The End

⚠️ Spoilers for final episode of Lost

If you are a language nerd, I highly recommend reading this. If you aren't, read at your own risk (though I still recommend it)

So start with some change of definitions to help with the final point.

Memory (n)- a knowledge of an event that happens at some point in time.

To member (v)- to have a memory .

Rememory (n)- a memory from before.

To remember (v)- to have a memory from the past. Literally, to member again.

So another made-up word, though not the central one of the post, is

To premember (v)- to have a memory from the future. Literally to member before.

And,

Prememory (n)- a memory from later

Take a minute and think about these words: parallel, paranormal, and parasite. They all have the prefix "para-" in common.

Parallel (adj)- lines alongside each other.

Paranormal (adj)- things happening alongside the normal.

Parasite (n)- an organism living alongside its host.

You may get what I'm thinking.

Para- (prefix) - alongside

Finally,

To paramember (v)- to have a memory from the present time or from a parallel universe. Literally, to member alongside.

Paramemory (n)- a memory from alongside.

In the final episode of Lost, this accounts for all the major characters in the alternate reality remembering, or in our new vocabulary paramembering, their Island lives.

Please tell me if that doesn't make sense.

I somehow got my grandparents in to lost, and when season 6 ends I just KNOW they'll be confused (understandably) so, how am I going to explain the flash-sideways without making them think they were dead the whole time?

When Oceanic Flight 815 crashed on the island, did the passengers really survive? The ending confused me a lot (as it did a lot of other people), and I was wondering what y’all thought. Personally I think that the island was a test that the passengers had to take in order to make it to heaven or hell.

SPOILER ALERT

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Alright you guys, I may only be 13, but I'm pretty smart when it comes to LOST and it's end! I wrote an essay on my opinion about what really happened, and here it is. Tell me what you think in the comments!

The End Of LOST Explained

By Hannah Sherrod

Almost everyone who has watched LOST has had one main question come to mind: “Were they dead the whole time?” The previous question is a lot like politics. Not one side is better than the other, and there is evidence to support each argument. Although, if someone were to really spend time on the subject, and analyze said evidence, most would come to my conclusion. That no- they were not dead the whole time. The following article includes the main reasons for how I can prove my theory. Every piece of evidence has come only from the show itself, and has no opinions of mine or others incorporated into the facts. So, sit back, get your Apollo bars, and enjoy the ride. But hold on to your brain cells, because if you don’t, you’ll get LOST…

First off, you should understand the real point of the flash-sideways realm. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the flash-sideways realm is when the flight 815 passengers landed in Sydney as expected. The plane never crashed, and no one knew each other as they did on the island. We were first introduced to this realm during season six. The flash-sideways realm of LOST was a confusing one, to say the least. Although, one main question comes into play: What was it, and did it really happen? Yes, it did happen, but later in every character’s life. The flash-sideways was the afterlife for each character. This realm was after the events of the island took place, and it did in-fact happen.

Almost every character had some sort of “awakening”. If they were dead the whole time, they wouldn’t have been able to be awoken from their past life. They wouldn’t be able to differentiate between their reality, and life on the island. Whether it was Hurley recognizing Libby, Sayid recognizing Shannon, or Desmond somehow already knowing they were in the afterlife, every character had some sort of awakening leading to all of them realizing they were dead. It just took a little push to get there. Think about when Desmond ‘helped’ Ben remember by beating him up on the hood of the car. Ben also had a mini awakening when Danielle told him he was the only father-figure Alex had, and that’s why she looked up to him. He even got teary-eyed, remembering what happened to her. The only thing different about his own awakening, and Desmond’s helpings was that he didn’t realize he was dead. Long story short, no one would remember their past life if they didn’t have one.

Another reason I can support my theory is the following: A person can’t die when already dead. Think about everyone who died on that island. Jack, Sayid, Jin, Sun, Charlie, Juliet, Michael, Shannon, Boone, Ana Lucia, Libby, Daniel, Charlotte, Ilana, Goodwin, Nikki, Paulo, even The Man In Black and Jacob, and not to mention everyone who died in The Purge. That’s a lot of people, and how could they have died in the afterlife? Two words: you can’t. If they were already dead, you can’t die twice. Now, some people may argue from Richard’s standpoint. Richard tried to kill himself on the island, and what happened? Nothing. So, people may think that’s proof, but let me tell you, it’s nothing more than a trick. Richard couldn’t die because of Jacob’s promise, not because he was already dead. Like I said, you can’t die twice. Some people could argue that the island was all purgatory. And when the characters died, they entered the final stage of the afterlife. Although, that could also be proved incorrect, which leads me on to my next point.

