Explaining LOST - The Incident

“The Incident Part I & II”

 

Okay everyone. It’s been two weeks since the LOST Season Five finale aired. I’ve waited two weeks to revisit and do this write-up, because honestly, I was worried if you could mentally handle it. When I say “you” I really mean “I.” This was an amazing finale and I decided for this write-up, I’m not going to hold back on my inner LOST geek. Yet me show my true colors. (As if this wasn’t stream of consciousness writing enough.)

 So first image we see are pots. It’s Jacob. BAM! How did I know that? For we saw like that in Jacob’s cabin back in Season Three. So truly a second into this episode, I’m freaking out. He’s working on some weird loom thing. He’s in some big place with fire and a bigger loom thing. You can tell I really did the research for this one. He’s making…something. His character score is fantastic by the way. Then Jacob goes fishing because he’s awesome like that. He catches a fish with ease. I don’t know if it’s a red herring, but I really hope it is. As he’s making a fine little meal he looks out and see a big ole ship. OH MY GOD IT’S THE BLACK ROCK. Then another dude shows up. Who’s this guy? He’s wearing a black shirt when Jacob’s wearing a white one. He says he’s here because of the boat. Then he says that Jacob brought them there. What?!? So Other Dude says you’re still trying to prove me wrong. What?!? Other dude says “The come, fight, destroy and corrupt. It all ends the same.” Then Jacob says “It only ends once. Everything else is progress.” WHAT?!? Then Other Dude says “You know how badly I want to kill you? One of these days I’ll find a loophole.” WHAT?!? Then he leaves and then the camera pans up to reveal the four toed statue in its entirety. HOLY CRAP!

So that was one of the best scenes ever on LOST. So much so that I am going to spend another paragraph on it. You better accept it, folks, this is going to take awhile. Okay so all the way back on the pilot episode, John Locke had his very first scene with Walt. He’s sitting on the beach wanting to play backgammon. So he’s explaining to Walt how to play by saying this: “Backgammon is the oldest game in the world….Two players. Two sides. One is light. One is dark.” That’s what’s going on here with Jacob and Other Dude. Does this mean Jacob is good and Other Dude is evil? I’m not sure. It seems more beyond that. As we’ll see more in this episode, Jacob is a believer in free will and Other Dude is a believer in destiny. And so the statue. ABC has confirmed what the statue is supposed to represent. It’s Taweret. So who’s that? According to Wikipedia, Taweret isn’t something you want to have in your house. It was a composite of all thing things Egyptians feared: Body of a hippo, arms/legs of a lion and back of a crocodile. Also if it’s paired with another deity she’s the original god of evil. Great.

So the next scene is in the Midwest. It’s young Kate and young Tom. Why do I know that? For young Tom is playing with a  small toy airplane. This is the airplane that Kate broke into a bank trying to get. It belonged to her childhood sweetheart, Tom, who ultimately died when he helped Kate escape the police. Anywho, so they’re at a gas station and young Kate puts a New Kids on the Block lunch box into her bag. Why? First off, why New Kids on the Block? Secondly your bag is the same size as that box. Just put your lunch in there. It’s a whole lot cooler than New Kids on the Block. I don’t care what decade you’re in. So of course they get busted because stealing is bad or something. So the store owner is about to call the cops when Jacob offers to pay for the lunch fox. WHOA! He leans down and tells her to be good and touches her nose. Hmmmm.

Back in the main plotline, the better CGI looking sub is leaving. Kate is trying to convince Sawyer and Juliet to leave the sub and help her stop Jack from blowing up the island. Sawyer says nope. Meanwhile Jack, Sayid, Richard, and Eloise are trying to figure out how to move Jughead. Sayid reads Faraday’s journal and says they can take out the core of the bomb and just move that. They only have two hours until the incident. Further meanwhile Radzinsky is yelling at Chang because Chang wants to stop the progress on the Swan station. By the way, Radzinsky is wearing all black and Chang is wearing all white. So the drill is started up again because Radzinsky yells louder than Chang.

Thirty years later, Locke, Sun, Richard, Ben, and the rest of the Others are traveling to see Jacob. While taking a break, Richard nervously asks Locke how he’s alive. Locke says Richard should have a better explanation since he doesn’t age and all. Richard says he is this way because of Jacob. Locke says me too and by the way we need to stop the Ajira people.

Oh yeah, there they are. The Ajira people sail to shore with a big ole box and Lapidus. The annoying Ajira dude, Bram, wonders if Lapidus would be a candidate. For what? They’re not telling. They will tell Lapidus what’s in their giant box. He looks in and mutters “Terrific.” What is it? I know, but I’m not telling yet.

Next flashback is at a funeral. It’s Sawyer’s parents’ funeral. For remember his dad killed his mom and then shot himself because he was massively conned by Locke’s real dad. So he takes on the fake name Sawyer and vowed to track down the real Sawyer. Then Jacob shows up! He gives Sawyer the pen in order to write the infamous note he will deliver to the real Sawyer. When he hands off the pen, they physically touch. Hmmmmm. Then Sawyer’s uncle tried to discourage him from seeking revenge in a scene that goes on too long.

Back on the sub, Sawyer decides to be stubborn and refuses to get off the sub. So of course Juliet beats up one of the sub dudes and breaks free. Juliet pulls a gun on the sub’s captain and tells him to resurface to drop them off and then they can skedaddle. Back in the underground tunnels, they remove the core of the bomb. Richard asks Jack as question. He doesn’t think that Locke really looks special from the times he’s visited him off island. Jack says “I wouldn’t give up on him.” That’s so interesting. Back in 2008, Locke playfully asks why Ben hasn’t told Richard that he is going to kill Jacob. Turns out Ben is basically afraid of Locke and will do whatever he says. So Locke says that Ben has to be the one to kill Jacob. This truly isn’t like any other show on TV.

In another flashback, Sayid is walking with Nadia. They are smiling and talking about their anniversary. They are starting to cross the street when Jacob asks Sayid for directions. WHOA! Yeah I’m still impressed about seeing him even during the third time. So many of us knew what was going to happen next. Nadia gets hit by a car and died. Yet Jacob prevented it from hitting Sayid too. Also this was the first post-Oceanic visit we’ve seen from Jacob. Also Jacob physically touched Sayid when he asked for directions. Hmmmmm. Oh and it’s an incredibly emotional scene.

Cut to Sayid packing up the core of the bomb proving that he now has nothing to lose. Richard leads the way and axes his way through a secret stone wall.  Then he knocks out Eloise in order to protect her from danger. Richard’s awesome. So Jack and Sayid don Dharma jumpsuits and try to hide in plain sight. Yet Ben’s dad appropriately identifies Sayid as a terrorist and shoots him in the gut. Whoa. So everyone starts shooting. How are they going to escape? Hurley pulls up with the (Ooo ooo) Dharma bus and rescues them. Just like Season Three…

 So the sub gives Kate, Juliet, and Sawyer a raft and they sail back to the island. Just like Season Two…So they arrive on shore and Vincent the dog runs to them. What? Ha. It’s Rose and Moses beard Bernard. They’re annoyed they’ve been found. It turns out Rose and Bernard wanted to remain hidden. They’re retired. I love the line that Rose has “We travel 30 years back in time and you’re still finding ways to shoot each other.” It really makes certain things seem trivial at times, but Kate and Sawyer weren’t discouraged. Juliet….maybe.

