“If this works you might just save us all. If it doesn’t, at least you’ll have put us out of our misery.”
Who’s the leader? Jack or Locke? Or Jacob? Jack is taking his leadership mantle back on, but he’s really not much better at it in 1977 than he was in the present. He’s still stubborn and insists he’s right, except now he’s all about destiny. Locke, on the other hand, is much more confident. He’s no longer unsure and the island is giving him direction. A great episode and very satisfying build up to next week’s season finale, called, by the way, “The Incident”.
Escape from Dharmaville
We first see Jack and Kate where we last left them just before Dan gets shot. Jack,after all this time of pooh-poohing Locke’s mysticism, suddenly is a big believer in fate. “What if this is our one chance to put things as they are supposed to be?” he proposed to Kate, who ain’t buying it. Then Widmore gallops up and wallops Jack in the face with the butt end of the rifle.
Kate and jack are taken into Other custody, where Jack continues to make his pitch even though Daniel has just been shot by his mother. “If we can do what Faraday says, our plane lands in LA, and everyone we lost will live. All the misery we’ve been through -- we just wipe it clean,” Jack thinks this is fabulous, like a Bobby Ewing step out-of-the-shower do over. Kate is not so much on board. “It was NOT all misery,” She corrects him, a little peeved that he sees nothing but the bad stuff that has happened over the last three years. Including sleeping with her. And either Jack isn’t reading her signals, or he really is one of the most pessimistic people on the face of the earth because he answers, “Enough of it was.” The Ellie marches in and demands, “I need you to tell me why he needed the bomb.” Ellie remembers Daniel from when she was seventeen and he told her to bury the bomb. She knows that he was her son. “Your son came back here because he had figured out a way to change things. It was a mistake and if we do what’s written in that journal, we can change it,” Jack begins pitching to Ellie, telling her that if she listens to him, the horrible murder of her own son can be undone. “Does he know what he’s talking about?” she asks Kate, clinging to hope. “He thinks he does,” Kate says sarcastically.
Meanwhile, we find Sawyer and Juliet right where we left them last week and they are taken into custody by Dharma. Radzinski is beating Sawyer to find out the whereabouts of Kate and so far Sawyer ain’t talking. Horace does not want any violence, and Radzinsky tells him he doesn’t have the stomach for what’s next. Radzinski then tells Sawyer that he will not hesitate to kill him unless he starts talking.
Juliet begins to beg. “Juliet, don’t. Whatever you tell them they won’t believe you,” Sawyer warns. Meanwhile they’ve discovered who the last minute add-ons are on the manifest from the sub and they’ve identified Jack and Kate, then Hurley. Phil says he knows how to get Sawyer to talk and he hits Juliet, which elicits a promise from Sawyer to kill Phil.
We see Hurley taking food for the big migration to the beach and he meets up with Miles and Jin, where they are hiding out in the jungle. Dr. Chang finds them and begins questioning them about Daniel: should he or should he not evactuate the island. When none of the boys are forthcoming with information, Chang demands to know who they are, and if Daniel was right that they are from the future. “Dude, that’s ridiculous,” Hurley scoffs, lying badly. At which point Chang successfully asks questions of Hurley to which he has no immediate answers (“What year were you born?” “Did you fight in the Korean war?” “Who is the president?”) “All right dude,” Hurley relents. “We’re from the future.” This revelation means the most to Dr. Chang only in the context of Miles. “It’s true then, you are my son?” Miles says yes. “Should I evacuate?” Chang asks. “If Faraday said it, I’d do it. The guy hasn’t been wrong yet.”
Back at the Other camp, Widmore is kneeling over Daniel, “Why is it that this man looks familiar to me?” Then Ellie marches out and announces that she’s taking Jack and Kate to the bomb.
Meanwhile, the boys are still hiding in the bushes observing, like in “As the World Turns” when a character is meant to overhear a critical piece of information. The boys conveniently witness Dr. Chang yelling at Miles’ mom to get her off the island. “It’s the only way he could get her to leave<” Miles muses, Cue beam of light and halleluiah chorus, Miles has resolved his daddy issues.
Dr. Chang walks in on the Sawyer/Juliet torture session and tells everyone they must evacuate. Sawyer agrees to tell Radzinsky anything he wants to know if they will put him and Juliet on the sub.
Miles’ epiphany is interrupted by Sawyer and Juliet getting perp-walked down to the sub. Hurley isn’t worried, though. “Sawyer always has a plan.” Even though that plan may be simply him and Jules leaving the island.
Jack and Kate, Ellie, Richard and some other Others trekking through the jungle. They come to a pond and Ellie tells them they must swim under it to get to the bomb, dear. Kate says no. “I can’t go any further with you Jack.” Jack can’t believe it, “You can’t go back, they know who we are. They’ll kill you.” “And what are you trying to do?” She makes to walk away but it’s not that simple; the Others are not in the habit of just letting folks walk away and tell their secrets. A standoff ensues and shots are fired. At first we think Kate is shot, but it turns out it was the other Others who were shot, because Sayid has found them in the jungle, and he still has his gun.
Jack tells Sayid about his H-Bomb plan, but Sayid says he’s already changed things by killing Ben. Kate tells Sayid that she’s foiled his plan by taking Ben to the Others and saving him. Sayid does not understand why Kate did this. Kate says “Since when is killing kids and blowing up H-Bombs ok?” Which is a very good argument for which Sayid has no retort.
