Incidentally

Eight more months. We have to wait eight more months for the next Lost. Well, at least we have Lost to look forward to. Next year this time, it's over.

The two-hour finale, aka "The Incident," was pretty exciting, and ended in a cliffhanger, of course. Unlike the last few weeks, I'm not going to give a blow-by-blow description--I don't think I, or the readers of this blog, could handle it. Instead, I'll give my impression as I go along.

The show started off great, with a classic bewildering Lost opening. We start with a man in white working a loom in a room with a fire We've never seen him before. He goes out to the beach--looks like the Lost beach--and has caught a fish. He's wearing what could be an old style of clothing. He sees a ship sailing toward him--the Black Rock? (Do we know any of the crew?) Then he's joined by a man in black. They seem friendly.

They seem to have a basic disagreement. The guy in white brings the ships in--this is hardly the first time--and the guy in black thinks things always work out the same, and it's not good. Whitey sees progress, and wants to prove Blackie wrong.

What?!This is the basic theme of the show and, in fact, the season. Are we in a fixed loop, or can we get out of it? Can we change things or whatever happens, happens, or as Sawyer will hear, what's done is done.

Blackie then notes he really wants to kill Whitey, which Whitey already knows. Black is looking for a loophole that will allow him to do it. Oh yeah, one more thing--Whitey is Jacob! I didn't figure we'd get to see Jacob so quickly this episode, if at all. And I didn't figure he'd be a regular, fish-eating guy.

So these two guys seem to be what the "war" is about. It's been hinted at from the start, when Locke told Walt about backgammon--Black versus White. I guess with only one season left they have to get to it, finally.

One more thing--they're sitting next to the complete, gigantic statue.

Now that's how you start a show.

The finale has a series of flashbacks--interactions with Jacob and Losties in the past.

First he meets Kate as a girl, and pays for a lunchbox she was stealing. Does this mean Jacob is good, or is he setting things up? What would he need to set things up for? Is this "progress"? Or is he protecting himself?

As predicted last week, Kate, Sawyer and Juliet stop the sub and return. But it's not Sawyer's bad consciences, or Kate's argument. In fact, the return of Jack seems to have reverted Sawyer back to the self-serving guy we used to know. It's Juliet who turns them around--because she sees how Sawyer still looks at Kate, as we'll discover.

Following Faraday's notebook, Sayid and Jack carry the core up through the Barracks. Sayid is shot by Roger Linus. A bit of a surprise, and not a pleasant one--I'd hate to see Sayid go.

Back in the present, Ben, who does seem to be a changed person, admits he's never seen Jacob, never met him, it was all make-believe. Considering how fearsome he's been in the past, how powerful and knowledgeable he seemed, it's amazing how pathetic Ben is now.

Locke is more overbearing than ever. He even seems to say he's going to kill Ilana and her gang. Speaking of which, they land on the island with Lapidus. They're the self-described good guys. Hmm. They give Frank a peak at what's in the box, but we don't get to see it. This is only acceptable if they show us later (which they do).

Jacob visits Sawyer at his parents' funeral. (This couldn't possible be the same kid who played little Sawyer in 2004.) He gives him a pen to help write his letter. Once again, what is Jacob's plan, and is he good with or a bad witch? (Do good and bad even have any meaning in this "war"?)

Locke finds out from chastened Ben that the Monster told him to follow whatever Ben says or he'd be destroyed. Considering what we'll find out about Locke, it's interesting he seems surprised by this. He's also surprised Ben hasn't told Richard about his plans to kill Jacob. Once again, considering what we find out later, it's surprising Locke wouldn't mind Richard finding out.

Now Jacob stops Sayid at a crosswalk, while his wife, Nadia, is hit by a car. (It's allegedly on La Brea, not far from where I live, but it doesn't look like La Brea to me.) Was this Jacob's plan? It's one thing to give Sawyer a pen to help he write a nasty letter--helping Nadia die seems pretty nasty. Does Jacob care about the Losties, or is it simply manipulation (like how he brought all those other ships in)? He sure doesn't seem so friendly now.

