Why I Will Always Love LOST

DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE FINALE. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE SHOW AND THE ENDING, SO DON'T SEND ME HATE MAIL IF I RUIN IT FOR YOU. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED, SUCKA.

I'm not going to break out into "I Will Always Love You" because 1) I am a horrible singer and 2) my cat and dog would probably seek revenge by killing me in my sleep. But, I seriously love LOST. And I always will.

I am a loyal TV watcher. Once I decide to watch a show, I very rarely quit it. I have this thing where I have to find out how it ends. It's kind of a sickness. If I quit a show, I will wonder what happened to the characters, but not usually enough to watch the episodes I missed to see what happened. I'll just ask someone who watches it. Or watch the finale on line.

With LOST, I was captivated by the very first, two hour episode. I never thought it was possible to survive a plane crash on an island. Did you see it? That plane tore apart in the air and managed to land on the tiniest sliver of land - and people managed to walk away? WHAT? HOW? At the end, with Charley saying, "Where are we?" I found myself asking the same question! I decided right then, I had to know where they were and if they would get back home - and after learning about the characters I wondered if they want to go home?

Season two, brought Benjamin Linus, who used the alias Henry Gale to get to the Oceanic survivors. Not one scene with him made me comfortable. And that was the beauty of that season.

But, even in those tough seasons (I'm looking particularly hard at you number three) where I thought LOST was, well, lost, I refused to give up. The little clues dropped each week HAD to mean something. Right? RIGHT? Who would just put numbers out there, making us memorize them and look for them in nearly every scene unless they meant something?

I hung in there even during the times I wasn't sure even the writers knew where the story was going. Then, when it was announced the show would end in 2010, I thought, "YAY! Now they'll bring it to a conclusion! Every episode will answer questions and lead up to the big ending!" I wasn't just hooked. If I was a fish, I would have jumped right into the boat and said, "Put me in the cooler! I'm going home with you!" Wait. Does that make me seem like a hooker? Because I'm not. Except with TV. 

Then came season 4. They finally got off the island - well six of them anyway. Why just six? And how could they keep such a secret forever?

I knew season 5 would take me on a crazy ride. FINALLY seeing Jacob and his connection to these people was mind-blowing. Not only did he cross their paths, he touched them. They had a reason to be on that plane and on that island. Season 6 was sure to explain that.

And it did. Mostly.

Sure, there are plenty of questions left. Why wasn't Ana Lucia "ready?" Where was Walt? What happened to Ecko? But this was the first time in a LONG time (and, friends, I watch a lot of TV so I think I'm qualified to say this) that I felt like I had closure. I was crying with every flashback - every moment these characters realized they were connected in a different time. About 45 minutes into the show, I was willing them all to connect! And while watching the happenings on the island, I was telling myself none of that mattered because they would all be together again. As each character made a connection, I felt relief. They did belong together. OK, so they were dead. And it took Jack's dad to explain that? I loved that any pain they had in life was resolved in their afterlife. Not just for the father and son, but for these characters. Any wrongs they had made before their time on the island had been made right. They were all on a level playing field. Happy. Content. Peaceful.

I'm not saying I want to die by crashing into an island. But if that is my fate, as long as there are people like those in this cast, this Oceanic bunch, I'll be OK. I'll be cranky because the humidity will not make my curls any where near as nice as Kate's (think more crazy Claire). Oh, and I hate being dirty, so that sand would really annoy me. And I don't love fish, so I guess I'd go vegan (unless there's a stash of Dharma candy somewhere, then that's mine and everyone else should just back off). And I am telling you, if people start shooting arrows at me, I will be beyond angry. But if I remember LOST, then I'll know that it will all work out. Just like it did for them.

So, thank you, LOST. I knew I'd always have questions after the very last show and I hope they're never answered. I'm happy with the two and a half hours you gave me. And I'll just assume that everyone winds up happy whenever it's their time to face the music.