Episode 616 - Jacob Tells Us "What They Died for" (Sort of)

A return to the main narrative! The Jack/Jacob meeting we’d long been awaiting!! The candidate chosen!!! A major villain dispatched!!!! All this, plus the return of Ben, Miles and Richard, all in the last ever hour-long episode of Lost, “What They Died for.”

Island – Team Jacob

As Jack stitches up Kate’s wound (the mirror image of the scene from the pilot) Kate tells him pointedly about Ji Yeon, and how Jin hadn’t met her yet. She frowns – “Locke did this to them. We have to kill him, Jack.” He nods. “I know.”

Aside Number 1 – Jeff Jensen, for all his Jin-enabling from two weeks ago, had this to say about the Kate/Jack exchange: “I'd like to think Kate was speaking for all those who were outraged by Jin's so-called ''selfishness'' by invoking her name and memory.”

Sawyer watches debris wash up on shore, as if waiting for someone to come out. But all he sees as Kate puts her head on his shoulder is a life jacket. Hurley and Jack join them, too. Jack says they should get going. He tells them about Desmond in a well, and how, if Locke wanted him dead, they’re going to need him.

After some small talk about how to get to the well, Sawyer asks Jack why Flocke didn’t kill Desmond. Jack says “who knows? Maybe it was one of his rules?” Sawyer is guilt racked that he killed their friends with his attempt to disarm the bomb, but Jack insists it was Flocke who killed them. Sawyer seems less than sure.

Aside Number 2 – Jensen’s take on Jack and Sawyer, and their long history, culminating in this moment: “In their few scenes together this season, Sawyer has done nothing but heap physical and emotional abuse upon Jack for his Juliet-destroying Jughead recklessness. Yet with the tables turned, Jack gave him grace as well as the gift of perspective. Hopefully Sawyer will use it to see a way out of his crippling despair and toward the heroism that will be needed of him in the final act. I've always hoped that the end of Lost would offer some understanding/reconciliation between Jack and Sawyer. My favorite moments with the pair have nothing to do with them fighting. (Of course, they're probably my fave moments because they're so different from their usual dynamic.) Sawyer telling Jack about meeting his father in season 1. Sawyer and Jack in The Hatch and talking about Ana Lucia at the end of season 2. Jack teaming with Sawyer to free Frank Lapidus at the end of season 4. Perhaps the finale will see them resign their animosity once and for all and bind them permanently as allies in survival and partners in redemption.”

Hurley sees young Jacob in the jungle. The boy demands the ashes Hurley took from Ilana’s things. He says they’re his. Hurley demands to know what he wants them for, but the boy takes the ashes, and runs, and Hurley loses sight of him. He tries to follow, but instead he finds grown Jacob with the ashes. “Dude,” a relieved Hugo begins, “I’ve been waiting for you to show up”. Jacob says his ashes are in the fire, and when they burn out, he’ll never see him again. He says to tell his friends, “we’re very close to the end, Hugo.”

Hurley leads the group to Jacob, and they all see him as he greets them. Kate asks if he’s the one who wrote their names on the wall, specifically Sun’s, Jin’s and Sayid’s. When Jacob confirms he did, she angrily demands, “Is that why they’re dead?” Very empathetically, Jacob tells her, “ I’m very sorry.” And promises if they sit down, he’ll tell them what their friends died for. “I’ll tell you why I chose them,” Jacob promises, “and why I chose you. And then I’ll tell you everything you’ll need to know about protecting the island, because by the time that fire burns out, one of you will have to start doing it.”

Aside Number 3 – I have now watched this scene over again, and find myself a little dissatisfied in Kate’s acceptance of the “why they died” explanation that follows. Her righteous indignation at Jacob for leading these people to their gruesome deaths is fully justified, and shared by the audience. By now, each of these characters has gotten a sense that the island protects those it still needs, but tosses aside those it doesn’t, not only allowing them to die, but perhaps encouraging it. Jacob’s explanation that follows here is pretty good for explaining why the castaways were brought to the island. It does very little to justify their deaths.

The sitdown begins with Jacob telling the assembled, “I brought all of you here because I made a mistake a very long time ago. Because of that, there’s a very good chance that every single one of you is going to die.” He clarifies that this “mistake” is the monster. “I’m responsible for him,” Jacob confesses. “I made him the way he is, and he’s been trying to kill me ever since.” Sawyer asks why he had to be punished for Jacob’s mistake, i.e. because he was doing just fine before he got dragged to that rock.

Aside Number 4 – I’ll let Jensen’s interpretation cover the recap of Jacob’s response: “Jacob responded to Sawyer's complaint by rising to his feet and calling bulls--t on him. On all of them. He hadn't plucked them from some 'happy existence.' They were all miserable, spent, and wasted. He said they were all like him: 'flawed' and 'alone.' They all needed to be on The Island as much as Jacob did. Sawyer could have gotten up in Jacob's grill and challenged him further. Still, I got the point. From a timeless, spiritual perspective, the castaways are better off than they were before they crashed on The Island. Yes, they have suffered, yet their adventures together have brought them to a place where they find themselves more self-aware and liberated from ruts of self-destructive behavior. Jacob has also given them something which I'm not sure they yet fully recognize and appreciate, at least not in the Island world: a community of fellow souls deeply invested in each other's survival, growth, and flourishing.” You may all notice that you’ve been quietly humming “kumbaya” while reading this, but Jensen’s point is valid – even Sawyer seemed silenced by this. And, in the wake of his refusal to let go and trust Jack on the submarine, I think we can all agree: for James Ford, lesson learned.

Kate asks why her name was crossed off in the cave, and he tells her - he crossed her name off because she became a mother. But that’s when the real kicker about the lack of rigidity concerning island “rules” kicks in. Per Jacob, “It’s just a line of chalk in a cave. The job is yours if you want it.”

Aside Number 5 – with his power dwindling here, I wonder how much Jacob knows about what is to come. Still, I get the sense from this, not that Jacob now values motherhood less, but rather that he assumes that Claire will not only return to Aaron, but raise him well.

