It was all a dream…

… Jack Shepherd awakens, his forehead drenched with sweat, fear gripping his heart like a vice. He can hear the sound of the shower in the distance but in his disoriented state it doesn’t register. Then who should walk out of the bathroom but his father! Thank God, that whole island thing was just a dream…!

Ok, so, it’s not exactly Dallas, but this season is about trying to stop the crash, 27 years before it happens and assuming the 815er’s are successful we could be looking at starting over back at season one next January and if that happens then what? Right then, enough pondering, lets get down to business. By the way, if you haven’t seen this weeks finale of Lost “The Incident.” stop reading NOW, I will be revealing the end of this episode!

This is the second of three posts I will be doing about the finale of season 5, this post will cover island time, you can view the post on Flashbacks here. 

So we open with Kate, Juliet and Sawyer on the sub with Miss  Austen trying to convince Mr Ford to go back to the island… Now, I’m no expert but I’m pretty sure a Submarine is fairly difficult to operate. A few episodes back Sawyer suggested they could commandeer it, how exactly, they don’t have anyone with that kind of experience. Kate warns the other two about Jack’s plan and Juliet changes her mind about a life with Sawyer and decides she needs to return to the island. The three of them get free and hold a gun to the captain’s head, a gesture that might be halfway scary if they weren’t underwater with no way of escape and no possible way of knowing how to operate the sub should they shoot the captain… When will these scriptwriters learn…

Anyway, down beneath the Dharma Initiative Sayid and Jack, following the instructions in Daniel’s journal, remove the plutonium core from the hydrogen bomb and then they shield themselves from the radiation by putting it in a cloth rucksack.  Yup, this is the same bomb that gave plenty of Others severe radiation burns because of the cracked casing and had to be buried but is now perfectly safe. Let’s put it this way, if this was 24, both Jack and Sayid would be dead before the day is out.

Out at the Swan Chang has shutdown construction. Radzinsky shows up and speaks his famous last words, so to speak, “I came to this island to change the world and that’s exactly what I intend to do.” In fact, if what we hear about the energy in the Swan is correct, then Stuart didn’t change the world so much as nearly  bring it to a cataclysmic end.

Meanwhile Locke is still leading his pilgrimage to Jacob and Sun and Ben take some time out to explain things for those who haven’t been paying attention to the last four seasons. “Who is Jacob?” Sun asks. “He’s in charge of this island.” What does that mean? Is Jacob the arbiter of the rules? Or is he merely the King of the Hill? The dictator who runs the island, makes demands, pushes the leader to do whatever particular whim takes his fancy that day? Sun asks Ben what Jacob is like and Ben replies, in the beautifully school boy-like manner he has developed since his dead daughter appeared to him. “I don’t know, I’ve never seen him.” A statement we later learn to be the truth. (Shock Gasp)

Locke and Richard, meanwhile, are discussing Locke’s miraculous return from the grave. Richard still can’t believe it and Locke reminds him that he can’t age so why is he so amazed by a man returned from death? Richard attributes both occurrences to Jacob and I wonder, should Locke kill Jacob and he is responsible for these miracles, would John not just die and Richard not just age (however many hundred years) in that instant? Or are Jacob’s powers one off gifts that do not need to be maintained? Before they set off again Locke tells Richard that when all is done with Jacob they will have to kill the passengers from flight 316.

Cue Ilana and the other Shadow of the Statue-ites rowing across from the Hydra island, the flightcase and Frank in tow. Beaching the outrigger, Bram, Ilana’s number one, asks why they brought Frank along and questions if she believes he might be a candidate. Now, of the four people that Abaddon insisted must be on the freighter only Frank has not been shown to have been born on the island. Which leads me to believe that he was. Also, if the Statue-ites know that John intends to kill Jacob then maybe they think Jacob will be resurrected, maybe in a new body??? Whatever the case Jacob recruited Ilana for something and she is insisting  Frank come along too. The pilot asks them what they have in the flight case and Ilana shows him, “Terrific.” Frank replies sarcastically.

Locke and Ben discuss, very openly, John’s plans for Jacob, loud enough for the random extras walking by to hear I’m sure. Ben confesses that his daughter told him to do everything Locke told him to do without question… Why Ben, why would you tell John that? He has always been so good at keeping things a secret, why would he give the man he surely intends to overthrow, such a hold over him? Locke turns around and smiles, “Good, I wont need to convince you then.” “Convince me of what John?” “I’m not going to kill Jacob, Ben, you are!”

