Lost finale recap - The End, part 1

Our "Lost" recapper Luci Chavez on last night's finale. Luci will be hosting a live chat on the finale today at the News & Observer site at noon. Please join her!

I have bogarted other people's DVR's to watch Lost. I have stayed up until 3-4 a.m. after late Duke basketball games to watch Lost.

I have vigilantly avoided nearly all internet speculation about Lost for the past three years. I've put friends under radio silence so as to avoid spoiling one second of the best TV show ever.

Consider what a TV show needs to do to inspire that kind of devotion and emotion every week.

Now multiply it by 150.

The payoff came Sunday night while watching the 2 1/2-hour series finale.

The series finale of Lost was grand and epic yet achingly intimate and personal. While Lindelcuse stayed true to the show's "what the hell was that" roots with an ending left open to interpretation, it satisfied me emotionally in every way.

So many tears of joy. So much anger and frustration at the complexity of it all. Can you tell how much I enjoyed the trip. I enjoyed it in every sense of the word - the voyage, the stumbling, the mind-altering.

My TV heart is satisfied and full. Thank you, Lindelcuse and director Jack Bender. Well done.

SPOILER ALERT

The show opened with one of those amazing montages, usually reserved for show's end, with Christian Shephard's coffin arriving at LAX.

And scenes of Jack (Matthew Fox) at the hospital prepping for Locke's surgery in alternate reality land.

And at the stream on the island.

Of Ben at home in L.A. with coffee and on the island slipping bullets into a magazine clip.

Of Locke being wheeled into surgery in L.A.

Of Sawyer putting on his badge at work with the LAPD and on the island checking on Kate's bullet wound.

Of Kate smiling at Sawyer through her pain on the lsland and waiting for Desmond at a church, where he takes possession of Christian's coffin.

In the WITPDCAR, Kate (Evangeline Lilly) makes a joke about Christian Shephard's name. "Christian Shephard? Seriously?" Kate still wants to know what Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) why they're at the church. "No one can tell you why you're here." Desmond says he's there because he wants to leave but Kate doesn't understand.

On the island, Jack stands in the magic stream. Sawyer (Josh Holloway) comes up and asks if Jack's OK. Jack can't explain what happened except he's the "new Jacob." "Hey Doc why don't you come off the mountaintop and tell us what the burning bush had to say for itself."

Jack explains they have to go to the heart of the island and prevent Black Locke from putting it out. If not? "That's if for all of us." Sawyer offers to go after Desmond because he's the key to the whole thing. Kate and Hurley (Jorge Garcia) stay with Jack. Hurley says, "I have a bad feeling about this."

In WITPDCAR, Hurley and Sayid (Naveen Andrews) arrive at a hotel. Hurley jokes about how familiar this is, him and Sayid traipsing about with a tranquilizer gun. Sayid doesn't care. Hurley goes in to confront Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) and take him to a concert he's supposed to be playing in. (Drive Shaft!!!)

Charlie is strung out and wearing real eyeliner but Hurley, already aware of both realities, is so chuffed to see Charlie. (So am I.) "What if I told you playing this show is the most important thing you'll ever do?"

Charlie still refuses. Hurley shoots him with the tranquilizer gun and stuffs him in the back of the Hummer.

Back on the island, Jack talks to Kate about why he took the Jacob job. "Because I was supposed to. [The island is] the only thing in my life i haven't ruined." Oh man, Jack. You're killing me. But Kate is trying to convince him otherwise. "Nothing is irreversible." Hurley walks by. "This would be really sweet if we weren't all about to die."

Ben (Michael Emerson) pulls gun on Sawyer who's hiding in the bushes trying to scope out Smoky. Black Locke (Terry O'Quinn) has a word with Sawyer. Smoky laughs about taking the island and all the candidates down. Sawyer says no way and gives Ben an elbow to the face and escapes. Ben wants to give chase but BL says don't worry about it. "Once Desmond destroys it, I'll sail away and watch it sink."

VINCENT!!!! Vincent licks on Des who is passed out in Rose (L. Scott Caldwell) and Bernard's (Sam Anderson) front yard. Rose explains to Des how long they've been at their island hideaway but Rose says Des has to shove off after breakfast. Rose explains that she and Bernard stay out of the fray.

Well, they did until Bernard comes back from checking the fish traps with Smoky on his tail. Ruh roh. Black Locke threatens to kill the couple. Des makes a deal. "I'll do whatever you want if you never, ever touch Rose and Bernard." Deal. Des and Smoky walk through the jungle with Ben as Miles (Ken Leung) tries to get up with Ben on the walkie. Ben plays coy with BL.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the island, Miles tends to Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell), who survived the smoke monster bitch slap and still wants to blow up the Ajira plane.

Back in WITPDCAR at the museum benefit concert, Miles the cop notices Sayid isn't in county lockup, even calls Sawyer the cop to tell him about it. Sawyer realizes Sayid might be after Sun and Jin so he goes to the hospital to look for her.

