The end of Lost

(If you’re not up to date on Lost, don’t read this. Some spoilers ahead.)

A few months ago, I started watching Lost from the beginning. I had been interested in watching it for a while, but finally took the plunge one evening, starting the first episode on Netflix Watch Instantly. I became quite enthralled by it, occasionally watching three or four episodes a night.

I finally got caught up to the present airing just this past weekend- just in time to watch the next to last episode on Tuesday. And of course, the big series finale is tomorrow.

I’ve enjoyed the show a lot, for the most part. There were a few missteps along the way, and I honestly hated season 5 with all of its time travel stuff. I’ve found it really cool that, whether planned or not, the monster from the very beginning of the series is playing such an important role at the end. I would like to know more about the island and what’s up with the light, as well as more about Jacob, the Man in Black, and their mom.

But I’m honestly not sure if I’m going to get all of that. Despite having really loved the show, I’m quite afraid that we’re all going to be “Stephen Kinged.” That is, the ending will be like many of Stephen King’s endings. In The Stand, he spent hundreds of pages having a team of good guys trek across the country to fight the bad guys, only to have the “end” be a nuclear bomb going off accidentally, killing all involved. In the Dark Tower series, he spent seven whole books having Roland chase the tower, only to have him thrown back to the start of his quest once finding it and getting inside. Ultimately, King seems to be good at writing really good stories, just not particularly good at finishing them.

I’m worried that’s going to be the case for Lost. A wild ride, but with an ending that just doesn’t bring much closure. After Jack was “made to be like Jacob,” they could even have the show end with Jack basically taking the helm of the island, holding out against the monster indefinitely into the future, until he can pass the torch to someone else.

I hope that isn’t the case, and I hope that the finale answers most of the questions that have been left hanging. But I won’t be placing any bets…