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Did Lost's time-bending season finale deliver?
Lost's compelling and convoluted fifth season dragged the Oceanic Six back to the island, though not in the way any of us could have suspected. While the series may have lost some viewers—as most shows seem to have done this season—there's no doubting that Lost has never been more gripping ... or harder to follow.
So how did last night's two-hour season finale, "The Incident," stack up? Did it leave us wanting more? Will we be watching 10 months from now, when the sixth and final season premieres the final 17 episodes?
And will all our questions ever be answered?
[Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead.]
As with all of Lost's finales, we were left with more questions than answers. "The Incident" had plenty of action as it followed Jack's mission to nuke the island in the past and thereby stop Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 from ever crashing there decades later. And there was also Kate's mission to stop Jack, Ilana's trek with the mysterious box as she dragged Frank in tow, and Locke and Ben's journey to kill Jacob. And then there were Jacob's flashbacks, which showed him touching the survivors at significant points in their lives.
The episode began as the mysterious Jacob put in an appearance (in the form of actor Mark Pellegrino), and we learn that there's a Dude On The Beach Who Wants To Kill Jacob. However, there's some loophole preventing Dude On The Beach from actually killing him—and it's probably the 1800s, since we see what just might be the Black Rock sailing on the horizon.
Other revelations—
Rose, Bernard and Vincent the dog have been hiding out on the island in the past, after "retiring" from all the survivors' drama. "We traveled 30 years back in time and you're still finding ways to shoot each other?" said Rose. Proving her point, Sayid gets shot during a shootout with the Dharma people as he and Jack make off with the bomb—thanks to a rescue by Hurley, Miles and Jin. Juliet, Sawyer and Kate decide to escape the sub and go back to the island to stop Jack. Once the two groups connect, Sawyer and Jack face off in a bloody, knock-down-drag-out fight. But then Juliet changes her mind and convinces Sawyer to help Jack blow up the Swan instead so the flight never crashes and they never meet—and he can never break her heart. Damn Sawyer for glancing at Kate at just the wrong moment! As Locke's group travels to the foot statue to find Jacob, he reveals to Ben that he wants Jacob dead. However, he wants Ben to do the deed. When they arrive at the statue, Locke and Ben head into the statue to find Jacob. Then Ilana's group arrives with the box. They dump the contents on the beach and Locke's dead body spills out. In the depths of the statue, Ben and the fake Locke face off with Jacob. Jacob talks about the fake Locke finding a "loophole," and Ben stabs Jacob. As the Swan begins to have electromagnetic issues, a battle erupts between Jack's gang and the Dharma people. Jack throws the bomb down the mineshaft and the gang waits to die. Only the bomb doesn't go off. As Juliet gets dragged into the shaft with a lot of machinery, Sawyer and Kate struggle to save her. She falls but doesn't die. Juliet sees the bomb and whacks it with a rock until it explodes. The screen goes white and we see "2010: Destiny Found."
Around the Web, reviewers wrote about the agony and the ecstasy of all things Lost.
"This one hurt a little bit, didn't it?" wrote Watch With Kristin's Jennifer Godwin. "Lost's fifth-season finale, 'The Incident,' was one of the show's more morose and hopeless outings in some time. Many terrible things happened and there was just one lone puppy dog on the scene to help make things happier. (There's only so much the fuzzy fella can do!)" she wrote, referring to the dog, Vincent.
James Poniewozik of TIME's Tuned In felt the finale "was at times thrilling and awesome and other times disappointing ... Above all, I simply enjoyed the hurtling pace and balance of stories in the first two-thirds or so of the finale. Somewhere after the first commercial break, I was struck by a simple fact: how amazing it is that a story of this scope and complexity is on commercial TV at all. Eighteen minutes into the episode, we had seen seven scenes, with seven different sets of characters, in different locations and different times—some of those times being 'flashbacks' that were farther ahead in time than the 'present'—and yet it all fit together and made sense." However, it was what Poniewozik didn't like that gave him some pause. "From the moment that Juliet 'changed her mind' and told Sawyer that Jack needed to set off his bomb after all, something seemed off, at least about the 1977 storyline."
Alan Sepinwall of The Star-Ledger's What's Alan Watching believes the finale was structurally similar to the end of season one, with "a lot of teasing" and months to wait for answers. "And you know what? I. Do. Not. Care ... That was so exciting, so mythology-intensive, so loaded with great performances and great character notes, so all-around kick-ass, that I feel more than satisfied."
Sepinwall added: "Whatever missteps the show has made, some caused by external forces, some not, it's been so consistently assured and entertaining for these past two seasons that I feel confident Cuselof [or Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof] really do know what they're doing here—that, whether the grand plan was really sketched out from the beginning, or made up at a later date, it's mostly going to work out as it should in the final season."
