With this episode Lost has actually given us some answers. Unfortunately, the answers simply raise more questions but that is of course par for the course with this show.

Los Angeles

We start with Locke arriving at his home in a handicap van. Unfortunately the wheelchair ramp does not lower completely and, after fiddling with the switch a bit, he attempts to jump his chair off the ramp anyway. He fails and winds up flat on his face on the lawn with his chair collapsed beside him. To add insult to the injury, the lawn sprinklers pick this moment to turn on. Helen comes out of the house and sees him, turning off the water and coming to his rescue.

Later, Locke is taking a bath and Helen is asking him how the seminar he attended went. Locke says it was boring. Helen then suggests that instead of the large wedding they are planning that the two of them, her parents and Locke's father should just go somewhere and have a shotgun wedding. Locke disagrees, saying she deserves a walk down the aisle.

The next day Locke goes to his office and is almost immediately met by Randy, his manager. Randy questions Locke a bit about the seminar he attended before confronting Locke with the fact that he knows that Locke did not go. He asks Locke what he was really doing in Australia and Locke refuses to tell him. He tells Randy to just treat the time he was gone as vacation but Randy fires him instead.

Locke packs his desk and leaves but outside finds that another vehicle has parked directly next to his and that he can't lower the wheelchair ramp from his van. He pounds on the other vehicle (a Hummer) which sets off its alarm. Hurley appears and asks what he is doing. Hurley asks why Locke didn't park in the handicapped space and Locke says he can park anywhere he wants.

Hurley introduces himself as the owner of the company and asks Locke what he does. Locke admits he was just fired. Hurley admits to not liking Randy either and offers to give Locke his job back but Locke declines. Hurley gives Locke the name of a temp agency that he also owns and tells Locke to go there.

Locke goes to the temp agency and gets frustrated when the woman interviewing him starts asking him questions like "what kind of animal would you be?" He demands to see her supervisor, who turns out to be Rose.

Locke tries to convince her to give him a job as a construction supervisor but she tells him that she doesn't think that would work. Locke starts into his "don't tell me what I can't do" speech but Rose stops him, telling him that she has terminal cancer but that instead of fighting against it she decided to make the most of her time left. She asks Locke why they don't work together to find something he can do.

The next morning Locke is going through his morning routine and comes across the business card Jack gave him. He calls the number but hangs up when the receptionist answers.

Helen asks who he was talking to and he tells her but then says he isn't going to go. She asks why and he starts to become angry and tells her that he was fired from his job. She starts to ask what is going on but is interrupted when someone arrives at the door to the house.

The person at the door turns out to be from Oceanic delivering the case of knives that they had lost. She returns to Locke, who has gone into the kitchen, and asks what is going on. He tells her to open the case, showing her the knives and tells her that he didn't go to the seminar. He had gone to Australia to go on the walkabout but they wouldn't allow him to come with them.

Locke goes on to say that Helen keeps wanting him to go to doctors and therapist hoping that he would be able to walk again but that he now knows that he never will. He tells her that he doesn't want her to keep waiting for something that will never happen.

Helen tells him that she doesn't want him to walk, she just wants him. She tears up Jack's business card and they kiss.

Later, Locke is at his temporary job as a substitute teacher. After teaching a gym class and a class on the human reproductive system he goes to the faculty lounge. There, he finds someone ranting about the fact that someone took the last of the coffee without making a new pot. Locke says he prefers Earl Grey tea anyway to which the teacher responds that someone drinks a "civilized" drink.

The teacher turns around to reveal that he is Ben. Ben introduces himself as a teacher of European history and the two shake hands.

Island - The Beach

Inside the base of the statue, Ben finds Iliana crying. He asks what is wrong and she calms herself down, asking what happened to the rest of her people. Ben tells her how "Locke" turned into Smokey the Monster and killed them. She then asks if "Locke" also killed Jacob and, after a slight hesitation, he says yes.

Iliana asks if Jacob was killed then where was the body. Ben says that "Locke" kicked it into the fire and it was consumed. Ilyana pulls a bag from her belt and fills it with ash from the firepit.

They go outside and find that everyone except Frank and Sun have gone to the temple. Iliana says they need to go there as well but Sun says she needs to find Jin first. Iliana tells her that Jin will be at the Temple.

