'Lost' finale instant reaction: What did you think of 'The End'? Plus! Josh Holloway talks about [SPOILER!]

Spoiler Alert! Stop reading if you haven’t watched Lost‘s series finale, or else I’m going to have both Desmond and Sayid take you behind a bar and beat some common sense into you. Really. Complete and total spoilers ahead.

Have you ever been in one of those pop culture conversations where you’ve seen a movie that someone else hasn’t, and you trick-spoil them by joking, “And in the end, they all died”? Well, be careful using that punchline if you find yourself at the water cooler tomorrow morning with someone who hasn’t seen tonight’s Lost finale, because yes, they really did all die in the end. (At last, I’m pretty sure they did. Your first question: What was your interpretation of the scene inside Eloise Hawking’s Church of the Blessed Dharma Pendulum, aka The Ark to Heaven?) “The End” was an emotionally draining epic that had me crying with almost every single “awakening” and has left me mulling the true significance of the Sideways world, which was revealed to be a Purgatory-like realm created by the souls of the dead castaways themselves. (Purgatory! The irony!) I was so happy The Island was saved. I was so moved by Jack’s heroism and sacrifice and the glorious significance of ending where he began, as well as that Doubting Thomas allusion there at the end. (You caught that, right?) (Oh, and appendix scar my ass!) I thought that Hurley was a surprising choice for the new Island guardian–and I loved that Ben had a role as his No. 2. The “resurrection” of John Locke rocked my face, and one of the many moments that had me dabbing my eyes was watching Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson play their last duet together. I loved Ben’s contrition. I loved Locke’s forgiveness. I loved it when Ben told him to stand up and walk again, and Locke did. And then there was Vincent. You know, playing the dog card is kinda shameless, but man, did that work for me. I was satisfied. More than satisfied. Do I have quibbles? Yes. Sayid and Shannon—seriously? I wanted more of an explanation from Eloise Hawking for her actions (though I do have a theory that explains them) and I wished we had gotten one substantial Desmond/Penelope moment. But we did get a Sawyer/Juliet reunion, much to the dismay of the Skater set, no doubt. I had a chance to ask Josh Holloway about the finale’s final ‘shipper pairings. Was he happy that Sawyer and Juliet found each other in the Island afterlife? “Absolutely,” he says. “And it leaves Jack and Kate to find each other again—as they always should have. I feel like Kate and Sawyer were not a couple for life. They had an undeniable love. But a life-long thing? I don’t think so. I think Sawyer would want her to be with Jack, anyway. Not to mention that he’s love in with Juliet. So I liked the way it worked out. I thought it was perfect. Because people were always like, ‘Who she going to choose? Who she going to choose?’ Well, she’s obviously going to choose the doctor in my worldview! Why wouldn’t she?”

More from Josh later this week. And more from me tomorrow. Like I said, I have a lot to say… and I’m saving all of it for my recap, which is currently under frantic construction. As I stated earlier today, I’m not going to be the guy who assesses the finale by counting the “answers” it provided. But I am the guy who loves to theorize about the questions. A full report, tomorrow. Until then, please: start your deliberations.

More Lost coverage on EW.com:

Doc Jensen’s reaction to the Lost finale

Lost: 20 scenes that made us cry

Lost: 30 key deaths

Lost: 9 exclusive portraits of the dead

Lost: Readers best/worst moments from the dearly departed series

Replay our live chat of the Lost series finale

Lost: A commercial bonanza for ABC