Do you have any idea how badly I want to kill you?

Well…no-one could have ever predicted that season five would start to end this way. We saw Jacob in the flesh, brandishing a red herring and a white shirt, living a simple life. Another man comes and sits besides him, wearing his black shirt proudly staring out at what is likely The Black Rock, and it’s captain Ricardos coming to The Island and promising he’ll find a loophole to kill Jacob. The two men act like it’s a game between them, and the ship full of people coming to The Island are mere chess pieces to prove one another wrong.

Within the flashbacks we see Jacob visiting, and perhaps more importantly physically touching each of them, even if only for an instant. Seeing an Apollo candy bar for the first time in three seasons was nice call back for Lost Experience players. We found out the origin of Hurley’s guitar case, and how he knew about Ajira Flight 316.

Jacob calmly waited for Locke to fall from a height which should have killed him according to the orderlies and doctors, but a small pat on the shoulder from Jacob, and he gasps and is conscious again. If Jacob was able to bring Locke back from the brink of death, why not remove his paralysis? Jacob does need to test a future leader of The Island I think.

“The Fork In The Outlet” was very shocking indeed. The Locke that we’ve seen on Island, since The Life & Death Of Jeremy Bentham, has in fact been Jacob’s Enemy (apparently nicknamed Esau by fans due to the bible story) trying to find a loophole. That being, that he could not directly kill Ben, nor direct someone to kill him in his own form. So, the best person to convince is Ben, and the best person to do that as, would be John Locke.

Thinking back, the shirted Christian who appears to Locke, pushes him to die, and Jacob’s Enemy tells Richard to tell Locke that he has to die in order to save The Island, and also tells him to move The Island, in another attempt to rid Locke off The Island so that he can maraud around as him instead. Does this mean every apparition we’ve seen on The Island is actually Jacob’s Enemy? From the “Jacob” we saw in the cabin, the Alex who convinced Ben to follow “Locke’s” every word, to Eko’s brother Yemi? I don’t think they all are, but if Esau can appear as certain forms, I think Jacob can too. Anybody remember the explicitly stated white tennis shoe, that we see off Island Christian wearing?

I think that white-shoed Christian is actually Jacob, who has only so far appeared to Jack, whom he mentioned “needed a little push”.

In 2007, Jacob’s Enemy had a job to do, and eventually reached the statue where Jacob really lives, instead of the cabin, which I assume Jacob’s Enemy had been presiding in. He led Ben in and spoke with Jacob about finding the loophole. Michael Emerson is a great actor and I loved his speech to Jacob about him being ignored. When Jacob replied “What about you?” you knew his time was up. But this leaves the question, who are “they”? And why are they coming? The Others and Sun now know that the Locke inside the statue. I wonder what their reaction will be come season six, or did it even actually happen because of the bomb? Jacob might not even be dead, nor Locke.

Back over at The Swan site in 1977, we knew certain things had to happen. Chang had to have an accident with his hand to get the prosthetic arm with saw him with in the future…or past…one of those.

Phil had to die, after it was built up that we hate him, especially for hitting Juliet in the previous episode. Jack and co. came with the bomb to erase the last three years so that The Swan is never built, Kelvin can never be there to get Desmond, Desmond can never not push the button, and thus Oceanic Flight 815 will never crash. We saw a scene similar to season 2’s finale, where all things metal were dragged away by an electromagnetic force, including some large metal chains which ensnared Juliet. Poor Juliet. I wish I wasn’t right all the time. Oh yeah, I guess Sayid died off screen too. I don’t care.

Juliet did manage to survive the fall down the massive shaft, and realised that the bomb had not yet gone off, so she struggled in some great acting by Elizabeth Mitchell, smacked the bomb until we came across the “son of a bitch” line so frequently used this episode and then…

Gragh. 2010 can not come quick enough for this story to carry on. Did Jack’s plan work? What happens if it did? What happens if it didn’t? Have we seen the last of Jacob? Is Juliet still alive? I have no idea, so I leave you with this, from the web comic After Lost.

Character Look-Backs #2

Jack: "He told me that it was my fault for leaving..."

Welcome to the second part of the character look backs, which take a travel back in time and try to glimpse in to the future for the character in question. For this segment, we look at our resident Iraqi and our loveable redneck.

James "Sawyer" Ford started off as a conman off the Island, and wound up in love twice. Once with Cassidy Phillips and now with Katherine Austen. A man on a mssion to get revenge on the man who conned his parents, who was known by another name, and was connected to a fellow Lostie. In season three, he finally managed to get back at Antony Cooper whom he strangled with some chain from The Black Rock. He had a strange journey in season four, odd times with Kate, and then protecting Claire and almost becoming an Oceanic Seventh. I think that season five will see him take on a semi-leader role as Hurley appointed him to the post briefly when Jack was away. As for the whole Jate/Skate/Jacket arguments, I could not care either way who ends up with who in that warped triangle with extra twizzles on the end. I'm unsure as to what loose ends we really have left to wrap up in his story besides his daughter. I'm also unsure as to what the reaction would have been were he Jeremy Bentham, the man in the coffin.

Now on to Sayid, who went from the "terrorist" everyone assumed had something to do with the crash, to the guy that every Lost fan would want on their side in a fight. Smart, cunning and in Shannon's eyes, sexy, Sayid took a supposed dark turn after leaving The Island and ended up working for Benjamin Linus. The true nature of why he keeps working for him is not yet unveiled to us. In season five, I think he will help everyone else in their return to The Island, as he already recruited Hurley to join him. Though as he and Locke never saw eye to eye I am confused as to why he is returning. Nevertheless, I am sure I will enjoy the journey.

That being said, come back again when I shall chat about two more characters, though am currently unsure which two.

Character look-backs #1

Jack: "He told me that it was my fault for leaving..."

As I am sure you all know by now, the first episode of season five is named "Because You Left" and I thought I would share my thoughts about what might have happened to the Losties and the other people on and off The Island.

Let's take the de facto leader of our Losties. Recently escaping The Island in the present time-line, we have already seen Jack's wrecked and ruined path that he shall soon follow. Parts of it are still missing, such as his meeting with John Locke off Island. I think we will see this in "Because You Left" as you may have guessed from the quote at the start of the article. Jack's flashback's started to become very boring (Stranger In A Strange Land anyone?) so I am glad that we have stopped those and concentrated a lot more on his flashforwards, which have become very intriguing. He'll continue collecting people for their epic return to The Island, though I am unsure as to whether they will need Desmond or Frank. I am looking forward to seeing how those still on The Island cope without the man who has lead them for more than one hundred days now. Who will step up to the plate and what reaction certain characters who are close to him like Juliet will have.

Now on to Ms. Katherine Austen. Her story was also starting to bore me as well. Mainly because it had nowhere else to go, but now that they have blended Kate's storyline with Claire's by giving her Aaron, and trying to form a family unit with Jack, it has made a nice change. Kate seems very unwilling to return to The Island, so I am unsure how Jack will convince her. I am however, always happy for some more Evangine Lily screen-time. In regards to what may happen to her in "Because You Left", I think she will confront Jack and inform him of her strange dream and phone call from Claire, thus needing no convincing from Jack. Jack shares crazy visions of his father who died before they boarded the plane and they both carry along their paranoid little journey with baby Aaron in toe.

Please join me again during the week when we shall look at the next two characters, Sawyer & Sayid in preparation for Lost's new season starting in February 2009.