The Incident

VINCENT IS BACK! Doesn't he look great? Three years he has survived and, like Hurley, hasn't shed an ounce!


Whew, now that I've released the big news, lets get down to it, shall we?





Let me iterate, The Incident was the best episode we have seen as yet. It provided us with many answers, a slew of clues to other mysteries and, as always, left us with some pretty pressing questions. I expected nothing more than what I received. Damon and Carlton have raised it up yet another notch! And how freakin' cool was that new inverted Lost logo!

I have eighteen double sided pages of notes to sort through. I've never taken so many notes, not even in college, so it's going to take me some time to get through it all, but, here we go.

Our episode starts with what appears to be ancient clay pots, a man spinning thread, then weaving a tapestry. All by hand. The man is wearing a white shirt and black pants. He appears to be in a time long long ago. Where he lives is basic with stark furnishings. We see this man enter the sea and collect a fish trap emptying of its contents and cook the fish on fired stones. Another man approaches. He is dressed in black. They greet each other, the man in white offers the other some fish, but it is declined. They talk about the approach of the sailing ship. They, for lack of a better word, debate why it is here. I'll talk about what I think their words mean later.

I'm going to start with what we have learned about Jacob first of all. Basically, almost all the flashbacks in this episode feature one thing in common. Jacob. At various times in the survivors' lives Jacob has visited them, and touched them physically. I think the touch is a sort of protective shield to keep them safe until and during the crash of Oceanic 815. Fate lending a helping hand? I don't know.

We learned that Jacob has been existing on the island for what appears to be eons and that he lives in the four toed statue. Speaking of which, we were gifted with a really great view of it's head this time around, but more on that later. Jacob has a cohabitant on the island who seems to have a very dim view of humanity and truly hates Jacob. In fact, he'd like nothing more than to kill him, but something, perhaps some sort of rule, does not allow him to do so.

I think Jacob is responsible for bringing humans to the island. He seems to be an optimist and considers our evolution progress. His cohabitant, on the other hand, appears to believe that humans will never change. They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same. Jacob tells him that it only ends once, and anything before that is progress. Evolution? I'm not sure yet what he means by this.

We see Jacob visiting with each of our survivors at different times in their lives, usually a highly stressful time or, in John's case, horribly tragic. In each case he said each of their names and made sure to physically touch them.

When he visited Kate, she was a young girl and had just been caught having tried to steal a New Kids On The Block lunch box. When the shop keeper was about to phone her mother, Jacob intervened and paid for the item. He then extracted a promise from her never to steal again and touched her on the nose. "Be good, Katie"

Next we see him approach little James at the church where the funeral had just be held for his parents. This kid played an amazingly convincing Sawyer, who is writing a letter to the man who caused all the tragedy in his life to happen. His pen runs out of ink and Jacob gives him a new one. Again, making sure their fingers touch. Again, Jacob states his name.

There is a busy intersection. Sayid and Nadia are about to celebrate their anniversary and are looking for a great place to go for dinner. Nadia would just like to find her sunglasses. As they cross the road, Jacob asks Sayid for directions, holding him back as Nadia continues on, looking in her bag. She finds her sunglasses, turns and is hit by a SUV. She dies in the street. Her last words: Take Me Back.

Our next Jacob flashback was a surprise to me. It is in a foreign hospital and there's a patient whose body is completely bandaged. Something terrible has clearly happened to this person. It is Illana. When he visits her, she appears to know him and is happy to see him. He tells her he needs her help and she agrees. We don't actually see him touch her, but his hand does appear to reach for her.

John is next to be seen with Jacob. Jacob is sitting on a bench reading the book, Everything That Rises Must Converge, written by Flannery O'Conner. We hear the sound of braking glass followed by a gut wrenching thud. Jacob calmly walks over to John laying on the grass, kneels down and touches him. At that point we hear John inhale. I think he brought him back to life. He tells him not to worry, every thing's going to be all right and apologizes to him, then walks away.

Sun and Jin's wedding ceremony follows, with touching declarations of eternal love and promise for the future. Jacob meets them int he receiving line and tells them that their love is a special thing and it should never be taken for granted. He touches them both on the shoulders at the same time. When he is gone, they ask each other who was that, only to realize neither knows him.

