A few thoughts before jumping in. First, special thanks to Dave Basler, whose questions and observations this week inform what you're about to read. Also, for those of you who despise spoilers, let me just say that this episode proved to be a cautionary tale. Not realizing the detail of what I was reading, I read a synopsis online two weeks ago that spoiled every last event in this shocking finale, such that even the big twist at the end was ruined. Folks, on a show like this, where mystery is half the fun, be very careful what you read.
Now with that in mind, here's what happened in two fantastic hours of television.
Jack in Los Angeles
We begin with bearded Jack on an Oceanic air flight, drinking heavily. (Fun fact - the voice of the captain is series co-creator and executive producer Damon Lindelof). The flight attendant refuses to serve him another as turbulence hits on the way to L.A. Jacks spots a headline on a discarded newspaper, and it moves him to tears. He tears the newpaper clipping and takes it with him.
Back in L.A., Jack parks his Land Rover on the 6th Street Bridge in downtown (the first moment on Lost to be filmed outside of Oahu). Jack retrieves the newspaper clip, and cries, shaking his head. He places a call, (on a brand new, state of the art Moto Krazr phone) and begins to leave a message – "I just read…" but then he hangs up the phone before we get a sense who he was calling. Jack gets out of the car and walks to the side of the bridge. He climbs up on the rail, prepares to jump. Looking up, he pleads for forgiveness, when behind him, he hears a crash. He runs to help.
As Jack is getting stiched up, the E.R. doc says the media is outside and wants to see him (the hero). The woman in the car has stabilized, because "thank God you were on the bridge." Jack's ex wife Sarah arrives, very visibly pregnant. Perhaps this is why Jack was so suicidal?
Back in L.A., Jack parks his Land Rover on the 6th Street Bridge in downtown (the first moment on Lost to be filmed outside of Oahu). Jack retrieves the newspaper clip, and cries, shaking his head. He places a call, (on a brand new, state of the art Moto Krazr phone) and begins to leave a message – "I just read…" but then he hangs up the phone before we get a sense who he was calling. Jack gets out of the car and walks to the side of the bridge. He climbs up on the rail, prepares to jump. Looking up, he pleads for forgiveness, when behind him, he hears a crash. He runs to help.As Jack is getting stiched up, the E.R. doc says the media is outside and wants to see him (the hero). The woman in the car has stabilized, because "thank God you were on the bridge." Jack's ex wife Sarah arrives, very visibly pregnant. Perhaps this is why Jack was so suicidal?
Random Aside - has any actress gotten more mileage out of real life pregnancy than Julie Bowen, whose pregnant characters on Lost and Boston Legal are both crucial to the plot?Sarah wants to know what happened, why Jack was driving around at 2 in the morning. She asks if he’s drinking again. He doesn’t answer, and asks for a lift home, but she says that’s not appropriate. (Um, why is is so inappropriate? Did Jack do something to her other that's worse than her running out on him?) She’s there because she is still his emergency contact. She tells him good-bye and walks out.
Later, bearded Jack pops some pills while he reads a chart. He is greeted by the new chief of surgery, Dr. Rob Hamill who calls him a hero. Jack is standing over the woman he saved. He says he wants to operate on her back. Dr. Hamill says no – this is not his patient. Jack insists. Dr. Hamill says no – he’s done enough. Dr. Hamill, who relates that Jack saved the woman and her 8-year-old son, demands the chart back. Jack demands to know what happens, and he leaves the room. In the waiting room, he sees a press clip of his heroism (the voice of the reporter is none other than Lost's other executive producer, Carlton Cuse), and underneath the screen, the boy he saved.
Jack, strung out, drives along, Nirvana blasting in his car. He pulls out that newspaper clip, and pulls over. He places a cell phone call (that conspicuous Krazr again), but again hangs up. He looks again at the newspaper clip. Across the street is a funeral parlor ("Hoffs/Drawlar").
Inside, there’s a casket, but no people. The director tells Jack that nobody showed up – it was just a viewing. Jack says he's neither friend nor family. 
He doesn’t want the casket opened…But left alone with it, Jack goes over, places a hand on the coffin, and pops his last pill.
