'Lost': Alpert says what?

Once again, "Lost" managed to pull out an incredible season finale that simultaneously raised as many questions as it answered. Though, I think in a first for the series, we actually got more answers than questions.

But before we get to the whole Jacob/Esau rivalry, let's clear up one of the real head-scratchers of the episode, the answer to "What lies in the shadow of the statue is?" Richard (or Ricardo, as we can now call him) answers in Latin, of course! The answer is "Ille qui nos omnes servabit," or roughly translated, "He who will protect/save us all."

So, it appears the Others and the Ajira Airlines folk weren't kidding when they said they were the good guys. A quick trip to the Bible, (OK, OK, Wikipedia's version of the Bible), tells us that Jacob and Esau were fraternal twins who spent the majority of their lives in a fierce rivalry. When Esau finally got the upper hand and killed Jacob, Jacob's children rose up and overpowered Esau and his followers.

Judging by what we saw in the season finale, with Ben stabbing Jacob at Locke/Esau's request, the first part of the Bible story has come to pass. Now it just leaves us with the rising up of Jacob's children (the Others) and the overthrow of Esau. So there you go, "Lost," fans. That's how the series is gonna end! Sorry for the spoilers!

But I somehow doubt Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof will make it that easy for us. Despite all the talk of destiny and inevitability, nothing, and I mean nothing, has been straightforward on this series. Just look at how they handled the climactic nuclear explosion. When it failed to go off for Jack, I was truly fooled into thinking that it wouldn't detonate at all. Joke's on me.

But what I think this season finale did more than anything was to finally give us a stable frame with which to watch the entire series. So much we've seen before makes perfect sense. Remember the dream where we saw Locke with the black eye and the white eye? His talk with Walt about there always being two sides. The mysterious behavior of Christian Shepherd, the resurrected Locke and the smoke monster. Poor Ben, he was fooled the whole time into thinking he was working on the side of the angels. Poor, pitiful Ben. No matter what else happens next season, I think we'll finally see Ben redeem himself in sacrifice. His tortured confrontation with Jacob revealed that his manipulations have only been a ruse to cover up his sense of lonliness and wanting to belong. I predict Season 6 will give us Good Ben (though don't expect it right away).

Meanwhile, they continued to explain minor bits of the story. Pierre Chang's missing hand in the Dharma Initiation film? Explained (he lost it after having it crushed by the electromagnetic forces on the island).

The white/black, good/evil motif? Finally crystallized in the bodies of Jacob and Esau. The reason Hurley managed to find his way onto Ajira air? Jacob's urging, of course.

Though as Jacob pointed out several times in the finale, it was left up to individual choice. No trickery on the side of the angels. That, apparently, has been the provinence of Esau, who it appears has been the main manipulator of the island's events all along.

We're now down to 17 hours of "Lost" left. What once seemed an impossibly sprawling mess of unexplained happenings is rapidly coming down to a final and primal clash between good or evil.

How long until 2010 again?

-- Patrick Kevin Day

Photo: ABC

Comments

[Luke]

Hate to say it, but you (and apparently Wikipedia) have the biblical story wrong. Esau did not kill Jacob. Jacob died of old age (Genesis 50).

[AR]

Esau didn't kill Jacob in the bible. Clearly you just made that up.

[Steve-o]

Oh, yeah - that's great research. A trip to the REAL Bible will tell you that Esau did NOT kill Jacob - he died of old age.

[Kristin]

Seriously? You couldn't find a Bible to fact check? Esau didn't kill Jacob. Jacob deceived his brother and father and then fled to his mother's family. He then married (x2 or 4 depending on how you count) and had children and then later on he and his family met up w/ Esau and his descendants but neither killed the other.

[crystal]

it's hilarious that a legitimate news source would cite wikipedia when the primary source is just as accessible. apparently you skipped to the part about the book of jubilees, which has nothing to do with the bible.

[Mac]

Jacob actually tricked Esau out of his birthright. Well, maybe tricked is a bit harsh. Esau sold it for some stew fair and square. Later, Jacob lied to his father Isaac to receive the blessing that would have gone to Esau. I don't see how the events in Lost have much of anything to do with the Biblical story of Jacob and Esau beyond the enmity between the two.

[Theophilis]

The underpinnings of your theory are faulty. Jacob isn't killed by Esau. Quite the opposite, Esau forgives and welcomes Jacob after Jacob returns after years abroad.

Jacob is re-named "Israel" and fathers 12 boys - who become the 12 tribes of Israel. It's where the nation of the Jews come from. They end up in Egypt, where Jacob (now Israel) dies.

This poor research was essential to your conclusions, which should be re-considered.

[Lauren]

Jacob (the Lost character) isn't dead if he can shape shift the way "Esau" could. And this is not the story of Jacob and Esau. I believe that Lost is addressing the failure of blind faith, possibly even of religion. Everything that goes wrong goes wrong when someone is blindly following someone else's authority. Ben did what NotLocke told him to do without realizing he was being misled. Jack followed Farraday's journal without questioning - as Miles pointed out. Pierre Chang, on the other hand, seems to question everything, and he seems to be doing okay so far. Kate and Sawyer seem to do okay as well, and they never seem to blindly do what they are told.

