Review: Lost Season 6 Episode 4: The Substitute

Lost last week was a bit disappointing for me in the "What Kate Does" episode 3. This week, however, Lost reminded me just why I have invested so many hours of my TV viewing to this show. Every other scene was a new twist to the plot, giving new food for thought about how this final season might end. Spoiler Alert: Don't read further if you are going to watch this episode for yourself.

Reality: On the Island
Evil Locke (not actually Locke at all) wants Richard (the ageless wonder) to talk. Is Locke playing Richard for a fool when he claims Jacob withheld some important information after all these years?

One of the others tells Ben that Locke is "recruiting." Locke tries to recruit a drunken Sawyer and is interrupted when a ghost-child version of Jacob warns Locke that "he can't kill." Sawyer is wary of Locke thanks to a warning from Richard, but he can't bring himself to shoot Locke either.

Locke shows James "why you're all here." and gives James three options to choose. James seems to pick the choice that Evil Locke likes best.

Alternate Reality:
Locke struggles with life in a wheelchair. He gets fired from his job because he didn't go to the conference in Australia that his company sent him to. Hugo, the millionaire, gives him a number to hook up a new job. Locke gives up on miracles, resigning himself to his wheeled fate.

Evil Locke really steals the show and makes the other characters (and even me) wonder if he isn't so evil after all. Maybe Jacob was just manipulating everyone for thousands of years. Who is evil? What is jungle Claire up to? My hypothesis of the moment for the end of the series: the island is really destroyed once and for all, and the Alternate reality becomes the only version of reality left, and everyone lives happily ever after. Or maybe not. Of the four episodes so far, this one is my favorite. Can't wait until next week.