Back in 2008, Lapidus regrets looking into the box. Bram tells him “We’re the good guys.” Lapidus replies “People who go out of the way to tell you they’re the good guys are the bad guys.” That’s funny because that’s exactly what Ben said at the end of Season Two. That they were the good guys. So they arrive at Jacob’s cabin and Ilana is very nervous about the ring of ash being broken. Uh, sure, me too. Yet she gets a flashback as well where she’s so bandaged up she looks like the Invisible Woman except, of course, one eye is not covered. Then Jacob shows up! Still cool. She recognizes him as they speak in some language. He says he needs her help. She accepts. So then she goes into the cabin and it looks destroyed. Everything’s knocked over except for this weird paper that is stuck on the wall with a knife. This freaks out Ilana and she bails. She says someone else has been using the cabin. So they torch the place. What? The paper has a picture of Taweret. So off they go to the statue with their big ole box.

Another flashback then occurs. Jacob is sitting on a bench reading Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Conner. Okay so it’s another book I have to one day read. Nothing wrong here. Then Locke falls out of the window behind him! This causes Jacob to mark his page and casually walk over to him. He grabs Locke’s shoulder and at that moment Locke started breathing again. Whoa.

Back in 2008, Locke and the Others arrives at their old camp on the beach. They decide to take a short break. Locke sits down next to Ben. Locke mentions how they are sitting next to wreckage from the hatch where their first met. This episode really is a call back to the whole series. He then asks what really happened the first time they were in Jacob’s cabin back in Season Three. Turns out Ben really did lie about talking to Jacob then. Yet he was very shocked when things started tossing around the room. He did it out of embarrassment. Then Locke brings up some valid points about how despite Ben’s loyal service, he has had cancer and his daughter die. So why wouldn’t he want to kill Jacob?

Then a fantastic scene occurred. Sun walked over and found Aaron’s crib. She puts it back up and finds the Drivshaft ring that Charlie left for Aaron right before he left to die. This leads to another flashback; this time it’s Sun and Jin’s wedding. I may be wrong, but this is the only scene they’ve had together all season. He has a great mini-speech about how being away from her would be terrible. Then of course who wishes them a happy marriage? Jacob, while touching their shoulders and speaking excellent Korean according to Jin. 

Back in the van, Sayid is losing a lot of blood. They are racing to get to the Swan but they are stopped by Sawer, Juliet and Kate who all have guns. And that’s the end of Part I. Oh yeah.

Part II starts up with the Others arriving at the four toed statue. It’s weird only seeing the foot when the last hour opened with the completed version. Still no idea how it got destroyed. Turns out that is where Jacob lives. Back at the van, Sawyer demands five minutes with Jack. He agrees. Another flashback but this time with Jack. That’s right I’m going with three different decades this paragraph. Jack is in surgery with his father. He accidently cut his patient dorsal sac and his father tells him to count to five. Yes, this was the story Jack told Kate back in the very first episode of the series. After Jack does that he tries to get an Apollo bar from the candy machine. It got stuck. Sadness. Jack scolds his father for embarrassing him and then Jacob appears with Jack’s candy bar. He physically touches Jack when he hands it off. Hmmm….

Back on the island, Sawyer tells Jack the story of how his parents died. The twist is that actually happened one year ago. He could have stopped his father from doing anything; what’s done is done. Jack says it doesn’t have to be this way. So what does Jack regret most of all? Kate. Goddamn Kate. He says it’s too late to get her back now so he’s gotta change the timeline. Sawyer realizes he can’t change Jack’s mind so he has to beat him to death. This was a vicious fight including Sawyer kicking Jack in the groin. Jack is truly seconds away from dying when Juliet walks in. Turns out she has changed her mind. Women. So Juliet gets a flashback now. Her parents are getting a divorce. Young Juliet is very upset about the concept of people not being together who are supposed to be. Then Jacob…doesn’t show up. Wait what does that mean?

So back in 1977, Sawyer wants answers. Juliet is emotionally devastated. Even though she loves Sawyer she knows she can’t be with him. She saw the way he looked at Kate and she knows they can’t have that life. So she wants the pain to be erased. Elizabeth Mitchell is such a good actress. Anywho, Radzinsky is continuing to be a jerk by drilling despite some stuff going off the charts. So Phil tells Radzinsky about Jack and the gang coming their way. So Phil is getting some guys and guns. Meanwhile, Kate is helping Jack with his cuts and bruises. Just like Season One… Kate finally revealed to Jack that she came back to save Claire. Jack says if they press reset then Claire won’t come to the island. He needs her to believe him. She actually does.

Another flashback time! This time it’s Hurley getting out of prison. So this flashback is actually from this season. He doesn’t want to leave but they force him. He gets in a cab that’s also occupied by Jacob and a giant guitar case! Whoa! Hurley asks why he’s there. Jacob says he was waiting for you. Hurley figures he’s dead, but Jacob says “I’m definitely not dead.” Jacob offers this great suggestion to Hurley: What if you’re not cursed but blessed. He gets the opportunity to talk to everyone who has left him. Then Jacob tells him about Ajira flight 316 and physically touches him and gives him the guitar. Hmmmm….

Back at the van, Jack puts on the pack with the bomb in it. Sayid is seriously on the brink of death so he just lies next to the van. Jack runs into Sawyer again (Awkward!) and tells him “I’ll see you in Los Angeles.”

Back in 2008, the Others are camped outside the statue. So Richard, Locke and Ben walk up to the statue. Richard doesn’t want Ben to be there, but Locke insists. Richard pushes on a secret door at the base of the statue and then leaves. Locke hands Ben a knife and Ben accepts it.

Meanwhile Sayid is still dying. Also Miles brings up the $1,000,000 question. What if Jack’s nuke is what causes the Incident they are trying to prevent. None of them have answers. Yet they do see Phil and the troops go towards the Swan. Sawyer asks Juliet if she’s game. She says “Live together die alone” which is said all the time on this show. So everyone’s freaking out at the Swan. Jack’s plan is walk and crouch. Genius. Phil sees past this perfect plane and starts shooting. Yeah shoot at the nuke. Radzinsky continues to be annoying. Then the (Ooo ooo) Dharma bus arrives! Everyone is shooting everyone. Jack is able to sneak closer to the drill. Sawyer holds Phil hostage which gets everyone to put down their guns. Chang tries to turn off the drill, but the energy is drawing the drill closer. Jack holds the nuke over the edge and chills go down the spine of everyone who’s watching. The music is really powerful and the cast members all look at each other and he drops it.

