Today’s Topic: The Incident
Mood Music: Pusherman by Curtis Mayfield
FLASHBACK (Jacob)
“make your world what you want it to be”
Opens with a shot of a dude working at a loom….in what looks to be a very, very old room. There’s a fire burning in a small pit on the floor and he’s wearing rope sandals as he weaves the yarn/rope/whatever. It shows him using a knife to add the strands to some kind of large tapestry that he’s making.
We see the man going out into the ocean to retrieve some kind of basket. He dumps out a fish and proceeds to filet in on a rock and then toss it onto another rock that’s been heating up from a fire below it.
***could it just be that easy? I have to say, upon rewatching the scene a few hundred times….that fish looks pretty damn good when he pulls it off the boulder grill
The man’s wearing very old looking clothes….white shirt and gray pants. He leans back to eat and we see that he’s watching a large ship make it’s way towards the beach where he’s chilling.
***my assumption is that it’s the Black Rock…it looks a lot like the ship in a bottle Richard Alpert was building in the last episode
Another man walks up (dressed in a black shirt and gray pants)….he says he’s there because of the ship…and they proceed to have a cryptic conversation about how he knows that the other man (in white) brought the ship to the island to prove him wrong and that it’s going to end just like it always does…with fighting, corruption, destruction, etc….the man in white answers that he is wrong and it will only end once but everything up until then is progress. The Man in Black then tells the MIW that he wants to kill him….which doesn’t surprise MIW at all. He mentions that one day he’ll find a loophole and kill him. To that MIW says that he’ll be there. The MIB says that “it was nice talking to you…..JACOB”
and it pans out and we see that JACOB and the MIB are on a beach right below the “four-toed statue” that has what looks to be an alligator face.
***Yowsa. Notice how the two of them are dressed in black and white. The MIB’s name was never mentioned so we will have all summer and maybe forever to try and guess who he might be….if I had to guess….he’s the smoke monster in human form (kinda like the holy spirit)….and Jacob….well he’s like Jesus (maybe).
FLASHBACK (Kate)
“silent life of crime, a man of odd circumstance”
We see young Kate and Tom planning something outside a convenience store. They pass a truck with a license plate XA7 023 and it has an Iowa Cattlemen sticker. Inside, Kate steals a New Kids On the Block lunchbox and puts it in a backpack. As they are walking out, the store clerk catches them and tells her that he’s going to call her Mom and then the cops. A man (offscreen) offers to pay for it and then the clerk says he won’t call anyone as long as someone pays for it. We see the man is JACOB. He tells Katie that she’s not going to steal again and then pokes her on the nose.
***more on the nose poke later….I believe they were in Ames, IA and Tom was carrying the toy plane
FLASHBACK (Sawyer)
“two bags please, for a generous fee”
Young Sawyer watches his parents’ coffins as they are loaded into hearses. He then sits down on the stairs of the church and continues writing “the letter” to Mr. Sawyer. His pen runs out of ink and JACOB shows up and offers him his pen. He makes sure to touch his thumb as he hands him the pen, he tells James that he’s sorry about his Mother and Father and then he leaves, telling him he can keep the pen. His uncle (or some man) comes up and asks to see what he’s writing. He reads it aloud and then tells “Jimmy” that he can’t change what’s happened. “What’s done…is done” and makes him promise that he won’t finish the letter. Sawyer promises and they head out.
***again with the touching….also, the license plate on the hearse was ZABM543….how awesome is it that we see the origin of the infamous “letter” that we know he will carry with him until he finally gets the chance to avenge his parents’ death in Season 3.
FLASHBACK (Sayid)
“got a woman I love desperately…wanna give her something better than me….been told I can’t be nothin’ else”
Sayid and Nadia are walking and talking. She goes to cross the street and JACOB stops Sayid to ask for directions. Nadia stops as well and then gets hit by a car. JACOB touches Sayid’s shoulder before Sayid runs to Nadia. She asks him to “take her home”, “take her home”.