Jacob tells them about the light in the cave, and the need to keep it safe from the monster. He hopes they can kill Flocke, which he hopes is possible, because Flocke wants to kill them. But Jacob won’t pick his successor. He wants them to have a choice he didn’t have. That said, Jacob tells them, if none of them does, “this ends very badly.” Jack volunteers. He says it’s why he is there. “This is what I’m supposed to do.” Jacob asks, “is that a question, Jack?” More assured, Jack says, “no.” Jacob responds, “good. Then it’s time.” Jacob leads Jack away. Sawyer mutters to Kate and Hugo, “I thought that guy had a God complex before.” Hurley’s thought that follows is, “I’m just glad it’s not me.” Jacob tells Jack that the Source is just beyond the bamboo field where he first awoke after the 815 crash. Jack says there’s nothing out there, but Jacob says, yes there is, and now he’ll be able to get there. Jacob borrows a cup and fills it, chanting as “mother” did last week over the wine. He hands the cup to Jack to drink. Jack asks how long he’s going to have to do this job. “As long as you can,” Jacob responds direly. As Jack drinks, a look of sudden understanding washes over him. “Now,” Jacob assures Jack, echoing mother’s similar sentiment “you’re like me.”

Aside Number 6 – This grand sit-down between the man behind Lost’s curtain and the last remaining 815ers did a lot to make last week’s outing – whatever you thought of it – relevant. Still, I find myself thinking that the context provided by “Across the sea” would have worked just as well if the episode gave Jacob flashbacks interspersed with these scenes of his choosing of his successor, and not devoting the full 42 minutes to the over-the-top self-importance of last week’s speechiness. Then we could have spent more time this week with…

Island – Team Ben … and Flocke

At last, after an interminable hiatus, we meet up again with Miles, Ben and Richard. Miles asks if Ben knows where he’s going, but Ben scoffs that he lived at the barracks long before Miles. Miles begs to differ – sort of: “''I lived in these houses 30 years ago — otherwise known as last week.” Ben insists he has lots of C4 left, in his secret room behind the bookcase. Miles starts flashing as they enter the barracks. He feels bodies. Richard explains to Ben, “It’s your daughter. After you left, I buried her.” Ben, the hurt of losing Alex flooding back to him, thanks Richard, and coldly turns and moves on.

They go into Ben’s former house. He moves the bookcase, and goes back to the secret closet, revealing to Miles the entrance to the “secreter” room. “It’s where I was told I could summon the monster,” Ben explains. “That’s before I realized it was the one summoning me.”

Aside Number 7 – As Jensen points out shrewdly here, “I think we got official confirmation from Ben that the entity in the old Goodspeed love shack which he took to be Jacob was actually the Man In Black. This is interesting to think about. If Ben has always been wrong about being Jacob's chosen one for a period of time, then that means his tenure as the leader of the Others was fraudulent and invalid — which means that Charles Widmore was probably quite sincere in his persecution of Ben. Megabucks Chuck never wanted to get back to The Island to exploit it. He wanted to get back to The Island to save it from Ben's corrupt administration. Still, I'd like to think that through it all, Jacob was always in control and will remain in control until his ashes evaporate in the campfire.” I had long assumed it was the monster that called Ben to the shack, and that then preyed on Locke with the whole, “help me” revelation. This was further suggestion when Ilana’s team found the broken ash and assumed the monster had escaped from the cabin, though it was less clear at the time that they knew it was he and not Jacob in the cabin.

Ben opens his safe. “Richard, it’s your idea,” Ben ponders. “Are we looking to cripple the plane, or blow it to hell?” In a response fit for an 80s action hero, Richard responds, “blow it to hell.” Ben’s response is pure Ben. “Then we better take it all.” They hear a sound, and find first Zoe, then Charles out in the kitchen/ living room area. Hello, Benjamin. May I come in? Ben asks what he’s doing there. Widmore orders Zoe to take their equipment from the outrigger and sink it. He shuts up Ben’s order to Zoe not to leave. “If you shoot me,” he admonishes, “your last chance at survival will be gone.” Widmore asks Richard why he’d rig the plane, since he rigged the plane with explosives. “As usual, Benjamin, I’m three steps ahead of you.” (Note to eeeevil masterminds – it’s never wise to bait Ben Linus.)

Charles says Jacob visited him right after the freighter blew up, and convinced him of “the error of my ways,” giving him his purpose. Charles is interrupted by Zoe on the walkie-talkie saying she sees Flocke. Charles then warns that they need to hide if they don’t want to die.

Aside Number 8 – I’ll talk more about the Lost “Times Talk” event I attended this week later. Here, it’s relevant that Damon Lindelof pointed out about Widmore’s Jacob showed me the light story, that on Lost, by now we should know that, when we see something happen, we can trust it. But when a character – particularly one like Charles – tells us something happened, the question should always linger about how true such a tale might be.

Flocke emerges from the outrigger onto the dock. He sees the other boat, with Widmore’s equipment, then walks up the dock. Zoe returns to Ben’s house. Widmore wants to use Ben’s secret room. Miles wants to run, but Ben wants to stand his ground. Ben gives Miles a walkie, and Miles runs. Richard insists all Flocke wants is for him to join him, and, if he does, maybe he’ll give the rest of them a chance to get away. Richard exits, followed by Ben (while Charles and Zoe flee to the back room). Richard looks for Flocke….and Smokey flies by and sends him flying off into the jungle. Ben, seeing this, sits on the porch.

Aside Number 9 – as with Frank Lapidus, I’ll believe Richard is dead when I see a body. The gift Jacob gave him was to “live forever,” and not just to stop aging. I don’t know what this means about Richard’s actual mortality, but I suspect, aside from some bruising, he’s going to turn up alive in the finale.

Flocke comes from around a building and spots Ben “Just the man I was looking for.” Ben offers him lemonade. Flocke pulls out a knife. “I need you to kill some people for me, Ben.” “And, why would I do that,” the old, cagey Ben asks. Flocke repeats his promise from “Dr. Linus:” “Because once I leave this island, you can have it all for yourself.” Flocke asks about the outrigger, and Ben says it’s Widmore’s, and that Widmore is hiding in his closet.

Aside Number 10 – Jensen’s take(s) on this interplay is spot-on: “Basically, Fake Locke was forcing Ben to become his a personal assassin — a reversal of what Ben did to Sayid during his Oceanic 6 days. Ben accepted, and we must ask why. We know that Ben is wired for survival. His typical M.O. is to glom onto a power player, then subvert and take control — very Sith-esque. With the death of his forgiving benfactor Ilana, Ben may have sensed that a shift in Island power had occurred and so he decided to shift allegiance accordingly. This would be a bummer. I had bought into Ben's redemption. I want him to stick with it. So here's another thought:

“Ben is conning Fake Locke. Recall that Ben had broken ranks with the castaways over Hurley's plan to try and hug it out with Smokey. That didn't work so well — for either side. Ben, himself something of an evil mastermind, must have realized that; he must have realized that Smokey only needed him because something had gone wrong. Smokey was coming to him out of weakness, not strength. Smokey radiated intimidation — but I'm betting Ben saw through the tough-guy veneer. Smokey is vulnerable. And he's scared. And Ben knows it. His plan: Stick by his side, figure out what can kill this man-thing, take him down. Ben is on the side of the castaway angels. He must be! (Then again, if Island Ben does go totally dark, it does set up the dramatically delicious moment when his more morally principled Sideways doppelganger becomes fully 'Island Enlightened' and remembers all his past life crimes. There goes that happily ever after with Rousseau and Alex.)