Yet…nothing happens. Well that’s not good. Then everything goes to hell. Steam rises up and every metal object is flying towards the hole. Like the entire freakin’ drill. Chang gets his left arm trapped and that solves the mystery of how he has a fake arm. People keep getting knocked out by flying objects. Radzinsky escapes unfortunately although his car gets flipped. Phil is about to shoot Sawyer but a giant pole goes through him. Nice. Juliet gets caught by a chain and gets pulled into the hole. Sawyer grabs her arm but the chain is still wrapped around her. In one of the most emotional moments of the entire series, Juliet falls.

Meanwhile there’s another powerful crisis going on. The Ajira people arrive at the statue. Ilana asks for a man named Ricardos. Richard steps forward and actually knows what lies in the statue. Of course he answers in Latin. (He says One who guards/saves us.). Richard is once again very confused and becomes even more confused when they open their box to reveal…Locke’s dead body. Holy crap! That’s not Locke with Ben.

Speaking of Not Locke and Ben walk into the room that opened this episode. Sure this version has a new sunroom, but that happens. Ben stops to admire some of the drawings and Jacob asks if he likes them. Jacob looks very sad and says “I see you’ve found your loophole.” Not Locke is totally Other Dude. Ben walks up to Ben and tries to explain to him that he always has a choice. Then Ben breaks down. He whines about the silence of his god, the abandonment he felt. So Ben asks what was so wrong with him? “What about me?” Then Jacob coldly replies “What about you?” Then Ben stabs Jacob. Jacob starts bleeding but before he dies he says, “They’re coming.” Then Not Locke kicks Jacob into the fire while looking especially evil.

Back in 1977, everything is still going to hell. Jack, Sawyer, and Kate escape from the site before all sorts of metal stuff falls down—let’s just face it: It’s the hatch. Just like Season One… Yet Juliet survived the fall. She doesn’t look too good, but she seems the bomb. It landed in mud. So she grabs a rock and starts beating on it. She cries and screaming and beats it with a rock until—It all flashes white and we see L O S T in a white background for the first time ever. Whoa. I still get chills from that.

L O S T

So what does this mean? Let’s start with Not Locke. This changes a lot of this season and actually, a lot of the entire series. Okay let’s start simple. The Locke we saw post “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham” was not Locke. Locke truly died. We’ve had Other Dude reincarnated as Locke or vice versa. (Remember the van back in “The Little Prince” was an anagram for reincarnation, not resurrection. I always thought that was interesting.) Now we had the smoke monster/Alex tell Ben to do exactly what Not Locke says. Did you notice how Not Locke was always conveniently not in the same room as the smoke monster? I’m thinking Other Dude “died” earlier and became the smoke monster. So now this gives an interesting look to the smoke monster for this whole series, if that’s correct.

Now let’s deal with the nuke. The really big question is: Did they change the future? The more I think about it, I don’t think they did. For let’s look at some facts. We learned in Season Two that Chang had a fake arm in the video and Radzinsky ultimately kills himself while pushing the button in the hatch. In this episode, Chang critically hurt his left arm and Radzinsky lived to whine another day. Also we know sometime between right this second to 2004, nobodies having babies on the island. You know what may be a solution to that mystery? That there was a ton of radiation on the island, which causes miscarriages. We saw Richard being very worried about Eloise near the bomb. So what if this caused it? Then what does the white light mean? Jacob said they’re coming. He made a point to physically touch most of our key players. He says he needs Ilana to do something. I think he set up the pieces for whatever is coming in the final season. So who’s coming? I’m going to say Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Sayid, Hurley, Jin, and Miles. Sayid may travel through time just to die or maybe Jacob will save him. I’m thinking Juliet is toast, sadly. I really liked her character. Of course we will have none of these answers until January of 2010! So no more LOST updates from me for a long time. One of the things I’m going to do during this final LOST hiatus is to rewatch the series and read all of the books that have been mentioned on the show. ABC.com has a nice LOST Book Club that shows them all. I’ll provide reviews for those books on my blog. I probably won’t start until the fall though. Thank you everyone for reading this season. I hope the show makes more sense to you now.

Explaining LOST - Follow the Leader

“Follow the Leader”

 

So this episode was rumored to be a Richard episode and it only sorta is. Basically this episode is getting everyone in place for the finale and he is in a lot of scenes in different decades. Speaking of Richard, he starts off this episode by watching Faraday get shot. Still sad. Yet we see Jack and Kate’s view of it as they panic a little. Yet before he gets shot Jack is really getting into this idea that this is the reason why they were brought here. It is their destiny to put things right. Well then Faraday gets shot and some dude on a horse beats them. How do the Hostiles have horses? Hey it’s younger Widmore on the horse. Then he beats Jack a few times. Understandable.

Eloise starts flipping through Faraday’s journal and is a bit surprised to see her handwriting on a page. This confuses her. Richard is confused too, but that is a common theme for this episode. Eloise puts Jack and Kate in her tent. Widmore is wondering why Dharma has chosen now to declare war against them. Eloise somberly says that they aren’t from Dharma.

Meanwhile in 2008, Richard who is the same age is making a ship in a bottle. This guy is an intellectual badass. Only thing more extreme would be to do a crossword with a bloody knife as a pen. Then one of the Others tells him that “he” has returned. Jesus? Nope, Locke. I was close. They both rose from the grave and both are undeniably white. I diverge. So Locke walks into their camp with a boar over his shoulders. That makes sense. Richard is confused though. He brings up the fact it’s been three years since they seen each other. Richard says there’s something different about him. Locke says that he has a purpose and they have an errand to run. Sun and Ben walk into their camp. Richard isn’t thrilled to see Ben. Sun runs up to Richard and asks him about the 1977 Dharma picture. He says he does remember them because he watched them all die. Whoa.

So that’s upsetting to Sun, understandably. Locke doesn’t believe she should give up hope. Locke asks if Richard still has that compass. He does and then Richard, Ben and Locke go into the jungle. Back in 1977, Jack is still being kicked in the face. Hey he looks like Ben. Why do all the characters I like get beat up a lot? Or die? LOST doesn’t like me. Anywho, Jack says they need to change the future because everyone that has died would still be alive and all the misery would be gone. Kate says it wasn’t all misery. Jack said “Enough of it was.” Eloise comes into the tent demanding why they need the bomb. She starts rambling about all that has happened and Jack says it doesn’t have to be that way. They can change all of this. Eloise said she’ll take them to the bomb, but the only problem is that it’s located underneath the Dharma village. Awkward.

So they take Sawyer and Juliet to the room with all of the TVs. Radzinsky starts beating on Sawyer to get answers about who Jack and Kate are. Radzinsky says he’s taking over the reins from nice guy Horace. Despite all the beatings, Sawyer isn’t budging. Hey it’s another character I like getting beaten. That’s probably the last one of my favorites they’ll hurt. So Phil pipes in saying he knows how to get him to talk. So he sucker punches Juliet. Whoa! Seriously stop it. Now I know this episode will end with Hurley and Ben getting trampled by horses. Radzinsky gets a manifest and noticed that Jack, Kate, and Hurley were the last minute add-ons so they start the search for Hurley. 

