Summary: A flashback shows Jacob living in the statue, talking to a man in a black shirt who is looking for a loophole to kill him. We are also shown Jacob interacting with Kate, Sawyer, Jin, Sun, Sayid, Jack, Hurley and Locke in key moments of their lives. In the present, Locke tells Ben that he wants him to kill Jacob, particularly because of how Ben has been ignored for his many sacrifices. The group eventually gets to the statue and Richard shows Locke and Ben the way in. Ilana's group goes to the cabin and determines that Jacob isn't there; someone else had been using it. They make their way to the statue and show what's in the box: Locke's dead body, found in the plane. Inside the statue, Locke is revealed to be the man in the black shirt from the flashbacks. Ben kills Jacob. In 1977, Sayid follows Daniel's instructions to isolate the bomb's core. Richard knocks out Eloise and takes her back. Sayid and Jack sneak through the barracks with the bomb but Sayid is spotted and shot by Roger. Hurley, Miles and Jin arrive in a Dharma van to save them and take them to The Swan. Juliet decides to go back to the island and she helps Kate escape. Sawyer comes too. They encounter Rose and Bernard back on the island. The trio stop Jack's van and Sawyer talks with Jack to convince him to stop. When it doesn't work, they fight until Juliet breaks it up. Juliet decides to let Jack go. Jack arrives at The Swan and after a gunfight, he throws the bomb down the drilling hole. It doesn't work and the incident happens. Phil is killed, Dr. Chang's arm is crushed, and Juliet gets dragged into the drilling hole. Juliet miraculously survives and she sees the bomb. She smashes it with a rock until it explodes.
The Good: This felt like a finale. The pacing was excellent and there was a constant sense of suspense and mystery throughout the episode. This felt like a big climax, and I really enjoyed myself for the entire runtime of the episode. I really loved the introduction to Jacob (see: Best Moment). This character is the closest thing we have seen to a god, and "Lost" introduced him in perfect fashion. It takes a lot of guts to finally show us this quintessential character and have him be murdered in the same episode. The highlight with Jacob is definitely in the flashbacks. It was really interesting to see Jacob interact with the main characters, and we also got a good reason to see some of the key moments in their lives. Under the guise of Jacob's visits, we got to see some terrific moments like Nadia's death, Jin and Sun's wedding, Sawyer writing his letter, what happened to Hurley to get him on Flight 316, and Jack's first surgery which he described back in "Pilot Part 1". These scenes were excellent and acted very well. Plus there was a lot of intrigue as Jacob noticeably made physical contact with all of the characters and interfered in their lives in meaningful ways (possibly reviving Locke, getting Hurley on the plane, saving Sayid's life, reminding Jin and Sun of their love). I thoroughly enjoyed these scenes, and I'm excited to see what it's all building up to. The present-day storyline of going to Jacob was handled really well. It built up suspense really well and concluded with a spectacular twist that caught me off guard and completely changed everything. There was a lot of excitement built throughout the episode for this meeting with Jacob, built up by numerous things: Locke and Ben's conversations, Ilana's trip to the cabin, and of course, the excellent Jacob flashbacks throughout the episode. And at the end of the journey we are hit with a real shock, and it's one that makes perfect sense. Locke was still in the coffin. The person we have seen on the island this entire time is not Locke! This twist caught me completely off-guard and it completely changes everything, while also simultaneously answering a lot of the questions I had about Locke in the last few episodes. The twist is brilliantly executed, and its timing is perfect. Immediately the stakes get raised for the confrontation between Ben, Locke and Jacob, now that we know that this impostor is not somebody who we can trust. The episode ties back to its opening scene beautifully, revealing that the man in the black shirt is who we are seeing right now in Locke's body. The twist works on every level and it gives us a really memorable reveal in this episode. But also, the reveal has an undertone of real sadness to it. This means that Locke really is dead, and that being strangled by Ben after almost killing himself after losing his confidence really is how his story ends. It's horribly sad and tragic, and the realization that Locke's story has ended like this is a gutpunch. It also retroactively makes "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" an even better episode on rewatch because now it can be watched with the added context that this really is the end of Locke. Ben killing Jacob was set up through the entire episode and it ended up being one of the most satisfying and emotional moments of the episode. Once again, "Lost" has proven that Ben is one of the deepest and best characters on the