Jack is operating. It's the girl he told Kate about in the pilot. We see the accidental cut and the panic rise within Jack. Christian is there, tells him to close his eyes, count to five, banish the fear and get on with what he was about to do. Afterward, Jack tries to buy an Apollo chocolate bar from a vending machine, but it gets stuck. He berates his father for making look bad in OR, just then a man calls out. Is this yours? Jacob has purchased the same chocolate bar and two have come out. He passes the spare to Jack and their hands touch.


Hurley is being released from the jail. He is innocent and they made an mistake. He gathers his belongings and hails a cab, but it already has a fare. The occupant offers to share. It is Jacob, who tells Hurley that he isn't cursed, but blessed. He assures him that he isn't crazy and tells the cabbie to stop and gets out. Hurley tells him he left his guitar behind, to which Jacob replies that it isn't his. It was Jacob who convinced Hurley that he could, should, return to the island.

We saw one flashback that did not feature Jacob. That was Juliet's. Her parents have sat down with Juliet and Rachel to tell them that their marriage has failed. They were getting a divorce, but they still love each other. Sometimes, even though two people love each other, they are not meant to be together. This flash back is just as important as the others as you will understand later.

Now on to 2007, and you will understand why when we get there.

John and the others are on their pilgrimage to see Jacob. They have a long way to walk. John wonders why Ben hasn't told Richard of his plans to kill Jacob, which is when Ben told him that he'd promised his dead daughter, under threat of destruction, to do what ever John Locke wanted him to do. This was a surprise to John, but he was pleased. He wouldn't have to convince Ben to kill Jacob then. They take a break at the survivor's old beach camp.

It's in disarray from three years' neglect. Most of the make shift huts have fallen down and Aaron's cradle is falling apart. Sun is saddened by the memories the camp evokes. She puts the cradle upright and spots something glistening in the sun. It's The DS ring that Charlie had placed in the crib, his final gift to baby Aaron, a family heirloom for his island kin. Ben admits to John that he has never seen Jacob and wonders why John wants him to kill Jacob. And so, John begins to plant seeds of anger in Ben.

"Despite your loyal service to this island, you got cancer. You had to watch your own daughter gunned down right in front of you. And your reward for these sacrifices? You were banished. And you did all this in the name of a man you've never met? Why wouldn't you want to kill Jacob?"

As the Others continue their trek, the mysterious people from Ajira 316 are paddling from the Hydra island to the larger island. They've brought the metal crate and an unconscious Frank. They make the beach and unload the crate. Bram wonders why Illana wanted to bring Frank with them. He didn't know the answer to the question. But Illana tells him that he could be important and Bram wonders if he could be a candidate.

I'm loving Frank because I just knew that he was awake, listening to them. I'm sure he'd been conscious for most of the journey, but since he's a pilot, rowing just isn't his talent. Illana tells him that they are his friends. You gotta love Frank's queries. He always words them so well...

"So, you smack all your friends in the face with a rifle, shove them in a boat and kidnap them?"

"Only the ones we like." Illana can give as well as she can take.

They show Frank what's in the crate. Judging by the look on his face he's both confused and horrified. I wanted to see too, but my TV isn't 3D and I couldn't change the angle of view. Drats. They lock up the crate and head into the jungle. Illana knows where she is going, which makes me think that she's been there before. She is taking them to the cabin, and Frank really wishes he hadn't asked what was in the crate.

They arrive at the ramshackle cabin and Bram notices the line of ash has been broken. Foreboding fills the air as Illana heads inside. She sees a painting of a dog (I still think it looks a lot like Vincent), broken dishes, debris on the floor. Pinned to the wall with a knife is a square of woven material. Whatever, or whomever she is looking for is long gone. She shows the material to Bram. He frowns. He knows where they're going next. They torch the cabin, much to not tree hugging Frank's objections and leave. Nothing is ever easy, right?

The others reach the base of the four toed foot and gather. It is getting dark now, but John wants to see Jacob right away. Richard urges patience. Jacob will come to you. But John is impatient and wants to see him now. Ben admits to Sun that he's never met Jacob and tells her the giant foot has been like that since he arrived. She asked if she should believe him, and is told probably not.

After some prompting, Richard agrees to show John the way into Jacob's place. He tells John that Ben can't continue with him. Only one leader allowed on the island at a time. That made me wonder. Is John truly the leader? But time flies when you're having fun and Richard pushed the heavy stone wall open. "Tell him I said hi", he says, then goes back to the group on the beach. John and Ben enter the base and John gives Ben a knife, assuring him that things will be different once Jacob is gone. Ben is still seething, which is what John wants. They move forward into the main area where Jacob lives.