Hurley is grabbing good and going into the jungle with Miles and Jin. Turns out they don’t have a rescue plan but just going to the beach. Chang noticed Hurley and walked up to them. He is starting to believe Faraday so he asks Hurley some questions. In a very funny set of dialogue Hurley gets the one question he was worried about receiving: Who is President in 1977? So Hurley admits they are from the future. Chang now believes and he wants to get people off the island. Back at the Hostile camp, Eloise puts Faraday to rest and starts to head off to the bomb with Jack and Kate.

Back in 2008, Richard and Ben are following Locke into the jungle. Locke said after this little errand he wants to see Jacob. He’s the leader and he wants to see Jacob. They arrive at the drug plane Eko’s brother crashed onto the island many years ago. Locke gives Richard very specific instructions on what to do next. Then, sure enough, Locke walks towards that plane. Yep. It’s the scene from the first episode of the season where Richard helps get a bullet out of Locke’s leg. Locke instructed him on how to save himself. Trippy. What’s trippier is how he got the exact right time. Ben asks him that very question. Locke said the island told him and then calls out Ben for never seeing Jacob. Ben is now very scared. So Richard comes back with a bullet and says that fortunately Locke didn’t have to die. Locke smiles and says he did. Now in that scene Richard gives Locke the compass. Then Locke travels back in time to the 50s and gives Richard the compass so years later Richard can give Locke the compass so he can travel back in time to give the compass to Richard and OH MY GOD MY HEAD HURTS SO MUCH. Where did the compass come from? My head…

Back in 1977, Sawyer is still bleeding. Chang walks in saying they all gotta get out of here. Radzinsky says he refuses to stop drilling. Sawyer says he’ll tell them everything if they put him and Juliet on the sub. Radzinsky continues to be a jerkface and demands a map of where the Hostile are first. Speaking of  Hostiles, Eloise leads them to a pond they have to swim into. Kate says she doesn’t want to play this game anymore and decides to leave. A Hostile pulls a gun on Kate, but he gets shot BY SAYID! Boom shakka lakka! So he’s dead. Richard is confused and upset. Eloise doesn’t care because she thinks all of this will be erased if they change time. Sayid doesn’t want to brag, but he says he already changed the future. He killed Ben Linus. Kate pipes in that she saved his life. Sayid is so sad. Kate starts to leave, but Jack tries to say this is our destiny. Kate says Locke was crazy and now he’s crazy. So she exits stage right.

The submarine is being loaded with women and children. Miles watches as Charlotte gets on and he also watches Chang tell his mom and baby him to get off the island. He yells at them to get on. Then Sawyer and Juliet are being loaded onto the sub as well. His plan? To buy Microsoft and bet on the Cowboys. They’ll be rich. Juliet is happy he talked her out of getting on the sub three years ago. There’s a moment when I thought Sawyer was going to jump into the water, but he just looks back at the island and says “Good riddance.” 

Richard, however, does jump into the pond. Jack follows suit as he finds a passageway underneath the waterfall. It leads to this mysterious set of tunnels, above water. They are filled with hieroglyphics. Then Eloise comes through too and then Sayid decides to join. Why not? He heard there could be an explosion. So they start their hike through the tunnels.

Back in 2008, Richard is still confused. They return to the beach and Richard says they can leave in the morning. Locke says they should leave now. Richard says let’s sit down for a little bit. Locke decides to ignore that and give a speech to the Others/Hostiles. He says I’m sure there’s a reason why Jacob is so secretive but he doesn’t know why. So he wants to see Jacob right now and he wants everyone to come with him. Sun is game because she thinks Jacob can help get Jin back. Anyone else getting a strong Wizard of Oz vibe? That happens a lot on this show. Richard comments to Ben that Locke could be trouble. Ben shrugs and says, “That’s why I tried to kill him.” Who in the world is on whose side?

Back in 1977, everyone is still getting on the sub. They handcuff Sawyer and Juliet to a table on the sub. Sawyer believes that once they dock they are free because Radzinsky and friends aren’t cops there. That’s the real world. They have a touching moment where they say their love but then Kate gets handcuffed next to them. What an awkward third wheel she is. Then the sub is going under. We can tell this because they have the captain say they are beginning dive. Then the show makes a mistake. They show the dive with the worst CGI the show has ever had. Seriously. It looked like a poor video game. Why would they show it for so long and even have the nerve to zoom in on it?

Speaking of nerve, Jack and Sayid are going through their tunnels. Sayid doesn’t trust Eloise, but Jack does. They arrive in a big room where they use torches to light it properly. Underneath a tarp is Jughead, our trusty bomb from earlier in the season. Then Eloise asks the good question of: “Now what?”

Back in 2008, Locke starts the trek to Jacob at daybreak with the awesome music. Ben mentions to Locke that Richard is concerned about this journey. Ben tries to convince Locke that he is now 100% loyal to him. So if he wants to be reunited with his people, then he’s all for that. Yet that’s not what Locke wants. He wants to kill Jacob. Yeah. That just happened.

L O S T

So wow. We have a lot of stuff to happen in this finale. I could geek out in wondering if it’s even possible to kill Jacob. What would even happen if Locke pulled that off? What is even up with Locke? What’s up with the Ajira people? Is Jack going to kill everyone? Are Sawyer and Juliet and Kate gone for good? Will they change the future? If so...what in the world is going to happen in the final season? From interviews I’ve read with the cast, this could truly be the craziest finales of the show. I cannot wait. So expect my reaction a week or so after it airs. Get excited.

Explaining LOST - The Variable

“The Variable”

Yes I’m incredibly late for this write-up, but hey, you get my write-up for “Follow the Leader” today as well! Which actually isn’t that great of a deal since you should get it today anyway. Luckily the old saying “My blog, my rules” applies here. For all of you who are wondering how old can that saying be if blogs have only been around for so many years, you can just simmer down for the episode is starting.

The episode begins with Desmond being rushed through an ER. They spit out some dialogue which I just accept as medical gibberish. Penny and baby Charlie are upset. They are hanging out in the waiting room when Ms. Hawking comes in. She makes her presence known by being a creepy as possible. She blames Faraday for Desmond being shot. Penny is just confused. Not alone.

Back in 1977, Faraday is getting off the submarine and sees Miles. He has a copy of the new recruits picture featuring Hurley and friends. So Faraday runs to Jack’s house to wake him up. He demands to know how Jack got back to 1977. Jack says Ms. Hawking said it was their destiny to get on that plane and come here. Faraday says it’s not their destiny and she was wrong. I love how on this show characters constantly disagree with each other on the main plot and themes of the show leaving the audience not knowing anyone to trust. Can we just set some rules? Whenever Hurley says something, it’s fact. That’s a good one. I’ll think of more later.

So we see Faraday as a kid playing the piano really really well. His mom is upset, obviously out of envy. She starts blabbering on about destiny. She says “destiny is if you have a gift it must be nurtured.” Again! I grew up believing destiny was the belief there is a preordained path in people’s lives that they have the opportunity to fulfill. Nope, I was wrong. It’s about practicing or something like that. Another rule: Nobody is allowed to mess with definitions. Anywho so Faraday is Rain Man because he was able to memorize beats on the metronome. She says he needs to give up the piano because he needs to focus on his studies. There is a reason he is so neurotic.