Later, bearded Jack pops some pills while he reads a chart. He is greeted by the new chief of surgery, Dr. Rob Hamill who calls him a hero. Jack is standing over the woman he saved. He says he wants to operate on her back. Dr. Hamill says no – this is not his patient. Jack insists. Dr. Hamill says no – he’s done enough. Dr. Hamill, who relates that Jack saved the woman and her 8-year-old son, demands the chart back. Jack demands to know what happens, and he leaves the room. In the waiting room, he sees a press clip of his heroism (the voice of the reporter is none other than Lost's other executive producer, Carlton Cuse), and underneath the screen, the boy he saved.
Jack, strung out, drives along, Nirvana blasting in his car. He pulls out that newspaper clip, and pulls over. He places a cell phone call (that conspicuous Krazr again), but again hangs up. He looks again at the newspaper clip. Across the street is a funeral parlor ("Hoffs/Drawlar").
Inside, there’s a casket, but no people. The director tells Jack that nobody showed up – it was just a viewing. Jack says he's neither friend nor family. He doesn’t want the casket opened…But left alone with it, Jack goes over, places a hand on the coffin, and pops his last pill.
Whose casket was this? An attempt to read the press clip shows that it refers to "Jo...ntham from New York." Who is that?Jack gets denied a refill at the pharmacy. The guy behind him in line says he’s a hero. Jack hands over another scrip, for Oxycodon, written by his dad, but he leaves angrily when they say they are going to call Christian’s office.
Jack breaks in to the hospital pharmacy counter. After snagging and popping some oxycodone, he tries to grab the woman’s chart. Dr. Hammill tells Jack that Mrs. Arlen (who he saved) woke up and is lucid. She described the events that caused the accident, busting Jack about his contemplated suicide. Jack asks if Dr. Hammill knows anything about him, what he’s been through? (Like his wife leaving him, we're to assume?) Jack stumbles and snarls, "get my father down here, and if I’m drunker than he is, you can fire me." Jack insists Dr. Hamill can’t help him. More on this exchange, and the exciting twist in the final L.A. sequence, below...
Beach Exodus
The scenes on the island with the 815 crew as Jack prepares to lead the group to the radio tower provided some great character moments. One of the finest is early on, when Rose asks Bernard, if she helps with his SOS sign, will he give up on staying behind to be one of the shooters? He says no, so she makes him say one last time, “I am a dentist, I am not Rambo.” Kate gives meaningful looks to Jack, then to Sawyer. Sayid, Bernard and Jin prepare for their mission. Sayid demands that Jack not turn back for any reason, because he does not want to give up his life for nothing. Rousseau looks at Hurley with Aaron (maybe I'll see my baby, her gaze seems to say (as opposed to, "gosh, I'm sorry I once abducted this little turnip head to trade back for Alex")). Hurley assures Claire that Charlie will be fine. Sun wants to know why Jin volunteered to stay behind. In English, Jin says, "because we have to go home." Jack rounds up the troops, and off they go, their fire still burning, 40 some-odd people and Vincent, the trust lab. Naomi tramps out to the lead and asks Jack what he did for a living, before he became Moses. She shows Jack how to use the phone, in case something happens to her.
Meanwhile, in the Newly-Discovered Looking Glass...Charlie is busily getting pummeled by Greta and Bonnie, the gun-toting hotties discovered in the station at the end of the prior episode. The bad cop/ badder cop routine not phasing him, since he already assumed this was a one-way mission. He says he came in his invisible sub. They say he’s one of them and demand to know how he knows about the Looking Glass. Charlie says smugly that Juliet told them. Greta and Bonnie are apparently Others – and they have to call Ben. They open a portal to make the call, and Charlie sees the blinking yellow light Desmond told him about from his vision.
Back at the Others' Tent City
At Ben’s tent, he writes in a journal.
At Ben’s tent, he writes in a journal.
Random Aside - Some online posters have referred to this journal as the next great Lost Easter Egg, right up there with the hatch map (see the archives of this blog for the details on the map). The goodly Doc Arzt over at thetailsection.com posted what looks to be a plausible transcript of Ben's entry:
"_/12 An important meeting tonight with (R) and (M) regarding the developing situation. We are now on day 3 of our exodus from the village and I am, I fear, at the limit of my tactical resources. (T)’s agenda, which I don’t question, is however a narrow and difficult one, and I could well wish we’d had time to prepare, not merely for the military strike, but for a surveillance campaign of the beach. We are short on provisions (seasonal) and, more importantly, the long-awaited re-supply of camp gear having been missed (and so necessary!) _____ _____ _____ just as our water supply ____ ___ have been cut off. We look like a very sad sort of gypsy army."