***JACOB touches Sayid, and if I had to guess….there were probably 15 cars seen during the entire scene….just a guess
FLASHBACK (Ilana)
“you know me, I’m your friend”
Ilana is in some kind of hospital, with bandages covering her face. A nurse comes in and tells her she has a visitor. It’s JACOB. He tells her that he’s sorry he couldn’t make it sooner. She says she’s happy to see him. He tells her that he’s there because he needs her help. He asks if she’ll help him and she says “yes”.
***no numbers and he didn’t touch her
FLASHBACK (Locke)
“i know I can break it, this life just don’t make it”
JACOB is sitting on a bench reading Flannery O’Connor’s “Everything that Rises Must Converge” and Locke comes crashing to the ground. He walks over, touches him which resuscitates him. He tells him that everything’s gonna be alright and that he’s sorry that it happened to him.
***there are 8 people that come out to see what happened, and JACOB touches Locke
FLASHBACK (Sun and Jin)
“how long can a good thing last…oh no, no, no”
Sun and Jin are getting married. They say their vows and kiss. As they are greeting guests, JACOB comes up to them and offers his blessing as he touches them both. He tells them not to take their love for granted and leaves. They don’t know who he is, but Jin notices that his Korean was excellent.
***there are 42 guests at the wedding and JACOB touches Sun and Jin
FLASHBACK (Jack)
“i’m your doctor when in need”
Jack is operating on someone. His Dad and others are in the operating room with him. He looks intent and suddenly twitches from a mistake….
***I knew right away that this was the incident that he told Kate about in the very first season…the moment where he learned to harness his fear and I thought….Damn these guys are good….what an unbelievable scene to show us….Bravo.
Christian Shepherd gets him to calm down by telling him to count to five. Jack does it and finishes the surgery. Afterwards, he tries to get an Apollo bar from the vending machine, but it gets stuck. He’s pissed and takes it out on his father by yelling at him for putting him in “timeout” in front of co-workers that need to trust him. He blames his father, but his father questions whether he really needs to blame himself. We can hear someone at the vending machine and as his Dad leaves, JACOB come around the corner with 2 candy bars. He hands it to Jack as he touches his finger and tells him that it “just needed a little push”.
***The candy bar weight was 16 oz….JACOB touched Jack’s hand
FLASHBACK (Juliet)
“i’m your momma, i’m your daddy”
Juliet is sitting on the couch with her sister as her parents tell them that they are getting divorced. She doesn’t understand why and her Mom tells her that sometimes people that love each other aren’t necessarily meant to be together ( a line she is still carrying with her all those years later because she says something similar to Sawyer when she explains to him that she loves him but they aren’t meant to be with each other). Her Mom says that one day, when she’s an adult, she’ll understand. Juliet barges out of the room saying that she doesn’t want to understand.
***No JACOB in her flashback…uh-oh…also, the book on the coffee table was titled, “Mysteries of Ancient Americas”
FLASHBACK (Hurley)
“got to be mellow now, got to be mellow y’all, got to be mellow now”
Hurley is being released from jail. He obviously doesn’t want out, but he doesn’t have a choice. When he exits, there’s a cab outside. He goes to get in and realizes that there’s already someone in there. “sorry, I didn’t know it was taken”. He says, but JACOB tells him to get in. There’s a guitar case on the seat beside him. Hurley asked why he was in jail, and he says he wasn’t. He tells Hurley that he was “waiting on you, Hugo”. Hurley then says that he must be dead and JACOB assures him that he’s not dead. He tells Hurley that he must get on the flight 316 and he tells him that he can take his word that he isn’t crazy as he touches his shoulder. He tells him that it’s his choice…he doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want to. Hurley asks who he is and JACOB gets out of the cab…he tells him to be on that plane, and as Hurley asks about the guitar case on the seat, JACOB says that it’s not his.
