Live LOST Chat w/The Washington Post (12/10/09)!

I am very honored to be the guest tomorrow for The Lost Hour: Season 3 Review with Jen and Liz, The Washington Post's excellent Lost columnists!

Join us on Thursday, December 10 at 3pm ET for a live online chat about the S3 finale ("Through the Looking Glass") for the Rewatch, the S5 DVD release and S6 possibilities. 

Here are the details; you may submit your questions/comments/theories in advance of or during the chat, and I hope you can log on and join us tomorrow!

-Jo

Top 100 Scenes from 5 Seasons of LOST

Because the next episode ("The Variable") is the historic 100th of the series, I posted my favorite 100 LOST scenes of all time on TVOvermind!

Click here to see the extensive list, accompanied by photos and organized by season and episode.

See you late tomorrow night!

-Jo

LOST Tour in Oahu, Part 1

Before I begin, I need to thank and acknowledge Jeff from Kos Tours; he was far more than our tour guide and ride, and really made today one of the most memorable and exciting experiences of my life! And a huge shout-out to Sam & Holly, who were also on our tour and put up with hours and hours of my endless Lost chatter and theorizing. You are patient souls and we were thrilled to have spent the day with both of you as well!

Given that I have to catch a flight home in a few hours, I only have time to post photos from actual filming locations right now (with a few obvious exceptions), accompanied by matching screen captures from the show. So please consider this a rough first draft; I really wanted to post these before I left Hawaii and because so many of you were kind enough to follow my journey on Twitter and Facebook today. The next entry will include pictures of the beach camp, the fuselage and pieces from the wreckage, various props, etc.

So stay tuned for more details and very cool photos after I am home again...and after tomorrow night's new episode airs.

* One caveat: this is and always will be a spoiler-free blog. We did witness live filming today, but I feel that I owe it to my loyal spoiler-free readers to remain silent about what we saw. All I will say is that is was amazing and surreal to be so close to the live production and set, and that we were able to watch a few scenes being filmed with some familiar faces.

When I have more time, I will add the titles of each episode from the photos below.

Anthony Cooper's house, stalked by Locke

Bad daddy's real pad

Desmond flashes back to military training

Not filled with Scotsmen on a normal day

Eko's church

...remains unfinished

Hurley's 1st lottery house

Thankfully the real one isn't cursed & didn't burn to the ground

Jack meets Kate in the pilot episode

It was rocky from the start

Jack's Thailand vacation beach

No sign of Bai Ling (phew!)

Jack's Thailand vacation beach, take 2

The coast is clear...literally

Jin brings Sun to the temple

It is breathtaking in person

Jin proposes to Sun

Note the Dharma-ish bench

Jughead on the island...

...and Jughead hidden on a prop truck

Kate buried her ex's toy airplane time capsule beneath this tree


...and then, like most men in Kate's past/path, he died

Miles parachutes onto the island

In reality, the ash layered rock is much darker in color

Other Rock Point

...does not actually have that opening

Pala Ferry

no Hurley, Jack, Kate or Sawyer held captive today

Radio Tower

nowhere near where it was on the show

Sawyer's Sweet Shrimp Shack

different name, same location

The sub before Locke gets to it

...and the sub in storage

The waterfall

No one resembling these two were swimming underneath it

Yemi's plane

The actual tree they superimpose it upon

Various fuselage beach camp tents

We took several hundred photos and I can't wait to share the best of the rest with you very soon!

I will say that taking this tour is exhilarating and exhausting (I have even more respect for the actors now...walking along their beach was surprisingly challenging); an absolute treat for true Lost fans who have the opportunity to travel to Hawaii. Even after the series ends, Kos will be offering this journey and I highly recommend it to all of you (we chose the 8 hour tour, but they also offer 2 and 5 hour versions).

Have a great day, and thank you so much for taking the time to stop by!

- Jo

LOST Flash Forwards, In Order

I was going to write about the Lost flash forwards in chronological order, but someone has taken the time to do it for us, visually. Enjoy.