Jack and bleeding Sayid are saved by Miles, Hurley and Jin in one of those omnipresent minibuses. Before they get to the Swan, they're met by the badass trio of Sawyer, Kate and Juliet. Oh yeah, did I mention they came ashore and found Vincent, Rose and Bernard. B and R have been hiding from the DI for three years. I must say Jin didn't do much of a job searching for them, since he could have spotted their little hut pretty easily once he hit their grid.

Bernard and Rose just want to live by themselves and not worry about the island blowing up. If it happens, it happens. (I assume there are no more of the orignial Oceanic flight left, BTW.) Rose makes it clear they can opt out of their adventuring and just take it easy. This is another theme of the show--unchangeable actions versus free will. People are given a choice. Or are they? Anyway, I'm guessing we're done with Bernie and Rose. Now if only they'd show what happened to Libby.

Ilana and her crew get to Jacob's Cabin, but it's been compromised, and Jacob is gone. But what's going on here. Is this Jacob's Cabin? It makes sense, since Ilana is on his side (she had a flashback where she was bandaged and Jacob visited--she promised to help him). But now we know Jacob lives in the statue's foot--is the cabin just his summer house?

Ilana notes he hasn't been there a while, and it's been used by others. (Also, the ash surrounding the cabin has been broken, which either allows someone in or out. Who, and how?) So does this mean that Christian (or whoever that was) could not speak for Jacob, like he said? Is Christian on the other side in this war? Was he playing Locke?

Now here's Jacob reading Flannery O'Connor, waiting for Locke to fall out of a building. He walks up to John and touches him, apparently reviving him. This is his biggest intervention by far. He promises John everything will be alright. How does he know? In fact, knowing what will happen, to both Locke and Jacob, does Jacob understand what he's doing? Is Locke a pivotal character for both sides? Or just a chump? Are all the Oceanic people equally important? (And did Jacob touch everyone he met? Does that matter? Is this the most questions I've ever had in a row?)

Speaking of important, when Ben admits he lied about Jacob, it makes you wonder just how important the Ben versus Widmore battle is. It used to seem it was the main conflict, but now it seems like a minor skirmish. They were fighting over who was the leader--Ben, just a kid from the DI who wanted to be an Other, or Widmore, who comes from we don't know where--but they both answered to Jacob (or pretended to). Locke asks Ben why wouldn't he want to kill Jacob, after all he's been through, and how little he's gotten?

Jacob also showed up to congratulate Sun and Jin at their wedding. He tells them to cherish their love, which may not seem that necessary to make them stay together, but you gotta admit, Jacob's thorough. (By the way, this is the third time in the series Jin is surprised to find a white person knows Korean. Thought not as surprised to find out (spoiler) his wife knows English.)

Locke, Richard and the Others have marched to the foot of the statue. It's where Jacob lives. I thought they got there pretty quickly considering they marched from the old beach camp--isn't that quite a distance? Also, when Sayid first saw it, he was coming from the other direction. Did he sail all the way around the island?

Sawyer wants to talk to Jack. Five minutes. (While Sayid is bleeding to death.) Sawyer and Jack have a good heart-to-heart. They haven't been together that much lately, and I don't know if they've had a talk like this since the first season when Sawyer told Jack he met his dad. Sawyer notes he could have gone off the island and stopped his parents from dying, but what's done is done, so why should Jack be any different. But Sawyer is happy now, while Jack has lost Kate, and can't stand it. Sawyer can't convince Jack not to blow up the bomb, so a punchout ensues. They haven't had a good one of those either in a while.

Juliet comes in (she's a doctor--she should be back with Sayid attending to his dressing) and stops it. Jack is going through with it.

In a flashback we see the moment Jack told Kate about in the pilot. It's his first surgery, and he screws up. He allows himself five seconds to go nuts, then decides to drop the fear and do his job.. But I swear he didn't mention his father was involved, whereas we see now his dad was the one who suggested he count to five.

