Five seasons of Lost down, one more to go. If you watched tonight’s episode, it was quite a complex ride.
I just got home from a friend’s house where we had about seven or eight people watching the two-hour season 5 finale of Lost. Some have watched all along, some only a few episodes and some had no idea what was going on. It was an interesting dynamic to say the least seeing the reactions and questions coming from the non-fans. It really makes you think how this show, more than any other I can think of, is truly impossible to follow unless you’ve been there all along.
Now, on to the finale… Where do I even start?
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First off, if you’ve not seen the finale, you best watch it or catch up in the show and watch it before reading on. Do that and come back to post your thoughts, we’d love to read them. This article and the comments will be discussing spoilers.
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If you’re still here, it’s time to talk Spoilers.
Introduction
As briefly as I possibly can summarize the episode: we finally meet Jacob, we see the four-toed statue in full form, we discovered why the unwilling members of the oceanic six came back, why many of the characters seemed to be destined (chosen) to come to the island in the first place, how Locke “survived” his death (twice?), how Jacob is the key to connecting many (all?) of the characters with the island, we find out why Locke knows everything he knows and who he really is, the losties all come together again annndddd the island gets hydrogen bombed the same year Star Wars came out.
Oh, and how could I forget! Fan-favorites Rose, Bernard and the most important character of all, Vincent the Dog, all make triumphant returns in the finale to explain where they’ve been all this time.
I read in the papers this morning that after tonight’s episode, fans would not know how the show could continue – that it acts as a sort of conclusion. Of course, for us Lost fans, this is no conclusion at all, but the start of a bridge leading to the real conclusion that will come in the form of 17 new episodes starting a full eight months from now.
From the final official Lost podcast of the season, producers and writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse revealed that this finale would give fans all the tools they need to form together a proper theory of what the show is all about and possibly how it may end. Well, they certainly did do that with the season closer and many theories of old can be officially trashed now.
The Finale
In traditional Lost fashion, the first episode opens mysteriously in the distant past where we get to see the four-toed statue in full form. While that was a cool reveal, the big reveal came moments later when we see two unknown men talking with each other on the beach beside the statue with the Black Rock ship in the ocean background. The conversation of the two strangers hints at them being long-term enemies and it ends with one referring to the other as Jacob and promising that one day he would find a loop-hole to kill him.
Wow. No messing around.The first scene of the show give us Jacob after all this time and speculation – Awesome!
Well, kind of. While Jacob was a cool character throughout the finale, appearing at key points in each character’s lives and seemingly recruiting them with his golden touch, it did feel very haphazard to see it happen all at once in this finale.
In two back-to-back episodes, we met Jacob and his nemesis (his brother Esau?), saw how he was involved with our main Losties, and how he seemingly dies – All in a two-parter out of 103 episodes of the series so far. Why not develop that some more over the last two seasons? It seems a bit much to have all of it in one episode and have it all so convenient, like it was made up in this certain way afterwards to find some way to explain what we’ve seen in past seasons.
That being said, the religious themes and characters were incredibly interesting and we can certainly tell there is a ton of work behind-the-scenes being done to tie everything together. It is creativity at its finest. Looking back on the episode, even the intro where we see Jacob wearing white and Esau wearing dark representing good and evil, mostly everything that occurs over the two hours is very precise and intentional.
Some Issues
While the episode is a mind-exploder and television entertainment at its finest for those who like to think about the shows they watch, it was not perfect and I had some little gripes with it.
A dumb thing for me was Ben telling Locke that he made up that conversation he had with Jacob when he brought Locke to the cabin back in season 3. That seems like a bit of a retcon and they’ve yet to address how/why the cabin disappears or moves. I felt that it was a weak cop-out of sorts and Ben saying he did it because he was embarrassed didn’t make sense with his character and what else happened in that cabin scene. It seems that Ben turned into a more of a childlike character motivated by jealousy. That being said, we have seen him like that before with regards to Juliet…
Speaking of which, Juliet and Kate make no sense to me. They seem to have no earnest motivation for their actions and often seem to change their mind or support different characters simply out of spite of others. I don’t get their characters and we saw plenty of that this episode. To make it worse, there was one flashback for Juliet about her parents divorce thrown into the show for no purpose whatsoever other than to add lame dialogue for her to say to Sawyer.
