THE INCIDENT!

Are YOU ready for tonight?

While a lot happened last week in Follow the Leader, it was a pretty textbook set-up episode for a finale:

1. All the characters are where they are supposed to be. And if you think about it, there are five groups of people to track this year, which is a significant (and confusing) increase from past seasons. We’ve got:
o the Jugheaders: Hot/Pregnant Eloise, Richard, Sayid, Jack
o the 2008 Others: Richard and Others living in the tents
o the Ajira 316ers: Illana, Bram, and Frank
o the Submariners: Sawyer, Juliet, and Kate
o the 1977 Dharmas: Radzinsky, Phil, and Horace (note: I think Horace might be on the sub, but more on that later)

2. The drama has been seriously ratcheted up a notch: Ben/Richard versus Locke, Jack versus Kate, the island versus Jacob (more on this later), Jughead versus the energy from the Swan Station, Radzinsky versus Horace, and the Shadow of the Statue versus…well, everyone.

3. There is impending doom! Think about it: we are less than six hours from “The Incident” and we have some people screwing around with an atomic warhead. Maybe not the best idea.

4. Finally, just like last season, John Locke ended the episode with a line that shocked everyone. Remember what it was last year? “He wants us to move the island” (to which Charlie responded “HELL YEAH!”). This year, Locke decreed “so I can kill him”.

Aw, HELL YEAH!

Clearly this quote lends itself to deep dive (that’s what we call intense research at the Arbor Day Foundation!) on the man (maybe), the myth (definitely), the legend (absolutely): Jacob.

While Charlie and I have discussed him a number of times over the years, in-depth discussion of Jacob this season has been absent. Why? Well, Jacob has been absent the whole season. Sure, you can argue that Christian Shepherd is a manifestation of Jacob in some form…but even Christian hasn’t been around since Locke turned the Frozen Donkey Wheel. Now we have: “so I can kill him.” Looks like Jacob is back!

If you have been reading any articles about Lost this week, you’ve seen a lot of discussion and theorizing about the true nature of Jacob. Charlie and I have been bantering back and forth about it, too (I know you’re shocked). The theories have ranged from “Jacob is going to be a character we already know! Like Faraday/Sawyer/Jack!” to “Jacob doesn’t really exist – Locke is only going to kill the idea of Jacob.” No one knows what is going to happen, which is really awesome.

Let’s take some time this morning to discuss what we really know about this (alleged) all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-creepy character. HELL YEAH!

What We Know
Not a whole lot.

Over the last five seasons, there have only been 3 short-lived glimpses of Jacob. You’ll recall we saw him once sitting in a chair, and twice extreme close-ups on his eyes. As momentary as those moments were, they do prove (I think) that Jacob exists. Perhaps he is a spirit or a ghost…or a Black Rock Pirate (arrrrr!). Or something else. Regardless, I think it is safe to say he isn’t some imaginary friend (The Dharma Blog would like to point out that there is nothing wrong with having imaginary friends…), created by Alpert in an attempt to scare the Others into submission.

We have also seen Jacob and his cabin magically appear and disappear. He’s been visible to some people, but not other people. So, Jacob isn’t a normal living, breathing, human person. Actually, he is more bizarre than Alpert, which is saying a lot…that guy is weird.

So who and/or what is Jacob?
We have seen two characters “see” Jacob – Locke and Hurley. (Perhaps other characters have seen him, but we aren’t privy to this knowledge yet.) Since Locke is apparently the chosen one (arguably, but go with me on this), I get that he can see Jacob. But Hurley? Kind of bizarre, right? The only semi-plausible explanation I have read is that Hurley is semi-crazy and maybe that semi-craziness allows him the ability to see dead people (other examples: Charlie Pace, Mr. Eko, and Ana-Lucia Cortez).

The really fishy part of the Jacob story is that, although Richard and Ben have referenced Jacob often during the last five seasons, we haven’t seen them ‘see’ Jacob or communicate with him. It is important to note that Locke was granted an audience with Richard back in 1954 solely because he said “Jacob sent me”…which (I think) means that Richard knew about Jacob pre-1954. For me, this has been a primary reason why I’ve assumed Richard was legit. I mean, he knew about Jacob – that is like a Willy Wonka Golden Ticket.

But then there was his conversation with Ben last week. Alpert said he was “starting to wonder if John Locke was going to be a problem,” as if Ben and Richard shared an understanding of how this whole Jacob-thing was going to work…and Locke could potentially ruin everything they had built up over the past twenty years.

But hold up…what had they built up?

We’ve only heard Jacob say two words: “help me” (told to Locke, inaudible to Ben). I don’t know about you, but awhile ago, I came to the conclusion that Ben was never able to communicate with Jacob – he was just smart enough to work the system by referencing Jacob, which moved himself up the ladder to “Others, Leader of the” (also thanks to Richard’s lie about it being Jacob’s will when he saved Young Ben in 1977). Remember when we first saw Jacob’s cabin? There was that line of ash powder around it – which the show’s producers have said in interviews is a controlling mechanism…a magic circle, if you will.

