Here it is: LOST

I'm not really going to recap the episode, many others will do that, I'm sure. I'll say that I liked it, loved it, even, and leave it at that. I am actually really surprised at all the negative reactions, but I suppose that's neither here nor there. Instead I'll just do what I normally do and talk about me, me me.

I wouldn't have even watched this show had it not been for my brother. Back in 2005, he told me he had just seen a show that he really thought I'd like, a show that was very much like The Twilight Zone. When he told me it was LOST, I really was doubtful. So many people I knew were watching and professing their love and admiration for it, but no one I felt that was on my wavelength, media-wise. I hated television, especially network programs, I detested chick flicks and had nothing but contempt for mainstream media. But Charlie and I used to watch the old Twilight Zones back when they were on at ten on channel nine; it was one of the rare things I remember about living out at the farm (this was from about 1981 to 1986). And once we moved to town, Charlie, Erica, and I would watch Talky Tina, Marsha the Mannequin, and Gunther Lutze at Dachau with all the passion and fervor most snotty punks reserved for "Saved by the Bell." Part of what I treasure about The Twilight Zone was the connection it holds to my brother and my father (who died when I was 20) and part of it was the writing and storytelling of Rod Serling, Charles Beaumont, and Richard Matheson. Most girls don't read these guys. Yeah, well, most girls haven't seen Dirty Harry, either.

Every season of LOST brought a different spin on themes and elements Rod Serling gave to his show; LOST became almost like a treasure hunt, looking for little nuances here and there, a stage setting (Jack behind the bars in Hydra Island ala Roddy McDowell), a random plot twist (Nicki and Paulo, buried alive with the diamonds), or a literary reference ("Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce). Themes of struggle, isolation, betrayal, good and evil. For me, this was one, big, six-year-long Valentine to everything I loved and remembered about my own experiences watching television as a child. There are a million nods to a million other things that I've enjoyed over the years inside this show, and as someone who loves stories and writing, I am impressed. Very impressed.

If you've lost a parent, you might feel the same way I do about the ending; if you've lived your life in the shadow of someone else or struggled to gain someone's approval (and failed), it will probably strike a deeper chord. All I wanted this entire show, was for Christian and Jack to reconcile, and for there to be hope.

I got everything I wanted.