of Life On Mars. The American version lasted one season and ended very differently.)

[@go5thhour]

Lost did some great stuff. Stuff no other show has really done since. But they bit off more than they could chew and had so many mystery threads going that it was impossible to have a satisfying ending for everyone. They chose a general hand-wavey ending that could cover most of their bases. (Spoilerd) But we never figured out what was up with Walt, why Miles could talk to ghosts and so ghosts are real but the ghosts we've been seeing on the island were the Man in Black walking around in different forms, except when Walt showed up those few times, and the Dharma people are the Others but there are other Others who have like a temple with water that makes people evil, and that's why the french lady was alone and kinda cuckoo. Not to mention the many many times characters had to be killed and written off before their time because the actors got fired or drunk drove in Hawaii.

[@SuperManbearp1g]

Not enough people are familiar with a great, tidy explanation of the show that's been floating around: The changing forms of the Monster, all of the strange supernatural visions (even the nightmares, even Scary Walt), the Whispers, and especially the Purgatory, are all caused by a quality of the island that's hinted at in the show (by Ben and Locke) as "the Magic Box," where anyone who's been to the Island, living or dead, (but mostly Jacob, since he's the Protector) project their repressed subconscious desires and traumas into the electromagnetism and unknowingly cause everything supernatural that's happening, since the island is capable of bending/breaking any law of nature via "electromagnetism." The flashbacks are the actual answers, because they explain the repressed and unresolved feelings that are unconsciously causing the unexplained supernatural nonsense that escalates as the show goes (because they're becoming more and more traumatized). Jacob killed his brother (his dead body was shown and even entombed) and the Monster always existed, as a part of the island, it's natural security/defense system, but Jacob projected the lingering guilt from the murder onto the Monster/Island and it eventually lost itself in the Man in Black identity, just like it lost itself in Locke's identity over the course of season 6.

[@tfpp1]

I get the impression that people who don't like the flash sideways because they say it ain't "real" are a little shortsighted. I could also say the island timeline is not real because it's a fictional TV show. Sure the flash sideways are real. It's real in the sense that the overall worldview of the show is that you go to this in-between place once you die to figure your stuff out. Who are you to say that's not real? What you're really saying is you don't believe in the afterlife.

[@aaronia8092]

Well, I do believe in afterlife, and I understand what you say. But when Locke suddenly tells Jack that he doesn't have a son, that literally means David wasn't real, and that really didin't sit well with me (if David wasn't real, was Jack's relationship with Juliet real? what was real and what wasn't?, how can you tell?). I'm not really so much against the show's ending, but it was actually a big disappointment the fisrt time I watched it.

[@rxtsec1]

Greatest show ever

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@ladyfibonaccii]

It came full circle. It starts with Jack in the Bamboo field and that's how it ends.

[@mitchellsirie1711]

I like to believe that Jack survived. He closed his eye to accept death... but he still had work to do. Given how much of the show is still left unanswered, I think I’m entitled to my ending!

[@timehere4053]

Just to give you the truth, there is an epilogue where they show Hurley and Ben taking Walt to the island to help them with whatever they were doing in the island. And Hurley was the one orchestrating it because Hurley was the one who was the next after Jack. So yeah jack died then and there.

[@mitchellsirie1711]

@@timehere4053 I know that, I watched the whole show and the epilogue. It’s just my own wishful thinking!

[@FCT70]

This is still the best show of all time. I dont care who agrees or disagrees. Deal with it.

[@x-man9473]

that is correct.

[@moretac]

Aside from GOT, Fringe, Person of Interest, The Office, Stranger Things, and Daredevil you are absolutely correct 😂

[@matthewh7085]

As a fan during the original run, I have to say that Lost was a pioneer in tv storytelling. Serialized prime time dramas were not a big thing during that time. It's not like it is today. I think the show did a pretty damn good job ending the way it did. Finales back then were never that good. Lost did its best.

