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The Incident (Lost)
Encyclopedia
"The Incident" is the season finale of the fifth season
of ABC
's Lost
, consisting of its 16th and 17th episodes. Both parts of "The Incident", the show's 102nd and 103rd episodes overall, aired on May 13, 2009 on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by executive producers/showrunners Damon Lindelof
and Carlton Cuse
and directed by Jack Bender
. The episode was watched by 9.428 million viewers, and was well received by critics and audiences. It was also nominated for a 2009 Primetime Emmy in the Outstanding Writing in A Drama Series Category.
Jack Shephard
's (Matthew Fox
) plan to change the future is met with resistance from others, while John Locke
(Terry O'Quinn
) assigns Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson
) a difficult task. This episode features the first appearance of the mysterious leader of the Others, Jacob, after being mentioned several times throughout the series. Jacob is portrayed by Mark Pellegrino
, and appears in the flashbacks of various Oceanic Flight 815
survivors and mysterious Ajira Flight 316 survivor Ilana (Zuleikha Robinson
).
) weaving a tapestry inside a temple-like room. He is then shown on the beach of the island eating a fish near the large four-toed statue of Taweret, where he is visited by the Man in Black
(Titus Welliver
). The man comments on a sailing ship
on the horizon, suggesting that Jacob has brought it to the island. The man states that no matter who comes to the island the same thing happens over and over, and that the man will eventually find a "loophole
" so he can kill Jacob.
In flashbacks, various characters encounter Jacob. As a little girl, Kate is visited by Jacob when she is caught shoplifting a lunchbox. He pays for it to placate the shopkeeper and tells her to be good. At age eight, Sawyer is visited shortly after his parents' funeral. He has begun writing his letter to the con man "Tom Sawyer", but his pen is out of ink. Jacob gives him a replacement. Sayid is visited at the same time that his wife Nadia (Andrea Gabriel) is killed; Jacob asks Sayid for directions and as they start crossing the street Nadia is hit by a car. While recovering in a Russian hospital, Ilana is visited by Jacob and he asks Ilana for her help. Sun and Jin are visited by Jacob at their wedding
and he tells them that their love is special in fluent Korean. Immediately after being pushed out of an eighth-story window by his father
, Locke
apparently dies. Jacob arrives and touches him on the shoulder, and Locke reawakens. After performing his first solo surgery on a young girl (a story he recounts to Kate in "Pilot, Part 1
"), Jack tries to buy a chocolate bar from a vending machine, but it gets stuck. Jack argues with his father
(John Terry) for interrupting him during the surgery. Jacob buys the same chocolate bar and when two come out, he gives Jack one. Hurley is visited after he is released from prison, between the events of "The Little Prince
" and "316
". Jacob tells him that he may not be cursed or crazy, but blessed, and that his ability to see dead people could be a gift. He tells Hurley about Flight 316, giving him the choice of boarding it. Jacob leaves a guitar case behind for Hurley to take. One thing all these flashbacks have in common is that Jacob makes physical contact with each of the characters in his or her respective scene.
In a flashback not featuring Jacob, Juliet's parents tell her that they are getting divorced, greatly upsetting her; they claim that though they love each other, they were not meant to be together.
", Kate Austen
(Evangeline Lilly
), Juliet Burke
(Elizabeth Mitchell
) and James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
) are on a submarine leaving the island. Kate convinces Juliet and Sawyer that they need to stop Jack from detonating a hydrogen bomb on the island. They force the captain (William Makozak) to surface so that they may leave, instructing the captain to continue on course away from the island. They arrive on the island, where they are greeted by Vincent the dog, who has been in the care of Rose (L. Scott Caldwell
) and Bernard Nadler (Sam Anderson
) for the past three years. Rose explains to the trio that she and Bernard are now retired and live a quiet life near the beach, scavenging food and avoiding detection by the Dharma Initiative
. Rose points them to the Dharma barracks and they leave.
