5.16 The Incident

Summary and Spoilers

Jacob and other flashbacks:

In a time long ago, when tall sailing ships roamed the seas, Jacob was a man who shared the island with another, mysterious man. Jacob kept enticing ships to visit the island, to watch the people fight and corrupt the place. The other man wants to keep the island pure and tells Jacob that he wants to kill him. (Well, the island will be pure except for that killing, anyway). They have their little standoff chat on the beach, watching a sailing ship heading in, underneath the imposing structure of a huge animal-headed god statue. So now we know who Jacob is – sort of.

Flashback to a little Kate stealing her very first item – a lunchbox. She gets caught, and who bales her out by paying for it – none other than Jacob. And it's no coincidence, because Jacob knows her name.

It’s a funeral – I don’t know where – and a young boy mourns the death of someone. Jacob is there to lend a pen to the boy, who is identified as James (Sawyer). The pen is lent so James can write his famous letter to the real Sawyer. So Jacob seems very much to be a god-like figure – immortal, able to travel anywhere, and a manipulator of people.

Flashback to Sayid and Nadia, a happy couple about to cross a city street. Jacob stops Sayid to ask directions, and Nadia is killed in a hit and run.

Flashback to Jacob visiting Ilana in a third-world hospital. He asks her for a favor and she agrees.

Jacob reads a book on a park bench. A body – Locke’s body – hurtles to the ground behind him. Jacob apologizes to Locke for what he is going through, and promises things will be alright.

Flashback to Sun and Jin’s wedding. Jacob is a wedding guest, uninvited by either the bride or groom, who advises them, in perfect Korean, to never take their special love for granted.

Jack freezes at the operating table, but succeeds after his dad steps in and calms him down. After the successful op, Jacob shows up to free Jack’s trapped candy bar from the vending machine and to share some friendly, not so subtle advice about being stuck.

Flashback to a tween Juliet, devastated by the news that her parents are getting divorced. She races away from the family meeting and out into the living room, where Jacob…is not there. In fact, this is a rare Jacob-free flashback.

Flashback to Hurley, reluctantly leaving prison. He shares a cab with Jacob. Jacob spends the short ride trying to convince Hurley that Hurley is not crazy, and that he should go back to the island.

Kate, Juliet, and Sawyer:

On the sub, full-grown Kate is trying to convince Sawyer that they have to go back and stop Jack from blowing up the island. Sawyer patiently explains that he was happy in Dharmaville and has no interest in stopping Jack. Juliet does not concur, and when a guard arrives with sedatives, she knocks him out, takes his gun and keys, and frees Sawyer and Kate. Sawyer now changes his mind and of course agrees to stop Jack. At gunpoint, the sub captain agrees to surface the sub. Sawyer shoots and kills the radio to ensure that there is no communication with the island after they leave.

Juliet and gang paddle their inflatable back to the island. Landing on a somewhat familiar beach, they are greeted first by Vincent, and then by Rose and Bernard. Sawyer tries to convince Rose and Bernard to come with, but they have ‘retired’. They don’t even care that the island is about to blow up, because even if they both die, they will still be together, which is kind of creepy. I’m not sure who freaks me out more – Bernard, for being annoying all the time, or Rose, for wanting to spend every moment of her life (and death) with him. The most help they can offer is to point the gang in the direction of Dharmaville.

Dharma:

Over at Swan, Dr. Chang has stopped the drilling. Radzinsky vetoes that idea, insisting that the drilling continue. He flicks the on switch himself, unconcerned that the drill temperature has reached meltdown.

Locke to the future:

Locke tells Richard that he is going to visit Jacob to thank him for resurrecting him. In the last episode, he told Ben he was going to kill Jacob. Richard wants to know why Locke isn’t still dead. Locke suggests that Richard should have the answer, since he has never aged. Locke also says that after Jacob, they need to ‘deal’ with the other survivors of the plane, intimating that they will be killed (or thanked).

Later, after Ben confides to Locke that his dead daughter insisted that he follow all of Locke’s directives, Locke tells Ben that he is not going to kill Jacob – Ben is.

Locke and his followers reach the beach and the old camp of the survivors. Everyone has a rest, while Locke revs Ben up to kill Jacob, based on all the acts of faith and sacrifices Ben has made for him, with no reward.

Locke and gang reach the beach and a huge foot – the remainder of what once was a big god statue. Richard says Jacob lives under the foot. When night falls, Locke takes Ben in to see Jacob, despite Richard’s objections.

Outside, Ilana and her box have arrived. She has been looking for someone called Ricardo but settles for Richard, who speaks to her in Spanish. She opens the box. Inside is the dead body of Locke. So who is the Locke inside the foot? Is it FootLocke-R?

Inside, Locke and Ben meet Jacob. Locke and Jacob know each other, and it is obvious from the way they relate that this Locke is the same person, in some way, as the bearded man who threatened to kill Jacob all those years ago if he could find that loophole. He has found it now. Ben stabs Jacob. Locke kicks his body into the flames at the center of Jacob’s cavern, but not before Jacob utters, "They’re coming!"

