# LOST 6.17 "The End" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 23, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459 "2010-05-23T15:16:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Jester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jester/32/8223_2.png) [@Jester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jester)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/181 "2010-05-24T03:53:37Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > And what was afterlife-Ben planning to do? just hang around and enjoy the not-quite-Heaven for a bit? My thought was that, being the person with the most to reckon for (he’d done a lot of bad stuff), he didn’t quite feel “worth” moving on yet. That’s why Locke’s forgiveness and Hurley’s compliment really did mean so much to him: they let him get that much closer. Hopefully when he gets there, Alex will show up. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/182 "2010-05-24T03:55:45Z")
Ok. We should tally up the endings for the cast, cause now as I see it desmond goes on to live out his life on the island and never gets to see penny while alive, but meets her in the afterlife after they both die I suppose. Sad ending for him. Katelives out her life without Jack and she mentions that she was waiting a long time for, so she probably dies an old woman. Who else gets a crummy ending? Also where are Michael and walt? ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/183 "2010-05-24T03:56:11Z")
Hmmm I took from it that Hurley used his new “Jacob” powers to create a spot where everyone who wanted to could reunite one last time. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/184 "2010-05-24T03:56:22Z")
I don’t get it. So after all of that time thinking he was on an island, he escapes by simply jumping on a bus and he ends up in London? And howcium he was wearing an ape mask? a fine way to tie up a wonderful, thoughtful, and creative series – with a bunch of nonsensical metaphysical gibberish! And why is it that Sam didn’t get to Leap back Home? ---
**Author:** ![Kylede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a6a055/32.png) [@Kylede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kylede)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/185 "2010-05-24T03:56:40Z")
[quote=“Rumor\_Watkins, post:173, topic:540459”] I would still like closure on how Eloise knew all that shizzle about the island in the “real timeline” QUOTE] She knew that they were dead. And she didn’t want Des messing up her “happily ever after” heaven - Her, married to Charles, with Daniel, all happy. But Des realized he had to bring that realization to all the island people, so that the people they impacted the most, and who impacted them the most could all “move-on” together. Pay attention the the stained glass window behind Jakc in the scene with the empty coffin. Cresent moon, STar of David, a Cross, a Yin-Yang, A wheel, and a Hindu symbol (i think). Take all the therioes of the afterlife, and mash them up and maybe, just ,maybe you get something like this!!! Remember this was not a show about the island at all…it was a show about people, it just happened on an Island. The ending was not about the island, it was about the people who spent some time there. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/186 "2010-05-24T03:56:53Z")
> [@Monstre](#): > > You mean the wreckage scene when the credits were rolling. I just took that as a “here’s a visual reminder of what started it all, now that we’re rolling the credits and the whole series is over”, nothing more. I didn’t take the visual of the credits to be part of the actual ending or meaning of the end of the story. > > How I saw it: > > - The handful of people got off the island on Ajira 316, and lived out their lives back on the mainland. For example, Claire got reunited with her baybay, Aaron. Kate helped. Lapidus did some more piloting. Most of them probably lived for a good while longer. > > - Hurley took over as the protector of the island, with Ben as his second. Hurley probably lived for many many many more years. Perhaps he eventually passed the torch onto a new protector. Who knows how long. > > - Jack dies of his wounds on the island. The last thing he sees is Ajira having just taken off and flying away overhead – he’s happy, knowing his friends made it off the island. Vincent lies next to him as he expires (dogs are good people). > > - Rose and Bernard happily live out their lives on the island, not getting involved. > > - Eventually everybody dies. Some already (Jin, Sun, Locke…). Some much later (Kate, Claire, Hurley). “Everyone dies sometime, kiddo. Some of them before you, some of them long after you,” said Christian Shepherd. “There is no ‘now’ here”. > > - ALT reality was not created by the bomb or by the island sinking, and it’s not a parallel reality (and never was). It’s a personal afterlife (or start thereof) our characters created for themselves – probably through how they wished for their lives to be (to some extent) if there had been no plane crash – and as Christian said, where their souls could find each other before moving on. Or perhaps the Afterlife Waiting Room (as somebody else said). Change ATL to AWR. This is how I saw it as well. Loved the episode by the way, but I’ve always been a sap. ---
