Lost episode recap – “The Candidate” S6E14 (airdate 5/4/10)

Alterna-2004. A grateful Helen hugs Dr. Jack, thanking him for saving her man while Locke beams from the hospital bed.
Island. It’s nighttime as Jack wakes up (i.e. regains consciousness) in a beached outrigger. Nearby, Zombie Sayid is starting a campfire. He says, “Welcome to Hydra Island.” As Jack looks around him, slightly dazed, Sayid snarks, “At least you didn’t have to paddle.”

Up at the polar bear cages, Widmore’s people are trying to put Sawyer’s gang into the cages. Sawyer grabs a gun away from one of the flunkies but Charles Widmore himself points a pistol at Kate’s head, saying that he’s got a list with four names on it – Sawyers, the Kwons (both of ‘em? that answers that, you list-theorists) and Hurley – but not Kate, and he’ll kill her if Sawyer doesn’t get in that cage. Kate tries to call his bluff but Sawyer thinks with his heart (or some other body part) and hands over the gun. As Widmore locks the cage door, he tells Sawyer he’s doing this for his own good. He asks his people if the fence is live yet – the answer is: nope, in about an hour – and then snaps that they don’t have an hour since “he’s coming.” The caged Losties look a wee dite worried.

Alterna-2004. Jack meets up with Dr. Nadler – a/k/a Bernard! – because he’s hoping to look at John Locke’s files from some emergency oral surgery Locke had three years ago, and Bernard was his dentist. Apparently Locke refused to tell him how he was paralyzed and Jack won’t let it go. Bernard recognizes him from the flight, good-naturedly accusing him of flirting with Rose when Bernard was in the bathroom, and says that although he won’t violate doctor/patient confidentiality, he does remember the name of the man who was hurt in the same accident as Locke three years ago: Anthony Cooper. Bernard wishes Jack luck, and says he hopes he finds what he’s looking for.

Island. Pulling himself out of the outrigger, Jack asks Zombie Sayid what happened. Sayid brings him up to speed: everyone who didn’t get killed in Widmore’s mortar attack scurried off into the bushes and it’s just the three of them now. (That’s a convenient way to lose the extras and focus on the cast regulars, no?) Not-Locke strolls up, announcing that all the other Losties got captured and now they have to rescue them from the polar bear cages: “I can’t imagine [Widmore’s] intentions are good.” Not-Locke and Sayid load their weapons as Not-Locke says that he thinks they can hit the compound hard, grab “Jack’s people” and get to the airplane before Widmore knows what’s happening. Jack’s like, I don’t trust you, plus I’m not leaving the Island. Not-Locke says, okay, I hope you change your mind about the second part there but you should trust me because I saved your life when I could kill you and all those other Losties anytime I want. So: “Will you help me?” Jack just stares at him into the commercial.

Cages. Sawyer stares at the fish biscuit button and grumps to Kate: “Feel like we’re runnin’ in circles?” (C’mon – push the button!) Kate grumps back that he shouldn’t have given up the gun as Widmore wouldn’t have killed her. Then Sawyer tells her that in the cave that Not-Locke showed him, he saw her name written and then crossed out: “he doesn’t need you, Kate.” And she knows he’s serious because he called her by her real name. Meanwhile, Jin and Sun do some catching up. It’s sweet but irrelevant. Also, for the sake of the viewing audience who has put up with Korean subtitles for six seasons, they speak English.

More relevant: the power to the sonic fence suddenly gets cut and then, eerily, wonderfully, the groaning chime of the Smoke Monster rings through the jungle. I do like that sound. The Smoke Monster circles, crunching Widmore’s people against the cage bars. One of them has the cage keys on his belt. Kate strains to reach them through the bars while Frank starts kicking at the door. Then Jack pops out of the underbrush, grabs the keys and lets everyone out. Kate, surprised: “What are you doing here?” Jack nods towards the thrashing Smoke Monster in the trees: “I’m with him.” Everyone scampers away.

The next morning, Frank leads the group to the Ajira plane. Kate asks Jack if he’s changed his mind about leaving the Island and Jack says no. Sawyer, in a rare show of friendly, thanks Jack for coming back for them. The bushes rustle and everyone cocks their guns (not a euphemism); when Zombie Sayid emerges, no one puts their guns down. Jack reassures them that Sayid is part of the team and Sayid urges them onward, saying that “Locke” is waiting.

Alterna-2004. Jack is trying to gain entrance to Anthony Cooper in some assisted living facility when Helen sees him there. She asks him why he wants to see Cooper and he explains that it’s because he wants to help Locke. She tells him that Locke doesn’t want the surgery – isn’t having saved his life enough? – and Jack struggles a little before replying no. She relents and brings him in to see Cooper, who is little more than a vegetable in a wheelchair. Alterna-2004 has not been kind to Locke’s father, you see.