At the same time, Jack Shephard
(Matthew Fox
) and Sayid Jarrah
(Naveen Andrews
) dismantle the hydrogen bomb in the tunnels under the Dharma Initiative's barracks, in order to remove its core. Richard Alpert
(Nestor Carbonell
) and Eloise Hawking (Alice Evans
) assist Jack and Sayid in entering the barracks via the basement of one of the houses. Richard knocks out Eloise to prevent her traveling with them to detonate the bomb because she is pregnant. Sayid dons a Dharma jumpsuit in order to fit in at the barracks; they almost escape when Roger Linus (Jon Gries
) recognizes him and shoots him. Jack and Sayid escape in a van driven by Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
), along with Jin-Soo Kwon
(Daniel Dae Kim) and Miles Straume
(Ken Leung
). Hurley drives to the construction site of the Swan station, while Jack treats Sayid's wounds; however, they are stopped by Juliet, Sawyer and Kate.
Meanwhile, Dr. Pierre Chang (François Chau
) is forced to continue drilling into the energy source beneath the construction site of the Swan station on the orders of Stuart Radzinsky (Eric Lange).
Jack and Sawyer discuss the situation away from the other survivors, with Sawyer expressing his opinion that "what's done is done" and that they shouldn't try to change the past. Jack claims that it is his destiny to change the past and that John Locke
(Terry O'Quinn
) has always been right about the island. Jack and Sawyer get into a fist fight, which is broken up by Juliet, who now agrees with Jack that they must detonate the bomb. She tells Sawyer that although they love each other, they are not meant to be together (echoing her parents), and that if they never meet then she will never have to lose him.
With everyone now in agreement, Jack enters the construction site at the same time that security officer Phil (Patrick Fischler
) arrives with a team of armed men. A massive gunfight ensues, wherein the survivors gain the upper hand, allowing Jack to drop the bomb into the pit at the same time that the drill hits the energy source. The nuke fails to go off, and the pocket is breached, attracting every metal object in the area. In the ensuing chaos, Dr. Chang's arm is crushed by part of the drill mounting, Phil is stabbed by a rebar
,
and Juliet is dragged into the chasm by a metal chain. Sawyer attempts to pull her up in vain, and Juliet professes her love for him before falling. Juliet manages to survive the fall, albeit severely injured, and hits the nuclear core with a rock repeatedly until the screen flashes to white and it appears that the bomb has been detonated.
), Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yunjin Kim) and the Others travel to the remains of the Taweret statue, where Jacob resides. Locke assigns Ben the task of killing Jacob, and provides motivation by reminding Ben of all the bad things that have happened to him. Ben admits that he has never seen Jacob and was lying about talking to him. All communication with Jacob was through notes brought by Richard, including the lists of people to be taken from the Oceanic 815 survivors.
At the same time, a group of survivors from Ajira Flight 316, including Ilana (Zuleikha Robinson
) and Bram (Brad William Henke
) travel towards Jacob's cabin, with Frank Lapidus
(Jeff Fahey
) and a giant metal crate from the cargo of the plane. They find the cabin deserted. They set it on fire after realizing that someone else has been using it. They then travel to the statue.
Their group arrives shortly after Ben and Locke enter a chamber in the base of the statue's remains. Ilana asks Richard the question, "what lies in the shadow of the statue", and Richard replies, "Ille qui nos omnes servabit" (Latin for "He who will save us all."). Ilana reveals the contents of the crate: John Locke's dead body.
Inside the chamber, Jacob deduces that Locke is really the Man in Black from the opening flashback and that he has tricked Ben into killing him. Ben stabs Jacob repeatedly. Jacob's final words are a warning to the man: "They're coming." Locke's imposter then kicks Jacob's body into the fire and watches it burn.
and Carlton Cuse
invited fans to choose the code name for the finale of season five
. After numerous suggestions, the two decided upon their favorite thirteen. These thirteen were then allowed to be voted on by fans as the name. The resulting name was The Fork in the Outlet.
