S4Ep13- There's No Place Like Home, Parts Two & Three

Hello my dear friends -

I might as well get this out of the way upfront: No, I will NOT be changing the name of my site. Locke cannot be DEAD dead... I refuse to believe it (as the saying goes, "De Nile ain't just a river in Egypt"). But obviously I will talk a lot more about the shocking ending of the finale later.

Luckily for me, I was able to watch all three hours of the show from my hotel room in Boston (shout-out to AW, who watched it with me). Perhaps it was because of the huge Oreo cake slice and frosted cookie that I devoured out of nervousness over that time period, or maybe it was because of the dreadful suspicion in the back of my mind that my man really was a goner, but either way, I didn't sleep much that night.

At the end of "There's No Place Like Home" I felt straight-up confused. I thought the finale was great, but I didn't see a lot of the twists coming. The good news is that I'm actually one of those people who LIKES having more questions raised than answers doled out in this show, so I was pleased at how surprised I was throughout the two new hours.

Below you will find a short section of commentary on the new scenes they showed from the first hour, and then I'll talk about the two new hours--Island events followed by the flash-forwards. And yes, this post is especially long, but guess what? The good news is that you've got EIGHT MONTHS to read it!

And for those of you who are new to the site, be sure to roll over the pictures for more "insight"...


I WILL REMEMBER YOU...
WILL YOU REMEMBER ME?

The biggest thing that came out of the extended scenes was that we learned the names of the three others who survived the plane crash but later died (all in the fake O6 story, obviously): Boone, Charlie and Libby. (If you didn't see the new scenes, you can do so here.) I'm not going to spend too much time trying to figure out why they chose those three, because it seems to have no rhyme nor reason. And if this information was cut from the main airing, it can't be that important (a fact that the producers echoed in a recent podcast). But I will provide one off-the-top-of-my-head reason for each of the three:

1) Boone - A lot of people are guessing that the O6 picked to mention Boone because he used the radio in the drug plane and maybe they thought someone might have picked up that transmission. But remember, it was only Locke who knew that Boone used the radio. Boone died before he could tell anyone about the call, and Locke never mentioned it (I checked the transcripts to be sure). Plus, we learned in "The Other 48 Days" that it was Bernard on the other end, anyway (something that I don't think any of the rest of the 815ers ever pieced together). So all I can figure is that since Boone and Shannon were from a rich family, the O6 picked one of them to mention. Perhaps Sayid wouldn't have wanted to drag up memories of Shannon, so they chose Boone.

2) Charlie - The most obvious reason is that he made contact with Penny, who might have told others on her ship about it, so they were just trying to be safe. Plus, he was a once-famous rock star. You All Everybody!

3) Libby - I really have no idea on this one. Perhaps Hurley pushed for it because of his crush on her. Or maybe the writers didn't want us to forget about her since she'll probably pop up again, seeing as how we still don't know how/why she was in the mental ward with Hurley AND gave the boat to Desmond...

There were a few of those "pop-up" boxes in the episode that are also worth noting:
- They clarified that Aaron was actually over 8 weeks old at the time of the press conference, but that Kate said he was 5 weeks old as part of the cover-up story.
- Sun was 6 months pregnant in her flash-forward with her father where she informs him that she bought the company.
- Our favorite number, 108, is tied to the number of days the Oceanic Six survived the crash until they reached Sumba.


OK, on to the Island and freighter events...


WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT
NO! WE AIN'T GONNA TAKE IT
WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT...
ANYMORE

After surrendering at the Orchid, Ben was led to the helicopter by Keamy and his goons. I think two of the most important questions of the night were asked at the beginning of this scene:

1) KEAMY to BEN: What is it that makes you so important, hmm?
2) BEN to KEAMY: Did Charles Widmore tell you to kill my daughter?

You all know that I hate Keamy with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns, but I have to admit that he made a good point. Why IS Ben so important? Some have wondered if Widmore and Ben are perhaps each others' constants (so they therefore can't kill each other), but I really don't think that's the case. We haven't seen any evidence of either of them conscience-traveling or experiencing the "side effects" that sometimes come with leaving the Island. We know that there are "rules" that the two men are abiding by, and that they each want ownership of the Island.

And from Ben's question back to Keamy, we also know that it's absolutely tearing him apart that one of these rules was broken when Alex was killed. I think the mysterious rules emanate from the Island--like some sort of honor code--and that we will learn more about them next season.

Because we certainly didn't get an answer from Major Meathead in this episode... Kate interrupted his chat with Ben by bursting onto the scene and claiming to be running from the Others. Chaos ensued, during which I was truly surprised to see Kate help Ben after his fall when they were both trying to escape a rifle-toting Keamy. I was actually amused during the whole When Others Attack! scene, because the Others were up to their old tricks: slingshots and crazy darts... it was comparable to when the Ewoks brought down the Imperial troops on Endor in Return of the Jedi by throwing a bunch of rocks around. Keamy and his small army of highly-trained mercenaries were no match for the barefoot, khaki-sporting Others.

Then Sayid springs out of the bushes like a ninja and I started screaming, "Bust out the breakdancing move! BUST OUT THE BREAKDANCING MOVE!!!!" Alas, there was to be no display of neck-snapping leg twists, because Ageless Richard ended the battle with some shots to Keamy's (body armor-protected) back.

It was clear that Ben and Ageless Richard were on the outs, but they stuck by their Others Code and agreed to let Kate and Sayid leave the Island.


WHY, OH WHY
CAN'T WE SEE EYE TO EYE?