[Lu]

Funny how some religious cults manipulate the bible to fit their doctrines in the same vein that you have done, to fit your theories. With that said, cant wait for 2010.

[Eric Folkerth]

As others have pointed out, Essau did not kill Jacob, at least not in the Biblical account. Jacob dies an old man, living in exile in Egypt. And, actually, even the Wikipedia entry on Jacob notes this (I checked....)

If anything, in the Bible story, Jacob is the devious one, and Essau is the kindlier, if dumber, brother. Jacob's name even means "grabber" in the Hebrew...indicating his own devious nature.

If the two figures in the final episode are really Jacob and Essau, then it would make more sense for the roles to be reversed. Lost's "Jacob" seems much kinder than the Biblical one.

[Eric Folkerth]

I tell you what I WOULD love to know....

What are the words on the "tapestry" that Jacob is making as the episode begins?

[Lauren]

I don't think that the Lost writers and producers are placing much importance on sticking to the bible as text. I think that may be the point. I'm sensing some dissing of organized religion in the Lost canon, although maybe that is just my own bias.

[Steve-o]

Hey Eric - a friendly poster over at lost.cubit.net had this about the tapestry: "...a line from Homer's Odyssey (6.180) which, in smoothed out translation, reads, "May the gods give you everything your heart longs for."

[iamortho]

the author seems to be confusing Jacob and Esau with Cain and Able. By the way Jacob did not deceive his father, Isaac was blind but Esau had sold his birthright to Jacob, so he was taking what was rightfully his, by using the sheeps wool to appear to be his brother, the birthright constituted the blessings of the priesthood, the right to have the eventual Messiah through his blood line, and posterity as the sands of the sea, which apparently Esau did not believe and/or care about

[Tierney]

Regardless of any biblical discrepancies this is a eloquently written blog and I really appreciate your careful analysis of the show. I look to these posting frequently for answers to my endless questions regarding the show and I definitely feel satisfied with your examination of the season finale. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to this show. I can tell you enjoy the series and as a fellow journalist I enjoy your clear and concise writing. Looking forward to Season 6 with much anticipation!

[nobodyimportant]

Yeah how hard is it to wiki Jacob and Esau or flip through Genesis?
It was rehash night. Sure the writers planted the themes, but a lot of Biblical themes are inherited from Steven King's The Stand. Lest we forget the 900 pages of it, The Stand is also a story about a group of "survivors" banded together to fight a man in black. And the ridiculous finale comes by way in the flash of a nuclear weapon.

And just like the Twin Peaks finale, the bad guy is just possessed.

Sigh. Nothing new here folks, move along.

[charles]

Interesting point re: The Stand...

The one thing that bugged me was the flashback to Juliette's childhood, where her parents announce their plans to divorce. The Juliette character is depicted as what, mid-to-late 30's?
That would put her as an adolescent somewhere in the late 70s/early 80s. The decor, dress, and general aesthetic of her "childhood" home/family looked entirely modern! Unless there is some veiled point being made, it was a huge continuity flub in my eyes, on a show that has made a valiant effort to be chronologically accurate.

In any case, along with the above, there were a few too many loose ends coming together at once in this finale, with all the flashbacks explaining the major character flaws/issues. Felt something like the series finale of The X-Files...rushed and skimmed over.

And, what's in Hurley's guitar case? Is that Charlie's axe?

[oldfatslow]

Actually, Esau did kill Jacob. Herod was an Idumean.
The Idumeans were the descendants of the Edomites -
the children of Esau.

Jesus was the descendant of Jacob. Herod conspired
to have Jesus put to death. And used Pilate to
accomplish his purpose. Of course, Jesus didn't
stay dead. I'd be surprised if LOST's Jacob did
either.

ofs

[Fred]

I think like in the bible where Jacob tricked Esau out of his birth right, it might be the same on the island where Esau was supposed to be the leader but somehow Jacob tricked him or became the leader, and does things on the island that Esau doesn't agree with, and is so mad that he's not the leader that he thinks he's supposed to be and wants to kill Jacob.

[Biblereader]

Sticking to the Bible theme: Of course, Essau did not kill Jacob, so the above theory is way off base. Obviously, the theme is good vs evil, but who is evil and who is good. The first scene with Jacob and the man in black was reminiscent of Satan approaching God about his servent Job - not in a strict context, but that mankind is redeemable. Whether it is a new age redemption, an ascension as in "Star Gate", reincarnation, attaining Nirvana, or entering heaven is yet to be determined. Then again, with all the twists and turns in the show, it could be an attack on religion. We'll just have to wait an find out about that as well as whether or not Richard is the Melchizadek character. Melchizadek was a priest in Genesis who had no geneology and had not date of death listed. And now to diverge from the Bible theme, did the bomb actually go off or did the scene just fade to white?