LOST & Battlestar Galactica Finales

This post is long overdue. One good excuse is that these phenomenal shows are very dense and require a great deal of processing...yeah, that's it, I was processing. The delay has certainly not been because I was watching other things, like Buffy and Angel...

Anyways! Both were quite excellent. There isn't really anything left to say about them. Haha! Okay, that was a joke. Get it? Because there's lots left to say. I seriously dropped the ball on LOST reporting during the last half of the season. I had wanted to try moving from the realm of "recap" into that of "commentary," but then became too intimidated by the task. After all, in a show like LOST, trying to explain what you think things mean results in your being wrong a great majority of the time. I don't tend to handle failure well... But for this finale post and for later seasons, I'm going to attempt to be a risk-taking writer because I find that to be the most interesting. In cases where my theories are completely off, I hope my readers will at least be able to admire my bold ideas. (Either that, or I'll go back and change what I wrote to make it seem like I knew the right answers all along.)

The finale, "There's No Place Like Home," left our characters with futures more uncertain than ever before. Jack, Kate, Aaron, Desmond, Sun, Hurley, and Sayid departed from the island by helicopter. My darling Sawyer heroically jumped out to lighten the load, but not before he kissed Kate and whispered something in her ear - a favor involving his daughter, Clementine, most likely. He swam back to the island (oh, bless the shirtless magic) where he joined Juliet in her Happy Hour. The freighter blew up, killing Michael. Jin was on the deck when the explosion occurred, but I suspect he survived and was blasted into the water, sucked into Ben's Great Island Move. With a great burst of light, the island disappeared, taking with it: Locke, the new leader of the Others; Charlotte, Miles, and Faraday; Juliet and Sawyer; and, hopefully, Jin. To what place (or time) the island went, we do not know. All we know is that off-island, the Oceanic Six have been going about their separate lives. None of them is happy. Jack is a depressed, alcoholic druggie with a lumberjack beard. Sayid's wife has been murdered, leading him to work as an assassin for Ben Linus. Hurley gets regular visits from dead people in his mental institution ("Checkmate, Mr. Eko."). Sun has become ruthless in her mission to avenge Jin's death. Kate had a nightmare with a foreboding message from Claire. All of them were visited by a man named Jeremy Bentham who told them that they had to return to the island. This turned out to be our man in the coffin from the Season 3 finale, none other than LOCKE. Ben came to see Jack to tell him that he had some ideas on how they could return to the island, but that everyone had to be brought back. This includes Locke, and obviously the Six, but who else? Possibly Walt. I doubt that helicopter pilot, Frank, would be required. I'm hoping that Desmond will not have to go. His reunion with Penny was the most beautiful resolution to the heartache I had been experiencing ever since "The Constant." He promised her that he would never leave her again. As much as I will miss Henry Ian Cusick, I want more than anything for him to stay where he belongs.

I have a feeling that next season is going to be very different, structure-wise, than it has been. Rather than flashbacks and flash-forwards, I think we will be alternating between the people who were left back on the island and those who have to find a way to return. It will certainly be interesting to see what Locke discovers about his precious island, and what would make him leave...

Battlestar Galactica. More like Battlestar FANTASTIC-A! The last two episodes of 4.0 had more depth and emotion than I have seen yet on this show. "The Hub," written by Buffy rock star Jane Espenson, followed the Cylon rebel bayship in its journey back to the resurrection hub. Roslin explored her responsibility as a leader to the rest of humanity. She finally allowed herself to feel the love that she had for Adama. D'Anna was unboxed and withheld her knowledge of the Final Five until they met back up with Galactica and the fleet. Cylons and humans worked together to attack and destroy the resurrection hub. In one swift blow, they laid the burden of mortality on all Cylons, now without the ability to download into new bodies. The finale, "Revelations," finally delivered on the promise that served as the show's mantra this half-season: "All will be revealed." D'Anna decided to hold Roslin and the rest of the human pilots hostage on the rebel bayship until the 4 Cylons in the fleet were released. Admiral Adama finally learned the truth about his best friend and was consumed with anger and grief. Lee, still serving as Acting President, had to figure out if he could rescue his people without risking the loss of the way to Earth. Tigh, Tyrol, and Anders followed the music in their heads to Starbuck's mysterious Viper, which now pointed the way to Earth. Lee and the humans made an agreement with D'Anna and the Cylons that they would all go their new home together. They didn't have to continue the lies and the manipulation: on Earth, they could start fresh. The problem, however, arose when they landed on the planet of their dreams to find destruction.

BSG returns sometime next year for its final 11 episodes. LOST returns in January for the 16 episodes of its fifth and penultimate season. I find it hard to believe that over the next two years, I will witness the conclusion of these masterpieces. Undoubtedly, my experience will be one of fulfillment and despair at the same time, for what could possibly take their place?