show with what he was put through in this episode. Throughout the episode, "Locke" slowly convinces Ben that he needs to be the one to kill Jacob. Looking back, it's easy to see that "Locke" has been manipulating Ben this entire time, a wonderful bit of irony. He plays on Ben's emotions towards Jacob, and turns Ben's own jealousy and sense of inferiority in the face of the enlightened Locke against him. Ben ends up falling for the trap entirely, and when he comes face to face with Jacob, all he can think about is the resentment that had been building inside his head. Ben lets out an impassioned speech, possibly the most vulnerable we have ever seen the character. Ben's anger and sadness at being overlooked materializes wonderfully in this scene, and his anguished cry of "what about me" is tremendous. Even better is Jacob's response. We know from the opening scene that what is really happening here is another manifestation of the philosophical debate about humanity that these two beings were having with each other. Ben's choice here is a life-or-death situation for Jacob to prove to "Locke" that humanity does have good in them. Jacob reminds Ben that he has a choice, but Ben isn't hearing what Jacob is saying. Ben is too angry and filled with resentment. And so when Jacob replies "what about you?" to Ben, Ben snaps. It's likely that Jacob would have been hoping that Ben would prove his worth by not killing Jacob, but Ben is too angry and hearing Jacob question his worth is too much to take. So Ben kills him, and a choice that I can only imagine will have huge ramifications down the road (see: The Unknown). It's such a brilliant move to have Ben be the one to kill Jacob. Throughout this season we have been reminded over and over how despicable and manipulative Ben is. Even though we can sympathize with him, he is definitely not a good person. So naturally, he's the perfect person for the man in black to bring in front of Jacob, the perfect example of the weakness in humanity. Ben has seemingly messed everything up for all of our other characters specifically because of how awful he has been. This sets up a pretty good story for everyone else to try to prove that the man in black is wrong about humanity. I'm really excited to see where the philosophical aspects of this story will go in season 6. The 1977 storyline was really strong. It started as a story of two halves with the characters split across two locations, and each storyline has some really nice character moments. First there is Jack and Sayid, who are working towards getting the bomb over to The Swan. This story develops patiently but once everyone is ready to move out, things get more exciting. Richard has a good moment as he steps in to protect Eloise, refusing to go along with what seems like a suicide mission. There was a great pay-off for the Roger storyline, as Roger recognizes Sayid, and in a shocking moment, fatally shoots him in the abdomen. This was a really big moment early in the episode, and I do wonder if Sayid's story may be ending soon. He got some nice moments after getting shot as he resigns himself to death and accepts that he likely deserves his fate. On the other hand, Jack once again shows how he as changed as he not only endangers Sayid, but also doesn't do everything possible to save him, focusing on his own destiny with the bomb instead of getting Sayid the medical help that he needs. Meanwhile on the sub, we have Kate, Sawyer and Juliet. This story unfolds really nicely as it starts with Sawyer standing his ground and refusing to get involved with the craziness Jack is bringing down onto everyone. But then Juliet decides that they have to go back, and so they get off the sub. This decision works pretty well, even if some of Juliet's other decisions do not (see: The Bad). There is a terrific moment as Juliet looks back at the sub, accepting that she may have just lost her only chance of escape from this island that has held her prisoner for over 6 years by now. Following this, we get a real delight as Rose and Bernard return! They have been missing since "The Lie" and it's great to see them set up together living in a cabin in the jungle, happy and relaxed. Bernard's speech about being with the person you love is a beautiful moment that nicely establishes the theme of love that would permeate much of the second half of this episode. The developments in the first half of this episode lead up to a tremendous moment as both storylines collide with an excellent shot of Sawyer, Kate, and Juliet standing in the road to block the van. The episode then moves into a conflict between Jack and Sawyer. This conflict works brilliantly because these two have been opposed for much of the second half of the season. Jack's unhappiness leads him to hunt for a greater purpose, in stark contrast to Sawyer who already found his purpose and happiness in the time that Jack was gone. Jack finding his way has come at the expense of Sawyer, so it's great to see Sawyer get a chance to let out his frustrations. Some of the moments in this conflict were melodramatic (see: The Bad), but it did well to