I, for one, would pay good money to read that tome from cover to cover...
Ben's radio comes alive – it’s Bonnie, calling from the Looking Glass. She broke radio silence because “one of them is down here.” Charlie identifies himself with a cocky shout to Ben. Bonnie tells Ben Juliet told him, while Richard looks on, clearly perturbed that Ben didn't spot Juliet's deception. Ben tells Bonnie he’s sending help. He orders Mikhail to go down, but Mikhail is not pleased that Ben lied about the Looking Glass being flooded. Richard seems even more disappointed that, despite this betrayal, Mikhail stays loyal, as Patchy asks, “If Juliet told them about the looking Glass, what else did she tell them?”
Ryan’s crew has their walkies off, so they can’t here Ben’s call to warn them that the beach camp is a trap. They prepare to take the pregnant women from the marked tents. Bernard takes aim, as does Sayid. First one, then two tents go up in flames, as Sayid and Bernard hit their shots, but Jin can’t shoot straight. He takes down a couple of Others, but Ryan captures him with a blow to the head. Bernard runs, but Tom takes him down. Sayid is about to try to shoot Ryan out from behind Jin (very Jack Bauer, eh?), when another Other takes Sayid at gunpoint.From a hillside, Jack’s crew notices the lack of a third explosion.
Rose, scared for Bernard, says to Jack, “If you say live together, die alone to me Jack, I’m going to punch you in the face.” Jack gets everyone moving again. Sawyer looks back. Rose and Sun are freaking out. Naomi checks – her phone is still jammed (c'mon, Chahlie!).Bonnie keeps interrogating Charlie. He admits frankly that he is there to turn off the jamming equipment. Whatever they do to him, he’ll turn it off…but Bonnie points out he doesn’t know the code (D'oh!). Only Bonnie, Greta, and Ben know the code. Charlie smiles in response, "I guess I won’t need the code, since this entire station is going to be flooded, anyway."
Tom calls in to Ben to report. Seven Others are dead, and Jack's crew is gone. Ben tells Tom that Juliet betrayed them, and orders Tom to kill Jin to make them talk. Sayid tells Bernard not to talk, but gets knocked out with a rifle butt to the head (how Sayid does not have permanent brain damage after all the head-blows he's taken on the island escapes me). Bernard confesses that Jack's group has gone to the radio tower, and that Karl warned them the attack was coming hours earlier than Juliet thought. Ben hears over the walkie, and now knows Alex set this amush in motion.
Ben tells Richard he’s going to the tower to head off Jack's crew, and the rest of them should go to the temple (what's the temple?). Richard warns Ben not to tromp off, in light of mounting rumors about Jacob, the missing John Locke, and the deaths of the beach attack crew. Alex asks where Ben’s going. He tells her he’s looking for Jack and co. She says she’s coming, and Ben surprises her by agreeing. He lets her know Karl is with them (i.e. "I know what you been up to, young lady"). Ben tells Richard he’ll talk the 40 marchers out of leaving the island.
Kate tells Sawyer that something’s wrong because Sayid's crew has not caught up. She demands to know what happened to Sawyer when he was with Locke, since “it’s like you don’t care about anything anymore. And since when did you start calling me 'Kate?'” She observes that she was on Juliet's pregnancy watch, too. Sawyer coldly says, "well, let's hope you'e not." Sawyer walks off and looks jealously at Jack (oh, come on, James, get over it - she's yours if you want her).
Desmond wakes up on the boat and realizes Charlie went down to the station. Suddenly, Mikahil starts shooting at him from the shore, so he dives and pulls himself down to the Looking Glass by the cable.
He sees the moon pool, and comes up to where Charlie is sitting. Charlie warns him to hide. The women see Charlie talking, but Charlie claims he was singing (are there any other words to that song other than "you all everbody"?). Bonnie clobbers Charlie, while Desmond hides in a locker.Sawyer stops his march and says he’s going back. Jack tries to stop him, to no avail. Kate says she’s going too, but Sawyer says he doesn't want to go with her. Juliet says she knows where there is a cache of guns, and tells Jack she "kinda does" have to help. Jack tells Juliet not to do anything stupid.
