Television Rundown: Watching Chris Watch LOST (and the American Idol Finale)

On Wednesday, May 26th, at approximately 7:30pm, Chris watched the LOST series finale. He avoided all spoilers to the best of his ability. The following is my attempt to capture his reactions to the last episode. He was pretty excited, and nothing was going to interrupt this last enjoyment of what I would consider one of his favorite series.*

Chris's first laugh: When Saywer says "Oh, well" in reference to trying to rescue Desmond from the well only to find he is already gone. Chris laughed and said, "Oh, Well! Get it!"

When Vincent reappears, Chris said "Of course! Wait, what has he been living on?" Then when we saw that he is living with Rose and Bernard, and Chris said "OF COURSE!!! Vincent only hangs out with black people."

When we first saw that Richard Alpert is not dead but merely dazed from the Smoke Monster, Chris said, "Damn right, he's not dead. Fuck you, Sean." Adding after a moment, "He's even handsome when he's dirty!"

During the first "remembrance" (when Sun and Jin remembered everything during the ultransound), Chris said, "Clip show!" Clip show, indeed, Chris (but one of the more creative ways to end with a clip show, in my opinion). Now, when Qualler and I watched this scene, we were both completely in tears. Chris did not seem very moved. Probably because he hasn't experienced a love as strong and lasting as Sun and Jin's love in the way that Qualler and I have (sorry, Jerksica). Let's see whether any of the other reunions and remembrances bring Chris to tears.

During a scene on the island Chris commented that the music is a little silly.

In the scene before Jack operated on Locke, Jack said, "There's a chance I might kill ya!" and both laugh. Chris said "He IS gonna kill him!" He also wanted to point out that Jack is an egotistical jerk because he kept using the phrase "fix you" when speaking to Locke. I agree with Chris in general, but this episode really redeems Jack for me. Let's see whether Chris has a similar experience. My prediction? Probably not. I'm also thinking that, if Chris doesn't cry at/enjoy the reunion scenes, he is not going to love this finale. But let's just keep reading to find out!

The scene when Richard finds a gray hair really moved me, too. I thought it was beautiful. I tried to get Chris to react. His reaction? "So? Miles has tons of gray hairs."

He was really excited, however, when Miles and Richard found Lapidus just moments later.

Chris seemed really surprised to find out that Juliet was the mother of Jack's son. He also wanted someone to wipe the stupid smile off his son's face.

The reunion between Sayid and Shannon is about to happen! What will Chris's reaction be? "No waaaay...YEAH! The most awkward romance of all time." As Sayid peered into Shannon's eyes, Chris said, "Remember when we were on the beach and we fucked?" (as Sayid talking to Shannon). When we see Boone talking to Hugo, Chris said in a whiny voice "I want Mr. Eko!"

When Locke, Desmond, and Jack peered down the cave into the light, Chris said, "It's just like the Goonies. There's treasure down there!" Um.

When Charlie was up on stage about to play with Driveshaft and Daniel, he noticed Claire in the crowd. Of course that scene made me start to cry a little, too (I guess I'm sort of a crier). It made Chris say "What? Cross fade to Michael Giacchino?"

As Desmond was removing the cork in the big cave of light, Qualler compared the scene to Raiders of the Lost Arc, then I compared it to Aladdin, and then Chris compared it to Prince of Persia. Qualler then asked if he had seen Prince of Persia, to which Chris replied, "No." After the cork was uncorked, and the earth began to shake, Chris said with excitement in his voice, "Volcano?!?!" He got really excited when we found out that Locke/The Man in Black is now mortal.

When we heard Driveshaft playing, Chris laughed with glee and said, "Hahahaha, it's totally lame!!!"

During the (re)birth of baby Aaron, Chris made us stop the recording so that we could watch the last ten minutes of American Idol. I asked him if he cared more about who would win AI or if he cared more about Aaron being born. He said that he didn't care about Aaron being born. He was pretty upset about Lee DeWize winning, which he vehemently blamed on "more girls watching the show than boys!" As he switched back to LOST, angry that Lee had won, he said with a sigh "alright, LOST, make up for that [the dumb guy winning]." He then laughed as Aaron was born and Kate handed him to Claire.