[@Draxtor]

I thought the finale was perfect. Also: I just read “The Third Policeman” for the first time. It is ALL IN THERE FOLKS 😅

[@kuhpunkt]

How is it all in there?

[@TheThomasBlack]

If we do this we have to do this in a way where people don’t know we are wasting every ones time for half of the episode for our final season. We need them to believe it’s important so then twist that meant nothing and shows over. The more years go by the dumber the premise of the season is exposed to be.

[@kuhpunkt]

How is it dumb?

[@moretac]

​@@kuhpunkt the bait and switch of the flash sideways is dumb

[@kuhpunkt]

@@moretac how is this a bait and switch

[@moretac]

@@kuhpunkt We are invested in these characters and what happens to them because it's actually happening to them in the real world (in the context of the show). We don't really care what happens in someone's dream or imagination or purgatory within the show (and we certainly don't want to be tricked into caring). The bait and switch is that they made us think it was really happening to the characters ( Which we would care about) but it wasn't (so we don't) .

[@kuhpunkt]

@@moretac Who is "we"? And again, how is this a bait and switch?

[@starsourcer]

Lindelof is brilliant.The journey he takes you on, is so vigarting and at the same time you end up reaching within your soul to what is meant to be. "LOST" will always be fantastic. "The Leftovers" is the BEST series ever on TV. Thanks for sharing this interview. Such a huge fan!

[@someguy42093]

The end made no sense. They’re dead? “No. They aren’t. The church was the afterlife”. So they are dead? “No the flash sideways was purgatory”. So they are dead? “No”. DL claims they aren’t dead but they are in purgatory then go to the afterlife? That means YOU ARE DEAD. The flash sideways was clearly pointless. No questions were answered. The ancient Egyptian bullshit was never explained. The button was never resolved. We never found out what happens if it’s not pushed because Desmond turned the key. So much was eat up. Then never resolved. The producers claim “they aren’t dead!” When the episode explicitly states that they are. I’ve watched numerous “explanations” of the ending and it makes no god flan sense. I don’t buy that “flash sideways was purgatory”. How? So they died in the nuke explosion? Explain how and why the flash sideways is purgatory. That dosent make sense at Al. Them living their lives if the plane didn’t crash gives them cleansing to go to heaven? Lindelof must not know what purgatory means.

[@ladyfibonaccii]

I love that you chose to give the character's the names of actual historical figures that helped shape humanity and society into what it is today. John Lock is a real person. Michael Faraday is a real person who had a HUGE influence in how we use energy and gravity. Or Jean Jaques Rousseau... these were actual people from history. I love that you did that. I always knew the Island was real. You used far too much REALITY in your story. To me, it's all extremely Esoteric and believable. 33rd Degree Masoary comes to mind too.

[@melrupinski88]

Don’t forget Desmond David Hume. David Hume was a philosopher who wrote on determinism and free will.

[@D1210]

Didn’t they deny purgatory all the way through?.

[@Pedro_The_Neco]

The island wasn't purgatory. The "parallel universe" in the last season was.

[@TheKaijudist]

They did, and they were correct in doing so

[@beyondz55]

Brilliant

[@johndough8699]

“When the audience asks you a question, they’re really telling you what they want.” No... Just... No. I think most fans wanted almost anything other than a purgatory reveal.

[@TheKaijudist]

Isn't it fair to say that the purgatory reveal was a clever sleight of hand from a story structure perspective, but that's it? It doesn't change any of the things that happened to these characters or what happened on the island.

[@PentaGonPicturesltd]

I don't think a "most fans" claim is a reasonable assumption from a fan perspective unless you run multiple fan groups and have the same breadth of interaction with fans show runners do.

[@sandal_thong8631]

I was wondering what time travel (other than Desmond's) had to do with the story. It really messed things up by taking away the free will of those in the time loop. So what happened, was meant to happen, and they couldn't have chosen differently. To hear that the whole purpose of it was to set up the incident and the flash-sideways makes sense, but was pretty lame.

