Okay, LOST.

So, I feel my time with the TV show LOST wouldn't be complete unless I wrote down a few things. Watching every episode from day 1 on the island, I feel that I completed my duty as a beloved fan of the show. I cannot say, however, that I have not experienced frustrations, triumphs, confusion, irritation and just plain joy along the way. There are way too many theories to count and that is just something I love about the show. It has been open to theory and interpretation for six years, so why my naive self thought that all of my questions would be answered at the end of a two and half hour finale, I don't know.

I did, however, watch Jimmy Kimmel afterward, where he had a bunch of the cast and crew (who were watching along with us for the first time) in the studio to answer questions and talk about their experiences filming the show. One of the greatest things I learned watching this was that the people playing each character (for the most part) were learning the plot alongside their characters. They, with the exception of Matthew Fox aka Jack Shephard, did not realize where the show was heading at times or how long their characters were going to last on the island. Apparently, Jack knew that the series would end with his eye closing. Profound. I enjoyed that John Locke didn't know that he was the smoke monster pretty much all of season 5 (like the viewers). It is great how the directors only revealed information to the actors when absolutely necessary so that they would be able to make the crazy plot even more believable. They were just as shocked along with us as Charlie drowned, or Libby was shot, or John Locke was still deader than a doornail in his coffin once the Oceanic 6 returned to the island even though, unbeknownst at the time, the smoke monster was taking the form of his body.

I still don't fully understand the "sideways world" but I suppose it was some type of holding place that Jack must pass through in order to learn to "let go" and pass into the land of the light. My favorite theory of the show so far is that the whole series was all about Jack's life journey and the process of him letting go and entering into the afterlife. So, my question is, and please, respond if you have a theory, did they all die in the original plane crash? Or did everything on the island actually happen as we saw in real life and since Jack was technically the last one to "let go" of the island, we see everyone together for a big family reunion in the church before they all live happily ever after. I mean, I get that they were all dead at the end, but were they just all waiting for Jack to die so that they could all go together or had Jack already died in the plane crash (or in the sideways world on the flight the second time) and this was just his journey of letting go of his life on Earth? Goodness. I have no idea. You best believe I will be chatting with all of my friends who have remained devoted as I have and also checking out the entertainment blogs as everyone will start spilling their different theories until I, at last, rest in my favorite of all the theories.

It has been a great journey, LOST. Thank you for all the great memories with friends as we theorized and watched in amazement, awe, and horror over the years. You have been an epic journey, that is for dang sure, and although I'm not sure if I would do it again, I am proud to say I was here to witness the series along with millions of other dedicated viewers through the years. In the words of the pilot Frank Lapidus as the plane flew off the island, "Amen".