So last week brought us the finale of what I consider the best season of Lost yet. Did it live up to the very, very high bar that was set by last year’s shocking ending? That’s a bit tough to answer. Truth be told, short of THE actual end of the series, I’m not sure any of the finales will ever quite live up to that twist, but that doesn’t make them any less good, either. One criticism that surprised me, in particular, is that some people felt that nothing big really happened. On the contrary, throughout the entire episode I felt like SOMETHING big was always happening. It truly felt like a chain reaction of constant action, while still telling a damn interesting story. I thought that the pieces came together quite nicely.
There was an underlying theme of redemption throughout the episode, with some instances were more explicit than others. The most obvious example would be Michael, of course, which I believe was highlighted by the understated reconciliation with Jin. Oddly, this has been one of my favorite relationships on the show (I love how these two so bitterly loathed each other during the first half of season one, and then became best friends by the end of the year). I truly believe that receiving Jin’s forgiveness was a crucial aspect of Michael’s redemption, and who knows, perhaps making peace with Jin was a small part of the mission he had to fulfill. I really enjoyed the scene where Jin chose to stay with Michael despite the danger, followed by Michael urging him to save himself for the good of his wife and unborn child. Jin’s quiet but powerful “thank you” was a great exclamation point to the scene. Speaking of understated yet emotionally gripping scenes, I also loved Michael’s restrained jubilation in reaction to Sun telling him that she’s pregnant.
Michael’s final scene, with a ghostly Christian telling him “you can go now” moments before the explosion was brilliant. I love the idea of the island “releasing” Michael from its protective, restrictive grasp, essentially telling him that he has received his redemption and fulfilled his mission, and that he can now die. It really was a great scene.
I also think this episode was about Locke redeeming himself, but to the viewing audience instead of any character in particular. Throughout the season, Sawyer has referred to Locke as “Colonel Kurtz,” an allusion to the Apocalypse Now character who goes mad in the jungle. I have mentioned in previous columns how Locke is being portrayed as some lunatic, even though he is, in fact, right about everything that he says. Nevertheless, a lot of viewers probably don’t see it this way. In their eyes, the ends simply don’t justify the means. The finale did a nice job of reminding viewers that Locke isn’t a monster. Yes, he will do everything in his power to try to convince people to stay on the island, but when it becomes obvious that he can’t stop them, he will accept their decision (alright, I’m ignoring that whole submarine explosion thing) and simply try to convince them not to get in the way of his mission. It was also obvious that he cared deeply about the well being of the people on the freighter. Despite the fact that Keamy and his men had repeatedly tried to kill them and are trying to exploit the miraculous capabilities of the island, Locke fought to save his life in order to protect the innocent people on the freighter (which is more than Jack and the others did, but more on that later).
Then there’s Ben. While he did utter a very cold and uncaring “So?” when it became apparent that he had put the lives of everybody on the freighter in jeopardy, he did seem legitimately remorseful when he apologized to Locke for making his life so miserable. I had previously remarked on this, but last year Ben shot Locke and left him for dead because he felt his leadership was being threatened. By contrast, this year he made the ultimate sacrifice of being permanently banished from the island and officially handing over his leadership to Locke for the goodness of the island. To paraphrase what Ben had said, he’s going to pay the consequences while Locke will reap the rewards. This year, Ben has been a tremendously complex character (by extension, the same can be said about The Others). Is he good? Is he bad? Both? Neither? Is it that he’s willing to do “bad” things for an ultimately “good” cause? Or is he just threatened and insecure, scared of going back to a normal life after achieving such a special existence (like Sylar on Heroes)?
This is perhaps not considered “redemption,” but I appreciated Jack’s concession, of sorts, that perhaps Locke was right all along. When Kate referred to their survival as a “miracle” (and honestly, big ups to baby Aaron for surviving yet another disaster), echoing what Locke had told him earlier, and Hurley confirmed that Locke had done the impossible by moving the island, it hit Jack that perhaps his scientific, logic-based outlook is a bit close minded. This was solidified when he argued that Locke did not succeed, only to pretty much be shot down completely by Hurley. At that point, I believe, Jack realized that Locke may be right, and decided to take his advice by lying about what had happened to them. I think it was a small turning point for the character.