It is stark, just as we saw at the beginning. The only difference? The tapestry is complete. It is magnificent and draws Ben's attention. Jacob has been waiting for them. He tells Ben that he spun the thread by hand, and to weave it took forever, which is the point. John greets Jacob.

Illana and her men arrive at the base of the statue and asks for Ricardus. Richard greets them. It's quite tense, then Illana asks the important question. "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Richard's response is in Latin, those buggars! Damon and Carlton, you will rot in hell for this!

Thankfully, there's babelfish, and if I did it right, Richard's reply was: "He who will protect us all."

Illana tells him she has something he must see and orders the crate to be opened. They open the crate and tip it over, spilling it's contents onto the sand.

Not in one million years was I expecting what tumbled onto the beach! Nope. And I was so surprised I jumped up screaming. My border collie is still regarding me with accusing eyes. Poor thing was in a lovely deep sleep on her doggie bed and, at my scream, leaped three feet into the air, looked for the intruder and was not happy that she didn't get to chase one away. I'm sure she glared at my back while I slept last night. It hurts right between the shoulder blades, just where her eyes would have been leveled.

Anyway, in case you missed it, the body of John Locke fell out. GASP!?!?!?!?!?!!? Illana had found him in the cargo hold of the plane, inside the coffin.






Sun asked the question we were all afraid to voice... "I don't understand. If this is John Locke, who's in there?"

Yeah, and he's been leading Ben astray, I'm thinking. Although, Ben is pretty astray all on his own doing.

Inside the Foot, Jacob greets his "friend." Ben is stunned as he watches their exchange.

Hello Jacob.
Did you find your loophole?
Indeed, I did. And you have no idea what I've been through to be here.


Fake John urges Ben to kill Jacob. Jacob gives him a choice. He can do what Fake John asks, or he leave and let them discuss their issues.

Ben is angry. The anger of 35 years of being ignored boils over and he stabs Jacob to death.

With his last breath, Jacob tells his nemesis, whom I believe is the man from the beach at the beginning, that they are coming. Fake John, for lack of a better name, kicks him into the flames.

1977

There was so much going on that I've watched this episode three times already and am still working on trying to make sure I've caught everything. Likely, I'll have missed something.

On the sub, Kate tries to convince Sawyer that he needs to go back to the island to try and stop Jack. Jack is going to blow up the island, according to Kate. Oh ye of little faith. That's been their problem all along. Neither Jack nor Kate have had the faith in each other that they should have. But Sawyer is still brooding. He's upset that his happy life with Juliet in Hippyville is over and he wants only to start a new life with his love in the real world 1977, away from everyone else. But, alas, it is not to be.

Now I don't know about anyone else, but I've been thinking that Juliet has had an advance "awareness". Her decision making process is deliberate, yet quick. She knocks out the orange juice sedative delivery dude, uncuffs herself and Kate and, after giving Sawyer an option, uncuffs him as well. They force the captain to surface and put them off the vessel, then with characteristic compassion, insists that he promise to take his passengers as far away as possible and don't come back, no matter what.

Meanwhile, Jack and Sayid are studying Daniel's journal. It's a good thing that Daniel had the foresight to realize that two men, who know absolutely diddly about time travel and nuclear explosive devices, would be reading his journal. The detail to which he ensured anyone could understand was astonishing as Jack and Sayid carefully removed the plutonium core and prepared to transport it to the Swan site.

Richard and Jack have a quick chat about John. Richard has his doubts, and rightfully so, but Jack tells him not to give up. I almost choked on my York peppermint patty! Jack defending John? Dharma cooks must have baked some of those special brownies for breakfast that the 70's were so famous for! Richard reminds Ellie that the reason they plugged up the bomb and put it underground was because it was leaking radiation, oh, just in case she forgot, he also reminded her that she was pregnant.

With the plutonium core safely wrapped and strapped to Sayid's back, lucky guy, Richard leads them down the tunnel to a wall with a triangular stone in it. He breaks through the wall smack dab into Horace Goodspeed's basement! Richard knocks out Ellie, and is she ever going to ticked when she comes to, but he'd rather face her wrath than grieve for her. He's only protecting his leader, after all. Jack and Sayid are on their own.

