Season 4, Episode 13-SEASON FINALE: "There's No Place Like Home," part 2

TOP TEN THINGS FROM THE SEASON FINALE. (these probably aren't truly in my "top ten" order, but I wanted to do something fun and different for my season finale post, since I know I made you guys wait a few days for this one!)



10. We finally see the last Dharma station.

So we are introduced to a new station, which is the sixth and last of all the Dharma stations there on the island. So far we have seen The Swan (the underground hatch), The Arrow (where the tailies lived), The Pearl (the tv/monitoring station), The Looking Glass (underwater), The Staff (medical) and ... now and this one is called The Orchid. The orchid is actually a greenhouse, with a station down below it, DEEP below it, as we find out. This is where The Vault is. Of course, we get another Orientation video, as we have seen from the other stations. In the video, we see the same "doctor" who has conducted all of the orientation videos, although he always uses a different name (Dr. Marvin Candle, Dr. Mark Wickman), and now he uses the name Dr. Edgar Halliwax. He explains that the vault is constructed next to a pocket of negatively charged exotic matter. This would explain more about the electromagnetic energy on the island (the plane coming down, the hatch blowing up, etc.) and he also mentions that electromagnetic energy can be very unpredictable. He is holding a lab rabbit (marked #15) which he says he is going to send into the future. At this point the tape starts mysteriously rewinding and Locke doesn't get to see the end of it. But Ben confirms that he was talking about "time traveling bunnies."

9. Christian Shephard makes an appearance.

Just before the bomb is about to go off, Christian Shepherd shows up in the freighter cabin with Michael and tells him "You can go now, Michael." WHAT? This was actually the one part of the finale that frustrated me the most. It made me mad because I wanted to see more with Christian. I had three questions going into tonight's episode (1. Who was in the coffin? Answered. 2) How they got off the island? Answered. And 3) What happened with Christian Shephard and Claire? And we get NOTHING!) As soon as I saw him show up with Michael on the freighter, I thought, okay we're going to get some answers here, but then nothing (or should I say say, then...BOOM - the freighter explodes.) Although, as soon as he tells Michael that he can go now, I knew that meant he was going to die. As we have seen before, Michael tried to kill himself so many times, but the island would not let him die until he had fulfilled his purpose. Now that he has done everything he needed to, the island was telling him, okay you can go now. Although, to be honest, I'm not really convinced that he fulfilled any purpose? I guess technically yes he was there as Ben's "spy," but he never really redeemed himself for what he had done previously. I thought he was going to save everyone, or figure out a way to help them, but other than helping Ben, he did not really fulfill what I would have imagined the purpose that THE ISLAND wanted him to. But, I'm sure there is still more to see on that. I'm still upset that we didn't get any more info on Christian and what happened with Claire. Why did she so easily leave Aaron and go off with him. Is she dead? Is HE dead? Answers, people....I need answers!!!

8. Penny and Desmond are reunited.

Ahh, I love it. I was so happy that Penny and Desmond found each other again. Now the big question for the next two seasons is going to be whether or not Charles Widmore's involvement with Ben and the island will prove to be a conflict in the fact that his daughter is with a man who just spent several years there and knows the truth about the Oceanic Six. Definitely something more there. But I was so happy that it was her boat and they are back together again!! Yay for true love :)

7. Walt is back.

Finally, the producers figured out a way to bring Walt's character back to the show without having to accommodate for the fact that in real life, he has "grown up" 4 years since the premiere of the show, when he was literally just a kid. Now being able to use him in the flash-forwards, they can incorporate him into the plot again without everyone wondering why all of a sudden he is a grown man. LOL. So, we come to find out that Walt has been visited by Bentham, although he is a little miffed that none of the Oceanic Six ever came to see him. Anyway, knowing how Locke always thought of Walt as a "special" boy, combined with his ability to "see" things, I'm guessing his role is going to be more prominent in the next two seasons, maybe even being brought in under Locke's wing as someone who helps him "lead," as we have seen Locke look to Walt in visions in the past. And surely young Walt is going to deal with the whole guilt/father-issue that all the other characters have dealt with, especially now that Michael is (presumed) dead on the freighter. Walt surely will feel guilty for the way he didn't want to have anything to do with Michael after he told him what he did on the island (killing ana lucia and libby) in order to get them rescued. And now he is dead.


6. Sun's Emmy-award-winning performance.

I have to give it to her. Sun had an amazing performance in this episode! Who else could not help but tear up when she was screaming for Jin as the freighter blew up. I was so sad. I am still trying to come up with some kind of alternative theory in which Jin could still be alive somehow, because in true Lost fashion, we know that anything is possible. Maybe there was some underwater secret passageway that he could have escaped to (that Ben had created for Michael to travel to/from the freighter to the island in his secret missions?) I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway, as I refuse to believe that he is dead. Also, what was Sun's business with Widmore? She says they have common interests and that they both know that "we were not the only ones who came back from the island." I think she is talking about Locke ("Bentham"), who has just recently come back and obviously paid visits to everyone in the Oceanic Six. The question is, why is she working with Widmore now? Remember, she has already told her father that she feels he is one of the TWO people responsible for Jin's death. Maybe she feels that Widmore can help her gain revenge on the other person (Ben? Locke?)


