I've never been too fond of epilogues, codas, or extra material after the end of a show. To me, there's a reason why the finale is, well, the finale. Battlestar Galactica tried to do it years ago, and that turned out (in my opinion) to be a bit of a disaster after a sterling finale. While "The New Man In Charge" isn't horrible or degrading to LOST's legacy, I do have to seriously question what purpose it serves in the grand scheme of things (and thus the need for it whatsoever).
Basically, this 12-minute short primarily takes place inside a DHARMA warehouse that prepares the island food drops. Ben Linus (now clad in a sharp suit with a briefcase) shows up to explain to two dock workers that nothing they have been doing the last 20 years really meant anything and their services are no longer needed. He then shows them a video of Dr. Pierre Chang doing the orientation video for the Hydra station. This epilogue ends with Ben & Hurley retrieving Walt from the Santa Rosa mental institution and telling him essentially that they are going back to the island to fulfill his "special" purpose.
To me, it sure looks like this epilogue was made to serve two purposes (of which I'll argue both fail):
1. To show Walt, who was not present whatsoever in the show's finale. I view this, however, as doubling down on an awkward situation to begin with (Walt's character simply aged his way out of the show, and nothing could be done about it).
2. To see Hurley & Ben working together as the "protectors" of the island. Again, though, showing Linus in a suit and Hurley sitting in a DHARMA van doesn't exactly impress me with a ton of gravitas. I actually prefer the open-endedness of their conversation about this in the closing minutes of the true finale.
So, I guess my thoughts on "The New Man In Charge" can be summed up thusly: It doesn't disrespect the show's canon, but it doesn't really add anything to it, either (hence the 4-star rating). Going forward, when I think of the ending of LOST, this won't be more than a passing thought in comparison to "The End".
Basically, this 12-minute short primarily takes place inside a DHARMA warehouse that prepares the island food drops. Ben Linus (now clad in a sharp suit with a briefcase) shows up to explain to two dock workers that nothing they have been doing the last 20 years really meant anything and their services are no longer needed. He then shows them a video of Dr. Pierre Chang doing the orientation video for the Hydra station. This epilogue ends with Ben & Hurley retrieving Walt from the Santa Rosa mental institution and telling him essentially that they are going back to the island to fulfill his "special" purpose.
To me, it sure looks like this epilogue was made to serve two purposes (of which I'll argue both fail):
1. To show Walt, who was not present whatsoever in the show's finale. I view this, however, as doubling down on an awkward situation to begin with (Walt's character simply aged his way out of the show, and nothing could be done about it).
2. To see Hurley & Ben working together as the "protectors" of the island. Again, though, showing Linus in a suit and Hurley sitting in a DHARMA van doesn't exactly impress me with a ton of gravitas. I actually prefer the open-endedness of their conversation about this in the closing minutes of the true finale.
So, I guess my thoughts on "The New Man In Charge" can be summed up thusly: It doesn't disrespect the show's canon, but it doesn't really add anything to it, either (hence the 4-star rating). Going forward, when I think of the ending of LOST, this won't be more than a passing thought in comparison to "The End".