Back in Dharma time, Faraday and Miles go off to run an errand. Jack tells Sawyer that Faraday is back. While he’s over there Jack sees that Juliet and Sawyer have locked up Phil. During that fun session, Faraday runs up to Pierre Chang and goes down into the Orchid station. (Time traveling bunnies locale). He dons a hard hat and—yep—this is the first scene of the season. He runs up to Chang and tells him to evacuate everyone off the island. He says a boatload of energy will be released from the Swan (Hatch) and will be a catastrophic event. How does Faraday know this? Well Faraday is from the future, of course.

Chang doesn’t believe him because, honestly, Faraday is a bit nuts. Miles gets nervous and runs over to them. He tries to convince Chang that Faraday is nutty (Not difficult). Faraday busts out the info that Miles is Chang’s son. Miles denies it. Chang drives off and Faraday said he is making sure Chang does what he is supposed to do. Which is….no idea.

Back in Faraday’s past, he is graduating from college. He is with his love Teresa, who will ultimately die from his experiments. His mom is there and hates Teresa. She takes him and only him to lunch. She insists that he shouldn’t have a girlfriend because his work is more important. He starts saying she should be proud of him after all the work he’s done and this new grant he got from Charles Widmore. Hey, we know him! She looks mysteriously and gives him a gift and then leaves the table. Yeah that was a nice gift: giving him the bill. He opens up the real gift and it’s his journal. 

Back in Sawyer’s house, everyone has gathered around deciding what to do. He says “party over.” Sawyer says there’s two options: Take the sub and run away or live in the jungle like the good ole days. Jin wants to stay knowing Sun is somewhere on the island. Or somewhen. I’m hilarious. Their meeting is interrupted by “Twitchy” and Miles.  He gives an option C. He wants to go to the Hostiles/Others. He says one is his mother and she is the only one who can get them back to where they belong.

Back in Faraday’s past he is completely bonkers and is crying while watching the fake wreckage of Oceanic 815. Hey this is the scene from Season Four. Cool. Then Charles Widmore stops by. Whoa! Faraday is still crying and tries to explain he has severe memory problems. Widmore offers Faraday a spot on his freighter that is going to an island after explaining that the plane crash was fake. Turns out he was the one who put the plane there. Okay mystery solved. No more flipping that one. Anywho, he goes onto explain the island will further his research and will heal him.

Back in Sawyer’s house, Faraday is trying to explain what’s going on. Jack wants to follow Faraday because he doesn’t think they ought to be there. Jack tries to get Kate to tell him where the Hostiles are. Sawyer says that is a lousy idea. Then Juliet tells Kate the code for the Killer Stonehenge. Miles tosses Faraday the keys as he, Jack, and Kate leave. Sawyer says they will be at the beach once they change their minds. Then there’s this touching moment as he grabs Juliet’s hand and says “It’s time to go.”

They are about to grab some guns because they ADORE guns on this show, but Faraday has one more thing to do. He sees young Charlotte swinging while eating candy. She says “I’m no allowed to have chocolate before dinner.” That was her last words when she died earlier. Another mystery solved. So Faraday fulfills his destiny and tries desperately to save her and tell her not to go back. He now believes that he could change things. Jack and Kate believe they can shot things. Kate hands Faraday a rifle and he says the line of the episode: “Uh, do you have something for a beginner?” She hands him a Luger, of course, and then Radzinsky shows up and a gunfight ensues. This was like old west style here; it was fun. Faraday gets nicked, but he’s fine. They start shooting and running to a jeep. Oh wait. Is that a Dharma gas tank? Boom goes the gasoline! They drive off into the jungle and Radzinsky continues to be unlikeable.

Back in Faraday’s past, he continues to be better at me with the piano. His mom walks in and I think he starts messing up notes just to please her. Probably not. He’s still completely bonkers. She says that he absolutely must take this job. He doesn’t think he can do the work. She says he could get better if he takes this job. Faraday starts to tear up and asks “Will this make you proud of me?” She says it will. He looks defeated and worried, but he says he’ll do it. I’m just saying. This scene is fantastic on a second viewing.

Back in 1977, Jack and Kate and Faraday get past the Killer Stonehenge. Faraday reminds Jack this is their present. They aren’t immortal. Any of them can die. Yeah, foreshadowing. So they start the trek through the woods just as Juliet and Sawyer start packing up their stuff. They are both upset about leaving their home, but they have to hurry. Hurley grabs his mysterious guitar case and I think Jin just swore in Korean. Radzinsky busts in and says Dharma has been infiltrated. Then they find Phil tied up. Whoops.

Meanwhile Jack, Kate, and Faraday are in the middle of the jungle. Faraday explains that in four hours there will be an incident where a ton of energy will be released and they will have to cement all. This will end up being the hatch. The hatch will cause Oceanic 815 to crash. Then because the Oceanic 815 crash, the freighter will come and we know the rest. Yet Faraday said he’s focused all of time looking at the constant, not the variables. Turns out they are the variables. Faraday says that he believes he can stop the energy by launching a hydrogen bomb to stop all of that from happening. Whoa.

Meanwhile back in 2008, Penny is talking to Ms. Hawking. Oh yeah them. Turns out Hawking is apologizing. She says for the first time in a long time, she doesn’t know what will happen next. Why is that? Dunno, Penny has to go talk to Desmond. Turns out he’s fine. He has this nice moment saying he promises he will never leave her. Then Hawking gets bored while waiting in the lobby and goes outside and there’s Widmore. She says he should go say hi to Penny, but he says nah, she hates me. Good point. Then we find out that Widmore is Faraday’s dad. Whoa. Wait. Charles Widmore + Eloise Hawking = Daniel Faraday? Where did the last name Faraday come from? No time for this. More plot going on.

Back in 1977, Kate is starting to disagree with Faraday. She doesn’t want to erase what has happened to them. Yet they stumble upon the Other’s camp. Faraday is going in. This won’t be a bad idea. He walks up with his gun firmly in his hand and starts shooting the ground. He says he wants to speak to Eloise. Richard is there and says Eloise isn’t here right now. Faraday wants to know where the bomb is he told them to bury, but then there’s a shot. It’s Eloise. She shot Faraday in the chest. He drops to the ground and sees who shot him. That’s when he figures it out. She knew. She knew all this time that she will shoot him. She ruined his life making sure he was smart enough to get to where he had to be so he could die. That’s dark and really sad. He tells her, he’s her son and then dies.

L O S T

 

So I wonder what will happen next week? Any theories? Any idea who it’s about? I do. I’ve seen it. And now I’m going to open a new Word document and write about it. Scroll up if you wish to read it.

Explaining LOST - Some Like It Hoth

“Some Like It Hoth”

 

What? There’s a new LOST in a handful of hours and there was even a whole extra week to work on this and NOW I’m sending this out there. Yep.

