Lower Decks

And there you have it.  After six years, the last “regular” episode of LOST is in the books. And after six years of questions have been raised on the show, a lot of people have been concerned that the answers wouldn’t be coming.  But with only the two and a half hour finale remaining, I can honestly say that there aren’t many questions left to answer.  There’s still a whole lot to look forward to, though.

On the message board here at Lowerdecks.com, I posted a question asking what questions were left unanswered going into the finale.  The big question seems to be “what is the significance of the flash-sideways universe?”  In addition to that, there’s still the question of how Desmond fits into everything – he’s been referenced as being able to destroy the Monster and also destroy the Island.  We’re also still not sure who David Shephard’s mother is, but I’m still fairly confident that it’s Juliet.

And outside of that, we already have a lot of the big answers.  What is the Monster?  Answered.  Who are Adam and Eve?  Answered.  Why was Oceanic 815 brought to the Island?   Answered.  Who is Jacob and why is he special?  Answered.

We even have a relatively vague answer to the question of “why is the Island so special?”  A lot of people might not like the “magical light” reasoning behind the Island’s significance, but I think it makes sense.  A while back, the writers and producers of the show promised a scientific explanation for everything that happens on the show, and they still have the “electromagnetism” card in their deck that they could play.  But as far as all that goes, I’m willing to forgive them for a couple of things.  The show has been about “science vs. faith” since the very beginning, and I’m okay giving “faith” a chance.

The big question answered in this one is by Jacob, who finally explains to the remaining 815 survivors why they were brought to the Island in the first place.  It’s been a long time coming, and I thought it was a great explanation.  For three years, the show gave us insight into these people’s lives, and Jacob is exactly right.  All of the people that we’ve met from Oceanic 815 were broken people before the Island.  All of them were tortured by their pasts – Jack had his daddy issues, Sawyer was consumed by revenge, Hurley was saddened by the infamous deck collapse, and Kate was running from her big crime.

But what I loved was the idea that they needed the Island as much as the Island needed them.  And if you think about it, Jacob was right about that too.  Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley are all better people because of the Island – Jack has become a confident leader, Kate has escaped her past, Sawyer is a better person after (literally) killing his demons, and Hurley conquered his inner demons.  Even the unlucky people who died were better off at the time of their deaths.  Charlie died a hero saving Claire – combining two of the greatest moments of his life.  Sayid was able to redeem himself with his sacrifice.  And Sun and Jin, after a very troubled marriage, decided that they’d rather die together than live apart ever again.

It’s odd that Jacob suddenly was able to show up to the rest of the survivors, though.  I think we’re supposed to assume that it had something to do with “young Jacob” took the ashes and threw them into that fire.  Like with the Island, we might have to file this under “magic” – but it’s odd that Jacob was able to present himself to everyone.  Because, outside of the inability to age or die of natural causes, Jacob has been confined within the boundaries of being human.  And appearing to Hurley has been a part of that.

But Jacob appearing to everyone seemed a bit strange, and the idea that he’d just show up at a campfire and explain everything to Jack and company seemed a bit easy.  That being said, I can’t think of another way that they could have done it.  We needed an explanation, and we needed it from Jacob.  We didn’t need it from Jacob via Hurley as a translator.

And then Jack chooses to replace Jacob.  It wasn’t exactly a surprise, and I’m really glad that they got it out of the way before the finale.  It was a strange road for Jack, but it also makes a lot of sense.  Jack spent most of his life trying to impress his father, and now that his father is gone, he doesn’t have a lot of reason to live off the Island.  He was able to do a lot on the Island, and it’s probably where he’s been the happiest.  And if he can somehow convince Kate to stay with him, I think he’d argue that it’d be as close to Heaven as he could ever expect.

I thought the scene where Jack gets “crowned” as the new Jacob was odd.  Was he supposed to be turning the river water into wine, or was he simply blessing the water?  If it’s the former, it might be the most Christ-like move for Jacob.  And it’s been hard to tell if that’s something that they’re trying to stress or not.

And that’s where they left us going into the finale.  Jack is now Jacob, Jacob is now gone, and the three remaining characters are almost left with nothing to do.  They’re no longer candidates, and it’s hard to tell if they are still protected from the Monster (if, indeed, they ever were – another potential question).  Other than helping Jack or just getting in the way, I’m not sure what role they play going into the finale.  I expect that we might lose a couple of them, unfortunately.

On the other side of the Island, we finally find out what happened to Richard, Ben, and Miles.  They arrive at the Barracks to get explosives, but they’re immediately met by Charles Widmore and Zoe.  Widmore suggests that they team up, but Ben doesn’t want anything of it.  Widmore hides in Ben’s house, Miles runs off into the jungle alone, and Ben and Richard decide to try to talk to the LockeMonster as he arrives.

Richard decides that he will talk to Locke first, since he knows that he’s always wanted Richard on his side.  What Richard doesn’t know, unfortunately, is that the Monster isn’t in the business of recruiting people anymore.  While in smoke form, he swiftly grabs Richard and smashes him against the tree.

