ANALYSIS:   LOST has developed over the seasons and taken many twists and turns.  First the series intertwined flashbacks with what was happened on the island and then it had flashforwards.   Season 5 had time travel.  Now the sixth and final season has a sideways world that shows what happens when the characters never went to the Island and were never manipulated by Jacob.   The final season does go into the origins of Jacob and the Man in Black in addition to how Richard Alpert came to the Island.   The characters face their destinies as the Man in Black (who is trapped in the form of the dead John Locke) looks to destroy them and get free of the Island.

The sideways versions of the LOST characters are different from the ones you see on the Island.  Some characters are more hopeful while others play out their course if they never crashed on the Island.  Other like Ben Linus are actually good people in the sideways world and dead characters are still alive.  It is a world that plays out like a mystery that will leave people wondering what is going on until the final episode.  

The final season does start with some momentum while not fully developing the people of the temple (of Joshua).   Also it seems to slow down in the middle before racing at the ends with answer after answer leading to some major characters to get killed off (I wish they saved one character until the end before they killed him off a little earlier).   The last season does see a completeion of a journey for many of the charcters while I wish they did more with bad Sayeed.   I like most of the finale even though some of it has left me with mixed feelings.  The last shot of the series does come full circle with the pilot episode.  LOST is a show about destiny and faith.   Each character in the show made choices and sometimes step up to do things they wouldn't have done (before they came to the island).  I will miss LOST and wonder how it will stand the test of time among so many great shows that have come about in the past.