Even the reviewers who couldn't get past the problems they saw with "The Incident" realized that bigger things were at stake. "There were parts of the finale that bugged me, and all in all, I can't say it was the best season finale the show's ever done. But there were moments that I liked quite a bit, and everything to do with Jacob and his nameless adversary left me very intrigued ... But one big thing I think I'll ponder over the next few months is the idea that there's a much larger picture here," wrote Maureen Ryan of The Chicago Tribune's The Watcher. "It's bigger than the Dharma folk versus the Others, Ben versus Widmore, Ben versus Locke, the Losties versus the Others, the future versus the past."
Still, what everyone was left with were the questions. "Is Jacob bad or good—savior or devil? Who IS the spirit inhabiting Locke's body? Why couldn't he kill Jacob? Who is Ilana? Will the explosion take the Losties back to pre-plane-crash life? What's up with Widmore, Penny and Desmond—not to mention Claire, Aaron, Christian, Walt, etc. And what's in the guitar case?" asked Laura DeMarco of Cleveland.com's TV News. And that's just the short list of questions.
Here's a few more—
What is Frank a "candidate" for? What language were Ilana and Jacob speaking in the hospital? What's the "loophole"? When Jacob said, "They're coming" right before Ben stabbed him, who did he mean? Is the Smoke Monster actually the Dude On The Beach Who Wants To Kill Jacob? Why doesn't Richard ever age? Is Juliet really dead? Is Locke really dead? Is Jacob really dead? Is everyone really dead?
While "The Incident" may not have been a satisfying end to the season for everyone, it was certainly buzzworthy. And can anyone who has watched the last five seasons really say they won't be watching when season six—the final season—rolls around next January?
By budgethero at 4:45 PM ON 05/14/09
i dont care, make it stop, make it stop!
seriously, wasnt this supposed to be the last season?
By ecgordon at 4:56 PM ON 05/14/09
My reaction is the exact opposite of budgethero's. It is going to be an excruciatingly long nine months, and I want Season 6 now! If the conclusion to the series is as good as this season's finale it is likely to be at the top of my list for Best. Show. Ever!
By LOSTFan at 5:01 PM ON 05/14/09
I think the answer to the "What is the loophole" question is obvious: at the start of the show, Jacob and his Friend revealed that they can't kill each other (hmmm...not unlike Ben and Widmore) but the Friend is looking for a loophole. The loophole is to have someone ELSE kill Jacob.
Budgethero, seriously why click on and read a story if all you're going to do is whine? I don't read stories that relate to superhero movies because I despise superhero movies and I don't see any point to leaving a comment about how stupid they are and how I don't care. Nobody cares that I don't care. Do you really have nothing better to do then trawl the internet and spew bile?
By seeker5528 at 5:10 PM ON 05/14/09
I thought this was one of the better episodes. One simple exchange explains so much.
Unnamed character.
"It always ends the same way."
Jacob
"There's only one end, everything else is just progress."
Later, Seeker
By sixwhirled at 5:11 PM ON 05/14/09
My wife figured most of it out.
The people sent back to 1977 were all visited by Jacob at some point in their lives (with the exception of Sun who is in 2007). They were his insurance plan. Jacob knew his enemy was going to try to destroy him, so he sent the people he visited back to 1977 to make sure that whatever happened in 2007 would be revised when the bomb went off in 1977, thus not leading to the events of Ben killing him.
Damon and Carlton have said that the final season would be very similar to the first season. My guess is that at the beginning of season 6 they are indeed sent back in time, but Oceanic 815 still crashes on the island. Maybe they remember, maybe they don't. Maybe only Desmond remembers because as Faraday said "He's special".
By sixwhirled at 5:15 PM ON 05/14/09
Oh and the statue is that of Sobek. Check out his entry on wikipedia. It explains so much!
By sixwhirled at 5:18 PM ON 05/14/09
Oh and Christian on the island is the bad guy in disguise. In the episode where Ben is going to be judged by the smoke monster, Ben and Sun are in the barracks when visited by Christian. Locke is nowhere to be found. They leave the barracks and Locke comes out of the jungle.
By S.W. at 5:34 PM ON 05/14/09
Y'know I'm actually surprised that they didn't reveal who the pursuers in the outrigger in the episode 'The Little Prince.' To quote Lostpedia - "A pair of outriggers were later found at the abandoned beach camp on the main Island by Sawyer, Locke, Faraday, Charlotte, Miles, and Juliet. Inside one of the canoes, Sawyer found a water bottle with an Ajira Airways label on it. When they realised the Zodiac was missing, the party took one of the canoes to travel to the Orchid; soon thereafter, paddlers in the other canoe pursued them and shot at them."
This has got me positively stumped. It obviously wasn't Ilana and her posse. Maybe it was actually our heroes firing at themselves in an attempt to stop them before they vanished into the folds of space-time. Who knows? No, seriously, I'm asking; who knows?!
By Volk13 at 7:16 PM ON 05/14/09
What language were Ilana and Jacob speaking in the hospital?
It was Russian - accurate too - transaltion was accurate.