At the hospital, Sun (Yunjin Kim) and Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) talk about whether they should keep dodging Sun's dad Mr. Paik now that she's pregnant. In comes the doctor for the ultrasound and it's Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell). She touches Sun triggering Sun's flashbacks about the island. "I remember" she says to Jin.

Jin sees the ultrasound and he remembers and we we see his flashbacks of all the times he and Sun hug and kiss and love each other on the island, including the terrible times and their deaths on the sub. They tell Juliet about Ji-Yeon.

Back on the island, James runs back to Hurley, Kate and Jack, telling them about Smoky's plan to destroy the island. Jack says no worries, we're all headed to the big light anyway. We all show up. We do what we do. Then it ends. Huh?

But then composer Michael Giaccino throws me for a loop with some new theme music. What the heck?!? Don't do that. Don't confuse me now when I know every emotion tied to each note and instrument you use. Nor fair!

At the hospital in L.A. WITPDCAR, Foxy talks to Locke before his spinal surgery. Locke jokes about Foxy's confidence about the surgery. "There's always the chance I could kill you but I'm trying to be nice." Locke wishes Foxy has something to bring him some peace. Dr. Feelgood says fixing Locke would bring him peace. "OK, see you on the other side."

Miles and Richard rush to the boat but Miles stops to pull a heretofore unheard of gray hair out of Papi Chulo's head. See. Richard is finally aging. Right at the moment he is also taking the Wham! approach and "choosing life." They're smiling at each other when they hear Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey) call out from the water.

Frank survived the sub bomb! Good thing. A pilot could come in handy. Miles and Papi Chulo want to destroy the plane but Frank has a better idea: Let me fly us out of here.

SHOWDOWN ALERT. Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sawyer meet up with Smoky, Ben and Des. Kate kinda ruins the moment when she takes a few shots at Black Locke. It doesn't work. Smoky doesn't go down that easily. Jack defuses the awkwardness saying, "Let's all go to the big light together." Then he lays the smack down, because that's what Foxy does. Yeah! "You think you're going to destroy the island." I think? "Not going to happen, my friend. I'm going to kill you." (Which is so butch, I can't stand it. FOX-Y! FOX-Y! FOX-Y!)

WITPDCAR. Jack is talking to the ex-wife, yes, Juliet. David and Juliet take off for the concert and Sawyer shows up looking for Sun.

On the island, the kids are trekking toward the big light when Sawyer and Jack discuss the plan. Desmond is the surprise Jack promised Smoky a few minutes ago. Des might be a weapon. They come to the bamboo forest. Smoky, Jack and Des will go alone from here. Hurley sends Jack off with some encouragement. "Jack, I believe in you dude." BL comments on the storm approaching and you and I both know nothing good happens when it storms. (Remember how Charlie almost died the first time?)

Before Desmond goes over the ledge into the big light, he tells Jack it doesn't matter what happens here. "I'm going to go somewhere else. Somewhere where we can be with the people we love. And, the best part? You're there, too." Jack isn't so sure; he's tried it before. "There are no do-overs. What happened happened. All fo this is what matters. (I'm taking this to mean everything we've seen has happened regardless of the reality in which it happened. Both were real.)

Back in the parallel universe, Hurley and Sayid are sitting in the dark waiting outside of some bar or something and having a deep philosophical discussion. "I think you're a good guy Sayid." Sayid is like, man you have no idea who you're talking to. "I trust you. You can't let other people tell you what you are."

Then they see someone getting his ass kicked outside of the bar. Sayid can't help it; he rushes over to help because he kills people who need killing AND he helps when he can. It's why we love him so. A girl comes out to try to stop the fight. Sayid picks her out of the trash after she's been shoved to the ground.

It's Shannon (Maggie Grace). He touches her and they both feel it and their flashbacks begin and they both remember how much they cared for each other on the island. It happens in an instance. "Sayid." "Shannon." Meanwhile Boone (Ian Somerhalder) sidles up to Hurley and they make jokes. Hurley has convinced Boone to bring Shannon to this spot just so he could hook her up with Sayid again. By this time, Sayid has switched into mack daddy mode and begins to smooch on Shannon. (So satisfying to see Sayid happy. He has had a very, very rough Season 6.)

Back on the island, MIles finally gets Ben on the walkie and tells him the new plan: Fly the plane off the island. MIles and Richard are on the beach and they find Claire (Emily de Ravin). She still has achingly bad hair and a gun. She shoots and misses. Richard tries to convince her to join them and she refuses in what seems to be the bonehead maneuver of the series.

Elsewhere on the island, Jack and Smoky lower Desmond into the pit of big light. They jaw at each other while they do it. Jack gets really pissy and stands up for Real Locke all of a sudden. "Turns out he was right about almost everything. I wish I could have told him that when he was alive." Smoky just talks mad stuff about how Locke was wrong and how, "We'll have to see which one of us is right."

Dun, dun, dun, duuuuuuuuun.

Go to part 2 of the recap.