[@kuhpunkt]

But they still had free will.

[@sandal_thong8631]

@@kuhpunkt To do what? Pretty much everything that happened had to happen the way it did, to the most future point of a time jump (three years into the future) where they found Ajira gear and had some people shooting at them in the canoe.

[@kuhpunkt]

@@sandal_thong8631 To do what they thought was right. Sayid had free will and decided to shoot young Ben. Kate had free will and decided to save young Ben. Those were their choices.

[@sandal_thong8631]

@@kuhpunkt They did that because they always did that. Sayid couldn't kill Ben because they (we) knew him as an adult in the future (same with every other known person, like Stuart Radzinsky, who made the Swan and shot himself). Maybe Kate, Sawyer and Juliet could have done nothing and someone else, like his father, would have taken him to the hostiles to save his life. It only seems like they have free will. There's a movie I like based on a book, _Slaughterhouse Five._ The main character becomes unstuck in time after being visited by aliens. Sometimes he's a child, sometimes he's an adult in WW2, sometimes he's a father, husband and dentist, sometimes he's in a dome with Valerie Perrine's character being watched by aliens, sometimes he's a retired old man giving lectures about aliens and time. Occasionally time-tripping he remembers critical moments that haven't happened yet, like his airplane crash, but though he tried, he can't alter his personal history by saying the plane's going to crash or getting off it.

[@kuhpunkt]

@@sandal_thong8631 "They did that because they always did that." It was their first and only time doing that. And they did it using their free will.

[@sixscalemafia]

Lost lost me after Jacob said he brought them all to the island. That was dumb. Desmond crashed the plane that was firmly established and was totally acceptable. So if Jacob did later then wtf was the Desmond shit? It’s totally contradictory.

[@anselnathanson7199]

Jacob brought Desmond to the island so he would mess up and crash the plane. So technically, Jacob did crash the plane. He just did it through someone else.

[@sixscalemafia]

Ansel Creates that’s a bit of a stretch. If only because I don’t remember them ever mentioning anything Jacob/Desmond related in present or flashbacks. Unless it’s implied, in which case I think that might be bs. It fits if you imply it, a way of filling in the gaps so to speak, but there’s no way anyone can convince me this wasn’t an oversight by the writers lol.

[@GforceProdComp]

Jacob got them all to be on that plane, which he knew Desmond would cause to crash on the island.

[@x-man9473]

@@sixscalemafia Jacob made it their destiny to crash. He didn't physically put them on the island. So that Desmond storyline with the plane crash still happened

[@ElectricCereal42]

I hated the afterlife ending. I thought they attempted one too many twists. The flashbacks for the last season should have explored the history of the island. The time traveling of season five was great. Weird to see it was only in service of the afterlife twist. They should have discovered that the lore of season five was working and followed that instead of another twist.

[@Jimbo-Oreo]

It's pretty sad how Lost went so off the rails. Season six felt like it was written by a ten year old. The answer to pretty much every question came down to either 'Jacob used his magic powers to make it happen', 'The Man in Black used his magic powers to make it happen', or 'The island used its magic powers to make it happen.'

[@samanthab1923]

It felt rushed like GOT

[@Geeksmithing]

That's great and all but let's ask the real question.... like who was on that canoe?!

[@user-hu9vi7nk1l]

The others. Mib told Richard to kill the passengers of the ajira flight. The time travellers' motor boat had been stolen to get away from whoever came in the canoes, which was the others sent there to kill them by mib. When they saw the time travellors paddling away in one.of their conoes they thought it was survivors trying to escape.

[@Tenpinmaster]

i wish lost ended as satisfying as the netflix Show DARK.. But somehow the ending didnt work for me.. i guess its because nothing really mattered what happened on the island or after because in the end they all ended up going to heaven or whatever anyway.. it kinda robs the show of its stakes... when a character death on the island in earlier Seasons ment much in the end it really didnt because they all (expect a few that were not in the church..still dont know why though) got to move on..

