Perfectly Perfect: The Series Finale of Lost Recapped

To answer a question about the ending of Lost that you shouldn't be asking: No, they weren't dead the entire time. And if you think that ... well, you're wrong.

Now that we have that out of the way, onto "The End." And what an end! Lost wrapped up with a bunch of open-ended mysteries, tons of unresolved plotlines and cribbed beats from The Matrix, Vanilla Sky and The House of M, among many other things.

But, as Juliet said, it was all "perfectly perfect." This is the Lost ending you've been waiting for since season one, whether you know it or not.

Preparing for The End: Table Setting the Lost Finale

A few hours from now, Lost will officially and totally end — never mind the three alternate endings airing during the special edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live and the bonus material on the August DVD release — bringing to a close a major chapter in the life of this here blog. I started writing about Lost with the S4 premiere episode — you can find that post here, but be forewarned: It isn't great — and have written more words about it than any other show on television. So, yeah, I'm a fan.

As those of you who follow me on Twitter know, I participated in a panel discussion about Lost at the Paley Center for Media on Saturday with full-time writers like Alan Sepinwall, Emily Nussbaum and James Poniewozik. Fun! To say this series has opened doors for me, would an understatement. I'm sad to see it go, but excited to see what secrets the finale holds. Lost isn't as good, as a whole, as The Sopranos or Mad Men, but when it was great, nothing on television was better.

A matter of housekeeping: I'll post my feelings on Lost tomorrow morning, as fast as I can write them. So if you stop by the blog and don't see a final recap, just come back. It'll be here and it'll be long. Get ready.

In the meantime: See you in another life, brother.

The Beginning of The End: The Penultimate Lost Recapped

Say this about "What They Died For," the final penultimate episode of Lost ever: It was much better than "Across the Sea." And while that might sound like faint praise — since, hey, that episode sucked — it's important because it shows that Lost will not go quietly into the night, shuffling off like some heinous SyFy series. Not that any rational viewer was ready to throw in the towel after one bad episode.

Still, there were some problems.

Any episode that largely features Michael Emerson is — by my count — very good. It's saying something that on this late date, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse chose to give Ben Linus so much to do — this wasn't a Ben-centric episode, but it sure felt like one. But where "What They Died For" stumbled, among other places, was in his about-face change of character. Remember when Ben Linus became the "good guy" for a spell this season? Because apparently no one writing the show does. And his switch back to Ben Linus v.1 felt abrupt, rushed and unearned, even if it was awesome. Now, you can chalk that up to one of two things: More lousy season six character writing or one final con from the Island's master manipulator. But after the way things have gone during the later part of this season, forgive me for thinking it's the former.

The Snow Globe Ending: 4 TV Showrunners Offer Advice for the End of Lost

What a perfect time for this piece, huh? With all the talk about how Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are ending Lost, Vulture thought it would be great to talk to some famous showrunners about how they ended their successful series. And guess who they asked? That's right: Me!

Anyway, this was easily the coolest assignment I ever got to write — yes, I did get to talk with Josh Schwartz on the phone and he was as cool as I always imagined — and I hope you enjoy reading it. Also, spoiler alert (or "nerd alert" as Community's Pierce would say): St. Elsewhere executive producer Tom Fontana is amazing, hilarious and has the best ending in mind for Lost ever.

Click here to read the awesomeness.

The Heart of The Island: Lost Recapped

Maybe they should have saved this episode for the DVD.

I'm not going to say "Across the Sea" was the worst episode of Lost I've ever seen — "Stranger in a Strange Land," a.k.a. The One with Jack's Tattoos still might top the list — but it was darn near close. Very close. Like maybe they're tied.

Promising us answers to the ancient mysteries of the Island, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse instead gave us non-answers, stupid answers, fake answers and, ultimately, answers that don't matter at this stage in the game. In short, this was a total disaster from jump street.

Walternate: The Problems with Fringe

Good news! I finally found time to catch up on Fringe this weekend—I know, you were waiting with baited breath. And for those of you without time to read a few hundred words on a series you don't watch, here are the Twitter reviews of the all-musical "Brown Betty" and the all-Peter "Northwest Passage:" Bad and not bad.

And that my loyal readers is the problem with Fringe here in the second season. The lows are criminally boring, the highs aren't nearly high enough and the series is maddeningly spinning its wheels.

You can't help but think J.J. Abrams watches the show and wonders where Fringe's Damon Lindelof is hiding.

Aw, Hell: Lost Recapped

"Not Penny's Boat." That would be the last time an episode of Lost made me cry like "The Candidate" did. And make no mistake, this was the most heartbreaking edition of Lost, well, ever. How else to describe an episode that featured no less than three "blocks of granite" character deaths plus one fan favorite eating the wrong side of a steel door?

This isn't the beginning of the end. This is the end. And it's only going to get worse. Just as long as Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse don't totally wimp out.

Dispatches from Tribeca: Reviews from the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival

It's been a very busy two weeks here at 42 Inch Television. In addition to my daily posts over at Movieline (where I'm also the weekend editor who routinely gets called a "petty hack" by commenters), I was covering the Tribeca Film Festival for the Observer.com. And what fun that was!

After the jump, you can find links to my coverage and come back later today for the usual Lost recap.