This episode breaks the tradition of ending with the "LOST" title screen, with the words in white and a black background. Instead, "LOST" is in black, and the background is white.
The Swan construction site was built in the same place the Hatch was shown in seasons 1 and 2, in He'eia. Due to being in a state park area, the producers had to get permits and work with geologists to excavate and build the set, as well as restoring the location to how it was before. The base of the statue where Jacob lives was a live-action set, but the stone foot was built with computer-generated imagery
.
, Chris Carabot praised the finale, calling it "heart-wrenching", and praised the performances, especially Michael Emerson
and newcomer Mark Pellegrino
, calling him "yet another example of some of the brilliant casting choices we've seen on this show." He went on to give the episode an overall score of 9.8, saying that he was "excited to see how this cliffhanger plays out in the final chapter of the series." Alan Sepinwall of the Star-Ledger reviewed the episode positively, but complained about the episode being "another explosive chapter" of the love triangle. Sepinwall also called it "so exciting, so mythology-intensive, so loaded with great performances and great character notes, so all-around kick-ass, that I feel more than satisfied." Jeff Jensen of PopWatch said that the opening scene with Jacob and his nemesis was enough to make the episode legendary.
Jay Glatfelter of the Huffington Post felt that the season finale was more of the first act of the show's final act, and thought that many of the themes were left unresolved.
Variety
s Cynthia Littleton was pleased when Rose and Bernard returned in the episode, having been absent for most of the season. She speculated that they are the Adam and Eve skeletons found by the survivors early in season one, which Jeff Jensen from Entertainment Weekly also suspected. (This was not correct.) James Poniewozik of Time
also liked their appearance in "The Incident". Chris Carabott of IGN "love[d]" this scene as the characters were no longer watching the island mysteries, but had become part of them. He said "Their outlook is refreshing" and hoped they would feature more often in season six. Alan Sepinwall from The Star-Ledger
called it "one of the best, most moving scenes of the finale". Noel Murray from The AV Club thought the scene was useful in both practical and thematic senses, as it allowed the characters to leave the show, but also it caused him to question whether opting out was "the voice of reason, or the voice of evil". The Huffington Post
's Jay Glatfelter incorrectly thought their decision not to participate "all but solidified them as the 'Adam and Eve' from the caves". "Words [could not] describe" how pleased Maureen Ryan from the Chicago Tribune was with Rose and Bernard's scene, and she agreed with Rose's sentiment "It's always something with you people".
Lost (season 5)
The fifth season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing on the ABC network in the United States and on A in Canada in January 2009, and concluded with a two-hour season finale on May 13, 2009...
of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
, consisting of its 16th and 17th episodes. Both parts of "The Incident", the show's 102nd and 103rd episodes overall, aired on May 13, 2009 on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by executive producers/showrunners Damon Lindelof
Damon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
and Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse is an AmericanEmmy Award winning screenwriter and producer, most famous as executive producer andscreenwriter for the American television series Lost for...
and directed by Jack Bender
Jack Bender
Jack Bender is an American television and film director, actor, television producer and also a screenwriter. Bender was an executive producer and lead director on the ABC television series, Lost. He directed the series finale of Lost. Bender has also directed on other popular shows such as The...
. The episode was watched by 9.428 million viewers, and was well received by critics and audiences. It was also nominated for a 2009 Primetime Emmy in the Outstanding Writing in A Drama Series Category.
Jack Shephard
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
's (Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
) plan to change the future is met with resistance from others, while John Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) assigns Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
) a difficult task. This episode features the first appearance of the mysterious leader of the Others, Jacob, after being mentioned several times throughout the series. Jacob is portrayed by Mark Pellegrino
Mark Pellegrino
Mark Ross Pellegrino is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work on Lost as Jacob and for playing Lucifer on Supernatural.-Career:...
