We see Caesar, one of the two previously-unknown-to-us Ajira flight 316 passengers, snooping around in a dark office. There are lots of Dharma Inititative files around. He also finds a sawed-off shotgun, which he stashes in a backpack. It's unclear when/where he is, but then Ilana, the other new-to-us character, walks in and says a man has appeared in the water. He wasn't on their flight.
It soon becomes clear that the plane has crashed. There are all sorts of other survivors around a fire on a beach. And the mysterious man? None other than John Locke. And the beach? It's not Lost island, it's the little Dharma experimental station island near it. Locke learns from Caesar and Ilana that the pilot of the flight, Frank Lepidus, and a woman, presumably Sun, took an outrigger canoe to the larger island. Locke soon figures out what's happened. He was dead, but on the Ajira flight. And now he's back: To life and not quite on the island.
In flashbacks, we learn what happened to Locke after he left the island. Just like Ben, he pops up in Tunisia after spinning the island's time-space wheel. It's a rough trip, especially with his broken leg. But there's a camera positioned in the desert pop-up spot and, hours later, a truck shows up and he's taken to a camp and treated. When he revives, he's visited by Charles Widmore--who recognizes Locke from the island, decades earlier. But, for Locke, that meeting took place only a few days earlier.
Widmore tries to convince Locke that he, not Ben, has the island's best interests at heart. Ben somehow forced Widmore off the island. Widmore says Ben can't be trusted. It's he that wants to help, and he wants to help Locke recruit the Oceanic 6 to return. Widmore arranges for one of his employees, Matthew Abbadon, to travel with Locke. Locke recognizes Abbadon as the orderly who convinced Locke to take the Australian walk-about trip that ultimately led to Locke's crashing on the island the first time around.
In several scenes, we see Locke trying, unsuccessfully to convince the Oceanic 6 to come back to the island with him. He also checks up on Walt, who says he's been having dreams about Locke, dressed in a suit and in danger.
Feeling like he's failed, and having been told by Richard Alpert before leaving the island that he would have to die for the return mission to succeed, Locke decides to hang himself. At the moment he's about to jump off a table to do so, however, Ben arrives at his room and talks Locke out of it. Ben says he will help Locke get the others back to the island. But when Locke mentions going to see Eloise Hawking, Ben's manner changes and he ends up strangling Locke to death, positioning the body to make it look as if Locke did, indeed, kill himself.
We flash back to the present (or whatever) as Caesar shows Locke the injured passengers of Ajira 316. Among them, an unconcious Ben. Locke says "this is the man who killed me."
Questions/observations/speculation:
* So, who the heck do we trust: Widmore or Ben? Or neither? Widmore mentions an upcoming war on the island. Who are the combatants? Will the Others follow Locke?
* If Widmore is such a good guy, how come he sent mercenaries to kill everybody on the island? Seems like both he and Ben are pretty bad.
* How/why was Widmore forced off the island? Was his daughter, Penny, born on the island? Did Widmore leave with her to save Penny's life? Who is Penny's mother? Did she die when giving birth to Penny?
* Did Jacob curse new mothers and babies on the island for some reason? Did Ben convince him to do so?
* Are Caesar and Ilana aware of what's happened to them? Do they know about the island, or are they just along for the ride?
* Do the space/time shifts affect the smaller island as well as the big one? It seems like they must.
* Is Locke truly alive, or is he a ghost? He seems pretty normal for a dead guy.
* Why did Ben switch gears from nice to evil when Locke mentioned Hawking? It seems like he was worried Widmore was a step ahead of him, influencing those who need to go back to the island. But who's side is Hawking on? Ben's? Widmore's? Does she realize they are in opposition? Does she care?
* Why didn't Widmore just go back to the island? Is it somehow impossible for him?
* What about Jacob? Who most represents him: Ben? Widmore? Locke? Is Jacob good?
* Here's a look at the map Caesar comes across in the Dharma office. It's a chart depicting what seems to be different time streams: Both real and imaginary. What does it mean? Is it one of Daniel Faraday's drawings?
* What about Walt's dreams? His visions have a knack for coming true. Who poses a danger to Locke?
* Abaddon tells Locke that it's his job "to get people where they need to go." Obviously, he played a role in getting Locke to go on the fateful Oceanic flight, just as the Australian psychic did with Claire. It seems as if Widmore somehow knew that flight was going to end up on the island and wanted certain people to be on it. Why? And how the heck did he know? Did he somehow sabotage the flight?
Also see:
* Preview for next week's episode: "LaFleur."
* Read spoilers for "LaFleur."
* What we STILL don't know.
Previous episodes:
* 5.1/5.2: "Because You Left" and "The Lie"
* 5.3: "Jughead"
* 5.4: "The Little Prince"
* 5.5: "This Place is Death"
* 5.6: "316"
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