But no one was about to go anywhere without Captain Jack, who was with Sawyer and Hurley over at the Orchid. Although Jack wanted to run off in a huff after coming upon Locke in the greenhouse area, Hurley persuaded him to at least hear what Locke had to say.

While any confrontation between Locke and Jack is bound to be entertaining, I actually didn't find their showdown at the Orchid to be that suspenseful. It was clear that Jack had had it with Locke and all of his talk about destiny and what they were "supposed" to do. And although even Jack referenced their shouting match in "Exodus" (when they were on the brink of blowing open the original hatch), to which this Orchid scene has been often compared, my favorite exchange between the two is still from early on in Season Two in "Orientation," when they were fighting about whether or not to enter in the numbers for the Countdown Clock o' Doom:

LOCKE: ... Why do you find it so hard to believe?
JACK: Why do you find it so easy?

Those are two of my favorite lines ever uttered on this show, and they continue to sum up the differences between the two leaders. For now.

What I found most interesting about this scene was that it was actually Locke's idea for the soon-to-be Oceanic Six to create a cover story. I was POSITIVE that the O6 were going to be intercepted by some third party who forced them to lie. Now knowing that it was originally Locke's idea (which Jack initially disagreed with), it's all the more intriguing.

So Locke and Jack go their separate ways... Locke with Ben down into the Orchid, and Jack with Sawyer and Hurley to the helicopter. Their final stare-down as Locke was lowered into the hatch was the highlight of the scene for me.


IT FEELS LIKE HOME TO ME,
IT FEELS LIKE HOME TO ME,
IT FEELS LIKE I'M ALL THE WAY BACK
WHERE I COME FROM

Meanwhile, Daniel did not run out of gas for his raft, and was back on the beach gearing up for another trip out to the freighter. He told Miles and Charlotte that they needed to ensure that they were in the next group to leave. Miles declined the invitation, ensuring a potentially awesome run-in with all of the many Island Ghosts (including Jacob, perhaps?) next season.

Charlotte also decided to stay, much to Daniel's chagrin. I mean, he has kept his tie on to impress her for a full ten days! (Shout-out to reader "skid" for the official count.) Some guys just can't win.

Obviously, though, the more important parts of the Original Helicopter Team scenes weren't regarding who stayed or who left the Island. They were about Miles' abilities and Charlotte's background.

While we knew that Miles was a ghost whisperer, it was only hinted at before that he could also perhaps read the minds of the living. When he first met Michael as the freighter crew was assembling, Miles said that he knew "Kevin Johnson" was lying about his name, and indicated that others on the ship had secrets, too. Now we see Miles confront Charlotte about all the time she spent trying to "get back" to the Island. Methinks Miles can do more than just talk to the dead...

Which leads us to Charlotte. Between what Miles said and her comment to Daniel about looking for the place where she was born, the most obvious theory is that Charlotte was in fact born on the Island. Many of us suspected this before... in fact, here's what I wrote the first time we met Charlotte in "Confirmed Dead": "Others think that she is a descendant of Dharma members and used to live on the Island, and now is trying to get back ... When she splashed down into the water from her precarious position on a tree limb, she seemed not only happy to be alive, but also flat-out ecstatic to be on the Island. Like it was either a place she'd been trying to get to all of her life and couldn't believe she was finally there... or a place she had been to before, to which she was relieved to return."

I personally think that she is the daughter of Annie and Ben, and was whisked away from the Island (possibly by her mother) shortly after she was born. She would therefore have no actual memories of the Island, but it would explain her giddiness in the lake when she initially crash-landed. And if Ben only had the file on her from Michael's spy-work on the freighter, he would have no way of knowing her true identity (thus his attempt to shoot her early on).

We KNOW that Annie has to come back into the picture somehow. I mean, they wouldn't have even had her as a character if she wasn't going to matter (and the producers have indicated as much). I think Annie is important because the Island never wanted Ben to have a life of his own. The Island wanted complete dedication from him. So my thoughts are that Ben fell in love with Annie, had a daughter with her, and then perhaps thought he lost that daughter. So he proceeded to take Alex for his own and became obsessed with figuring out how to stop pregnant women from dying on the Island.

But perhaps pregnant women started dying on the Island in the first place because of Ben... because he stopped devoting himself completely to the Island and got too wrapped up in Annie. As a punishment, the Island made it so that no one else could ever have children and Ben would have to bear the guilt of that situation. I wouldn't be surprised if Annie herself died in childbirth, but I think for now that's neither here nor there... in this episode our wheels were meant to get cranking on Charlotte's background.

And I definitely do NOT believe that Charlotte IS Annie, as I've read in a lot of posts on the message boards. I think that would be really silly and would be a much-too-complicated storyline to pull off. Not to mention being kind of gross (I do NOT want to ever see a Charlotte/Ben kiss?!?!).


DON'T JUST STAND THERE,
BUST A MOVE!

Back in the depths of the jungle, the helicopter departs with Frank at the helm, and Jack, Sayid, Kate, Hurley and Sawyer inside. While Jack mentioned that "a dead body" washed ashore from the freighter, he didn't tell Sayid exactly who it was, so Sayid was not concerned and deemed the freighter to be safe. I guess the mystery of Doc Ray will have to be answered next season.

So the group was on its way... and I tell ya, those "helicopter lift-off" scenes still get me. I was all choked up much earlier in the season the FIRST time Sayid left the Island (with Desmond and Frank), and I got the chills this time when Kate peered over the side taking in the jungle for the last (?) time as the group headed out.

