The series finale is in 5 days! Wait, what? Yes, the time is upon us and it'll all be wrapped up in less than a week. "What They Died For" provided huge plot movement, setting everything up for the finale with a flurry of events.
Jack, who has insisted the entire season that he and everyone else is there for a reason, sees this as the exact reason, the reason for him being there and now, the reason for his existence. He takes Jacob's mantle, drinks the imbued water, and heads of for the light in hopes of stopping Flocke and saving the world.
There were a bunch of quick deaths in the episode similar to the demises of Ilana and Lapidus. Richard gets thrown to kingdom come by the Smoke and I'm pretty sure he doesn't survive, Zoe gets her throat slit when Flocke realizes she is a nobody, and Widmore is shot to death by Ben after telling Smokey what he knew. Just like that, two integral characters and a nobody are gone.
I haven't really taken to the flash-sideways storylines not offering some kind of skewed parallel to the real world, because there hasn't been a real solid plot threading continuously throughout the flash-sideways stories. In setting up for the finale, "What They Died For" offered the concert as the focal point of the flash-sideways, where all the characters will merge as the people on the Island battle Flocke.
Desmond goes back to the school and after Ben confronts him, he quite literally beats Ben's head back to the Island, forcing him to remember beating Desmond on the dock. It's all part of Desmond's grand plan, which is rather hazy right now.
He turns himself in to the police and ends up with Sayid and Kate. On the way to county lockup, Desmond offers to get them out as long as they go along with his plan. Ana Lucia (!), still a cop, lets them out for a hefty sum. Hurley pulls up driving a Hummer and they're set to go.
Also in the flash-sideways, Locke meets with Jack and after hearing that Desmond wanted to set him free, he realizes there are forces are work greater than his self-hatred. Fate is an odd beast, once again bringing to believer in Locke out and pushing him towards walking again.
The episode ends with Flocke telling Ben that he'll use Desmond to destroy the Island. And it's fitting, isn't it? The Island can been the center of the Lost universe for six years, through invaders and time, always there and never vulnerable. It was the wild expanse that allowed imagination to run free and the most incredible events happen. Now Flocke is out to destroy the Island--in my mind, the essence of Lost itself.
I know there are spoilers floating around on the internet and I'm usually one to look voraciously for spoilers, but this is the one time I refuse to spoil myself. The ending of Lost probably won't satisfy everyone nor will answer everyone's burning questions. Speculation isn't worth much at this point, but if I can to guess, I'll predict that the Island will survive, but something else catastrophic will happen, merging the flash-sideways and the Island.
As usual, I'll post my review after the episode airs of Sunday night. I'm pretty busy next week, but if I have additional thoughts about the episode or show, I'll try to make another post by Thursday, Friday at the latest.
Score: 9.2/10