They kiss, upsetting Kate, and Juliet and Sawyer head off.Charlie keeps singing. Bonnie goes for the spear gun, in the locker (where Desmond is hiding), to make him stop. Then Mikhail arrives. He thought Greta and Bonnie were on assignment in Canada (wait a second...could Penny's cold-weather EMP searchers be in Canada?)…Mikhail, his patch off, his missing eye sealed over, knows Desmond is down there(does this suggest the glass eye was not his? Or did his eye get sealed later, explaining why he left a glass eye behind in the Arrow station?) Charlie asks Mikhail why they were told the station is flooded, and why they’ve been jamming transmissions off the island (to drive a wedge between these three Others). When Ben calls, Mikhail takes it, alone. Ben tells Mikhail he did everything he did for the island. "The island told you it was necessary to jam your own people?" (As near as I can recall, this is the first time somebody other than Locke has anthropomorphized the island in this way). Ben asks Mikhail to "trust Jacob who told me to do this." "This island is under assault by forces than anything it has had to deal with in years, and we are meant to protect it by any means necessary." Ben apologizes for not trusting Mikhail. Mikahail accepts the apology (what a loyalist!!!). Ben needs his help – to kill Charlie, and to make sure the jamming mechanism does not stop. And he needs to take care of Greta and Bonnie, too, so no other Others learn about the jamming.
Juliet tells Sawyer the rock-breaking work detail he had been assigned to by the Others was to build a runway. She jokes – it was for the aliens, then says she didn't know what it was for. A great Lost exchange follows: Sawyer: "So you screwing Jack yet?" Juliet: "No, are you?" She tells him there are no guns - she lied so Jack would let them go back, which she's doing "for Karma." Hurley catches up to them, out of breath. He wants to help, and Charlie and Jack wouldn't let him, but Sawyer tells Hurley he’ll just get them killed, takes Juliet, and leaves a dejected Hugo behind.
Ben tells Alex he let her come with him because he’s delivering her to her new family. He caged Karl, and subjected him to deprogramming aversion therapy in Room 23, to keep him from impregnating her. "I suppose I overreacted." (I love Ben's little lines). Alex demands to know why he won't just let Jack's people leave. He says he won’t because he can’t.
Locke is still lying in the Dharma grave, where Ben left him to die, but he is very much alive (see, two weeks wasn't too long to wait to figure that out, was it?) He's having trouble moving his legs. He reaches for a gun on a Dharma corpse, and is about to shoot himself in the head, when he hears the whispers…and then he sees...Walt?! "Don’t, John. Put the gun down. Put it down, John. Now get up, John." Walt is clearly older than when last we saw him about a month ago in Lost time. (Malcolm David Kelley's aging was kind of inevitable, right? Or is this part of the story?). He says John can move his legs. He has to get out of the ditch, because he has work to do. Locke gives off a smile like he's just had his personal burning bush moment.Jack tells Kate Sawyer's refusal to let her come was because he was trying to protect her. That’s why Jack asked her not to come back for him, too. Kate asks why he’s sticking up for Sawyer. He responds, “because I love you.” And with that, Jack keeps on marching. The party emerges into a clearing. Jack speeds up to catch Danielle, who says it’s about an hour to the tower. She has not been back since she recorded the message, and she does not want to return to civilization, as there's no place for her back there. The island is her home now. Ben and Alex are in their path. Jack goes ahead to see what’s up. Ben tells Jack they need to talk.
Mikhail puts his patch back on. He asks if it’s possible to turn the equipment off. They assure him the equipment can't be turned off without the code, and it's waterproof in case of flood. Mikhail asks why they never asked why they have to follow Ben's orders and stay there, if it can't be turned off. Bonnie says she trusts Ben, and trusts Jacob, and "the minute I start questioning orders, this whole thing that we’re doing here falls apart." (What the hell are they doing there? Isn't that the biggest remaining question?) Mikhail shoots Greta, who falls in the water, then he shoots Bonnie in the back. He apologizes, and assures Bonnie that he is following orders, too. Desmond comes out from the utility locker, spears Mikhail, and grabs the dropped gun before Bonnie can get to it.