On the other side of the island:

Ilana and friends have loaded the unconscious Frank on a boat and taken him to a remote place where they allow him to gaze inside of a box. "Terrific," is Frank’s one-word reaction, but we don’t get to see yet, so we’ll have to take his word for that.

Frank accompanies Ilana’s gang to their destination – Jacob’s cabin – all the while questioning what they are doing and why. The ash circle they left around the cabin has been broken, indicating that someone has been there and putting them all on guard. Ilana enters alone and discovers evidence that Jacob has not been there but someone else has. She gives orders to torch the place.

With the bomb:

Sayid has consulted Dan’s notebooks and has a plan: they remove the plutonium core from the bomb (this makes it lighter and transportable) and head for the Swan station. While Sayid loads the plutonium into a backpack, Richard asks Jack about Locke. Jack tells Richard not to give up on Locke and not to doubt his significance.

Attempting to break out, the gang breaks through to the basement of one of the Dharma houses. Eloise wants to go first, but Richard knocks her out and tells Jack and Sayid that he is protecting her. They can continue but he is going back. As they emerge into Dharmaville, Sayid’s plan to hide in plain sight backfires when they are spotted by Ben’s dad. Sayid is shot as the camp opens fire on them. Hurley and Jin arrive in the trusty blue Volkswagen bus just in time to take them to safety. Off they speed toward the Swan, hoping to get there before the catastrophe happens. Hurley stops, however, when the road is blocked by Sawyer, Kate, and Juliet.

Sawyer, Jack, and the Bomb:

Sawyer and Jack discuss whether to explode the bomb or not. When they cannot agree, they settle it J. J. Abrams style – with a long bloody fistfight. Sawyer wins, but Juliet changes her mind and decides they should help Jack. Why? Because she wants to lose Sawyer organically, rather than lose him to Kate in the unexploded world. (Huh?) I wrote that so it would make as little sense as the script, if you follow me.

At the Swan, Chang and Radzinsky have just drilled into the pocket when they get the news that Jack has escaped and is probably heading their way.

Jack finds that he has a much easier time convincing Kate that the bomb is a good idea when he talks to her just after Sawyer has beaten the crap out of him. Women go for the tall, bloody and handsome types. Afterward, Jack straps the bomb to his back and sneaks toward the Swan. He is discovered just before he gets there and is under fire, but he is joined by the rest of the gang, who arrives with guns blazing. Amazing, despite bullets flying everywhere, no big cast members get hit. Jack drops the bomb down the drill shaft, and everyone scrunches up their faces (like that’s going to help if a nuclear device explodes). But nothing happens. Instead, the pocket starts acting up, sucking in everything magnetic. Jack takes a toolbox to the head, and Juliet gets wrapped around a chain (but in a bad way, not in a good, bedroom fantasy way) and is pulled toward the gaping maw. Sawyer grabs her but cannot hold on, and she slips into the drill hole and disappears. Following her down at high speed are oodles of huge sharp and heavy magnetic objects. Sawyer collapses in agony and tears; Kate and Jack have to drag him to safety.

At the bottom of the well, Juliet comes to in a shallow puddle and is face to face with the bomb. She smashes it with rocks until it explodes…

Comments

The CGI people did a nice job with the huge animal-headed god statue (much better than they did last episode with that dodgy obviously CGI submarine).

Memorable Moments

With five different areas of focus, plus numerous Jacob flashbacks, it's difficult to pick the best moments, as there were too many. Or I am lazy.

Lost Quotes

Kate: We have to get out of here.
Sawyer: Outta here? We’re under water.

Locke: You’ve been staring for the last ten minutes, Richard – is there something you would like to ask me?
Richard: Ben told me that he strangled you.
Locke: That is my recollection, yes.

Juliet: We decided to leave this island, James. We did. And now we’re going back.
Sawyer: Are you serious?
Juliet: We can’t just let those people die. You want out - you wanna stay here and whine about it?
Sawyer: Unlock the damn cuffs!

"In my experience, the people who go out of their way to tell you they’re the good guys are the bad guys."
- Frank

Locke: Everything all right?
Ben: I was enjoying some alone time.

Locke: You mind if I ask you a question?
Ben: I’m a Pisces.

Ben: Why do you want me to kill Jacob, John?
Locke: Because 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 those sacrifices? You were banished. And you did all this in the name of a man you’ve never even met. So the question is, Ben, why the hell wouldn’t you want to kill Jacob?

Locke: What is it? Why are we stopping?
Richard: You’ll see.
Locke: Well, it’s a wonderful foot, Richard, but what does it have to do with Jacob?
Richard: It’s where he lives.

Richard: What - what are you doing?
Ben: John wants me to join him.
Richard: You can’t bring him in.
Locke: Why not?
Richard: Because only our leader can request an audience with Jacob, and there can only be one leader on the island at a time, John.
Locke: I’m beginning to think you just make these rules up as you go along, Richard. Ben is coming in with me, and if that’s a problem, I’m sure Jacob and I can work it out.

"I don’t understand. If this is Locke, who’s in there?"
- Sun

"They’re coming!"
- Jacob (last words)