The Island was not purgatory for the castaways, Lindelof and Cuse kept assuring fans, since about Season 3, when that theory came up. The Island is a real place, and all events there are real in the context of the story.
But that did not mean that L & C couldn't put purgatory, or a place like it, somewhere else in the Losties' world. And it didn't have to look like a bleak or dark place, a void without any tangible rooms, structures, outdoors, what have you. Sideways Los Angeles, as a stepping stone to The Light, heaven, nirvana, etc., would do for them. It looks like a city, has cars and buildings and jets like a city, makes noise like a city. But it isn't really a city, not the physical Los Angeles, California, but a fantasy version of it, a Matrix-like world that the Losties somehow built for themselves. So says Christian Shephard, living up to his name, as he guides his son to his friends to The Light.
The castaways really did go through the six seasons of convoluted struggle on the Island. And due to Jack, Desmond, Hurley, and a redeemed Ben, it did not make a voyage to the bottom of the sea, as shown in the first scene of "LA X."
Presumably, it is still there, with Hurley as the new Jacob, and Ben as the new Richard. There also appears to be no new Smoke Monster. Rose and Bernard are still there, with Vincent, and maybe Cindy the flight attendant and those two kids.
But we still don't have answers to all the Lost Mysteries (though some might be addressed on the Season 6 DVD/Blu-ray sets to be released in August).
"The End" was a heavy-duty tearjerker, with its multiple reunions and awakenings of characters to their Island memories. I found it a frustrating but strong finale, with all actors expending maximum effort, even as the show drifted full tilt into the spiritualism that L & C pondered all season long.
You had a sacrifice in the style of Jesus -- Jack going down to the Cave of Wonders to plug up the Island "drain," knowing he was going to die. He was beaten and stabbed in the side of his belly, like Jesus was at the hands of soldiers, but in this case by the Man in Black.
Other rituals were baptism (Jack being washed "clean" by the water in the cave's mini-pool once he put the plug/cork back), communion (Jack passing the Island guardianship to Hurley through a drink of water) and confession and absolution (Ben tells Locke he's sorry for killing him, and the latter forgives him and releases him from guilt), and even a kind of rite of marriage, as the Constants all were joined, "two shall be as one," as their memories returned.
And why not throw all subtlety to the wind and set your final scenes in a religious structure and have things expounded by a guy named CHRISTIAN?
The conclusion of Lost will divide fans and be dissected for years to come, just as other gimmicky or frustrating endings have sparked debate. Six years of medical drama inside an autistic boy's head (St. Elsewhere), an eight-year dream of running a New England inn (Newhart), a Mafia don and his family, either enjoying dinner together or all being whacked (The Sopranos), a scientist/physician bouncing around in time never gets home (Quantum Leap). You're always going to have unrest and cries of "What were they thinking?" when show creators throw out artsy-fartsy or twist endings.
The closest thing I can compare Season 6 of Lost to is Jacob's Ladder (1990), starring Tim
Robbins in the title role, and directed by Adrian Lyne (Flashdance, Fatal Attraction). Jacob Singer is serving in Vietnam at the Mekong Delta in the late 1960s, but he is also a veteran living in Brooklyn in 1975 and works for the U.S. Postal Service. Jacob starts to have more and more frightening hallucinations. The movie jumps between Vietnam and NYC, until the end, when it is revealed that the civilian Big Apple life was Jacob's hallucination as he died in Vietnam as a result of being bayoneted by fellow soldier (they had been given psychotropic drugs as an Army experiment).Jacob's dead son (a very young and unknown Macaulay Culkin) comes to him to take up a staircase -- his "ladder" -- up into a bright light. This is much like the castaways, who are exposed to a blazing light as Christian Shephard (John Terry) opens the doors at the back of the church as the episode ends.
I did notice that survivors of the Island escape were at the church -- you saw Kate, Sawyer and Claire. Yet they also flew away on the Ajira jet. There is no "now" in Sideways L.A., as Christian put it. They are alive and dead simultaneously, because the events are not taking place at the same "time."