Kate circles around Ben's position. Jack tells Naomi not to talk to Ben, who tries to introduce himself. Ben wants a moment to talk alone with Jack. Kate says noone else is there. Jack gives Ben five minutes, and takes the walkie from Ben's belt. Jack seems relieved to learn his guys killed seven Others before being taken hostage. Ben says, "Not so long ago Jack, I made a decision that took the lives of over 40 people in a single day." Ben tells Jack that it's Jack who is about to kill all the survivors. Naomi is not who she says she is - she’s a representative of some people who have been trying to find this island. She’s one of the "bad guys." (Strange - as creepy and dishonest as Ben is, I kind of believe him here). "If you phone her boat, every single living person on this island will be killed. So here’s what has to happen." Ben demands that Jack hand over her phone and says they both can then go back to their respective people. He asks for his walkie, and calls for Tom, and tells Jack what happened with the plan on the beach. Ben again demands the phone, and orders Tom to kill his prisoners if Jack doesn't comply within a minute. Sayid calls out not to negotiate. Ben asks - what do you want to get off the island for? You have no one, your father's dead, your wife left you. Jack refuses, and three gunshots are heard. Their screaming stops, and Jack, enraged, beats Ben bloody. Jack calls Tom, and declares he’s going to get his people rescued, and then he’s going to find Tom, and kill him (no more Dr. Nice Jack, huh?)
Charlie tries to get wounded Bonnie to give up the code. He points out that Ben put Mikhail up to shooting her and Greta. Why not take the opportunity to make Ben very very angry? Bonnie starts spouting out numbers – they’re the notes to "Good Vibrations," as the code was programmed by a musician. Bonnie dies...
Jack hauls Ben back to his group. He tells them to tie Ben up, and starts to walk off. Alex goes to check on Ben, and Danielle approaches Alex. Ben tells Alex this is her mother. She asks for help tying up Ben (ah, what a sweet moment of mother-daughter reunion!). Jack tells Kate that Ben killed Jin, Sayid and Bernard, and blames himself for letting it happen. He says not to tell Rose or Sun yet, that he promised Sayid he would keep moving. He didn’t kill Ben because he wanted Ben to know that he failed, when they get off the island. And then he’ll kill him (extra super revenge-y Jack comes out).
Meanwhile Back on the Beach...
Ryan says it was an order, but Tom is pissed that they didn't kill their prisoners (it was all a bluff!) Juliet and Sawyer discuss their next move…and out comes Hurley with his Dharma bus! Ryan shoots at him, but Hurley runs him down. Saywer runs along to the bus and picks up Ryan’s gun. Sayid trips his guard and breaks his neck with his freakin' feet! Tom crawls along the sand, but Juliet gets his gun and holds him at gunpoint. Tom says he gives up, but Sawyer shoots him in the chest. “That’s for taking the kid off the raft.” Hurley, shocked, says “Dude it was over – he surrendered.” Sawyer coldly responds, "I didn’t believe him."
Ryan says it was an order, but Tom is pissed that they didn't kill their prisoners (it was all a bluff!) Juliet and Sawyer discuss their next move…and out comes Hurley with his Dharma bus! Ryan shoots at him, but Hurley runs him down. Saywer runs along to the bus and picks up Ryan’s gun. Sayid trips his guard and breaks his neck with his freakin' feet! Tom crawls along the sand, but Juliet gets his gun and holds him at gunpoint. Tom says he gives up, but Sawyer shoots him in the chest. “That’s for taking the kid off the raft.” Hurley, shocked, says “Dude it was over – he surrendered.” Sawyer coldly responds, "I didn’t believe him."
Random Aside - and thanks to Dave B. for this one - remember last season, in "The Hunting Party," when Sawyer said to still-bearded Tom, "you and me ain't finished, Zeke." Well, they sure are, now! R.I.P. Tom/ Zeke/ Mr. Friendly. Your reaction shots and over-the-top joyer de vivre were thoroughly entertaining. You made a great bumbling villain/ aspiring quarterback. I, for one, will miss you, the first post-Ethan Other we met on the show.