5. Dead people showing up again.

Claire shows up in Kate's "dream" and warns her not to take Aaron back to the island. I do think that Claire really is dead, and that this little visit in the dream was her way of coming to Kate and warning her about not taking him back. As we have seen with several others, dead people always come to pay visits and give people the direction they need (Eko and his brother, Ben (as a boy) and his mother, Jack and his father, Hurley with Charlie - and Mr. Eko!! - and then of course the other sightings of Shannon, Boone, Libby, etc.) - Also if you recall when the phone rang Kate heard the "whispers," which always appear when a dead person is making an appearance. I do think that Claire does die and this is her way of coming to "visit" Kate (in her dreams) to warn her since we know that Jack is going to try and convince everyone to all go back to the island. Claire is very insistant about never taking him back there. (Just like the psychic was insistent that she not raise her child, now she is the one insisting to Kate about his well-being. )

4. Sawyer really is a GOOD guy!

I like Sawyer more and more every season. Talk about someone who has done a complete 180 since we first saw him...always the guy with the attitude, stealing people's things, didn't care about anyone. Now he is willing to give up his life to help save the others on the helicopter so they could make it to safety. Also note the significance of him going from the way he used to be to becoming GOOD (all the references to being a part of "the good ones.") And I just loved when he kissed Kate before jumping off! (I like Sawyer and Kate together so much better than Jack and Kate.) Anyway, he whispers something to her right before he jumps, and if you recall from a flash-forward, Kate is doing something secretive behind Jack's back in the real world, that we assume has something to do with Sawyer. Something that she "promised" him she would do. Just before he jumped, he asked her to do something. I've said this before and I'll say it again, I think it has something to do with Sawyer's child (with Cassidy), that he left all the money for after his last con. Because deep down he does care. So I think that maybe it has something to do with that. I also think that Kate may be able to have some kind of contact with Sawyer while he is still on the island and she is back home. Obviously, in the past, the Others had communication with the "real world" while still on the island, so there could potentially still be a way. I definitely think there is more to the story with Kate and Sawyer and her involvement with helping him even after the Oceanic Six goes back home, especially because she is so secretive about it.

3. We finally find out who is in the coffin.

The man in the coffin is Jeremy Bentham. This is an alias for John Locke. Obviously he could not use his real name since the rest of them had to lie about being the only ones who survived the crash, so he could not come back as John Locke. In real life, Jeremy Bentham is the name of a philosopher (go figure). We also know that before he died, he came to see Jack, Kate, and Walt, (presumably to try and convince them to go back to the island.) Jack said that he last talked to him about a month ago before he died. Sayid also told Hurley that he died, telling him "they said it was suicide, implying that it wasn't really a suicide. After his death, Jack was the only one who made any attempt to be at the funeral. When he asks Kate if she was going to go, she gets upset and says "Why would I go to the funeral?"

As I mentioned at last years' season finale, originally I had assumed it was Locke in the coffin (although we all know I went off on a rampage with all my other "theories" about who it was!) But I guess I learned my lesson to just stick with your gut instinct. What I wrote last year, which is why I first believed it was Locke, is the way that Jack reacted after hearing of his death... He broke down and cried, attempted suicide, yet did not consider this person either friend or family. I think that Jack was so distraught over everything that had happened...everything between him and Locke...Man vs. Science vs. Man of Faith...their ultimate war against each other and forcing the survivors to choose "sides" and who they were going to go with...and then ultimately it was Locke who was right about everything, even though Jack wasn't a believer. Right before he left the island, Locke told Jack he wasn't supposed to leave, that he would regret it, and that he would have to lie, which would cause him deep anguish. He was right. And now that he is dead, of course Jack would be completely distraught and emotional over everything that has happened, especially because he knew that Locke was right all along. He wouldn't listen to him, he didn't believe him, and now this man is gone, and look at the way Jack's life has turned out. So it makes complete sense that Jack would be upset.