So this week was a Miles episode. This was pretty obvious by the Miles flashback scene. A young Asian kid asks his mom for some change for the vending machine while they are trying to buy a lousy apartment. We know this is Miles because her mother says “No running, Miles!” She then proceeds to look directly at the character and explain this is Miles Strom from the island, but he is much younger. Finally we all understand. So Miles goes and checks out the vending machine, but is interrupted. He has images a dead body flash into his mind and he is drawn to the #4 room. (LOST number). He somehow knows that a key was under a stone bunny. This show loves bunnies. So young Miles cries out when sees a dead dude. His mom and the landlord comes. Then Miles decides to be really creepy and starts freaking out how he can hear the dead boy talk to him.

Flash to the island in 1977 where Sawyer and Kate are now leaving the Hostile territory. Now it’s been a few weeks. They just handed over Ben to Richard so Ben can take him to the Temple to get all better. So they are returning to Dharma town but Sawyer calls up Miles and tells him to destroy the security footage of them leaving with Ben. Sawyer says he’s now off the grid “looking” for Ben. Miles is about to destroy the tape when Horace walks in. Horace needs Sawyer but settles for Miles. He’s supposed to give a package to Radzinsky and deliver a package back. He has to go into Hostile territory to do this. He gets into his (Ooo ooo) Dharma bus and finds Radzinsky being his usual spastic self. I look at him and realize this is what would happen if Needlenose Ned from Groundhogs Day had a rougher childhood. So he gives Miles this dead body who “fell into a ditch.” Looking at the bullet hole in his head, Miles asks if the ditch had a gun. Alas, Radzinsky is not one for small talk. The body bag is loaded up and Miles is sent on his way, but he has one thing to do first. He opens up the bag and asks the corpse what really happened.

We flash back to Miles’s youth once again. He is a teenager or in his 20s with a very punk rock vibe with spiky hair and a whole lot of piercings. There are actually 108 piercings on his head. Don’t bother to count; just believe me. So he’s visiting his very sick mother. She’s dying and he wants to know about his past, specifically how he can talk to dead people and how she won’t talk about his dad. She says that his father is dead and he kicked them out when Miles was a baby. Miles wants to see his dad’s body and his mom said the body is in a place he can never go.

Ironic flash back to Miles on the island where he is waiting for Horace to get off the phone. Horace mentions that the death may be caused by electromagnetisms, which was the man focus for the Swan station or what everyone simply causes the Hatch. Now remember this is being built right now; it’s what Radzinsky was building a model for. Horace says that Miles now needs to take the package to Pierre Chang, the dude from all of the orientation videos. Miles walks out and sees Hurley is filling up the (Ooo ooo) Dharma bus full of sandwiches for everyone at the Orchid, which is where Miles is going. Hurley says they should car pool so maybe they can stop global warming, which further proves he still doesn’t get time travel.

Meanwhile Juliet and Kate catch up at the little hospital thing. Then Roger Linus walks in and notices that his dying son is no where to be seen. Juliet says that he has disappeared. Roger freaks out and starts yelling and then runs off to security. Then Juliet looks at Kate and says “Here we go.” So is this it? Is this the beginning of the end for them at Dharma town? Sure looks like it.

So Miles and Hurley are driving while Hurley is writing frantically in a journal. He asks how to spell “bounty hunter” and Miles asks if it is a memoir. Hurley won’t budge. They keep driving and then Hurley is upset about the foul smell in the car. He thinks it’s his sandwiches but when he goes to look he finds the dead body. Hurley asks what happened and Miles tells him that a filling in this man’s tooth flew out of its socket and went through his brain. First off, whoa. Second off, one of the coolest death concepts ever. Hurley figures out that Miles talks to dead people and he says he will keep his secret because he can talk to them too.

Flashback to Miles more around the age we know him now. He’s talking from a guy from the TV show Breaking Bad. The man has hired Miles to talk to his dead son and let him know that he loved him. Miles says he needs a body, but apparently the kid was cremated. He goes through some motions but the audience knows it to be fake. Miles says to the man that his son knew he loved him. Then as Miles is leaving, Naomi shows up! Oh come on, you all remember Naomi. She parachuted onto the island in Season Three from the freighter. Locke killed her, you know, because. She wants to talk to Miles.

Back in 1977, Roger is drinking beer on a kid’s playground, which I have recently discovered is still a crime today. What do you know. So Kate sits next to him and tries to give him a boost of confidence. He should have hope and whatnot. Roger starts to get rightfully paranoid and tells her to get out of there.

Meanwhile the best road trip duo ever are still driving. They are debating each other’s ability. Miles is shocked that Hurley can have long friendly conversations with dead people. Hurley gets the line of the night with “You’re just jealous that my power is better than yours.” This is what those X-Men movies should be like. Wait, the actor who played Miles was in X3. Oh what a terrible movie that was and—Oh they’re at the Orchid. The construction is underway. There is a lot of framework done and Pierre Chang seems to be in charge of stuff. Chang walks over and yells at Miles for not coming alone. Then he threatens to demote Hurley to picking up polar bear poop if he breathes one word of this. Hurley tells Miles that guy was a douche and of course Miles says that douche is his dad. I hate it when that happens.

Back in whenever, Naomi takes Miles to a dead body for an audition. She tosses him some cash and then Miles tells her what happened to him. Apparently this guy died on his way to Widmore with all of this info about empty graves and a purchase order for an airplane. Now remember this mystery. We have a fake Oceanic 815 plane in the bottom of the ocean and a bunch of fake graves for this flight. Now Widmore says that Ben made the fake plane and Ben says that Widmore did it. We still don’t know the truth. Naomi says that she is leading an expedition to an island and they need to find a man on that island. One way to find him is to ask the countless bodies on the island to where Ben’s hiding. Then she offers him 1.6 million dollars. 16 is a LOST number and also this makes sense now. Miles asked Ben for 3.2 for a counter arrangement and of course he just doubled the asking price.  Another pressing mystery solved. Next?

Back in 1977, Hurley wants to talk about Pierre Chang. Miles doesn’t. Yet Chang needs a ride to Radzinsky so off the three of them go again. Meanwhile Jack is cleaning up a classroom when Roger walks in. Roger wants to clean in order to distract him or something. Either way he threw a bucket of water again. This has been two episodes now when he’s made the room messier. This guy is the worst janitor ever. Jack cleaned up a chalkboard with mysterious Egyptian stuff on it and is about to leave when Roger asks him about Kate. He doesn’t trust her and thinks she has something to do with his kid’s disappearance. He asks Jack for advice and Jack simply says lie low.

Back in the (Ooo ooo) Dharma Bus, Hurley is asking Chang some stuff. He keeps getting Chang to talk about Miles and just about anything in general. Miles and Chang find it annoying especially when Hurley tries to get the three of them to get a beer later. They stop the van before they can say no so they can go to a secret location. Chang leaves to talk to Radzinsky and Hurley realizes where they are. He sees two Dharma construction workers filing some numbers onto a hatch door. Yep, it’s 4 8 15 16 23 42, which we see a whole lot of times throughout Seasons One and Two. Hurley tells Miles they are building the hatch that ultimately crashed their plane. Remember Desmond didn’t press the button in time one day and made the plane crash. I hate it when that happens.

