So are you still whining about "What Kate Does"? I didn't think so.
First, events from 2004X:
We don't know why Locke is in a wheelchair, but we do see that he's still with Helen and he still wasn't allowed to go on the walkabout. Apparently it was not his father that put him in a wheelchair, as Helen suggests they invite him to a quickie wedding. Locke skipped out on a conference he was supposed to attend in Sydney, leading to him getting canned by Randy. Never fear, though--new company owner Hurley is there to set Locke up with his temp agency. I thought we'd see that their number was (481)-151-1623 or something to that extent.
A temp agency where the initial interviewer looks a lot like the fake psychic David Reyes hired to try to convince his son that there was no curse. Whose supervisor just happens to Rose, who still has cancer, telling Locke she's moved past the denial stage and suggests that he should do the same with respect to the limitations of his condition.
Locke toys with calling Jack, but tells Helen he doesn't believe in miracles. He ends up as a substitute teacher, and he makes fast friends with a very stereotypical bachelor-type teacher--Ben Linus, European History.
Now, on the Island:
Ben, Ilana, Frank, and Sun
Ilana is shook up by the deaths of Jacob, Bram, and the rest of her group. Ben is still lying about who killed Jacob, and Ilana is collecting Jacob's ashes. Is it possible that the source of the ash that repels the Monster are those of past Island protectors? Ilana knows that Black Robe is on a recruiting mission.
The group buries Locke in what Frank accurately describes as the weirdest funeral he's ever been to. Sun can't think of anything to so, so in a rare moment of vulnerability Ben lauds Locke as a believer, a man of faith, a better man than he'll ever be, and one that he's sorry for murdering. Ilana, who seems to have the best understanding of the Jacob/Black Robe conflict of anyone on the Island with the possible exception of Dogen, claims that Black Robe is now stuck in Locke's body.
Black Robe, Richard, and Sawyer
The Monster-eye view of Black Robe traveling to cut down Richard and see Sawyer was awesome. In his conversation with Richard, Black Robe, dressed as Locke, tempts Richard with knowledge (just like Satan, dressed as a serpent, tempted Eve with knowledge). He tells Richard that he knew Locke could get an audience with Jacob because he was a candidate. Richard has no idea what this means, and Black Robe twists the knife by saying that he never would kept him in the dark like that. Apparently Ilana and Bram even had some understanding of what that meant. But Alpert is loyal, and refuses to follow Black Robe--who sees a blond boy in the jungle, which seems to shake him up (yes, even the Monster).
I was a little surprised that Locke was upfront with Sawyer about his being dead, but Saywer would have seen right through it, saying that he knows it's not Locke because he's not scared. Black Robe tells Saywer he can answer the most important question in the world--"Why are you on this Island?" I can think of some more important questions, but that's quibbling.
Sawyer can see the kid too; when Black Robe chases him down, the kid (who is dressed like a Hostile) says "You know the rules--you can't kill him", leading to one of the angriest "Don't tell me what I can't do" that we've ever heard. I presume that he is chiding Black Robe for killing Jacob through a loophole, but I suppose they could be referring to the candidate as well. Of course, the identity of this kid (young Jacob?) is now a big question.
While Black Robe is off chasing the kid, a terrified Alpert implores Sawyer to come back to the Temple with him, warning that the Monster wants to kill everyone that Sawyer cares about. Sawyer threatens to shoot Black Robe, but as we saw with Bram in the statue, that would accomplish little, and he is not afraid. Black Robe reads, but Steinbeck was after his time. He tells Sawyer that he has been trapped for so long he can't remember what it was like to be free, but claims that he was a man who felt the same emotions as everyone else. We obviously have a lot yet to learn about how Black Robe and Jacob came to be, but it seems as if they both were mortals at one point.
So Sawyer and Black Robe venture to Jacob's secret lair in a coastal rock face. How many homes does Jacob have anyway? The statue, the cabin, this cave...Black Robe tosses a white rock (which had been balancing on a scale with a black rock) into the ocean, saying it's an inside joke. He shows Sawyer a list of names scrawled in the rock--some crossed out, six still intact, all numbered. He explains that Jacob "had a thing for numbers", and we see that the numbers he liked were 4) Locke 15) Ford 16) Sayid 23) Jack and 42) Kwon (Black Robe doesn't know if it's Jin or Sun).
The names still intact are all candidates--candidate to replace Jacob as protector of the Island. What does this mean for those whose names we don't see (most notably, Kate)? And wouldn't you love to see the full list of names and numbers? I suspect that the rest of the season will see names scrawled off this list, metaphorically at least.
Sawyer protests that he's never seen Jacob, but Black Robe assures him that he has--at a moment in his life where he was young and vulnerable, pushing him towards the Island and taking away his free will. Black Robe offers three courses of action for Sawyer:
1) Do nothing--see how it plays out, and perhaps get crossed off the list
2) Accept job--protect Island from nothing--it's just an Island (channeling Jack, to whom I'm sure he'll make an impassioned appeal at some point)
3) get off Island--with Black Robe
Sawyer agrees to help Black Robe and endeavor to get off the Island. They're choosing sides now.
People will surely be discussing the question of which Island contestant is good and which is evil after this episode. I'll weigh in on that in my 6x5 preview, but for now, I'll just point out that of the six candidates, three of the visits do plausibly fit as the type of manipulation that Black Robe claims Jacob engages in--Sawyer (writing the letter, although he was already doing that on his own); Sayid (distracting him as Nadia is run down); and Hurley (telling him how to get back to the Island). However, Jacob's visits to Kate (telling her not to steal, although I guess one could argue that he prevents her from learning from the consequences of her crime), Jack (candy bar in the doctor's lounge), and Jin/Sun (telling them to treasure their love) imply no action whatsoever.
Also, did Locke look at himself in the mirror? I didn't notice, but he was in the bathroom. Of course, he's dead--maybe only those still alive in 2007 look at themselves in the mirror in 2004X.
