DonnaK:  The usual warnings….

**SPOILER ALERT!!!! EVERYTHING BELOW IS A SPOILER!!! STOP READING IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ SPOILERS!!!**

I know I say this every week now, but I’m in a state of perpetual amazement at what an amazing show Lost has turned back into this season. At one point during this week’s episode, “Follow the Leader”, I said “I wish all TV was this good.” Jim, who had completely given up on Lost mind you, proclaimed that the writers have made it feel as if all of this had in fact been planned since the very beginning and that perhaps even the rocky third season was intended to be so in order to get us to this rather astonishing turn of events. I have to concur, at least with the first part. I do think the show got badly derailed in season three, but I think Lost has MORE than made up for it - they’ve used all those odd bits that didn’t work at the time to bolster the current story and made it really stick. I honestly don’t know how this show could be better right now, I really don’t. Time for the breakdown, so… to the list!

—This episode takes place all on the island with half set in 1977 and the other in 2009. As usual, let’s start with the past, where we opened with replay of the end of last week’s episode and Daniel getting shot by his mother. Kate and Jack had been lying in the trees, but were ambushed by a man on a horse… the one and only Charles Whidmore, of course. Charles brought Jack and Kate down to the camp where the young Eloise was still kneeling over Daniel’s dead body staring at the inscription she had written in Daniel’s journal as an older woman. Looks like Daniel is really dead… at least for now. One never knows on this show. Charles proclaimed that they were being invaded by Dharma, whereupon Eloise, who was rather shaky at this point, said that these people were not from Dharma. Well, she’s right of course, but how she could be so certain at that moment eludes me a bit. Yes, she had certainly begun to realize these people were jumping through time, but why couldn’t people inside Dharma do that? Isn’t Dharma’s purpose on this island to tap into and use it’s energies? Bit of a leap there, but I can let that slide no problem.

—Jack and Kate were bound up and tossed into a tent, whereupon Jack began espousing the merits of Daniel’s plan to stop the energy release from The Swan and effectively erase their own past. Kate immediately opposed Jack’s plan, saying that if the plane had never crashed they would have never met. Jack was adamant, saying if the plane had never crashed all this misery could be avoided, but Kate insisted it wasn’t all misery and to change things would be wrong. Now… Jim and I were divided on this one. Jim sided with Jack, saying that if they have the chance to change the past they should do it because too many bad things have happened because of the crash. I sided with Kate, saying that yes, bad things have happened, but who knows what might have happened if the plane had landed? It could be a far, far worse future, and if you consider that the island might be a force that has a purpose in the universe and that it might have needed those people at that time, then wouldn’t changing everything negate all of that? So… where do you all stand on this one? Are you with Jack and say change the past if you can, or are you with Kate and say leave things the way they are? It’s an interesting debate, one that as yet has no right or wrong answer that we know of for certain. Of course, the debate gets way more intense, but I’ll get to that in a minute.

—Young Ellie entered the tent and promised to believe everything that Jack and Kate had to say. She told them she recalled meeting Daniel in 1954 when he told he to bury a leaking atomic bomb, and that she just shot that same man who was still the same age. She told the pair that Daniel and told her with his dying breath he was her son and that she recognized her handwriting in his journal. Jack told Eloise that they were from the future and that if they followed Daniel’s journal and plan that he could make it so Ellie never shot her son and none of this would ever have happened. Ellie asked Kate if Jack was right, to which she replied “He thinks he is.” Ellie promptly untied Jack and Kate and brought them outside, where Whidmore was kneeling over Daniel’s body wondering why he looked so familiar. Ellie told a shocked Richard that they were going to take Jack and Kate to the buried bomb. While Ellie was preparing to leave, Richard told Jack and Kate that the man with Ellie was Charles Whidmore and that Charles and Ellie had a complicated relationship. The looks on Jack’s and Kate’s faces were just priceless right here. I think they put two and two together rather quickly and realized that Daniel was Whidmore’s son. Now, you’d think that that simple fact would give Jack pause and question Daniel’s plan, but nope… he’s still dead set on going through with it. I’m still standing with Kate here. Daniel was losing his mind, is the son of a madman and potential crazy woman and wants to erase thirty odd years of history on a whim. This really doesn’t seem like a good idea to me….