“The scene that followed was pretty awesome — the three great villains of Lost together in one confined space, three heavyweight peacocks trying to out-preen each other for control.”

Ben points out the closet, and says, “after you. Charles and his lady friend are in here. She’s armed, but I’m guessing that’s not a problem for you.” Flocke says to wait outside because he doesn’t need to see this, but Ben, freshly reminded about Alex, says, “I want to see this.” As they enter, Ben says, Sorry Charles. Flocke, smirking, does his best evil genius mock gentility act for Widmore. “How nice to be able to talk without those fences between us.” Charles warns Zoe not to talk to him, so Flocke slits her throat (her silence, you see, made her “pointless.”) Flocke says if Widmore doesn’t help him, the first thing he will do when he leaves is kill Penny. Widmore confesses – he brought Desmond back because of his resistance to e.m., as a measure of last resort. But Chalres won’t talk any more in front of Ben. “Well then whisper to me.” But as Widmore starts to whisper to him, Ben shoots him multiple times. As Widmore slumps down, Ben, a thoroughly intense look on his face, says, “he doesn’t get to save his daughter.” “Ben,” marvels Flocke. “You never cease to amaze me. Fortunately he had already told me what I needed to know, so no harm done.” Ben turns to his once and current master. “Didn’t you say there were some other people to kill?”

Aside Number 11 – my initial take was that, as part of Ben’s con on Flocke – and I share Jensen’s theory on that one – he had arranged with Widmore to pretend to kill him to gain Flocke’s good graces. That’s right – I assumed Widmore had survived. The evidence, however, contradicts this. For starters, Michael Ausiello of ew.com has added Charles Widmore to his “sweeps death” chart, a chart that had a fixed number of entries heading into May. (That said, the chart also includes Tess Mercer from Smallville…who was just listed as a regular character for next season). Then there was the Times Talk this week, in which Damon and Carlton discussed the significance of Widmore’s death at this juncture before the ambiguity of his redemption or not was resolved. All in all, looks like my theory was short-lived, and wrong.

Can we blame Ben? In one sense, yes we can. The bodies around him just keep piling up. But come on…this guy sent the men who killed Ben’s daughter. Moreover, if Ben is somehow still on the side of angels, his killing of Widmore may have stopped him from revealing what can defeat ol’ Smokey. But there’s something that makes me still wonder about this scene – we were led to believe in the past that Ben and Charles were somehow prevented from killing each other, i.e. one of those rules that have never been explained but that seem to apply. Did Charles’ island return take him out of the protection of the rule? Or is he really not dead?

My final piece of evidence for the notion that Ben hasn’t completely reverted back to the dark side – the walkie-talkie he gave Miles. He clearly intended to retain a connection to the other people who oppose Flocke, and, I believe, hoped that Flocke would allow his knowledge of Ben’s tendency towards concerted survivalism to cause him to miss Ben’s re-betrayal down the line. Or not.

Back in the jungle. Ben asks Smokey why he bothers walking. Flocke explains, the feel of his feet on the ground reminds of being human. (Do you think that’s the whole story?) They come to the well, but Desmond isn’t in it. Ben says it’s clear someone helped him out. “No, Ben,” corrects Flocke, “someone helped me out.” Ben asked what Widmore said to him. Flocke explains that Desmond was a failsafe – one final way to stop him if he killed all the candidates. “I’m going to find Desmond,” swears Flocke, “and when I do, he’s going to help me do the one thing I could never do myself. I’m going to destroy the island.”

Aside Number 12 – I don’t know how it is that Flocke can tempt Ben with a promise to let him rule the island, then tell him he plans to destroy it, and still expect Ben to do anything else willingly for him. Now, on to the sideways stories...

Sideways – The Shephard Bunch

Jack2’s eyes open, in a shot highly reminiscent of the first one of the series. His shaving cut has opened again, in a nod to the first episode of the season (Do you get the sense we’re supposed to be thinking “full circle” or something like that?). David comes in as he contemplates, and tells Jack2 he made breakfast (i.e. poured juice and cereal). David gets Jack2 to confirm he’s going to his big concert, and Mom is coming too (Is there any way at this point that mom is not Juliet???) . David warns him not to get all weird when he sees her. Claire2 joins them, and David pours her cereal (“Family Size Super Bran.”) Aaron2 kicked like crazy at night. Jack2 gets a call from Oceanic – they found his missing cargo (which he takes to mean his father’s coffin), and it will arrive at the end of the day. Only the caller is not from Oceanic. It’s Desmond2.

Aside Number 13 – I saw a couple of tongue-in-cheek mentions of the bran flakes online, but I think, if anything, the salient aspect of the cereal box was the display of “family size” in a room with Jack2, Claire2, and David – i.e. this is the family unit that neither Jack or Claire ever enjoyed in the island world.

I have no idea what it is that Desmond2 is hoping to accomplish with this prank call. The rest of his machinations all seem to have some sort of direction and purpose. Given that Jack2 is already going to the same concert as (we assume) everyone else in the sideways world, I don’t know what Des2 has in mind…

Sideways – Dr. Linus and the Rouseaux

Desmond2 waits in his car and watches Locke2’s return to the school. He starts the car, but Ben2 sees him and tries to make a scene to protect Locke2. Desmond2 insists he’s not here to hurt Locke2, but to help him let go. Ben demands, “who are you?” “You want to know who I am,” Desmond demands with a real edge. And he starts to beat Ben, who recalls their fight at the marina from island world.

Aside Number 14 – it figures that getting beaten up is the most appropriate recurring memory from island world that could jumpstart Ben’s memory. And, as if to torture him for his transgressions, his first memory, while of a time of maximum evil (his attempt to kill Penny for revenge), he doesn’t even get a memory of his precious island, instead recalling Marina del Rey. Funny backstory to this scene - Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond) accidentally made contact with Michael Emerson at one point, leaving a serious black eye. They tried to cover it with makeup, but during the whole DHARMA barracks sequence, you could kind of see it there.