Lingering LOST Questions from Season 3, By Character

After watching all of Season 3 again, I have some questions about some of the Others, the Survivors and miscellaneous new and flashback characters:

THE OTHERS

ALEX
Where did Alex actually live? We only glimpsed her sneaking around in bushes, and never at Ben’s house.

Why didn’t she use the slingshot to break the camera covering the cage where her boyfriend Karl was being held? She did it to talk to Jack alone, and she went out of her way to help Kate and Sawyer, but it seems odd that she never attempted to rescue Karl.

BEN
When the plane broke apart above Otherville, why did Ben chose to send his best and only surgeon (Ethan) to infiltrate the survivors on the beach, especially given that he just found out about his spinal tumor?

In addition, if Ben knew that he had a life-threatening tumor, why did he subject himself to being captured and beat up by the survivors in the hatch? And, how the hell is he able to hike up that mountain to show Sawyer the other island? [personal aside: I just recovered from minor back surgery in the same location, which was nothing compared to a tumor on the spine; there is no way in hell that I would have been able to do any of these things.]

Ben found out about his tumor before the plane crashed and way before the hatch implosion caused the sonar and outside communications to shut down. So why didn’t he just jump on the sub and head to the real world for treatment? It seems kind of far fetched that Ben saw Jack’s name on the manifest and then conducted the elaborate plan to be get captured so he could ultimately bring Jack back to operate on him…

If Juliet’s fertility services were so integral, why did Ben allow Jack to flood the Hydra station, endangering her life?

Where and how did Ben amass the stockpile of weapons used in the purge, and without anyone noticing? Did he have a secret militant Dharma contact who was ordering him contraband? Richard and the Hostiles couldn’t have helped Ben to do that, as they lived outside of the Barracks and were enemies of Dharma.

Why did Ben choose to kill everyone instead of just his dad?

Ben knew about everything and everyone on the island. How did he not know about Desmond’s sailboat?

Ben asked Richard Alpert to bring the man from Tallahassee. If the sonar was down and communications were cut off, how did he bring Anthony Cooper (Locke’s dad) to the island? He must have already been there for a while.

Ben is very threatened by Locke’s healing ability, and yet doesn’t seem at all interested in Rose, who is cancer-free only after crashing on the island. Why?

Ben told Locke that “when people join us on the island, they need to make a gesture of free will, of commitment.” What other kinds of commitments and sacrifices did his people make to be where they are now?

If Ben really wanted to kill Locke, he would have shot him in the head or heart. He knew that Locked healed quickly on the island, so why only shoot him in the gut?

COLLEEN (PICKETT'S WIFE)
Why did Colleen seemingly hate and distrust Juliet so much?

How did Colleen and the Others sneak onto the sailboat without Sun hearing them? Sayid and Jin were on the beach, and the boat was docked in front of them. If the Others arrived via sub, how did no one hear that and why is it that the Others weren’t wet?

DANIELLE ROUSSEAU
So she’s lived on the island for 16 years, and has never come across the Flame communications station? How is that possible? Did she ever encounter Jacob’s cabin or Ben’s open grave full of post-purge Dharma people?

Did she make some kind of deal with Ben and/or Jacob 16 years ago to give up her child in order to save her life or someone else’s? Is that why, even when she had Ben snared in a net, she never killed him when she had the chance?

JACOB
Who exactly made his list, and why? Why isn’t Jack on it? Mikhail told Kate, Locke and Sayid that they’re not on it because they are “flawed, angry and frightened.” So who does that leave? Who of the remaining survivors doesn't fit that description?

Ben mentioned that Jacob himself would cure Rachel’s cancer (Juliet’s sister). Does that relate in any way to Isaac, the healer in Australia that Bernard brought Rose to for the same purpose?

Who used to take orders from Jacob and run things on the island before Ben’s rise to leadership after the purge? Was Dharma aware of him or working with him?

JULIET
Juliet was sleeping with Goodwin. Was she not able to get pregnant, or was she trying? If so, is Jack the new candidate?

How serious could Juliet have been about Goodwin if she had no reaction whatsoever when Ben dispatched him to infiltrate the Tail Section survivors? Did she find out that Ana Lucia was the one who killed him, and if so, was she the one who dictated that Michael shoot her as a condition of Walt’s return?