—Side track to the Dharma compound where Sawyer was getting the hell pounded out of him by Radzinsky. Radzinsky wanted to know who Kate was and where she took young Ben, but Sawyer wouldn’t talk. Horace tried to stop Radzinsky but just didn’t have the stones to take charge. Radzinsky proclaimed himself the one in charge now and Phil stepped up the interrogation by beating Juliet. Another Dharma employee entered the room and showed Radzinsky the doctored sub list with Jack, Kate and Hurley’s names added to it. Now the search was on for Hurley, who was busy stealing food and getting out of the compound to meet up with Jin and Miles. Little did Hurley know that Dr. Chang had followed him and confronted the trio about being from the future. When Hurley couldn’t answer simple questions about 1977 (hilarious scene, BTW) he admitted they were all from the future. Dr. Chang asked Miles if he really was his son, and Miles finally admitted he was. Dr. Chang wanted to know if Daniel had been right about the pending accident at The Swan, to which Miles replied that Daniel had been right about everything else so far, so if Daniel said to evacuate then Chang should do it. I definitely have to agree with this. It was right for the trio to admit who they were and to tell Dr. Chang to evacuate the island. Hey, it’s better to be safe than sorry, right? Miles especially has a vested interest in this - if he doesn’t get Chang to evacuate his mother and his baby self his baby self might die in the pending Swan explosion. Then again, if Daniel was right the first time and you can’t actually change the past Miles will be okay no matter what. It’s an interesting dilemma we have here right now - which theory of Daniel’s should be believe? If his first theory is correct and you can’t change the past, then everything Jack is doing to set off the bomb was supposed to happen and won’t change a thing. If Daniel’s second theory is correct then Jack may be about the blow up the island and Miles better hope that Dr. Chang can get as many people off it as he can. Everything hangs on which of Daniel’s theories is right… and we the viewer have no freaking idea. Brilliant.

—Chang burst into the interrogation room and told everyone that all the women and children needed to be gotten off the island on the sub and the drilling at The Swan needed to stop immeidately. Radzinsky tried to butt heads with Chang, but Sawyer said that Chang was right and if Radzinsky agreed to evacuate everyone - including him and Juilet - he would tell them anything they wanted to know. Radzinsky demanded a map to The Others and Sawyer started to draw one. That’s Sawyer for you - always looking out for as many people as he can. I do so love him. This was really his only play here. He had to make sure the people got off the island and there was simply no way to talk himself and Juliet out of this situation. Getting off the island themselves was the only play he had.

—Back to Kate, Jack, Ellie and Richard in the jungle. They reached a pool where Ellie told the group they’d have to swim through underwater tunnels to get to the bomb. Kate finally lost it and told everyone this idea was insane and she wouldn’t be a part of it. One of Ellie’s men pulled a gun on Kate, but two shots rang out from the jungle and Ellie’s man went down. It was Sayid, who had been hiding in the jungle watching. Jack explained the plan to change the future to Sayid, who in turn told Jack he had already changed the future by killing young Ben. Kate dropped the bomb on Sayid that Ben was alive and that she had saved him. Sayid asked why she had done that while Jack started expounding about destiny and changing the world. Kate exploded, saying Jack sounded crazy just like someone she didn’t name… but we all know she meant Daniel. She said that even Jack had thought he (Daniel) was crazy and now he was acting just like him and so was Sayid. Jack said he didn’t think Daniel was crazy anymore, but Kate said she wouldn’t be a part of this and that she was going back to the compound to try and save as many people as she could and to see if the Dharma people could stop Jack. We’re really hitting the split here. I was still firmly with Kate, and Jim was still firmly with Jack. So who’s right? And if Daniel’s first theory was the right one, isn’t all of this supposed to happen anyway?

—As aside here, Jim just came home from a doctor’s appointment and we totally got into a HUUUUGE debate about who is right here, Jack or Kate. Jim summarized it rather well I thought when he put it something like this. If you side with Jack you are saying that free will exists in the world of Lost and that exercising your free will can change things, thus making Daniel’s second theory the right one. If you side with Kate you are saying that most if not all things in the world of Lost are predestined and that nothing you do will alter things, thus making Daniel’s first theory correct. Ben’s actions align with those of Jack as he has exercised his free will to try and do what he thinks is best. On the other hand, Locke’s actions align with Kate’s position as Locke believes in destiny and the will of the island. So… who do you believe more, Ben and Jack or Kate and Locke? The island did choose Locke as its leader, but is that really an endorsement of his position? So the debate really boils down to what you think exists in the world of Lost - free will or destiny. I so fucking love this show - what other show poses such deep questions as this? Okay, back to the show….

— Miles, Jin and Hurley watched from a distance as Chang loaded the sub full of the women and children. Miles watched in amazement as he saw his father berating his mother, ordering her away from him and the island. Well, now he knows why his mother was so bitter about his father… and that his father had VERY good reasons to do exactly what he did. Will Miles finally be able to come to terms with his father now? The trio watched in amazement as Sawyer and Juliet were escorted to the sub as well, with Hurley saying that Sawyer wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t have a plan. Meanwhile, Sawyer and Juliet talked about starting a new life away from the island. Sawyer joked about being free and betting on the Cowboys in the ‘78 Superbowl. He said good riddance to the island and boarded the sub, and he and Juliet exchanged some passionate looks and said they loved each other. And then… Kate was pushed into the sub by one of Radzinsky’s men. The look on Juliet’s face said more than a dozen pages of dialogue could have. There was pain, sadness, anger, loss, betrayal, resignation… everything crossed her face as she stared at Sawyer. Meanwhile, Sawyer couldn’t bear to even look up. The moment he saw Kate he knew all his dreams of a simple life with Juliet just went up in flames, because now he was faced again with the choice between the two loves of his life. And, of course, Kate was oblivious to it all. Just a perfect scene.