Put a candle in the window
But I feel I've got to move
Though I'm going, going
I'll be coming home soon
Long as I can see the light
Pack my bag and let's get movin'
'Cause I'm bound to drift a while
Well, I'm gone, gone
You don't have to worry, no
Long as I can see the light
--"Long As I can See the Light," Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1970
Recap Part 1: Artificial Purgatory Sideways L.A.
And Everything Emptying Into White
Christian's casket makes the journey from LAX and to a church, which is the same one where the DHARMA Lamp Post station was located. Images alternate between this artificial world and the Island -- Jack looks at a skull X-ray at St. Sebastian, Jack looks at his hands after washing his face in a jungle river. Ben is in his kitchen at home, Ben is getting ammunition handy while standing behind Smokey. Locke is being prepped for surgery. Sawyer looks at himself in the still cracked mirror in the police station locker room; Sawyer helps Kate tend to her shoulder wound, Kate is wearing the black cocktail dress and sitting in Hurley's Camaro.
Desmond signs for Christian's casket and tells the deliveryman to "take it around to the back."
Kate can't believe the deceased's name is "Christian Shephard." She wants to know why he brought her there.
"No on can tell you why you're here, Kate. Certainly not me."
"You're the one who brought me here."
"I'm not talking about the church. I'm talking about 'here.' "
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"My name is Desmond Hume, and even if you don't realize it, I'm your friend. And as for what I want, I want to leave."
"Leave and go where?"
"Let me show you."
At the Flightline Motel (where Locke met his dad, and Claire stayed in earlier episodes), Hurley is staking out Charlie's apartment. Sayid is with him. Hurley shows Sayid a tranquilizer gun and asks if it rings a bell. It doesn't. "Stick with me, and you'll be happy you did."
Hurley goes to Charlie's room, 102, and reminds him that he has a concert to perform. "What if I told you that playing this show is the most important thing you'll ever do?"
"Sod off," Charlie says. Hurley tranqs the recalcitrant rock star and loads him up in the back of the Hummer.
As Hurley comes to the concert site at the Golden State Museum of Natural History, Miles, who is there as son of the museum director, sees Sayid sitting in the Hummer. He calls James and tells him he just saw the guy who killed four men in cold blood and tells him to go make sure that Sun Paik is safe.
At St. Sebastian, Sun is still in a room recovering. She tells Jin in Korean that she anticipates them always having to be on the run from her father. Her physician enters the room and is Dr. Juliet -- Carlson (maiden name). She understands they don't know English, so she won't say much (at a real L.A. hospital they'd probably have a translator). As Juliet performs an ultrasound, and Sun sees the baby, she FLASHES, and Island memories start pouring back, including their deaths. She gasps. "I remember!" she says.
"Remember what?" Jin says. He looks at the the ultrasound image, and he FLASHES too, with images of the freighter blowing up, their reunion at the beach.
Juliet tells them the baby is perfectly fine, and she has gotten back the amniocentesis report. Do they want to know if it's a boy or a girl?
"It's a girl," Sun suddenly says in English.
"Her name is Ji-Yeon," Jin also says in English.
Jack stops by Locke just before he goes under anesthesia, and he says to call him "John." Jack assures him the surgery will work. He mentions his dad's casket was found, and "I'll see you on the other side ... If I can fix you, that's all the peace I need."
Jack is at the counter of a nurses' station, when Juliet shows up with David. She is his mom! Jack has to go into surgery with John, so he suggests that Juliet can go with Claire, the sister that Juliet never heard of.
As Juliet and David get on the elevator, James is getting off, and he nods at Juliet as he seems to recognize her. He goes to the nurses' station and asks for Sun's records.
At nightfall, Hurley and Sayid are outside a dive bar by a dingy alley. Sayid wants to know why they are there, but Hurley says he's not allowed to tell him.
"There are rules, dude."
"Whose rules?"
"Don't worry about it. Just trust me, okay? I trust you."
When Sayid wants to know why he trusts him, Hurley says he thinks he is a good guy. "You know, a lot of people have told you that you're not. Maybe you've heard it so many times you've started believing it. You can't let other people tell you what you are, dude! You have to decide that for yourself."
Still, Sayid will no believe him, and says he does not know anything about him, but Sayid counters, "I know a lot about you, dude."