Religious Themes
Alright, let’s get biblical! The episode was ripe with religious connotations with the most focus obviously on Jacob and his enemy Esau who has taken the form of Locke in an attempt to take advantage of a loophole to kill him since he cannot himself. What did I just say? That’s not confusing.
This dynamic we witnessed was cool but it was from the perspective of Esau (the other dude from the intro scene with Jacob) and I hope next season we get more of him and Jacob. Specifically, I want to see more history on Jacob and episodes focusing in on his perspective over the previous seasons and leading up to the events in the show.
Since I don’t have months to do all the research needed to grasp the history and knowledge required to completely understand the show, I’ll cheat and cite some things from the Lost wiki:
Jacob envisioned a “Ladder to Heaven” (described in the Book of Genesis 28:11-19) during his flight from his brother Esau.
In all three – Hebrew, Muslim, and Christian interpretations, Jacob’s ladder can be considered as a bridge between two worlds… a connection between God and Man. In the Bible, Tanakah and the Qur’an, Jacob was the younger twin of Esau. Benjamin was Jacob’s youngest son. Jacob died in Egypt in slavery… but Jacob’s descendants went on.
Egypt… like an Egyptian Statute perhaps? Could Jacob’s descendants be the losties he has chosen in the flashbacks… Likely relating to that list we kept hearing about starting in season 3. Remember when Pickett says that Jack’s “not even on Jacob’s list”?
Esau, who I assume is Jacob’s brother from the intro, seems to be the bad guy in all of this, taking the form of Locke to attempt to have Jacob killed.
In the Bible and Tanakah, Aaron is a direct descendant from Jacob.
Aaron? How interesting. Good thing Kate left him off-island or else, baby go boom!
According to the Book of Malachi, God “loved Jacob but hated his brother Esau” (Malachi 1:1-3).
Remember that “God Loves you as He Loved Jacob” video that Karl was forced to watch back in season 3? That same room that Walt was likely put in when held captive and forced to “take tests” back in season 2? Things are starting to come full circle!
There’s also mention in the religious texts of a guardian/guardian angel for Esau and him being evil. Could this be Smokey the monster? That would certainly explain it taking the form of young Rousseau and telling Ben to follow Esau (in Locke form) which led to Ben’s willingness to kill Jacob for him (Hence, Esau find and using a loophole). Also, this explains why Locke tells Richard to tell the real Locke during that time loop paradox that he needs to die in order to bring back the Oceanic Six to the island – It was actually Esau telling Richard that!
We can extend this further to say that Smokey/Esau’s Guardian/Esau took the form of Jack’s dad, Christian Shephard and pretended to speak on Jacob’s behalf in older episodes. The phrase and episode title “dead is dead” sure means a lot more now in relation to these characters.
The Smoke monster, also known as Cerberus from the map we saw hidden in the hatch made by Radzinksy and Kelvin, seems to be the protector of the temple and so it has some connection to the ancient folk who built the structures and the statue. That map from the hatch also had several spots labeled “CV” which was confirmed to mean Cerberus Vents, likely the holes we’ve seen where the smoke monster comes from. As for the name “Cerberus,” in Greek and Roman mythology Cerberus is a multi-headed dog which guards the gates of Hades. Hades has multiple meanings, some of which refer to the ancient Greek underworld and its God, or the domain of the dead and the lord of the dead. Could that be Esau?
I wish I had a pet Smoke Monster!
If any of this is right, it’s starting to make sense! I really need to re-watch everything from the beginning of season 3 onward.
This is just barely scratching the surface – there is so much more in the episode and infinitely more online about this that I’ve just started to read. If you’re a hardcore lost fan, you’ll have plenty of reading to keep you busy during the long wait till season 6.
Conclusion
The finale concluded with a bang (literally). In the 2007 timeline, we witnessed Ben kill Jacob with a knife on behalf of who we thought was Locke, but really was Esau. And in the 1977 timeline, a should-be-very-dead Juliet set off the hydrogen bomb by hitting it with a rock. Since she seems to be immortal, she probably walked away from that blast with no issue.
