2.0 out of 5 stars
Lost - Season 6 [DVD]
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2014
Anyone who has watched the previous five series will find this season a must have. Since the start of season 1 all we really wanted to know is does anyone make it off the island alive, back to their loved ones. You would expect the final series to explain if so, how, and if not, then what became of them. This final series fails to answer these basic questions. In fact many questions remain unanswered at the end of the final series, such as:
Why did Jacob lure people to the island rather than just select a successor from those that have arrived there;
Why did Widmore want to capture Linus, after all, he didn't really need him to achieve his aim - to destroy the island;
Why did Widmore want to destroy the island and why did he send a death squad that time?
What actually did happen to the survivors of the oceanic flight? Did they actually finally make it off the island?
Why isn't Daniel Faraday known as Daniel Widmore?
Exactly how are Widmore and Daniel's mother involved with the Dharma Initiative, given that they are descendants of the Black Rock shipwreck survivors ("others")?
Why did Daniel's mother believe it necessary to send him to his death?
What was the mysterious infection that was rumoured to kill survivors?
Why did the others kidnap pregnant mothers and kill them?
This final series fails to answer any of these questions, but just leaves you with more. I enjoyed the whole saga but, for me, it started to go downhill with the introduction of time travel. The problem appears to be that different writers and directors were used for different episodes, resulting in an inconsistent approach to development. I believe that at least another one or two episodes were needed to wrap the series up in the fashion it deserved. This final series is short and really does give the impression that the writers were under great pressure to bring the final series to an end sharpish, in order to meet an unrealistic pre-determined deadline. Perhaps that was down to constraints on resources, such as available finances, or perhaps there were other commitments that required resources. Whatever the case, this ending is far from satisfactory, it is as though those responsible thought "will it do? If so, then that's good enough - just get it done: it'll sell regardless (as people want to see the end)". The acting is as good as ever, and that is the only saving grace for this final series.
*SPOILER ALERT*
Until this series, we were led to believe that there was a parallel universe where the survivors we know had never crashed on the island in the first place but somehow retained - deep in their subconscious - memories of events at the island following the crash. That never really made sense. However, this final series leads you to believe that the parallel universe is not a parallel universe but is in fact a kind of purgatory - one where people don't realise they are dead until someone (such as Jack's dad) tells them. In order to leave purgatory (which they all do in the end, as they exit a church-like building, walking toward a dazzling bright light), all the survivors are required to come together under the same roof. So, in the end, nobody survives. However, the way many of the survivors died in order to come together at the end in purgatory is not explained. This is, perhaps, my biggest gripe! After all, the last time we saw most of them, they had survived Lock's and Widmore's attempts to destroy the island and had decided to stay and live out the remainder of their lives there.
Some atheist or anti-Christian reviewers have perceived some aspects of this saga, such as the church-like building, or the whole purgatory-like phenomenon annoying, just because they perceive the presence of these aspects as forcing Christian perceptions on ignorant viewers - polluting their minds - or as just plain uncreative, unoriginal script writing. I have some sympathy with the latter opinion. However, it is worth mentioning that, if you are observant, you will note that the church-like building is crammed with symbolism that represents many of the major faiths of the world, including Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism (those are just the ones I noticed).
Summary:
A great disappointment - sub-par in comparison to all that had gone before. However, still a must have for those that have followed the series. If you have never watched a single episode, then don't waste your time on any of the series, as the ending really is such a bodged disappointment. :(
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