Sorry for the doublepost but I had to bring this back given the season has now ended. Good episode. I don't think it was my favorite season finale ("Through the Looking Glass" was probably better) but it definitely has me looking forward to the next season. So since we've been discussing the spoiler that a major character who's been with us since day one has died, I figure I'll start by discussing that. The main character from day one who died appears to be......no one? I'm guessing they're referring to Locke, since it was revealed in this episode that the man walking around the island isn't the John Locke we've come to know. Still, he actually died a few episodes back so he didn't really die in this episode. Sayid looked like he was dying, but they never clearly showed him die. And since he's a pretty major character, he's not going out like that. He will be with us next season. Not saying he'll survive it, but we certainly haven't seen the last of him here. The one person we can be sure is dead is Juliet. I'm not someone to cry a lot at the TV, but Juliet's last moments definitely choked me up a bit. She's had a fairly tragic run in her time on the show, from leaving her sister to come to the island, to being an outsider to both the Others and eventually the 815 survivors, to losing Jack to Kate and then (kind of) Sawyer too. And then she dies like that. Honestly, I'd have rather seen a couple of longer term characters go than Juliet (Sun, in particular, I wouldn't miss), but the character couldn't ask for a better exit than that. It's definitely a better exit than it appears Desmond will get.
Getting back to Locke, I have to say I called it! Not here on the forum but when I saw the big crate being carried, and Frank's reaction to what was inside, I knew it had to be Locke. He's been acting too differently lately. I think for me, the big giveaway was his broken promise to Sun last week. Earlier in the season, Jin had made Locke promise he wouldn't bring Sun back to the island. Locke had promised, and even though it was not in the best interests of what he'd been hoping to accomplish, he'd been true to his word. He hadn't gone to Sun to try to convince her to go back. Last week, on the other hand, he'd promised Sun that he'd do anything within his power to reunite her with her husband, and later in the same episode, he'd told Ben that he'd lied to her. He never had any intention of doing that, but rather was on a mission to kill Jacob. This to me is a clear indication that Locke isn't the same man. The real Locke did, in fact, die when Ben strangled him earlier this season. But who is this new Locke? We saw him at the beginning of the episode speaking with Jacob, but what's his story? What's his agenda?
It was nice to see Rose, Bernard, and Vincent again, even if it did feel a little tacked on. It did seem like they were merely showing that scene to appease fans who'd been asking what happened to them but at least they addressed it. It was also kind of cool to see how Jacob was around for semi-major moments in the castaways lives, even if that point was made long before the flashbacks ended.
Kate - Jacob was there when she got the lunchbox her and a friend would later use for a time capsule seen in season one
Jack - Was there when Jack stumbled during an operation and had to count to five to regain composure (seen in the pilot originally)
Sawyer - Jacob was there when Sawyer's parents died after being conned (also originally mentioned in season one)
Hurley - Convinced him to board Flight 316, with the guitar case we've seen this season
Sayid - Actually stopped him so that he wouldn't be killed as his wife was
Locke - Jacob was there when his father shoved him out of a window, paralyzing him (seen in season three)