Back in Miles’s past, he’s kidnapped after ordering a fish taco. A dude named Bram, who we actually know, kidnaps him. He was one of the guys on Ajira Flight 316. Ben didn’t kill him. Anywho, he tries to convince Miles not to get on that freighter. He asks Miles that question again “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” Now Lapidus didn’t know the answer and neither does Miles. By not knowing the answer, Bram says Miles shouldn’t go to the island. He says he if he agrees not to go, they will tell him all about his ability and his father. Miles gets grumpy and says he doesn’t care about that stuff anymore and asks for 3.2 million dollars. Bram and the boys toss him out of the van and then reminds him he’s on the wrong end.

Back in 1977, Miles and Hurley are driving back. Hurley tells Miles some things about the hatch. How there will be an accident and how they will have to build a computer to stop the world from ending. Foreshadowing! Back to the father issues, though. Hurley says this is fantastic that Chang is here for now Miles can actually get to know his father or be able to change his own diaper. Miles gets angry and says he doesn’t care about his father. He grabs Hurley’s journal to read what’s going on his head. Miles reads it and it’s the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back. Yes! Hurley says that this is 1977 and Star Wars just came out. He figures George Lucas will be looking for a sequel and he figured he can help with a few changes from the original movie. 

Back in Dharmaville, Sawyer has returned to Juliet. Yet Jack is there too. Jack is there to pass on the news that Roger suspects Kate. Sawyer is grateful for being filled in. Then Phil walks up to Sawyer saying he knows who took Ben. He pulls out the tape Miles forgot to destroy and says it was Sawyer. So Phil decides to be a complete idiot and walks into Sawyer’s house before telling anyone else. So Sawyer punches him and tells Juliet to get some rope. And there it goes.

Back in Miles’s past he returns to the man from Breaking Bad to return the money. He admits to lying and says that if he should have let his son know that he loved him when he was still alive. Oh daddy issues.

Back in 1977, Hurley tells Miles the story of how he used to hate his dad but now they are the best of friends and he misses them. Miles still says no. Then Hurley says that was Luke Skywalker’s position too. He could have sat down and talked to Vader but instead he lost his hand. Hurley also throws in a jab against Ewoks, but Miles got the message. He walks over to Chang’s house to see him reading a book to Baby Miles. Yes it’s a picture book about polar bears. Of course it is. Big boy Miles starts to cry at the sight. He tries to walk away but Chang comes out needing a ride to the dock. The sub is back with scientists from Ann Arbor, which is where Dharma was created. Yet who gets off the sub? Daniel Faraday. 

L O S T

Yes! Faraday returns! This upcoming episode is all about him and from what I can tell…it’s going to be one nutty episode. This will be the 100^th hour of LOST, which is always a milestone for any TV show. Yet it’s also airing on the 100^th day of President Obama’s term in office. Hmmmm. Is there a connection? Of course there is. Obama is Jacob. You heard it here first.

Explaining LOST - Dead is Dead

“Dead is Dead”

Now I have often said the greatest thing is the world is hyperbole. So when I say this episode is the best of the season, you know that I mean what I say. I’m also going to say that Michael Emerson is among the very best actors working today and this episode continues to prove that point. We start off the show with a dude on a horse. Makes sense. He’s walking around the Other’s camp and walks up to Richard Albert rather upset that a boy has been brought into their camp. Richard says that Jacob wanted it done and the dude still seems a bit annoyed at that. So the dude goes up to the tent and sees Young Ben resting. He awakes and doesn’t remember getting hurt. He wants to stay with the Others. Then the dude says just because you are living with Dharma doesn’t mean that he is one of them. Then the dude reveals himself to be Charles Widmore. Oh yeah.

Flashfoward to present day on the island. Ben awakes to John Locke sitting next to him. Needless to say Ben is rather put off by that. Ben starts rambling off about he knew this would happen, but Locke doesn’t believe him. So Locke asks why Ben was scurring off to the other island. Ben says that he came back to the island to be judged by “the monster.” HOLY JACOB!

Back on the beach, the Ajira people are making a fire and basically repeating Season One except with less drama. Ben offers to help because he’s that awesome. Caesar asks how Ben’s doing and questions him about Locke. Then Ben continues his awesome streak by planting the idea that Locke was on the island before the plane went down. Caesar says not to worry because he has a weapon that appears to be a pop gun.

Flashback to the 80s when Ben is older and wearing a bad wig. He’s with a young version of Ethan and they are sneaking into Rosseau’s camp. He goes into her tent and accidently knocks over her music box. She wakes up and starts yelling that he infected her crew. Ben grabs her baby, which upsets Rosseau. (Kate should take notes.) Ben puts Rosseau at gunpoint and says if she wants her child to live she needs to stay put. Also he said the very mysterious line “If you hear whispers run the other way.” Another clue onto those mysterious whispers that seem to be appear whenever the Others are involved. He leaves and Rosseau cries.

Back in the present, Ben is searching around the office we saw Casear investigate a few episodes back. Locke walks in when Ben was taking out a picture of him and his daughter Alex. Locke mocks Ben for leading his people from an office and then decides to take a seat in it, which was a nice touch. Locke asked the big question of why did Ben kill him. Ben says he did it to make sure everyone came back. He said he stopped Locke from suicide because he needed his information first. Ultimately it’s all about the best interest of the island. Locke said he was just hoping for an apology, but Ben is silent. Then Locke says he wants to help Ben be judged. Ben looks really nervous.

So Locke and Ben start to uncover one of the long boats to head over to the main island. Caesar is a bit whinny though. He says that everyone should stay put. Also he said that Locke should explain why he knows so much about the island. Caesar starts to reach for his gun, but Ben has it. THEN HE SHOOTS CAESAR IN THE CHEST. He then throws the gun to Locke and says “Consider that my apology.” I love Ben. Yet look at that great LOST misdirection. The show sets up these Ajira characters and makes them mysterious. Who are they and what is their involvement to the main story? Yet the most mysterious one just gets blown away. Fantastic and truly unpredictable.

So Ben and Locke start to row over to the main island. They tie up the boat to the dock and Ben has a feeling of déjà vu. Locke notices the other boat at the dock and Ben tells him about Sun and Lapidus. Locke wonders if it was Sun who also hurt his arm. Ben says nope and leaves it at that. They start the trek over to Ben’s house for that’s where Ben knows how to summon the monster as we saw last season when he sic-ed it on the goons from the freighter. Locke says he doesn’t believe Ben about wanting to be judged for breaking the rules. Ben is surprised. Locke says that Ben wants to be judged for the death of his daughter. Ben has no retort.