Island. Not-Locke approaches the Ajira plane and quickly dispatches the two Widmore guards. Taking a wristwatch off one of them, he enters the plane, quickly sussing out that Widmore has wired it with explosives.

Meanwhile, Frank has brought the Losties to the plane. Also, he seems to have had a shave since last episode. As they approach, they are at first disconcerted to find the dead guards until Not-Locke comes out and tells them that the plane is rigged to explode: Widmore was hoping to kill them all. And since it may be impossible to tell if he found all the explosives, their best bet is now the submarine. Sawyer’s like, duh, that’s what I’ve been saying the whole time. Hurley interrupts, saying that Richard says that Not-Locke is not supposed to leave the Island but Sawyer runs right over him, acknowledging that Not-Locke has saved their butts twice now (but has he? really? I just don’t trust him and I can’t imagine that Sawyer, who doesn’t trust anyone, does either): “Guess I was wrong about you.” Not-Locke thanks him. Jack pipes up that he’ll help them capture the sub but he’s still not leaving the Island. Not-Locke says he’ll appreciate all the help he can get. He must be feeling magnanimous because he also tells Crazy Claire that he understands why she went with the Losties when she apologizes to him for going with Sawyer.

As they head off towards the sub, Sawyer pulls Jack aside, asking him for one last favor: he doesn’t trust “that thing” and wants to make sure “it” doesn’t get off the Island. When Jack asks what he can possibly do, Sawyer just growls, “Get it in the water. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Alterna-2004. Jack visits Locke in the hospital. Locke is dreaming, muttering, “Push the button! I wish you had believed me!” Jack puts on his confused/concerned face until he hears Claire’s voice in the hallway. She asks if they can talk (her belly is HUGE) and then shows him a music box that Christian wanted her to have for some reason. Jack doesn’t know anything about it, but then again, he didn’t know anything about her either. She asks how their dad died and he tells her: Christian drank himself to death in Sydney. Claire thinks that’s weird, as she just flew in from Sydney a few days ago; Jack thinks that’s weird and asks if it was Oceanic flight 815. Of course it was and this makes his mind reel more. They open the music box and the mirror in the lid reflects both their faces for a moment (for all you mirror theorists), but they still don’t know what it’s all about. Jack asks his half-sister if she wants to come stay with him instead of the motel she’s checked into. “But we’re strangers,” she protests faintly. “No,” Jack smiles, “We’re family.”

Island. The Losties crouch in the bushes near the sub. The camera pans across all their faces – everyone together again. I’m guessing this is for the last time. Sawyer gives everyone their assignments, including asking Jack and Not-Locke to stay behind to “get [their] backs.” Jack thinks he can do it. The first wave of Sawyer, Frank and Sun rushes the dock and enters the sub, guns at the ready. Once they have secured the sub, the rest of the group heads down onto the dock.

Bringing up the rear, Not-Locke again tries to convince Jack to come with them, asking who on earth told him he needed to stay behind? Jack looks his adversary straight in the face and growls, “John Locke told me I needed to stay,” and hits Not-Locke hard in the chest with his gun, knocking him into the water. Kate and Claire gape and then – awesomely – one of Widmore’s flunkies shoots Kate in the shoulder. Sayid and Claire start shooting back as Jack scoops Kate up and carries her to the sub; Claire continues to return fire as Sayid drops down inside. Not-Locke pulls himself back onto the dock and helps Claire just as Sawyer pops his head out the hatch. He shouts to Claire but then sees that only Not-Locke and her left on the dock. He makes a decision, pulling closed the hatch cover and yelling and Frank to dive.

The sub pulls away. Down below, Jack yells at Sawyer, asking what he’s doing; Sawyer retorts that it’s what they always planned to do. On the dock, Claire is wild, shrieking that they’re being left behind. But Not-Locke grabs her and holds her, and tells her, “Trust me, you don’t want to be on that sub.” He’s got a faint smile as he says it and is it me or does Terry O’Quinn just look younger with every episode or what? Being Evil must agree with him.

As the submarine dives, Kate is not in so much pain that she can’t complain that Claire’s not on board. Shut up, Kate. There’s no first aid kit on the sub so Jack asks Jin to hand him his backpack. He opens it, then freezes, horrified, pulling out the explosives that Not-Locke snuck in there. The timer has four minutes left on it. Jack stares at the group and moans that they did exactly what Not-Locke wanted them too.