, and appears in the flashbacks of various Oceanic Flight 815
Oceanic Airlines
Oceanic Airlines and less frequently Oceanic Airways are fictional airlines used in several films and television programs.The most famous use of this brand is in the TV show Lost, where Oceanic Airlines is featured branded with a highly-stylized logo depicting an Aboriginal dot painting that...
survivors and mysterious Ajira Flight 316 survivor Ilana (Zuleikha Robinson
Zuleikha Robinson
Zuleikha Robinson is an English actress, raised in Thailand and Malaysia by a Burmese-Indian mother and an English father. She is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, and best known for playing Ilana in the ABC show Lost.In 2006, she played a Bengali character called...
).
Flashbacks
The episode opens with Jacob (Mark PellegrinoMark Pellegrino
Mark Ross Pellegrino is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work on Lost as Jacob and for playing Lucifer on Supernatural.-Career:...
) weaving a tapestry inside a temple-like room. He is then shown on the beach of the island eating a fish near the large four-toed statue of Taweret, where he is visited by the Man in Black
Man in Black (Lost)
The entity referred to most frequently as the Man in Black is a fictional character on the American ABC television series Lost, and is the main antagonist of the...
(Titus Welliver
Titus Welliver
Titus Welliver is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring roles on the television shows Deadwood, Lost, Sons of Anarchy and The Good Wife...
). The man comments on a sailing ship
Sailing ship
The term sailing ship is now used to refer to any large wind-powered vessel. In technical terms, a ship was a sailing vessel with a specific rig of at least three masts, square rigged on all of them, making the sailing adjective redundant. In popular usage "ship" became associated with all large...
on the horizon, suggesting that Jacob has brought it to the island. The man states that no matter who comes to the island the same thing happens over and over, and that the man will eventually find a "loophole
Loophole
A loophole is a weakness that allows a system to be circumvented.Loophole may also refer to:*Arrowslit, a slit in a castle wall*Loophole , a short science fiction story by Arthur C...
" so he can kill Jacob.
In flashbacks, various characters encounter Jacob. As a little girl, Kate is visited by Jacob when she is caught shoplifting a lunchbox. He pays for it to placate the shopkeeper and tells her to be good. At age eight, Sawyer is visited shortly after his parents' funeral. He has begun writing his letter to the con man "Tom Sawyer", but his pen is out of ink. Jacob gives him a replacement. Sayid is visited at the same time that his wife Nadia (Andrea Gabriel) is killed; Jacob asks Sayid for directions and as they start crossing the street Nadia is hit by a car. While recovering in a Russian hospital, Ilana is visited by Jacob and he asks Ilana for her help. Sun and Jin are visited by Jacob at their wedding
...In Translation
"...In Translation" is the 17th episode of the first season of Lost. The episode was directed by Tucker Gates and written by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Leonard Dick. It first aired on February 23, 2005 on ABC. Jin-Soo Kwon is featured in the episode's flashbacks...
and he tells them that their love is special in fluent Korean. Immediately after being pushed out of an eighth-story window by his father
The Man from Tallahassee
"The Man from Tallahassee" is the 13th episode of the 3rd season of Lost, and the 62nd episode overall. It was aired on March 21, 2007 on ABC. The episode was written by Drew Goddard and Jeff Pinkner and directed by Jack Bender...
, Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
apparently dies. Jacob arrives and touches him on the shoulder, and Locke reawakens. After performing his first solo surgery on a young girl (a story he recounts to Kate in "Pilot, Part 1
Pilot (Lost)
"Pilot" constitutes the first and second episodes of the first season of ABC television series Lost, with "Part 1" premiering on September 22, 2004 and Part 2 on September 29, 2004. The episodes were directed by J.J. Abrams, and written by him along with Damon Lindelof, based on a story by them and...