With Ben in tow, Hurley radios in that the Others should stay away from the beach. Hurley tells Jack that everyone is fine. The party hears this and cheers. Jack says to stay put, they’re almost at the tower. Claire asks about Charlie.
Desmond covers the bodies. Charlie asks if Des had any more flashes – no none. Charlie goes to enter the code and points out the diving gear. He hums the tune in his head, and pushes the buttons. The light stops flashing. So much for fate, is the thought conveyed on Charlie's relieved face, when a red light starts to blink, signifying an incoming transmission… It’s Penny!
She asks where they are, and how Charlie got the frequency? He recognizes her and calls for Desmond. She hears Charlie and asks if Des is ok. Charlie quickly tries to catch her up as Desmond runs along the main chamber to the jamming room. Penny says she doesn’t know about the rescue crew (whaaaaat?)…
Desmond notices that, uh,oh, Mikhail is missing. He turns up outside the porthole where Charlie is, and pulls a grenade pin. Charlie, seeing Desmond running to his beloved Penny, acts fast. He just barely beats Des to the door and shuts it tight. The grenade blows out the porthole, and the room begins to fill. (Query - just what are the Others up to that makes Mikhail willing to accept Ben's deceptions, and then take his own life to try to stop Charlie from unjamming the transmission?) 
As Desmond watches. Charlie writes on his hand with his ever-present Sharpie, and shows Desmond, “Not Penny’s boat.” Charlie backs away, peacefully makes the sign of the cross and drowns. R.I.P. Charlie Pace, heroin-addicted former one-hit wonder, whose place of prominence was stolen by big brother Liam, only to have Liam abandon the band for a normal life. Surrogate father to Aaron, protector of Claire, and general island mascot. Played by Dominic Monaghan, who, when the show debuted, was one of its most recognizable cast members (coming off the Lord of the Rings), Charlie's welcome presence will be missed.
Analysis time - Why didn’t Charlie run through the door, instead of sealing from the inside? Why didn’t he swim through the porthole? Doc Jensen has already posted the same thoughts I had about this, so I'll just quote his recap here:
"Now, I know a lot of people are going to question the logic of this scene, as it seemed Charlie had many options to save himself. But remember why Charlie swam down to the Looking Glass in the first place: to fulfill the requirements of Desmond's prophecy of rescue for Claire, baby Aaron, and hopefully the rest of the castaways. For that to happen, Charlie needed to die, per the rules established about Desmond's precognition. The image of him pushing away from the window and crossing himself is as close as we get to visual poetry in the chat-driven medium of TV, and it got to me."
Aaron cries, as though he knows about Charlie. Naomi’s phone works. She tries to call out, but Rousseau’s message is still playing. Finally, they make it to the radio tower (the source of the transmission we first heard waaaaay back in the pilot of the series)!
Inside, Jack finds the cobwebbed radio gear, sees Danielle’s message playing in a loop on a cartridge tape. She tells Alex the recording was three days before Alex was born. Danielle turns off the signal. Naomi can’t get a signal inside. She goes out, says she’s getting something. Ben looks mortified. He pleads with Jack – "I know you think you’re saving your people. I’m telling you, making that call is the beginning of the end…"Just as Naomi’s call connects, Locke throws a knife at her, and she falls over, blood pouring from her mouth. John pulls his gun on Jack. He says he did what he had to. He demands Jack step back. The phone is ringing. Ben eggs John on to shoot him, but Alex punches him and knocks him out. "You’re done keeping me on this island, John" insists Jack. Locke insists he’ll kill Jack if he has to. Jack calls the bluff, and John lowers the gun, but pleads that Jack is not supposed to do this. The call connects with a Minkowski, who is happy to hear Naomi made it to the island (not knowing about the knife in his back). Minkowski says they can get a fix on Jack’s location, and they’ll be right there. Locke wanders off back into the jungle, and Ben looks defeated.
The Big Ending – The Rest of the L.A. Sequence
Jack lives in a wreck of an apartment, with maps and notes strewn all over the place
He opens his phone again, drinks some Patron, and places a call. He gets and answer and says, "don't hang up. I know what you said, but I just need to see you. At the airport, you know where." He drives out to the airport, at the end of the runway. He waits, and a car pulls up. But the Volvo is not driven by Sarah…it’s driven by Kate (Kate drives a Volvo? Is she doing taco night, too?)!