2. Ben moves the island?

We saw in a previous flash-forward where Ben wakes up in the Tunisian desert with a fur-rimmed coat on that says Halliwax (which was the "doctor's name from the orientation video in the Orchid station), with a fresh, bleeding wound to the arm. From there he goes off to find Sayid (at Nadia's funeral) and starts his man-hunt for all those who are trying to kill him. So, now in present-day-time, when he puts on that fur-rimmed coat down before going to "move" the island (and also this is when he hurts his arm), we know that this is the point right before he takes off on the journey which ultimately put him in the Tunisian desert, where we previously saw him. Down in the DEEP trenches of a very cold and frosty underground, he turns a rusty wheel and then the island moves. Everyone else on the island experiences a blinding white light and those in the helicopter actually see the island disappear into the water, kind of like it was being sucked in. Although I have always thought of Ben as the "bad guy," I think that deep down he is trying to do something good. Although clearly he has no compassion for people (he didn't even care that he blew up the freighter and killed innocent people), but he has an amazing passion for THE ISLAND, always coming up with a plan and working towards saving the island, even if it means doing bad things along the way (like trying to keep Jack from calling the freighter folk). And though, in the end, he gave up his own existence on the island to protect it, even though knowing he could never go back. He gives up his role as the "leader" and basically hands over the responsibility to Locke, all so he could save it. He tells John to go back up and he will find his people waiting there for him, who will follow his lead. When he goes and finds them there, Richard Alpert says "Welcome Home." We know from the very last scene that supposedly "very bad things" happened after Locke takes over. I am beginning to think that Ben used to be one of the "good ones" too, but once you become leader of the island, you are forced to make rash decisions and it's not always the favorable outcome. I think this is what is going to happen with Locke. He is going to have to turn on people, especially the rest of the survivors who stayed on the island, in order to take over as leader.

I have to add a bit more here about the thought of him actually "moving" the island. I was discussing this with my mom, who brought up a very good point. We know that down in the Orchid station, using the vault, they conduct experiments where they time-travel, for example sending the rabbit 100 milliseconds (or however long it was) into the future. Ben may not have actually moved the island, but is just sending it into a different dimension, so it appears to be gone, but really it is in a whole other time dimension (in the future). We already know that time moves differently on the island. The experiments conducted on the island and on the freighter show that time passes slower on the island than the amount of time that has really passed. So if he "moved" the island just into a different time frame, people can no longer "see" it there. That would also explain why he can never go back, because it's in a different dimension. This reminds me a little bit of "Back to the Future" - how there are two alternate universes, the Marty in 1955, and the Marty in 1985. Both exist along the same parallels, but they are in different time dimensions. The more I started thinking about this, the more it seems to make sense. If you recall when we saw a few episodes ago in Ben's flash-forward, he wakes up in the Tunisian desert and then goes off to find Sayid. He stops at a hotel and he goes up to the front desk and asks the woman what day it is...then he asks what year? He seems shocked when she replies that it is October 2005. (This is about 10 months after present-time, when the six of them are rescued and when ben "moves" the island.) So, after he moves it, all of a sudden it is 10 months later? That would explain if it was actually in the "future" or in a different time dimension...and also make up for the fact that time is different on the island than it is in the real world.

1. They ALL have to go back.

Woah! Did not see that one coming! I guess this was the cliffhanger that we knew we were going to get. He also said that since they ALL have to go back, they'd have to bring Locke with them. (Okay, that's kind of creepy! Although who wants to bet that Locke will have a "rebirth" when he gets back to the island, as we know the island is miraculous in that way.) But no way is Jack going to be able to convince everyone (especially Kate w/Aaron) to go back to the island. Unless maybe he can convince them they need to do it in order to save the others (Sawyer, for example). It seems like they always use GUILT as a way to get people back there. For example, Michael went back to act as a spy on the freighter because he felt guilty for leaving the others behind the way he did. And now, we find out that when "Bentham" visited Jack a month before, he told him that after they left the island some very bad things happened, and that it was Jack's fault. Locke had always told Jack that he was not supposed to leave, but Jack never believed him. Finally, Jack - the doctor, the scientific one, who never believed in fate or miracles, finally is convinced that he was not supposed to leave. He truly wants to go back. And especially since Bentham told him it was HIS fault that all the bad things happened, surely that has played a big part in his wanting to go back. Once again, Locke was right in his predictions (as he said to Jack, "we'll see which one of us is right.") He told Jack he was not supposed to leave. He says it is going to eat him up until he HAS to come back. And sure enough, that's exactly what happened. But it is going to be up to Jack now to convince everyone else they need to come along as well. As the previous "leader" of the group, he definitely could have done it...but off the island, he is not that man anymore, no longer the strong leader that everyone looks up to. It was only ON the island that he was able to be that man. But seeing as the theme of this show has revolved around GUILT and REDEMPTION for so long, I'm thinking that he can make it happen...it just might take awhile. Hey, we still have two more seasons :)


Great season finale! I thought it was better the second time around that I watched it, after realizing just how much happened...there really was a lot going on! So now we are left in the "present time" where the Oceanic Six get off the island, the freighter had blown up (with Jin and Michael still on it), Locke is the new leader of the island, which Ben has just moved, and Faraday is in a dinghy in the middle of the ocean, paddling to...nowhere? Both the freighter and the island are now gone.

Looking forward to next season and seeing more about Locke's new position on the island, as well as the knowing that he will eventually do some "bad things" and leave the island in an attempt to bring everyone else back. Good stuff!