First Post on The End

You will likely see a number of posts over the next couple weeks from Carol, Brian, and me. There's just no putting this finale into one post. And the three of us have very differing opinions! So, we thought it be interesting to have a running stream of our takes over a period of time. I'm kicking things off...

So many people seem to be confused about what happened on LOST. I don't understand why. I don't think there was any confusion about what happened. The Island timeline was real. They all lived and died as they did - "whatever happened, happened." Much, much later, possibly at the end of time, when they all had died, they reconnected in an afterlife - the Sideways timeline. We saw how most of them died - the people who died on the island (e.g. Jack, Locke, Sayid, Charlie, Libby, Kwons, etc). They had to wait for the death of the rest to reconnect in the Sideways timeline. There are others that we don't know how they eventually die (e.g. Kate, Sawyer, Claire, Miles, Lupidus, Alpert, Hurley, and Ben), but they presumable live out their lives and die at some later time. So profoundly sad... everyone who lived to make it off the island (so few!) had to live out their lives without their loved ones. And Ji Yeon without her parents. I guess Rose, Bernard, and Ben were the only winners in life. Rose and Bernard got to live our their lives together on the island. Ben got to have his island (as #2, but still).

The Island was NOT purgatory... they were NOT dead the whole time. The producer debunked that theory years ago. And there's nothing in the final episode that even suggests they were dead the whole time. They were just dead in the Sideways timeline, which was their afterlife.

Christian and Jack tell us this is what happened. Jack realized "I died too" after he finally sees all of his Island memories --- which would include his death in the bamboo forest. Then, Christian tells him "everything that has ever happened to you is real." He goes on to explain that "everyone dies sometime, kiddo. Some of them before you [e.g. Locke and Sayid], some long after you [e.g. Hugo, Kate, and Sawyer]." He then explains that the Sideways timeline is a timeless place ("there is no now here") that our characters made together so that they could find one another after their deaths. Christian confirms that they WERE alive on the Island when he says "the most important part of your *life* was the time that you spent with these people."

One thing that intially really confused me in finding out that the Sideways timeline was a much-later afterlife: hadn't Juliet told us that the nuke worked (as interpreted by Miles in hearing her dying thoughts)? Her dying thought was "it worked," which lead me (and many others) to believe that sideways world was a parallel universe in which our heros had succeeded in resetting future events. But, no... they played a joke on us! When she said "it worked," she wasn't talking about the nuke. She was just talking about unplugging the stupid candy machine. I can't believe I was so fully duped by an off-handed remark about a vending machine!

Hugo "ruled" on the island for a long time, I'm guessing. Our clue to that is Ben and Hugo's brief conversation outside the church: H: "You were a good number 2." B: "You were a great number 1, Hugo." You sensed a relationship there, and that they worked together on the Island a long time. Maybe thousands of years, like Jacob. What I am left most confused about is the image of the sunk island that we were shown at the beginning of this season. Does the sunk island mean someone finally defeated the Protector of the Island (Hugo), put out the light, and destroyed the island? I'm thinking yes. Although it could be hundreds, thousands, or millions of years after our story. Perhaps it was when this finally happened, and the last Protector, Hugo, was defeated and killed, and the Island light put out, that the world ended and they joined each other in the Sideways timeline.

I'm still left with a lot of questions about outstanding mysteries throughout the course of the show. But, overall, I'm satisfied with the ending. But feeling very, very sad that what happened happened and that the Sideways timeline was not a way to redeem and bring back to life our beloved characters. I am so sad that they were only able to reconvene in death.

I Was Right About Something!

Juliet was Jack's ex-wife in the sideways, soul-searching world. Cool.

What They Died For

Happy Finale Week, friends! Of course this episode was going to be a set-up for the finale. How could it be anything else? They definitely have a lot of wrapping up to do in 2.5 hours on Sunday, though. For this penultimate episode, your faithful substitute-bloggers have decided to have a little point-counterpoint discussion on some of the mysteries of this episode and, of course, the big set-ups (in both sideways world and island world) for the finale. Enjoy, and comment away!