Cut to Richard, Jack, Sayid and Ellie getting ready to exit the tunnels. Richard picks up a sledgehammer in a very menacing way, but only uses it to smash through a wall into one of the dharma houses. Specifically Horace’s house. Interesting that Horace built his house directly over the bomb and would later go on to build Jacob’s hut. Was Horace a secret Hostile? A worshipper of Jacob? Or was it just coincidence? Anywho Richard knocks Ellie unconscious and tells Jack and Sayid he’s done his bit. But what about Ellie? Somehow she must have been banished from the island, was it because she helped Jack? And is she the outsider that Charles will later father a child with? (i.e. Penny)

Hiding in plain sight Jack and Sayid throw on Dharma uniforms and trot on outside with a nuke strapped the Iraqi’s back. Poor old Roger however recognises Sayid and, unwilling to share his punching bag (young Ben), he shoot’s Sayid in the gut. A firefight erupts and Jack begins to shoot completely randomly, in fact the only thing he actually seems to take aim at is the Dharma van that comes to his rescue. With Hurley at the wheel, Miles and Jin pull the Doc and the dying Iraqi aboard and set off for the Swan.

Meanwhile Sawyer, Juliet and Kate are rowing their way to shore and Sawyer and Kate acting like road-trip buddies is not improving Juliet’s mood. They pull the boat ashore and seconds later Vincent comes bounding out of the bushes to greet them, followed by a voice. “Oh hell no!” Cries Rose, followed by Bernard, stealing Sawyer’s catchphrase “Son of a bitch!”

Sawyer can’t quite believe that Rose and Bernard would choose to leave the group. “I had Jin out, searching the island, grid by  grid.” It seems that Rose and Bernard did not want to be found and it also seems that everybody’s favour Korean doesn’t search all that well as he managed to miss the bungalow Rose and Bernard have built for themselves. Eager to get a move on to stop Jack and his insane “blow up the island” scheme, Juliet asks for the location of the barracks from where they are and the group sets out wishing Rose and Bernard the best of luck. 

Ilana and the other “Good Guys” as Bram puts it, have reached the cabin, where they note the ash circle that rings it has been  disturbed. It would seem then that at some point Jacob moved out of his residence under the statue of Taweret (Who along with being a protector in Egyptian mythology was also the wife of an evil demon of darkness called Apep. The fact that the statue was destroyed seems to point to the island being no longer under her protection. As for her husband, Black Smoke anyone? Or maybe Apep is the one who destroyed the statue?) to the cabin and the circle of ash would seem to be some kind of protection for Jacob. Against what though? What could be powerful enough to scare Jacob away from the hut and who helped by breaking the ash circle? Inside Ilana finds part of a tapestry depicting the statue, letting the Good Guys know where to go next, but before they traipse off into the jungle they torch the cabin to the ground.

Across the Island John Locke leads the Others to the destroyed camp that had once belong to Jack and company. John plonks himself down with Ben and talks about old times, while Sun roots about in Aaron’s crib and finds Charlie’s ring. John asks Ben about the day he took him to the cabin and Ben tells John that he made it all up. This seems like a cop out to me but I do like the way that Ben’s entire complex network of lies has come crashing down about him. I particularly like Ben’s new, what does anything matter attitude, brought on by his vision of Alex, (shame that it is all a con or so I think, more on that next week! )

The now dying Sayid somehow manages to rig the nuke to blow up on impact, despite his condition and his never having done such a thing before, or having any tools to hand at all and he warns Jack that he has to drop the bomb at the exact moment of the incident or all of it will be for nothing. Moments later Hurley slams on the breaks. “Why the hell are we stopping?!” pause, camera pans round to Sawyer, Juliet and Kate standing in the road, guns drawn. (Lovely shot btw) “That’s why…”

Meanwhile the Others have reached the four toed foot and Richard informs Locke that this is where Jacob lives.

Back at the van Jack and Sawyer head off for a heart to heart. Sawyer tells Jack that he could have stopped his daddy killing his mommy had he left the island the year before, but he didn’t because what’s done is done. Jack disagrees and Sawyer demands to know what Jack had done that was so bad that he wanted to blow up the island for a second chance. “I had her…” Jack replies. “Well, damn Doc, she’s standing right on the other side of those trees!” It’s odd isn’t that Sawyer has become the man of reason and logic, the true leader if there ever is such a thing in Lost. But Jack will  not change his mind so Sawyer clocks him one and after one of the most brutal fist fights in Lost history the Red-Neck Con-Man throws the Spinal Surgeon down and begins to strangle him. And he would have done too if Juliet hadn’t called him off.

It seems Jules has had another change of heart and she wants to blow up the island too. Sawyer, quite rightly, demands to know why and Juliet tells him it’s because he looked at Kate. Over reacting much? Your man looks at another woman and you decide to set of a hydrogen bomb? Sawyer tells her that he is with her, no one else, but that’s not enough for Juliet. Once again Juliet seems to know more than she is letting on here, which leads me to think she knows a little bit about the future, maybe her time on the island gave her some insight into the incident, but she seems to know that something terrible is going to happen and twice she tries to avoid it, getting on the sub and trying to stop Jack, only to  change her mind and eventually accept the inevitable.

