Thank you, Michael Emerson. For years I have been a ‘Lost’ apologist, and not only that, but when asked who my favorite character on the show was, I would without hesitation say Ben Linus, mainly because of how much I loved what Michael Emerson brought to the role, and the humanity he brought to character that any other actor might have made a two-dimensional Saturday morning cartoon villain. And now, I have even more reason to love the man, for he has gone out of his way to explain the ending of ‘Lost’ to those who STILL do not understand what happened, who continue to complain about how “everyone was dead the whole time” without listening to our continued arguments that they were NOT dead the whole time, just in Season 6 during the “flash sideways scenes.”
So some context, recently during an annual Walker Stalker Convention at the Georgia World Congress Center, there was a panel on ‘Lost’ hosted by Comicbook.com and attended by Michael Emerson, who took the time to set the record straight on the ending of ‘Lost,’ attempting to explain to those who still have not figured it out, how the show ended. And I think he hit it dead on (no pun intended):
“The one thing I’m sure of on the show is that everything you saw happen on the island really happened. Let’s call that the first five seasons. All of that is real…The ending is way in the future. Years, centuries, millenia have past. We’re in an anti-chamber to the hereafter, to eternity, if you will. All the characters on the show have come here to celebrate the end of life. They’re all gonna pass through to a happy afterlife. Just as in a Shakespeare play, everybody goes two by two. It’s couples. That’s because, I think, by the rules of LOST, you can only pass into heaven (if you want to call it that) with a mirror redeemer. With someone who has loved you without reservation. for yourself. Everybody had that, I think, except for Benjamin Linus. That’s why he can’t go. That’s why he has to wait. He needs to find his mirror redeemer.”
I am sure there are going to be some comments here from people who STILL do not get it, but I don’t care. It’s been six years, if you don’t get it by now, go watch something else. Definitely stay away from ‘Westworld‘ which I am sure will be just as over your head as ‘Lost’ was, and just try to enjoy your TV shows without demanding more from their creators aside from years of entertainment. To see the full explanation from Emerson, check out the video below.