SIDEWAYS LAND (2004)

Jack

Nicole: I didn’t see as much of Jack putting together the pieces of the crazy “coincidences” of all of the 815ers as I would have liked. One point I did like because it supports a season-long theory of mine was Jack looking in the mirror and seeing an inexplicable neck wound. I think there have been many clues to the sideways characters being connected to Island characters by having cross-over things happen, such as Juliet “going out Dutch for coffee” as she was dying on the island, Jack’s mystery appendix scar, and Sun’s loss of English. Speaking of Juliet: I have a prediction that she is Sideways-Jack’s baby mama. I guess we will find out at the concert.

Brian: I’d love to see Juliet emerge as Jack’s ex. The problem is that Jack’s son looks to me like the product of a marriage between Jack and – brace yourselves – Kate.

Nicole: I have to disagree with that one. Otherwise, when Jack asked David if his mom would be there, his answer would have been “no, she’s incarcerated at the moment.” The pretty house in the suburbs that David lives in does not seem compatible with Kate’s fugitive lifestyle.

Locke

Nicole: I found it interesting that sideways-Locke immediately went to faith/fate when he heard from Ben what Desmond said about trying to help Locke let go. I probably would have gone with the more logical conspiracy theory --- that a crazed surgeon wanted so desperately to do his experimental surgery conspired with Desmond to bring him his surgical candidate. I would have thought that Jack might have been more suspicious of fate’s hand here, with all of the strange 815 connections he had recently discovered.

Brian: I’m not inclined to defend Jack as I’m usually put off by his smugness and martyr complex, but I’ll point out that he’s got so much going on right now that he may not be very attuned to the full extent of what’s happening with 815. His father died, the body disappeared, he met a sister he never knew he had, and he’s patching up a strained relationship with his kid. I’ll give Jack a break on this one.

Desmond

Brian: Claire and Sayid took a lot of heat for the crazy looks in their eyes when they were running around the Temple of Doom. I’m not picking up a similar reaction to Desmond. Is everyone just fully convinced that his motives are pure? Taking a cue from Creepy Charlie, he’s taking some extreme measures (running down Locke, giving Ben a beatdown, probably lying to Jack about Christian Shephard’s body) to jog the island memories with his seatmates.

Nicole: It seems to me that Desmond becomes more enlightened and knowing every episode. I suspect he remembers the Island timeline in full now. Oh, and why is Desmond pretending they found Christian's body? Where is that going to go?

Ben

Nicole: Ben getting beat up made him look much more like the Ben we know and… uh… love? I wonder if Desmond beat up Ben to make him “see” the other timeline, or is was he transferring his anger at Island-Ben onto Sideways-Ben? Something I did NOT see coming was Sideways-Ben and Sideways-Rousseau as a potential romance. I guess he is destined to be Alex’s father.

Brian: Sideways Rousseau was looking sooo good, especially in contrast to Island Rousseau. Granted the makeup and wardrobe options for her on the island were limited, but, still. Wow. Yeah, romance was definitely in the air. Rousseau essentially gave Ben a standing invitation for dinner. When Ben’s eyes started to well up with tears as Rousseau explained how he was the closest thing Alex had to a father, I bet he was thinking about his own father. And also how sacrificing his own ambitions for Alex’s college aspirations was the right thing to do and paying off in ways he hadn’t expected.

The Set-Up

Nicole: We know Desmond is trying to get everyone in the same place. What's he going to do to make them all “see” once they're there? Set off a bomb so they have a near-death experience like Desmond and Charlie? Are all of our characters going to wind up at the benefit concert? We can see how Hurley, Sayid, Kate, Jack (and probably Claire with him), Charlotte, and Miles are going to get there. Des has probably already lined Charlie up to be there. My guess is Faraday will be there is some musical capacity. What about the rest? Locke, Ben, Sawyer, Ana Lucia, Rose, Bernard, Juliet… I must be missing others! I predict Juliet being there as David’s mother, and I think a simple call from Miles reporting that the fugitives are there will probably get Sawyer there.

Brian: I like your theory about the benefit concert. Don’t forget about the Kwons (not sure how they’re going to get there) and the Widmores. My guess is that we’ve seen the last of Ana Lucia. I just hope Driveshaft’s set is brief. I’m still sick of You All Everybody.