Jacob dies without a fight at the end, seemingly unworried. My guess is that he knows about the bomb going off in the past that will reset everything, but I’m guessing not in the way Jack hoped it would. One theory out there is that Faraday’s plan (now Jack’s) to use the bomb to prevent everything that happened is actually to ensure everything happens again. The course of events did seem to re-occur as they should with Dr. Chang losing his hand, Radzinsky living to push the button in the hatch and Jacob’s dying words saying “they’re coming” possibly in reference to the Losties returning to their proper time after the white flash from the bomb.
Here’s a twist: what if Jacob was intentionally changing things on his own. We saw him give the pen to young Sawyer which caused him to continue writing his letter and therefore get caught by a family member which leads to him promising not too write the note, possibly dropping his personal vendetta against the real Sawyer. We also saw Jacob convince young Kate to not steal again. Could that be Jacob changing everything for his disciples or was that what happened before anyway? (”What happened happened.”)
I wish I could say more, but so much happened that I’m starting to forget many of the scenes. I will definitely be re-watching the finale later this week to help take it all in.
So, what did you think of the finale and the good vs. evil religious themes? What about Jacob? How do you think next season will start?
Some Discussion Points
- We see the old sailing ship, the Black Rock, in the intro and it is revealed that Jacob brought them there. Will we see how the ship got to the center of the island or how Jacob brought them there?
- How does Jacob leave the island and keep coming back?
- Did Jacob let himself die, knowing that the bomb would change things in the altered 1977 timeline?
- Who was Jacob referring to when he said “they’re coming”?
- Will Jacob and Esau’s history be explored and to see how they get their immortality and powers and how old are they?
- Who built the statue and temples and how old is it?
- What are Jacob’s lists for and what were the others doing with Walt and the children back in season 1/2?
- If Ben didn’t really see Jacob in the cabin back in season 3, who called out “Help me” to John and what made the cabin go nuts in that scene?
- What’s with Christian Shephard and why was he the one to tell John to move the island?
- How did Juliet survive the fall?
- Why did some survivors of the second plane crash land in 1977, others in 2007?
- Who are the folks who brought Locke’s body to Richard?
- If all Esau needed was a someone else to kill Jacob, why are all these other survivors involved? Why can’t they kill each other?
- Will the Smoke Monster’s origin be explained?
- Is Esau the Smoke Monster or does the Smoke Monster protect Esau? Or is it neither?
Source: Lostpedia
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398 Comments
Craig:
image of a brain damaged parachuting Daniel. Sad but funny. and yes i love Daniel as well and would love to think of him time traveling around but i have the feeling from listening to inteviews with the producers that Dead is Dead in his case.
and i totally agree with you on the issue of what is the bomb going to change. Frankly, even my own forgiving attitude towards the writers is being pushed by this storyline. An atom bomb! to counter the energy and then to accurately place them in either 2004 or 2007? i think that is stretching the limits. But this is what we are dealing with so be it. My personal guess is that they will have them all land in 2007 so they can be with the “rescue” Jacob story line. But i don’t like the idea that the bomb put them there. What would prefer is that as i have heard on some sites, that instead of the bomb going off that they had a time skip at just that moment and they all appear in 2007. Better than atom bombs going off. Bombs only kill even in my fantasy world.
No, no, the bomb doesn’t initiate a calculated time leap … that’s not what the show has ever been implying … all the bomb does is destroy the electromagnetism source AND kill everyone within the blast radius on the Island (including our beloved cast). However, because the electromagnetism source is now gone, Oceanic 415 passes over the Island unharmed in 2004, so our cast arrives safe and sound in LAX. Hope that clears that up. Don’t know if I put it in the best terms, but there ya have it =).
BTW, my last post describes what Jack and his team have been striving to accomplish with the H-bomb … I doubt that THAT is what has actually occurred here in reality, simply because of the implications it would have for the main cast members (i.e. no memories of island or of each other besides seeing each other on plane). However, I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing a shift to the Jacob / Esau plot for the final season. That would be really interesting.
Dan. Yes actually you put it very clearly and almost palatable. But i still say that Bombs kill and therefore countering energy and altering the future as well . . . .i don’t know . . . .it just pushes my understanding. . . .I get it. but it isn’t a beatiful story as so much of the show is. . . .