Is Richard dead?  It’s hard to say.  I would like to think that, if Richard is going to die, he deserves a better death than that.  And, like with the candidates, we don’t even know if the Monster is capable of killing Richard (who was also touched by Jacob).  That all being said, it doesn’t look good for Richard – who was never mentioned or referenced after the Monster threw him into the jungle.  I would bet that he’s dead, but I’m hoping that he survived the attack and makes one final heroic appearance.

Then the Monster decides to talk to Ben, who immediately gives away Widmore’s location.  Locke walks into the secret room and kills Zoe to prove that he’s not messing around.  The Monster wants to know why Widmore came back, and he promises to kill Penny if Widmore doesn’t tell him.  Widmore explains that Jacob had invited him back to the Island, and he was told to bring Desmond back with him.  Desmond is Jacob’s “fail-safe” plan in case everything else fails.

And, before Widmore can say anything else, Ben shoots and kills him – finally getting his revenge for the death of Alex.

When it first happened, I thought it was strange that Ben was evil again.  He’d spent the last few years trying to prove that he’s not a bad guy, and he’s made a lot of effort to help out the group.  But, at the same time, he’s a survivalist, and he’s always much more concerned with his own life than the lives of others.

Also, as Ben arrived at the Barracks, Miles came across Alex’s body.  I think the feelings of watching Alex die all came back, and Ben simply decided to side with the Monster to side against Widmore.  And, now, Ben’s simply doing what he needs to do to survive.

And it’s just a lot of fun when Ben is the villain.  He’s a guy you love and hate at the same time, and I firmly believe he’s one of the greatest characters in television history.  Michael Emerson is such a great actor, and it was such an amazing find for LOST to get him in the first place.  Without Emerson or Ben, this show wouldn’t be nearly as great as it is.

And so Ben and the Monster, having killed almost everyone at the Barracks, decide to try and find Jacob’s “fail-safe” – only to find that he’s already been rescued from the well.  But the Monster doesn’t seem concerned, especially when he reveals that he wants to destroy the Island once and for all.  And, like I said earlier, he seems to think that Desmond will be able to help with that goal.

Over in the flash sideways universe, Ben has a run-in with Desmond when Mr. Hume shows back up at the school.  Desmond beats Ben up, but it all seems to be a message to Locke.  Desmond tells Locke that he needs to “let go” – and that’s exactly what Jack told Locke to do at the hospital.  Alt-Locke’s “fate sense” kicks in, and he decides to let Jack perform the surgery on him.

Elsewhere, Ben comes across Alex, and he’s introduced to Danielle.  The crazy French lady doesn’t seem as crazy off-Island, and she invites Ben over for dinner.  She offers up one of the best lines of the show, telling Ben that they’ll kidnap him to bring him to dinner if they have to – a funny revelation considering the on-Island connection between Ben and Rousseau.  And, by the end of dinner, it seems that Ben and Danielle have hit it off.  A cute couple, but it’s definitely odd to think about considering their on-Island history.

At the police station, Desmond turns himself in (for the assault of Ben and the hit-and-run on Locke) to get himself thrown in the same prison transport as Kate and Sayid.  Desmond pays off a cop (Ana-Lucia in a guest spot) to let them off at a dock, and Hurley assists in the escape.  He agrees to take Sayid, and Desmond offers Kate a dress to go to a concert.

The concert seems to be the key to everything.  This seems to be the same benefit concert that Desmond was helping to plan in the first place, and we already know that Daniel, Charlotte, Eloise, and Charles Widmore will be there.  Miles has been invited because of his father, and he’s already agreed to take Sawyer.  Jack and David are going to go, along with David’s mysterious mother.  With Desmond and Kate also going, you have to think that something big is going to happen at the concert.  Maybe getting all of these people back in the same place is going to set off some kind of event that affects both universes.

I also thought it was cool that Hurley was able to recognize Ana-Lucia – which makes you wonder how much Hurley is able to remember of the other universe.  Does he remember everything?  Does Desmond?  Because Charlie seemed to be the first one with his eyes truly open, but he didn’t seem to have the ability to remember everything.

But I’m pretty confident that everything about the flash-sideways universe will be explained, and I’m almost certain that it will have something to do with the endgame.  Desmond is extremely important in both universes, and he’s the only one that (seemingly) traveled between the universes.  Or, at least, his consciousness did.

So there we are.  On-Island, almost everyone is dead.  The Monster and Ben are competing with Jack’s group to find Desmond.  Claire and Miles are somewhere in the jungle, and let’s not forget about Rose and Bernard…who are still somewhere out there, enjoying their “retirement.”  It would certainly be funny if they played some kind of part in the finale on-Island.

It’s all coming together, and by Sunday night, it will all be over.  I’m definitely going to be sad when it’s over, but it will also be nice to know everything.  I can’t believe that the finale is almost here, but it’s certainly been one Hell of a ride.