Fair enough. They cautiously creep up the stairs and peer out the window. The compound is in chaos and it looks like Phil got himself a field promotion, as he's out there directing traffic. What to do, what to do? Sayid slips on one of Horace's jumpsuits and they walk calmly toward the boundary. They were almost home free, too, when Roger Linus, in a rare fit of vengeful fatherhood, recognized Sayid and shot him. Oh crap, I groaned, this is not going to end well.


Meanwhile, Sawyer, Juliet and Kate are left to row, row, row their boat back to shore. They arrive at a beach which no-one recognizes. There's a sound and the tall grass rustles and out comes our favorite golden lab, Vincent. I don't remember him quite that chubby, though, I thought as he happily greeted his visitors. And while Vincent is glad to see them, his room mates are not as pleased by the intrusion.


Rose and Bernard (who's really let himself go and looks like he's Rip Van Winkle) explain that they wanted to stay retired and so, when Saywer and the others joined Dharma, they easily avoided detection. They built a nice cozy cabin by the beach, pilfered Dharma food supplies, and were raising their son Vincent to be an irresponsible carefree citizen of the island. Anything that happens will just have to happen without them, which means they've opted out of the Jack is gonna kill us all school of thought.

Jack and Sayid were cornered and it didn't look good for either of them. Bullets were flying at them from all directions, and, though Jack tried to fight back (isn't his aim getting so much better with all that practice he's been getting?), I was beginning to worry. Then along comes Hurley with his magical Dharma micro bus loaded with Jin and Miles to save the day!

Everyone is helpful, everyone is kind
On the road to Shambala
Everyone is lucky, everyone is so kind
On the road to Shambala
Oh Yeah baby!

Ahem. Urrrrch! The van comes to a stop. Sawyer, Juliet and Kate are standing in the middle of the path. Can't call that a road, can we? Sawyer asks for five minutes to talk to Jack. Was I the only one who giggled with glee when Jack got that he-wants-to-be-my-friend look and agreed to the chat? Biggest mistake of the day, for Jack, because Sawyer's sad story about his parents and the fact that he could have hopped a sub and stopped it failed to sway Jack. So, as is Sawyer's way, he resorted to beating the tar out of Jack. Jack took it well, too, for the first little bit. But Sawyer was really really ticked about having his happy hippy life ruined and, since Jack was the closest, he went berzerk on the poor doc's face.

Juliet, as ever the voice of reason, finally called James off his punch fest and explained that Jack was right. Whaaaaat? Poor Sawyer. Even after living with the woman for three years he still can't grasp that whole women's perogative about changing their minds at the drop of a palm frond. This is where we remember that whole flash back of Juliet's and how two people could love each other and not meant to be together, because Juliet is about ready to cut Saywer loose despite loving him with everything she has.

At the Swan, Radzinsky is throwing yet another hissy fit. Chang has shut down the drill. He doesn't spend six years planning a station that'll manipulate magnetic energy in ways we can only dream of for nothing! The drilling begins again and Stu's walkie beeps. It's Phil. The Hostiles have been spotted and accoridng to Roger, they have a bomb. Radzinsky orders Stu to get his hiney up to the Swan, and bring some guns.

Sayid is in a bad way. He knows that Jack can't stop the bleeding and it's only a matter of time. Jack scopes the Swan site and watches the drilling. He manages to convince Kate that this is the only way she can be sure that Aaron is where he belongs. Kate tells him that she's with him. Suddenly an alram goes off, something is happening at the Swan. They've hit the pocket. As Jack heads to the Swan to drop the bomb, Miles asks a very interesting question.

"Has it occurred to any of you that your buddy is actually going to cause the thing he is trying to prevent? Perhaps that little nuke is the incident."

And then it hit me like a feather tied to a brick! Miles just could be bang on right about that.

The group ponders the thought for a moment. Until, that is, they hear a noise and see Phil and his gang of hooligans racing toward the Swan. That's when they decide, live together, die alone, Jack is gonna need their help. Phil orders his merry men into position and, as luck would have it, he spots Jack and starts shooting. Since the good doc has had a great deal of practice, he takes out a few guys on his own before the calvary arrives, guns blazing out the windows of that lovely powder blue micro bus.

In my head I could hear Trooper screaming: Raise a little hell, raise a little hell, raise a little hell.

