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Lost Recap: You Asked For Answers

Posted May 19, 2010 by Courtney Cairns Pastor

Updated May 19, 2010 at 12:43 PM

We start “What They Died For” with Lost’s favorite image – a close-up of Jack’s eye. This time when they pan out, we see Jack waking up in his flash-sideways home. As he checks out an island-inspired neck wound in the mirror, a chipper David appears, offering breakfast. Jack joins his son over “Super Bran” (ick) and they discuss David’s upcoming concert. “Mom” is going to be there and David hopes Jack won’t be all weird.

Before anyone can mention “Mom’s” name (of course), a very pregnant Claire rolls up to the table. Jack asks sis how she’s doing but is interrupted by a phone call. It’s Oceanic Airlines and they found his cargo/dad. Except when the phone clicks off, we see it’s really that wily Desmond on the other line.

Des is up to all sorts of tricks in the Sideways World. He’s lurking around Locke’s school, and poor Locke has just arrived back at school after what seems to be a really quick recovery from being HIT BY A CAR. We think Des might try to nail him again, but who comes to the rescue but Dr. Ben. He says he’s not going to let this weirdo hurt Mr. Locke. Des says he’s not here to hurt him – he’s here to help him let go. He then proceeds to help Ben let go by beating him to a pulp, during which Ben starts to flash to another beating on the island. He is understandably weirded out.

Ben goes to the school nurse to get patched up, when Locke comes by. Ben tells him about Desmond but tells him not to call the cops because Desmond might be right.

Turns out Locke didn’t need to call LAPD, because Des is already there, turning himself in to Sawyer (of course). (Sawyer and Miles first have a conversation about going to a concert at his dad’s museum – hmm, could this be David’s concert).

Desmond is pleased to be in the cell, cozied up with Sayid and Kate. Kate tries to flirt her way out of her cell, but Sawyer says he’s a cop and can’t.

Instead of going to the police, Locke rolls into Jack’s office and details the “coincidences” that keep bringing them together. Jack doesn’t think it’s fate, but he’s happy to hear that Locke has reconsidered and is willing to go through with back surgery. Locke’s epiphany is because of the phrase that he needs to “let go,” something Jack has also told him.

Ben, meanwhile, is looking pretty rough at school. Alex spots him and can’t believe someone would beat on him – he’s the “nicest guy.” She offers him a ride home, and guess who pulls up to the curb? It’s a nicely cleaned up Rousseau. I did a little happy dance to see her because I thought she had parted from the show for good. Rousseau invites Ben to dinner, even if she has to “kidnap” him (ick). They make goo-goo eyes at each other as they clean up later (double ick), and Ben gets verklempt when Rousseau says he’s like a father to Alex.

Back at the station, Sawyer tells the jailed Losties they are being transferred. Sayid is not happy about riding with Des, who is all sunshine and roses. As the van rolls on, Des says, “I think it’s time to leave.” Sayid and Kate are seriously rolling their eyes, but Des says the driver knows where to stop and Sayid and Kate are invited but must trust Des when he tells them what to do next. Sayid and Kate are clearly thinking CRAZY PERSON but say sure, whatever, we’ll follow along.

So aren’t they surprised when the van does stop at the docks, and cop Ana Lucia opens the door to let them out. She wants to know where the man with the money is. Cue Hurley rolling up to the docks in his yellow Hummer. He gives her $125,000 and a big grin, “You didn’t tell me Ana Lucia was going to be here.” She gives him the side eye and he says oh yeah, they haven’t met yet.
Desmond sends Sayid with Hurley and he takes Kate. He tosses her a cocktail dress. They’re going to a concert. What a coincidence – aren’t Miles, Sawyer and Jack supposed to be there as well? And Jack’s mystery ex, who has got to be Juliet, right?

Things are no less weird on the island. Jack is sewing up Kate and digging out bullets. Kate is rambling about Jin and Sun and their daughter. “We have to kill him,” she tells Jack. A life vest washes up on shore, and Sawyer, Hurley and Kate have a moment as they watch it, before Jack says it’s time to get going. Desmond is in the well (does this sound like the plot of Lassie? Speaking of, where the heck is Vincent?) and if Desmond is that important to Locke, then the Losties obviously need him. Or something like that.

Miles, Ben and Richard also are walking through the woods to get the explosives that Ben hid in New Otherton (which is now Decrepit Otherton). They want to blow up the Ajira plane and prevent the MIB from leaving. Miles gets weird as they enter the village (he points out to Ben that he lived there 30 years before Ben, which was, like, last week – I do love Miles) because he is hearing “ghostly sounds,” at least according to my closed-captioning. Richard confesses that he buried Alex there. Ben does not take advantage of this opportunity to ask Miles what the heck Alex is saying. SIGH.