Dead people can’t travel back to the real world. Remember the whole season dedicated to our Losties return? Remember how everyone could see them, feel them, and celebrate their existence? That proves they didn’t die in the crash. Everyone could clearly see they were alive, and even the six people who returned had to lie to the press about the others not returning. Think about the lady interviewing the Oceanic Six just moments after they arrived in America. She talked to them, as well as everyone else asking them questions during their interview. Plus, remember Hugo? Hugo interacted with his mother and father just fine after he returned, and so did almost every one of the characters. If they can travel back and forth through a real boat, and a real raft, they aren’t dead. So what about The Others? The others weren’t dead either. If they were, the people from 815 wouldn’t be able to see them, or interact with them. The whole island, and the journey back was 100% real. It all happened, it just happened in a confusing way. Lies turned to truths, and pretty soon, the viewers couldn’t remember the real story because the creators were so good at their craft.

The viewers will also clearly remember the church scene at the end of the season six finale. Now that I’ve cleared up the confusion about one of the greatest mysteries of LOST, what about the final mystery? What about the church? What’s with all the characters, and are they dead in the church scene? Why didn’t Ben go in with everyone else?

Now this is the tricky part, and this is when it gets confusing. Luckily, I’ve figured it out, so, stick around. Now, if you’re wondering if the characters were all dead in the final scene, you’d be right. The final scene of LOST was not the present, which is a unique style of writing. The final scene was in the future; and whether it was only a minute in the future or 2,000 years, it was still the future. As you’ll remember, Ben and Hurley both were the official protectors of the island during The End. They both drank from the river, therefore making it official. Jacob and Richard, the past protectors, both seemed to never age. So, was that the same for Ben and Hurley? Probably. And that’s why it had to be longer in the future during the church scene, because both Ben and Hurley were dead, along with everyone else. Time probably doesn’t matter in the afterlife, so that’s why Jack, Boone, Ben, Hurley, and everyone else felt like everyone got there the same time. So yes, they were all dead during the church scene. Now, for everyone out there saying to themselves, “Wait, my favorite character who survived the end actually did die?” I feel you. Yes, everyone was dead during the church scene, but every person dies sooner or later. And, like I said, whether it be a minute in the future, or 2000 years, we don’t know.

Now there’s the mystery of Benjamin Linus. This is when it gets interesting. Lots of people would wonder why Ben didn’t join everyone at the end in the church. There could be many reasons, but here are the main ones:

1. Ben couldn’t let go quite yet. There is a good possibility he joined them later in the church, but at that current time, he couldn’t let go of his past. He probably felt he didn’t belong with everyone else because of all he did in his past life, so he stayed a while until he was comfortable forgetting his past.

2. He wanted to spend time with Alex. We all remember that tear-jerker of a scene when Ben let Martin Keamy kill his adoptive daughter, Alex. Since this was the afterlife, Ben probably knew Alex would be there, and he probably wanted to apologize to her for what he’d done. That also would probably be one way he could let go. By understanding and knowing that Alex forgave him.

3. Ben was always the outsider. Ever since Season Two Episode 14, Benjamin Linus has been the odd one out. If he was always like that during his life on the island, maybe the writers wanted to continue it through the very last scene. No one ever truly accepted Ben as ‘one of them’ except maybe Hugo Reyes. So, during the church, it was no different.

After I explained everything about the end and the church, there’s something to be recognised. LOST was aired a little more than ten years ago. Can you believe it? Ten years ago, we met Jack, Kate, Hurley, Sawyer and many more characters we’ve all grown to love. Whether it be a character like Hurley that no one could ever hate, or a character like Benjamin Linus; so complex, so evil, yet so lovable; every character from LOST has it’s lovers and haters, and no one can deny the show’s complexity and gripping episodes, keeping everyone coming back for more. LOST has changed TV in a way not many shows have before. The lovable characters, the mysterious hatch, and so many more things kept its viewers loving every minute of it. Whatever someone chooses to think about its ending, we can all agree that writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse did their job, and even exceeded any expectations or boundaries anyone set. So, thank you for listening to my argument and speech. Have a good day, and namaste. I’ll see you in another life, brotha.

10 years ago today (May 23, 2010) the last episode of LOST, "The End," aired! Whether you loved or hated the finale, it marked the end of an era for one of the most innovative shows on television at that time. Though many questions went unanswered, the final episode reminded many people why they loved LOST in the first place, and at the end of the day, I think we can all agree that the show deserves its high ranking in TV canon.

Happy 10 Years!