SEASON 2, Episode 23 (Finale): "Live Together, Die Alone"

Isn't it ironic that there were 23 episodes in the season? "23!" One of the NUMBERS, the significance of the 23rd Psalm...boy these writers sure have everything planned out, don't they?!
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Title: " Live Together Die Alone" - this comment has been made several times, on this episode it was by Jack to Michael. Jack also said this to Kate in the 1st season finale (last year) when she took off to go into the hatch with Locke.

LIBBY
So we see Libby again. Only we find out that Libby = Elizabeth. Her husband has just died. His name was named David. Possibly her husband is the same "Dave" that was Hurley's imaginary friend in the mental institution? I think it's safe to say she ended up in the mental institution because of her husband's death. Maybe her and Hurley had some kind of psychological "connection" where they both were able to "see" Dave? So now she is tied not only to Hurley but also to Desmond. She gave Desmond her husband's boat that was named after her, "Elizabeth." Notice towards the end that when Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sawyer got hit by the poison darts there were whispers in the wind. The whispers said "Elizabeth"

DESMOND
Desmond, meanwhile, is in love with Penny Widmore. Her father does not approve of him and tries to buy him off. He tells her she is getting married. However after he trains for his race around the world she finds him at the track (where he ultimately meets Jack). She tells him that with money and determination you can track down anybody. We also learn that the race around the world is sponsored by her father, Widmore. Remember Widmore Labs from Charlie's flashback? Also Widmore was on the pregnancy test that Sun took. And Widmore was also written on the side of the balloon that the "real" Henry Gale crashed. (click picture below to enlarge). Is this Widmore guy connected with Dharma somehow? He certainly has the money to fund it...




We do find out more about Desmond and how he came to the island. Notice that the interactions that Kelvin made with him at first was the same thing that he later on did with Locke when he came to the hatch (asking him "Are you him?" then asking the joke "What did one snowman say to the other snowman," and when asked why he is punching in the numbers he replies with "just saving the world."

KELVIN
So, Kelvin gets Desmond to believe in the "sickness" and to believe that he must push the button, take the injections every 9 days, and never leave the hatch. He shows him the film and he is fascinated with it (just like Locke was). We also learn that Radzinski (Kelvin's first partner in the hatch) was the one who started the black light map. He also was the one who "edited" the Orientation video. Why did he do this? What did he not want other people to know about that video? Kelvin tells Desmond that Radzinski killed himself. Was he telling the truth? Desmond told Locke that Kelvin died, he did not mention that he in fact was the one who killed him. Maybe Kelvin killed his partner as well. This would go along with my theory that the "sickness" is not in fact any kind of medical sickness, but a delirieum that causes people to go crazy and kill one another (like how Danielle killed the members of her team). We also see that Kelvin does not believe in the "sickness" himself. He does not even wear the protective covering after he leaves the hatch. Perhaps HE was the one who wrote Quarantine on the inside of the hatch door, to make Desmond believe he could never leave.

Another little connection...KELVIN was the American General in Sayid's flashback. In tonight's episode he referred to himself as a "spook." In Sayid's flashback episode, he was the spook for the CIA and was the one who taught Sayid how to torture people.

PUSHING THE BUTTON
So it turns out they DID have to push the button. It was not a "psychological" experiment as Locke began to believe. We come to find out that there is a buildup of electromagnetism and pushing the button recharges it. The one time that Desmond failed to push it in time, there was a "System Failure" which apparently caused Oceanic Flight 815 to be "pulled" down. After Eko fails to get into the hatch, Locke lets the ticker get to zero without pushing it. We see what happens when the electromagnetic forces go crazy.

This also explains the "healing powers" of the island. As the faith healer told Rose, there are certain places on the earth where magnetic energy is built up. This has enabled both Rose and Locke to be "healed" of their sicknesses.

THE INCIDENT
What was the "Incident" talked about in the Orientation film. Was it an incident caused by not pushing the button? We saw what happened when the button was not pushed, and the extent of damage which could be done. Eko used dynamite to try and open the hatch door yet it didn't budge. However once they stopped pushing the button, the magnetic field went out of whack, and blew up the hatch door all the way to the beach. Was this prior "incident" something similar? (Perhaps this is how Dr. Marvin Candle lost his arm?)

WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?
Okay, so we learn that Henry Gale is in fact the "leader" of the Others (atleast he appears to be the one in charge). We also learn that "Zeke's" real name is Tom. (this is the 4th Tom we have seen - Kate's childhood friend, the "fake" name of Jack's dad, and Claire's boyfriend). However, we still don't really know WHO these "Others" are or what they are doing. Henry Gale tells Michael that they are "the good guys." This implies that there are also "bad guys" that they are perhaps in conflict with. I think there are two sets of "Others" on the island, and Henry thinks of his group as the good ones. Maybe his group is separate from the Dharma group. Because when he was in the hatch, he apparently did not know what would happen when the button was not pushed. He lied to Locke and told him he did not push the button. It seems his people wanted to know more about the hatch and what it's purpose was which is why he came to "infiltrate" them. But he obviously didn't know what the real meaning of the button was. Maybe Henry's group is also part of the "experiment" of the real Dharma Initiative.

THE LIST
So we know that the Others wanted Kate, Jack, Sawyer and Hurley. Then they let Hurley go. Why did they not want him? Did he prove himself unworthy of something after being captured? Also, why did the Others plan this whole scheme for Michael to bring back the four of them, in exchange for their beloved Walt nonetheless, when they could have just taken them when they surrounded them in the woods. However they chose to let them go. Remember they already had Kate captured. Why did they let them go if they wanted them in the first place? Maybe they wanted Jack, Kate and Sawyer in an attempt to have them join their group, if they are in fact at "war" with another group of Others (as I mentioned as a possible theory above) and they know that those three will go to war. They could have sent Hurley back because they know he's useless when it comes to fighting a war.

BAD TWIN
Last week we saw that Sawyer was reading a manuscript called "Bad Twin." Supposedly this manuscript is about the Widmore family. It's a book about a rich man, Charles Widmore, and his two twin sons, Cliff and Alexander, and his daughter Penelope (Penny).

Notice that at the end when the Others were on the dock holding the guns to Jack, Kate and Sawyer, there were two twin men pointing their guns (the bad twins?) These twins were also on the boat when they took Walt.

FREE AT LAST
So, Henry Gale lives up to his word and lets Michael and Walt free. Or so we think. He gives Michael a compass and gives him navigational points. However we know that compasses do not work on the island because of the magnetic field so wouldn't Henry know this when he gave it to him? He tells him to go to these coordations and they would find rescue. However they are in a tiny little boat in the middle of the ocean. Henry knows the coordinates and where they will be, so perhaps he will go out there and get them. I really don't think he would just give up Walt that easily. They may have "brainwashed" Walt into leaving Michael to get rid of him entirely. They clearly don't want him (michael). They tested his blood and probably saw that he is not "special" like Walt is so they want to get rid of him. They are putting Walt to a test by letting them go.

THE LOOK
Jack and Kate gave eachother a "look" just before the sacks are placed over their heads at the very end. Almost like they have a plan. Are they going to try to overtake them? Jack always seems to have a backup plan (like he had the plan with Sayid but didn't tell the rest of them) - so he may have formed a plan with Kate. They had to have known they were going to get "taken" so I'm sure they have some scheme to try and overtake them.

WE FOUND IT
So two men who appear to be Russian or Portuguese or something and are way out in the middle of the Antarctic have tracked down the magnetic field that they have been searching for. They indicated that this was not the first time they saw the signal, but that in previous instances they "lost" it. Did they find the same signal on the day of the plane crash? Was Penny Widmore looking for Desmond? She said she would find him again. (remember she said with money and determination you can track down anyone) - maybe she was tracking his sailboat? Tracking the GPS system on his boat...now that the electromagnetic source is down, it can be detected. I don't know...this was very confusing to me. I don't know if she was looking for HIM or for something else. If her father has something to do with Dharma (he could be "Alvar Hanso" - the man who gave all the money for the Dharma Initiative) - and she could have found out about the electromagnetic testing so she hired those guys to look for it. I just don't know, this is definitely a mystery. This is definitely going to be the focus of season 3. It is weird because for the first time, we see life outside the island but in the present time. Everything has always been in flashbacks. We finally see what is going on in the present time.

Very interesting!!!! Now we have to wait four months..... (ha ha, 4 - get it? :)