The ending in Michael's own words

This and the MovieWeb interview were good reads. Thanks for posting, Bob.

I really love the way he explains this, it's so perfect!!!

Although neither Locke nor Boone had a "mirror redeemer," so I'm not quite sure about that theory. But it's a beautiful thought.

(volunteers to be Boone's mirror redeemer)

Maybe so, that would make sense, but we didn't see them (Boone and Locke) interact at all before the final church scene. I don't know what "awakened" Boone, but for Locke it was his surgery by Jack, so Boone wasn't really a factor in it.

I am actually being very nice about "my theory," as I am one of those who is not happy with the ending. I think that they took a total easy way of ending the season with a tremendous tear-jerker finale. I totally believe (and I know that I am starting to sound like Stephanie, except that I am not angry with LOST) that they truly didn't know how to properly end the story.

Actually, I take it back. When Season 1 started, I think they did have an ending in mind, and I think the ending was exactly what we saw: Jack lying down in the spot he woke up from during Season 1 and closing his eyes forever. I also think that they didn't forsee the series to go further than perhaps 2 seasons.

Then the show took off like gangbusters and the producers found themselves trying to stretch a storyline fit for 2 seasons into God-knows-how-long. So, the best way to solve that problem is to extend the seasons by introducing intricate long mysteries.

Season 3 slapped them in the face. The fans were very angry with the way the story was going nowhere, and it looked as if the show was going to be cancelled and not resolved. So, the producers negotiated an ending date with the network. Thus, they were able to ensure that the show would not be cancelled without a resolution. However, I think that they were unable to answer the mysteries that they had introduced without providing new mysteries as they went along. So, by the time the series end was nearing, the producers found themselves unable to answer to numerous intricate mysteries and chose to end the show with the original ending, that, for my tastes just didn't work anymore. Yes, I cried. And, yes, I think that it was a beautiful ending. But it was not the actual theme of the series.

Do I make sense to you?

I tend to agree with Edith about the show's ending. There were times during the four and a half seasons I watched when I truly believed I was witnessing a stroke of brilliance by writers who would gives us an ending that would leave us speechless in wonder. But now I tend to think they spun a web so complex and convoluted they got caught in themselves. Some of the explanations and resolutions we got toward the end just felt like last-minute concoctions tossed out to keep the wolves at bay. And I will also say I think it suffered from too many "cooks in the kitchen." Too many writers, perhaps even too large a cast, a story flung too far and wide for what it was ultimately.

Right after the finale, I was infuriated. I thought the writers turned tail and ran like cowards, or in my more generous moments, I thought they gave up their birthright and didn't end the story on their terms. It felt too much like trying to please everyone. I may review the show again — at a much later date — and reconsider my final opinion if it warrants it. But I'm done with it for now. I was glad to be part of it while it was happening. I got to know a lot of wonderful people including people here on the MEFB, but in the end, it couldn't last.

The biggest trap was sideways time, as it ensured the show got back to it's character-centric roots, but it also left far less room for answers. If they stuck with the flashback/forward format, characters like Jacob, MIB, Widmore, Eloise, Richard, and more would have gotten more time to explain the big stuff with their pasts. However, if they did that, then S6 wouldn't be able to focus so much on the main characters, and therefore couldn't come full circle as much - so therein lies the paradox.