I both loved and hated the final episode of Lost, which is arguably one of the most well-made and thought provoking shows ever on television. I’m left with a sense of satisfaction with the completed character arcs, and dissatisfaction due to the answers the show provided for the mysteries it raised.

I’m not in the camp that the ending of the show disregarded the answers – I think that they answered the questions that were raised, however it seemed to fall short on the creativity scale for me. I would have preferred and ending whereby Jacob’s goal was accomplished… in the mythology of Lost, Hurley was the incorruptible soul, so to me it would make sense that all the characters would pay for their sins and Hurley would emerge as the human reset button on depravity, taking on the role of redeeming humanity.

Of course, as a follower of Christ, there is only one Redeemer, and maybe this is why the writers of the show chose to avoid that storyline. Ultimately the story isn’t about redemption of mankind, but about redeeming the characters in the show.

The fact that they completed their redemption in the afterlife is reminiscent of recycled paganistic religion or even the construct of purgatory that everyone seems to be comparing the alternate reality to, but don’t mistake the warm fuzzy reunion for an accurate picture of the afterlife. Rather, use it as a starting point for a conversation about the afterlife.

Lost was and is my favorite show on television – it will be a long time before someone tops it and I really do appreciate how the finale honored the journey of each of the characters that we’ve come to know so well over the last 6 years. What’s better is the fact that we have a show that explored themes of the divine and of humanity and has provided us with a great platform to talk about the Gospel.

Here’s a great review by James Harleman, a pastor at Mars Hill church relating to the themes of Lost. You can see more of his reviews at cinemagogue.com.