Ben2 is tended by the nurse (the same one having the affair with the principal, who seems not the least impressed by the doctorate), then contemplates himself in the mirror (as Sideways characters are wont to do). Locke2 rolls in and asks what happened. Ben2 tells him about Desmond2. He tells him about what he saw while being beaten. Locke2 calls the police. Ben2 tells him Desmond2 wasn’t trying to hurt him, but to get him to “let go.” “And for some reason,” admits Dr. Linus, “I believed him. Do you any idea what he was talking about Mr. Locke? Does that mean something to you?” Locke2, seeing the coincidences start to mount, hangs up before responding to the police officer who took his call.

Outside, injured Dr. Linus drops his keys. Alex2 goes to help him, and asks why someone would want to hurt him. She offers him a ride home with her mom. Danielle2 emerges – utterly not insane – and is happy to help. It’s a very different meeting this time then their island encounter. They invite him for coq au vin night, and Danielle2 insists, he must come, “even if we have to kidnap you.” (Love the altverse irony!) After dinner, Danielle2 thanks him, and says how nice it is to cook for someone other than Alex2, whose father died when she was 2. That’s probably, surmises Danielle2, why she’s so attached to him. He’s the closest thing to a father he’s ever had. He sees her, and is taken aback, choking back tears, a real sense he’s channeling his island memory of actually being her father. Danielle2 asks if he’s ok. He says he thinks it’s the onions. He looks at her knowingly, a hint of blossoming romance in the gaze.

Aside Number 15 – Huzzah! Mira Furlan, back again as Danielle Rousseau, missing since she “died” in season 4. Jensen’s take on this bizarro world version of a family reunion: “'It's probably why she's grown so attached to you. You're the closest thing to a father she's ever had.' The whole Sideways Rousseau/Alex played that way, winking ironically at every aspect of the Island Rousseau story. Ben enjoyed himself, which troubled him even more. The story also tried to suggest the possibility of a love connection between Dr. Linus and Alex's mother, and all of this, I think, was in service to this idea: Perhaps not everyone in the Sideways world would be better off with Island Enlightenment. Let's say this really is Reincarnation Land. Don't these souls deserve to live out the new existence they've been given by the cosmic Wheel of Life? Should Sideways Ben be robbed of happiness in this life by being saddled with the memories and consciousness of his damaged and damned Island-word self? Should Rousseau and Alex be victimized anew by being made to meld with the fate-screwed people they once were? Can they decline getting hit with the Enlightenment whammy stick? Do the Sideways world peeps have any control over the process that Desmond seems determined to unleash?” In any case, to the extent that Sideways world represents a whole nature/ nurture study, there can be almost no doubt that Dr. Linus is a good guy. All the more pity to see what happened to him when his dad didn’t quit DHARMA.

Sideways – Locke2

The coincidences were just too much for Locke2, who rolls into Jack2’s office. After some small talk, Locke2 runs through their history, and the coincidences. He tells him about what Desmond2 – the man who “drove” them back together – told Ben2, and how it was the same thing Jack2 said to him the last time they saw each other (“let go”). He doesn’t mean that Jack2 sent the man, but maybe this all happened for a reason. Maybe you’re supposed to fix me. The old debate begins, and Jack2 “echoes” Mr. Eko – “don’t confuse coincidence for fate.” “You can call it what you want,” smiles Locke2, “but I think I’m ready to get out of this chair.”

Aside Number 16 – just as island world Jack has finally overcome his own demons, Sideways Locke, never entirely beholden to the faith-based insanity of his island counterpart, appears ready to be the alterna-hero. As Jensen notes, “'I'm ready to get out of this wheelchair,' he said. It was less about wanting to walk and more about wanting to meet the meaning behind this divine conspiracy. But more than anything, it was a choice. Like Island Jack, Sideways Locke seized the opportunity life had given him: the chance to decide who and what he wanted to be.”

Sideways – Sawyer and the Suspects

The cop who took the aborted call from Locke2 hangs up, and is approached by…Desmond2, who asks for a detective. Miles2 is dressing up for the concert at the museum and invites Ford2, who says no, due to Charlotte2’s presence (we shall see if fate really allows James2 to avoid the concert….) Desmond2 then comes in and turns himself in for the two incidents at the school. “Thanks for saving the taxpayers the trouble of hunting you down,” Ford2 says, leading Desmond2 to the holding cell. “You’re welcome,” Desmond2 says, just as lacking in irony as his island self was in identifying the smoke monster with, “you’re John Locke.” He greets Sayid2 and Kate2 in the holding pen with a smile.

Ford2 prepares to ship Jarah2 and Austen2 off to county. Kate2 says he can still let her go. Why would he do that? Her pathetic plea is, “because I told you I was innocent.” “Doesn’t matter,” he says, not looking at her. “I’m still a cop.” She says he doesn’t seem like a cop to her. In the wagon, Desmond2 says he thinks it’s time to leave. Sayid2 calls him crazy. Desmond2 says the driver already knows when to stop. They’ll have to give him their trust, because after he releases them, he’ll ask them to do something. Alright then, Sayid2 smirks, willing to play along. The car stops. The driver was Ana Lucia2. “Who’s Hume?” she asks (and we recall that these two characters occupied mutually exclusive pieces of the Season 2 story). She had taken a bribe to drop them off at the harbor, and Hugo2 comes to pick them up. “Sorry I’m late,” he says to Desmond2. He sees Ana2. “Oh hey, you didn’t tell me Ana Lucia was going to be here,” he says, completely island enlightened. But she isn’t joining them because, according to Desmond2, she isn’t read yet. Hurley’s Camaro is there. Kate is to ride with Desmond2, and Sayid with Hurley. Desmond2 is taking Kate to the concert.

Aside Number 17 – It’s fairly obvious by now that, just as there is only one doctor, one hospital, one courthouse, one police station, and one museum in Los Angeles in the sideways world, so is there only one concert coming up. This one concert will feature the musical stylings of Daniel “Widmore,” as well as David Shephard, Penelope “Milton,” and, if their bassist sobers up, Drive Shaft. David’s mother – has to be Juliet! – will be there, too. Care to lay odds that Detective Ford2 will track is now escaped prisoners to the concert – not just ‘cause he’s crafty, but because Desmond2 wanted him to? That he’ll meet Juliet2 there, and, while flirting with him, she’ll suggest they go Dutch for coffee?