Sun asks about "Locke" and Iliana says that he is "recruiting". She also says that he can now only take "Locke"'s form. They start to leave but Sun insists that they need to bury Locke first.

They take Locke to the beach where the other Losties are buried. After digging a grave and lowering Locke's body into it, Iliana asks if anyone has anything to say. After a moment in which everyone seems to be at a loss for words Ben steps forward and says that Locke was a true believer and a better man than he will ever be. He then says that he is sorry he killed him. Everyone looks surprised and, as they start to refill the grave, Frank comments that this was the strangest funeral he has ever seen.

Island - The Jungle

We start with a scene from Smokey the Monster's point-of-view as it careens through the jungle. It stops briefly in New Otherton to look in on the house where Sawyer is staying (at which point we see its reflection in a window) before continuing into the jungle to where it finds a machete lying on the ground. Smokey morphs into "Locke" and picks up the machete.

"Locke" goes to where something wrapped in canvas is hanging from a tree. He cuts it down and unwraps it, revealing Richard.

"Locke" gives Richard some water and apologizes for beating him up. He then asks Richard if Jacob ever explained what was going on on the Island. Richard says he did not and "Locke" asks why Richard simply followed Jacob's instructions without asking questions.

They are interrupted when "Locke" suddenly sees a young, blond boy with bloody hands and arms standing some distance away. "Locke" asks Richard if he can see the boy but Richard cannot. "Locke" is distracted and wanders off, leaving Richard standing in the jungle.

"Locke" goes to New Otherton where he finds Sawyer getting drunk in his house. Sawyer seems unsurprised to see "Locke" and only says "I thought you were dead." "Locke" replies "I am."

"Locke" tells Saywer that he can answer the most important question of all; why he is on the Island. He says that he will show Sawyer if he will follow him.

Later, the two are walking through the jungle when "Locke" again sees the blond boy (this time not bloody). "Locke" discovers that Saywer can see him too and starts running after him. He trips and falls then looks up to see the boy standing before him.

The boy tells "Locke" that he "broke the rules" to which "Locke" angrily responds with Locke's tag line "Don't tell me what I can't do!" The boy leaves and "Locke" yells after him.

Meanwhile Richard, looking frightened, shows up where Sawyer has been left standing. Richard tries to convince Sawyer that he is in danger and to come with him to the temple. Sawyer comments that he has never seen Richard frightened before but refuses to come with him. They hear "Locke" returning and Richard flees. "Locke" asks Saywer who he was talking too and Saywer claims no one was there.

They continue on their way for a while then Sawyer stops and asks "Locke" if he ever read Of Mice and Men. "Locke" says he has not and Saywer says that it was is favorite book. He pulls his gun and points it at "Locke"'s head; "Locke" simply looks amused at this.

Sawyer says that he knows "Locke" is not really Locke because Locke was always scared, though he tried to pretend that he was not. "Locke" does not deny this but continues to tell Saywer that he will answer his questions when they get to where they are going.

They arrive at a cliff on the edge of the ocean and climb down a series of unstable wooden and rope ladders. One of the rope ladders breaks and Sawyer nearly falls but "Locke" saves him. The ladders lead to a cave slightly above the water's edge.

Inside there is a desk on which sits a balance scale holding a black stone and a white stone. "Locke" picks up the white stone and throws it into the ocean. Sawyer asks what that was all about and "Locke" responds "Inside joke".

"Locke" lights a torch and leads Sawyer into the back of the cave. There, the walls and ceiling are covered with names and numbers, most of which have been crossed out. "Locke" points out several that have not been crossed out to Sawyer.

• 4 - Locke
• 8 - Reyes
• 15 - Ford
• 16 - Jarrah
• 23 - Shepherd
• 42 - Kwon

Sawyer asks what the names are all about and "Locke" says that these were people that Jacob had selected to come to the Island. He says that Sawyer must have met Jacob at some point before coming to the Island (and we get a brief flashback to the time when Jacob gave Sawyer a pen at his father's funeral). Sawyer asks about the numbers and "Locke" dismisses them by saying that Jacob was obsessed with numbers.

Saywer asks what Jacob brought them there for and "Locke" says that it was so that one of them could take over as protector of the Island. He says they have three choices; do nothing, stay and protect the Island, or leave. Sawyer asks if they can leave and "Locke" says they can leave together. Sawyer says he wants to go.

LOST

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