"), Jack tries to buy a chocolate bar from a vending machine, but it gets stuck. Jack argues with his father
Christian Shephard
Dr. Christian Shephard is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by John Terry. He is the father of lead characters Jack Shephard , who becomes the de facto leader of the survivors of Oceanic 815 after it crashes on an island, and Claire Littleton , another of the survivors...
(John Terry) for interrupting him during the surgery. Jacob buys the same chocolate bar and when two come out, he gives Jack one. Hurley is visited after he is released from prison, between the events of "The Little Prince
The Little Prince (Lost)
"The Little Prince" is the fourth television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost. The 90th episode of the show overall, "The Little Prince" aired on February 4, 2009 on ABC in the United States, being simulcast on A in Canada. The episode was written by producer Brian K...
" and "316
316 (Lost)
"316" is the sixth television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost. The 92nd episode of the show overall, "316" aired on February 18, 2009 on ABC in the United States, and was simulcast on A in Canada...
". Jacob tells him that he may not be cursed or crazy, but blessed, and that his ability to see dead people could be a gift. He tells Hurley about Flight 316, giving him the choice of boarding it. Jacob leaves a guitar case behind for Hurley to take. One thing all these flashbacks have in common is that Jacob makes physical contact with each of the characters in his or her respective scene.
In a flashback not featuring Jacob, Juliet's parents tell her that they are getting divorced, greatly upsetting her; they claim that though they love each other, they were not meant to be together.
1977
Following the events of the previous episode, "Follow the LeaderFollow the Leader (Lost)
"Follow the Leader" is the 15th television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost. The 101st episode of the show overall, "Follow the Leader" aired on May 6, 2009 on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by supervising producer Paul Zbyszewski and co-executive producer Elizabeth...
", Kate Austen
Kate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
(Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lilly is a Canadian actress, best known for her role as Kate Austen in the ABC drama, Lost.-Early life:...
), Juliet Burke
Juliet Burke
Dr. Juliet Burke is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Elizabeth Mitchell. Her character was introduced in the third season premiere.- Prior to arrival on the island :...
(Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell
Elizabeth Mitchell , is an American actress/modelwho is known for her roles as Dr. Juliet Burke on ABC's TV series Lost and as FBI agent Erica Evans on V. She has starred in such films as The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, and Gia.-Early life:Mitchell was born Elizabeth...
) and James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway
Josh Holloway
Joshua Lee "Josh" Holloway is an American actor and model from Free Home, Georgia. He is best known for his role as James "Sawyer" Ford on the American television show Lost.-Early life:...
) are on a submarine leaving the island. Kate convinces Juliet and Sawyer that they need to stop Jack from detonating a hydrogen bomb on the island. They force the captain (William Makozak) to surface so that they may leave, instructing the captain to continue on course away from the island. They arrive on the island, where they are greeted by Vincent the dog, who has been in the care of Rose (L. Scott Caldwell
L. Scott Caldwell
Laverne Scott Caldwell is an American actress known for her role as Rose on Lost.This Chicago native started her career in 1978 as a member of the famed Negro Ensemble Company, making her Broadway debut two years later in the Tony Award nominated play Home...
) and Bernard Nadler (Sam Anderson
Sam Anderson
Sam Anderson is an American actor.-Early life:Anderson was born in Wahpeton, North Dakota. He is a graduate of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. During the 1970s, Sam taught drama at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California.-Career:Anderson is perhaps best known for his roles...
) for the past three years. Rose explains to the trio that she and Bernard are now retired and live a quiet life near the beach, scavenging food and avoiding detection by the Dharma Initiative
DHARMA Initiative
The Dharma Initiative, also written DHARMA , was a fictional research project featured in the television series Lost. It was introduced in the second season episode "Orientation". In 2008, the Dharma Initiative website was launched. Dharma's interests were directly connected with fringe science...
. Rose points them to the Dharma barracks and they leave.