***No numbers that I could see, other than the deputy telling him that he had 1 wallet, 227 dollars, 1 fruit rollup, and 1 ballpoint pen…don’t know what those might mean….JACOB does touch his shoulder
ON ISLAND – 2007
Locke and crew are heading to find Jacob. Ben tells Sun that Jacob is in charge of the island. She thought that Locke was in charge, and Ben replies that Locke is just the leader….a position that’s incredibly temporary. She asks Ben what Jacob’s like and he responds that he doesn’t know because he’s never seen him. Locke talks to Richard and wants to know why he’s concerned. Alpert mentions that Ben told him he killed Locke. Alpert questions how he’s still alive. He says he’s never seen someone come back to life and that it must be Jacob that brought him back. Locke agrees and says that he wants to thank him. He then tells Alpert that they will have to “deal” with the Ajira passengers after they see Jacob.
meanwhile….
Ilana, Bram, Lapidus
Ilana and Bram (and 3 redshirts) paddle on to the shore with a knocked out Lapidus. They have a large crate. Bram asks why they brought him and if he’s a candidate. He didn’t know the answer to the question, he says. They say they’re friends. Lapidus asks what’s in the box. They decide to open it and show him. He sees what’s inside and responds, “terrific”. They carry the box to Jacob’s cabin.
***the box is labeled AA823
Locke and Ben are talking as they walk on the beach. Locke asks him why he hasn’t told Alpert about his intentions to kill Jacob. Ben responds that he is thinking about things differently since his dead daughter appeared to him in the cavern threatening to kill him if he didn’t do whatever Locke says. Locke is please, because, he tells Ben, now he won’t have to convince him to kill Jacob.
They stop to rest for the night and Sun realizes that it’s their old camp. Locke approaches Ben and points out that the door to the hatch “where they first met” is on the beach behind them. Locke asks Ben what happened when they went to Jacob’s cabin that time. Ben admits that he lied because he had never actually met Jacob and he was embarassed. He then asks Locke why he wants him to kill Jacob and Locke asks him, after all he’s been through, getting cancer, watching his daughter get shot, all his sacrifices for a man he’d never met…why wouldn’t he want to kill him?
Sun finds Aaron’s old cradle and picks up Charlie’s “DS” ring (which stood for his grandfather, Dexter Stratton, for those that didn’t know)
meanwhile….
Ilana, Bram, Lapidus
…are walking, Lapidus asks what they’re going to do with it. Bram says that they need to show it to somebody so that they’ll know what they’re up against (which is a helluva lot scarier than what’s in the box). He tells Lapidus that they are the good guys and as long as he’s with them, he’ll be alright. As they reach the cabin, Bram notices that the ash line has been disturbed. Ilana enters the cabin alone and inside it has been trashed. She finds a piece of cloth being held up by a knife in the wall. She looks almost sad as she removes it. When she gets outside she tells Bram that “he” isn’t there. He hasn’t been for a long time….that someone else has been using it and then she orders the redshirts to burn the cabin. Bram asks what now, and she shows him the cloth that she found in the cabin. It’s got the “four-toed statue” on it and so he says that he knows where they are going. They exit as the cabin flames are massive.
***the knife she found holding up the cloth was the same knife that Jacob was using in the opening scene to cut the fish…..hmmmm
We then see Locke and Co. arriving at a point on the beach where Alpert stops them. We see that they’ve gotten to the “four-toed statue” and Locke asks what it has to do with JACOB. Alpert says that it is where he lives. Richard asks Locke if he wants to do it in the morning and Locke tells him he’s tired of waiting. Sun asks Ben what happened to the rest of the statue and he tells her it was like that when he got there. She thinks he’s lying and he responds that he probably is. Locke grabs him and they go to the base of the statue. Richard asks Ben what he’s doing there and Locke tells him Ben’s going in with him. Richard explains that only the leader can request to see JACOB and there can only be one leader at a time. Locke tells him that he thinks Richard’s making the rules up as he goes and that if JACOB has a problem with Ben coming in, he’ll discuss it with him. Richard pushes the block at the base and it starts to move in. He hands the torch to Locke and says, “tell him I said Hello”. They enter. There is a dark hallway with light coming from a large room at the end. Ben looks like he’s about to puke and Locke asks if he’ll be able to do it. He tells Ben that things will change when JACOB is dead. Ben glances down, pulls Locke’s knife from the sheath and they enter the room.
meanwhile….