[@joshhunt4146]

Why did what happen on the island not matter? It still mattered. It still all happened. When Boone died he died for real. I don’t understand what you mean

[@Tenpinmaster]

@@joshhunt4146 well it all would have been more impactfull if there wasnt any afterlife or atleast if they hadnt shown it.. because if a character dies you are sad because you know you're never gonna see him or her again. But in Season 6 you get reunited with almost all your favorites because they all get to live happy ever after in the afterlife.. that dampens the impact of their death in some way dont you think? because your tears were for nothing after all. you feel kinda cheated.. sure its nice that you can see them again but still.. it just makes their deaths on the island not as meaningful as it could have been. i hope you see where i'm coming from.

[@onebuffalo5402]

b/c hes not religious and thus hates the happy ending undertone that accompanies it. The ending doesnt lessen the death of anyone because people still had their lives cut extremely short. How does charlie getting to heaven cheapen his sacrifice? He lost his entire life w/ claire and aaron. Just b/c he eventually gets to see them again doesnt make that death any less painful or sad. In the end you're just mad that man of faith won out over man of science. As it should have b/c the island was always meant to be mysterious. If they explained in concrete detail everything about the island in the end then it would have been a shit ending b/c all the mysterious allure of the island would be gone. The fact that we get some but not all the answers makes it so we ourselves our not worthy of understanding it all and thus wouldnt be on jacobs list. It gives it a satisfying conclusion of knowing the big picture but not necessarily all the little nuanced pictures.

[@joshhunt4146]

One Buffalo I’m not religious and love the ending. I don’t think you need to be to understand it

[@kenw4976]

I have always thought the ending was right on. Jack saves the world and the woman he loves. What could be better?

[@drbvo9578]

Skater here: Jack did not love her, he controlled her. Just sayin'

[@DanY-gx2dv]

@@drbvo9578 Sawyer objectified her, disrespected her, and literally jumped out of a helicopter to get away from her. Juliet was the perfect partner for him. She helped him grow.

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

I watched Episode One of the series Lost. As I remember it, it opened on a beach, with the survivors of a plane crash. The camera panned around....and right there, washed up on the beach, was the jet airplane. A man walked passed it and was sucked up into the engine. BECAUSE THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING. AFTER THE PLANE CRASHED. INTO THE OCEAN. THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING!!! R U N N I N G I never watched that show again.

[@user-hu9vi7nk1l]

That's like giving up on a book because of a typo. It's a really good story, I suggest giving it another chance

[@vernonwilmervideo]

This writer speaks so convoluted, I still don't understand Lost. Great show though, fun journey.

[@eriolmos9634]

To me the ending wasn't necessarily bad, it was a bit too out there and kinda corny. It stayed true to the spirit of the show because it was weird dealing with them all being dead in purgatory, but just kinda laid an egg. Was too happy. Needed more deception and/or sadness to it.

[@escapetalks]

They should have handed the 2 final seasons of Lost to D&D from GoT

[@Strauss-]

"How do these characters remember things that never happened to them? The only logical explanaition is that they are in an afterlife" I... is it?

[@somebuddyX]

With Desmond it just seemed to me that his temporal awareness from the episode The Constant allowed him to see across alternate timelines. And I guess I thought he passed this on to the others somehow. It's been a while since I saw the finale so I'm not sure.

[@buggerall]

Yeah, precisely. For me the amazement throughout the series, especially the beginning was only interesting if there would be a just as amazing explanation for it. I should have known though. The fact that it all just got more weird throughout the series without even a hint at an explanation should have warned me they were just making it up as the went along and chances were they would drown in their own script. But the idea that the magic word would be God was completely foreign to me. It meant the Ultimate Cop Out.

[@xxxmelissatacionxxx]

I thought they were in a alternative reality which wasn't completely disconnected to their 'true reality' so finding out it was purgatory in the last episode was a great twist in my opinion. I thought it was intentional to be seen that way.