I mean i guess part of my problem is that it is an ATOM BOMB. which could really destroy the entire island physically not just the cast. So if they don’t land in LA. and they do end up on the Island then to be realistic about what an atom bomb would do the entire landscape would need to have been levelled and then 30 years of evolution . . .and . . .I just think the atom bomb thing is a bit much! but i love the show and am really enjoying discussing it with you.
I must clarify again, I’m not explaining myself. When I say sends them forward to 2004, I mean send them so that the crash never happens. I believe in the theory that the bomb would send them to 2007 >_>
Sending Losties to safely land in LA…there’d be no Season 6. Locke would have never landed on the island, thus Jacob’s Enemy (I too refuse to refer to him as Esau, although it has some merits) wouldn’t be able to mimic him. The past 5 seasons would be retconned, and that’s as bad as saying ‘and then I woke up’ at the end of a great novel. No, that will not happen.
The idea of the time warp causing Juliet to create the explosion at a different date is great, and the only foreseeable reason why she could have survived the fall.
A time leap at just the right time would annoy me 100x more than the atom bomb somehow sending them to 2007. Think about it, they hadn’t had a time jump for near 4 years, seems stupidly coincidental that it would happen at just the perfect time.
Also, Mr Eko’s last words to Locke, if you listen carefully (according to Lostpedia) is ‘I saw the devil.’ and then Locke says to Sayid that he said ‘We’re next’.
Don’t forget that nobody knows what the consequences of mixing an atom bomb, electromagnetism and the Island’s will to survive. Anything could happen.
Yes. if it “works” then i agree they will be in 2007. not 2004 as Jack and Co. had hoped. Although here is another problem i have with this story line. Why would Kate have agreed to make this happen. She will end up in jail if it “works”.
silly! She would never have agreed to it. Good thing for her that you and i agree she is going to end up in 2007.
How as far as the time skip. Indulge me for a second. Yes it hasn’t happened for 4 years but all this electromagnetism and the Will of the Island could make a time skip happen. I think that is easier to explain that surviving an H Bomb explosion. do you know the physics of that? Of course this is all in jest. If we are going to talk physics what about time travel? doesn’t make logical sense either. I just like time travel better than bombs. but why are we going around in circles on this? i apologize. What do you think about Kate’s agreeing to basically go to jail? did that bother you?
Yeah, I’m almost positive that there was no “time travel flash” this time. Juliet traveling through time as a result of direct exposure to the source of the electromagnetism does not count as a flash, however, just to keep that clear, since it would be just her. The flashes stopped three years ago (1974?) when they fixed the problem at one of the Dharma stations, if my memory serves me. But if I know Lost, it’s that you never know what they’re gonna throw at ya next, so anything could have happened here =). The writers have been great at keeping plot twists VERY hard to predict (many argue because not even THEY know what’s going to happen next =).
Yeah, I think I might have mis-typed a few posts back and said 2007 when I believe I meant 2004. Could you guys indulge me a bit and explain why you think 2007 over 2004? Going to 2007 would require an all-out time flash. If the bomb “works”, it’s irrelevant to say that they would “end up” anywhere. If the bomb works just like they hoped, then in 2004 they will pass over the Island unharmed. In 2007, they will be three years on with their normal, uneventful lives, still not knowing each other or the Island (whatever’s left of it).
GREAT POINT Dan! i have no way to respond to that. Craig?
Ah, I think I see where you’re coming from. You’re saying they’ll end up in 2007 so that they can have a big, happy reunion with Esau, Richard, and the whole she-bang. Am I right? Yeah, in all truth, that probably is what’s going to happen, and the writers will come up with someway to justify it (hopefully without the use of a time flash).
but still you make a great point. if they end up in 2007 then it’s the bomb going off and somehow changing their futures and not destroying the island and somehow instead of landing in LAX they end up in 2007 .. . .
the more i think about it the more i think that there is the potential that as much as i love the show i am going to be disgusted with whatever way they choose to justify it. I think it is much easier to justify with a time flash but that would offend many as well including you.
I hope the writers pull it off. but i don’t know how they will at this point. But we have about 9 months to think about it.
