The ending didn't feel like an ending, but rather a seperation of the main story from the larger mythology. While I enjoyed how the finale wrapped things up for Jack and some of the others, you could tell it's a setup for a future series. Now that could be interesting given when Ben knows about the island and how Hurley would run things now that he has Ben's loyalty. I don't think the smoke monster 'died', but rather his essence was shattered by the removal of the cork.
What is the wierdest thing had to be how some people didn't get the ending and the reality of the sideways timeline. Some actually believe the island never existed and everyone died on impact, despite people in series saying the opposite.
Pros:
It wraped up the characters nicely. Kary bawwed when Juliet and Sawyer reunited.
The ending (Hurley and Ben taking over, everyone alive leaving, and the opening of hell remaining open for a good time) left things open for an expanded Universe/another series.
Desmond's role did not disapoint.
Jack and Smokey's final battle was indeed epic and ended wonderfully.
Lapidus declaring they needed to just fly the fuck outta there was perfect. "OH! WE NEED TO HELP THEM!" No. He was selfish and that worked.
Cons:
The temple felt useless and unimportant. I can see where JJ Abrams left and the two new guys came in. The temple was supposed to be important yet it wasn't. The 2007 writers strike was supposedly the reason the Temple didn't show up in season 3, yet it only shows up at the end and was otherwise useless. Was the water in the temple from the source? What was Dogen for?
Widmore just being useless, even in Purgatory, felt like a major let down. I loved the Ben/Widmore rivalry and I loved how Ben killed him. Yet, that was it. WHY!?
No answers really to things that should've been answered, unless they know another series will be made so why wait? Who did all the Egyptian crap like the Temple and the statue?! Who installed the wheel? What was the real purpose for the hatches? What was the connection between the swan and the light? What did pushing the button do in relation to the light?
WHY WAS LIBBY IN THE FUCKING SANITARIUM!?
I did like the finale. Sure, Walt and Michael didn't show up (Michael's stuck as a ghost with Hurley and Ben while Walt is doing his own thing) and Eko was gone (actor was a bitch and wanted too much money, and Eko already moved on), but I think it did a great job of wrapping up the Survivor's storyline.