Someone must have put it there.

And my money is on googly-eyed Ben.

Think about it. If Ben couldn’t see Jacob, he would probably want to control/cage him to prevent Jacob from outing his whole story (which would probably mean exile from the Others). It also would be a very plausible explanation for why Jacob said “help me” to Locke…he needed to be freed from the magic circle.

(I don’t know why that last line has given me the giggles…but it has. Freed from the magic circle. Oh, boy…I sound ridiculous.)

So, it makes sense that Locke would want to help Jacob – to free him, to help the Others find their way back from this divergent path they have been on, to prove that Ben is a dirty rotten scoundrel, and to get the whole team back together for the upcoming ‘island battle royale’ that seems inevitable. And perhaps the only way to help Jacob is to kill him – to release his spirit from this magic circle cage and allow him to once again roam free on the island.

But let’s be honest: I really have no idea. And that theory sounds dumb.

What about Christian Shephard, you ask? Although we have no idea who Jacob is, he did seem pretty old. Maybe Jacob can jump from dead body to dead body (see: dead Horace, dead Claire, dead Yemi). And maybe when dead Christian showed up on the island, Jacob upgraded to a younger body…the hybrid model, if you will.

Another Theory
Even though I like parts of this first theory, there might be another way to explain Locke’s comment: Jacob is actually really bad news.

What if Jacob is similar to Smokey Monster, a bizarrely powerful being that will kick your ass (see: ass-kicking of Keamy, Eko, Danielle’s French dude friends, and the attempt on Locke)? The Others might be serfs living beneath Lord Jacob…and the Others better do exactly what he says or else they will feel his wrath (see: ass-kicking). As hard as it may be to believe, this would make Ben and Richard the “good guys” (see: Ben’s comment from season 2 “We’re the good guys, Michael”), working together to contain Jacob and free the Others.

This theory posits that the island and Jacob are on different pages and want different things. Ben’s conversation with Locke last week actually supports this:

BEN: Your timing was impeccable, John. How did you know when to be here?
LOCKE: The Island told me. Didn't it ever tell you things?
BEN: No, John. And clearly it hasn't told you where Jacob is, or you wouldn't need Richard to show you.
LOCKE: You've never seen him.
BEN: What?
LOCKE: Jacob. You've never seen him, have you?

If the island and the Jacob were one/the same, Locke would not need Richard to take him to Jacob, right? So this conversation seems to imply that they are separate entities (opposing forces?). Locke can communicate with the island, not Jacob. The island is asking Locke to kill Jacob so it can be in control of everything/everyone.

Does any of that make sense?

And allow me to save you the time/effort of commenting on a rather large hole in this theory. Christian claimed he was speaking on behalf of Jacob and helped Locke turn the Frozen Donkey Wheel, which put everything in motion. If Jacob is anti-island, this doesn’t make any sense. I know, I know. I’m not sure how to explain this.

Let’s be honest: the explanation of Jacob we get tonight is likely to be 180 degrees from either of these theories. How many of us saw Lost morphing into a time-traveling show at the end of last season? I bet we will see another HUGE game-changer that no one will have predicted. HELL YEAH!

Richard Alpert.
And the award for “2nd Most Shocking Line of Follow the Leader” goes to…Richard Alpert!

SUN: These people... Jack Shephard, Kate Austen, Hugo Reyes. They were here with my husband, Jin Kwon. Were you here? Do you remember them? Any of them?
RICHARD: Yes, I was here 30 years ago. And I do. I remember these people. I remember meeting them very clearly, because... I watched them all die.

If you believe ‘whatever happened, happened,’ this comment from Richard means that our 815ers really did die in 1977 (or they vanished, which Richard equated to death). Now I know I brought this up last week, but come on: why hasn’t Richard caught onto this whole “time jumping” thing? Shouldn’t his comment to Sun have been “I watched them all either die or time jump”?

Not only that, but it seems likely that Richard had some knowledge of our Survivors in 2004. Jack, Kate, and Sawyer lived with the Others for a few weeks in Season 3. Richard gave Locke a file on Sawyer to manipulate Sawyer into killing Anthony Cooper (Locke’s daddy). Okay, at the very least, this means that when Richard saw these characters in 2004, he would have recognized these people from 1977…so in 2008, unless Alpert is real idiot, he really should be able to put together the pieces and understand that time traveling is going on.

What does all of this mean?
When Sun asks Richard about these people in 2008, if there was any chance that our survivors did time jump, Richard really would have referenced it (um, unless he was trying to be intentionally deceiving to Sun). So whatever happens to our survivors, it is going to be big (gulp), more complicated than time jumping (double gulp), and something that made it appear to Richard that they all died (sigh).