—Back to Jack, Sayid, Ellie and Richard, where the three swam their way through to the tunnels, which were obviously lower levels of the temple judging from the hieroglyphics everywhere. Ellie and Richard led Jack to the bomb, which just happens to be right underneath the Dharma compound. Sayid tried to warn Jack not to trust Ellie, as her motives might be just to elimate the Dharma Initiative. Jack said he still trusted her because thirty years from now she would be the one who would get them all back tot he island. The past story ends with the foursome standing around the bomb and Ellie asking Jack “Now what?”. I’d like to know that one too, Ellie… I surely would.

—Alright, time for a jaunt to 2009, where we enter at a compound full of tents and people. A woman came rushing up to Richard and said “He’s here.” And here Locke was indeed, carrying a board he’d killed for dinner nonetheless. Richard told Locke there was something different about him now, and Locke replied that he now had a purpose. Ben and Sun wandered onto the beach behind Locke. Richard asked Locke what Ben was doing here and Locke told him that Ben had helped Locke get back to the island. Meanwhile, Ben told Sun that Richard was like “an adviser” to The Others and that he had been there for a very, very long time. Well, if that isn’t an understatement I don’t know what is. Sun rushed up to Richard and pulled out the photo of “The Class of ‘77”, asking Richard if he had been on the island in 1977 and if he remembered Jin. Richard got very somber and said yes, he remembered them all well… because he watched them all die. Well, nothing like a nice bomb like that to start off your Lost experience!

—Locke informed Richard that he and Ben were going to be joining Locke on a walk they needed to take right then. The three made off through the jungle, leaving Sun on the beach with The Others. Richard asked Locke where he had been, and Locke said he was going to show him just that… and then he wanted to be taken to Jacob right away. Ben was aghast at that, telling Locke that that wasn’t how it worked. Locke reinforced his new position as leader of The Others and made it VERY clear that what he wanted was going to happen whether Ben or Richard liked it or not. Locke is definitely a man with a mission right now. He seems to know exactly what he needs to do and when he needs to be doing it, and he’s sure having fun pushing Ben’s buttons the whole time.

—Locke led Richard and Ben to the downed heroin plane and told Richard that in about three minutes a man would be stumbling out of the jungle. Locke handed Richard medical supplies and told him exactly what to say to the man, including giving the man his compass and telling him that he would need to die. The man emerged from the jungle exactly as Locke had predicted and an amazed Ben asked Locke who it was. Locke evenly answered that it was him. And so it was - Locke just after he had been shot and time-jumped to the downed plane. Richard entered the clearing and re-enacted the scene we saw before where Richard bandaged Locke’s wound, gave him his compass and told him he’d have to die to get everyone back to the island. Ben was dumbstruck by all of this and asked Locke how he knew this would all be happening right then. Locke replied that the island had spoken to him and told him. Locke, amused at this point, said to Ben “Doesn’t it tell you things?”. Ben never got to answer as Richard returned, saying everything went well. Richard added he was glad that Locke didn’t in fact have to die to return to the island, to which Locke replied that as a matter of fact, he did. D’oh! I don’t think Richard or Ben have a clue what to do with or about Locke at this point. It’s pretty clear he’s here with a mission and knows things, but is what he’s doing the right thing? The island gave him authority, but is Locke exercising that authority correctly? Just like with Jack and Kate, there’s no way for us to really know at this point.

—The trio made their way back to the beach whereupon Locke declared that he wanted to be taken to see Jacob right then, and that he was taking the whole tribe of Others with them. As Locke began to round up the troops, Richard told Ben that he thought Locke was going to be trouble. Ben replied dryly “Why do you think I tried to kill him?” Hmmm… that’s interesting. Maybe Ben really didn’t think the island would bring Locke back to life. Maybe he thought he was getting rid of this troublesome party once and for all, only to find himself forced to do his every bidding. And if Ben really did kill Locke with the intention of Locke staying dead and that he wasn’t judged on that action by the island, did the island approve of that motive? Lots of interesting stuff to think about….

—Locke gave an impassioned speech to The Others saying that they had led their lives being led by a man called Jacob… yet no one had ever seen him. He said that if they were to be taking ordered from Jacob then everyone had a right to see him and know who this person really was. Locke assured Sun that Jacob would know how to reunite her with Jin and began to lead a pilgrimage across the beach towards Jacob. Ben caught up with Locke to let him know that Richard was having concerns about Locke and this trip to confront Jacob. Locke thanked Ben for bringing this to his attention… as if he didn’t already know. Ben told Locke that he could help Locke in trying to reunite him with his people. And that’s when Locke dropped the big bomb - he wasn’t going to see Jacob to become reunited with his people. He was going there to kill Jacob. Ben stopped dead in his tracks, mouth agape as Locke soldiered on across the beach. Is Locke really going to try and kill Jacob? Hell… could he even if that was his true intention? Or is it his true intention at all? Is he just saying that to test Ben’s loyalty? What is Locke hiding and what does he really know?

Well… if that isn’t enough rambling for today I don’t know what is. A whole lot of food for thought here, and with next week being the two hour season finale there’s a lot to digest before we take that final plunge of the season. So… floor’s open! Who do *you* side with, Kate or Jack? Is Locke really going to try and kill Jacob? Free will or destiny? I want to hear all your thoughts, so bring it on!