A fight breaks out between two men, and one of them is Boone Carlyle. Shannon Rutherford runs out of the bar and yells at the man to leave her brother alone, and he starts to attack her. The man attacks her and Sayid runs over to the fight and punches the aggressor out. As he helps Shannon up, she says his name, and he says hers, and they FLASH to their Island days.
Boone complains about being "pounded," Hurley took forever to get there, and it was a "pain in the ass" to get Shannon back from Australia. "Yeah, but dude, it was worth it." (Boone already had full Island memories, just like Hurley.)
At the museum, Claire, David and Juliet arrive, but Juliet gets a phone call that she must go back to the hospital. Charlotte wakes an unconscious Charlie up in the dressing room, and he sort of recognizes her. Daniel (Faraday) Widmore shows up, and they introduce themselves to each other. There is a slight glimmer of recognition.
Kate, Claire, Desmond and David are all at the same table, number 23 (a Lost Number). Kate recognizes Claire immediately as Dr. Pierre Chang announces the show by Daniel and DriveShaft. It's a mix of classical piano and Charlie and Liam Pace on guitar. As Charlie plays, he looks out into the audience and sees Claire, and a glimmer of recognition begins. Claire gets a contraction and leaves the table to go to the restroom. Kate gets up and follows her.
Eloise comes to table 23 and sits next to Desmond. She knows what is going on, and thought he
was going to stop what was going on. He plans to stop once everyone know what happened in the Island world. Eloise asks for assurance he won't take Daniel, and he says he doesn't plan to take him along.Claire is in serious labor, and Kate is attending her, much like she did on the Island in Season 1. Kate orders Charlie, who has come backstage, to go get water and blankets. As Kate urges Claire to push -- she just seems to know how to do this -- she FLASHES and sees the birth of Aaron on the Island. Claire feels the edge of a FLASH but does not fully until Charlie returns. As these constants look at each other, the FLASH returns both of their sets of memories. He kisses her upon recognition.
Desmond arrives and asks Kate if she understands what is going on. "It's one hour." (Probably before the Island would sink, and one hour before going to the church.)
At St. Sebastian, a nurse compliments Jack on his work on Locke, who is waking up right away, despite being under full anesthesia. Jack tells him not to move yet, but Locke tells him he knows the surgery works and says he feels his legs. He moves his feet, and Locke FLASHES into his Island memories. He asks Jack if he remembers yet, and Jack does not. He tells him he needs to go with him. Jack says he needs to go to his son, to which Locke says, "You don't have a son, Jack. ... I hope someone does for you what you just did for me."
James goes into Sun's room but finds her getting ready to leave. He says he is there to protect her, and Sun says in perfect English that he doesn't have to do that. "I'll see you there," she adds.
"See me where?" a puzzled James says as Sun and Jin depart.
James passes Jack in the hall and asks about the cafeteria, but that is closed, so Jack directs him to a vending machine. He thanks Jack and calls him "doc," perhaps a bit of the Island World creeping in.
James picks an Apollo bar -- reflecting the scene when Jacob visited Jack at the hospital -- and the candy gets stuck. Juliet shows up and asks him what he's doing. James says he's a cop and he's trying to get his candy.
"Maybe you should read the machine its rights," she says.
She tells him that if he unplugs the machine and plugs it back in, the candy bar will just drop out. He does that, and Juliet takes the candy and gives it to him. They briefly FLASH as their hands make contact. James asks her to coffee some time. And she agrees to do it and "go Dutch."
Juliet and James go into full FLASH mode and see everything, up to the Incident. "I had you, I had you, baby," James says, as he recalls holding her at the top of the pit where Jughead sat. They kiss passionately.
Jack arrives at the museum, but Kate tells him that the concert is over. She reminds him that she stole his pen after they left Oceanic 815. She puts her hands on his face, and he starts to FLASH but winces and pulls away. He asks Kate what is happening and who she is, and she says that he will understand if he comes with her.
A cab pulls up beside the church where Christian's casket is, and the driver helps Locke get into his wheelchair. He wheels over to Ben, who sits pensively outside. He tells Locke that most of them are there.
"I'm very sorry for what I did to you, John" Ben says, about strangling him. "I was selfish, jealous. I wanted everything you had."
"What did I have?"
"You were special, Jack, and I wasn't."
