On Sunday night, LOST, the series that has consumed so many, and baffled so many others, finished with a flurry of activity befitting the show that consistently blazed its own trail.

Fair or not (and perhaps it is), a TV show's legacy is often judged by the final impression. But whether fans liked the ending or not (whether they understood it or not), it certainly was a all-you-can-watch buffet for the millions of insatiable LOST diehards. Starting with the two-hour recap and ending with Jimmy Kimmel's hour-long "Aloha to LOST" special—oh yeah, and with the extended two-and-a-half hour episode sandwiched in between—the series finale was not just the final episode; it was an event.

Aptly titled "The End," the finale was action-packed, philosophical, emotionally intense, rewarding, baffling, redemptive, and just ambiguous enough to prompt speculation. In other words, it was everything fans have come to expect from their beloved show.

Worth the Devotion

The series began six years ago when Oceanic Flight 815 crashed on a mysterious island. Every episode since "The Pilot," it seems, has raised more questions, or implemented a new mind-boggling storytelling device. First viewers witnessed flashbacks, then flash-forwards, then an island that jumped haphazardly through time and space, and, starting earlier this season, an alternate (or "sideways") reality—created when a group of the survivors detonated a hydrogen bomb in the season 5 finale—where the plane never crashed.

Throughout LOST's six seasons, fans tuned in for the characters, the drama, the adventure, and, perhaps most of all, the mysteries that spawned thousands of theories on online forums, message boards, and blogs. Since its premiere, LOST has been unlike any other show. Similarly, its finale may have carried more expectations than any single episode in the history of television. With so many questions unanswered and so many mysteries unresolved, it would be an understatement to say fans expected a sensational (and satisfying) end to what has been an epic journey.

The finale, for many fans, wasn't just about the end of the story; it was about solving the mystery, and determining, in this final culmination, whether the show was worth the devotion it evoked. Leading up to the finale, LOST websites were abuzz with chatter about the questions that needed to be answered. Those who expected the finale to finally answer all those questions, however, may have been disappointed. Some of the mysteries were addressed in the finale. Most weren't.

In fact, the final hours of LOST showed little concern for satisfying viewers' curiosity.  Instead, the writers were committed to finishing the story they have been weaving for the last six seasons. But the finale did offer something for everyone. For the sci-fi fans: the pool of electromagnetism in the "heart of the island" (and the cork-like contraption keeping the glowing water in the electromagnetic pool). For the romantics: all the "I love you" exchanges in the Sideways reality (and the final kiss for Jack and Kate on the island). For the adventure-lovers: well, the entire episode. And for everyone: numerous meaningful scenes between all the characters to whom viewers have developed such an attachment.

LOST has often been described as an epic journey, and for the last year, it seemed to be building to a definitive confrontation between good and evil. But LOST was always more Lord of the Flies than Lord of the Rings. These characters were not marching toward Mordor together. For the entire first season, they struggled to inhabit the same beach without killing each other. Even when they did work together, the characters all seemed to be harboring their own hidden agendas.

So for the LOST characters, the "good versus evil" struggle started inside each of them. As Jacob, the island's former protector, revealed in a recent episode, he chose these people as candidates to replace him because they were flawed. Because they were searching for something. What these characters found on the island was an opportunity for redemption. Some embraced this opportunity; others did not.

Embracing the Outlandish

LOST's plot has gotten so complex, so outlandish, that when one attempts to sum up the on-island events it sounds, to borrow a word used by Miles in the penultimate episode, wonky. A man instantly healed from paralysis. Cancer cured. A polar bear on a tropical island. A smoke monster—that also seems, somehow, to be at least part-human. A frozen donkey wheel that, when turned, can send the island skipping through time. A man who doesn't age. Men who come back to life. Men who communicate with ghosts. A sideways reality. A mystical pool of light at the heart of the island.

Pulled out of context, it does sound incredibly wonky.