But their relief at finally escaping didn't last for long, as Frank quickly discovered that the copter was leaking fuel at an alarming rate. My husband had guessed from the previews that Sawyer was going to jump into the ocean in order to help conserve gas, but had he not put that idea into my head, I wouldn't have seen it coming. After whispering, "I have a daughter in Alabama. You need to find her. Tell her I'm sorry," to a bewildered Kate (not to mention giving her a big ol' smackeroo as Jack looked on), Sawyer stunned the group by diving out of the helicopter. As the remaining passengers looked at each other in shock, I couldn't help but think that Sawyer had finally one-upped Jack.



I TOLD YOU
I WAS TROUBLE
YOU KNOW
THAT I'M NO GOOD

Unbeknownst to anyone on the helicopter, Keamy had survived the Rumble in the Jungle and made his way to the Orchid to attempt to capture Ben for the bazillionth time. I was seriously FREAKED OUT when the elevator was slowly coming to rest and Locke and Ben waited in anticipation to see who it was. I thought it was going to be either Widmore or Ageless Richard. The possibility that it could be Keamy never crossed my mind (though I wondered what was going on with his dead-man's trigger when it seemed that he had been killed earlier).

I also was surprised by Ben flying out of the darkness and knifing Keamy Basic Instinct style. Good God! That was brutal. As Locke freaked out at the destruction of innocent lives on the freighter, I remembered why I should never feel too sorry for Ben. His "So?" reaction reconfirmed that, despite the fact our beloved O6 are working with him in the future, I'm not so sure he's actually a "good guy." Yes, he tried to explain away his reaction later on, and I definitely DEFINITELY understand his rage at Keamy, but what Ben did was still pretty heartless.



AND THE TEARS STREAM
DOWN YOUR FACE
WHEN YOU LOSE SOMETHING
YOU CANNOT REPLACE

As Keamy finally kicks the bucket, the helicopter arrives at the explosives-laden freighter. Desmond, Jin and Michael had spent all episode trying to figure out how to disarm the C-4, to no avail. For some inexplicable reason, Jin stayed with Michael while Desmond ran on deck to start warning people. I really thought Jin would've wanted to get his wife and unborn baby out of there, so it seemed out of character that he stayed behind.

Despite Desmond's frantic arm-waving and shouting to Frank to turn back, our favorite helicopter pilot really had no choice but to land and refuel. In another twist I didn't see coming, Kate told Sun that she would go get Jin. I guess in retrospect there was really no other way they could've ensured that Sun stayed on the plane, so it makes sense. But Jack pulled Kate back shortly thereafter, and the Oceanic Six Plus One Brotha and One Kenny Rogers Lookalike Contest Winner were up, up and away. I wasn't quite sure what had happened to Desmond until they showed him a few moments after take-off, so I was gravely concerned for a bit there.

In the C-4 Room, Michael told Jin to bust out as the last of the liquid nitrogen sputtered onto the battery. And even though I knew that Jin wasn't going to make it off of the freighter, boy was I shouting for him to run run RUN through the hallways and at least make it onto the deck. I was extremely tense during those scenes.

And then, Zombie Dad appeared and I knew it was over for Michael. At first I was confused that it would be Christian to release Michael from the Island's command, but since he's been popping up so much lately, I shouldn't have been surprised. Many people think that Michael's main purpose (although he wasn't aware of it) was to ensure AARON'S safety, and so it was fitting that Turniphead's grandpappy be the one to tell Michael that he "can go." Think about it, if the C-4 had blown when it was supposed to, the helicopter people wouldn't have landed yet, so they still would've been safe. Sure, they would've crashed into the ocean, but we know they survive that same scenario later. So the only people Michael actually saved by his actions that are key to the show are Desmond, Sun and Aaron. And since Aaron is the only one with a prophecy-of-sorts around his life, well, it seems that the Island really wanted to ensure that baby's safety, doesn't it?

But forget Aaron, because Lord Almighty, I seriously COULD NOT DEAL with Sun's screams as Jin ran out into view and the freighter exploded into flames seconds later. Talk about intense! That woman puts all other screamers to shame. Yunjin Kim deserves not only an Emmy, but also an Oscar, a Tony, a Grammy, a Golden Globe, and one of every other kind of award there is out there, because I have never seen anything like her performance. It made me nauseous, and it was supposed to.

On the Island, Juliet was pretty sick herself--from Captain Morgan's (Dharma-style, that is). She couldn't even be cheered up by a vision of Sawyer, rising bare-chested out of the ocean like King Triton himself. She had seen the freighter's explosion, and was joined in silent horror by the con man-turned-hero. I'm sure she was thinking of Jack, and he was thinking of Kate, and they had no way of knowing that the helicopter and its occupants had evaded destruction.



WHEEL IN THE HATCH KEEPS ON TURNING...
DON'T KNOW WHERE I'LL BE TOMORROW

Back in the Orchid, Ben distracted Locke by shoving another orientation video at him. And we all know how Locke loves him some videos! This one covered much of the same information we had learned previously from the other Orchid reel played at Comic-Con last summer, but it curiously rewound itself before getting to the meat of the information (I'm assuming that was the Island's doing... there was something it didn't want Locke to know just yet).

But Ben couldn't have cared less... he just wanted to keep Locke busy while a hole was blown in the Orchid, allowing him to move the Island per Jacob's command. And so, we saw the familiar Dharka donned, and we watched Ben and Locke shake hands. Ben's final words to Locke were, "I'm sorry I made your life so miserable." Uh, yeah, you could say that! Some people are wondering if Ben's words meant that he had a hand in ALL of Locke's disappointments and tragedies throughout his life... although that seems pretty extreme.