Ilana, Bram, Lapidus
…arrive at the beach and Ilana asks for “Ricardus.” Richard identifies himself and Ilana asks, “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” Richard replies in Latin, “Ille qui nos omnes servabit” (”He who will protect us all”). Ilana reveals the contents of the crate: John Locke’s dead body, which Ilana’s crew found in the cargo hold of Ajira 316. Sun looks at Locke’s body and then toward the statue, and asks: “If that’s Locke, then who is in there?”
CUT TO LOCKE, BEN, AND JACOB
Inside the chamber, Jacob immediately recognizes the true identity of Locke’s impersonator and asks him if he finally found his “loophole.” Jacob tells Ben that no matter what he has been told, he still has a choice, that he can simply leave so the two adversaries can discuss their “issues.” Ben asks Jacob about all the times he was neglected and ignored despite his faithful service, complains that Locke was the favored one, and asks, “What about me?” Jacob’s only reply is, “What about you?” Ben stabs Jacob twice. Jacob whispers to Locke, “They’re coming.” Locke’s impersonator rolls Jacob into the fire pit in the center of the room, and Jacob burns.
ON ISLAND – 1977
On the sub, Kate, Sawyer, and Juliet are discussing their plans. The OJ sedative is being passed around as the Captain says over the loud speaker, “have a nice rest….see you on the Other Side”. Kate informs them of Jack’s plan to detonate an H-Bomb and Sawyer acts like he doesn’t care. They continue arguing about it and Sawyer realizes that Kate’s concerned that everyone on the island will die if Jack goes through with his plan. Sawyer declines saying that he made a choice and he’s sticking to it. Juliet tells him that “we” made a choice and she knocks out the dude bringing the sedatives and uses the keys to unlock their cuffs. They force the Captain (at gunpoint) to surface and Juliet tells him not to take the rest of the people back to the island…just to continue on course after they are off. The Cap. is concerned about Horace calling, but Sawyer shoots the communications speaker….and the Cap. orders the ship to surface.
***the sub is named, “Galaga”
Sawyer, Kate, and Juliet paddle to shore in a lifeboat.
***there is an unbelievably poignant shot of Juliet as Sawyer and Kate discuss which direction they’re heading. She is staring back at the sub as it disappears below the waterline. I believe at that moment, she’s realizing that she will NEVER get off the island. It’s the 2nd time she’s been that close to leaving on the sub and having it thwarted. Very touching.
Kate thanks Juliet for backing her up and Juliet says no problem. Sawyer has no idea where they are and at that moment, Vincent comes running out onto the beach. Sawyer bends down to pet him asking where he’s been.
***at that moment, if you look closely, there’s a rainbow in the sky over the ocean….crazy
Next, and may I say….FINALLY!!!!!, Rose and Bernard, quite disappointedly, come out of the jungle and realize that they have been found.
Rose and Bernard tell them that after the attack of the flaming arrows they scattered and found this little spot near the beach. Sawyer talks about how they looked for them for years and they tell him they know….they didn’t want to join them in the Dharma Initiative. They’ve retired….and all they care about, whether or not Jack succeeds in detonating the bomb and killing everyone, is being together.
***at this point, Sawyer glances over at Kate and Juliet sees it. I believe that this is the look that she refers to later, and it’s an unbelievably sad scene in that sense….great job Elizabeth Mitchell…my God. by the way, the Bernard and Rose Theme playing in the background doesn’t hurt…my favorite emotional theme of the show (couldn’t see that coming could you?).
They point them in the right direction and offer them some tea before they go. Juliet tells Bernard, “maybe another time” and the look of sadness on her face is palpable.
Jack, Sayid, Eloise, Richard
Jack, Sayid, Eloise, and Richard are trying to figure out how to move “Jughead”. Sayid points out that they only need to move the plutonium core (or something like that) per Daniel’s notes. He says that will be enough of an explosion to take out the Swan. We see etchings of the plan in Daniel’s notebook. They have 2 hours, per the notebook, to get the core to the Swan site. Sayid removes the core and Jack finds a backpack to carry it in. He asks Sayid if he’s done with Faraday’s journal and he decides to keep it. Richard grabs a sledgehammer and then asks Jack if he knows Locke. He says that he’s gone to see Locke twice since he visited him and he doesn’t seem to be special. Jack tells him not to give up on Locke.
