Lost, Season 5, Episode 7: The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham

After last night's show, we had a bit of a painful realization about two things:

One: we're going to have to stop triumphantly posting our theories about where things are headed because last night's show proved us wrong on too many to count, and

Two: we're going to have to stop smirking at the people who always say that they're confused and they can't figure out what the hell is going on, because again, after last night's show we're - you guessed it - confused and we can't figure out what the hell is going on.

Tackling Item One first...

♦ We had come to the point where we no longer thought Locke was going to pull out a magical resurrection. By the opening of last night's show, we were resigned to the idea that he was really, for good, no fooling, dead and going to stay that way. Of course,after the first 5 minutes, that idea went out the window. LOCKE'S ALIVE, Y'ALL! How could we ever have doubted?

♦ And on that note, with Locke's resurrection, the show has moved completely away from the character-based drama it started out as and planted its flag firmly in "fantasy-based fiction" territory. Which is fine by us, although we suspect they may have lost some fans in the transition.

♦ Another "wrong" theory: the fate of Ajira Flight 316. Honestly, it never really occurred to us that the WHOLE PLANE was going to wind up on the island, passengers and all. We really thought that only the 06 (and maybe Frank and Ben) magically got whisked off the plane. It still looks like Jack, Kate and Hurley got magically whisked off, but the rest of them appear to have landed the old fashioned way.

♦ Wrong yet again: we really thought Caesar and that woman whose name escapes us (the one escorting Sayid) were plants of some sort, but if they are, they sure as hell don't seem to know what's going on. They don't even appear to know each other (although you never can tell with this show).

♦ Not so much wrong, as clueless: we're embarassed to admit that it never occured to us that Ben killed Locke. We know. We're stupid.

Tackling Item Two, otherwise known as What the Fuck is Happening?!?

♦ If you didn't notice, it appears that 316 landed on the other island. Caesar was sitting in the Hydra station, where Jack, Kate and Sawyer were once held by the Others. The question is, WHEN are they? They're not in the past because the station appears to be completely abandoned. That leaves the future. Is it the same point in the future when the 06 found the canoe at their old beach camp and stole it? Did Juliet kill a member of the 316 flight?

♦ Oh, and remember when Juliet mentioned that they were building a runway on the other island but she didn't know why? Well, that plane looked pretty intact, like it...dundunDUN...landed on a runway! Did the Others know that Ajira Flight 316 was coming some day?

♦ WHERE THE FUCK ARE THE OTHERS, ANYWAY?

♦ And why did the very name of Eloise Hawking trigger this homicidal act on Ben's part? We suspected that he didn't like or trust her, but it obviously goes deeper than that. On the other hand, we can't help noticing that Ben keeps shitting all over Jacob's plans. Jacob tells Locke to move the island and Ben winds up doing it; Jacob tells Locke to get together the 06 and Ben winds up doing that too.

♦ Where the hell are Sun and Sayid? And Frank, for that matter? There was some mention of the pilot taking off in one of those canoes with "some woman." That leads us to think that Frank and Sun took off, but we're not going to make any assumptions. Why would Sun wind up on the other island in the future but Kate, Jack, and Hurley wound up on the main island in the past?

♦ Widmore. Honestly, we don't know WHAT to believe at this point.

You know what? We're just going to try and sit back and enjoy it without hurting our heads too much. The mysteries are a big part of the whole fun and while some fans roll their eyes in frustration at them, we welcome them. We can't wait to see what Locke is going to do next, now that he KNOWS he's special. After all, you can count on one hand the number of people in the history of the world who managed to pull off a resurrection.

Which reminds us, major kudos must be paid to Terry O'Quinn, who did fantastic work last night as Locke. The pain on his face as he slipped that cord over his head with the realization that his entire life had been a failure - and worse, a failure in service to the agendas of other people - was heartbreaking to watch.

♦ Oh! And another thing: who really thinks Helen is dead?

♦ And another, other thing: Is that it for Walt? All that buildup over the years, only to wave him off with "He's been through enough?"


[Photos: ABC.com]


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