Speaking of Jack, this episode brought us some awkward, but enjoyable, reunions. For the first time since the beginning of the season, Jack was brought face to face with Hurley, Locke, and Ben. Each moment was fun and unique in its own way. When Jack and Hurley first saw each other, it was uncomfortable, but cordial and emotionally genuine. With Locke, there was a definite hostility, but no where near where they were at when the season began. I think that, through the season, both of them gained a certain perspective. Jack realized that he wasn’t right about everything (like Sawyer reminded him, Locke predicted that the people on the freighter were dangerous). At the same time, Locke came to discover that his blind faith has gotten virtually everybody that has followed him killed. And of course, there was the reunion with Ben, who emerged from the jungle only to be met by Jack’s gunpoint. His quick response of “it’s good to see you too, Jack” was, unsurprisingly, delivered perfectly.
I also thought it was very telling how quickly both Ben and Locke blew Jack off. Go back and watch the first several episodes of season one. Quite honestly — and without much exaggeration — people wouldn’t sneeze before asking Jack what he thought. The rest of the survivors relied on him for virtually everything, despite his constant reluctance to take the role as leader. In this scene, however, Jack was so insignificant and inconsequential. It was if Locke and Ben were saying, “you’re not going to help us and you can’t stop us, so go scurry off to your helicopter ride off the island, please.” More than any other moment in this show’s history, you came to understand that in the grand scheme of things, this one man is truly small.
I also loved the allusions to the past season finales. This was especially apparent when Penny’s boat emerged from the darkness and shined its bright light on the life raft. When Frank, Desmond, and the Oceanic Six jumped up and jovially awaited rescue, it was eerily reminiscent of season one’s finale, when Michael, Walt, Jin, and Sawyer were in a similar situation, only to realize that they were going to be victimized by The Others. It was a fun little wink, wink to the audience, as if saying “is the arrival of this boat REALLY a good thing?”
There was also a wonderful mirror effect on Jack and Locke’s situation. Last year, Locke was stumbling through the jungle nursing a gunshot wound while Jack led a group of people to apparent rescue. This year, Jack was the one suffering from an ailment — as his appendix had been removed — while Locke was leading his group of three to seemingly save the day.
Ben telling Kate that she can leave the island, and Kate’s shocked response that he would just let them, is also very similar to the interaction Ben shared with Michael at the end of season two. As an aside, I loved Ben’s nonchalant “what was your arrangement?” question to Alpert. I love how, despite his diabolical nature, Ben truly does stick to his word. And, as I expected, it was kinda fun seeing the survivors working hand-in-hand with The Others. My have these groups come a long way….
Finally, the imagery of Ben moving the island reminded me of Desmond turning the key in the hatch. In both instances, we got a quick glimpse of various groups at different points of the island reacting to a mysterious effect in the sky. And while it wasn’t a season finale, I did appreciate the allusion to when Jack and Desmond first met, when Desmond told Jack, “see you in another life, brother.” In the finale, when these two characters went their separate ways, Jack uttered the same line to Desmond.
As somebody rooting for Jack and Kate to end up together, I was a bit surprised to see Sawyer do something so selfless and heroic, especially since Jack essentially had the option to do it as well. It also made the argument between Jack and Kate in the future, where Jack implies that Sawyer CHOSE to stay on the island, very curious. I mean, he clearly didn’t choose to stay — in fact, he was doing something incredibly selfless. That being said, I did kinda smirk when Jack and Sawyer emerged from the jungle, only to have Kate genuinely smile at seeing Sawyer again, before ultimately choosing to go and check on Jack.
By the way, during that helicopter fuel leak, all I kept thinking was that losing all of that fuel would cost them A LOT of money in a few years.
There are some small matters that I find intriguing. Was Charlotte born on the island? There’s a lot of speculation that she’s Annie, Ben’s childhood friend from the Dharma Initiative. I’m not sure I buy into that, although it would be interesting since, as best as I can remember, she has been kept separate from Ben the entire season (or did they see each other when she landed on the island?) There is surely something significant about this revelation, but what? Also, Walt looks like he’s about 24 years old. This is one of the perks of advancing the story three years, though. He can now be brought back to tie up any of his unresolved arcs, like explaining his abilities and perhaps reconciling, in some fashion, with the departed Michael, before the series ends. I really do hope that he’s made a series regular next season.