When, back on the island, Ben was trapped under a tree, he simply cried "Whaaat?" When Miles and Kate talked over their walkies about taking off on the plane, Chris asked, "Are they going to take off just in the nick of time line in 2012?" Then, as Locke and Jack raced towards each other in the rain on a cliff, Chris yelled "SPARTAAAAA!" and as it cut to commercial he let out a noise that can only be described as "Whahahahaaaaaaiiiii?" as he flailed his limbs in the air. After commercial, when Locked stabbed Jack in his side, Chris said, "Gaaaaah!!!!!!!!" He made similar noises that ranged from "Gaaaa!" to "Hahaaaaa!" throughout the rest of this scene, also interjecting "SO MANY ONE LINERS!" with glee and a clap of his hands when Kate shot Locke and said "I saved you a bullet!" Then, when we flashed sideways and saw that Jack's neck was bloody (like in the other reality!) he let out a squeal that I took to convey surprise and delight. At this point I felt as if Chris was starting to get sucked in...

(When Sawyer came to make sure that Sun and Jin were safe, and Sun and Jin were all smiling and Jin said "I'll see you there," he didn't have any accent at all. Why?? Maybe in heaven there are no Korean accents.)

After Locke/The Man in Black was defeated and Jack told Kate that she had to get on the plane, and Ben said that he would go down with the island, Chris asked, "Wait, how did they get Ben out from under that tree?" Good question, Chris.

Around this point in the episode Chris started to get frustrated, and as Kate and Sawyer jumped off the island into the water so that they could make it to the plan in time, he asked, "Wait, what about Hurley and Ben?" then added, through clenched teeth, "There are too many people to keep track of!!"

Chris exclaimed his most enthused "Whoa!!!" when Sawyer unplugged the vending machine and all the lights turned off. When I questioned his reaction, he said, "Have you ever seen The Trigger Effect? No power makes people go crazy!" When I asked whether the Juliet/Sawyer reunion and flash back moved him at all, he said, "A little bit. Though, I still haven't quivered, per se."

Chris had no noticeable reaction when Jack told Hugo to take his place and take care of the island. During my first viewing of this scene, I was (you guessed it!) crying.

Later, when Jack was trying to put the cork back into the island, Chris cried out again in frustration, "What about BEEEEEEEN? And Desmond?" Then, after a pause, as Jack struggle with the giant cork, he said, "It all comes down to putting something in a hole."

About 15 minutes from the end of the episode, Chris said, as Kate told Jack that she would wait for him inside the church, "It's really going to be HIS [Jack's] funeral!"

At this point Chris wanted island Jack to turn into smoke. He also questioned "Hurley and Ben against Jack?" and mumbled something in his most excited/anxious/frustrated voice. When Jack opened the coffin, Chris whispered "It's empty....get inside!" When Christian showed up, Chris squealed, "Whaaaaaat?" Then, as Jack remembered dying and he and Christian embraced, Chris said it was, "Just like God and Jesus." What? When Christian said "there is no now here" Chris squealed/shouted "BECAUSE THEY'RE IN HEAVEN?!?!" I couldn't tell whether this was a happy shout or an angry shout...or maybe something in between?

And now for my post viewing interview with Chris.

Well Chris, what did you think of the episode, overall?
Well... (long pause) I'm gonna use my words carefully. Hm. Best. (pause) Show. (longer pause) Ever. Question mark. End commentary.

Well, folks, there ya have it!

As for my own opinion of the series finale: still undecided. I definitely liked it overall, and I cried tears of pure joy as I witnessed each reunion (except for Sayid and Shannon. I never cared about that little tryst.) However, I didn't love the very end. My first reaction was "so...they're all dead." The more I thought about it, analyzed it, read about it, the more I liked it...and the more I didn't like it. But, I don't know what I would have changed to make it any better. I think it's always sad when things end, and I've always been a little disappointed with any series finale. Except for The Sopranos. That finale was flawless.

*Chris made me pause the recording at 8:50 so that we could see who won American Idol.

This entry was posted by Brigitte, on Thursday, May 27, 2010. You can leave your response.