I also loved how fully into it Hugo2 is. He has downloaded his other life as fully as anyone, perhaps even more so than Desmond2. I get the sense that there’s something about Hugo Reyes – any Hugo Reyes – that just lets him perceive that which is already there, but invisible to more skeptical people. But I can’t help but wonder one thing about the two Hurley’s sharing one mind: if Sideways world takes place in 2004, and the “enlightened” characters have downloaded island world events that took place in what would have been their futures, just how far does their knowledge extend? On the island, Hurley didn’t meet Ana Lucia until about 50+ days in. It seems unlikely that much time has passed since 815 landed in Sideways L.A., so the memories are not simply a perception of the other universe. Do those memories go all the way to 2007/2008 (whenever exactly they’re supposed to be on the island now?) Does Hugo2 already know what will happen in the finale? Does he know that Jack became the new Jacob? Or is there a finite cutoff to the knowledge he and Desmond2 have?

While we’re theorizing and pondering, I’ll direct the narrative here to an email chain forwarded to me by Windy McCracken in which she and her fellow LLL reader, Amy Basile, traded theories in an emailed version of water-cooler talk. Just as Season 6 keeps teasing back to earlier seasons of Lost on the show, reading this exchange brought me back to this site’s origins. Back in Season 2, when my wife’s then-client David Basler emailed her that Walt’s face appeared on the milk carton in Hurley’s dream sequence in “Everybody Hates Hugo,” I started googling Lost easter eggs and hidden clues. That led me to start up email chains much like Windy’s and Amy’s in the days after each new episode. Ultimately, when my mom mistakenly referred to this activity of group emailing as “blogging,” it occurred to me that a blog was a more efficient way to download my thoughts to other Lost fans. So, before Season 3, “Lost Lover at Law” was born.

Now…back to Amy and Windy. Here’s Amy’s theory on where the finale will take us: “Desmond goes down the light tunnel somehow (maybe Flocke sends him), but since he is resistant to electromagnetism, he comes out in a cloud of white smoke and sounds ike a laser printer (versus the dot matrix printer sound of Smokey). Black and white smoke fight, white wins, Flocke is dead. Jack is now free of his obligation to protect the light, since there is no threat; however, Desmond kills them all to preserve the sideways universe. Since Desmond is now Abraham and has shown the sacrifice of his son, some god-like being played by Christopher Lee gives him redemption by sending him back to sideways universe and sinks the island. Sideways universe prevails, Penny is pregnant with a son. Booya.” Amy, there’s a lot to like about this. The two bones of contention I have are: 1) The Christopher Lee thingy. Damon and Carlton have oft mocked the Architect scene from the Matrix films. Your version here sounds a bit too close to that. Then there’s 2)an ending that, like the Ang Lee version of Hulk, suddenly drops the humanity from the primary conflict and gets into energy beings duking it out. The Damon/ Carlton Times Talk pretty much shot that notion down, too. They pointed to the line from Flocke about being human because he likes to remember the feel of the ground under his feet. They find the best drama to be in human conflict, and the best answers to change “whats” into “whos.” For example, they turned “what’s in the hatch” to “who’s in the hatch – Desmond!” They turned “what’s the monster” into “Who is the monster – Man in Black!” But I like the way you think, and I think Desmond ending up in that light cavern makes a lot of sense.

As for Windy, her take went something like this: my actual theory is... Sideways world is what happens(ed) when Smokey destroys(ed) the island/sinks it after killing Jack. Clearly this involves the light and electromagnetism in some way because Desmond is the failsafe for that sideways world, thus somehow escapes, and brings everybody together and they somehow band together (i.e. no longer be lost by being alone, letting go of whatever made them lost and finding redemption in a community) and defeat smokey in the sideways world and there is no guardian needed for the island. The light or whatever it was they are protecting somehow gets split up between them and everybody ends up happier (particularly Hurley, who, if they kill, I will personally lead some slaughter in retribution). Not everybody will live, but I have no idea who will ultimately die.

Juliet and Sawyer will end up together somehow or I simply will wash my hands of the entire series :) For those of you just joining us, this last part is funny because the series will be over. Ha! Just kidding. Clever there, McCracken. The notion that the final battleground will actually be the sideways world is a nifty conceit. Jeff Jensen had a bit of a similar thought this week: “What if once upon a time, The Source did reside within all of humanity? What if we stopped believing in The Source, or we convinced ourselves that The Source stopped believing in us, so much so that now The Source exists as an anomaly that's hidden away from us — as something lost that must be found. The Truth Is Out There — but once, The Truth Was In Here.”

Times Talk

As I mentioned before, my friend, Grant, and I went to the Century City, L.A. showing of the Times Talk with Damon and Carlton this week. Billed as the producers’ last public appearance or discussion of Lost, at least for a very long time, it offered a great peak into the creative process underlying the show. They reiterated again that the last scene on Sunday night will be exactly what they’ve planned for years, and that the major beats were developed back in the first season. However, there have been moments of improvisation along the way, so there is no place where there’s a secret binder of the story that both explains each little hint and served as a Bible for where the series would go.

Damon and Carlton were very mindful of not spoiling the finale just days before it airs. But they did give some hints and clarifications. Read no further if you want to go in completely blind. This is your warning, and if you read no more, I’ll see you (at some point) after the finale.

Still with me? Cool. One thing Damon mentioned was that the prevalence of mirror shots in the sideways world is meant to convey that feeling one sometimes gets when looking at the mirror and wondering if we know the person looking back. This is that much deeper for the sideways characters, because they do have another life that is just escaping their recall.

Eventually, Michael Emerson and Jorge Garcia joined them on stage, and teased the notion that they will have some very meaningful time together on screen in the finale.

There was a suggestion that the first ever conversation between Jack and Desmond – when they met in the stadium three years before Oceanic 815 – will take on additional poignance after the finale.

We were told there will be a significant Star Wars reference in the first few minutes, and that Walt will somehow make an appearance (though they joked Malcolm David Kelley is now 39 years old and 6’5”).

Garcia explained that he has a podcast (which I will try to check out between now and Sunday) called “Geronimo Jack’s Beard” – a play on two “props” well known to Lost fans, the fake band Geronimo Jackson, and that awful beard that Oceanic 6 Jack grew during his addict days. All in all, it was a fun program, and we did get to see an extended clip that ran a little longer than one of the sneaks currently running on ABC.com. It wasn’t spoilery, but there’s no point in describing it before the finale, anyway.

A final word from Jeff Jensen

Not that the Doc is done, but he has a sign-off heading into the finale that I echo: “I'm ready. I'm ready for the final chapter, ready to see how it sums up the season and brings the series to a close. I'm ready to watch meaning (which, to be clear, is different than answers) flood into the Lost saga like a surge of Island Enlightenment.” I, too, am ready. And that’s why the finale recap will take a while. For the first time since Season 3, I plan to watch an episode of Lost without a laptop or notepad on my lap. I want a “pure” experience of seeing the finale – really seeing it – without any need to furiously jot everything down, ironically missing some of the more nuanced moments.

