Frosstbyte

I said exactly the same thing, and, for a fraction of a second, was completely convinced it was going to happen. I ran through a whole scenario where Jack became the Man in Black and that Christian was the Man in Black on the alternate timeline, and the series ended with the plane exploding over the island and the church exploding as Christian walked out.

It would've been an interesting alternative.

Either way, I was 100% satisfied with the finale as it was and I agree entirely with Lasereth. I said sometime earlier in this thread, at some point I stopped worrying about "the answers" and suddenly I started enjoying Lost much more. And this episode confirmed completely that that was the correct attitude to take towards the series. I teared up every time someone "woke up" and when I was trying to talk to my wife about the end, I definitely started crying. And I'm ok with that.

In the pre show they talked about how, at the end of the day, Lost was about relationships, and looking back on the series, I think that's probably true. Those of us who loved the show, I think, loved it because we loved the characters. Maybe not who they were as individuals, but who they were together. I don't really care what the end "meant." I really cared about seeing everyone come back together over the course of the season. And I felt very satisfied by the end, in whatever context they were back together, and whatever it meant for Jack to close his eye as the plane flew overhead.

I will miss Lost. I will miss the mystery and the mythos and the characters and the sounds. It was a great, if sometimes inconsistent, ride, and it will enjoy a happy place on my bookshelf for whenever I need it.