Which, if their plan didn't succeed, is exactly what the island would become. For a few tense moments I was wondering if they would. Just when I was about to give up hope, they managed to gain control of the situation. Dr. Chang grabbed Stu's gun and tried to turn the drill off. But it was too late. The magnetic energy was slowly pulling it in. Jack drops the bomb.

Juliet and Kate closed their eyes in agony and waited for the inevitable. Jack held his breath. Sawyer, I think, bit his lip and loosened his grip on Phil. They were all going to die when it hit bottom anyway. And they waited. Thunk. What the heck?

They realized it didn't work, but the pull was growing much stronger. A tool box flew across the site, hit Jack in the back of the head and knocked him out, then it flew down the shaft. A wheelbarrow skuttled across the dirt and fipped itself in. Stu and few of his boys, now horribly frightened, tried to take off in the Jeep, but its attraction to the hole was inescapable. Phil, who seemed to think he was impervious to danger, pulls a gun on Sawyer. Oh LaFleuuuuuur, he calls with giddy glee....just as scaffolding crumbles around him and he is gored by rebar. Serves him right for hitting Juliet.



Speaking of Juliet. Suddenly I really hate that the red shirts always seem to get killed on away missions and on Lost, they always bite it in the most spectatular ways. Grabbed by chains that are snaking toward the hole, Juliet screams. Kate leaps forward and grabs the ends, but can barly hang on. Sawyer reaches for and grabs Juliet's hand. They try to untangle her, but they can't and their grip is slipping. I am in tears as I watch her let go and the total devastation that consumes Sawyer as he watches the only person he's truly loved fall to her death.

I hate you team Darlton, I thought. Juliet's final sacrifice is at the bottom of the shaft as the drilling apparatus collapses and falls. She struggles to reach the bomb and hits it repeatedly until.....Flash of White!


WHAT I WANNA KNOW

1. Where the heck is Horace? Did Stu tie him up and put him in Sawyer's closet?
2. Why didn't Jacob visit Hurley when he was a child? Why wait until his entire psyche had been totally shattered?
3. If Jacob knew what would happen to Sayid after Nadia was killed, why didn't he stop it? Did he need Sayid to become a killer?
4. How did Phil get off the sub? Last we saw of him he was on the sub as they closed the hatch.
5. Where's Amy and baby Ethan? Have they gone to the Other's camp?
6. When they were bulding Dharmaville, why didn't they notice the tunnels below?
7. Where were Rose and Bernard stealing the food from and why didn't the Others find them? Did they have Dharma Dog Food or did Vincent eat what they ate?
8. Who is Jacob's nemesis and why does he want to kill Jacob?
9. Was it Jacob's nemesis who took John Locke's form and convinced Ben to kill him or was it another entity?
10. Are Smokey and Jacob's nemesis the same thing?
11. Was that the Black Rock we saw sailing into the bay at the island?
12. Did Jacob set up every one so that his nemesis could kill him?
13. Is Jacob dead?
14. The white flash at the end, was it one more time jump to take Jack, Sawyer, Sayid, Hurley, Jin, Kate and Miles back to 2007? If so, did it take Juliet as well? What about Rose, Bernard and Vincent?
15. Who is Christian really speaking for? Jacob?
16. Did the bomb work?
17. Was Ben ever supposed to be leader of the Others or did he go against Jacob's wishes and exile Charles Widmore on his own, pretending that it was Jacob's orders?
18. Why did Jacob ignore Ben.
19. Was it Jacob who healed young Ben?
20. How did Jacob and his "friend" get to the island? Did they used to be friends? Brothers?

TRANSLATION OF GREEK ON TAPESTRY

Accroding to Dark UFO the greek symbols on the tapestry translate to this:

May heaven grant you in all things your heart's desire.

Odysseus speaking to Nausicaa

Homer - The Odessy Book 6, line 108

There also appears to be Egyptian and possibly Roman on the tapestry, but I'm not too sure.

Well, that's it for now. I've been working on this all day and am, again, exhausted. I want to watch the episode again and then I'll publish my favorite quotes. I'll also add more thoughts and my take on what I've seen.

I'm also planning a few 'research' projects for the loooooong hiatus. But mostly I'll be specualting, and likely being very wrong, about the upcoming season.

I'll likely watch Lost starting from season one and post what I'm thinking about those as I connect the dots.

Namaste

Arcticroses