I said it after What They Died For (WTDF) first aired and I'll say it again: this episode might as well be entitled "The End: Part I". It's beautifully written, an outstanding penultimate episode which puts all the necessary pieces into play for one mind-blowing series finale.
The flash-sideways (FS) brings non-awakened characters to a point where they're positioned to find their way. Jack gets the word that Christian's coffin is en route from Oceanic Airlines. Locke gives Jack the green light for spinal surgery. Kate and Sayid are transported out of LAPD and left in the hands of Hurley and Desmond.
Ben gets his awakening early thanks to a sound thrashing by Desmond, but he doesn't feel at peace just yet. He spends an evening with Danielle and Alex and has officially begun his path toward redemption and resolution.
The island storyline starts off with a moment I found to be extremely nostalgic: Jack stitching Kate's wound, which is a mirror image of a famous scene from the pilot episode.
From there Jack leads the group to find Desmond at the well, but their journey is detoured by Jacob himself. Jacob explains the reasons he chose the Losties as potential candidates, and Jack eventually volunteers to become the new Protector.
Meanwhile, Fake Locke (FLocke) catches up with Ben and Richard at the Barracks. Richard gets flung into the woods, Zoe and Charles Widmore are killed in Ben's secret room, and Ben is left volunteering his services to FLocke. At least that's the impression we're given for the time being.
This summary doesn't do the episode any justice; it smoothly weaves emotional moments with unexpected twists and even a few revelations. It's very nicely paced and credit goes to Sarnoff, Kitsis, and Horowitz as a result. I remember thinking after WTDF aired, "How in the world are they gonna reconcile all of this in the finale?"
That'll teach me to doubt the LOST writing staff.
Michael Emerson takes top honors in this episode, no doubt about it. It's not a Ben-centric but he has quite a few substantial scenes and his presence dominates each and every one of them.
We go from gentle Ben in the flash-sideways to the man who eaglerly escorts FLocke into the secret room where Zoe and Widmore are hiding. That was vintage Ben you might expect from Season 3... cold, unpredictable, and hellbent on ridding the world of Widmore once and for all.
Honestly, everyone did a phenomenal job here, notably Matthew Fox, Terry O'Quinn, and Evangeline Lilly. In some ways I felt for Lilly, being the only female left that'd have an ability to profoundly shape the outcome of the series.
Paul Edwards did an excellent job with directorial swan song. I loved the way he framed the opening scene of the island storyline, with Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, and Kate all standing on the beach and looking pensively over the ocean. It was a moment that looked and felt exactly like Season 1, as did most of the jungle scenes — finally! I can't overstate the importance of this.
The Smoke Monster punting Richard was a brief but effective use of CGI, but more importantly the scene that followed was an example of great directing. Ben sits on a porch and patiently waits, suspense building until FLocke eventually turns the corner and approaches.
A few other moments were framed effectively, including FLocke walking into the pitch-black "secret room" and Jacob's last conversation with the remaining candidates. These moments felt like old-school LOST in the best way.
I'm not kidding, I truly consider this episode a companion to the finale itself and would recommend watching them in succession. WTDF puts the chess pieces on the board, The End shows you how the game unfolds from there.
The atmosphere is intense all the way through because it's clear all the loose ends are rapidly coming together. The jungle feels like its old self again (critical for atmosphere) and we even get some old-school Giacchino scores thrown in for good measure.
Ben's visit with Danielle and Alex really caught me off guard and did a number on me. I figured it was just a novelty cameo for Danielle, which would've been fine as I love her character to begin with. But once Ben learns of his profound impact on Alex's life and spontaneously reacts to it, I lost my composure right along with him.
And that's when I knew the finale was about to rip me to shreds. Ben's scene with Alex was just a teaser for what was sure to come.