At the same time, Jack Shephard
Jack Shephard
Dr. Jack Shephard is a fictional character and protagonist of the ABC television series Lost played by Matthew Fox. Lost follows the journey of the survivors of Oceanic Airlines flight 815 on a mysterious island and their attempts to survive and escape, slowly uncovering more of the much broader...
(Matthew Fox
Matthew Fox (actor)
Matthew Chandler Fox is an American actor. He is mostly known for his role as Charlie Salinger on Party of Five, and for portraying Jack Shephard on the supernatural drama television series Lost.- Early life :...
) and Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Jarrah
Sayid Hassan Jarrah is a character from the ABC show Lost portrayed by Naveen Andrews.-Season 1:Sayid fixes the transceiver recovered from the cockpit, and leads a group into the jungle in order to send out a distress signal. Instead, he picks up a looping message . He tries to locate the...
(Naveen Andrews
Naveen Andrews
Naveen William Sidney Andrews is a British American actor. He is best known for portraying Kip in the movie The English Patient and Sayid Jarrah on the American television series Lost.-Early life:...
) dismantle the hydrogen bomb in the tunnels under the Dharma Initiative's barracks, in order to remove its core. Richard Alpert
Richard Alpert (Lost)
Ricardo "Richard" Alpert is a fictional character played by Nestor Carbonell in the American ABC television series Lost. Alpert is introduced in a flashback of the character Juliet Burke , where he claims to be a doctor for a bioscience company called Mittelos Bioscience; he is later revealed to...
(Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Gastón Carbonell is an American actor, known for portraying Richard Alpert in ABC's drama Lost and Mayor Anthony Garcia in the film The Dark Knight...
) and Eloise Hawking (Alice Evans
Alice Evans
Alice Jane Evans is an American-born English actress.-Early life:Evans, the daughter of educators and the granddaughter of a coal miner, was born in New Jersey, USA and grew up in Bristol, England. She graduated from University College London with a 2:1 in French and Italian.-Career:After...
) assist Jack and Sayid in entering the barracks via the basement of one of the houses. Richard knocks out Eloise to prevent her traveling with them to detonate the bomb because she is pregnant. Sayid dons a Dharma jumpsuit in order to fit in at the barracks; they almost escape when Roger Linus (Jon Gries
Jon Gries
Jonathan Francis "Jon" Gries is an American actor, writer and director. He is also credited under the names Jon Francis and Jonathan Gries. He is known for his role in Napoleon Dynamite as Uncle Rico, and more recently as recurring character Roger Linus on Lost...
) recognizes him and shoots him. Jack and Sayid escape in a van driven by Hugo "Hurley" Reyes (Jorge Garcia
Jorge Garcia
Jorge García is a U.S. actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker and later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian.-Early life:García was born...
), along with Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon
Jin-Soo Kwon, better known as "Jin," is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Daniel Dae Kim.- Prior to the crash :...
(Daniel Dae Kim) and Miles Straume
Miles Straume
Miles Straume is a fictional character played by Ken Leung on the ABC television series Lost. Miles is introduced early in the fourth season as a hotheaded and sarcastic medium as a crew member aboard the freighter called the Kahana that is offshore the island where most of Lost takes place...
(Ken Leung
Ken Leung
Kenneth "Ken" Leung is an American actor best known for his role as Miles Straume in the ABC television series Lost and roles in such films as Shanghai Kiss, Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Saw.-Early life:...
). Hurley drives to the construction site of the Swan station, while Jack treats Sayid's wounds; however, they are stopped by Juliet, Sawyer and Kate.
Meanwhile, Dr. Pierre Chang (François Chau
François Chau
François Chau is a Cambodian-American actor. He is known for his role as Dr. Pierre Chang in ABC's Lost, and as The Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze....
) is forced to continue drilling into the energy source beneath the construction site of the Swan station on the orders of Stuart Radzinsky (Eric Lange).