[@olgazadig4961]

Is he actually blaming the audience for the purgatory bullshit? We didn't write Prometheus script either!

[@quietearthMT]

The finale was emotionally satisfyingly and intellectually unsatisfying.....

[@diluteduk]

Lost got worse with every season. Loved season 1, but they just kept asking more questions than they answered.

[@gabrielgomes4228]

I love the ending of the show and I think the bad reputation it has is absolutely unfair.

[@Michael-rv5ib]

Lost is my favorite show ever and the ending was PERFECT. Only Lost and The Sopranos impacted me so much.

[@ericmiller254]

Lost is the epitome of shallow writing pretending to be deep..... Go watch Babylon 5....infinitely better plot People who love lost have no taste

[@EnglishMike]

@@ericmiller254 I loved Babylon 5 when it first came out, but it hasn't aged well. For me, Farscape has stood the test of time much better, and has some quality writing.

[@brianlaudrupchannel]

I think the original idea was they were all dead but because people worked that out really early then they did a test on that idea

[@kuhpunkt]

It was not the original idea. Why do you think that?

[@brianlaudrupchannel]

@@kuhpunkt because there's no way the original idea was to make side flashes

[@kuhpunkt]

@@brianlaudrupchannel Yeah, it was not. Lindelof literally said that they came up with the idea of the flash sideways later. What does that have to do with anything?

[@brianlaudrupchannel]

@@kuhpunkt because that's what the end episode was

[@kuhpunkt]

@@brianlaudrupchannel But what does that have to do with any original idea?!

[@PresidentialWinner]

They made it too confusing.

[@Countfoscolikesmice]

I guess. But they INSISTED that Purgatory wasn't part of the storyline.

[@_kaushin1540]

No. They insisted the ISLAND was not purgatory. And it wasn't.

[@joshhunt4146]

And technically purgatory wasn’t a part of it aswell. Purgatory is a place full of suffering for sinners who are making amends for what they did on earth before they ascend to heaven. The flash sideways wasn’t that. It was a place that the characters made together in their subconscious so they could all meet up and move on together.

[@greyeyed123]

@@joshhunt4146 And from a narrative standpoint, I think it was extremely courageous to create a meta-narrative where you could examine the characters' growth from a slightly different point of view. It may not have worked entirely as well as they wanted it to, but I think Juliet was right: "It worked."

[@YouTw1tFace]

Fans: they’re not all dead right? Writers: no Also writers: Well, they ARE dead in the side-ways timeline. So, yes they are all dead in the end.

[@kuhpunkt]

What's your point?

[@diamonddave2622]

LOST was a dog's breakfast of a tv show. Potentially great storytelling corrupted by writers being forced to paint themselves into corners by an overbearing network, who saw dollar signs rather than the artistic vision of the shows creators.

[@kuhpunkt]

what

[@Michael-gf2dy]

I really liked the ending, it was all about the characters and their spiritual journey. LOST is to TV what Iron Maiden is to Heavy Metal. The show was insanely influental. Shows like Dark would not exist today without LOST.

[@freakinflax]

As much as I loved the show and the finale, I felt anger towards the flash sideways. Not a fan, do not like the bait and switch, and it was a waste of time. Cool for the characters and I’m sure fun for the actors, but it just seemed unnecessary

[@moretac]

EXACTLY!!!!

[@user-hu9vi7nk1l]

I agree the show was a masterpiece of cinema and I've watched the whole show 10 times but I always skip the flashsideways scenes

[@miralabualjadail4206]

Still my favourite show of all time! Nothing will ever beat it.

[@janemarinelli2838]

Loved Lost and really loved the ending. I’ve see it several times and I sob every time❤️😢❤️

[@AAWien]

they always claimed that the show wouldnt be resolved with purgatory...liars, liars..

[@AdamPOpens]

I mean, technically they just kept saying that the Island wasn't purgatory and they didn't all die in the plane crash, which is perfectly true...