I will also say that I don’t believe that Jin died. Although this rule of thumb been proved wrong numerous times in the past, generally speaking if I don’t actually SEE the person die, I tend to believe that they probably got out of the situation somehow. For the moment, I’ll subscribe to the popular theory: Jin jumped off of the freighter (or somehow survived the explosion) and ended up being transported to wherever the island was moved. I also want to note the incredible awesomeness of Sayid’s fight scene with Keamy. It was honestly one of the most even, realistic fights I’ve ever seen on television. Excellently choreographed and wonderful job by both actors.
There are just two matters that confused me a bit regarding the two-parter:
First, hasn’t it been established that there is a time discrepancy between what happens on the island and what happens on the freighter? For example, the doctor swept up on shore with his throat slashed on the island, but wasn’t murdered until a day or so later on the freighter. Along with that, when the rocket was launched from the freighter, it landed on the island at a different time. So, even when Keamy was killed, shouldn’t some time have passed before the radio transmission reached the island? Admittedly, I don’t completely understand the rules of the time/space phenomena according to the Lost universe, but it just seems like the results should not have been immediate.
My other question regards those loads of other Flight 815 survivors that were transported from the island to the freighter. It was my understanding that Daniel had couriered virtually every person to the freighter (wasn’t his current trip close to being his last?) If that’s the case, wasn’t there an enormous lack of concern for all of those other people? Especially when you consider Jack’s very judgmental comment to Locke about how he indirectly killed virtually every person that went with him? I mean, sure, to the viewer these are all faceless, nameless nobodies affectionately referred to as “redshirts,” but within the context of the show these are people who have survived every obstacle that Jack, Kate, and everybody else has, and really have no less of a right to be on that helicopter than Hurley, Sayid, Desmond, or anybody else. It just seemed exceptionally strange to me that in such a dire, life threatening situation, none of them would, ya’ know, even TRY to get onto the helicopter. And if all of those people are dead, their little lie about them being the only survivors isn’t all that far off. They’re pretty much just saying, “Shhhh, don’t tell anybody that Sawyer and Locke are still on the island….”
For that matter, what happened to Daniel and the rest of the people he was transporting to the freighter? Were Rose and Bernard on board? I read a theory on EW.com that everybody within the circumference of the island were “moved” with it (hence why the smaller island disappeared as well). I could buy this theory, especially when you consider that the people on the helicopter didn’t mention seeing them in the water after they had crashed.
In the closing moments of the episode, it was finally revealed that Locke was the person in the casket. Before I get into the analysis, I want to commend Terry O’Quinn’s performance (as odd as that sounds) and the make up artists. Anybody who has ever been to a wake can attest to the fact that that’s EXACTLY what a corpse looks like when it is embalmed. There was a certain….fakeness to his appearance.
So anyway, it seems that Locke is Jeremy Bentham, the man who apparently committed suicide in New York City. For those of you who remember the obituary, you’ll recall that it made reference to a teenage son. Who is this person? What I do find interesting, though, is how Ben instructed Jack that they must bring Locke with them in order to return to the island. As you all remember, the last time a guy in a coffin was taken to the island, he became the resident ghost/guide. Is this a purely coincidental connection, or will Locke’s corpse take over Christian’s current role? While I’m on the subject, I love the idea of Locke becoming the leader of The Others (once again, my how things have changed since these passengers crashed onto the island). I truly hope that we, the viewers, get filled in on some of these unanswered questions alongside Locke. Considering that there are only, what, 32 episodes left (if I’m not mistaken), it’s not outside the realm of possibility that they’ll start answering some of the “Big Ones.”
So where does the series go from here? My guess is that the “present” island and “future” home storylines will run concurrently, on separate time lines (as a side note, I find it very interesting — as a plot point — having those still on the island believe that everybody else is dead). As we follow the Oceanic Six’s long journey (both physical and emotional) back to the island, we’ll find out what horrible things happened on the island after they left. I also suspect that these timelines will not run linear (as in, the Oceanic Six story will take place over a period of, say, a few months, while the island story spans the three years they were gone). Ultimately, when the Oceanic Six inevitably return to the island, the island timeline will be caught up. In that sense, I imagine that in place of the flashback/forward method of story telling, we’ll instead have the narrative jump from one “time”/location to the other.
Well, that’s it for this year. If there are any shows this summer that catch my fancy, I’ll be sure to write about them. But during the summer hiatus, I encourage everybody to check out my blog, which I update pretty regularly. I’m still trying to build an audience, so please feel free to leave your comments!
Until next time….