**Author:** ![C3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/c3/32/3108_2.png) [@C3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C3)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/187 "2010-05-24T03:57:52Z")
> [@Jihi](#): > > I have to concur. The ghost story where they all have to be told that they died seems to make the most sense. > > I’m satisfied with the ending but I’m still open to reading other interpretations. I’m satisfied, too, but I think I’m right ;). ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/188 "2010-05-24T03:57:53Z")
Question: What was the significance of Jack watching the plane flying off the island at the end? In the cockpit were Frank, Richard, Miles and Ben. Ben appeared to have an awakening in the ATL but the other three didn’t. And that’s not even taking into account those in the passenger section. Is that important? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/189 "2010-05-24T03:58:44Z")
Where was ROUSSEAU? She wasn’t mentioned in the talky 2 hour pre-finale show, she wasn’t in the finale, Alex wasn’t in the finale. Does that mean she (and Alex) are still alive? Aren’t they going into the Great Beyond with the others? Or are they going to hell??? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/190 "2010-05-24T03:58:30Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Everything that happened on the island really happened. In the end, Hurley and Ben stayed behind to protect it (for a very long time, judging by Christian’s comments) and Sawyer, Kate, et al left. What happened to them? Who knows. The flash-sideways was their afterlife. The bomb had nothing to do with it. Daniel was right all along, “What happened, happened.” > > I am completely satisfied and happy. And I’ll leave this thread so as not to get bogged down in negativity. Yes, this is what I understood as well. Nothing in the Sideways-timeline actually happened, that was the Afterlife and that’s why they all had better lives & were happier than in the Island timeline. The Island timeline is the “real” one. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/191 "2010-05-24T03:59:02Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > Ok. We should tally up the endings for the cast, cause now as I see it desmond goes on to live out his life on the island and never gets to see penny while alive, Ben and Hurley’s last little discussion implied that they would find a way for Desmond to leave. I like to think that he took his sailboat home. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/192 "2010-05-24T04:00:16Z")
I just realized Richard wasn’t in purgatory, either. Does he not get a happy ending? ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/193 "2010-05-24T04:00:56Z")
When Kate sees Jack at the concert and touches his face, she says something like, “I’ve really missed you.” I get this to mean that Jack died on the island as shown, and she died much later. ETA: Oh, and maybe Ben didn’t go inside when Hurley asked because he’s not going to the same place they all are. Maybe he’s going to…the other place. ---
**Author:** ![Klif](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Klif](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klif)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/194 "2010-05-24T04:00:59Z")
> [@Jihi](#): > > Question: What was the significance of Jack watching the plane flying off the island at the end? In the cockpit were Frank, Richard, Miles and Ben. Ben appeared to have an awakening in the ATL but the other three didn’t. And that’s not even taking into account those in the passenger section. > > Is that important? Jihi, you missed something, I think. The airplane contained Lupi, Dick, Miles, Kate, and Claire! Edit: and sawyer! ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/195 "2010-05-24T04:01:16Z")
I guess Eko, Anna Lucia, Walt, Michael, Nikki & Paulo, et al don’t merit the afterlife? (OK, so Nikki & Paulo don’t…) Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/196 "2010-05-24T04:01:27Z")
Another question: if the sideway flashes were the aft life waiting room, then what the hell was the alternate lives they led when they first left the island? Did that actualy happen? Was it a failed attempt at meeting in the afterlife? ---
**Author:** ![Klif](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Klif](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klif)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/197 "2010-05-24T04:02:02Z")
> [@Klif](#): > > Jihi, you missed something, I think. > > The airplane contained Lupi, Dick, Miles, Kate, and Claire! and sawyer. ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/198 "2010-05-24T04:04:01Z")
My favorite thing about all this is that when a dying Juliet said “it worked” in the season opener, it turns out she was not referring to the bomb but rather a candy bar. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/199 "2010-05-24T04:04:02Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > Another question: if the sideway flashes were the aft life waiting room, then what the hell was the alternate lives they led when they first left the island? Did that actualy happen? Was it a failed attempt at meeting in the afterlife? I was just thinking the same thing. I say it was real; they left the island and returned. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459/200 "2010-05-24T04:04:35Z")
Who all was on the island anyway, at the end? Hurley was the protector, Ben 2nd in command, Rose and Bernard, and Vincent the Dog? Were there any stray Others that needed Hurley’s protection. What??? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-6-17-the-end/540459.md?page=11)