I loved the finale. So may great moments but here are a few that stick out:

1. Hurley the Guardian. It's great on so many levels, but did anyone else out there think of 'Fantasy Island'? Hurley is Mr. Roarke, and Ben is his Tattoo. Can just hear Ben saying, De plane, bozz! De plane! Perhaps the best part of it was the statement, from truly redeemable Ben of all people, was that Jacob's way was wrong. As the many seasons of Lost progressed, I grew increasingly disenchanted with how Jacob ran things, despite the proof that the Smoke Monster was more evil and was Jacob's enemy. Smoke was bad, but so was Jacob, and Jacob's supposed followers were even worse. To hear Ben say that Jacob's way of protecting the Island (granted, the Island's vague Good Power did need protection, and, granted, Jacob's way was a step up from Mother's method of total deception and murder) was wrong, was all about childish rules, manipulation, using people as pawns in a game, and keeping himself locked away in an metaphorical ivory tower--well, that was great. And what's more, that's not the way it has to be! Hurley-style fantasy island sounds a lot better. And this means that not only Desmond gets to leave the Island, but Zack, Emma, and Cindy too. I remembered that hilarious little scene, back in Season 3, in which Ben and Hurley share a candy bar while waiting for Locke to emerge from 'Jacob's cabin'. Hurley was a great pick.

2. The random extra-cheesy Star Wars references.

3. The reunions. After all the death and destruction, it was a cathartic way to bring home the message about the importance of community. I was even surprised by how much I liked the Sayid and Shannon reunion. Sayid created a world in which the Nadia he loved was safe and a part of his life, but the person he connected with on the Island was the one he spends eternity with. Unexpected and very sweet. And Boone was just such a more fun character in his few appearances this season (guessing the actor's time as a vampire helped). I especially loved the Kate/Claire/Charlie reunion. Now that had me weepy. In general, I loved the idea of the ending. Jack the fixer finally finds a way to channel his fixer-fixation in a positive way, telling quasi-zombified Desmond that yes, what happens on the Island matters--you have to earn and build your happy afterlife, it doesn't get handed to you on a platter. I can even live with the loss of little David, because of the idea that Jack and Juliet created him as the child they both wanted, giving them the chance to be the parents they always wanted to be. Loved the James/Juliet reunion. Loved that Juliet somehow knew, when she detonated the bomb, sparking the original 'Incident', that they'd all manage to meet again on the other side.

I actually liked that in the 'real' world there were no quick fixes. Kate would help Claire re-adjust to society and to becoming a mother to Aaron, no doubt with the help of Claire's own mother, and it would take time. James would have to find a new purpose in life, and who knows, maybe he opened a detective agency with Miles, who is now past the angst of thinking his father rejected him. Frank had a purpose after all, and Richard can finally grow old. Desmond would go home to Penny, after enduring another separation. Nothing was 'perfect', but perfection waited at the end for all of them.

4. More a thought: was Mother right about what would happen if the Island light was extinguished--that the light everywhere would go out? Granted, Jack re-started things before it got too far, but was that another lie? Yes, the Island did serve a function of containing evil, and for all his flaws, Jacob did manage to contain it for a very long time, but somehow I don't think that if Jack hadn't re-started the Light, the Earth would have imploded. Bad stuff, perhaps, but I'm not sure I buy Death Star-level destruction. Or was that the assumption?