She’s straightened her hair, and put on makeup. She saw Jack on the news, and asks, "still pulling people out of burning wreckage, huh?" "Old habits," jokes Jack. (In case you wondered before, this cleared it up - Jack didn't know Kate before the crash. This whole sequence was not a flashback, it was a flash-forward). Kate wants to know why Jack called her. He pulls out the news clipping. He was hoping she’d heard, that she’d go to the funeral. She asks why she would go? Jack says he’s been flying a lot, with the Golden pass they were given (you know, for surviving a crash). Every Friday night, he flies to Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, he gets off, has a drink, then flies home. He wants the plane to crash. "I don’t care about anybody else on board...I actually close my eyes and pray that I can get back." Kate says this is not going to change. Jack's question-spurring response - "I’m sick of lying. We made a mistake." She says she has to go – "he’s going to wonder where I am." Jack insists, "We were not supposed to leave." Kate responds, "yes, we were. Good-bye Jack." As she leaves, Jack shouts after her, "We have to go back, Kate! We have to go back!"
Hints about the Flash-forward
Thanks again to Dave B., who pointed out that the name of the funeral home, Hoffs/ Drawlar, is an anagram for "flash-forward." Cute hint by the producers, there, huh?Also, there was that other hint - Jack's Krazr phone, debuted in ads during the 2007 Superbowl. This may have seemed like an anachronistic error when it first popped up on the screen, but, it turns out, the show was telling us that we've moved from 2004 (and before) to 2007. This blatant phone clue, to me, also supports my theory that Naomi's sat phone is not a circa 2004 model, suggesting some sort of time travel element. But we'll have to wait on that, won't we?
Parting Thoughts
Dave Basler has one more question -
What do you make of Jack's dad apparently being alive in the flash-forward?
Could be:
a) a delusion, although Jack seems very lucid.
b) the island somehow brought him back to life, but why? As a curse on Jack?
c) it isn't really a flash forward.
Dave, I agree that these are the primary choices. I pick "a." The prescription in the pocket from Dr. C. Shephard was, after all, an attempt to get drugs illegally (and Jack knows he can't get drugs for himself without another doctor's approval). As for his insistence that Dr. Hamill bring down Christian to see if Jack's more intoxicated, that was a combination delusional rant and sharp point that the hospital indulged far worse behavior when Christian was chief of surgery.
So here's my questions...
1. Walt. Older. Now, the producers are not idiots, and of course they knew that in a show like this, if you send a child actor off for about a year of real time but only a month of show time, you're going to see some serious aging if he comes back. So what will the in-show explanation be? And, for that matter, what was that exchange with John all about? Why is Walt the vehicle for the island telling John what to do? Is it really Walt? If it is, how did he appear here (and for that matter, to Shannon last season)? Where's Michael? What happened to them when they left?
2. Jack. To me, his flash-forward realization of his mistakes on the island is a real character-redeemer. I never understood how the show could have a hero who had so little interest in the myteries of the island on which he was trapped. Now we know that years later, haunted by the demons of his time on the island, Jack will, himself, be crushed by the realization that something about his leaving was very wrong.
3. Kate. Who was she going back to? Sawyer? The sherriff played by Nathan Fillion who was on the verge of marrying her before she skipped town? And what did Jack mean when he told her they had lied? To whom? About what?
4. Good Guys and Bad Guys. Sure, Ben kills when he has little other choice, but he did not really kill Sayid, Jin or Bernard. And he seems to really, honestly believe that his actions are for the benefit of the island. But what does the island want? Why is Mikhail willing to sacrifice so much in service of this goal? What are they protecting it against? And who do Naomi and Minkowski really work for?
5. Penny. Even if she didn't send Naomi's vessel, why on Earth does she have a direct channel to the Looking Glass? If not Charlie and Desmond, who was she trying to reach? Depending on how long the Others were jamming signals, there are a lot of possibilities (some of which we may not even know).
6. The corpse. Whose unattended funeral did Jack go to, that he thought might bring Kate out?
7. The future of the show. If we're past the point of flashbacks and the present being 2004 on the island, what do we have to look forward to? Will this be "The Nine," with the main action focusing on the repercussions of island time, with flashbacks to what used to be the main setting? What about the holes that were never plugged, like an explanation for Claire's psychic, or Desmond's time in the army that led to his prison stay? What about Michael and Walt?