"Well, if it helps, Ben, I forgive you."
"Thank you, John. That does help. It matters more than I can say."
Ben says he will stay outside, because he still "has some things I have to work out." As Locke starts to wheel away, Ben reminds him that he doesn't need the chair anymore. Locke gets up and starts walking to the church. They say goodbye.
Hurley comes out and tells Ben that everyone is inside, but Ben still will not come in. "You were a really good number two," Hurley says.
"You were a great number one."
"Thanks, dude. I'll see you."
Kate and Jack come to the church. He recognizes it as the place where they were to have Christian's funeral. She tells him to go around the back to get inside. The rest, she adds, are waiting for him.
Jack goes into the back room, which appears to be office and storage and has multiple religious objects there -- a cross, rosary, menorah, figure of the Hindu god Ganesh, etc. A stained glass window contains symbols of the world's major religions: cross (Christianity), crescent moon and star (Islam), Star of David (Judaism), Om character (Hinduism), yin yang (Taoism) and a wheel (Buddhism). [Other recappers wondered if this referred to the donkey wheel, but here I believe the wheel means Buddhism.]
Jack sees his dad's casket and places his hand on it. He FLASHES and finally, finally, gets his Island memories! The last ones show him with Kate, which means the "Skaters" win and rejoice! He opens the casket, only to find it empty. A voice says, "Hey, kiddo."
It's his dad, and upon realizing Christian is dead, Jack knows he has died, too. He starts to cry, and Christian offers comfort. Jack asks if anything is real.
"You're real, everything that's ever happened to you is real. All those people in the church, they're all real, too."
"They're all dead?"
"Everyone dies sometime, kiddo. Some of them before you, some long after you."
"Then why are they all here now?"
"Well ... there is no 'now' here."
Jack is overwhelmed, still trying to sort things out. "Where are we, Dad?"
"This is the place that you all made together, so that you could find one another. The most important part of your life was the time that you spend with these people. That's why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you."
"For what?"
"To remember -- and, to let go."
"
Kate -- she said we were leaving.""Not leaving, no -- moving on."
"Where are we going?"
"Let's go find out."
As they go into the sanctuary, Jack sees all kinds of embracing and reunions taking place. Jack shares embraces with all his friends and takes a seat at the front of the church. The constants are all with each other -- Penny and Desmond, Charlie and Claire with baby Aaron, Sun and Jin, Rose and Bernard, Juliet and Sawyer (Team Suliet members, say "hurrah!"). Locke is alone but quietly content.
[Missing: Eko, Michael, Walt, Cindy the flight attendant and the two kids she was watching, Richard, Ana Lucia, Vincent.]
Christian walks to the back of the church and opens the doors. A blindingly bright light enters and bathes all of the people in it..
Recap, Part 2: The Real Island
And When I Die
Sawyer and Kate see Jack looking over a pond and into the jungle. Jack says he doesn't feel any different. Sawyer says, "How about you come down off the mountaintop and tell us what the burning bush had to say for itself."
Jack explains that they have to go the place just beyond the bamboo field to the Cave of Wonders and protect it, so the Smoke Man can't put it out and destroy Everything. They also must find Desmond and keep Smokey from getting him. The lack of specific strategy or suggestions causes Hurley to muse that Jacob is "worse than Yoda."
They decide to split up. "Y'all head to heart of the Island," Sawyer tells Jack, Kate and Hurley, "and I'll go get the magic leprechaun out of that well."
Kate and Sawyer flirt a bit, and Hurley goes the Star Wars route again: "I've got a bad feeling about this."
While walking through the jungle for about the millionth time, Jack tells Kate he took the Guardian job because he had to do it, and it was the only thing he had not ruined. Kate disagrees and says, "Nothing is irreversible."
"This would be so sweet if we weren't about to die," Hurley says.
Sawyer approaches the well and finds it empty, only to be caught at gunpoint by Ben. Smokey appears and asks why Sawyer is there, and he says he heard Desmond was there. "I guess someone beat us both to the punch. Oh, well."
Smokey says that he plans to use Desmond to sink the Island and watch its demise from his boat. He invites Sawyer to come with him, but he turns him down. Sawyer strikes Ben, grabs his rifle and runs away. Smokey notices an animal track near the well and quickly deduces it belongs to a dog.