But in those moments on that island, it worked. The writers stayed true to the world they created, and the characters played their roles convincingly enough to make every scene—even the most far-fetched—believable. And entertaining. And that was enough keep viewers engaged.

The finale is sure to evoke some criticism (or at least a plethora of questions) about the resolution of the Sideways storyline—the alternate reality that made up a major portion of the final season. The show's producers assured fans long ago that the characters on the island weren't part of a dream, dead, or in purgatory. But the pivotal scene in the alternate world revealed that, in this world, the characters had all died—at various times and in various places in the original timeline. And now they were being united again in what appeared to be a place very much like purgatory (they even gathered together at a church and sat together in pews as they prepared to "move on," and eventually Christian Shephard walked out of the church into a very bright light).

Scrutinized separately from the context of the show, that scene could be labeled too outlandish. Some viewers might consider it a cop-out, or at least a letdown. But in the moment, when almost all the characters were reunited, it was powerful. Charlie and Claire (with newborn baby Aaron). Sayid and Shannon. Juliet and Sawyer, Kate and Jack—all reunited. And every one of them, smiling. (Who could have predicted such a happy ending for these characters—in any reality?)

The resolution on the island, however, was less serene. With rain pouring down, the island was continually shaken by tremors—precursors of the volcanic eruption that was sure to sink the island. The monster, once described as "evil incarnate" (and who, for the final two seasons, has been disguised in the body of the deceased character John Locke), has finally figured out how to leave the island—and in doing so, he plans to destroy not only the island, but the world.

Jack, the island's newly inaugurated protector, is the only obstacle that remains for the monster. In a classic battle scene that seemed to belong in the Mountains of Mordor, Jack and the monster charged at one another. Just before the monster could end Jack's life, Kate showed up and shot the monster in the back. So it was Jack who limped away—at least temporarily—heading back to the electromagnetic pool at the heart of the island. (How typical of LOST that, immediately after Jack finishes killing the monster disguised in Locke's body, the next scene reveals the other reality where Jack, the spinal surgeon, is successfully completing Locke's spinal surgery.)

The End of "The End"

If LOST had one primary character (it often seemed to have a dozen), it was Jack, the talented surgeon who was constantly searching for a purpose—the wayward doctor for whom faith was just too far-fetched. It took six seasons, but Jack finally got his redemption. In that final scene, with Walt's dog lying beside him in the bamboo field, as Jack saw the plane carrying his friends flying overhead, the pseudo-protagonist seemed to find not only his purpose, but also peace.

Fans can complain that the finale didn't answer every question, but when LOST is viewed as a whole, from "The Pilot" all the way through to "The End," the adventure is unmatched. And confusing as that adventure was at times, one can't help thinking that those who weren't a part of it, those who didn't join the millions of fans for this epic experience, missed something magical.

Perhaps Terry O'Quinn (who played the character John Locke and the island's ultimate antagonist) said it best during the two-hour recap: "You don't want the book to come to an end, but you close the book and say, 'That was great!' "

LOST was truly great. Throughout its six-year run, the show's ambitious storyline was not only groundbreaking, but transcendent.  The scope of the show, the production budget, the extensive and diverse cast, the commitment to character development, and cult-like obsession it evoked from its fans—these are elements that are unlikely to be reproduced by another network television show. 

So what if we never learned all the answers? We don't fully understand the significance of "the numbers." We don't know why Claire's child was not supposed to be "raised by another." Many details about the island's history, from the hieroglyphics to the Dharma Initiative's origins to the infertility issues, will remain shrouded. But the story presented to us was, if not perfect, certainly sensational. From the moment when Jack's eye opened to the moment when it closed, LOST has been one of the most entertaining and compelling stories ever told.

As for all the mysteries that remain, consider them incentive to go back to the beginning and start watching again. Because we're not going to find anything on television as worthy of our time. Not anymore.

Tyler Charles is a freelance writer living in Delaware, Ohio.

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