Return to Oz: Home is Where the Heart Is on the Season Finale of "Lost"

Wow. I don't even know where to begin.

I'm talking of course about last night's amazing season finale to Lost ("There's No Place Like Home, Parts Two & Three"), which fulfilled the promise of last season's ender by showing just how the Oceanic Six managed to escape the island (along with Desmond and Frank Lapidus) and gave us an oh-no-he-didn't moment when Ben manages to move the island in time and space... before being exiled from the place he's sworn to protect for the rest of his life.

Sawyer. Before we get into the crux of the episode, I do feel extremely vindicated that my theory about what would happen to Sawyer played out EXACTLY as I had predicted two weeks ago. When faced with the helicopter losing fuel and none of them making it off the island, Sawyer whispers in Kate's ear (a promise about, oh, tracking down his daughter on the mainland), kisses her passionately, and then sacrifices his freedom for his fellow castaways by jumping out of the helicopter into the ocean below, ensuring (hopefully) that the others will make it to the freighter and escape. It was a beautiful manifestation of just how far Sawyer has grown as a character and his selflessness contrasts sharply with the man we met four seasons ago: a feral, selfish loner who thought only of himself. Can this really be the same guy who lied about hoarding Shannon's asthma medication all those years ago? Yep.

The Coffin. Because it's on everyone's minds, we'll talk about the coffin first. I wasn't quite right about my predictions about who was inside and was utterly stunned to see John Locke lying in the coffin as the mysterious Jeremy Bentham, but it's only fitting as English philosopher Bentham was a follower of John Locke's namesake and a proponent for natural rights (he also had his body preserved after his death in a glass case, so there you go) that Locke would choose this name as his alter ego. It also makes sense as Bentham reached out to each of the Oceanic Six (plus Walt, who most of them had completely forgotten about), urging them to return to the island and saying that "bad things" happened after they left. After all, it was Locke who told Jack that he had to stay on the island and not leave in the first place. (Love that Locke is now the de facto leader of the Others.) As for those bad things, I think they are definitely connected to the island being moved in time and space and I believe we'll soon discover that those who stayed behind on the island have gotten themselves stuck in a rather painful time loop from which they cannot escape.

As for why the castaways referred to Locke by his alias, they constructed a massive cover story about the crash, so it makes sense why they wouldn't use his real name when it's clear they must stick to their story. It's also clear that Locke--like Ben before him--clearly has the ability to leave the island at will, possibly through the same as-yet unseen method that Ben used (remember those passports and foreign currencies?) and he too had an alias that he used on the mainland. There was definite bad blood between Locke and the other castaways, so it makes sense why they wouldn't attend the funeral (and Hurley, who might have gone, was in Santa Rosa at the time); plus after his murder of Naomi, he severed any emotional bonds that may have existed between him and the Oceanic Six.

Finally, while the newspaper article claimed that Bentham killed himself in New York, none of the Oceanic Six believe this story for a second. Sayid knows that it was no suicide but a calculated murder, orchestrated by Widmore's men as part of the ongoing war between him and Ben. But lest you think that Terry O'Quinn will be off of the series, fret not: he'll obviously appear in flashbacks as we learn about all of the "bad things" that went down on the island after Jack and the others escaped... and it's not the first time that a corpse has been taken to the island, only to mysteriously get up and take a walkabout. (Ahem, Christian.)

Ben. I was utterly stunned by the revelation that whoever moves the island cannot ever return there again. It does explain Ben's ongoing crusade against Widmore and his efforts to safeguard the island, even though he's in exile. Fantastic payoffs with the Halliwax parka, the Orchid Station orientation film (though why was it rewinding? a clue perhaps to the island's location in the timestream?), and that Frozen Donkey Wheel. Plus, we learned why Ben's arm was injured in "The Shape of Things to Come" and why he was dressed for cold weather, but turned up in the desert, propelled forward in time to the year 2005. I loved that he blew a hole in the Vault by filling it with metallic items in order to gain access to the ancient island-shifting apparatus below. That wheel has obviously been there for thousands of years and the runes seem clearly connected to the four-toed statue that was glimpsed forever ago. Still, the biggest theme of the episode is about the nature of sacrifice: of what we give up for the greater good. Ben, Michael, Sawyer, and Locke all seem to realize this; Jack does not and that is his downfall.

