Perhaps I should have rated this as 4 stars, but I can't bring myself to do it.
From beginning to end, Lost took viewers on an amazing journey that was as flawed as it was brilliant. And the fact that it was flawed gives it the most human of qualities and elevates it above nearly all TV shows made in the last ten years, perhaps ever.
I frequently found myself fustrated by seasons that never came to a conclusion, plot arcs that were lost to the ether, etc...etc. But throughout the entire journey I was gripped and desperate to find out what happened next. I can't think of many tv series (early X-Files, early Breaking Bad, early 24) that have compelled me to drop everything to watch the next episode. Love it or hate it, Lost kept us guessing and hypothesising for many years.
I think the overriding reason lost was so brilliant was down to beautiful cinematography, excellent emotion through acting, characters with oodles of depth and ambiguty, and a beautifully realised score. The music is definitely one of the triumphs of Lost and as this evolved, it strode on par with John Williams' amazing scores made for the early Spielberg and Lucas films.
The ending didn't clear up many of the series' plot arcs, but perhaps it didn't need to. The countless religious, mythological and scientific metaphors that developed as the show evolved mingled so many disciplines that it became as complex, convoluted and chaotic as the universe in which we live. I don't believe there is 'one point' to Lost, more that humanity quests for truth and answers that will never be satisfied. The only thing you can be sure of is death.
And that's where it ends. I thought the end was utterly utterly moving, with many of the characters breaking down, being dragged over the finishing line, or dragging themselves by their fingernails, using the last remnants of their strength and emotion. That's what I took with me, the sense that these men and women were pushed, not only to the edges of existence, but to the edge of their physical and emotional capability. In the series finale that showed through more than anything else.
Quite simply...the end was beautiful and a close to god (i'm not religious but am open to any possibility) that a form of art is likely to achieve. The questions we had throughout largely remain and that's because we'll only find the 'bigger' answers when we ourselves complete our own season finales.
The truth is out there...