Flashback to Ben bringing Alex back to his camp. Charles Widmore asks if Ben killed Rousseau. Widmore is rather annoyed that a baby was brought back. Widmore says the baby should have been killed off. Ben asks if that is what Jacob wanted and Widmore has no response. Ben hands over the baby to Widmore and tells him to kill it. Again, Widmore has no response and just walks away to also contemplate ditching his bad wig. Richard seems amused by all of this.

Back in the present Locke and Ben arrive at the Barracks, the former Dharma village. Locke wonders if moving in there was Ben’s idea. Ben basically admits it was. A light was turned on in Ben’s house and Ben is a tad freaked out, but don’t worry: Locke is calm. Ben looks around and finds Sun looking around. Then Lapidus walks in and shows Ben a Dharma picture with Jack and etc. Ben seems genuinely surprised by it, but then again he could be lying about that too. He also responded when Sun mentioned Christian’s name. Apparently Christian told Sun that if she wants to see Jin again they have to wait there for John Locke. Then they look out the window and see good ‘ole Locke waving back at them. Then Bruce Willis walks by.

So they all sit around staring at each other in confusion. Lapidus is freaked out and votes for going back to the plane. Locke says that he will help Sun find Jin so Sun stays with Locke. Lapidus wishes her luck and skedaddles. Yet before they can go searching for Jin, Locke reminds Ben that he has to be judged. So Ben pulls out his bookcase, goes into a secret room, goes into another secret room and into a tunnel. He goes down into the tunnel to find a pool of murky water. One may even say smoky water. He reaches down and pulls something and all the water goes down a drain. Seriously. This show rocks.

Flashback to Ben pushing a young version of Alex on a swing in the Barracks. So this is post-Dharma, pre-Oceanic. Richard stops by to tell Ben that the sub is about to leave. Ben and Richard go to the dock where the sub is located. Charles Widmore is being taken away. Apparently Widmore left the island and returned several time and had a daughter with an outsider. He broke the rules and so now he is banished. Ben says that he won’t be selfish, unlike him. Yet we know he too will leave the island at will since he has all of those passports hidden away. Widmore warns that Ben will be in the same boat as him one day. Okay I’m not meaning the sub, but a situation like boat. Then he gives the cool line “I’ll be seeing you boy.” Ben just stares as Widmore is taken away.

Back in 2008, Sun is sitting on the porch contemplating time travel and dead bodies. Apparently Locke left to go do something. Sun suggests that Jack lied about Locke being dead. Ben confirms that Locke was truly dead. Then Ben says truly didn’t think that Locke would come back to life for dead is dead. It scares him that Locke is walking around, but I don’t believe that entirely. I think he was just messing with Sun to make her not trust Locke. Then they hear rustling in the woods and Ben thinks it’s his fate. Nope, it’s Locke. Locke says that the smoke monster isn’t coming so we should go to it. Ben says he doesn’t know where it is, but Locke says he does. Chilly.

Locke tries having a conversation with Sun, not like he had too many before. He tries to assure he is the same man that he was prior.

Flashback to a few months ago with a chipper Ben calling Widmore saying that he’s going back to the island today. Widmore says that won’t happen, but whatever. Ben says that he shall succeed right after he kills Penny. She’s on the boat Our Mutual Friend right now. That was the name of the Charles Dickens book that Desmond needs to read. He said that is the last book he will ever read. So right before the hatch was going to explode, he opened it up to find a letter from Penny telling him never to give up. Great moment.

Yet flashback to the island where Ben asks Locke how he knows where the smoke monster is. Locke just knows, apparently. Ben keeps probing, but Locke laughs for they had switched positions on the show. Locke has the information and Ben has to follow blindly. They keep on trekking and arrive at the Temple. We see that mysterious wall once again. Yet apparently it isn’t the actual temple. The actual Temple is a mile beyond the wall. Locke says we’re not going into the temple, but under it. They look into the hole that we saw the Smoke Monster pull the French team into. Before Ben goes down, he soberly begs to Sun that she apologies to Desmond for him. Then he goes down.

Back to the docks. Ben pulls out a gun and walks towards Penny. Desmond yells at him so Ben shoots him right in the groceries. He falls to the ground. Ben moves to Penny with his pistol pointed at her. He says he’s sorry but this has to happen. Baby Charlie comes out of the boat and Ben can’t go through with it. He puts down his gun, but it doesn’t matter for Desmond pops back up and beats the living poop out of Ben and throws him into the sea. That’s how he hurt his arm. 

Back on the island, Lapidus returns to the smaller island. He finds out the Ajira survivors have found guns so he asks Illana about that. She of course has a gun pointed at him. She and some other dude ask him twice “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” Lapidus, like everyone else, is rather confused. So they hit him with the butt of a gun. Now I think these Ajira people are more than they appear. Yet we have only heard that sort of code used once before and that was when Desmond was looking for his replacement for the Swan. Could they be working for a new age Dharma? That’s my guess.

Back under the Temple wall, Ben and Locke walk down a creepy hallway. It seems like an Egyptian tomb. Ben confirms that he wants to be judged for Alex’s death not for breaking the rules. Ben blames himself for Alex’s death and wants to be answered for it. Ben says he can take it from here and starts to lead the way, but falls down beneath the floor. Ben looks around and sees this mysterious room—no surprise there. It once again has this very Egyptian feel with more symbols on the wall. There was one that was rather interesting. We had our good friend Anubis who I talked about previously and a symbol that looks like smoke monsters. Ladies and gentlemen, foreshadowing.

Then he looks down at all of these holes in the ground. His torch goes out as the smoke monster comes out of the holes and surrounds him. It’s like he’s in a pool of smoke as it rises up and encompasses him. It starts flashing around him. We’ve seen this before. When Juliet and Kate ran from the smoke monster in Season Three we saw it do those weird photograph like flashes. He sees clips from previously in this episode with Alex and Widmore. Then there’s some clips from Alex last year when she truly hated her fake father. To see Ben react to her death a second time was just fantastic. Seriously this is amazing acting because he has to be at a green screen for all of this. The smoke fades away into the holes. His torch flames up again and Alex is standing there. She walks over to him. He says how sorry he is and how it’s all his fault. She says she knows and then throws him up against a pillar. She yells at him that she already knows he’s planning on killing Locke again. She says that if Ben doesn’t obey Locke she will hunt him down and destroy him. Lovely. Then she simply disappeared. Locke then appears at the hole and throws down some rope. He asks what happened and Ben responds: “It let me live.”

L O S T

So that was interesting. It was a great comparison to what happened with Mr. Eko. His dead brother came up and asked him if he was remorseful for his sins. Eko said nope and then the smoke monster killed him. There’s some connection between the dead people and the smoke monster. Now it’s not like Christian Shepherd and John Locke who can walk around all the time without disappearing. Or maybe there is? I really don’t know. I think it’s interesting how all the dead bodies we’ve seen talk have had their bodies physically on the island. (Eko’s brother, Ana Lucia, Alex, Charlie, Boone, and even Horace.) I do believe there’s a connection there. Well next week we have Miles in the foreground in the greatest title of anything ever: “Some Like It Hoth.” Get excited.