They head into Ben’s old house, behind the bookcase, into a secret room – “It’s where I was told I could summon the monster” but the monster was summoning him. He unlocks the safe and takes the explosives, enough to blow the plane to pieces, he says. There’s a rustle in the kitchen. It’s Zoe! And Widmore! Widmore’s all “Hello, Benjamin.” Ben whips out his gun. Widmore is unfazed and sends Zoe to the dock to take everything and sink the outrigger. Widmore rains on Ben’s little explosive parade, saying that he is a step ahead of their group and already rigged the plane with explosives.

Ben wants to know how Chas made it back to the island. Widmore is casual. Jacob invited him. Turns out Widmore erred by sending mercenaries on his freighter. Jacob visited him, told him he shouldn’t have done that, “convinced me of the error of my ways” and invited him back. ???

Before Ben or anyone else can ask what in the world he is talking about, Zoe radios back that UnLocke is arriving. Chas says they need to hide if they don’t want to die.

Richard, though, offers to talk to him, and Ben doesn’t want to hide. Richard says maybe if he can get UnLocke to leave with him, the rest of them will have a chance. He steps outside and is instantly zapped by the hand of the smoke monster. UnLocke emerges soon afterward to chat with Ben on his porch. UnLocke says Ben is just who he was looking for. Could he kill some people for him, please and thank you?

Ben asks why he would do that? UnLocke says so he can have the island all to himself. He asks whose outrigger he saw, and Ben sells out Widmore and tells UnLocke exactly where he is hiding.

Ben tags along after UnLocke, who tells Ben he doesn’t need to see what’s going to unfold. But bloodthirsty Ben is just fine with it. Zoe starts to talk but Widmore tells her to shut up. So UnLocke kills her. She’s pointless if she can’t tell him anything. UnLocke promises not to kill Penny if Widmore tells him why he came back. Widmore says he came back with Desmond as a “last resort” because of his reaction to electromagnetism. Widmore refuses to say more with Ben there, but in a nice junior high school girl moment, he whispers it to UnLocke. BANG. Ben shoots Widmore. “He doesn’t get to save his daughter.”

UnLocke doesn’t care. He heard what he needed. Ben says fine. Who else does he need him to kill?

I really had hoped for more from Widmore’s story.

Ben trots along aside UnLocke and asks the burning question, why does Locke walk anywhere when he can smokify himself and get there faster. UnLocke says he likes to feel the ground, because it reminds him that he was human.

They arrive at the well where poor Desmond was deposited, but there’s now a rope leading out of it and no Desmond. UnLocke says it’s no biggie. He says Widmore whispered that Desmond was a fail-safe in case UnLocke killed everyone else so he couldn’t leave the island. Now, UnLocke says, they need to find Desmond so he’ll help him Destroy the Island.

But back to the Jack group. Sawyer is realizing that he was manipulated into basically blowing up the sub, but Jack is charitable and tells him it’s not his fault. The men march on, leaving Hurley and an ailing Kate stumbling behind. Hurley gets distracted by the mystery boy, who we now know is Baby Jacob. Baby Jake demands his ashes from Hurley (the ones that Hurley got from Ilana) and takes them and flees into the woods. Hurley chases him and finds Grown Jacob tending a campfire. Jacob has thrown the ashes into the fire and when the fire burns out, Jacob will be gone forever.

So the Losties gather for some Stories By Jacob Around the Campfire. Hurley is in awe that the others can actually see Dead Jacob. Kate confirms that he’s the one who wrote their names on the wall and says she wants to make sure her friends didn’t die for nothing. Jacob is all, gather around and I’ll tell you a story, and promises to share everything they need to know about protecting the island.

He says he made a mistake by bringing everyone there. And now because he did that, everyone they care about might die. They know him as the monster – Jacob made him that way, and now he wants to kill him. And the island needs a protector, hence the candidates.

But to be fair, Jacob says, they weren’t exactly living it up in the Real World. “You were all flawed,” he says. “You were all alone. You were all looking for something you couldn’t find out there.”

Kate is hurt. Why was her name crossed off? Because she’s a mother now, Jacob says. But hey, if she wants the job …

Jack: What job? Jacob: There’s this light on the island and you need to make sure it never goes out. Jack: Should we kill him? Can we? Jacob: He’s going to try to kill you. Kate: What if no one wants the job? Jacob: Then things end badly. Jack: I’ll do it.

OoooooK. Jack says it’s why he’s there and what he’s supposed to do. Jacob is pleased and whisks Jack away for a nip of some water that he has chanted over in Latin. Sawyer is watching and groaning about this making Jack’s god complex even worse. Hurley says he’s just glad it’s not him.

Jacob tells Jack he can find the light beyond the bamboo field where he landed after the 815 crash. Jack says there’s nothing out there, but Jacob says he would be wrong. Jacob hands him the cup and Jack asks how long he has to do this job. Jacob says as long as he can. Jack drinks.

“Now you’re like me,” Jacob says.

I have a lot of thoughts and questions about this that I will need to post at another point. For right now, my main question is, what was with that creepy lady doing the voiceover for the season finale?