The proverbial torch was passed, and Locke went out to meet his followers, finally assuming the position of Leader of the Others. Meanwhile, Ben carried out Jacob's orders, and I did feel badly for him for a few moments down there in the frozen chamber. When Ben said, "I hope you're happy now, Jacob," it was perhaps the one time we can be sure that he was saying what he meant. No one was around to lie to or to trick or to deceive. It was clear that--to Ben--Jacob IS real, and Ben is dedicated enough to him to voluntarily banish himself from the only place he knows and loves... the Island. You could tell he was scared there at the very end, too. But seeing as how we know that he quickly rebounded and went on to kick Bedouin butt moments later, I will stop the pity party now.

For those of you who were shocked that the "code name" the producers had given this finale--the Frozen Donkey Wheel--turned out to literally be the device needed to move the Island, count me among your ranks. I was dying laughing: "Holy crap, it is actually a frozen donkey wheel!?!?!" While I know some people were kind of mad or disappointed about the mechanism that held the key to the Island's mysterious location, I offer you this take on things to make you feel a bit better...

We were already aware that something is going on with ancient civilizations because of the Four-Toed Statue, the Hieroglyphic Door to Smokey's Bedroom, and now the additional glyphs in the wheel room. From what I know about ancient civilizations, many of them actually had crazy "technology" which still cannot be figured out or duplicated today--think of the Egyptians or the Mayans. So a time-traveling device, or whatever the wheel should be called, shouldn't have to look sophisticated. As my brother said to me, it's not like anybody has ever seen a time machine. (Well, I actually have, but I'm not telling you what it looks like.) They've been represented before as DeLoreans, phone booths, wardrobes, etc., etc. So let us not judge the frozen donkey wheel so harshly. After I got over the shock of seeing it, I really started to love the fact that it was so simple. Oh, and the collar around the polar bear skeleton that Charlotte found in Tunisia? That was most likely because the polar bears were once used to turn the wheel so that THEY would be banished instead of a human. Hence the bear remains in the middle of the desert.

Also on this subject... I'm not so sure that the donkey wheel actually even moved the Island. If it did, I definitely think it moved it through time rather than to a different physical location. But many believe that all the wheel did was shift the "field" around the Island so that a different bearing would be needed to make it to shore. Kind of like there was one little hole in a bubble around the Island, and that hole was shifted.

But while the Island may not have necessarily moved through time, we KNOW for a fact that Ben did. He landed in Tunisia, ten months into the future. It did seem like he'd been there before though, so does that mean he went to that same spot in the past without turning the wheel?


AND THEN, WHEN IT
ALL SEEMED CLEAR
JUST THEN, YOU GO AND
DISAPPEAR... DISAPPEAR...

When Ben succeeded in turning the wheel, we saw the purple and white sky that occurred before when Desmond turned the fail-safe key. The first thing I thought was, Does this mean Desmond also moved the Island? I guess it doesn't really matter, but you would think the same thing happened at that point, too, even though it didn't "banish" Desmond from the Island.

Anyway... everyone was momentarily blinded during the flash of light...and then we witnessed, from the helicopter gang's point-of-view, the Island straight-up vanish with a little "plop!" into the ocean.


I absolutely loved how the silence was broken by Frank shouting about where the Island had gone... and then pausing a second before ranting, "Where the hell am I gonna LAND this thing?"

Jack suggested the other island where the Hydra was located, but that had vanished, too. I think Jack may have mentioned the second island for a reason... we were meant to realize that everything in the Island's "realm" probably moved along with it. The producers stated earlier this season in a podcast that Desmond was never able to sail away from the Island before (remember when he just got drunk after going in circles?) because he was still within its domain.

So I believe that the second island, Daniel's raft, and possibly even the freighter (there was a reason they showed it being visible from the beach when it hadn't been before) were all within the Island's pull when Ben turned the wheel. Since we know that the helicopter group floated on the life raft for quite some time before being rescued, I would think that freighter wreckage would've been shown around them if it was still in the vicinity (and if they really wanted us to stop questioning whether Jin is dead). That being said, I can't explain why the helicopter in the sky wouldn't have also been sucked up along with everything else.

But for now I'm going to choose to believe the following things:
- Michael is definitely dead, as he was right next to the explosives. His death was also meant to show that when the Island is done with you, it's really done with you.
- Jin is NOT dead. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if we didn't SEE Jin die, then he's not dead. More on this topic later when we get to Sun's flash-forward.
- Jin gets back to the Island one way or the other, as does Daniel and the rest of his raft peeps.
- Jin will tell Sawyer, Juliet, Locke and everybody else that the helicopter did in fact make it safely away from the freighter.


STAYIN' ALIVE
STAYIN' ALIVE

What Jin couldn't have known, however, is that the helicopter crash-landed into the ocean shortly after lifting off from the ship. That scene really freaked me out when the heli hit the water and flipped over. Ugh. Obviously I knew the O6 were going to survive, but I was concerned about Frank (I thought, OK, no need for a pilot anymore...) and of course, Desmond. They really messed with our heads when Des was shown lying face-down in the water, huh? Those evil writers.

Ah, but Des was going to have his moment in the sun soon enough, now wasn't he? From what I've read on the message boards, hardly anyone thought we'd actually get the long-awaited Desmond/Penny reunion with two seasons still left to go! It really surprised me as well. When the group on the raft first saw the lighted boat off in the distance, the first thing that sprang to my mind was that it was going to be Hillbilly Boat II and when it got close, some bearded freak was going to holler, "The thing is, we're gonna have to take the boy," meaning Aaron. At this point I still thought that the group was going to be intercepted by a third party.