The Orchid. This Dharma station was clearly set up to investigate space-time issues and the Vault was located next to a pocket of exotic matter (obviously the source used to shift the island through time and space). The bunny experiment proves that the Vault actually does work: it can shift organic objects through space-time, resulting in a second Bunny #15 appearing a few minutes in the future (as seen in the outtakes of the Orchid Station orientation film). Loved that Locke asked Ben if this was the "magic box" and how Ben sneered at Locke's gullibility on the subject. Far be it for Ben to tell Locke that there is no such "magic box" on the island. Ben's shift of the island's location in space-time produces a similar noise and electromagnetic discharge as the Swan's failsafe mechanism, turning the sky white and filling the air with an eerie hum; the result is clearly related to the Casimir effect and creates something akin to a wormhole through which the island and its surroundings (including the people aboard the Zodiac raft, the water, and the Hydra island) is shifted. Awesome!

Michael. I definitely think Michael is sadly deader than a doorknob, especially since Christian appeared right before the C4 detonated and told him that he "can go now." To me, Christian's message was a distinct indication that the island has released Michael from his servitude; it had saved him from death dozens of time to ensure that he would be standing right there, keeping the freighter from exploding. Without him, everyone would have been killed aboard the Kahana; his presence and forethought with the liquid nitrogen ensured that the Oceanic Six managed to escape, along with Desmond and Lapidus. The island has a purpose for everyone and once you've outlived your usefulness, it's time to go. Charlie had to die in order for Penny to find them and so did Michael, who redeemed himself for the murder of Libby and Ana-Lucia by saving Jack and the others.

Jin and Sun. As for Jin, I don't think he's dead. I don't know why other than a voice in the back of my head saying that he's still alive, somehow and managed to survive the blast. He hasn't fulfilled his purpose in the grand scheme of things yet, though that doesn't stop Sun from thinking that he's dead and mourning his passing (hence the breakdown at his grave). It was absolutely heartbreaking to see Sun screaming for Jin and Lapidus unable to turn the helicopter around to save him. Michael was meant to send Jin upstairs but Jin stayed behind in order to help by trying to defuse the bomb... and never even got to say goodbye to his wife.

However, like Penny and Desmond before them, I definitely think that Sun will attempt to find the island. While Penny never gave up hope that Desmond was alive, Sun's purpose in finding the island (and how amazing was her scene in London with Widmore?) is far more nefarious. She blames Jack for Jin's death and has clearly chosen her side in the war between Widmore and Ben. We know that Sun is a consummate and skilled liar but I believed her when she confronted Widmore and told him that they shared mutual interests. (I loved her line about how "they are not the only ones who left the island," a clear allusion to both Ben and perhaps Desmond.) I think she's out for vengeance and will stop at nothing to find the island once more. Sun as a villainess intrigues me and I don't see how the other members of the Oceanic Six will be able to persuade her to join their cause. It's going to be quite a journey for her character and one that I am very eager to see.

The Intruder. I got goosebumps when Kate is awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of an intruder and a seriously creepy phone call. Grabbing a gun (I'm surprised she doesn't sleep with one in the nightstand drawer), she heads into Aaron's room where she sees... Claire watching over Aaron. Claire warns her not to take Aaron back to the island and Kate wakes up in bed. I'm a little confused by whether it was in fact Claire (or a manifestation/ghost) or something else entirely. The voice on the phone tells Kate, "The island needs you. You have to go back before it's too late," but Claire's message seems to invalidate this, stating that Kate can't bring Aaron back with her... though Ben tells Jack that they all need to return to the island (even the dead Locke). I'm not sure what to believe, but ghosts seems to be popping up left and right on the mainland, from Claire (if she is in fact dead) and Christian to Charlie and Mr. Eko. What do the ghosts want (seemingly for them to go back) and why does their meaning seem garbled?

Penny. Loved that it was Penelope Widmore who saves them when it was her father who put them in their current predicament in the first place and it was only fitting that her vessel was called the Searcher. How absolutely heartwarming was her reunion with Desmond? It was a scene that I wondered would ever play out on the series (least of all with two seasons to go!) and erased by worry about Frank and Desmond being found with the Oceanic Six. Good to see the listening station's Henrik aboard the Seacher as well. Will Pen and Des have to remain in the shadows, hiding from both Widmore and Ben? And how will they be drawn back into the story again, especially with Ben on a mission to kill Penelope as payback for Widmore's mercenary Keamy slaughtering Alex?

