Live Together, Nuke Alone

This year's crop of season finales have been kind of lackluster, with shows from 24 to The Office settling for less than the excitement of years past. But you can always count on Lost to go out with a...well...boom. I haven't had this little idea of where the show is heading since the early days of season 1, but with so much crazy new stuff now in play, I'm just as ready for more.

Of course, I'm primarily talking about Jacob, that mysterious God-like figure who seemed too mystical to take on human form. Yet in the opening scene there he was, looking an awful lot like Rita's abusive ex on Dexter. As he chatted with his unnamed counterpart, I got a very God and the Devil viben as they discussed the way island visitors played in to their feud. The show started off with Jack vs. Locke, and recently has been Ben vs. Widmore, but it's looking like the overriding conflict on Lost may turn out to be this one.

We got even more Jacob in the flashbacks, making him seem like the good guy of those two and providing some nice moments with all our originals. Little Kate, the story Jack told Kate in the pilot, Sawyer's parents' death - all key character moments dating back to the first season. I don't know if Jacob was saving Sayid from the car crash or leading Nadia to it (I lean toward the former), but we did get a solid answer in finding out how Hurley made it to Ajira 316.

Back in the '70s, we got an even bigger answer that's been plaguing me all season: what happened to Rose and Bernard? Well, turns out they retired with Vincent, another long MIA character, to enjoy each other's company and stay away from those Losties with their crazy antics. Rose always has a way of putting some perspective on these finales, even if Juliet was the one to say "Live together die alone" this year.

Outside of that sojourn, it was all to nuke or not to nuke. I'm surprised nobody but Miles dared speak the obvious: that the nuke might very well be what causes the incident. Guess they all have more faith in Faraday than that. Or fate. Actually, they seemed more focused on their silly love quadrangle. When Jack told Sawyer it was all about Kate, I think everyone agreed with Sawyer's exasperation. Did he really forget she was a prisoner on that flight? That kind of thinking deserves Sawyer's punches.

Juliet was acting mighty silly too though, wanting to erase Sawyer from her history because of a single look. What happened to the Juliet who was above getting jealous when Jack made googly eyes at Kate back in their days together? And the whole flashback with her parents there only to tie to the present was less subtle than Lost typically manages. That flashback might as well have been a patient on Grey's Anatomy.

Still, the dropping of the nuke produced the kind of classic "and it all goes terribly wrong" moments that are so fun to see on TV (like in the Battlestar finale). Metal goes flying everywhere, Cheng loses his arm, and Jimmy Barrett gets a spike through the chest. What is it about that actor that makes everyone want to see physical harm come to the characters he plays? Biggest "oh shit" of course was Juliet getting wrapped in chains and dragged down into the Swan. With Sawyer left crying after her, there went one of the most believable Lost relationships this side of Desmond and Penny (who were quite noticeably MIA from the finale, btw).

Back to 2007 for the episode's craziest reveal and most mythologically relevant moments. Locke's really dead! As sad as it is to think that there really will be no more John Locke on the show, that was far overshadowed by the realization that Devil Guy from the opening scene had somehow managed to take over his body. In order to get Ben to kill Jacob. Which, after whining over his neglect, he did.

So now what? Smoke Monster Alex told Ben to listen to Locke, so should we question our allegiance to Jacob, who, after all, we just formally met? In season 6, will Ben still be a lost and confused little boy, or will he return to the manipulative bastard we know and love/hate? What does it mean that "they're coming," and how will that alter Fake Locke's plans. And what's up with him anyway? Yeah, season 6 isn't lacking material.

Finally, back to the 70s for that final bump, and what a final one it was. In an insta-classic moment, a bloody Juliet bangs a rock at Jughead until it flashes the screen to white, leaving us with no idea what will happen come season 6. If it worked, the season starts with Oceanic 815 and everyone's back to who they were with no memory of the past 5 seasons. Or, alternatively, everybody flashes forward to 2007 and helps to defeat Fake Locke. The third option is everyone dies, but that seems kind of unlikely.

What I don't quite get is why everyone is so sure Juliet is dead. Yeah, she was badly injured, but not as much as Sayid. And yeah, she was right next to a nuclear bomb, but everyone else was certainly within the blast range as well. So unless everyone flashes away but her (making her the Sun of the group), it seems Juliet should be back with the Others as planned. So cool it with the mourning, k?

The ending's been compared to that shot down the hatch in season 1, Desmond turning the fail-safe key in season 2, and The Sopranos infamous cut to black. It is certainly frustrating to have no idea what the outcome of the season is, and what next season will be about. But who didn't get goosebumps when the white screen hit? Like Walt's kidnapping or Jack's "We have to go baaaack," that ending helped cement this finale among Lost's many successes. Between that and Jacob, it will be a long wait for the final season.