So there's this island, right? And this plane crashed there, and there are polar bears and a smoke monster, and some people escape and everyone time travels, and there's a yellow lab that no one has seen in a while, and hey, it's almost over! If you don't know that Lost is ending tonight you're clearly not one of Jacob's candidates, and really may as well get off the Internet right now, since that's all anyone is talking about. As for the rest of us, we're all preparing for the end in our own ways-- re-watching Season Two episodes and wondering where the hell Rose and Bernard are, concocting crazy theories about how the Smoke Monster and Jacob are one and the same, or maybe rocking quietly in a corner, clutching a stuffed polar bear and reciting the numbers. Hey, whatever works for you.
I'll be doing my usual recap tonight, and tomorrow we'll have plenty more Lost coverage for you, including thoughts on the season and series as a whole, lists of what got answered and what didn't, and suggestions of how to move forward with your life (we know, we know, it's hard). But if you're still looking for ways to prepare for the big night, we-- and the collective Internet-- have plenty of suggestions for you. Obviously this is just a teeny teeny tiny sampling of all that awesome Lost-related stuff on the Internet, so feel free to suggest more below!
Catch up by reading our recaps! Odds are you don't remember 100% how constants work in time travel, or why the freighter blew up, or why Ben threw Locke into a pit of Dharma corpses. But rather than revisiting old episodes, running the risk of coming upon the one about how Jack got his tattoos or Hurley's imaginary friend, why not read four seasons worth of our recaps for the highlights? You can find this season's recaps here, with recaps stretching all the way back to the beginning of Season 3 found here.
Rank the best villains: You think it's impossible to compare Juliet as a villain to the Smoke Monster? You're wrong. Find out how here.
Discover what last week's episode told us to expect from the finale. Expect yet another decision from Ben to be a good guy, a lot of emphasis on the importance of love and family, everyone breaking all the rules-- and more. Play psychic with us here.
Watch preview clips for tonight's two-and-a-half-hour episode. Unless you're really really a spoiler purist, you have nothing to worry about watching these.
Read about all the ways it probably won't end. New York Magazine's Vulture blog has had some of the best Lost coverage on the Internet, but their collection of the Eight Greatest Probably Wrong Theories is a particular highlight. Remember when we thought it was all about time loops, or maybe the Valenzetti equation? Oh the good old days.
Read a comic about the way it probably won't end, but should.
Make your own Dharma Initiative beer. Because if it was good enough for Roger Linus, it should be good enough for you. Print the labels here.
Check out these Lost-themed cakes. Just don't get upset when your finale viewing party doesn't have a cake shaped like a flaming Dharma bus. Take a look at all of them >here
Bone up on your island history. There's no telling what we'll actually need to know for tonight's finale-- will the Numbers matter again? How about the hierarchical structure of the Dharma Initiative?-- but for all your needs you can't go wrong with Lostpedia, whose exhaustive knowledge has ensured my recaps made any sense all of these years.
Watch a cheesy YouTube tribute video to Desmond and Penny. Because, hey, you know the finale is going to tug on your heartstrings, so you may as well get in the mood.