[@totemworlds]

I actually loved the ending too! Lots of mysteries went unresolved but I think the character development was really great

[@pandycious]

A character "arc" is not screenwriter speak, Damon. lol

[@GodParticleZero]

The ending was incredible. I think people got too hung up on the mysteries of the island and forgot that it was a journey of the characters

[@Dapryor]

👍👍

[@natraid]

kevin jones the mysteries of the island are exactly what kept the public interest alive, together with the affection for the characters, and I believe that the audience after so many years deserved some more explanation. Anyway, I love Lost.

[@TheJosep70]

Yeah right... They advertised it as the story of the survivors of a plane crash who were being chased by a monster. That's the reason why I started watching, not a Lord of the Flies-type drama.

[@peterpuetz3188]

LOST started it all. All the great, high quality shows with epic writing today. LOST started it.

[@klausgartenstiel4586]

well, if i heard a certain fan theory over and over, i would deliberately *not* go for that. i would at least only riff on it, with some sort of twist. but then, i like to strive after originality. that's my thing. other artists might strive after other things, and that's okay.

[@LiesandPolitics]

That’s exactly what he did lol

[@eshwarkandari6396]

Did Juliet forgot her son and Jack in new life and moved with Sawyer just like that?? Jack's son disappeared at the end out of nowhere. I could list these kind of flaws on and on.. the writers ND directors were completely clueless on dis show plot. At the end this is an utter nonsense show.

[@x-man9473]

Yet you came back to comment about it. What does that say about how you spend your life?

[@x-man9473]

@@eshwarkandari6396 "get a life" You might wanna repeat that in front of a mirror. I'm a fan of Lost. It makes sense that I would be here reading comments and calling out dumb ones (like yours). What's your excuse for being on a tv show that you supposedly hate? You sound like an emotional ex lover trying to get revenge on your ex. pathetic. lol

[@x-man9473]

@@eshwarkandari6396 So you talked in a circle. You still haven't explained what motivated you to go to a video and comment about a tv show that you supposedly hate-a show that's been off air for 10 years. lol

[@kuhpunkt]

lol

[@imnodog]

Finally, from a writers mouth, we were tricked. Something I've been saying forever now only to get blasted by Lost fanboys and girls.

[@kuhpunkt]

Tricked?

[@imnodog]

@@kuhpunkt bro, this comment is 3 years old, I don't even know on what I was commenting.

[@kuhpunkt]

@@imnodog "Finally, from a writers mouth, we were tricked. Something I've been saying forever now only to get blasted by Lost fanboys and girls." is what you commented.

[@imnodog]

@@kuhpunkt I'm aware, I can read, but there's no context without watching the video😂

[@SuperManbearp1g]

Not enough people are familiar with a great, tidy explanation of the show that's been floating around: The changing forms of the Monster, all of the strange supernatural visions (even the nightmares, even Scary Walt), the Whispers, and especially the Purgatory, are all caused by a quality of the island that's hinted at in the show (by Ben and Locke) as "the Magic Box," where anyone who's been to the Island, living or dead, (but mostly Jacob, since he's the Protector) project their repressed subconscious desires and traumas into the electromagnetism and unknowingly cause everything supernatural that's happening, since the island is capable of bending/breaking any law of nature via "electromagnetism." The flashbacks are the actual answers, because they explain the repressed and unresolved feelings that are unconsciously causing the unexplained supernatural nonsense that escalates as the show goes (because they're becoming more and more traumatized). Jacob killed his brother (his dead body was shown and even entombed) and the Monster always existed, as a part of the island, it's natural security/defense system, but Jacob projected the lingering guilt from the murder onto the Monster/Island and it eventually lost itself in the Man in Black identity, just like it lost itself in Locke's identity over the course of season 6.

[@joshhunt4146]

The perfect finale!

