Beginning of the End, or is it End of the End?

I finally finished the Lost saga, though I finished with a heavy heart. I suspect that there are very intense feelings about the season finale, some good and others not so good. The series ended like every episode ended, in a confusing cliff-hanger that leaves the viewer wanting more. Though I found the ending quite satisfying, I noticed that a lot of questions were left unanswered, which is a good reason not to like the ending. I have done a little research to see what other people thing. Here is the preface for the Los Angeles Times article on the topic:

If "Lost" guaranteed anything with its terrifically moving but mythology-deprived series finale, it's that the show will go on, as fans spend the summer re-watching and analyzing what "The End" offered and what, others argue, it failed to deliver.
The finale episode drew a respectable 13.5 million viewers, but by not attracting the huge finale audiences of other classic TV shows, the ABC series cemented itself as a cult phenomenon.

One major problem contributing to the mixed feelings over the ending is the masses of people that were interested in this show. Everyone is different. And since the show left a lot of wiggle room for the viewer to decide what they wanted to happen, when the end actually came and they did or didn't see what they wanted to see, the debate began. It is no surprise that people were put off when the show had to be explained out of context, but then another argument comes up, if everything was explained during the show, would that make it better or would it ruin the general effect? I believe the first. The show was great as is and the ending left the viewer thinking. I know it took a while to sink in after I saw it. I found myself day dreaming during school about what could've, would've, or, in my opinion, should've happened. I think this is a necessary quality for a truly good show. It should make the audience think. There are too many mindless reality TV show nowadays. Like I said before, originality is good. Lost, however, is like a jigsaw puzzle. You need each episode to understand everything. Miss one and the final picture is incomplete. Unfortunately, I missed several from the first season so that probably adds to my confusion.

I have another review coming up and I would first like to say, besides the fact that this is from someone who really hated the ending, there are detailed descriptions of exactly what happens in The End. So here goes:

Those who spent the better part of the last six seasons wondering where in the heck the sometimes frustrating, almost always entertaining mystery could possibly go finally got their answer. If they can make sense of it, that is.

In the end, the electromagnetically charged mystery island gave way to a hug-filled waiting room leading to a pan-spiritual afterlife, led by the aptly named Christian Shephard. Whew!

It’s a daring way to end “Lost” — leaving plenty of questions unanswered and winking out on what has to be its least satisfying twist to date.

At least no one can say they saw that coming.

Again, this is only an excerpt from the whole story, but you get the point. When browsing through the articles having to do with the Lost finale, I hardly found any articles praising the writers for their work on the ending, but I did found one which is necessary to show all sides of the story:

Thrillingly, cleverly, and in a manner that tapped into the simple, profound truths of great American works like Our Town, the show spelled out for viewers what it has been saying all along. Lost is about life and death, faith and science, spirit and flesh, and has always stressed that the title refers to the characters' souls, not their location.

So there you have it. All opinions on the end are adressed. Almost. Close enough. Now all that's left is for you to watch the show and form your own opinion about the ending and then post it in my comments. Happy losting!