But as soon as Jack said, "We have to lie," I thought... hmmm. (By the way, he came around to Locke's idea because: 1) He could pass it off as his own to the rest of the group and 2) Hurley just ripped him apart for not believing that Locke moved the Island.) Next I thought it would just be some random boat that would eventually drop them off at Membata or Sumba, then when I heard the crew member say "Widmore" I thought it was Daddy Widmore. Never did I expect it to be Penny until I saw her. They really did a good job of throwing ME off, at least!

When you think about this finale as a whole, it was pretty damn depressing. So I am glad there was one small moment of happiness, and that it was for our feisty Scotsman and his lovely lass. And I'm quite sure, since we know Ben is after Penny and that Desmond is also in hiding, that we haven't seen the last of them. I seriously hope that Frank becomes their private pilot or bartender or something awesome like that. He's got to come back one day, too... because he rocks!

A week later, the group was revived and ready to rejoin the world. I liked how Jack repeated the "See you in another life" line to Desmond as they parted ways. Things were a lot simpler running laps up and down the stadium stairs, weren't they, boys?

Finally, we see the Oceanic Six wash up on a not-quite-as-crazy island. And so the web of lies began.





YIKES, we still have all of the flashes to go through. No better time than the present...


HIT THE ROAD, JACK
AND DON'T YOU COME BACK
NO MORE, NO MORE, NO MORE, NO MORE

The second hour of the finale started off where Season Three ended, in the empty road near the airport. I immediately began yelling at the screen: "No WAY. Sweet! Sweet! Sweet!" I must say that I was impressed with Evangeline Lilly's acting when she slapped The Mad Doctor after he mentioned Aaron and yelled, "Don't you say his name!" You all know I'm not the hugest Kate fan, but even I was like, "You go, girl!" The women totally brought it in this episode.

Kate made it clear that she had no intention of returning to the Island after trying to forget what went down on the day they left three years ago. She also mentioned that "Bentham" had visited her and that she thought he was crazy. We could deduce that this same mystery person had visited Jack as well, and that Jack took him very seriously.




A LONG TIME AGO
WE USED TO BE FRIENDS
BUT I
HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF YOU LATELY AT ALL

The next two flash-forwards took place at Santa Rosa, Hurley's institution. In the first, Waaaaalt and his grandma show up. Walt tells Hurley that Bentham visited him (at which point I thought, This Bentham dude is makin' the rounds! It was also the first point that night where a teeny-tiny thought crept into my mind that Bentham might be Locke, since he was so close to Walt, but I batted that out of my head immediately). Walt went on to ask why no one else came to see him. While Hurley explained the reasoning behind the cover story, he couldn't bring himself to mention that Walt wasn't going to ever hear his name screamed by his father again.

At that point in the episode, we didn't yet know that Michael had definitely been killed. But now that we are aware of how it all panned out for Michael, it's quite sad to think about Walt's lot in life. He and his dad were not even on speaking terms when Michael left for the freighter--Walt still was shunning him because of his actions on the Island. I certainly hope that at some point Walt is told that his father died a hero.

The second Hurley-centric flash also featured Sayid, who was rocking his long, flowing locks once again. I was like, "YESSSSSZZZZZZ." No other man can pull off girly-hair like Sayid can. He's turned in his trademark black tank top for a black jacket, and is intent on busting Hurley out of the asylum. But not before telling Hurley that Bentham is dead.

While it wasn't explicitly mentioned, it can only be assumed that Bentham had visited both Sayid and Hurley, too (Hurley knew who Bentham was when Walt mentioned his name). We can't be sure what Sayid has planned for himself and Hurley, but he did tell Hurley that they were not going to go back.

What I found strange was that Hurley didn't want to go back. When he and Jack played basketball in "The Beginning of the End," Hurley said, "I don't think we did the right thing, Jack. I think it wants us to come back, and it's gonna do everything it can to..." before being cut off. Now, despite the fact that he's still seeing visions of dead people from the Island (gotta love that Mr. Eko line), Hurley no longer wants to return. What up with that?


SHE'S A BAD MAMA JAMA

The much bigger "Saaaay whaaaaaat?" moment of the night, however, came when we saw Future Sun meet up with Widmore. To be honest, I wish they had handled that scene a little differently, because when she slipped him her business card it was kind of cheesy and didn't sit right with me. But that's being nitpicky... all that matters is that she claimed to have "common interests" with Widmore, and walked away after stating that "we're not the only ones who left the Island."

D'aaaahhhh! What is going on?!? Is the "we're" she's talking about the O6, or is she referring to Widmore as well? Is she talking about Ben, or Desmond, or... now that we know the ending, perhaps Locke?

Theories about what Sun is up to include:
1) "Bentham" visited Sun and told her that Jin is still alive. She now has reason to go back to the Island, but must think (or else Bentham told her) that Widmore is key to her return. She may be willing to sell out Desmond and Penny's location in exchange for information on how to find the Island again.

2) Sun is working for Ben and it is all an elaborate set-up for Ben to finally find and kill Penny, unbeknownst to Sun, who was told her actions would help the O6 or protect those on the Island in some way.

3) Sun learned that Ben left the Island and is willing to "trade" him for Jin, if she has reason to believe Jin is alive and that Widmore can find the Island.

4) Sun still thinks that Jin is dead, and the second person she blames for his death is Widmore, who controlled the freighter and therefore the explosives. She has a plan to somehow ruin him. This theory could work even if she thought Jin were still alive... she could still blame Widmore for their separation and it could have nothing to do with believing he held the key to returning to the Island.

5) Sun could have learned that Widmore was once on the Island and was "banished" after moving it, just like what happened with Ben. She could tell Widmore that she wants to go back because she believes her husband may still be alive, and that she knows a workaround for him to return as well. I mean, he must believe he can go back, because why else would he still be looking for the Island? (He might not have ever turned the wheel, in which case he just needs to find the Island and isn't worried about banishment rules.)