Also, your point regarding why the heck would Kate want to return to cuffs and spent a very long time in prison is very valid indeed. Of course, both her and Juliet’s reasons for switching to the “blow-everything-sky-high” party were really quite wish-washy in this episode, so who knows what they were thinking.
by the way, the flashes stopped when Locke turned the wheel not a dharma station fix well i guess they were at the orchid but John was down in the well of what would become the Orchid and he turned the wheel. so if that is what you meant then yes they were at a dharma station.
Also, my idea with the time flash is that everyone within Juliet’s radius of say . . . .500 feet would go with her. Remember Jin went time skipping with everyone even though he was out in the ocean. . . .
Yeah, I sure hope the writers haven’t dug themselves into a pit with this one (and they say, “well, blowing the island and the main cast up in a nuclear explosion as the cliff-hanging season ending seemed like a good idea at the time….”). But I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that the explosion was not what we thought it was. Either it occurred in a different time such that nothing significant was altered (except poor Juliet =( ), or it wasn’t an explosion at all, but a cursed flash, or perhaps something absolutely astounding and different altogether! But yeah, guess we do have quite a long time to wait and see. =p
I believe that they’ll end up in 2007 because – to put simply – it makes sense to the story. Jacob said ‘They’re coming’ and I think this means the Losties in the past. The story wouldn’t make sense if they went to 2004, it would be, as I said, a retcon of the entire series and that’s incredibly annoying in fiction.
The finale of the show will not – CAN not – end with the Losties landing safely in LA with nothing on the island ever taking place – that would be the worst ending possible and a slap in the face to the fans. That is the reason I doubt that theory – they’re not stupid enough to have that happen.
I’m sticking with the Incident always happened with a Atom Bomb in the mix – the Losties in the past detonating it didn’t change anything, they confirmed it.
Kate’s and Jack’s are the reasoning that I have difficulty swallowing. Kate’s is stupid as you point out, but Jack’s is worse. He’s doing it because he messed things up with Kate, but landing safely in LA would mean that he never speaks to her ever. Stupid, stupid.
The same argument could be made for Juliet, however (on rewatching the episode) when they’re chatting to Bernard and whatshername, they say something along the lines of ‘You’ve got to find someone you can live happily with’. Juliet has a smile on her face, until she notices that Sawyer turns his head ever so slightly and shares a glance with Kate. Juliet’s face changes. That’s when she makes her decision.
Still, I love theorising.
i would be really happy if Kate and Juliet explained why they REALLY changed their mind and it made more sense than what was explained in the finale but i think regardless of whereever they all land, Kate and Juliet’s motivations will remain what they were. and that bothers me on some level. but i have to keep in mind that it is a TV show and not a great novel or something. but it has been pretty satifsying . . .so i am hoping against all hope for better explanations for motivations of Kate and Juliet and Jack for that matter.
Craig:
But i think what dan is saying is how can you have the time shift AND the bomb? why 2007? other than it makes sense . . .how are they going to explain that? that is a rhetorical question by the way . . .unless you want to make something up . . ..
Nicely put, Craig. That’s basically the same conclusion I reached, too. They’ll send them to 2007 so they can have a big happy reunion and live happily ev……. no wait, with Esau on the Island.
Good analysis of the character’s changing moments. You’re absolutely right about Jack and Kate being totally absurd here.
goodnight gentlemen.
Craig
When you say “I’m sticking with the Incident always happened with a Atom Bomb in the mix – the Losties in the past detonating it didn’t change anything, they confirmed it” what do you mean by confirmed it? Are you saying that the show already confirmed for us that the bomb didn’t change anything? Since the bomb was the very last occurrence in the episode, I’m not sure exactly where you’re coming from.
It is totally possible that the Incident always did happen with an a-bomb … but if that’s true and the electromagnetism survived … then that means that our main cast is totally dead on the show. The “present” is at 2007, and they don’t exist in that time (unless they’re conveniently flashed there before the explosion as we both hope was not the case because of how cheap that would be). And if they die in 1977 without altering the course of future events like they had so dearly hoped … then they’re big-time goners.