And his name is Vincent. The dog wakes Desmond up, and he's at Rose and Bernard Nadler's Cozy Jungle Haven. Rose sends Bernard out to get some food for breakfast.
Rose says they built the house in 1975, lived there a couple years, and the sky lit up agian. "Only God knows when it is now." She says she broke their rule of not getting involved by rescuing Desmond.
As Bernard comes back from checking their fish traps, he apologizes as Smokey strides into the front yard. He threatens to hurt Rose and Bernard, to make it hurt, if Desmond does not come along. Rose tells Desmond to defy the monster, but he promises to go with Smokey if he will never touch the couple again, so he agrees.
As they walk through the jungle, there is the sound of static. Ben assures Smokey that it's nothing. Desmond says he knows they are going to a place with very bright light.
The static was Miles, who is trying to contact Ben on the walkie talkie he took. [Ben is doing the Severus Snape thing -- pretending to help the bad guy while still secretly supporting the heroes.] He finds Richard, who is dazed and can't remember the assault by Smokey in the New Otherton ruins. He still wants to take the C4 to Hydra Island and blow up the jet so Smokey can't escape.
Sawyer goes back to Jack and tells him that he found Locke, and the creature is going to try to destroy the Island. Jack says they are all going to the same place, and "then it ends."
At the dock near New Otherton, Richard and Miles get an outrigger ready to go to Hydra. Miles leans over and says, "Welcome to the club." He plucks a hair out of Richard's head. "Looks like you got your first gray hair." Richard smiles and tells Miles that he just realized he wants to live.
As they paddle toward Hydra, you get the feeling that someone might shoot at them, as shown during the time jumping last season. But no, the only dramatic thing is the discovery of a dead body and submarine wreckage. The corpse is the sub commander.
A voice yells for help, and it's Frank Lapidus, clinging to some flotsam! They get him aboard and tell him they're going blow up the plane.
"Well, if we leave, then that thing won't have a plane anymore," Chesty tells them.
"And how do we going to that?" Richard says.
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm a pilot."
The Final Showdown of Opponents, as Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley meet Smokey and Ben in a great, rolling meadow. At first sight, Kate shoots at Ben and Desmond, who duck, and Smokey, who keeps walking toward them and says to her, "You might want to save your bullets."
Jack tells Smokey that he volunteered to replace Jacob, and he can't stop him from going to the Heart of the Island, so he wants to go with him.
"You think that you're going to destroy the Island. ... That's not what's going to happen."
"Then what's going to happen, Jack?"
"I'm going to kill you."
"How you plan to do that?"
"That's a surprise."
"Okay, let's get on with it."
As they head to the Cave of Wonders, Sawyer asks if Desmond was bait to draw them, and Jack says no, he is a weapon. "That's a hell of a long con, doc," Sawyer says.
Thunder rumbles overhead as they approach the bamboo field and the Cave of Wonders. "Going to be a bad one," he says of the storm, and perhaps of the Island's demise?
A rope is tied to Desmond, and another end to a stout tree. They all go into the Cave of Wonders, with no ill effect. Des is more than willing to go, telling them that he'll go on to a place where there is someone he loves, and he'll never have to deal with the Island again. He tells Jack that he could try and find a way to bring him over to that place, too.
Jack disagrees. "There are no short cuts, no do overs. What happened, happened. Trust me, I know. All of this matters."
As they lower Desmond into the pit, the Smoke Man asks Jack if it reminds him of another subterranean place: the Swan, where there was a fight over whether or not to push the button. It's just like old times, he says.
"You're not John Locke," Jack says. "You disrespect his memory by wearing his face. He was right about everything. I just wish I could have told him that when he was alive."
"He wasn't right about anything, and when this island drops into the ocean, and you drop with it, you're finally going to realize that."
"Well, we'll just have to which one of us is right, then."
Inside the Cave of Wonders is a seemingly bottomless pit with a waterfall on one side. Desmond reaches the bottom of this chasm. He sees skeletons of those who came before him. He finds a kind of room that mixes natural rock formations in fantastic shapes with carvings of an ancient civilization. There are four different conduits in a row, as if to carry water somewhere else (the Temple and its pool?), and a pool full of golden, glowing light in the center.