I honestly have no idea what is going on with Sun, but when she walked away and Widmore shouted after her "Why would you want to help me?"... she definitely had a look on her face like she hated that man and was out for revenge. I think the writers WANT us to think that Sun has "turned bad" and is going to sell out the O6, Ben, Locke or Desmond, but I highly, highly, highly doubt that will end up being the case. Whatever she's up to, it took her three years to approach Widmore, and I think that's timed a little too closely to Bentham's appearance. I think Sun has new information on Jin and intends to use Widmore to get what she wants. Or what we ALL want, really... a Sun/Jin reunion! They've had one too many sad good-byes on this show, haven't they? I'm calling it now... every single one of us will cry when Jin finally gets to meet Ji Yeon. Start stocking up on the Kleenex!



BOY, DON'T YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME?
OOH, DARLING 'CAUSE YOU'LL ALWAYS BE MY BAY-BEE

My #2 "What the..." moment of the night came in the form of Kate's dream, in which Claire appeared. First and foremost, in case you didn't hear about what the voices on the phone said early on in the dream, you can hear them for yourself here. If you just want to trust me, then they said, "The Island needs you. You have to go back before it's too late." (I think the voice sounded like no major character, but others think it sounded like Sawyer, Locke or Richard, or some combination--one sentence by one person and the second by another.) My question is, if the Island wants Kate to come back, why does it send backwards messages?!? Who in the heck is going to know what all those nonsense words mean? Come on, Island, get it together!

After hanging up, Kate runs with a gun to Aaron's room, where she finds his real baby mama, Claire. EVERYONE was expecting her to say "He's NOT your son!"... but instead she said, "Don't bring him back, Kate. Don't you DARE bring him back!!!"

And then millions around the country simultaneously said, "Huh?"

There are some pretty far-fetched theories out there about how Claire wasn't talking about bringing Aaron back to the Island, but rather was talking about letting Jack "back" into Kate and Aaron's home. Uh, I don't think so. This really seems to be a case where the simplest answer is best. For whatever reason, Ghost Claire doesn't think Aaron should return to the Island. The question is, why?

The prominent theory, and the one I'm subscribing to at the moment, is that there are some ghosts/visions that the O6 are seeing now that they've returned home that are truly the work of the Island. Then there are others that are the work of a force opposing the Island. We just can't be sure which are which. We know Dead Charlie told Hurley "they need you" more than once. Lord only knows what Mr. Eko told him. We're also not sure at this point if Zombie Dad has actually said anything of substance to Jack.

While it seemed that Christian was definitely appearing on behalf of the Island when he informed Michael that he could "go" right before the freighter blew, I'm still pretty suspicious of the lack of Jacob sightings ever since Christian started getting comfy in the cabin. I can't help but wonder if Christian is holding Jacob captive, and if Zombie Claire is in cahoots with him, and for some strange reason they are "bad" spirits.

All I know is that, especially after what went down in the final scene of the night, I'm growing more and more convinced that BOTH Widmore AND Ben are up to no good, and the Island needs the 815ers to save itself from those two.

Finally, after we learn that Kate's vision of Claire was a dream (or was it?), we see her enter Aaron's room and say "I'm sorry." Some people think she's saying sorry because she knows she does in fact have to take him back to the Island, despite his ghost-mom's plea. I just took it more as that she was apologizing for the fact that Aaron has had such a crazy life. I didn't read too much into Kate's words, but then again, I still do think that they're all going back. There are two more seasons left, after all! Is there anyone out there who actually doesn't think they're going to make it back?


COME TOGETHER,
RIGHT NOW...
OVER ME

At the end of the episode, as Jack broke into the funeral home and stared at the release form for the body of Jeremy Bentham, I actually said out loud, "Anybody who doesn't realize at this point that Ben is in the coffin is totally stupid."

Oops.

I love it when I'm wrong about this show, but not this time. We'll get to who WAS in the coffin in the next section, but for now I want to concentrate on what Vampire Ben (did anyone else notice he was looking very Nosferatu-like?) said to Jack after he scared the crap out of him by appearing out of nowhere.

We learned that Bentham had contacted both Kate and Jack about a month prior, and had revealed that "very bad things" had happened on the Island since they left. Bentham blamed Jack for these things, and said that he therefore had to return.

Ben responds by informing Jack that ALL of them had to come back together--kind of a twist on Jack's infamous phrase, like "Return together, die alone." And I don't think this next scene was meant to be funny, but Jack's comeback to Ben had me laughing when he was all, "Well I don't even know where Sayid IS, and Hurley's INSANE, and no else will TALK to me..." Perhaps it was because he was still all messed up on pills and booze, but Jack came off as kind of comical at that point.

No matter, because as we all well know, Ben always has a plan. He told Jack that he had "some ideas" about how he could get everyone working together again. And I couldn't help but wonder at that point if he had already started enacting his plan... I mean, we did see Assassin Sayid, who we know was working for Ben at that point, come and get Hurley. And we saw Sun make contact with Widmore in an uncharacteristic move. So it's possible that Ben has already started the wheels turning with the rest of the group.

But he was quick to say that it wasn't only the Oceanic Six who had to come back. EVERYONE had to go back. And then came the dreadful scene...



OH, I WISH SOMEHOW
I DIDN'T KNOW NOW
WHAT I DIDN'T KNOW THEN

When Ben showed up in the final scene, I knew that my biggest fear had been realized and that Locke was in the coffin. The fact that I've had a year to ponder this possibility didn't make seeing it any easier, though. On that note, thank you to everyone who wrote me to ensure I was OK!