Jack and Sawyer discuss the situation away from the other survivors, with Sawyer expressing his opinion that "what's done is done" and that they shouldn't try to change the past. Jack claims that it is his destiny to change the past and that John Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
(Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn
Terry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) has always been right about the island. Jack and Sawyer get into a fist fight, which is broken up by Juliet, who now agrees with Jack that they must detonate the bomb. She tells Sawyer that although they love each other, they are not meant to be together (echoing her parents), and that if they never meet then she will never have to lose him.
With everyone now in agreement, Jack enters the construction site at the same time that security officer Phil (Patrick Fischler
Patrick Fischler
Patrick Fischler is an American actor best known for his roles as Jimmy Barrett on the drama series Mad Men, Dharma Initiative worker Phil on the drama series Lost and Detective Kenny No-Gun on the police drama Southland...
) arrives with a team of armed men. A massive gunfight ensues, wherein the survivors gain the upper hand, allowing Jack to drop the bomb into the pit at the same time that the drill hits the energy source. The nuke fails to go off, and the pocket is breached, attracting every metal object in the area. In the ensuing chaos, Dr. Chang's arm is crushed by part of the drill mounting, Phil is stabbed by a rebar
Rebar
A rebar , also known as reinforcing steel, reinforcement steel, rerod, or a deformed bar, is a common steel bar, and is commonly used as a tensioning device in reinforced concrete and reinforced masonry structures holding the concrete in compression...
,
and Juliet is dragged into the chasm by a metal chain. Sawyer attempts to pull her up in vain, and Juliet professes her love for him before falling. Juliet manages to survive the fall, albeit severely injured, and hits the nuclear core with a rock repeatedly until the screen flashes to white and it appears that the bomb has been detonated.
2007
Locke, Benjamin Linus (Michael EmersonMichael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
), Sun-Hwa Kwon (Yunjin Kim) and the Others travel to the remains of the Taweret statue, where Jacob resides. Locke assigns Ben the task of killing Jacob, and provides motivation by reminding Ben of all the bad things that have happened to him. Ben admits that he has never seen Jacob and was lying about talking to him. All communication with Jacob was through notes brought by Richard, including the lists of people to be taken from the Oceanic 815 survivors.
At the same time, a group of survivors from Ajira Flight 316, including Ilana (Zuleikha Robinson
Zuleikha Robinson
Zuleikha Robinson is an English actress, raised in Thailand and Malaysia by a Burmese-Indian mother and an English father. She is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, and best known for playing Ilana in the ABC show Lost.In 2006, she played a Bengali character called...
) and Bram (Brad William Henke
Brad William Henke
Brad William Henke is an American actor.-Biography:Henke was born in Columbus, Nebraska. He starred in October Road and in the movies Around June with Samaire Armstrong and Jon Gries, The Amateurs with Jeff Bridges and Tim Blake Nelson, In the Valley of Elah with Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize...
) travel towards Jacob's cabin, with Frank Lapidus
Frank Lapidus
Frank J. Lapidus is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost played by Jeff Fahey. Frank is introduced in the second episode of season four as a pilot hired on a mission to the island where Oceanic Flight 815 crashed. He aids the survivors of the crash against mercenary Martin Keamy ...
(Jeff Fahey
Jeff Fahey
Jeffrey David "Jeff" Fahey is an American film and television actor. He has portrayed Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC series Lost and the title role of Deputy Marshal Winston MacBride on The Marshal.-Early life:...
) and a giant metal crate from the cargo of the plane. They find the cabin deserted. They set it on fire after realizing that someone else has been using it. They then travel to the statue.
Their group arrives shortly after Ben and Locke enter a chamber in the base of the statue's remains. Ilana asks Richard the question, "what lies in the shadow of the statue", and Richard replies, "Ille qui nos omnes servabit" (Latin for "He who will save us all."). Ilana reveals the contents of the crate: John Locke's dead body.