So that's it for Season 3, and Season 4 is about 8 months away. But don't worry - with all these new questions, there's plenty left to talk about. Like I said before, there will be some time spent putting together a master set of questions the show should answer before it's done, followed by the construction of a master theory.
And thanks to everyone who has visited this blog during its inaugural season. Namaste!
Ben tells him John had "an accident." Ben orders Ryan, the mean-looking Other who stood guard over Sayid at the barracks, to step up the attack, at Jacob's insistsence. Richard points out that Juliet may not have had time to mark the pregnant women's tents, and Ben, clearly losing his legendary cool, tells Ryan's team to take all the women and kill all men who get in the way. 
Charlie recognizes Naomi as a fellow Mancunian. She recognizes Charlie from the big deal greatest hits album that released after his death. Charlie is thrilled to learn of his posthumous fame, especially, as Naomi puts it, since he's still alive. But Desmond seems to want Charlie to follow him… 
Jack, incredibly is too busy to discuss the most likely method of rescue they've seen, but Sayid insists. He says Danielle’s transmission is blocking the sat phone signal. Juliet says it's not just the French loop (and Danielle concurs, since, after all, she had been broadcasting for 16 years but nobody off the island ever seemed to detect it). Juliet says Ben is using an underwater Dharma station, "the Looking Glass," to jam all transmissions off the island.
Sayid sees the cable on the schematic, which he knows so well. It’s possible to swim in and disable the switch, since there is a moon pool underneath big enough for a sub. Sayid volunteers, but then Charlie comes along, and claims he was junior swim champ in Northern England. Jack refuses to indulge this talk, and says now is the time to worry about the Others. 
Jin asks Sun when she is going to tell him what Juliet said about them on her tape to Ben. He heard their names, and saw everyone look at Sun. Sun tells him about the trip to the ultrasound, but stops short of the “I’m going to die” part when Jin looks overjoyed that she saw their healthy baby.
They kiss, a real kiss for the first time, and then smile at each other. Charlie turns and walks off.
...when two gun-toting women charge out from behind a door and hold him at gunpoint!!!”
A strange couple (Horace and Olivia) pulled over to help. As Emily died on the roadside, her last request was that the baby be called Benjamin.
A bunch of Dharma workers with leis greeted the new arrivals. Among them was Horace Goodspeed, the man from the car on the side of the road when Emily died, now sporting longer hair and wearing an arrow station jumpsuit. 
Richard asked what Ben was doing in the jungle by himself. Ben explained his mother’s death, and how he saw her in the jungle. Richard seemed particularly intrigued when Ben said he spoke with mother, but told Ben that it wasn’t time yet for Ben to come with him. Richard urged Ben to go home, that he would some day get to go with Richard, but for the time being, to be patient... 
Horace lay dead on a bench. Ben did not seem the least bit remorseful, but I could not help but wonder - where was Annie? He still clearly clinged to his memory of their friendship (carrying around her doll), but he did not appear to have even looked to see if she was among the fallen, much less to care if she were...From out of the jungle, hillbilly-dressed Others in gas masks arrived. Richard, now with shorter hair, was among them. He asked if Ben wanted them to collect his father's body, but Ben coldly requested he be left out there (for Hurley to find years later, with an assist to Vincent).
Locke announces that Ben is taking him to see Jacob, which Mikhail and the others find incredible. Ben tries to tell John their excursion will have to wait, so John attacks Mikhail. Ben tries to summon help, but Tom, Richard and the Others don’t lift a finger. Mikhail knocked out, John turns back to Ben and asks when they leave.
Ben is flung at a wall, and Jack flees. Ben shouts, "you had your fun, Jacob." Eventually, he rejoins John outside. Locke asks what that was, and Ben replies, tersely, "that was Jacob."
Juliet tells Sawyer to turn over the tape and press play. It’s Ben saying three teams are coming for Sun, and if Kate or anyone else is pregnant, mark their tents, and they’ll take them too. Juliet told Jack what Ben was forcing her to do the night of the ultrasound. Jack claims he didn't reveal the situation to the rest of the beach crew because he hadn’t decided what to do yet. “I think we’ve got some catching up to do.”