set up the climax of the episode as everyone arrives at The Swan to ensure that this bomb goes off. The last gunfight is good, if not great, but what really makes this sequence is the build up to Jack dropping the bomb. The scene feels monumental, and as usual, "Lost" does a terrific job of focusing on the emotion of this story rather than the plot. The brief sequence of everyone taking their final looks at each other while waiting to pop out of existence was remarkably powerful, and it was an emotional high point of this finale. Then, naturally, everything goes wrong and that builds up to the other big emotional high point of this finale: Juliet's fall. I thought that the chaos during the incident was really well shot, and Juliet being dragged down into the shaft was a horrifying and sad image. Josh Holloway did a tremendous job a he tries to save Juliet, and it was heartbreaking to watch Sawyer witness her fall, while Juliet simultaneously comes to understand that Sawyer truly does love her like he said he does. But the episode isn't done there. Somehow Juliet manages to survive, and in an excellent scene (minus one moment where Juliet's blood disappears), she smashes the bomb until it detonates, leaving us on a massive cliffhanger comparable to the fantastic ending to "Exodus" back in season 1. As you can see by the size of this paragraph, the second half of the 1977 storyline was packed with drama and exciting moments, to the point where even if it wasn't all perfectly executed, it was so thrilling to watch that it doesn't matter much if there were flaws. The story as a whole works really well and it's an excellent conclusion to what was a really well written Dharma Initiative storyline. Plus there were also some nice moments for the side characters in the Dharma Initiative. The episode neatly used dramatic irony with Radzinsky, as we know that his actions that caused the incident will lead to him being punished by staying in The Swan and pushing the button until the end of his days. I was also pleased to see Miles tell Dr. Chang to get as far away as possible, paralleling how Dr. Chang sent his family as far away as possible. And we even get to see the injury that likely caused Dr. Chang to amputate his arm and replace it with a fake as we see in The Swan orientation video. And of course we get a pretty satisfying death scene for Phil. The Bad: I've praised recent episodes for really nailing down character motivations to make it easy to understand their actions in these insane and intense circumstances. By introducing a bunch of love-triangle ridiculousness into this episode, a good portion of that hard work was unfortunately undone. This episode nailed a lot of things, but its biggest problem was the implication of some really stupid melodramatic love-based motivations in the 1977 storyline. I've praised Jack's arc in this season as him searching to find purpose in the wake of the terrible things that happened with him after he left the island. But this episode throws away that depth to suggest that he's only doing this because he screwed up with Kate. That's a real slap in the face to simplify Jack to this extent after how well he has been written lately. Juliet is the other character who was badly hurt in this episode. It was ridiculous how she kept flip-flopping on her motivations on the basis of a few looks Sawyer made towards Kate. I understand the emotional value of Juliet's story, and it does pay off nicely at the end of the episode with Sawyer doing everything and more to save Juliet. But in execution, the story comes off as melodramatic and frustrating. Juliet should have had more consistent motivations throughout this episode, and changing her mind so much just because she is insecure about Sawyer is a flimsy motivation at best. Also, Juliet's one flashback scene is really out of place in the episode (the only flashback without Jacob), and it feels like a last-minute attempt to explain why Juliet is behaving so irrationally. It does not work. Some small things bothered me as well. In the last episode Richard claimed that he watched everyone die. And yet he wasn't even there at the incident? That moment from last episode has become a notable plot hole. Sayid felt like a plot device for much of this episode. Somehow he knows about Daniel being explicit with his timetable, even though Daniel was dead before Sayid returned. And somehow Sayid is able to work with a NUCLEAR BOMB because of his army experience. That is too much to believe. I was also upset at how the Dharma Initiative members all stopped fighting and talking once they lost the gunfight. They should have done everything in their power to stop Jack from detonating the bomb, since that would likely mean the death of everybody. The Unknown: I have tons and tons of questions. Who is the man in the black shirt? Why does he want to kill Jacob? Why does he need a loophole? Jacob is apparently able to bring people to the island. Was the ship he brought in the opening scene the black rock? Is this how everyone else has gotten to the island? Jacob brought them in? Is this why Flight 316 needed