My question: What did Richard answered in Spanish to "What lies within the shadow of the statue?"
By scifi at 7:22 PM ON 05/14/09
Didn't see the ending, because of the severe weather that the state was having,
By kufitop at 7:52 PM ON 05/14/09
@ S.W.
"Maybe it was actually our heroes firing at themselves in an attempt to stop them before they vanished into the folds of space-time."
That's exactly what I thought and an almost sure of. Cuselof has had a few of those time-shift self encounters since the flashy thing started, so it only seems natural/cool that there is an occurrence where characters are unaware it's themselves.
Man I love LOST. (I just hate waiting...)
By sixwhirled at 8:23 PM ON 05/14/09
@Volk13
I think it was Latin. It translate to something like: "He who will protect and defend us."
By Sionell at 8:31 PM ON 05/14/09
Ilana & Co. show up at the statue and she asks Richard: What lies in the shadow of the statue? She finally gets her answer when he replies, in Latin, "That which we protect."
By SamusMaXximus at 11:04 PM ON 05/14/09
What lies in the shadow of the statue?
-ille qui nos omnes servabit
= He who will protect us all.
or something similar.
By IsoTek at 11:11 PM ON 05/14/09
@Sixwhirled, I know they have said the statue is Sobek on many sites but the statue lacks a tail, something Sobek has. Many also think the statue is Tawaret as the face (from the limited view) had a distinct hippo look. Both statues however are known to hold Ankh's in their hands. Awesome finale and I hope next season is even more awesome.
By sixwhirled at 11:34 PM ON 05/14/09
@IsoTek
Yeah, I was on board with Tawaret too. But after reading about them both on Wikipedia and in a couple mythology books I have, it seems like Sobek is far more like Jacob than Tawaret. Maybe his tail fell off prior to the events at the beginning of the episode. Did you notice on Jacob's tapestry the eye of Ra? I've read that both Sobek and Tawaret are avatars of Ra, so I wonder if it comes down to something as simple as Ra versus Inubis, good versus evil, light versus dark, that sort of thing.
By nate9111 at 12:48 AM ON 05/15/09
They keep taking my comments down Im not sweating!!! What do you fear???
The final show was similar to the BSG final infact too similar. The beings doing the same fight over and over???? Dont be sheep wake up people
By HoopyGuy15 at 1:14 AM ON 05/15/09
Can we call the unnamed guy AlanArkin, for shorthand?
By theConundrumm at 4:46 AM ON 05/15/09
nate9111... get a grip, man... there's no new stories, only new ways to tell them...
and the fact that the show was supposed to be called "the circle" originally makes so much more sense now...
By wilcoy at 8:10 AM ON 05/15/09
I thought it was great! The season 5 finale had to be the best season ender yet for Lost. So many interesting mystic questions woven into the finale episode that season 6 will be the most anticipated series i've seen in awhile.
By Vichus Smith at 10:36 AM ON 05/15/09
@budgethero: SHUT IT!
Despite the crazy time travel, I loved this season. Finally getting to see Jacob was definitely interesting. Why he had to come to certain people is something I'm dying to see. I have ZERO idea how Locke can be alive and dead all at once.
By mikec at 11:20 AM ON 05/15/09
It's "Groundhog Day" on a larger scale. Jacob and his buddy have lived for hundreds if not thousands of years, not just once, but many times. They have learned every language language, read every book and ennui has set in.
By revrogers at 1:46 PM ON 05/15/09
Jacob and Esau
There is a Jewish Pseudepigraphal legend that Jacob and Esau are angelic beings.
Just another suggestion to create more confusion among all the theories.
By bunnyb at 1:55 PM ON 05/15/09
The question, "what language was IIana and Jacob speaking".. It was Russian or a slavic language because I recognized many of the words. Here's my thoughts: jacob is good. Fake John is evil. It's like the garden of Eden. The devil couldn't throw Adam and Eve out. The only way they would get kicked out would be if "they" did something wrong without being forced. Hence the snake.. Eve and the apple. Fake john couldn't kill jacob.. but one of "God's children" could!
By rkf at 2:10 PM ON 05/15/09
Richard's Latin answer was, "He who will SAVE us all."
As for the statue, I think it's a real toss-up between Sobek and Tawaret. I agree with the other commenters that Sobek seems to make more sense, but Michael Emerson has said that the statue is Tawaret, and the recap of the Episode on ABC.com indicates it's Tawaret. Of course, one obviously can't trust anything they say...
By bulldog at 11:42 PM ON 05/15/09
Did anyone notice Jacob was wearing a white shirt, and the other was wearing a black shirt..maybe symbolic for good and evil?
By rkf at 11:21 AM ON 05/16/09
Nate, maybe they keep taking your comments down because you're a rude, baiting troll. Seriously dude, what is your problem? It's TV...chill.
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rkf:
Nate, maybe they keep taking your comments down because you're a rude, baiting troll. Seriously dude, what is your ...More »