Inside the chamber, Jacob deduces that Locke is really the Man in Black from the opening flashback and that he has tricked Ben into killing him. Ben stabs Jacob repeatedly. Jacob's final words are a warning to the man: "They're coming." Locke's imposter then kicks Jacob's body into the fire and watches it burn.
Production
Throughout the previous seasons, the final scene of each season had a secret code name. This was to prevent spoilers from leaking out. Another factor to prevent the leak of spoilers was that only the writers, director, and actors involved with the scene were allowed access to the script. During a May podcast, executive producers/writers Damon LindelofDamon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
and Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse
Carlton Cuse is an AmericanEmmy Award winning screenwriter and producer, most famous as executive producer andscreenwriter for the American television series Lost for...
invited fans to choose the code name for the finale of season five
Lost (season 5)
The fifth season of the American serial drama television series Lost commenced airing on the ABC network in the United States and on A in Canada in January 2009, and concluded with a two-hour season finale on May 13, 2009...
. After numerous suggestions, the two decided upon their favorite thirteen. These thirteen were then allowed to be voted on by fans as the name. The resulting name was The Fork in the Outlet.
This episode breaks the tradition of ending with the "LOST" title screen, with the words in white and a black background. Instead, "LOST" is in black, and the background is white.
The Swan construction site was built in the same place the Hatch was shown in seasons 1 and 2, in He'eia. Due to being in a state park area, the producers had to get permits and work with geologists to excavate and build the set, as well as restoring the location to how it was before. The base of the statue where Jacob lives was a live-action set, but the stone foot was built with computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
.
Reception
The finale has been well-received by audiences and critics alike. In a review for IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, Chris Carabot praised the finale, calling it "heart-wrenching", and praised the performances, especially Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson
Michael Emerson is an American actor who is perhaps best known for his roles as Benjamin Linus on Lost and fictional serial killer William Hinks in The Practice.-Early life:...
and newcomer Mark Pellegrino
Mark Pellegrino
Mark Ross Pellegrino is an American actor of film and television. He is best known for his work on Lost as Jacob and for playing Lucifer on Supernatural.-Career:...
, calling him "yet another example of some of the brilliant casting choices we've seen on this show." He went on to give the episode an overall score of 9.8, saying that he was "excited to see how this cliffhanger plays out in the final chapter of the series." Alan Sepinwall of the Star-Ledger reviewed the episode positively, but complained about the episode being "another explosive chapter" of the love triangle. Sepinwall also called it "so exciting, so mythology-intensive, so loaded with great performances and great character notes, so all-around kick-ass, that I feel more than satisfied." Jeff Jensen of PopWatch said that the opening scene with Jacob and his nemesis was enough to make the episode legendary.
Jay Glatfelter of the Huffington Post felt that the season finale was more of the first act of the show's final act, and thought that many of the themes were left unresolved.
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
s Cynthia Littleton was pleased when Rose and Bernard returned in the episode, having been absent for most of the season. She speculated that they are the Adam and Eve skeletons found by the survivors early in season one, which Jeff Jensen from Entertainment Weekly also suspected. (This was not correct.) James Poniewozik of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
also liked their appearance in "The Incident". Chris Carabott of IGN "love[d]" this scene as the characters were no longer watching the island mysteries, but had become part of them. He said "Their outlook is refreshing" and hoped they would feature more often in season six. Alan Sepinwall from The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
called it "one of the best, most moving scenes of the finale". Noel Murray from The AV Club thought the scene was useful in both practical and thematic senses, as it allowed the characters to leave the show, but also it caused him to question whether opting out was "the voice of reason, or the voice of evil". The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
's Jay Glatfelter incorrectly thought their decision not to participate "all but solidified them as the 'Adam and Eve' from the caves". "Words [could not] describe" how pleased Maureen Ryan from the Chicago Tribune was with Rose and Bernard's scene, and she agreed with Rose's sentiment "It's always something with you people".