Talk about closing the season with a bang--- and that's before the last two minutes
10
"Perfect"
Whoa. We've made it to the end. And now that we're, it was a hell of trip. When we left Desmond and Locke, they had brought down the blast doors to keep Eko and Charlie from getting into the room with the computer. A flashback reveals not only that Desmond knew about the doors, he also knew about the map. Kelvin and Radzinski (who we learned committed suicide after too much time in the hatch But he's also known more than he thinks.. Because he also learned about the one part of the hatch that we never knew about--- the fail-safe key. The one thing that will destroy the station. This is foreshadowing, but we scarcely notice it, because Desmond's mind is clicking a lot faster than Locke's.
Eventually, he learned there was no quarantine, and that Kelvin was repairing the boat he came in. Outraged at what he thinks was a lie, he kills him, and then runs back to the hatch--- to see the computer going haywire, the words' system failure' being said over and over and metallic objects flying. The kicker--- this happen on September 22, 2004--- the day that Oceanic 815 fell from the sky. It is now accepted that Desmond crashed the plane.
Now, the obvious question, if Desmond knew that it was for real, why didn't he tell Jack and Locke about this when they broke the door down. Perhaps Desmond, who had been in the hatch for three years, thought it was an example of insanity. Maybe he thought the Dharma Initiative was testing him. Or maybe he thought that Locke was a man with he kind of faith that wouldn't falter. In his last flashback, we know Desmond was planning to kill himself when he opened the book he planned to read before he died--- and found a note from Penny, telling him that her love for him would never end, and that she would never give up on him. That night was also the night Boone died and Locke banged on the door. Turning the light on was not just a restoration of faith for Locke. It saved him as well.
Now when Locke takes his determination to the extreme and smashes the computer, he knows that has to save him. Because Locke was wrong, and we finally see what happens when the hieroglyphics come up. Charlie manages to get clear somehow, but Eko and Locke live to see the world becoming a nightmare. The electromagnetic energy hits critical, and the only way to stop it is to blow the hatch. Which Desmond does.
And, oh the results. The sky turns purple, a great whine is heard, and a light fills the entire island.. When it ended, I was now certain that we'd the last of Desmond. To paraphrase Locke (who uses it as the understatement of the century) I was wrong. But we won't figure out why he was saved and the consequences until the start of the next season.
Now, on the other side of the island, Michael leads his party to the pneumatic tubes and a pile of notebooks--- proving, too late to do anyone any good that the Pearl was the psychological experiment, not the Swan. And the experiment has terrible result for Jack and the others, as they are hit with the Other equivalent of tasers, and end up tied up and gagged as the Others lead them to a dock. In addition to learning some of their name (Mr. Friendly is Tom, Miss Klugh is Bea) we finally meet the man behind them--- and it's none other than Henry Gale. (By the way, the Others seems to look filthy when dealer with the survivors. We won't see how neat they truly are until next season.)
Henry doesn't look that pleased when he learns they have to let Walt and Michael go, but he agrees with arrangement. He tells them to keep on a head of 325 and they will find rescue. He also tells him some other things that are interesting. He says when they leave the island ,they will never be able to find their way back. Turns out that's not the case. He tells Michael that Walt was more than they bargained for--- which means they no longer think he serves a purpose, and are getting him as far from them as possible. But the most famous statement comes when Michael asks who they are: "We're the good guys." Now granted that Jack and the other survivors have killed four of the Others in the past two seasons, but in comparison with everything the Others have inflicted up till now, it's hard to see what he's talking about. We'll get a much closer look at how their society functions, but they do have a pretty realistic system of order, but does that excuse what they've done? It is not until Season 4, that we'll begin to understand why THEY consider themselves the 'good guys', but I'm still not sure I buy. Is it possible that anything associated with the island is capable of doing good? Are there any good and evil people here?
One last thing: note the contempt in Henry's voice when he wishes Michael 'Bon voyage'. It's as if he knows even now that Michael is never going to be done with the island. Both Walt and Michael leave (Malcolm David Kelley pretty much had to; it's impossible to have a child growing up in a so short a time span) but neither of them are finished with the island.
On the dock, Hurley is freed, with orders to return and tell his friends never to come after them. Jack, Kate and Sawyer--- they're coning with the Others. We're still not sure why they've been brought together, but from the expressions the three shoot each other, nothing good can cone of it.
Awesome stuff-- but we're still not done. For the first time not in a flashback--- we don't know where we are; it looks like the Arctic or Siberia where two men are playing chess. Then they see a computer flashing the number 7418880. Meant nothing to me, except when you learn its 4*8*15*16*23*42. But, even while were still trying to rewrite theories as to what the island is, one of the men gets on the phone and says: "I think we've found it." And we see that he's talking to Penny, who has remained faithful to her lover. Perhaps she is the beacon that will save the survivors.
This was an impressive end that did change the rules, and told us that while the series is about faith, it's also about love. Will Locke and Eko survive? Is Desmond going to live? What does the purple sky mean? What will happen to Kate, Jack and Sawyer? Where are Sayid, Jin and Sun? Is Penelope going to find the island? Several questions were answered, but a lot more were given--- which is what a season finale should do.
My score:10moreless