After the commercial, they scramble to bring the sub back to the surface but there won’t be enough time: five minutes to surface, less than four ‘til the explosion. Everyone’s freaking out – Sayid tracing the bomb’s wiring, Sawyer getting ready to pull out the wires – when Jack starts to put it all together: it’s not going to blow up unless they try to defuse it. He thinks that the only way Not-Locke can leave the Island is if all the Losties are dead, so he put them in an enclosed space, with no way to escape, and a fake bomb. He thinks that Not-Locke can’t kill them himself but is hoping they’ll kill each other by trying to defuse the bomb. Sawyer is panicking but Jack grabs him by the shoulder and says, “James. We’ll be all right. I need you to trust me.” There’s 1:30 left on the timer. Sawyer’s eyes are bugging as he says, “I’m sorry Doc I don’t.” And then he pulls out the wires. (Speaking of eyes bugging, I wonder what Ben and Richard are up to. And darling Desmond!)

At first nothing happens. Then the timer speeds up - oops. Sayid – aww, he’s no longer Zombie Sayid, for some inexplicable reason – looks Jack straight in the eye and tells him where Desmond is, saying that Not-Locke wanted him dead so it’s obvious that Jack’s going to need him. Jack gets dumb and wonders why Sayid is telling him this. Sayid says, “It’s got to be you, Jack,” grabs the bomb and runs off. The Losties shout and chase after him but he makes it to the other end of the sub before the bomb explodes. Aw. Sad.

Meanwhile, havoc has been wreaked at the other end. A hatch door flattens ol’ Frank as water bursts in. Kate, already on the floor, nearly drowns before Jack can lift her out of the water. Sun – no, not Sun! – is screaming, pinning to the wall by a large metal locker. Jack hands Kate off to Hurley to take care of – when Hurley asks about Sayid, Jack yells, “There is no Sayid” which is sad, but also funny – and tells him how to use an oxygen tank to buddy-breathe and get out with Kate. Between the three of them, Jack, Jin and Sawyer manage to pull the locker off Sun but she’s still trapped by a bent beam. The sub lurches and a piece of metal falls, hitting Sawyer on the head. Jack grabs him, keeping his head above the rising water.

Jin can’t budge the beam trapping his wife. She tells him to get out, save himself, and he refuses. Jack tries to help him and Jin shakes his head, telling him to get Sawyer out, he’ll help Sun. Desperate, Jack tries to hand him an oxygen tank, saying he can get Sawyer out without it. But Jin refuses, and at that moment, Sun, Jack and all the rest of us realize that Sun and Jin are never ever getting off this damn Island.

Sun begs him to go but he refuses, saying he will not leave her. Then he says it in Korean, adding that he will never leave her again. They kiss and the sub plummets down, down. The last shot we have of the doomed pair is of their hands, blurred in a water focus, gently releasing and drifting apart as they drown. It would be very touching if that stupid Titanic movie hadn’t ruined it all for us.

Alterna-2004. Locke is getting discharged today but Jack waylays him on his way out to meet Helen. He tells Locke that he went to see Cooper, trying to find out what happened three years ago. Locke is upset with the intrusion but ‘fesses up: he’d just gotten his pilot’s license and convinced his father, who was terrified to fly, to be his first passenger … and then they crashed. Locke is pretty upset, saying that it was his fault that this man whom he loved will never walk or talk again. Jack reminds him that the first time they met, Locke told him that his [Jack’s] father was gone, and nothing would bring him back. “Your father is gone too, Mr. Locke” – to which Locke cries no, no! – “and you need to let it go. What happened happened.” Jack admits that letting go is not easy, and he doesn’t really know how to do it himself … and that’s why he was hoping that maybe Locke would go first. Locke at least chuckles at this and says goodbye, rolling on down the hallway. Jack calls after him: “I can help you, John. I wish you believed me.” Locke pauses for a moment, then continues out the door.

Island. Jack has made it to land, dragging Sawyer, who is breathing but not conscious, up on the beach. Hurley and Kate stagger up and Kate throws herself on Jack, crying, “I couldn’t find you!” Oh please. They ask after Jin and Sun and Jack just shakes his head. Now Kate really bawls. (Is there any chance at all that she won’t survive the finale? Please?) Hurley starts sobbing too and Jack can’t take it, walking away and down to the water’s edge where he can start crying. I admit, after all they’ve gone through in six seasons, that’s a hell of a lot of death in just a couple of minutes. It’s carnage and it’s awesome.

On the Hydra dock, Not-Locke stares out at the ocean. (BTW, it went from daylight to full-on nighttime pretty damn quickly just now.) He muses that the sub sunk and sounds a little surprised by it. Claire is incredulous: “They’re all dead?” Not-Locke, suddenly with a purpose: “Not all of them.” He grabs up his gun (not a euphemism) and strides off, purposefully, while poor Claire gets left behind yet again.

Previously on Lost / next time on Lost