For the first time in nearly three seasons of LOST, we have no clue about what’s going to happen anymore. The last flash-forward string has been tied up, and now we get back to – what, exactly?

The Episode

I was totally psyched for this episode, and I have to say: it did not disappoint. There were so many little things, so many details that were tied up and now I feel that it finally time for the show to move back to where it’s all going on: the island. It didn’t really feel like the big reveal that I was hoping for, but I actually didn’t mind one bit: instead of the expected lore-heavy episode, I got a good old emotional Locke episode with a solid script and great acting. Oh, and the Locke theme music, which we haven’t heard for a while.

I loved how Locke went through yet another emotional downwards spiral. He was full of hope when he started by visiting Sayid, but when Jack left the room, we started to understand that John Locke’s suicide might not have been the act of sacrifice it had been intended, but more like… an actual suicide. I didn’t get the whole Ben killing Locke thing, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

This episode was the first one that really made me think about who the good and the bad guys are on this show. I know: they’ve been playing this theme since season one, but this episode was the first one to truly make me doubt and wonder. Why was this? The change of mind that made Ben kill Locke? His creepy astonishment at hearing that Jin is alive? The emotion with which Charles Widmore told Locke about his fate? It’s probably a mix of all of the above. In a way, I hope there will be no “good guys” and “bad guys”, just differences of opinion and a fight between neighbours that got truly out of hand. Truly Postmodern.

Something completely different: was it just me, or were Jack and Kate really, really nasty to Locke? This was the first time I truly believed they were looking at what they think is a crazy old man who keeps killing and blowing up stuff in a tantrum to get his own way. They owe resurrected Locke an apology if you ask me. But they did deliver the lines while keeping a sense of “goodness” in their characters: they weren’t being evil, they were just fed up with him. Nice job.

The Questions

We now know how Locke ended up in the coffin (question 1). Sooner than expected if you ask me – but just at the right time. The series can move on now. We now also know – given that we watched carefully – that the island is, I think, in several places at the same time. Team Locke is on Alcatraz, the little Dharma island, in what I think is 2008. Reason for thinking this is that the Hydra station looks old and dusty – unlike the Dharma heyday. We found out in 316 that Jack, Hurley, Kate and Jin ended up in the seventies – very much like that same Dharma heyday. What could this mean? On a final note, we found out a bit more about Widmore and Ben and their creepy struggle. Ben apparently “banished” Widmore, who spent more than three decades on the island. Could this have happened during the purge? Does it have anything to do with Annie?

In All…

The episode was way less complicated than I thought it would be. That’s okay though: it delivered in a way I thought it wouldn’t deliver. And there it delivered well, with brilliant performances by everyone, but mostly Terry O’Quinn, Michael Emerson and Matthew Fox. There is always something special about the scarce moments where two of those three meet… and this week, we got a whole lotta meetin’

Favourite Quote:
Matthew Abbadon: Boy’s gotten big.