ON THE ISLAND (2007)

Ben

Brian: About all that we need to know about Ben’s island state of mind is when he Smoke Monster whether they get to kill more people.

Nicole: Wow, he is the ultimate flip-flopper. That guy always leaves us guessing whether he's a good guy or a bad guy (if we even knew which side was good or bad). From the second we met him. I guess it's a sign of a great character that I'm mad that someone didn't off him three seasons ago. OK, I don’t really wish that; the show would not be nearly as good without him.

The Rules

Nicole: Is notLocke allowed to kill Richard under the rules? What about Ben and Widmore? Aren’t they not allowed to kill each other? What changed? Or did Ben fail in his attempt to kill Widmore?

Brian: I’m completely confused about Widmore’s role on the island. And I have a feeling that hearing what Widmore whispered into MIB’s ear isn’t going to clear things up much.

The Candidates

Brian: Sawyer passed on a great opportunity to be Top Dog. He made a sound decision by shelving his competitiveness with Jack in favor of the best interests of, well, the fate of the world.

Nicole: The saddest moment of the show was when Sawyer realized the Kwons death was his doing.

Brian: What was nice is that it also prompted one of the episode’s best developments – Jack and Sawyer shared a great moment when Jack tried to assure him that their death wasn’t his fault. They seemed to extinguish an alpha male rivalry in a way that Jacob and MIB never could.

Nicole: Is the show moving away from fate and destiny? The candidates were given a choice to become protector of the place that seems to be all about fate. But, it's starting to seem a lot more and more about choices - Jacob chose them to come to the island rather than them being fated to it.

The Protector

Nicole: I’m sure I’m not the only one that was sure that Jack was going to be “The One.” Sayid told him that it had to be him. But what’s going to happen for Jack now? There was definitely some crazy facial expressions after he drank Jacob’s anointed water. Is Jack now enlightened/all-knowing?

Brian: I imagined Jack thinking, Umm, this tastes like nasty river water but I’m going to make some goofy facial expressions and pretend that it’s giving me SUPER POWERS!

The Set-Up

Nicole: A war with Smokey is brewing. Our heroes have to figure out how to kill him. I can’t wait! But I’m still at a loss with Desmond’s special role on the Island. His is the last resort, a fail-safe. I don't really get it.

Brian: What happened to the well? The last time we saw Des, he was sitting at the bottom of it. When Smokey returned to it, water ran through it. But like many other questions we’ve had about the meaning of the smallest details, it could just be a continuity error. Maybe Desmond is really going to shine in L.A. Maybe that’s how he can most affect what happens on the Island. He and Jack somehow attack Evil from two sides, which seems to give them a fair shot.

Nicole: Presumable this war is all about THE LIGHT. notLocke/Smokey wants to get back to THE LIGHT. What will happen to Smokey if he gets to the cave? It now seems that only the protector can find the cave. If the protector and all his replacements are dead, does the cave become visible and accessible to all? I still am at a loss as to why Smokey thinks THE LIGHT is his ticket off the island.

Fearless Prediction I'll Probably Live to Regret

I'm betting (hoping?) that when we meet David's mom, Jack's ex-wife in the sideways timeline, it's gonna be Juliet.

Who's with me on this one?

And my apologies to Nicole and Brian, who are now driving this blog. I just had to post this random thought.

Mommy Issues

Hello, everyone. This is Brian, checking into the lineup as the other pinch hitter for Carol, your loyal Lost blogger. I've been a reader and commenter since Carol began the blog. Like many of you, Carol has always pushed me to a deeper and fuller understanding of Lost. I hope it won't be long before she's able to weigh in with her thoughts on the final season. Until then, congratulations to Carol and her family on the new additions. And thanks to my co-blogger, Nicole, for her great work last week with this post.

Now, let's get to it:

Many Lost bloggers noted how Across the Sea was a polarizing episode. You can find three of my favorites here and here. Did it work for you? I think that's going to largely depend on whether you're a fan of deep background Lost mythology or whether you'd prefer to spend the final 4.5 hours of the show with your favorite characters. I'm guessing most viewers (myself included) fall into the latter category. If so, we just lost a critical hour.

