6-years ago, on September 22, Oceanic Flight 815 went down somewhere in the South Pacific between Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, California. I'm sure you know the rest of the story.
Today, somewhere around 10 million (just a guess, no evidence to back that claim up) bloggers/journalists/heavily opinionated religious folk and a few PETA supporters (just a hunch) have all given their 2-cents about what it was all about.
They keep saying that their questions went unanswered. And pondering what the purpose of this, that and the other thing were. and as they type their complaints, maybe they are missing the real truth behind the show?
These people are entitled to their opinions, as am I. I can't ignore what they write, nor should you. That was, after all, maybe a point that creators and writers were trying to help us see anyway, no?
In my honest opinion, I feel deeply that this show wasn't about any single religion, or power struggles or mythology like some have suggested. To put it simply, the show was about finding who it is that is inside of you. And what it is you actually love.
Perhaps this island that Oceanic Flight 815 (my hometown area code by the way) wasn't really an island? Maybe the lives that all of the "survivors" lived after the crash on that island, weren't really lives? Maybe they were all dead before they even boarded that plane?
What if the lives they lived before that day; as a doctor (Jack), a musician (Charlie), a con man (Sawyer), an on-the-run murderer (Kate), a one time Monk (Desmond), a torturer for the Iraqi Republican Guard (Sayid), an enforcer for the Korean Mob (Jin), a daughter of a rich father (Sun), a teacher who suffers from paralysis (Locke), a multi-million lottery winner (Hurley) and a pooch who loved each of them (Vincent)...weren't really their lives?
I am a Catholic who was raised to believe that when you die, you spend time in Purgatory to await on the judgement of where you will spend the rest of eternity. What if those lives I just mentioned, were each of the characters Purgatory? What if we never got to see them actually alive? That the island was the final waiting room while they awaited their final destination?
Each character, much like each of us, was completely different from all others. But they knew they had to work hard to find whatever it was they were looking for. And they did it together. By putting trust in another human to help get whatever job needed to be done, done. Differences in each of them had vanished and they saw each others true worth. Because they were needed, they found themselves. Because they were asked to push a little harder than they thought they could, they found themselves. Because they believed in something, they knew they would find a way home.
Which brings me to my next idea. When the characters flashed back, sideways or up-and-down and had memories of other characters; Sawyer and Juliet in the hospital, Hurley's big smile before that hug in the Church, Charlie remembering Claire after she gave birth, Sayid saving Shannon from the guy in the alley...they obviously understood they knew each other, somehow. But how?
I know what I believe. And I know what I feel about this show. I also know that, journalism degree or not, I have no idea of how I can relay my thoughts to anybody reading this. When they each had their flashback to a memory of the one they loved, they all realized what it meant; they were dead...and it was now time to go home.
Maybe they were stuck on that island. Maybe they did all escape back to the real world. Maybe the memories, both good and bad, of the time spent on that rock were erased from all. Maybe when they did remember their time their, it signified that their life was over and time to go meet with the others that they loved.
I know that this show was about finding our own inner peace within ourselves to fight the demons hidden inside. About having faith, not any particular faith, but just faith, that mankind can help, care and love. About making changes in ourselves to be better people. Having a belief that we can do what is needed to be done. To not see the physical differences in people and pass judgement. That the people you chose to love, and those you chose to let love you, need to have each others backs when needed. And to always travel with your dog.
Before yesterday, the last time I cried was, I think, sometime in 1999. But seeing Kate and Jack with that kiss and the proclamation of love that followed, Sawyer asking Juliet out for coffee after the vending machine incident and Vincent coming to the side of Jack before he closed his eyes to die...I knew that decade-plus drought was coming to an end and I couldn't stop myself.
Thank you so very, very, very much for the most brilliant television series ever created. It was enjoyable. It was confusing. It made me angry. It made me sad. It made me laugh, scream and cry. But more importantly, it has made me want to believe in myself more than I do, to remember those who have helped and loved me in so many ways and to trust people who are not exactly the same as I. To sum it up, this has made me want to be a better man.
For that, I will never stop thanking you.