Like Jensen, I am ready for meaning, and have, like John Locke2, “let go” of the need for answers. That said, the one answer I really, really hope we get – though I suspect we will not – is what the heck was up with the infertility thing? It seems so long ago, but it was such a major plot point, and there’s been no hint, no clarification, no meaning.

But whatever happens Sunday night, I’m looking forward to an emotional ride, a satisfying ride, and, most of all, some damn fine television. So I leave you with this fun clip that Grant pointed me towards. This is really NSFW, and you should not watch it anywhere near a child who understands speech. It’s apropos of nothing, but it’s kind of funny.

Sizzle Alert: LOST with Sarah Silverman! from Sarah Silverman

Hope you enjoyed that, as well as this post, and that Sunday is a great unifying moment for we the Lostophiles. Until after then, Namaste, y’all.

Additional reflections heading into the final week

(If you came to this page looking for my recap of "Across the Sea," have no fear - it's the next post down. And you should read that before you read this.)

This post is about a couple of further thoughts heading into the final week of Lost. Required reading (or at least recommended) is the last ever Lost podcast, which you can get to by clicking on the title of this post.

But, I guess, you really do come to me because most of you don't want to listen to podcasts, so two highlights from Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse.

1) As Carlton said this week, "['Across the Sea'] is what answers [on Lost] look like." The story is, and always has been about the main characters. Sure, there is this whole cosmology about the island and its properties, but what matters is what brought the characters to where they are in the story. And that story began with this one woman's really awful parenting of Jacob and his brother, a series of lessons and decisions that culminated in 815 crashing on the island.

But there will be no deeper answers on what predated this chapter, because to do so would be to fall into the "midichlorian"/TMI problem that the Star Wars prequels had.

2) But, for what it's worth, there was one line in the episode that was very important - when the man in black told mother that the donkey wheel system would harness the light and water. If the light is the heart of the island, then the water is its circulatory system (the blood, so to speak). This "blood of the island" was what healed people in the Temple, and what became corrupted (and in turn corrupted Sayid) when Jacob died. We should keep an eye on this, since it may well factor heavily into the finale.

That was it. Nothing major. Just a couple of points that merited an extra post before "Why They Died." See you after Tuesday! Namaste!

Episode 615 - Jacob's Origin Lies "Across the Sea."

"Every question I answer will only lead to more questions."

- Unnamed Woman (Alison Janney), "Across the Sea"

...and with that quote, the character who we actually first saw (sorta) waaaay back in the 6th episode of the first season, but who still has no name, summed up exactly what it is to view Lost.

(What's this, you wonder? Dan doesn't usually start recaps with pullout quotes...but then again, I don't usually recap episodes like "Across the Sea," because there's never been truly like it in 6 seasons of Lost. As such, a different structure this week. I'll recap the story in very broad strokes (because, once the speechifying is taken out, that's how it happened), and then dive into my crackerjack analysis).

So, here's what happened.

(1) A Roman (we're guessing, based on the Latin and the dress) woman named Claudia landed on our familiar island via shipwreck, very, very pregnant. She was found and taken in by a nameless woman who shortly thereafter delivered her son - Jacob - before delivering her other son - for whom she hadn't thought of a name, because Romans didn't have ultrasounds. She wrapped calm Jacob and cranky other kid in white and black, respectively, then shielded them from Claudia's view. Woman (who I will call C.J., Ms. Janney's last big character's name, keenly aware of the irony that the "C" stands for "Claudia") then bludgeoned Claudia to death.

(2) C.J., who spends an inordinate amount of time weaving, raised the boys (and, indeed, boy in black never did get a name onscreen, though presumably he didn't go through life known as "Jacob's brother" or "BIB") with all sorts of interesting notions. Chief among them? There is no world "across the sea," i.e. the island is everything. People, if you ever meet them, are dangerous. They lie, kill, destroy and corrupt, so it's best to stay away from them. Jacob and his brother are special, and C.J. has made it so they can't hurt each other, even if other people do hurt each other. Adolescent Jacob, incidentally, looks just like the boy who has been haunting Flocke throughout the season, reminding him of rules, like his inability to kill Sawyer.

(3) Boy in Black finds a game, the ancient Egyptian game, Senet, in which the pieces are black and white stones. C.J., upon learning that her sneaky son has this game, seems to lie and tell him she left it for him, because he’s special (her word for “dishonest trickster”). She tries to pretend it didn’t come from anywhere else, because there is nowhere else. She claims she had a mother on the island, but that mother died, but death is something BIB “will never have to worry about.” Over the years, BIB and Jacob would play the game often, each always playing with his corresponding color. BIB would chastise Jacob for moves that were “against the rules,” but would assure his brother that one day, Jacob could make up a game, and come up with his own rules that people needed to follow.

(4) It turns out Claudia was not the sole survivor of her ship, and the others formed a community, with an Etruscan-era version of the DHARMA barracks qua thatched huts. The boys see some of the men from the village hunting one day, which prompts C.J. to improvise that she always knew there others on the island, but she kept the boys from knowing about this to keep them safe from all that lyin' and destroyin' and fightin' and what have you. She then showed the boys a cavern, with a stream running into it, from which a brilliant glowing golden light poured out. She explained to the boys that this light is “the warmest, brightest light you’ve ever seen or felt,” and they must make sure nobody ever finds it. It’s beautiful, you see, and “that’s why they want it, because a little bit of the light is inside of every man. They will try to take it, and if they try, the light goes out. If the light goes out here, it goes out everywhere. She has protected it, but she can’t forever. Her replacement will have to be one of them.”

(5) BIB, like Hurley does centuries later, can see the dead. Jacob, however, cannot. BIB has a run-in with Claudia (much like Ben did with the dead mother he never knew). Claudia shows him the village, and tells him that she is his real mother, whereas C.J. was just the woman who killed her. Claudia tells BIB about ships – a way for people to get from one place to another – and about how, contrary to what C.J. told him, there are many things across the sea.

(6) BIB tries to convince Jacob to run away with him, to join the people and find a way back to where they truly came from. Angry and confused, Jacob starts pummeling his brother, bloodying his nose until C.J. comes and separates them. BIB accuses her of lying, and when she insists he’ll never be able to leave the island, he swears that one day he will be able to prove her wrong. With that, BIB leaves, and C.J. is left with her second choice, Jacob, the boy who cannot tell a lie, as her new heir apparent. She asks if he will stay with her, in light of her deception (which was intended to ensure he stays “good”), and he responds that he will, “for a while.”