I think this would have been a great, mind-blowing episode for earlier in the season or even last season. The same goes for the Richard Alpert episode, which I thought was better acted and better written. Still, LindCuse prepared us for this by showcasing Jacob and MIB in the season five finale. In the opening scene of last season's finale, Man in Black stared into the ocean and said, "They come, they fight, they destroy, they corrupt. It always ends the same."

Obviously MIB wasn't completely dismissive of C.J. Cregg if he was still willing to quote her verbatim.

I thought Allison Janney did some nice work as Jacob and MIB's homicidal, adoptive mother. When she told Boy in Black that she planted the game, I didn't believe her for a second. If she hadn't lied, she would have been forced into acknowledging that life existed beyond their corner of the island. She would have been forced to admit that there was a motorcycle gang slaughtering boars in the jungle.

The killing of Claudia was about as abrupt as Ben's killing of Locke. Is it just a coincidence that this episode aired two days after Mother's Day? Speaking of Ben, can we get some more Ben before this thing ends on Sunday? Ben's about as sweet as Rose and Bernard at this point.

What is certain about this episode is that the glowing cave will be always be a touchstone for the show. I found myself wondering whether Lost jumped the shark. It had something of a Lucky Charms feel to it. I was fully prepared for a leprechaun to jump out. Instead, Jacob eventually gave us Smokey. With all of the bodies on Smokey's rap sheet, I think that Jacob shares some responsibility. That said, Jacob seemed to realize his mistake when he said goodbye to MIB as he buried him; he didn't say goodbye to C.J. Cregg.

Maybe this is more obvious than I think it is, but my modest prediction is that Faraday's somehow mixed up in what MIB kept referring to as the very smart men with ideas of how to harness the island's energy.

One thing I'd like to challenge from Nicole's post is the theory that MIB and Janney's character were named Adam and Eve. Just because Locke said so doesn't make it so. I think this is going to be a loose end that remains loose. "Every answer leads to more questions."

Please add your two cents to the comments. Did you like the glowing cave? What is it? A very retro kind of spa treatment? Does the warm, glowing light = life = the fate of humankind? We were getting some heavy religious imagery ("Take this cup. Drink." I thought I was in church for a second). Or is it something else entirely?

Where would you like to go in the final 3.5 hours?

Across the Sea

Hi, all. I’m Nicole, and I am one of a two-member specially trained team that has been standing by in case of a “Defcon 4 Alert.” Today, our team was summoned to duty.

OK, in plain English: our beloved author has been with child. Children, actually. And those children made an early entrance into this world this week. My cohort, Brian, who you will meet in a post very soon to come, and I have been the back-up bloggers should this very event occur. Our heartfelt congratulations, Carol, and we hope to do your blog justice in these final three weeks!

Getting to “Across the Sea…”

MOTHER AND CLAUDIA

I’m sure most of us immediately guessed when we saw an expectant Claudia wash up on the shore that she was pregnant with Jacob and, potentially, the Man in Black (MIB). Claudia was promptly “rescued” by former White House Press Secretary C.J. Cregg (Mother). The internet tells me they were speaking Latin. I wonder if we were meant to believe that they were speaking Latin the entire episode, but they switched to English for our (and the actors’) convenience. I guess yes. We learn some things about Mother: she is the only one on the island, she arrived there by accident, and that she doesn’t want to answer all the questions that we wish she would (“every question I answer will only lead to another question”).We later learn that Mother does not age ala Richard Alpert and that she has some control over the island (if there are people, SHE will find them!).

Of course, Claudia goes into labor and Mother helps deliver the twin boys. Then, Mother kills Claudia. The first Other doing the first crazy thing to procure someone else’s child. Children, actually.

CHILDHOOD

Boy Jacob’s and the Boy in Black’s (BIB!) childhood interactions seem much like the adult interactions we had previously seen between the two. Very pensive. Every word they say to each other, every glance, every far-off look seems chock-full of meaning. These boys raised major nature vs. nurture questions: their adoptive mother seems to be a deity type and raising them as though they were the same despite their human biology. Did she do this through spells cast on them?

The game that BIB “found” showed us the beginning of the white vs. black seemingly-eternal conflict between Jacob and BIB. The game brought back the Egyptian imagery that has weaved its way though this entire show (there were hieroglyphs on the gameboard). I can’t even attempt to theorize on the Egyptian lore that might be connected to these symbols.