Who filmed Juliet’s video asking Jack to kill Ben? There had to be someone behind the camera, because it moves up and down from the cue cards back up to Juliet.

Juliet informed Jack that there wasn’t a crash cart among the Hydra Station’s many medical supplies. Why would they have a fully stocked hospital room but fail to order that equipment, especially since they know women died during childbirth?

Juliet told Jack that she’s not used to death. What about the 8 women who died during giving birth under her supervision? And if that were really true, it wouldn’t have been so easy for her to shoot and kill Pickett.

Juliet told Kate that she’d dislocated her shoulder three times before. What kind of fertility doctor is she?? Obviously there are more flashbacks for her in the near future.

Juliet seemed genuinely surprised to find out that Sun had an affair with another man and that her baby may not be Jin’s. Juliet had files on all survivors; how could she not have known that?

KARL
Kate was able to escape from the cage, so why didn’t Karl do the same? Ben said he captured and brainwashed Karl so he wouldn’t get Alex pregnant (knowing she’d die during childbirth). Um…who’s to say that they hadn’t already sealed the deal? She seemed to have a wide berth to explore Otherville, and his leash on her was loose.

Who’s kid is Karl? Did his parents die in the purge? And if not, how did he survive? How did he get to the island?

MIKHAIL
Ben was very threatened by Locke’s ability to heal quickly on the island. Why is he not similarly obsessed with Mikhail’s ability to come back from the dead time and again?

How did Mikhail escape Ben’s purge? Was he spared because of his responsibilities at the communications station?

Unlike the rest of the Others (besides Ben), who seem outraged by murder, Mikhail doesn’t appear to have any problems with violence and death.

Was Mikhail previously a Hostile? Is he also ageless, like Richard Alpert?

If he was in charge of the communications for Ben, how is it that he never noticed Danielle's distress call on a loop for 16 years? Wouldn't that have interfered with his ability to communicate with the outside world, which he was supposedly doing? And how was he truly unaware that the Looking Glass was still functional?

MS. KLUGH
What was she doing at the Flame station with Mikhail? Where did she live, and why was she still dressed like in costume, like a Hostile? Was she unaware that the survivors were on to their theatrics?

If the Others were so against killing, why would she choose to die rather than be captured by Sayid and co.?

RICHARD ALPERT
Richard went from Ageless Hostile to Preppy Other under Ben’s regime. Are the other Hostiles still out and about? Do they all work together? Are those the people who have the children, don’t leave footprints when they walk, and whisper in the trees?

As a former Hostile, does Richard have the ability to live forever? Is he impervious to death? If so, it would seem that Mikhail was one of them as well.

Where was Richard at the end of the season when Ben was captured by Jack and the Others tried to storm the beach and take the women?

Why is it that Richard was able to come and go via sub so easily and often, and yet both Ben and Mikhail never wanted to leave the island?

SHERIFF ISABEL
Where the heck did she come from? Does she live with flight attendant Cindy and the Tail Section kids in an unknown locale? They certainly didn’t seem to live openly in Other Village.

What kind of law enforcement officer was she? Where was she when they were beating up and torturing Sawyer and Karl?

Isabel speaks several foreign languages…just like Naomi, the parachutist.

The producers have mentioned that her character is dead, but that seems strange, as we only saw her in one episode and don’t know how she died.

TOM (MR. FRIENDLY/ZEKE)
What was the purpose of having Tom tell Kate that she’s not his type? To let us know he’s gay? To make us think that he only dates Others? It seems irrelevant, now that he’s been killed off.

How did Tom get to the island?

THE SURVIVORS

CLAIRE
Right before the car crash that put her Mom into a coma, Claire told her Mom that she wished she were dead. Just like Walt…if you wish it, it will happen.

Desmond revealed to Claire that he was having flashes about Charlie's impending death. So why didn't she emphatically implore Charlie not to swim down to the Looking Glass rather than express casual concern?

The Others have intel on all survivors. Are they aware that Jack is her half-brother?

DESMOND
Were Desmond’s flashes only limited to Charlie? Why didn’t he see Eko’s death?

Why was Desmond the only one from the hatch implosion to emerge completely naked?