They follow Richard to a spot where he knocks through the wall with the hammer. It’s the basement of a Dharma house and Alpert knocks out Eloise saying that he’s protecting their “leader”. He tells Jack and Sayid to go on and that he’s taking her out the way they came in. Jack and Sayid decide to escape ”in plain sight” by donning Dharma suits and just cruising past everyone. Unfortunately….jackass Roger Linus notices them and starts a firefight by shooting Sayid in the gut. Luckily, Hurley (again with a van rescue..amazing how Hurley’s connected to the damn Dharma vans), Miles, and Jin show up and load them in the van.
***by the way, I’ve never seen Jack soooo pissed as he was when Roger shot Sayid…and then, sooo happy when he realized who was in the van…watch closely at the size of his damn smile
Jack tells Hurley to drive to the Swan if he wants to see Sayid again (at this point, I think Jack realizes that Sayid ain’t making it, if they don’t hurry…he’s bleeding bad) Jin asks him what’s at the Swan, and Jack tells him that he thinks he’s found a way to get Jin back together with Sun. As they head towards the Swan, Sayid tells Jack that he can rig the bomb to detonate on impact, but they will need to get there at the precise time of the incident. Hurley says they are about 5 minutes away and then slams on brakes as Sawyer, Kate, and Juliet are blocking the road.
Sawyer asks Jack for 5 minutes. He says that Jack owes him that much. They go into the jungle to hash shit out. There, Sawyer tells Jack about his parents. He says that if he wanted to, he could’ve left the island, gone back, and kept all of that from happening, but he didn’t because “what’s done is done”. Jack finally admits that he wants to blow up the island, to start over, because he had a chance with Kate and he blew it. He tells Sawyer about how Locke told him that they were not supposed to leave and that he believes it’s their destiny to be there. Sawyer replies that he “doesn’t speak Destiny” and then proceeds to try and whip Jack’s ass. Juliet conveniently breaks up the fight. She tells Sawyer that Jack is right and when he asks her to be straight with him, she says that she loves him but that when she saw the way he looked at Kate, she knew they wouldn’t be together. If what Jack is trying to do works, that will mean that she never met Sawyer (and essentially never lost him).
***HI-YO!!! Again, the Emmy for this episode goes to……Elizabeth Mitchell….yowsa.
Jack is seen overlooking the Swan site and Kate comes up on him. She sees that his face is all messed up and mentions the time that she sewed him up on the beach. He asks her why she didn’t want to talk about Aaron and she says that she came back so that she could help Aaron be with his mother. Jack says then the only way to do that is for them to carry out the plan of dropping the bomb in the hole. He asks if she’s with him and she replies, “yes”.
Hurley tells Sayid he’s gonna be ok. Jack returns and Sayid tells him that he fixed the bomb to explode on impact but that it’s gotta be timed right. Jack says that if it works, it will save Sayid, to which Sayid replies that nothing can save him. Jack heads out after glancing at Kate. As he passes Sawyer he says, “I’ll see you in Los Angeles”.
Radzinsky shows up at the Swan site bitching at Dr. Chang about stopping the drill. Chang tells him that the bit will melt if they keep going. He asks why “Stuart” (Radzinsky) needs to work on his experiment now. SR replies that he’s been working on it for 6 years….”designing a station that will manipulate electromagnetism in ways we’ve only dreamed of”….to which Chang asks is he’s thought about the consequences of drilling into the pocket of energy. He tells Chang that he came to the island to change the world and that’s exactly what he’s going to do.
Later, Phil calls Radzinsky on the radio as the electromagnetic power is getting worse at the Swan site. Phil tells him that Sayid came back and that they took off with a bomb. He didn’t know where they were going, but Radzinsky does. He tells Phil to get over there, and that they are coming there and he will be ready for them.