Ben tries to contact Miles on the walkie talkie and urges them not to blow up the jet. Miles says he already knows that, and that Frank is going to get the plane going. Their talk is suddenly interrupted by Bad Hair Claire, who emerges from the jungle and shoots at Miles, Richard and Frank. Richard calms her and tries to get her to come with them, but she resolutely refuses.
In the cave, Desmond steps into the pool, and the water churns as a rumbling and shaking commences. It gets worse as he goes toward a carved stone plug -- or cork? -- and pulls it out of a hole in the pool's center. The water all drains out, and a great light shoots out of the how and glows like the inside of a volcano. Or like that electromagnetic blast in Widmore's shack.
"No! No!" he screams, as the energy and the whole world seem to come apart.
Higher up, Smokey says, "Looks like you were wrong. Goodbye, Jack." As the ground rumbles like an earthquake, and boulders tumble. Smokey dashes out of the cave. Jack comes out and attacks him, punching him in the mouth. And ... the rules have changed. The Smoke Man is mortal now, and he's bleeding from his mouth!
"Looks like you were wrong, too," Jack says as he tries to choke him. Smokey grabs a rock, knocks Jack out and leaves.
The tremor rocks the earth, and Kate dodges a tree, but another one falls on top of Ben. Hurley, Sawyer and Kate pull it off him. At the cave, Jack wakes up and calls down to Desmond, who doesn't answer.
Sawyer complains that "Flocke" was right, and the Island is going down. Miles calls them and tells them to come to Hydra, because Lapidus is readying the plane. Frank tells Miles that he needs five or six hours to inspect electronic and hydraulic systems, and Miles delivers the bleak news -- he has maybe one hour.
Sawyer is frustrated and asks how they could get there. Ben says Locke has a boat -- Desmond's old vessel, the Elizabeth.
As they start toward the boat, Smokey is there at the cliffs near Jacob's cave, looking out at the boat. Jack approaches him, Smokey takes out his knife, and they both charge at each other great bounds, like superhero and supervillian about to collide.
Jack scores a punch on Smokey and starts to choke him again, but the monster turns the tables and makes Jack his punching bag. A part of the cliff collapses into the sea just in front of them. Smokey stabs Jack in the gut and is about to cut his throat.
"I want you to know, Jack, you died for nothing." The knife makes a shallow cut on Jack's neck ... right at where Sideways Jack keeps having a bleeding wound.A shot rings out, and Smokey drops to the ground. Kate lowers her rifle and says, "I saved you a bullet!"
"You're too late," Smokey says.
Jack kicks the monster off the cliff, and he falls down and lands on another one close to the sea. Dr. Frankenstein, it's not alive!
Kate looks at Jack's abdominal wound and declares it pretty serious. "Find me some thread, and I can count to five," he says, saying the line in the pilot episode where he told her how he got over being afraid of giving stitches. As Sawyer arrives, Kate tells him Smokey is dead, and everything is over.
A tremor knocks them all down. "Sure don't feel like it's over!" Sawyer says.
On Hydra Island, Frank finds a problem with one of the landing gear, and he sends Miles -- whose mechanical experience was two summers with a contractor -- with some tools and duct tape to fix it.
Sawyer and Kate decide to take the Elizabeth to Hydra, and Hurley, who can't and won't climb high cliffs or the ladders clinging to them, will stay with Jack. Ben says he'll go down with the Island, if it does go down.
Jack orders Kate to convince Claire to get on the plane, and thus fulfill her reason for coming to the Island. "Tell me I'll see you again," she says, and Jack says nothing, but they kiss (Jaters, rejoice). She and Sawyer realize the only way get to the Elizabeth is to jump into the ocean, so down they go.
Miles labors over the landing gear at Hydra. "I don't believe in a lot of things," he says as he tapes up the wheel, "but I do believe in duct tape."
Frank gets the plane to start and says that they have power only enough for that. As the engines hum, he says, "That, my friends, is pure music."