Mrs. Hawking, the mysterious ring lady in his flash forward, tells Desmond that “pushing that button is the only great thing that you’ll ever do.” What about saving Charlie’s life several times over?

In Desmond's final flash, did he see that the Looking Glass signal could only become unjammed by using a song for a code, that Charlie would have to be the one to do it because he would have been the only one to figure out the buttons to 'Good Vibrations?'

EKO
Right before he died, Eko told Locke that “you’re next.” Was he referring specifically to Locke or to the whole group?

HURLEY
How is it that the one larger-than-life fun guy among the survivors goes missing, and no one notices it? Hurley went back to the beach to help Bernard, Jin and Sayid, and yet no one acknowledged that he was gone from the group on their way to the radio tower.

JACK
Jack gets branded with a tattoo in Thailand that translates as “he walks among us but he is not one of us,” by freaky Achara, who claims to have the gift of seeing exactly who people are. Juliet gets branded with a strange symbol as a form of punishment from the Others, who think they know everything about her. And Claire used to work in a tattoo shop. Mere coincidences? I think not.

In the flash forward, a doctor refers to Jack as a hero "twice over." When Jack and Kate got rescued, who informed the world of Jack's actions back on the island? Certainly not him or Kate...

JIN
Was he aware that the man he was instructed to kill (by Sun’s father, Mr. Paik) was Sun’s lover? Did he figure it out after he crash landed on the hood of his car clutching a string of pearls in his hand?

KATE
At the end of the season, Ben and Juliet are discussing whether or not Kate is pregnant, and they would know it was a possibility because they witnessed her with Sawyer in the cage.

Kate asked Mikhail why, given the chance to leave the island, he’d want to return via submarine. He tells her, “You’re not capable of understanding, because you are not on the list.” So she’s not on Jacob’s infamous list, and we saw in the flash forward that she had no interest in going back. But Jack wasn’t on the list either, and we saw that he wanted to go back after being rescued…

After she was rescued, was Kate's criminal past publicly expunged because of what she experienced? She seemed to be living freely.

LOCKE
During Locke’s sweat lodge dream/hallucination about the survivors in the airport, Boone’s statements about each of the survivors came true by the end of Season 3. About Claire, Aaron and Charlie, “They’ll be okay, for a while.” About Desmond, “He’s helping himself.” About Jack, Kate, Sawyer with Ben, “There’s nothing you can do for them yet.”

When he was faced with shooting the undercover DEA agent at the pot farm, the agent told Locke that he was “a good man” and he was chosen because he was “amenable for coercion.” Sounds exactly like Ben’s assessment of Locke. Thus, dad in a box.

How did Locke know where Jack and Ben went? How would he have known that they were at the radio tower?

SAYID
Why, if you're a former communications expert, would you not want to find out right away what was at the end of a cord leading into the ocean? Sayid discovered the Looking Glass cord in Season 1, and they only pursued last season when they verified that it led to an underwater station.

And why, if you're now the island's communications expert, would you not be the one to lead the survivors to the only radio tower in order to unscramble the signal?

SUN
Using family resources and wealth, Sun tracked down Jin’s father. Just like Penny’s attempt to find Desmond, “With enough money, you can find anyone.” Daddies Widmore and Paik play much larger roles in the overall Lost picture than we've previously acknowledged...

WALT
When he appeared to Locke, was it really him, or a Black Smoke Monster manifestation?

MISC. NEW & FLASHBACK CHARACTERS

MRS. HAWKING (DESMOND’S RING LADY)
Was she real or a figment of Desmond’s subconscious?

What is the significance of the photo with her on the monk’s desk at the Monastery where Desmond briefly worked and resided? Did either the monk or Mrs. Hawking work for Mr. Widmore or Dharma?

NAOMI (PARACHUTIST)
Why did her helicopter crash? Was it unable to penetrate an invisible shield covering the island? There wasn’t an electromagnetic anomaly to bring it down like Flight 815.