Back on the beach Sun asks Ben about the statue. Ben replies “I don't know, it was like that when I got here.” Yet another school boy response, followed by another recognition of his loss of power. “You expect me to believe that?” “Not really…” John, Richard and Ben prepare to head inside and  Richard objects to Ben’s inclusion. Locke ignores Richard, calling him a liar, suggesting that Richard just makes up rules (those damn rules!) and maybe Richard is a liar, after all he is the voice of Jacob, but something about Locke’s behaviour isn't sitting right.

Over at the Swan site Miles brings up the point that we’ve all been making, if you can’t change the future, then, most likely, Jack’s bomb will cause the incident. A thought that had apparently not occurred to anyone else. Phil and the security team show up, locked and loaded, making it impossible for Jack to get close enough to the drill shaft to drop the bomb. Luckily, the others, spurred on by Miles’ speech ride to the rescue, even Sawyer has joined up with team Jack. Good old Jimmy La Fleur takes Phil hostage and effectively brings the fire-fight to an end. (Personally, I think Phil is just as expendable as the other dozen dead guards but what do I know?) Chang tries to shut down the drill but the electromagnetism below the Swan is pulling the drill down. Jack drops the bomb and boom! Oh, no, wait, it didn’t go off…

Instead the whole of the drill gets dragged down. Things start flying everywhere and a toolbox hits Sawyer in the head, causing him to release Phil. Phil, seeing his opportunity to be rid of his rival (The Dharma peeps really need a better screening process, what with Roger, Stuart and Phil all being psychopaths!), Phil turns on Sawyer, only to get a steel bar through the chest, bye bye Phil…

Part of the drilling mechanism drops on Chang’s hand and Miles rushes in to save him, possibly then the future has been changed, from where I was sitting Chang’s injury did not seem severe enough to cost him his arm, maybe Miles changed his father’s fate?

Some chains get whipped up into the maelstrom and wrap themselves about Juliet, dragging her into the pit. Sawyer and Kate do their best but Jules has had it. All too late she realises who exactly it is that Sawyer is in love with, before disappearing down the shaft. Although I had a feeling Juliet might know something about the future, something she didn't want to come to pass, I was still fairly shocked that she would be killed off. Having disliked her since season three for being whiney, she had really started to grow on me this season…

Back on the beach Ilana and the other Statue-ites turn up to speak with Richard and to show him what exactly is in the flight case… And wouldn’t you know it, for the second time on Lost, the contents of a box we’ve not been allowed to see inside, are none other than John Locke’s corpse! And if Locke is dead on the beach, then who is inside with Jacob?! That’s right, Man #2 from the flashback at the start of the episode. (More on this next week.)

Jump inside the statue and Ben is finally realising his dream of meeting Jacob, with the imposter Locke right behind him. “Hello Jacob.” Locke smiles. “Well,” Jacob replies. “You found your loophole.” Locke asks Ben to kill Jacob and you can see it on his face that he doesn’t want to, if anything he wants fall down on his knees and worship, but then Jacob just has to speak up. “Ben, you have a choice.” The same thing he said to Hurley about returning to the island. Jacob, apparently offers freewill, but maybe Ben was always destined to kill Jacob, maybe that is why Alex had to die, why Ben had to get sick, why Jacob brought a woman to the island who looked exactly like his lost love but made her see him as repellent? Is it possible that all of those things happened to drive Ben to this?

“What choice?” Ben asks and Jacob makes the fatal mistake of telling Ben he can leave. After all the years of waiting Ben is finally in Jacob’s presence and Jacob wants him to leave?! Ben objects and stabs Jacob, twice, just for good measure. Wounded but not dead the most powerful entity on the island drops to his knees and whispers “They’re coming…” Locke listens and then kicks Jacob into the fire, where he burns up.

Cut back to the hatch, Kate and Jack drag Sawyer away, who is still devastated after his lost love. However, pan down the shaft and who should we find still alive, that’s right, it’s Juliet, with a rock. Now, the 30ft drop down the tunnel didn't set the nuke off, however, somehow, the near dead Juliet believes that a couple of well timed blows might just do the trick… BOOM!

Right then, so we are none the wiser about anything then… The biggest cliff hanger ever in Lost and we cannot possibly know where it will go from here. Did it work? Did we reset back to the start of season 1? Or did Juliet just kill everyone in the blast radius? Are only Sun and Locke the only two surviving members of the original cast? Whatever the case, my questions and theories are too numerous to discuss here, so tune in early next week for the final part of My Two Cents…