Returning to the Cave of Wonders, Jack tells Hurley and Ben he will go alone. He will be a sacrifice. He tells Hurley the Island needs him, and urges him to take over the Guardian's job. Hurley agrees only if Jack will go down into the light, come back, and then return the position to Jack. They do the water ritual, with Hurley drinking out of an old, leftover Oceanic bottle.
"Now you're like me," he tells Hugo.
In the Luminous Pool Chamber, Jack finds an unconscious Desmond. The Scot wakes up and is upset that he didn't cross into Sideways World. Jack ties the rope around him and tells him to go home to his wife and son.
"What about you, Jack?"
"See you in another life, brother," Jack says, and smiles.
Kate goes to Claire, who is on the beach. She is still hung up and how the Island made her crazy, and she does not want Aaron to see her like this. (She confessed about the same thing to Smokey). Kate says that Claire will not be alone, and the first time being a mother isn't always easy. She will help her. Claire finally agrees to go.
Sawyer tries to contact Frank, but the walkie talkie is out of earshot. They decide to make a run for the jet. Frank has backed up the jet as if it were a Buick in a parking lot and is now taxiing down the Hydra runway, when he is stunned to see Claire, Sawyer and Kate running toward the plane. In a dramatic Run Along the Vehicle and Hop On at the Last Minute Rush, everyone is pulled aboard.
"Way to wait till the last second!" Miles says.
"Nice to see you too, Enos!" Sawyer retorts.
In the cave, the walls are cracking, rocks are falling, and fire and hellish, lava-like glow are coming from the Island drain. Jack, with all that is in him, heaves the stone drain plug over to the fiery hole and jams it home. The rumbling ends, and water starts to flow back into the pool. With relief, Jack falls down and cries bittersweet tears as the water rises around him. (The light dappled pool is like its larger counterpart in the Temple.)
"He did it. The light's back on," Ben says. Hurley and Ben pull the rope up, only to find the person on the other end is Desmond. Hurley calls out to Jack, but no one responds.
Ben carries Desmond to a clearing, lays him down, and says he will be okay. As Ben confirms that Jack is dead, Hurley has his second great sob (the first being after Jin and Sun's departure from that veil of tears). Hurley is confused and doesn't know what to do as guardian. Ben suggests that maybe Hurley could find a way to send Desmond off the Island. Hurley says he thought people couldn't leave the Island, but Ben says that was what Jacob did.
In other words, Hurley can make up his own new rules: it's his game!
Hurley says he needs someone with experience and asks Ben to be his number two. Ben says he would be honored. Hugo Reyes, the new Jacob. Benjamin Linus, the new Richard.
Jack -- still alive! -- wakes up outside the cave. His face and clothing bloody, the exhausted former Guardian walks until he stumbles into the bamboo field, where his Path of Learning began. He falls to the ground, satisfied at the outcome of things, and he is ready to die. Mirroring the very first scene, Vincent emerges from the jungle. He runs toward Jack and lies down next to him.
As Jack gazes skyward, the Ajira jet roars overhead, taking Miles, Sawyer, Kate, Claire, Frank and Richard to a place called home. He smiles, knowing they've left, and he can see into the reunion in the Sideways world. The last shot is Jack's eye in closeup as it slowly closes.
A fade to black with LOST title card, with no booming sound, and silent end credits showing the abandoned remains of Oceanic 815 on the shore. J.J. Abrams' little scarlet Bad Robot shows up, but no kid voice says "Bad Robot." A requiem, quietly, for all who have given their lives. While Lost.
And when I die
Ad when I'm dead, dead and gone
There'll be one child born
And a world to carry on, to carry on
I'm not scared of dying
And I don't really care
If it's peace you find in dying
Well, then let the time be near
If it's peace you find in dying
When dying time is here
Just bundle up my coffin
'Cause it's cold way down there
I hear that's it's cold way down there,
Yeah, crazy cold way down there
And when I die
And when I'm gone
There'll be one child born
And a world to carry on, to carry on
My troubles are many
They're as deep as a well
I can swear there ain't no heaven
But I pray there ain't no hell
Swear there ain't no heaven
And pray there ain't no hell
But I'll never know by living
Oonly my dying will tell
Only my dying will tell
Yeah, only my dying will tell
--"And When I Die," Laura Nyro, 1967
[Photos: ABC; lost-media.com]
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