Penny didn't seem surprised when Charlie told her that he was a survivor from Flight 815, and yet Naomi said that there weren't any survivors because the wreckage and bodies were all discovered near Bali. This gives credence to Anthony Cooper's assertion (before he was killed by Sawyer) that the plane crashed into the Pacific...and he didn't say whether or not there were survivors. Similarly, the man on the freighter at the receiving end of Jack's satellite phone call did not express surprise when Jack informed him that he was a survivor of Flight 815. He and Naomi did not get their stories straight, which furthers the popular theory that Naomi is a liar-pants.

PENNY (PENELOPE WIDMORE, DESMOND’S GIRL)
Had Penny been in contact with the Looking Glass station before? Did she just happen to be sitting at her computer when Charlie unjammed the sonar and communications?

..................................................................

So...what am I missing? Care to share your own questions from last season?

Tomorrow night I will be posting a list of Season 4 Theories/Predictions/Questions. Bookmark this site and stay tuned!

Lost Season 3 Review, By Episode

I recently re-watched all of Season 3, and took copious notes during each episode. In a day or two, I will be posting a lengthy blog with Season 3 Questions (by character), as well as Season 4 Predictions and Theories.

Here is a review of the entire season, to refresh our memories as Season 4 begins later this week:

Episode 1: Jack

Juliet hosts book club. Flight 815 breaks apart above Other Village. Ben sends Ethan to Fuselage beach and Goodwin to Tail Section beach to infiltrate survivors and get information. Kate and Sawyer are put in cages, Jack into an empty tank in Hydra station. Juliet is in charge of Jack, playing mind games. Kate dines on beach with Ben against her will, told of two unpleasant weeks ahead.

Episode 2: Sun

Sun is on sailboat with Jin and Sayid, unaware that Jack, Kate and Sawyer have been captured and are on Other Island. Ben finds out about the boat and orders some Others to go get it. Sun shoots Colleen, one of the Others trying to take the boat. Ben proves to Jack that he can communicate with the outside world by showing him footage of the Red Sox winning the world series. Kate and Sawyer are put to work hauling rocks at Other work camp.

Episode 3: Locke

We find out that Locke, Desmond and Eko survived the hatch implosion. Locke builds a sweat lodge, has a hallucination with Boone and other survivors in airport. Locke sets off to find and save Eko, who was in polar bear cave. Hurley returns to camp to tell everyone what happened to Jack, Kate and Sawyer.

Episode 4: Sawyer

Ben tortures Sawyer, shows him that his island is not their island. Juliet enlists Jack to help try to save Colleen, but she dies. Jack discovers Ben’s tumor on an x-ray. Desmond saves Charlie’s life for the first time, setting up a small tower of wires and a golf club that gets hit by lightning next to Claire and Charlie’s tent.

Episode 5: Eko

Others have creepy funeral for Colleen in matching white outfits. Ben asks Jack to operate on his back, and then Juliet shows Jack a video, asking him to let Ben die during surgery. Locke, Sayid and Desmond go the Pearl monitoring station to use the computer in there to communicate with the Others and lead them to Jack, Kate and Sawyer. They come across Eko, who is delusional and chasing his brother’s ghost around the island. The black smoke monster kills him.

Episode 6: Kate

Kate pleads with Jack to perform the surgery on Ben, or else he’ll kill Sawyer. Kate and Saywer have crazy dirty cage sex. Jack sees post-cuddling on monitor and decides to operate on Ben, but only if he is guaranteed a way off of the island and back home. During surgery, Jack makes incision in Ben’s kidney, and demands that Kate and Sawyer are released or he’ll let Ben die.

Episode 7: Juliet

Juliet leaves sister in Miami for what she thinks is a job opportunity near Portland, with Others Richard Alpert and Ethan Rom. Her sister had cancer but is now pregnant, thanks to Juliet’s work. Alex leads Kate and Sawyer to a small boat to escape back to their beach, but only after they help rescue her boyfriend, Karl (who was in a room being subjected to brainwashing). Juliet tells Jack to finish Ben’s surgery and keep him alive, and in return she’ll help Kate and Sawyer escape. Juliet then kills Pickett, who was about to shoot Sawyer. Ben told Juliet that he’d let her go home if she convinced Jack to finish the surgery and save him.

