Sunday Live Chat: Lost, s06e17, "The End"

Above: Before being pushed out a window, strangled, and possessed, John Locke was also stabbed by his stepdaughter.

And so, we've come to the end with "The End," a two-and-a-half-hour behemoth that promises to further confound, obfuscate, and infuriate (and it'll probably have pacing issues, also).

No, that's not fair. The finale could be really great. It really could. Every other season's finale has been enjoyable, even the first season when they didn't reveal what was at the bottom of the Hatch. And anyway, I've done neough complaining about this final season in the weekly chats; as Lost winds down, I prefer to remember the good times. I can't stay mad at a show that brought Hurley, Sawyer, Sayid, Desmond, Miles, and Ben Linus into our lives. And I'll still remember how much fun the season three flashforward was (as well as the big reveal at the end of season four). The fact that I got so angry when some things didn't play out as I was hoping they might was a testament to how good of a job the writers and producers and directors and actors did of immersing me in the world of Lost. And so what's a run of sixteen weak episodes - and hey, last week's wasn't bad! - in the bigger picture? I can still pull out classics like "The Constant" or "Walkabout" if I want to watch Lost at its best. 

And then there was this crazy chat experiment. I think it probably took us a few weeks to find our footing, but lately we've been on a bit of a roll. Having the ability to share my annoyance with others has been helpful. We'll have someone around to monitor this chat space starting at 7 on Sunday and going probably until around midnight (when everyone shows up on Jimmy Kimmel Live). But forgive us if we're occasionally silent; we may be a bit busy watching the show. Let's just hope it's not another "Daybreak."