The most important thing we learned about these boys, I thought, was that Jacob was incapable of deceit and wrongdoing. BIB, on the other hand, is not like Jacob. BIB is also the one that questions what’s out there. And I doubt, even before he saw the people, that he bought Mother’s story that there was nothing out there.

THE PEOPLE

The people that Jacob and BIB see are presumably Claudia’s people. Seeing the people is the catalyst in Jacob’s and BIB’s lives --- causing BIB to rebel and Jacob to have to step up his loyalty to Mother. They learn that they are there for a reason, while the people are not. They are there to corrupt, destroy, etc. But, didn’t Jacob and BIB come with those people?!?

To prove their purpose to her boys, Mother has to take Jacob and BIB to THE LIGHT before she was otherwise planning to do so. We are supposedly given the answer to the biggest question out there in the entire history of the show: what the heck IS the island? The island is an encasement to this precious light. The warmest, brightest light that is inside every man (probably women too). We learn later that it is life, death, rebirth… sounds to me like it is the soul of the world. Which makes sense, considering that it needs to be protected at all costs.

THE RULES

While Mother is taking the boys to THE LIGHT, we learn what we’d already assumed from references in past episodes to the Rules: that Jacob and BIB/MIB can’t “hurt” each other. Since we see Jacob twice beat BIB/MIB to a pulp, I think we can interpret “hurt” to mean “kill.”

The Rules leave a lot of questions for me. Who makes the Rules? It appears there were some rules that Mother made (e.g. Jacob and MIB can’t kill each other). Were some Rules made by THE LIGHT / Island (e.g. needing a protector)? I also assume that some Rules are Jacob’s as the protector of the Island; MIB told us that Jacob would someday get to make up his own Rules to his own game. Are the Rules that apply to the candidates, Jack et al, Jacob’s rules for that game?

THE DONKEY WHEEL

Adult MIB does not lose any of the curiosity that had been his as a child about what else is out there. It still seems that Jacob couldn’t care less. MIB becomes convinced that THE LIGHT is his ticket off the island. He helps the people whom he had joined as a child try to find the source of THE LIGHT. He does exactly that which notLocke (presumably the same being as MIB) explained to Desmond that the confused, curious people did: find the spots where their compasses spin, where metal behaves strangely, and dig. Finally, the digging pays off and MIB finds THE LIGHT underground. He plans to rig a donkey wheel to some kind of mechanism to harness the water and THE LIGHT on the island.

What makes MIB think that THE LIGHT will get him off the island? I’m not so sure it does. THE LIGHT looks to me very similar to the light that flashes during time travel. Ben Linus turned a donkey wheel in a well that was engulfed in light to spark the island’s time travel. I have no doubt the two lights are connected, if not the same. MIB wasn’t looking to travel around in time, which seems to me to be what happens if you harness and use THE LIGHT.

THE PROTECTOR

After Mother learns of MIB’s quest, and knocks him out to prevent it, she realizes that any hope of him being her replacement really is gone. She has to go to her back-up replacement plan, Jacob, and in a hurry because she knows that MIB will be coming for her. She casts a spell on the wine, convinces Jacob to drink it, and, voila, Jacob is now the protector. Why did she have to officially make him protector in such a hurry? Wasn’t the fact that a candidate for replacement was out there enough? Jacob dies without officially having his replacement in place, but all is not lost as long as candidates are out there. Oh, and how will the chosen candidate now become the protector? We saw MIB break that wine bottle… maybe there’s a new Rule in place?

We all saw it coming that Mother was not long for this earth after handing power over to Jacob. Sure enough, she is stabbed in the back with a familiar dagger. And, note that she was stabbed before speaking. Seems to be important in killing these folks, except that Ben did kill Jacob after speaking.

THE SMOKE MONSTER

To avenge Mother’s death, Jacob does the one thing to MIB that Mother had told him was worse than death --- sends him into THE LIGHT cave. By doing so, I believe Jacob condemned his brother's soul into the form of smoke for all eternity. The smoke can take on different forms (his original body form, Christian, Alex, Locke, etc). I think the soul of the smoke monster is still MIB’s. But it’s interesting that the current notLocke has seemed at times to possess some of real Locke’s memories. Does the smoke monster take on a little bit of the soul of the people whose form he takes?