(7) After Jacob has grown into the man we recognize (at least physically, right down to the weaving skill), he spies from time to time on his brother, who has grown into the Man In Black we’ve come to recognize. He watches MIB work with “his” people (or so they have become after 30 years). But the brothers often secretly meet, and play their Senet game. MIB, for all the time he has spent living with the villagers, agrees with C.J. – they are greedy, manipulative, untrustworthy and selfish, but, to him, they’re also a “means to an end.” MIB tells Jacob they’ve discovered a way to leave the island, and, flinging the knife that Sayid failed to kill Smokey with towards one of the (newly constructed) wells, demonstrates...magnetism!

The smart men among the villagers dig wells every place they find on the island where metal acts strangely, and this will enable their escape. MIB begs Jacob to come, because what will Jacob do when their “mother” dies, but Jacob insists she never will.

(8) Having secured the whole story from Jacob, C.J. at last goes to see her other “son” in the bottom of one of the wells. He tells her spent 30 years looking in vain for the glowing cave and waterfall she’d shown him, but then realized he might be able to find the light from another directions. Indicating his unhooked donkey wheel, he points her to a wall – one which predates his people’s time on the island. Prying away a stone, he shows her the gold light pouring through, and says their plan is to hook the wheel up to a system they’re building amongst the wells, which will channel the light and water, and let them leave. Thinking he’s convinced her of his need to leave, he is caught completely off-guard by her grabbing him and ramming his head into the wall, knocking him out.

(9) C.J. knows the time has come, so she leads Jacob back to the cavern of light, which is now his to protect. She pours him wine – wine from the green bottle Jacob would centuries later show Richard as a metaphor for the island’s purpose, and tells him what is in the cave is “life, death, rebirth. The source, the heart of the island,” which he must promise never to go down into, because that would be worse than dying. By drinking the wine she’s given him, he accepts responsibility to protect the place for as long as he can, until it’s time for someone else to. Reluctantly, he drinks, and she assures him, “now you and I are the same.”

(10) MIB awakens outside the well, which has completely collapsed. He sees a plume of black smoke, and discovers his entire village, and everyone in it, burned to the ground. He finds his Senet game in the fire and retrieves it.

(11) C.J. returns to her cave after sending Jacob to collect fire wood. When she gets there, she finds her weaving destroyed and the cave a shambles. She spots the Senet game...then jerks as MIB’s knife protrudes through her chest. She says the word, “nothing,” and when he asks why she wouldn’t let him leave, she says, “because I love you.” She thanks him, and then dies. Jacob returns and sees what his brother has done, and administers another beating. He then drags MIB back to the cavern, and MIB is shocked, “she brought you back here?” Jacob assures his brother he won’t kill him, then throws him down into the stream. MIB hits his head and floats down the waterfall, into the cavern. As MIB disappears from view, the light goes out, and is replaced by the smoke monster roaring out of the cave, past Jacob, and into the jungle, its crackling lightning trailing behind.

(12) Jacob finds his brother’s lifeless body on a pile of rocks and logs, then carries him back to the cave where their “mother” lies. Jacob takes one black and one white stone from the Senet game, puts them in a pouch, and places the pouch in his mother’s hand. He then lays C.J. and MIB side-by-side in the cave, and we flash back and forth to the scene from the Season 1 episode, “House of the Rising Sun,” in which Jack, Kate and Locke find the bodies and the white and black stones. Finally, Jacob says good-bye to his brother.

Discussion

What Lost is About – As I thought about this episode, and the other “mythological download” we got this season in “Ab Aeterno,” it occurred to me, I finally know what Lost is about. Yes, folks, it’s all summed up in that blowup quote I opened this post with. “Every question I answer will only lead to more questions.” Now, think back to “Ab Aeterno,” in which Jacob explained to Richard that he could not explain what people who come to the island must do, because they need to figure it out for themselves. Hold those thoughts...

And now...think back to Season 2. John Locke (and we the viewers) opened up and got into the hatch, and sure enough, everything we thought we knew about the show blew up on us. Locke found himself pushing that damn button; the island had given him a task, and, like clockwork, he was going to complete it. But then he went to the Pearl station, and saw the “Mark Wickmund” video in which the artist formerly known as Pierre Chang basically told knowing insiders in the Pearl station that those people pushing buttons in the Swan hatch were being duped into thinking their task mattered, when, in fact, they were just being played with for an experiment. Locke completely lost faith, but this same experience taught Mr. Eko that “pushing that button is even more important now than ever.”

Ok, Dan. What on Earth are you babbling about? Let me explain. Lost is, to me, about faith, and the search for meaning. But that search is compromised if there is a single “meaning” out there to actually find. In truth, what makes Lost such a special show is that every question answered really does lead to more questions. If the critique about TV or film is that, unlike the written word, it provides no room for imagination, then Lost is the answer. Because Lost does guide its viewers, not to the “actual” answers (of which there may be none), but to a place where they can try to answer the questions themselves. Lost makes water cooler talk, and, for that matter, blogging, into work, but, if approached correctly, a labor of love. As Jacob said to Richard, he (as a stand-in for Lindelof and Cuse) can’t just show us what Lost is about. He has to just sit back and hope those of us who are here to prove our people are worthy can do it ourselves.

So what’s this about the hatch and faith? I liken the first 5 seasons of Lost to the parable of the button. We got an ever-increasing mystery that seemed to flow and build on itself, but always offered the promise of answers just past our grasp. The flashforwards were like the Lockdown – they showed us that we could glimpse a sense that this was all going somewhere, but we were not yet ready to know where. The time travel in Season 5 was like Ben’s taunting Locke. On the one hand, it seemed so random, it made us wonder, for a moment, if this was all going somewhere. On the other, by taking us back to DHARMA time, and giving Jack an actual plan beyond just “go home,” it renewed our purpose.

Then along came Season 6, and right off the bat, we got these flash-sideways. These weird stories told of a parallel universe in which the island stories we’d watched for five years didn’t matter anymore. I know a lot of you started to feel like Locke did when he saw the Pearl video – like everything we’d poured so much time and energy into was a waste of time. But for those of us who, like Eko, saw this deviation as a test of faith that required us to stick it out, the flash-sideways, which seem ever so close to colliding with the island story are not what shakes our faith, but will ultimately be what affirms it.