Episode 8: Desmond

Desmond saves Charlie’s life a second time, by rescuing Claire in the ocean (Charlie would have drowned doing so). Desmond reveals what happened just before and after he turned the key and the hatch imploded. He flashes forward, where he encounters Charlie in London, buys an engagement ring for Penny, meets a mysterious woman at the ring shop who tells him about his fate, and proceeds to makes a series of wrong decisions about Penny. After he wakes up in the jungle naked from the hatch implosion, he realizes that he flashed forward. He informs Charlie that he is going to die.

Episode 9: Jack

Juliet is put on trial on Other Island for killing Pickett, one of the Others. Jack bargains with Ben to save her life. She is spared but branded with a weird symbol on her back.

Episode 10: Hurley

Kate and Sawyer finally return to the beach and rejoin the other survivors, but Kate wants to go back for Jack. Hurley finds an old Dharma van in the jungle and becomes obsessed with making it run again. Jin, Charlie and Sawyer help him accomplish this, and then they all go on a joy ride in circles. Locke and Sayid follow Kate on her mission for Jack, and then Danielle joins them.

Episode 11: Sayid

Sayid, Kate, Locke and Danielle discover the Flame communications station, where they encounter Mikhail (eye-patch guy). Mikhail shoots but then helps Sayid while Locke explores the computer and sees that the station is rigged with explosives. Kate and Sayid overtake Mikhail and discover Ms. Klugh there (the one who gave Michael his instructions for Walt's return last season). Mikhail escapes and kills Ms. Klugh, who begged to be shot when captured by the survivors. Locke blows up the Flame.

Episode 12: Claire

Desmond saves Charlie’s life yet another time. Claire attaches a message to a migratory bird, hoping it will lead to their rescue. Desmond reveals his secret about Charlie to Claire. In a flashback, Claire finds out that Christian Shepard is her real father, but doesn’t know his name (so she isn’t aware that Jack is half-brother). Sayid, Locke, Kate and Danielle have taken Mikhail hostage, and when they encounter the barrier around the barracks, Locke throws Mikhail through it. He seemingly dies. The group then encounters Other Village, where they are disturbed to see Jack being friendly with Tom and the Others.

Episode 13: Locke

Sayid, Locke and Kate split up to infiltrate Other Village. Kate finds Jack but is immediately taken hostage by the Others, as is Sayid outside. Locke makes his way into Ben’s room, where he asks for the location of the sub. Jack tells Kate about his deal with Ben to go home. Locke finds out that Jack and Juliet are scheduled to go home via sub in the morning, so he blows it up. Naturally. Locke is surprised to find his father being held prisoner by Ben in Other Village. In a flashback, we find out that Locke became paralyzed when his father threw him out of an 8-story window.

Episode 14: Nikki & Paulo

Ding dong, they’re gone. Nikki and Paulo are buried alive. Charlie reveals to Sun that he was the one who kidnapped her (last season), with Sawyer’s encouragement. Sun bitch-slaps Sawyer.

Episode 15: Kate

Locke informs Kate that he will be going with the Others. The Others abandon their village, but Juliet and Kate found are handcuffed together in the jungle. They fight and face the black smoke monster, which Juliet stops at the barracks barrier. Juliet and Kate return to the Village, where they meet up with Sayid and Jack and then embark on a journey back to the beach.

Episode 16: Juliet

Jack, Sayid and Kate are reunited with the other survivors back on their beach, but Juliet is not greeted as politely. Claire gets sick and Juliet is the only one who can save her. Juliet reveals the island’s effect on pregnant women to Jack, and she proceeds to retrieve the injections which do bring Claire back to health. Juliet flashes back to her conversation with Ben before they abandoned the Village, and we find out that she is working with him on a plan to kidnap all of the viable women on the beach (ones who are or can get pregnant).

Episode 17: Desmond

Charlie, Hurley, Jin and Desmond go camping. They see a helicopter crash and head out to find Naomi after her parachute crash landed on the island. Naomi has photo of Penny and Desmond with her. Kate gets jealous of Jack and Juliet, so she sleeps with Sawyer again.