ADAM AND EVE

So, we finally know who our “Adam and Eve” skeletons are. I have a theory that Adam & Eve, including referencing the Bible, are literally MIB’s and Mother’s names. Why keep MIB’s and Mother’s names secret unless they were also LITERALLY named Adam and Eve? They had to keep the names a secret, because if they had told us back in the finale of Season 5 when we first met MIB that his name was literally Adam, it would have given too much of the Jacob back-story away. I.e., we would have immediately assumed MIB was one of the skeletons. The writers wanted to withhold from us that MIB was one of the skeletons, so they also withheld his name from us. I believe the flashback with just Jack and Kate talking would have been enough to remind us of the skeletons. But including Locke in the flashback included the revelation of the names. Including Locke in the flashback added nothing more than this, which I believe supports my theory. But it won't be my first LOST theory to go down the tubes if I'm wrong!

Well, looking forward to your thoughts in the comments, and looking forward to Brian’s response in a future post. Namaste!

The Candidate

I was at a baby shower yesterday (technically, my own), when a friend I haven't seen for a while demanded to know why I hadn't posted yet. My first thought was, you read my blog? But she's right. I am late, due to a pregnancy-related illness. Let's also admit that this episode was a difficult one to watch. Let's get into it.

Jack in 2004

Jack in 2004 is just as determined to fix things as the "normal" Jack we know and love. And now he believes it is not enough to save John's life - he must fix the original injury that paralyzed him. For some reason, that involves knowing what caused John to be injured in the first place. John ain't talking, because he's not interested in surgery. So Jack has to use his investigative skills. He finds John's oral surgeon (Bernard!) to find out. I guess Jack has forgotten that federal law prevents even oral surgeons from sharing information about their patients. Bernard does, however, give Jack a name: Anthony Cooper. Cooper had aslo been injured in the same accident. Before Jack departs, Bernard adds, "I hope you find what you're looking for."

Helen is as surprised as Bernard that Jack is working so hard to find out about John's accident, but agrees to introduce Jack to Cooper. Unfortunately for Jack, Cooper is essentially a vegetable, and he won't be sharing any details about the accident that injured the two men.

Finally, Jack asks John why he won't be operated upon. So, John tells him. And Jack offers John the same advice given to him just weeks earlier from John. "You told me that my father was gone, and it hurt to hear that, but I knew you were right. Your father's gone too, Mr. Locke...What happened, happened, and you can let it go." As John leaves, Jack calls out, "I can help you, John. I wish you believed me."

How odd to hear Jack Shephard use John Locke's arguments with John Locke. So far it doesn't seem to be very effective.

I didn't mention it earlier, but Jack is justifiably incredulous to find that both Bernard and Claire were on Oceanic 815. Will this become too much coincidence even for him?

John in 2004

I didn't know whether to gasp at the coincidence or roll my eyes when Jack told John, of all people, that he might be a "candidate" for a new procedure that would result in John's walking. Unlike the John we know who died, this John wants to hear nothing of it. At the end of the hour, we learned that John's decision to refuse treatment was from guilt. He and his father were injured when John, a new pilot, convinced his terrified father to go on a flight with him. "It was my fault. This man, who I loved more than anything, will never walk, or talk..."

So, in the sideways timeline, John has the love of his father, what he wanted more than anything in the other timeline. But instead of having the time of his life with his father, he had the guilt of knowing what he did to his father, albeit accidentally. John had what he wanted, but even still, it was warped.

I never saw evidence that Desmond's plan to bring John's other memories to the forefront succeded anywhere but in John's unconscious. But as John sleeps, he appears to be going over his old conflict with Jack: "Push the button....I wish you had believed me."

Claire in 2004

Did you catch the tune from the music box Christian left Claire? If you knew it was "Catch a Falling Star," you win the award. I call it "Claire and Aaron's theme song". I wonder if she took Jack up on his offer to stay with him. It would certainly be cheaper than some hotel.

Bernard in 2004

I'm always happy to see one of the Nadlers. Unlike Jack, Bernard recognizes Jack immediately from the flight. Although he's not willing to reveal too much information to Jack, he does give Jack a name. But he senses Jack needs more than he's letting on.