Later Jack is buying an Apollo bar (Dharma food--could the name mean anything?). It gets stuck in the vending machine. This is a common event in TV and movies, but I have never seen it happen in real life. The next guy gets two bars, and offers one to Jack. It's Jacob, of course. (And this should settle the fact that Jacob isn't Jack. For that matter, Jacob isn't anyone else but himself.) The surgery was a big moment, but I didn't realize getting that chocolate bar mattered so much.

We get Juliet's flashback, too, which is her parents breaking up, though they love each other. It's the only flashback without Jacob--he only cares about those on the Oceanic flight. Anyway, it shows us the really reason why Juliet wanted to go back--not to stop Jack, but to help him reset everything. In a show with some weak motivations, this seems the weakest. For her, what the hell does Elizabeth Barrett Browning know--better to never have met Sawyer that to love him and lose him.

Jack and Kate also have their moment and she brings up their first meeting. I was expecting a callback where Jack apologizes for not mentioning his dad convinced him to take the time-out, but no. Jack's reset idea still seems nuts to me, but he finally gets Kate to sign on. (I expected her to say she's always been on his side, like before, but she just says "Yes" she's with hm.) He's already got Juliet. I'm sure at this point Sawyer is looking at his two loves and thinking "bitches be crazy."

Anyway, it's happening. Or it better, or a lot of viewers will be pissed off.

We get to the scene we know is coming--how Hugo got on the Ajira flight. And I'm pretty sure most people have figured out Jacob will play a part. Huge gets out of jail and into a cab, which he shares with Jacob. Jacob's got that guitar case. We never find out what's in it--Season 6. Hugo figures he's seeing another ghost, but Jacob says otherwise. He says Hugo's not cursed, he's blessed--he can even see his old friends. Which makes you wonder, who is in charge of these apparitions? Blackie? Whitey? Real ghosts? A Miles-like talent? Jacob sweetly tells Hurley he can get on the plane...or not. There's that free will stuff again. It seems like whatever Jacob needs, he can't force people to do--they can be prodded, but must do it voluntarily. (Though the Others and their mindless support of Jacob suggests things can go further.) He and Blackie seem to have been fighting this thing out for a while, with quite a few people.

Outside the Swan, Miles notes what everyone's been thinking all along--how does Jack know what he's about to do isn't the actual "Incident" itself? The only argument Jack has is Locke's old claim--have faith, because it feels right.

Though security is beefed up, with Phil and Radzinksy ready, Jack walks to the Swan.

It's night, and Locke demands Richard take him to Jacob. From an earlier conversation, it's clear though Richard isn't aging any more thanks to Jacob, he doesn't really know what's going on. Locke wants Ben to come along. Richard goes nuts--only the leader can meet Jacob, and there can be only one. Locke overrules him and says let Jacob deal with it. We know why Locke wants Ben along, of course, and it would appear Locke--or whoever he is--can't kill Jacob himself. (Does Locke even know where Jacob is without Richard's help? Why wouldn't he know if he's not really Locke?)

Meawhile (30 years ago) Juliet rallies the troupe. They need to get Jack's back, and it's live together, die alone. Jack is spotted by Phil, but the Lostie cavalry drives in. A big shootout. (DI may look like hippies, but they have altogether too many guns to pull it off. They're closer to the Weather Underground.)

The Losties take over, as the drill hits the pocket of electromagnetism. A lot of meaningful glances. Kate/Jack/Juliet/Sawyer know this is the last looks they may ever have at each other. Either they're gonna be dead or landing at LAX soon (or both?). Except for Juliet--I have no idea where she'll be.

Instead...nothing. The bomb is a dud? But metal starts bending and flying, just like the end of Season 2. Phil is free for a second and threatens Sawyer's life. Like any guest star who threatens a regular, he's quickly dispatched--in his case, by a metal rod in the chest.