Walt. Man, that kid has gotten old. Four seasons may have gone by on the series but Malcolm David Kelley looks like he got about ten years older and grew about three feet taller. I loved the heartbreaking way that he asked Hurley why none of them ever tracked him down once they returned to the mainland and the sad way that Hurley just shrugged. I've always had a bit of a problem that Walt was just sort of out there, given the survivor's cover story, as he clearly was aboard Oceanic Flight 815 and would have appeared on the passenger manifest. Sure, his grandmother knew to keep silent about what he had told her about the island, but Walt seems like a weak link in the cover story and one that could easily be exploited by Matthew Abbadon, Widmore, and the conspiracy. If it's necessary for all of them return to the island, won't the same hold true for Walt as well? And if that's really Walt, then who appeared to Locke on the island in "Through the Looking Glass"? Curious.

Charlotte. I was blown away when Miles revealed that he knew that Charlotte had been been to the island before and still hadn't found where she had been born. It's a stunning revelation that will obviously play a huge role in Season Five as we learn more about the explorers' backstories. If Charlotte was actually born on the island, how did she manage to end up on the mainland? We are told who her parents are and that she has two sisters, so is she adopted? Did her entire family leave the island? And if so, have we seen her in the past? My money is that she's actually little Annie, Ben's ginger-haired friend from the Dharma days. We never saw Annie die and haven't ever seen her again (plus time moves differently on the island than on the mainland), so it's entirely possible that she could be little Annie all grown up. Hmmm. There's definitely more to our cultural anthropologist than meets the eye...

Juliet. Was it just me or did Juliet seem not too surprised that she wasn't getting off the island in the end? Maybe it's the fact that she's gotten thisclose to escaping several times in the past and yet something has managed, each time, to derail her plans at the eleventh hour. Still, the sad look in her eyes spoke voulmes, as she swigged from a Dharma bottle of rum as she watched the smoky wreckage of the Kahana sink into the ocean and offers a wry smile as Sawyer walks up out of the ocean. Hmmm. Am I seeing some potential sparks here between them? Wouldn't that be just fitting if the two people jilted by Jack and Kate end up together in the end?

Best line of the evening: "So?" - Ben to Locke, after being told that he's just ensured the deaths of every man and woman aboard the Kahana by brutally stabbing Keamy.

Ultimately, I thought this was an astonishingly powerful way to end the season and will make the wait until the series returns next winter unbearable. Sure, there's the Octagon Global Recruiting experience to look forward to this summer (and likely something major will be going down at this year's Comic-Con as a result), but I want to get Lost now and find out just what happened to the survivors who didn't get off the island. I'm already anxious with anticipation for Season Five.

What's On Tonight

8 pm: Ghost Whisperer (CBS); Most Outrageous Moments/Most Outrageous Moments (NBC;); Friday Night SmackDown! (CW; 8-10 pm); National Spelling Bee (ABC; 8-10 pm); Little Black Book (FOX; 8-10 pm)

9 pm: NUMB3RS (CBS); Dateline (NBC; 9-11 pm)

10 pm: NUMB3RS (CBS); 20/20 (ABC)

What I'll Be Watching

8 pm: Sarah Jane Adventures on Sci Fi.

On tonight's repeat episode of the Doctor Who spin-off ("The Lost Boy"), a missing boy turns out to be a genetic match for Luke, whom Sarah Jane sends to live with the boy's family while she probes his disappearance. Afterwards, it's the first season finale of Sarah Jane Adventures ("The Lost Boy, Part Two"), in which a Slitheen threat is uncovered as Sarah and Maria investigate Luke's new parents, who have a use for the archetype himself in their quest to destroy the Earth.

9 pm: Doctor Who on Sci Fi.

Season Four of Doctor Who continues tonight with "The Poison Sky," as the Doctor's old enemies the Sontarans attempt to transform Earth's atmosphere in order to suit their needs by unleashing a flood of poisonous gas ingenuously concealed inside ATMOS car emissions regulators/GPS devices.

10 pm: Battlestar Galactica on Sci Fi.

On tonight's episode ("Sine Qua Non"), a Cylon base star with President Laura Roslin and Gaius Baltar aboard disappears, leaving the Colonial fleet in chaos, as a power struggle for control of the leadership manifests itself.