2007

I can't go character by character as I have before with the "main" timeline. Too much happened. So much happened that when Jack rescued Sawyer et al from the cage I couldn't help but contrast with the third season, when we spent, what, six weeks in the cages?

So, what happened? Well, we all figured out that notLocke needs the candidates dead before he can leave the Island. Kate is not a candidate; for some reason her name was crossed off in the cave. We saw Sawyer organize the commandeering of the sub, just as if he were a cop or chief of security. We also learned that Sawyer can be fooled by a long con just like his victims. We also saw a lot of people die.

Sawyer is certain that he has a fool proof plan to prevent notLocke from escaping the Island. Since Jack doesn't want to leave the Island anyway, Jack can just shove notLocke out of the way. Jack does as told, but finds himself drawn unwillingly into the sub because Kate's shot in the shoulder. But the moment notLocke hands Jack his backpack, I'm nervous - it just didn't seem right. And it isn't. That notLocke is one sneaky bastard.

It is Jack who put all the pieces together; who realizes what limits notLocke has. He pleads with Sawyer:

Nothing's gonna happen...Don't pull those wires out. We're okay. Nothing's gonna happen...Locke can't kill us...This is what he wanted. This is what he's been waiting for. Everything that he has done has been to get us here. He wanted to get us all in the same place, at the same time - a nice, enclosed space where we had no hopes of getting out of...Locke said he can't leave the Island without us. I think that he can't leave the Island unless we're all dead. He told me that he could kill any one of us whenever he wanted. So, what if he hasn't because he's not allowed to? What if he's trying to get us to kill each other?

But Sawyer can't trust Jack's instincts, and pulls the wires. For a second, it appears Sawyer's right, but then it quickly becomes obvious that he was horribly wrong. If Jack is right, Sawyer, who only wanted to save his friends, is responsible for the deaths that follow. Poor Sawyer.

One thing I've noticed since notLocke ordered Sayid to kill Desmond is that Sayid seems a little less bat-shit crazy than normal. He's still not balanced or anything, but the messianic fervor we saw in his face is missing. And it is clear that he wants to survive, as he desperately tries to disarm the bomb. When it becomes clear the bomb is Sawyer-proof, at the least, Sayid becomes the Sayid we know. He tells Jack:

Listen carefully. There's a well on the main Island, half mile south from the camp we just left. Desmond's inside it. Locke wants him dead, which means you're going to need him....[in response to Jack asking why Sayid is telling him this] Because it's going to be you, Jack.

Sayid then takes the bomb and runs as far away from his friends as he can, until the bomb explodes in his hands. Sayid dies to save his friends. Sayid has done many terrible things, so his death is not all that big of a surprise. That he died trying to save his friends makes it all the better.

The explosion destroys the sub, and everyone has to get out. Jack sends Hurley and Kate out of the sub. But Sun is caught by flotsam, and Jin, Sawyer, and Jack work to free her. Nothing works. Sawyer is knocked out, and Jack must save him.

Jin could have left Sun to her fate, but he couldn't. They just spent three years separated by the explosion of a different type of boat, and he wasn't leaving her, as he promised he wouldn't. As they drowned, and their hands separated, I couldn't help but remember Charlie Pace's watery death.

Wait just a minute...DID THEY JUST KILL THE KWONS? They brought them back together just last episode, only to KILL THEM?

Kate, Hurley, and Jack weren't the only ones sobbing that night.

Fred Koehler, I mean Seamus, probably died as well, killed by the Smoke Monster. There's also some debate as to the fate of Lapidus, who was apparently knocked out on the sub as it sank. Time will tell.

We have four left, five if you count Claire. Hugo, James, Kate, and Jack. notLocke knows they live, and he now plans to finish what he started.

Some questions:

What did Sayid mean when he told Jack that "it's going to be you"?

Which team will Claire join?

In the sideways timeline, is the Anthony Cooper we met the same that conned Jim Ford's parents?

Why is Kate's name crossed out?

Where are Richard, Miles, and Ben? What role do they play?

Why does notLocke fear Desmond?

So, what happens next? I don't know. But I'm eagerly looking forward to it.