to mimic Flight 815? So Jacob would recognize everyone and bring them back? Why does Jacob bring people to the island? We also learn that Jacob is responsible for Richard's immortalized state. How does he do this? What other powers does he have? How many other things has he been responsible for? Why is Jacob interacting with so many of the characters who ended up on Flight 815? I noticed that he made physical contact with all of them. Did he give them some sort of power? How? Why? What are his plans for these people? Was Jacob responsible for Locke's survival after he was shoved out of the window by his father? Also, I noticed that Jacob specifically wore gloves when talking to Ilana, likely to ensure he wouldn't touch her by mistake. What is so special about everyone else? What is Jacob's relationship with Ilana anyways? Why did he help her? Why did he need her help? What happened to Ilana that caused her to be so injured? Bram claims that Frank is not a candidate? What does it mean to be a candidate? A candidate for what? Who are the candidates? The burning of the cabin is an interesting scene. Why didn't it start a forest fire? Is the cabin in a sort of different dimension from everything? Is that how it is capable of moving? Did Jacob make it capable of doing this? Ilana mentions that Jacob hasn't used it in a long time and that someone else has been using it. Is this someone else Christian? Does this mean that Christian may not have been working for Jacob? Could he be working for the man in black instead? Why was there ash around the cabin? I remember seeing it before in "The Man Behind the Curtain". Why is it important that the circle of ash was disrupted? It seems that the guitar case Hurley's been carrying is of significance. What is in there? Why did Jacob give it to Hurley? Is Locke really dead then? That's very sad. How was the man in black able to impersonate him? What will happen now that Jacob is dead? I'm sure that killing someone who is practically a deity will have some major consequences. I can't imagine that the man in the black shirt being in control will be a good thing. Also, as Jacob dies, he says "they're coming". Who? Will Juliet and Sayid survive? I presume if the past actually is changed, then it won't matter that they have fatal injuries. But will the bomb exploding actually work? Or is Miles right and the bomb will actually cause the incident instead? Best Moment: The opening scene was perfect in every way. It's become a signature move for "Lost" to start episodes in a completely random scene that has seemingly no relevance to anything we are watching. And yet it's so gripping to watch. We know it's important, so trying to figure out why is thrilling. As the clues come together (we see the island, the ship, the line that Jacob brought them here), we begin to realize that what we're watching is essentially two gods arguing with each other, a story that not only parallels the Ben/Widmore dynamic (with the existence of rules stopping them from killing each other), but one that suggests that everything we have seen in this show has in fact been happening for a reason. And in watching Jacob and this mysterious other man talk, we are getting the closest glimpse at the truth we have ever gotten. The scene is written magnificently to engage you in the possibilities of what is really happening, and every second of this scene is a delightful thrill-ride. A fantastic way to start the episode. Character of the Episode: It's tough to choose with so many characters getting time to shine. I think I'll go with Ben. Conclusion: Once again "Lost" ends a season with a thrilling, game-changing episode packed with suspense, epic moments, emotion, and shocking reveals. Season 5 has been a consistent season but it didn't hit the highs of previous seasons. That is, until now. This lived up to its role as a season finale of "Lost" and it delivered in almost every way. Overall, I enjoyed season 5 a lot. It had ups and downs, but I think it was the most consistently enjoyable season in terms of quality. There wasn't a single bad episode in its entire run. Season 5's biggest problem was definitely how complicated the story got, and at times the complexity would overshadow the emotional story being told. But for the most part, "Lost" maintained its strong emotional core by focusing on characters and how they feel even as the story got more complex. I think this season changed and adapted to the developments in the story really well, and its been thrilling to watch where the show goes. I really enjoyed the Dharma Initiative storyline, as well as the time travel storyline. The Oceanic Six storyline is probably the low point of the season since it ended as such a convoluted mess with an unsatisfying conclusion. But as the show revealed more details, it did retroactively improve that storyline a little bit. As a whole, this was one of the better seasons of "Lost" so far, filled with excitement and drama as the show prepares for its conclusion. Score: 85
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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