[mousepod]

I agree with iSm.

Additionally, the more I think about the LOST finale (and the other recent pieces of mass entertainment that have pissed me off), I've been wondering why it is that I have such a negative reaction. For me, it's not just that the writing was sloppy or that questions were left unanswered.

I've come to a fuzzy conclusion that the reason that I have such a viscerally negative reaction to the way the show wrapped up was because of the philosophy that was finally revealed at the end. The people who enjoyed the ending have tended to argue that it was "all about the characters" and "love is the constant". That's all nice, and is probably why my initial reaction was that I felt somewhat emotionally satisfied, if intellectually troubled. I admit it, I'm a softie. Show me the dog at the end lie down next to the dying hero, and my heart strings are tugged.

However, like iSm said, the story isn't real life - it's a construct. What bothers me is that the show was set up as a mystery - with the undercurrent of Science vs. Fate. The producers promised (as late as season 5) that there was a scientific explanation for the mysteries of the Island. Even if the explanation was sci-fi mumbo-jumbo, that would have been OK with me. Instead, all of science and logic were tossed out in favor of a conservative Christian message on a feel good "all people go to heaven" Sunday School level. If the "real" Locke was a "man of faith", and Jack was initially a "man of science", then the message of the show is that "faith wins", because in the final season when Jack becomes the man of faith, the "Locke" that argues for reason is the show's embodiment of evil. If, by the show's logic, the opposite of faith is science, then science is evil. Scary subtext.

Throughout the entire sixth season, the producers have said that the "flash-sideways" is "real", not an "alternate reality". So the finale basically said that "science can't solve life's mysteries" and "the religious concept of an afterlife is real". That's the kind of message that chills me to the bone.

I know it's only my opinion, and I know it's not going to be a popular one... but I think that's why I'm bummed out. Fans of the ending say it's about the people and relationships. I think it was about god and religion.