NO WAY!
Yeah, I know. CRAZY. Remember the lessons of Professor Daniel Faraday? He told his pupil, Jack that it is entirely possible that all our survivors could die in 1977 and they would be dead.

The writers seriously could kill off almost every main character tonight.

How???

The Incident.
Like it or not, our survivors are going to be involved in “The Incident” tonight. There are two obvious explanations for what is going to cause said event:

1. A release of scary energy caused by drilling at the Swan Station (per Faraday’s warning)
2. The Jughead going off in an effort to neutralize said energy.

Because ‘whatever happened, happened,” it seems like scenario 1 needs to…well, happen. However, scenario 2 seems like one that could cause everyone to die. Plus, scenario 2 means that the Jugheaders are able to move the 40,000lb bomb all the way to the Swan…for reals, yo: how are they going to do that? It can’t fit in a Dharma van. They can’t just ‘roll’ it. I posited last week that maybe Smokey will help move it, but that would be incredibly lame. Maybe the polar bears could help? No, that is also lame.

But seriously: the logistics of Jughead’s move to the Swan are too implausible to overlook. At the same time, if the Jugheaders are just like “Oh, well. It is too big. So much for that plan.”…I’m going to be angry. In some way, the Jughead will play a huge role in tonight’s episode.

So what do I think is going to go down? Scenario 1 is going to happen: erratic digging at the Swan is going to release the scary energy, setting into motion every event that happened up to the crash of 815. I also think Jughead is going to cause some huge tragedy (non-Incident related) that will either bring the 1977 survivors back to 2008 or make it appear that they all died…but I have no idea HOW that will happen.

A few other things before I wrap up:
Radzinsky: Radzy is clearly losing his marbles, which explains how he ended up locked inside the Swan Station (which may have saved him from the Purge, but also drove him crazy as he became one of the last people on the island). Sucks to be Radzinsky. And I am quite certain that Sawyer’s antiquated/poorly drawn map (which was his ticket to get on the submarine) will become the basis for the blast door map we were introduced to back in season 2.

Three’s Company, Submarine Edition: While we all want Sawyer and Juliet to leave the island and become 1970s millionaires…it just isn’t going to happen. There’s no chance. Plus, with Kate on the sub, it is just a matter of time before her wink and smile convince Sawyer to return to the island to save Jack from screwing everything up and changing the past. How will it happen? Some think Horace is driving the sub and will unshackle them and let them go. Some think there will be a quick pit-stop at the Looking Glass before departing for the mainland, which would allow them to get out. Some think Sawyer is going to hijack the sub and drive it back to the dock. Since ‘whatever happened, happened,’ the sub will eventually return to the mainland with all the Other mothers and children…so Sawyer/Juliet/Kate’s return to the island will probably happen early in the episode and be anticlimactic. I think...

Jack is in a dark place: This conversation made my heart hurt. Come on, Jack. Listen to yourself. Worst. Ex-Fiance. Ever.

KATE: And what about us? We just... go on living our life because we've never met?
JACK: All the misery that we've been through... we'd just wipe it clean. Never happened.
KATE: It was not all misery.
JACK: [Sighs] Enough of it was.

Guys suck.

1977 Eloise is pregnant with Faraday: Well, the consensus is that Eloise is pregnant with Faraday in 1977. My quick math says this means Faraday graduated from Oxford University when he was 17 years old. He is a freaking Doogie Howser!

And: SCENE!
Tonight, we’ve got three hours of Lost. Hour one (8/7 central): the Clip Show, hosted by Damon and Carlton (the producers). While we don’t expect it to be incredible, it will provide a nice set up for the finale. Hours two and three (9/8 central): the finale, “The Incident.” Woo hoo!

I would like to take this final preview of Season 5 to thank all the corporate sponsors of the Dharma Blog for your significant financial support and…wait a sec. We don’t have sponsors…YET.

Let me try this again.

I would like to take this final preview of Season 5 to thank all the readers of the Dharma Blog for another enjoyable season of incorrect theories, crazy comments, and many laughs. There are literally hundreds of you…many of you who Charlie and I don’t even know. It is hard to believe that after tomorrow, we won’t meet again (regularly) for another 8 months. Sure, we’ll have some random anecdotal posts over the next several months, but in truth, the Dharma Blog will be in hibernation with the Dharma Polar Bears.

The only way we will be able to survive this long hiatus is if we stick together (cue single tear). So keep those comments and theories coming. Email us whenever. Call us whenever. Or just head to our neighborhood bar, the Grapevine…we’ll probably be there. And you can bet we’ll be talking about Lost. We’d love to see you…and Charlie will buy the first round.

Tonight, let all the Dharma Blog readers raise their glasses to the greatest show on the face of this tree-covered earth. (No, not the Ringling Brothers circus. LOST, you fools!!)

Enjoy the finale!! HELL YEAH!!

Namaste,
Maggie