And So It Goes...

As I frantically tried to catch up on the LOST series finale, having started it over an hour late due to work, I received a text from my brother and a phone call from my father. Both of them were watching the finale, in real time, from northern Wisconsin, on a vacation I was unable to attend. I, using the discipline I've acquired in my life, ignored them both as I finished the show. Finally, after everything was said and done, I opened the text message:

"I'm happy ... Amber's a little annoyed but ok, and dad is confused. How do you feel?"

Without hesitation, I responded:

"Beautiful. Simply Beautiful."

And that, in a nut shell, describes the ending to this fantastic series. I have a bad habit for hyperbole, but I feel the same way walking away from this finale that I did walking away from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. As I walked away from the theater having watched the final installment of the trilogy, I knew deep inside that it was the best movie I had seen on a variety of levels. Tonight I can say with total confidence that this show is the greatest show I have ever seen, and again it hits on a variety of levels.

LOST, at its core, is a show about characters. We spent hours of our lives learning the back story of over a dozen characters, down to seemingly needless facts, such as the history behind Jack's tattoos. You know, come to think of it, that episode ("Stranger in a Strange Land") just plain sucked. But we learned these details, and we built this ... rapport with the characters. And tonight's show, at its core, gave us complete closure on those characters that we had grown with.

LOST also is a show about a mystery, and for a show that has always been built on its ability to leave you hanging, tonight's finale left me with surprisingly few questions remaining, and seemingly none of consequence. We know what the Island is. We know what happens to each major character in the show. We know what happened to the vast majority of characters, and we have a pretty good idea what happened to others. Outside of the importance of Walt I don't think a single major mystery remains, and for a show that opened so many questions wrapping it up in this manner is impressive.

Without going into too much detail, because I certainly hope that any of you who haven't watched this show will do so, I can only echo my brother's words tonight: "Greatest. Show. Ever." This show has ... had ... everything you could ever want. Mystery. Intrigue. Compelling Characters. A dominating storyline. The finale delivered everything I could have asked for. I would encourage all of you who haven't done so to delve in. It's well worth your time.