Episode 18: Sun

Juliet takes Sun to abandoned medical hatch to do an ultrasound. Sun finds out that the baby is Jin’s, but that she’ll probably die during childbirth. Juliet leaves Ben a secret tape recording about Sun’s pregnancy and taking samples from the other women. Desmond saves Charlie’s life again on their way to Naomi. They discover that she has a pierced lung, but Mikhail appears and saves her in exchange for his life. Naomi informs Hurley that Flight 815 was discovered and there were no survivors.

Episode 19: Locke

Ben and the Others set up camp with Locke’s dad tied up to an ancient pillar. Ben asks Locke to prove his commitment by killing his dad. Locke recruits Sawyer to kill Anthony Cooper for him, which he does when he finds out that Cooper is the real Sawyer. Back on the beach, Desmond, Charlie, Jin and Hurley are hiding Naomi from Jack, who they don’t trust because of Juliet’s presence. They do bring Sayid in on their secret, and he tries to use her satellite phone. Kate tells Jack about Naomi and the phone.

Episode 20: Ben

We find out that Ben was not born on the island. He and his father were brought there to work for Dharma when he was a kid, after his mom died during childbirth. When he is older, Ben masterminds a purge of all Dharma people, killing off the entire community. In real time, Ben brings Locke to meet Jacob, who lives in a cabin surrounded by ash. Ben is jealous that Locke heard Jacob speak, so he shoots him and leaves him for dead in an open grave full of Dharma skeletons. Sawyer plays Ben’s tape recording for the survivors on the beach, outing Juliet’s plan (he was given the recorder by Locke after killing Cooper). Juliet reveals that she’s already told Jack about it, and they’re working on a new plan.

Episode 21: Charlie

Jack leads a group of the survivors out to a clearing, where he has Danielle show them the explosives and unveils their plan to counter the Others. Charlie comes to terms with the fact that he must die in order for others to be rescued, per a Desmond flash forward. When it came time for someone to dive down to the newly discovered Looking Glass station to unblock the communications signal, Charlie volunteered. Karl took the boat from Other Island over to the beach to warn the survivors that the Others were coming a day early. Jin, Bernard and Sayid decided to stay on the beach to shoot at the dynamite when the Others came, while Jack leads the rest up to the radio tower. Desmond accompanies Charlie as he follows the cord in the ocean that leads to the Looking Glass station underwater. Charlie successfully made it down there, only to be captured by two angry Other women.

Episodes 22-23: Jack

Ben finds out that Charlie made it into the Looking Glass station, and dispatched Mikhail to go take care of it. Mikhail kills both Other women who were stationed down there. Desmond dives down to join Charlie at the station, and he kills Mikhail (or so we thought) with a spear gun. Charlie figures out the code to unlock the communications jam, and then Desmond’s girl Penny appears on the computer. Right as Charlie finds out that she wasn’t the one who sent Naomi to rescue them, Mikhail shows up with a grenade and blows open the window to the computer room. Because he believes he has to die in order for Claire to be rescued, Charlie locks the door and drowns, while Desmond watches from the outside. Before he died, he wrote “not Penny’s boat” on his hand so that Desmond knew to warn the other survivors about Naomi.

Meanwhile, Jack is leading survivors up to the radio tower, but the dynamite plan on the beach didn't work entirely. Sayid, Bernard and Jin are captured by the Others. Jack encounters Ben and Alex on their trek, and beats him severely when he thinks that Ben had Sayid, Bernard and Jin killed back on the beach. Turns out they are alive, thanks the the heroics of Hurley and his magic bus. Well, that and Sayid's magical murdering feet.

Elsewhere, Locke wakes up in the grave with a gunshot, and sees a vision of Walt (who presumably escaped the island with his dad Michael a few weeks back in Lost time). Walt tells him to get up because he has work to do. So he does. Of course. He finds the survivors at the radio tower and kills Naomi. Jack uses Naomi’s phone to contact her freighter.

Jack flashes forward. He is suicidal and a drug addict. He is very upset about an unknown person who has died, someone with ties to him and Kate. He is obsessed with finding the island, as it turns out that he and Kate were the only ones to get rescued. Kate wants nothing to do with him or the island.

That was exhausting...but totally worth it.