Ahh, logic makes no sense with Lost. How can an atom bomb cause a time shift that causes the Losties to end up in 2007? How does turning a frozen donkey wheel stop time skipping lol. All good questions.
However, here’s a theory that is hurting my brain thinking about it.
The Losties on the Ajira flight were sucked into the 70’s because the timeline of events had them there, so they had to be there. (Side thought – Imagine if they’d discovered the picture of them in the Dharma initiative had surfaced while they were in the present?!). What happens if the events of 2007 are the past for another group from, say…2030 >_> and in their timeline, Jin, Kate, Sawyer and Jack are needed in 2007.
O_O argh, my brain.
As regards to the Incident – I’m thinking the atom bomb always caused the Incident, and also always caused a random time skip to suck the Losties from the 70’s to 2007. Always happened, always would.
Lol! Yeah, it seems the random time skip to 2007 is the only valid fix to this mess. =) Hopefully they’ll throw some new and creative solution at us in the premiere without resorting to a Deus Ex Machina cop-out like this. Well, good discussion, but I better hit the sack. ‘Night. =D
Ok, well i think that some how the whole hydrogen bomb thing didnt work. the “incident” that faraday warned eveyone about was probably the fued between them, and the later death of a friend. how did juliet survive a huge fall??? and when she blew up the bomb, i think it was just an explosion. traveling up the drilled in hole. killing juliet. ive been watching the show since episode one and im still LOST. i agree with the whole jacob-god and esau-devil thing, but knowing the show; we’ll just have t wait,
An atom bomb would not just be ‘an explosion’. It would be monstrous.
Jabob is Jesus, Christianity
“Esau” is Judas/Satan and sin
Jacob gives everyone the free will to follo who they like and that can be seen fromt he division amongst the Losties. Jacob died without a fight like Jesus gave himself to the Romans without a fight, in a peaceful way. He sacrificed himself for the people on the island just as Jesus did for us so that they can be saved. Jacob will resurrect and crush all evil.
This is just like the Matrix. This happens all the time. Good vs evil and evil looks like its making a brakthrough and is going to win only to discover it will never win.
Adam:
I have to disagree. I can not see the makers of Lost creating a world this complex for the sake of a religious battle. A god battle maybe, as in Egyptian gods, or the like. But Christianity I don’t think so.
To say Jacob died to save the people on the island is a baseless statement. We do not know why he died. Or even if he DID die. All we know is he gave Ben the choice and Ben made his decision.
I understand people wanting to say this is based on religion but come on people…. That is just a easy way for people to explain what is happening! Have an original thought!!
The Jacob/Esau theory makes sense, but the first thing that popped into my mind in the opening scene of the two on the beach was the story of Job – Satan wants to prove that Job’s faithfulness to God is only circumstantial, that Job will curse God to his face if all is taken away. God tells Satan that he is not allowed to kill Job but can do whatever else he wants. To kill God’s most righteous was what Satan wanted most of all but how was he going to accomplish that end? Job dies of old age at the end of the book. Satan never gave up; it just took a while to find the loop hole.
Everything is uterly brilliant and yet somehow ultimately dissatisfying to me. I suppose I prefered the more Twilight Zoney notion of the mysteries of the island as some sort of living entity where both miricles and tragedies, pain and joy love and hate, ect.. occur. That every miraculous thing that happened, (Locke healing facotr, Kate seeing the Horse to reasure her, Seeing Walt, the numbers, Jack seeing his Father, The Christain Specter, Visions, ect were manipulative fabrications of two mind reading Q-Talosian entities, dunno cheapens it all to me. Lost has become The Cage.
And To reduce Locke, the best charcacter, to some pityful manipulated corpse is bold but sh*tty!!
Clay:
how can you get stabbed plenty of times, spit out blood and then get kicked into a fire and live? he’s dead.
i don’t now if anyoen else has said this but the last bang caused by juliet might have actually not been a bang but a flash (as seen earlier in the season).
how do we know this isn’t about ‘Cain and Abel’, Abel was a shepherd. what’s Jack’s and his dad’s second surname?
Im a BIg lost fan!!!loving every bit of it!just completed the finale of season 5!Good post by the way. helped me clear some doubts.thanks and keep writing!we got a whole 8 months to wait!!
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