Meanwhile, Juliet and Sawyer have a nice little spring in their step as they are getting on to the sub. A touching little heart to heart ensues as they talk about how Sawyer convinced Juliet to stay with him three years ago. They reaffirm they have each other’s back and exchange affirmations of their love. Juliet wonders what will happen when the reach Ann Arbor. Sawyer is having none of this Ann Arbor crap. “Once we dock wherever we dock, we’re free. These guys aren’t cops; they don’t have any authority over us.” “The real world,” Juliet sighs.
Just when Juliet’s happily ever after is within reach, Kate gets loaded on the sub and handcuffed to her. Suddenly, the real world isn’t looking so rosy anymore.
The H-Bomb has been stored in the Temple. Richard and Ellie lead Jack and Sayid right to it.
The Prodigal Returns
Locke walks into the Other camp as Richard is raising the sail on the ship in a bottle. He seems surprised to see Locke, and not just because he’s carrying a dead boar on his shoulders. “What’s different about you? Is it you hair? That shirt is new, isn’t it? It’s a button down which is a totally different look for you…” No, Locke says, it’s none of those things. “I have a purpose now.”
Sun and Ben are standing off to the side and Sun wants to know who Richard is. “Richard Alpert, he’s a kind of an….advisor. And he has had that job for a very long time.” Sun, whose single-mindedness this season is starting to get on my nerves, has her precious photograph and asks Richard if he was on the island in 1977 and if remembers Jin, Hurley, Jack, Kate. Richard does. He remembers very clearly watching them all die.”
Locke announces that he has to run a little errand and invites Ben along with he and Richard. “What’s the matter John? Are you afraid to leave me?” Ben preens. “Are you afraid I’ll stage a coup?” Locke smiles, “I’m not afraid of anything you can do anymore.”
As they head off into the jungle, Richard asks, “John, are you ready to tell me where you’ve been for the last three years?” Which is weird, because we assume that Richard, at least, has some idea of where Locke has been. But he doesn’t. Locke is as surprised as we are. “You mean you didn’t know?” Then Locke tells them, “You’re going to take me to Jacob.” An uncomfortable pause follows as Ben and Richard exchange looks and Ben says, “Uhhh…that’s not exactly how it works, John.” While Richard begins making stammering about how John just got back. Locke is adamant. “I’m the leader. This is what I want.” The errand turns out to be a trek to Yemmi’s plane. Locke explains, “Listen closely, Richard, because you’re only going to have about three minutes to get this right. A man’s going to walk out of the jungle whose been shot in the leg. He’s going to ask how to stop what’s happening. You’re going to tell him he has to bring everyone back to the island and when he asks you how, you’re going to tell him he’s going to have to die.” A slow realization begins to dawn on Ben, “Who is this man, John?” “Me.”
“This must be quite the out-of-body experience,” Ben simpers, barely controlling his jealousy. “You’re timing was impeccable. How did you know it?” “The island told me,” Locke explains. “Didn’t the island tell you things?” Now Ben is in full on Benjamin Hissy fit, “If you were so in-touch with the island, John, you wouldn’t need Richard to show you Jacob.” That’s when Locke calls Ben on something we’ve suspected for some time, “You never saw Jacob, did you?”
When Locke, Ben and Richard get back to camp, Richard is all ready to let Locke sleep on it, hoping he has forgotten that foolishness about going to see jacob, but Locke still wants to go see Jacob right away. Richard and Ben both look uneasy at this, but Locke insists, then addresses the rest of the Others. “I know you’ve been taking your orders from someone named Jacob, but that no one has ever seen him. I’m going to see him now and I want you all to come along.” The Others think this is a fine idea, except Richard and Ben. “I’m starting to think John Locke is going to be trouble,” says Richard. “Why do you think I tried to kill him?” Ben replies.
Cue Lost trekking music as the Others commence walking down the beach to see Jacob. Ben takes Locke aside and tells him, “Richard had some concerns. He was uncomfortable as to whether you know what the hell you’re doing.” “Well thank you for bringing this to my attention.” Locke says, and he really sounds sincere. “Look, I’m here to follow you, now John. If you want me to help you reunite with your people, I’ll do everything I can to help you,” “I’m not interested in reuniting with my people,” Locke says. “I want to see Jacob.” “Why?” “Because. I’m going to kill him.”
A few quick thoughts on this episode
In spite of this closing statement, it seems to me that Locke’s purpose may indeed be to save Jacob. After all, when Locke first meets Jacob, right before Ben attempts to kill him the first time, Jacob asks Locke to “Help me,” a statement Ben clearly does not hear. Locke does hear Jacob, maybe even sees him. Perhaps every group in this little drama, Dharma, Others, have been using Jacob, somehow harvesting his power and exploiting him for their own uses. And like Locke, perhaps the only way to truly free Jacob is to kill him. I’m also thinking that Jacob may in fact be Jack, somehow caught in some awful space between two time continuums as a result of “the Incident.”
Next Week:
Ok, Sawyer and Jules obviously didn’t get far because Sawyer “don’t speak destiny.” Season finale and one more season to go, folks.
Oh and by the way, found a great site on all things LOST with some cool theories and wrap ups (courtesy Preston and Steve.) Here’s the link.
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