Just like Mr. no-name in the pilot who got sucked into the turbine, Juliet is pulled into the pit. Sawyer grabs onto her but, in probably the most touching moment of the finale, he can't hold on. I thought things were going too well for them from ever since LaFleur--figured she'd have to die.

Back in the present, Ilana's gang and their magic box appear outside the Bigfoot camp. They ask for Ricardus and finally get the right answer to the statue gag (in Latin, no less)--that what lies in the shadow of the statue is the one who'll save us. They dump out the box for Richard. As some had predicted, it's Locke's corpse.

This certainly raises quite a few questions. But first, let me note, this means Locke (or Locke 1.0) has been dead since the end of season 3. It also means this is the second Locke corpse reveal finale in a row.

So what or who is this guy who says he's Locke? Blackie? Someone conjured up by Blackie? Smokey? Are they the same thing? Most important (to me), is there any part of Locke inside. Sure he was confident, even arrogant, but there have been a number of moments since Ajira landed that this mysterious Locke-like stranger (who conversed with Ilana--I guess she couldn't act too alarmed lest she give away her act) acted like Locke, and had Locke's memories. He also didn't seem to know a lot of things unless the island told him, which sounds like Locke. Was this a show, or is there any Locke in there? What percentage? Is Locke fighting to get out? (Is this a Heroes season 3/Star Trek 3 sort of mind shift into a new body? Miles could still get some feeing from a dead meet brain after death. Maybe the Island, or someone, was able to take Locke's corpsey mind and put it into a new body. This seems different from Christian, who's body, I believe, was missing from his coffin.)

Anyway, big things are afoot inside the statue. Jacob's there alright, no messing around this time. This is the loom room. He and Locke converse like old pals/enemies, just like the cold open. Jacob tells neo-Locke "you found your loophole." Locke tells him you have no idea what I've gone through. I assume manipluating Locke, and probably Ben, was at least part of the loophole. Also, I think Jacob has a good idea what the guy has gone through, since he's been doing a lot of similar stuff himself.

Jacob reminds Ben he has a choice. (Remember, this is Ben, never looking more pathetic--he's just another pawn now in the battle between two giants.) Ben is pissed off at how badly Jacob's treated him. ("Locke" plays mind games better on him than Ben played in the old Locke.) I don't think too many people were surprised when Ben killed Jacob. After all, killling people is what he does best. Locke shoves him in the fire, but not before Jacob warns him others are coming. This probably means Ilana, but could it he something else--maybe even Locke's old pals?

This might have been it, but we go back to the Swan hole. Everything is pulled in. We go down, down, and at the bottom, there's Juliet, still alive. Hard to kill a regular on this show. She's not looking very well, thogh. Coughing up blood.

Next to her she sees the unexploded nuclear device. She bangs on it with a rock a few times and finally, a blast of white light, and...LOST.

I was glad to see the explosion, or the whole Jack plot would have been a waste of time. But, of course, this means we have no idea where's we'll be in January, 2010 (I mean on the show, but I suppose that's true in real life as well.)

Is this what always happened in 1977? It's hard to believe, with Change and Radzinsky still around after "The Incident." (On the other hand, they were hightailing it out of there.) The magnetic stuff I buy, but an H-bomb going off?

It's impossible to believe that all the leads die. So what did happen? Could they possible survive the explosion (outside Juliet)? Seems more likely Jack's plan worked, and there'll be some sort of reset. But we couldn't have a full reset. We have a whole season to go, and we can't start on the plane like nothing happened. Perhaps they'll be back in the present, but they'll still have some of their old memories. Or some of them will.

And what will happen in the Jacob-dead present. Will that reset, too? Is Jacob really gone? What would that mean? What happens to Locke then? What about Richard, Ilana and all the other Jacob-lovers. How about Widmore?

Also, Richard says he saw all the Losties in 1977 die. Well, did he, or was he lying? Was he watching the explosion, but from very far away? Is he referring to another incident? Was there a parallel timeline? Is it a writer's lapse?

All these and many other questions to be answered--in 2010. Until then, enjoy our other posts here at Pajama Guy.