[@MendelFilms]

I don't care what anyone says. 95% of the people who hated the ending didn't understand it. To me, it was surprising, rewarding, moving and brilliant. Its the only show's ending I've ever cried for (more like wept.) It's extremely frustrating to hear people shit on it and they say "tHeY wErE dEaD tHe wHoLe tImEeEeEeEeE." If you cant sit still and pay attention, then you don't have any say in judging the show. It's especially prevalent in this streaming/binging generation. I first watched Lost start to finish on cable from the moment it first aired, to its finale, back when we had to wait weeks and years, and digest each episode slowly and spent countless hours/days/years speculating and theorizing. This current generation flies through shows in days without giving them a second thought. That removes so much of the special charm and power of the show, but to no fault of the show itself. I love it, and I am glad to have witnessed it. And will rewatch it forever.

[@greyeyed123]

The haters were, and have been, more vocal. But I searched every internet poll in the days after the finale, and ALL of them had a majority of "very satisfied/satisfied"--and remember, this was after six years of even rabid fans like me thinking they couldn't pull it off, that they'd never be able to steer this unwieldy story to a conclusion. And they DID pull it off, at least for me, and a majority of those who watched it during its first airings.

[@ericmiller254]

What? People understood it, the difference is most people care about plot You can't make this facade of this ultra complex story then try to wrap it up with some deus ex machina revelation. You need to see those plot lines through. Did you think the GoT ending was good too? lol Another great example of overly ambitious writing in earlier seasons that became unmanageable and shit by the end.

[@EJD339]

Lost wasn’t perfect but it led to the leftovers which is my favorite show of all time.

[@izetyusein3323]

I loved the Leftovers from beginning to end. Unfortunately, unlike Lost, The Leftovers wasn't very popular, and it barely received any Emmy nominations, which pisses me off.

[@rullangaar]

Forced myself to watch the final season. I still can’t get over that the Hollywood version of Purgatory was the best a bunch of creative people could come up with. It sucked. Nowadays I tend to avoid Lindelof.

[@eugkra33]

When someone asks you a question about a show/series they really tell you what they want. I've suspected this all along. Writers just steal fan theories and make it the story. Same thing with like the Zelda timelines theories for Nintendo. Everyone acting like there is some grand plan. They are just making shit up as fans tell them their own ideas.

[@nas9163]

All in all They made us get attached to this show by putting the simplest thing that draws the human beings attention it is the mysterious and exciting and unexplained stuff that seems cool and in a way relatable but in reality they made us lose precious time. How long was one lost episode, take 1 episodes length and multiple it with all the remaining episodes That's how much minutes of Your life you and I have LOST Those minutes we could do alot of useful stuff like spending time with loved ones and doing good deeds so your scale in the hereafter will tip over to the side whereas your good deeds overwhelmes your bad deeds It is not those in the plane that were Lost in this show It is truly us that are Lost...

[@Maalstrom]

Excellent explanation.

[@_kaushin1540]

In my personal opinion LOST had the best ending to a show ever. Let the haters hate.

[@CyclonChick]

_ kaushin agreed. I love it to this day

[@jpetersgoyanks]

It’s kinda pointless to click on this video if you don’t at least agree that the ending is great. While I agree with the sentiment of your statement I personally, wouldn’t call it the best ending ever. It’s close, but it’s hard to pin that down to one show. I also believe endings are overrated and that the greatness of content is in the whole and not just the end.

[@hinglemccringleberry7265]

You're kinda hating on the people who didn't like the end. I actually like what David is describing in this about the bardo but what we got was much more a christiany purgatory than a buddhist concept in any way - kind of like the mormon version of heaven in south park. But at the same time it sounds to me that their souls got melted into one big soul. Otherwise why would anybody enter the bardo not alone?

[@drmann9886]

It's not haters. It's people who loved the show indeed.

[@DMichaelAtLarge]

We don't hate it because we're haters. We hate because it sucks. But I'm sure your simplistic mind can't wrap itself around that concept, so you just have to call everyone that disagrees with you a hater.