Have all the doubts you want about any given Lost season, but when the last few episodes come around, everyone involved brings it. All the plot lines come together, the big finale takes shape, and you're left both eagerly anticipating what's coming and wondering how the hell they'll ever get away with it. Even though we've seen the Oceanic Six arrive back at home, and we've even seen people get off the damn island, I still have no idea why Hurley gets off the island. And even though we've seen Ben have a gun pointed to his head by the man hired to kill him, I'm still convinced the bug-eyed genius will outlive us all.
But you know what this episode was really all about? Relationships. Yeah, you know, that thing that made Lost great to begin with, and occasionally got lost-- ha!-- while chasing after mysterious hatches and smoke monsters? That's been one of the great things about this season, getting back to parsing out the relationships between the various characters, and tugging at your heartstrings a wee bit in the process. So instead of being all plot-heavy, let's recap by looking at the relationships we saw tonight in all their glory.
Hurley and his parents. Among all of the Oceanic Six, Hurley seems to be the only person happy to see his family when they arrive on the tarmac in the beginning of this episode. And they're happy to see him too-- they throw him a luau-themed party and invite the rest of the Six (“Nice choice of theme” says Sayid), and his dad even finishes restoring the car he was working on before the crash. But the car features one thing Hurley can't abide: The numbers! Dad is disappointed, but Hurley is crazy again now that the numbers have returned. I think Dad wins, in the end.
Sun and her parents. It's a little heartbreaking seeing Sun hugging her parents on the tarmac, remembering how happy she was back on the island, spending time with her husband for the first time out from under the thumb of her domineering father. But Sun knows how to get the upper hand: A few months later, visibly pregnant, she marches into her father's office and tells him that, with the settlement money from Oceanic, she has bought a controlling interest in his company. “I am going to have my baby. And then we shall discuss the plans for the future of this company. Our company.” Yeah girl!
Jack and the media. I mean, of course Jack is the guy who speaks for all the Oceanic Six and encourages them all in going along with the lie. At a press conference immediately after they get off the rescue plane, Jack makes sure that Sun says Jin died on the plane, Sayid claims that no one else survived the crash, and Kate gets the fact straight on when she gave birth to “her” baby Aaron. What, you say? Jack's a tool? Never would have guessed.
Jack and Claire. It's unbelievable: After knowing for two seasons that Jack and Claire are siblings, we finally see Jack learn the truth! Unfortunately, it's in kind of the most boring way possible In the future, at the memorial service for Christian Shephard (remember, his body is still on the island and his spirit is still doing God knows what for Jacob), Jack is approached by an Australian woman with blonde hair and blue eyes... yup, it's Claire's mother! She's still alive, somehow, and wants Jack to know that she's the reason Christian was in Australia. She says her daughter Claire was on the plane, Jack is all shocked, and Claire's mom, kind of heartbreakingly, tells Kate that “her son” is beautiful. Yeah, except for that moment, the entire scene was kind of a waste of a great set-up.
Jack and Juliette. Oh yeah, and going back to Jack being a tool, he's also an arrogant one! With the satellite phone that Lapidus dropped out of the helicopter last week, Jack is convinced he has to go track down the helicopter-- stitches from the appendectomy be damned! Juliette, being a reasonable human, wants him to stay put. Jack, being Jack, is convinced he's invincible. And that is probably the end of the Jack and Juliette relationship, given that it's only a matter of time before he and Kate get off the island and shack up. Well, it was fun while it lasted.
Kate and Sawyer. You thought you'd seen the last of them, right?? As Jack and Kate trek off into the jungle, they encounter Miles, who greets them with a languid “Long time, no see.” Right behind him, though, is Sawyer, carrying Aaron. It's a brief moment, but seeing Sawyer hand the baby over to Kate was a nice little vision of what could have been. Soon, though, Jack is back to being the hero, and Sawyer, being a good man and all, has no choice but to follow him.
Sawyer and Jack. I told you we saw lots of relationships in this episode! As these two go all Col. Kurtz in the jungle, looking for Lapidus and the helicopter, you have to wonder when was the last time we actually saw them in a scene together. The camaraderie can't last long, though, because as soon as Lapidus explains that Keamy and his buddies are planning something nasty for Ben and whoever is with him, we're reminded of a much more important friendship on the island.
Sawyer and Hurley. Yeah, Sawyer's going to go rescue Hurley! Who knows how, though, since from what I can tell, Hurley is in a whole mess of trouble of his own.
Hurley and a whole mess of trouble. Hurley, Ben and Locke continue on their magical journey, now on their way to the Orchid station to tackle that whole island moving thing. Unfortunately, the Orchid is also where Keamy and his friends are headed-- apparently it's the one place Widmore knows about on the island, and he knows how important it is to Ben. When Locke calls Ben on his lie that he didn't know what Widmore wanted with the island, Ben admitted what we all tend to forget about him sometimes: “I wasn't being entirely truthful. Ben does seem truthful, though, when he gives Locke all the details for getting to the Orchid, and then approaches Keamy with his hands above his head. As Ben stands there with a gun pointed to his head, you've got to remember his last words to Locke: “How many times do I have to tell you, John? I always have a plan.”
Daniel and Charlotte. Now to visit some Freighties who aren't homicidal, Daniel is prepared to ferry people to the freighter, now that Sayid has arrived in his rescue boat. Sayid goes off with Kate to search for Jack and Sawyer, leaving Daniel in charge. Watching Daniel motor away with Sun, Jin, Aaron and some random redshirts in tow, Charlotte looks a little wistful. Will we finally figure out the deal with these two next season, when we get the much-promised Freighties backstory?
Jin and Michael. So many old-school relationships to deal with! When Jin, Sun and company arrive on the freighter, Michael is there to greet them, explaining to Desmond (also part of the welcoming party) that he's fixed the engines. Michael tries to explain to Sun and Jin that he returned, and is working for Ben, to help them out. When Michael asks Sun to translate, Jin responds with a terse “I understand.” Eventually, though, Desmond has to call Michael and Jin down to a room in the freighter, where they find a room positively packed with C4. Sun, holding Aaron, is sent away by Jin, but we leave Jin, Desmond and Michael-- three of the most compelling characters on the show-- facing down a room full of explosives. As my very manly boyfriend said, if we lose all three of those characters at once, he will cry. So will I, friend.
The Others and the Losties. And finally, it's back to the relationship/conflict that started it all. In the jungle, looking for Jack and Sawyer, Kate and Sayid come across footprints that don't belong to either man... they belong to the Others. The original Others! Soon Richard Alpert-- looking as foxy and eyelinered as ever-- and his fellow Others have Kate and Sayid in company, and we have no clue what's going to happen to them next. Are the other Others good guys now that we (basically) trust Ben? Are they going to get locked in cages and start the vicious cycle all over again? Take it as a mark of how good this episode was that Kate and Sayid's capture wasn't even the most dramatic moment.
So yeah. We heard from every character, we got plot development on all fronts, and yet the episode never felt rushed or melodramatic. Whoever dares complain about Lost at this point is clearly not paying attention. The only thing I have to whine about is that they're making us wait two weeks for the finale.