With everyone now on the same page (although it’s unclear what changed Kate’s mind), Jack enters the construction site of the Swan station at the same time security officer Phil arrives with a team of armed men. On the orders of Radzinsky, Dr. Pierre Chang continues drilling into the energy source beneath the construction site. A massive gunfight ensues, wherein the survivors gain the upper hand, allowing Jack to drop the bomb into the pit at the same time the drill hits the energy source. The bomb, however, does not detonate, and suddenly all metal items are being pulled into the pit. A toolbox knocks Jack unconscious, a rebar stabs Phil in the chest, a beam traps Dr. Chang’s arm and a metal chain wraps around Juliet’s midsection and drags her into the pit. Miles manages to lift the beam and release Dr. Chang’s injured hand. Sawyer and Kate grab Juliet’s hand before she falls into the pit, but their efforts to save her are futile as she slips out of Sawyer’s grip and falls to the bottom of the pit. Severely injured, Juliet sees the bomb lying next to her, cushioned by the mud.
She picks up a rock and hits the hydrogen bomb’s fission core eight times until a flash of white ends the episode.
***The Official Lost Podcast stated that the bomb did detonate.
Quotes
“still trying to prove me wrong aren’t you” – man in black to Jacob
“you are wrong” – Jacob
“am I?” – man in black
“they come, fight, they destroy, they corrupt….it always ends the same” – the man in black
“it only ends once….anything that happens before that, is just progress” – Jacob
“we’re gonna drink our OJ and take our chances in the real world” – Sawyer
“is there anything in there about how we’re supposed to move a 10 ton bomb across the island?” – Jack
“actually, it’s 20 tons” – Sayid
“if Edison was only worried about the consequences, we’d all be sitting in the dark” – Radzinsky
“and I’ve never seen anyone who doesn’t age” – Locke to Alpert
“if I were you, I wouldn’t give up on him” – Jack about Locke to Alpert
“oh, hell no” – Rose
“they found us” – Rose
“son of a bitch” – Bernard
“Jack’s got a bomb” – Kate
“who cares…..it’s always something with you people” - Rose
“i don’t speak destiny” – Sawyer to Jack
“in my experience, the people that go out of their way to tell you they are the good guys….are usually the bad guys” – Lapidus to Brahm
“do you expect me to believe that?” – Sun to Ben
“not really” – Ben to Sun
Questions and Tidbits
- what’s up with the food drops?
- what’s the “loophole”?
- was Jacob really the one that led all of the Losties to the island? Has he been “pushing” them all along?
- the four-toed statue is now confirmed to be “Taweret”, the Egyptian deity of protection in pregnancy and childbirth. According to Wikipedia, her name means, “one who is great”. She was the wife of Apep, the original God of Evil who resided below the horizon. Since he was below the horizon, she became seen as the Northern Sky, a constellation covering the area of present-day Draco, which always lies above the horizon. Thus she was also known as the “Mistress of the Horizon”. In Egyptian depictions, she has been seen with crocodile, hippo, and lion parts since these are all animals that they feared. She was also frequently depicted carrying an ankh.
- Finally, I have to wonder what’s up with the numbers showing up in each flashback and Jacob actually touching each of the original Losties in their flashbacks. Did he mark them from that point forward, so that he could track them somehow? Did he basically give them some kind of gift (longer life, ability to cheat death, etc…) so that they would be able to eventually get to the island? Is this maybe how he brings people to the island….kinda like what the MIB was saying at the beginning about the Black Rock? Was he following them for their entire lives or just at these certain moments? Kate, Sawyer, Jack, Sun, and Jin all pre-island. Hurley after the original crash. Ilana….well, not sure about Ilana. Just a little food for thought.
Alright folks….that’s all I’ve got….LOOOONG, I know…..but hey, what a great season. Please comment because I’m gonna keep the LOST Discussion page up until the end of next season…..whenever you get the urge, make sure to post your theories on the page. It should make for some fun banter until next year. Otherwise, thanks so much for reading my long-winded recaps throughout the 5th season of Lost……and I look forward to 6th and final season of what I consider (pretty easily to be honest) the GREATEST TELEVISION SHOW OF ALL TIME!!!
I’ll talk at you all again later.
“superfly, here I stand, secret “stache”…… I’m your Pusherman, I’m your Pusherman, I’m your Pusherman”
Metallica concert