If you remember, back in my write-up for "Through the Looking Glass," I admitted that there was a possibility that Locke could be a goner: "God forbid, but there definitely is a chance it could be my man in the coffin (once again, assuming the deceased is one of the Lostaways who changed their name). Locke didn't really have many connections back in the real world, Kate doesn't like Locke because of all of the times he tried to stop them from getting off of the Island, and Jack would feel remorse because he realized that Locke had been right all along, and that Jack wasn't supposed to call for rescue. But Locke wasn't originally from New York, didn't have a son, and never lived in the L.A. area."

Obviously the last bit above, referencing the information contained in the obituary Jack had in the Season Three finale, was part of Locke's made-up background (though many people do find it weird that it mentioned a teenage son).

But here's the thing... though I did wake my husband up several times the night of the finale asking, "You don't really think he's dead, do you?", I wasn't nearly as upset at seeing Locke in the coffin as I was when I posted an emergency message after Locke had been shot by Ben at the Skeleton Pit near the end of last season. At that point, I thought it was possible that he could really be dead. Strangely enough, when seeing him in the coffin, I didn't have that same feeling.

Here are my reasons:
1) There was much talk about miracles in this episode. Locke told Jack that miracles happen on the Island, to which Jack responded, "There's no such thing as miracles." Later, on the raft, when Hurley asked if Aaron was OK, Kate replied, "He's fine... it's a miracle." Cut to Jack's face, grimacing at the mention of that word. And let's not forget that they all survived a plane crash, Rose's cancer was cured, Locke could walk again, etc., etc. But what bigger miracle could there be than for Locke to rise from the dead when his body is returned to the Island?

2) Ben said they ALL have to go back, including Locke's body. They wouldn't be doing that if Locke was going to stay DEAD dead. I accept the possibility of Locke becoming a Christian Shephard-like presence on the Island... somewhere in between fully dead and fully alive. I mean, what if he's only mostly dead? As we all know, mostly dead is slightly alive! Bring in Miracle Max to get working on him!

3) They chose the name "Jeremy Bentham" for Locke's identity on purpose. As we've seen with other characters' names time and time again on the show, Bentham is a philosopher, and you can read about his beliefs here. But what was more interesting to me is that the real-life Bentham had his body preserved. Hmmm....

4) Many people believe that it's not Locke at all in the coffin, but rather some sort of mannequin, and that the whole thing is a ruse set up by Ben to scheme a way back to the Island on the heels of the O6. While I wouldn't put it past Ben to be scheming something, I do think the real Locke did actually visit everyone who mentioned they talked to him off-Island. There are obviously mysteries around his death, as the obituary claimed it was suicide, but yet the doorman heard "noises." And why would the Island let Locke die? It just doesn't all add up.

5) Some people think that it IS Locke in the coffin, but that he has been bitten by the poisonous spider like Nikki and Paulo, and therefore isn't really dead.

6) Another interesting theory is that the empty coffin Jack saw in Season One was NOT his father's, but rather Locke's. People think that when Jack opens his eyes in the premiere episode, that's actually his return to the Island, but he doesn't have complete memory of everything. This would have to mean that they all go back in time and kind of have a "do-over." But if all of the O6 have to go together, that doesn't really make sense for, say, Aaron, now does it? Would he magically be back in Claire's stomach again or something? One thing I will say, however, is that it STILL bugs me how in "White Rabbit" (the fifth episode of Season One), when Kate tackles Sawyer he says "I made this birthday wish four years ago." It's just such a strange thing to say?!?! So I still think there's a small chance that there's some sort of time loop going on and that it takes 4 years to complete (over three of which the O6 are off of the Island).

7) Yet another idea is that if the Island has moved in time, to a year in the past, when Locke's body is returned it will spring back to life, because he is not dead in that year.

8) Another fairly prevalent theory is that Jeremy Bentham is Locke's "bad twin." Remember the manuscript of the same name that Hurley found, seen both in "The Long Con" and "Two for the Road?" I have the "Bad Twin" book but never read it, so perhaps I will finally have to this summer. Anyway, a lot of people have picked up on the fact that Locke's eye scar doesn't appear visible in the coffin. They also think that Locke would never outright blame Jack for everything that has gone wrong on the Island. And if it isn't really Locke, then perhaps the Island would let this person actually die. But as much as I don't want Locke to be dead, I don't want them to go the "evil twin" route even more. That would be pretty lame.

9) Some think that it is really Locke and that he is really dead, but that when the O6 go back to the Island, he will be just like Christian Shephard (who also arrived on the Island in a coffin, mind you) and will take over as the new Island Consciousness, perhaps even taking over for Jacob. And then Jack, who has completely come full circle to be a Man of Faith, will take over as leader of the Others and everyone will live on the Island happily ever after. The end.

There are of course tons of other theories out there (including: "Locke is dead and isn't coming back in any way, shape or form--deal with it"), but for the most part they all contain shades of the nine listed above.

I take solace in the fact that even if Locke is DEAD dead in the coffin, we'll still probably see a lot of him over the final two seasons. We have three years to fill in on the Island to see the "very bad things" that happened, and I can't believe that when the O6 return with Locke's body, that he won't still play some role, even if it's as a spirit. While the producers have said that "characters who die ARE DEAD," we're not technically sure if it's actually Locke in the coffin and if he's actually dead. And the producers have also said that they would be complete morons for writing off the Emmy winner. So I think Terry O'Quinn, and the rest of us Locke fans, can rest easy over the hiatus.


WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
WE'RE AT THE CROSSROADS, MY DEAR

Taking a step back and looking at the three-hour finale as a whole, it's actually pretty insane how much happened. I'm most curious about what Sun is up to, but I am also wondering if Ben thinks there is a way he can get back to the Island if he helps the O6... like maybe that's a workaround for his banishment or something. I would also like to know how Locke left the Island... did he have to move it again, and if so, why would he think anyone could ever get back? Or did he learn the new bearing and leave the Island in a more conventional way, like Michael and Walt did?

Speaking of Walt... when Ben said they ALL had to go back, does that include Walt? Would it also include Desmond and Frank? I think it would include Walt because I am standing by my theory that the 815ers were "chosen" by the Island to help save it. But Desmond and Frank aren't in that same category.

I'd also like to get a clear answer as to what is going on with Claire. Remember Desmond's vision that she and Aaron leave the Island by helicopter? Well, was Aaron four years old in that vision, perhaps? I hope they explain that whole thing one day.

And what could've possibly gone so horribly wrong on the Island? It's the remaining 815ers, the Others (including Cindy and all those kids they stole...), Charlotte, Miles and most likely Daniel left. Couldn't they all just get along? Did the Island Ghosts and Smokey stage a revolt? I really can't imagine what possibly went down to make the situation so dire.

There are many, many more questions raised by the finale, and so I've decided that I'll probably do a few posts to cover them all over the course of the late summer, fall and early winter (it's sad that we have that much time to think about things, isn't it?). I intend to go through some of the "running tally of questions" I did in my Seasons One and Three finale posts and see what we've learned since those points in time. And I'd also like to do a "reader question and answer" type of thing so that we can all bounce ideas off of each other and keep our minds fresh!

But for now, here is my ultra-high-level prediction: The O6 WILL go back to the Island.

Earth-shattering, huh?



BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE


DESMOND: (Exhales deeply) This is a... this is a trip wire. Move it, and... boom. This is dummy wiring. If you cut the wrong one... boom. This is multiple firing systems. You disable one, the next one... boom. Um, this... battery's the power source. If you disconnect it...
JIN: Boom.



LOCKE: Jack, you need to hear what I have to say--
JACK: No, what I need to do is to walk back to the chopper, get on it, and get the rest of our people off this island.
HURLEY: Uh, dude, probably not the best idea right now. Those Rambo guys are taking Ben to that helicopter.



SAWYER (watching Locke and Jack): What the hell they talkin' about in there, anyway?
HURLEY: I don't know. Leader stuff?



(Sawyer eyes Hurley's wrapper of soda crackers.)
SAWYER: Where'd you get that?
HURLEY: Came from a box Ben dug up out of the ground. They're good.



JACK: You threw a knife into the back of an unarmed woman. You led half of our people across the Island and got most of them killed.
LOCKE: Well, Jack, you put a gun to my head and you pulled the trigger. I was hoping we could let bygones be bygones.



BEN: Am I interrupting?
(Jack whirls around to see Ben entering the greenhouse. He points his gun at Ben, cocking it.)
BEN: Nice to see you, too, Jack.



BEN: Couldn't find the anthuriums, could you?
LOCKE: I don't know what they look like!



WALT: Hey, Hurley.
HURLEY: You're getting big, Dude.

LOCKE: Is this the magic box?
BEN: No, John, it's not.

SAWYER (to Frank): Hey, Kenny Rogers! What you trying to do there, pick a lock?

SAYID: Hello, Hurley.
HURLEY: I think visiting hours are over, dude.

JACK: He told me... that after I left the island, some very bad things happened. And he told me that it was my fault for leaving. And he said that I had to come back.
BEN: Yes, I heard that you've been flying on passenger planes... hoping that you'd crash. That's dark, Jack, very dark.

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU
UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN
HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU
KEEP SMILIN' UNTIL THEN

- For those of you on Facebook who would like to keep in touch over the eight-month hiatus, you can add me as a friend here. Please write a few words with the add request so that I know you read the blog and don't think you're a random stalker... and thank you to everyone who has already done so. I really get a kick out of "meeting" people across the country and the world who are reading my posts and share my obsession with this crazy show.

- I probably won't post again on this site until after the Comic-Con conference in late July, at which the Lost producers will undoubtedly throw some tantalizing Season Five tidbits our way. After that, I do intend to post maybe once a month or so until the show returns in January--I have a few ideas on what I'll write about that are mentioned in the section above "Best Lines."

- In the meantime, if you find yourself in need of an "e fix," or just want to waste time while working for The Man, I post pretty much every weekday on my other site, According to e. I do movie, book, TV and concert reviews, cover celebrity gossip, and write about random stuff going on in my life as well. I have a very special post I'm cooking up before The X-Files movie premieres in July... let's just say there are some "vintage e" pictures involved. And for those of you outside of the U.S., now that most of the "reality TV" shows I watched during the fall have ended, hopefully my post topics will be a little more relevant for you, too.


Thanks again for reading and commenting this season. There is no greater pleasure for a writer, or at least for this writer, than knowing that people are interested in and reacting to what you have to say. I have immensely enjoyed getting to know many of you over the past few years thanks to the power of the Internet!

A special thanks to my brother, who braved the message boards on my behalf to gather ideas and theories so that I would remain unspoiled.

And of course, a HUGE HUGE HUGE "thank you" to DarkUFO for featuring my recaps this season--it's been a blast!

And finally, to all Lost fans... when the Hiatus Blues get you down, just remember that we've made it through a just-as-lengthy break before and were rewarded with the awesomeness that was Season Four. We can do it again.

The Oceanic Six "have to go back!!!!"... which means that WE'LL be going back soon enough, too.

- e