Fair warning up front there will be spoilers in the review so if you have not seen it, proceed at your own risk.
Lost started out as a series about a group of castaways stuck on a mysterious island. Throughout the 6 seasons it veered off in a lot of different directions. The final season was really about telling the backstory of the island, and revealing the fates of the characters. I think your level of enjoyment of the last season will really depend on what you think of the story of the island and the big reveal at the end.
In this season we finally get to see Jacob and we learn who and what the smoke monster is. The monster takes Locke's form and Terry O'Quinn plays a great bad guy for really most of the 16 episodes. We are also shown flash sideways which shows an alternate timeline for the characters. It is based on the premise that the plane does not crash (that detonating the bomb at the end of season 5 worked), but we find that the characters do not exactly go back to their old lives. That things have changed significantly. It also provides the opportunity for bringing back some of the characters that had been previously killed off. That story is shown concurrently with the bomb not working and everyone still being stuck on the island.
The ending is really open to interpretation. We find out that the sideways world was not real but a kind of limbo, hence Desmond waking everyone up. In the end we learn that everyone has died and is meeting again in the sideways world. We do not know however if they died in the initial crash, if all the events on the island really played out as we saw, or if the plane really makes it off the island in the final shot of the show. That they did is hinted at when Jack's father says that everyone died at different times, but we do not really know how the survivors went on to live out the rest of their lives. I think those are all interesting questions that they leave up to the viewers.
The hallmark of the series was really the wonderful acting and the character development. If you look back from season 1 to the end at the "main" characters, those who were around until the end really did change and evolve. Given that it was such an ensemble cast that was almost necessary for the series to do well.
As far as the actual discs go for those who buy them as opposed to steaming, there is quite a bit of bonus material (although not as much as prior seasons). You still have the season play option so you can stop and pick up where you left off. And of course the A/V quality is great.
Overall I think the series was excellent. Although it did take some weird turns here and there, I think the fact that it was so well acted and did try to give the viewers some kind of payoff on all the stories they had going some of that could be overlooked. You do have to accept that the show does not wrap everything up in a tidy little bow however. I never watched the show when it was on the air, but I know a lot of people who did got really frustrated with it for going off on all the tangents. I think those are easier to take when you can watch it on dvd and see it progress watching the episodes back to back without the long breaks. Things flow better that way and you can see how they were at least attempting to fit things together.
I do think 6 seasons (albeit the final three being only partial seasons) was the perfect length for this kind of show. While some may have preferred a "cleaner" ending with a straight they get off the island and live happily every after, it was fairly clear from about season 2 on that was not going to be the case. It is not a perfect show, but it was still very ground breaking and original and definitely one of the better dramas of its time.
• The New Man In Charge - As one journey draws to an end, there are always tales left to be told. Go deeper into the world of LOST in this exclusive, new chapter of the island's story.
• THE END: Crafting A Final Season - Join the LOST team along with other producers of some of television's longest running shows as they examine the challenges of ending a landmark series.
• A Hero's Journey - What makes a hero? Which survivors of Oceanic 815 are true heroes? These questions and more explored.
• See You In Another Life, Brotha - Unlock the mysteries of this season's intriguing flash sideways.
• LOST On Location - Join the cast and crew in this fun, inside look behind the scenes from the set in Hawaii.
• LOST in 8:15 - A Crash Course
• LOST Bloopers
• Deleted Scenes
• Audio Commentaries