So do not expect Lost to answer all of your questions (or mine). Indeed, Damon and Carlton admitted that one of the questions they planted last year to be answered this year – who was shooting at Sawyer and company’s outrigger during the time jumps – got tossed aside because it forced the story into an unnecessary quagmire. Rather, expect every answer to pose more questions. And with those questions, Lost will continue to live beyond its finale and inspire the imaginations of countless fans for years to come in the same way that Star Wars did a generation ago. As Doc Jensen put it this week, “It's the meaning of life in the raw. It is physical proof that life actually has meaning. To behold it is to take a metaphysical Rorschach text. I might see God and a call to worship. Someone else might see science and a call to investigate. Someone else might see a practical joke and start looking around for Ashton Kutcher. I suspect Lost would say that no single interpretation is correct; that those who insist on a single interpretation couldn't be more incorrect; that the history of human catastrophe on The Island is comprised of eras of dogmatic, abusive interpretation run amuck. I don't think Lost is saying to stop pursuing truth. Not at all. I think it's more concerned with how we conduct our search and how we can labor with our neighbor in their search. Because lord knows that the bloody, brutal fight over all this stuff remains more troubling and terrifying than ever.”

On Island motifs In an interview with Alan Sepinwall of hitflix.com this week, Damon and Carlton confirmed that a great deal of “Across the Sea” was meant to demonstrate that certain broad brushes of story repeat themselves countlessly throughout the ages on the island:

DL: What our intention was is that there is a repeating vicious cycle that seems to happen on this island, where people come to the island, they try to figure out what makes the island work, and the closer they came leads them to their own inevitable demise.

CC: Like Icarus

DL: The more curious you become about why the island has its properties, inevitably the protector of the island feels the need to engage in some form of mass genocide. It was more our attempt to say that history repeats itself, and this is an ongoing and continuing motif.

Ready for a great Lost-type flashback coincidence? Sepinwall, the interviewer in this piece, was in my local, Morristown New Jersey chapter of Young Judaea with me some 20 years ago. We have not spoken since. But here we are two decades later, both writing about the same topic, and quoting each other. Very, very flashback...

The Meaning of What We Saw Part 1 – “The Rules”

Alas, the “mother” character was another in a long line of unreliable narrators (Ben Linus, anyone?) who told us so much, but left us to question what we just learned. See, for example, this passage from Jeff Jensen:

“'I've made it so you can never hurt each other.' This little line holds a lot of significance. Besides explaining why the Man In Black had to use a proxy to slay Jacob, Mother's line said something about the power that an Island guardian wields — including the ability to make 'the rules.' ...Why can't the Man In Black leave The Island? Can he or can't he kill the candidates? Can or can't the candidates kill each other? What's the difference between the gift of agelessness that Jacob gave Richard and the protections (if any) he bestowed upon the castaways he touched?

“I know a lot of fans were hoping 'Across The Sea' would answer those questions, and it appears many of those fans are deeming the episode a disappointment because it didn't. I share their desire to know, but not their impatience or cynicism...Still, I think 'Across The Sea' offered a revelation about 'the rules' that's just as important if not more so than the rules themselves: they are entirely subjective. I think many fans have assumed that 'the rules' exist as external truths that regulate all life on The Island, mortal or immortal, human or god-like. And maybe some of them are. I think fans have assumed that The Island possesses an orderly if complex internal logic that can be puzzled out. And to some degree, maybe it does. But I think Lost was telling us something when they had Jacob and Boy In Black arguing over the proper way to play Senet. BIB said: 'One day, you can make up your own game and everyone else will have to follow your rules.'

“'The rules' are, for the most part, pure whimsy — an expression of the unique interests and will of The Island's guardian. They are arbitrary inventions of The Island's custodian. And I suspect he or she can reinvent them any time he or she wants. (I am reminded of the scene in season 4, when Keamy assassinated Alex and Ben said, 'He changed the rules.' I always thought Ben was referring to Charles Widmore. But after 'Across The Sea,' I'm thinking that Ben was talking about Jacob.”

The Meaning of What We Saw – Part 2

Upon first seeing the final sequences of this episode, I thought, as did Jensen, that what we learned about MIB and Smokey was that Smokey was born of MIB’s soul being untethered from his body in the glowing cavern, the very wrong MIB would spend centuries curing Jacob for.

But then, the next morning on Facebook, my friend Steven Rosenaus posted a comment about Smokey that prompted me to a different understanding, one I actually think makes more sense. To test this out, I put it in an email to Jeff Jensen, hoping to get an honorable mention in one of his last ever Doc Jensen columns this weekend. Time will tell. For now, here’s the theory (touched up ever so slightly for my own blog, and thanks again to Steven, for getting me started on this):

Smokey is not MIB's disembodied soul. Rather, Smokey was forever trapped in that wormhole cavern, under a rule (those pesky rules!) that said a certain type of murder was the only thing that could free him/her/it. Jacob fulfilled that condition when he threw his brother down the hole, killing him.

But there are other rules, and one such rule is that Smokey, to act in any meaningful way, has to take on a human shape, and he is limited in selection to dead bodies on hand (in much the same way Miles is limited in which dead souls he can contact, i.e., those whose bodies are present in his immediate area). So Smokey, finally free, took on the form of the nearest dead body - the nameless MIB. But there is a consequence to picking a form. Smokey takes on, at least subconsciously, some of the attributes of the person he mimics. Hence, as Christian, he had to lead Jack to water. As Locke, he bellowed, "don't tell me what I can't do!" And, as MIB, he eventually came to actually believe that he was once Jacob's brother. I think Jacob, in his loneliness, came to indulge that mistake, just for the companionship (and, in his own way, to be with his brother, since we learned this week that Jacob cannot see dead people). In reality, other than seeing dead people, Jacob's brother was a wholly unremarkable mortal, who died at his brother's hand shortly after murdering his fake mother. Finally, I think this is the meaning behind Desmond’s practically accusatory tone when he answered Flocke’s question of “do you know who I am” with “yes, you’re John Locke.”

So, yeah, I was hoping for more on the Rules, as Jensen said above. But a new understanding of how Jacob and Smokey really fit into island legend (at least in theory), and a new perspective on what Lost is really about, made this one worthwhile, even if a little slow in the execution. But next week, we return to our normal narrative, and pick up the pace for the final 3 1/2 hours, with “Why They Died.” Between that episode, and the finale (entitle “The End,”) I’m accompanying my buddy Grant to one of the videoconference sites where Damon and Carlton will conduct their last ever public address on Lost (at least the last one until they shoot some extras for the DVD/ Blu Ray release in August). So there will be lots and lots to talk about over the next week and a half. Until next time, Namaste.