Revisiting the Lost series finale 14 years later: Is it really a bad ending?

There are bad endings, good endings, and the ever-so-often debatable endings, depending on where your opinion lies. ABC's Lost falls under the latter category since its finale somewhat confused its fans. This was due to its assumed dissolution of the mythology built up over the years, and the more fantastical ending contradicted it.

After rewatching Lost, and following its return on Netflix, analyzing the core moments and astonishing, well-developed characters, and channeling through "The End," there's an underlying message to the overall thesis of Lost and its lore. Despite surviving the horrific crash of Oceanic 815, battling the island's mysterious elements, and even transporting off the island and returning to the ordinary world. Through a tragedy, hope and unity could come forward and bring people together at the end, as the survivors, and those who passed on before the finale's events, all had a connection.

Why the Lost finale wasn't a bad ending after fourteen years

While we understand "The End" tossed nearly every fan theory and equation out the window, the finale was also a well-written and directed composition that offered emotional closures, including the one between Dr. Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox) and his deceased father (John Terry), and the joyous expressions of Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yunjin Kim) and her husband, Jin-Soo (Daniel Dae Kim) when their daughter is revealed through the ultrasound. In the past, Jin-Soo's infertility was a barrier to pregnancies, and seeing what he and his wife created on the monitor only made the life-changing moment more special.

Through the flash-sideways technique, the characters reconnect their former lives on the island with their present ones, leading to everyone meeting in the Afterlife. The church symbolizes all walks of faith, as the passengers worshipped differently, but the one thing they had in common was the island, considered the "most important time of everyone's lives."

This whole time, the term lost wasn't just used as a descriptor to define the survivors of Oceanic 815 but utilized in a metaphorical spirit for the survivors to discover a higher purpose in life following the crash. Their souls were "lost" prior to the accident and on the island, and through a series of obstacles and seeking what's truly important, the characters managed to find a semblance of peace.

And whether that be from Desmond's (Henry Ian Cusick) doing with his work with "The Heart of the Island," or their own realizations, it remains a mystery, or perhaps it's a combination of both.

In essence, the characters weren't dead while inhabiting the island, nor were they "in limbo." Everything that occurred on that mysterious island was real and therefore led to some of the best character developments on television, and creating narrative scenarios that still hold light today. I especially enjoyed Hugo's (Jorge Garcia) as he went from the "underdog" who provided comedic relief when instances turned into a near-despair, to finally being the Protector of the Island. Somehow, his easy, free-spirit personality combined with this life-changing responsibility suited him.

Then, you paired Hugo with Ben (Michael Emerson), the island's most notorious villain, who became the second protector in command. How's that for a plot twist?

As for the religious take of the series, I consider myself a spiritual person who accepts science, but the question of "What happens when our time has come to cross over?" has remained an open discourse. Will we get to have love, peace, and the end of our suffering when we do? Or will it just be a void, erased from life, unless our descendants can pass down memories and achievements?

We may not get the answers to these questions, but Lost did a good job of interpreting them. After all, everyone had their own share of pain and suffering on the series, and regardless what acts they've committed or their own personal battles, they deserve a happy ending.

Including Ben.

All six seasons of Lost are currently streaming on Netflix.