Desmond shepherds Christian's coffin, Kate pushes him for answers

At the church where the Lamp Post station was located in the original timeline, Kate sits in Hurley's Camaro as a Oceanic delivery van pulls into the parking lot. Desmond approaches the Oceanic employee and signs for Christian Shepherd's coffin, telling the guy that he works at the church. Desmond asks the guy to take the coffin around the back.

Desmond returns to the Camaro and she asks him who died. He tells her that it was a man named Christian Shepherd, and she laughs and asks if he's serious (the name is fairly funny when sitting in front of a church).

As Desmond is about to start the car, Kate stops him and asks why he's doing what he's doing. He says "No one can tell you why you’re here, Kate... Certainly not me." Kate objects saying that he brought her there and Desmond says that he's not talking about the church, "I'm talking about here."

Desmond introduces himself and tells Kate that even though she doesn't know it, he's a friend and all he wants to do is leave. When she asks where he wants to leave to, Desmond says "Let me show you."

Christian Shephard's coffin arrives at LAX

As the series finale opens, we see Christian Shephard's coffin arrive at LAX and gets removed from a plane and placed in a van.

While this happens, we see Jack in his office looking at Locke's x-ray. Ben is making himself a cup of coffee, his arm still in the sling. Locke is being wheeled off to surgery on a gurney and looks at his empty wheelchair. Sawyer prepares for another day at work and looks at himself in the broken mirror he punched in "Recon."

This sets up our characters as we enter the finale. I'll include the island shots from this montage in the next post.

Locke is ready to 'let go,' Jack is pleased, but questions fate

At Jack's office, he gets an unexpected visit from Locke. Locke enters and sees a photo of Jack, David and Christian. Jack says the photo was taken at Thanksgiving and Locke says that David looks just like Jack.

Locke then runs off a list for Jack. He says that they were on the same plane from Sydney, but he threw away the card Jack gave him when they met. Then he says that he was hit by a car and taken to Jack as his doctor out of all the doctors he could have seen. Then he mentions how Ben was beaten up by Desmond, who said that he was trying to help Locke "let go," which is the same thing Jack told Locke in "The Candidate."

Locke then says that maybe all this is happening for a reason, but Jack drops a season 2 line from Mr. Eko by saying "I think you're mistaking coincidence for fate." Locke says no matter what it's called, he thinks he's ready to get out of the wheelchair.

Jack & Hurley find Shannon's inhaler, visit the caves, Adam & Eve skeletons & Christian's coffin

As Jack and Hurley make their way through the jungle, Jack steps on something that was pivotal to the season one plot. It's none other than Shannon's missing inhaler.  Jack looks up and realizes that they are at the caves which were last seen in the season two episode "Adrift."

They go in the caves and Hurley examines the "Adam and Eve" skeletons, which had only been seen once before in the season one episode "House of the Rising Sun" when Jack discovers them. Hurley comes up with a theory that the survivors time travel to "dinosaur times" as he calls it, died and were then laid to rest in the caves.

Meanwhile, Jack is staring at Christian Shephard's coffin which he destroyed in the season one episode "White Rabbit" after he discovers Christian's body is not inside. He tells Hurley the truth about how he found the caves, since everyone originally thought he stumbled upon them while looking for water.

Hopefully this scene is going to lead to an answer to both of these big questions in coming episodes. Exactly who are the skeletons, how did they get there and when? And then, what exactly happened to Christian's body and is it somehow tied to the body's disappearance in the new timeline?

Jack helps his mom search for Christian's will, Claire is named in it

Jack arrives at his mother's home (and his childhood home) to help her search for Christian's will. When Margo fixes herself a drink, we can see that familiar red label marking McCutcheon's whiskey sitting with other bottles.

Margo tells Jack that David was upset at Christian's funeral and Jack says that he didn't know. Margo points out that David is likely as scared of Jack as Jack was scared of Christian.

She then finds the will in an envelope on a book shelf. She opens and begins to read and then asks Jack if Christian ever mentioned Claire Littleton.

So what did Christian leave Claire in his will and will this lead to Jack and Claire crossing paths in the new timeline?

Jack puzzled by appendix scar, has son named David

We start out the episode "Lighthouse" with one of Lost's signature bad Photoshop jobs. This one features the Shephard family, Christian, Jack and Margo. Next to it is a photo of Jack and Christian at the hospital looking very happy together, which is the opposite of what we've usually seen when they are together.

Jack rushes into his apartment to change out of his scrubs, and while he's in the bathroom, he notices a scar from having his appendix removed. Jack's mother Margo calls and asks if there's an update on Christian's coffin. Jack says that Oceanic told him that the coffin may have been checked through Berlin, Germany. He then asks her when he had his appendix taken out. She says that it was when he was 7 or 8, but in the original timeline, Jack had his appendix taken out on the island by Juliet.

Jack rushes off to St. Mary's Academy where a young boy his sitting on the steps waiting. We learn that this is David, Jack's son. So this indicates a massive change in Jack's timeline. This shows that his timeline has been altered not only 15 years ago with the birth of David, but when he was a child if he had is appendix out. So what are the causes of these big differences?

Christian tells Jack to count to five, Jacob gives Jack his Apollo Bar

In sometime around 2001, Jack is performing his first major solo surgery and cuts the patient's dural sac. Jack starts to panic and Christian Shephard steps forward and says "Look at me." He then says "Count to five" and Jack angrily says "What are you talking about." Christian says that he needs to stitch up the girl so she isn't paralyzed for the rest of her life. He continues saying "The only way you're gonna do that is not to be afraid. So close your eyes, count to five, and then fix her, Jack. Or I'll have to fix her for you." Jack closes his eyes, counts to five and then asks for the sutures and finishes the surgery.

After the surgery, Jack attempts to buy an Apollo Bar from a vending machine and it gets stuck. He slams his palms into the machine and then walks away.

Christian walks towards him and tells him that girl is going to be okay and is responsive to stimulis below the waist. Jack tells Christian that he embarassed him in front of his entire team by putting him in a time-out during his first major procedure. He continues saying "Dad, I know you don't believe in me, but I need them to." Christian says "Are you sure I'm the one who doesn't believe in you, Jack?" and then walks away.

At that moment, Jacob pokes his head around the corner and asks if one of the two Apollo Bars he's holding is Jack's. Jacob's finger touches Jack slightly has he hands him the candy. Jack shows a slight smile and then walks away.

The surgery scene is the one that Jack told Kate in the pilot when she is stitching up his wound in the pilot. He later made her recount the story when she and Sawyer escaped from the Hydra island in season 3.

Also, Jack is the last of the 815 survivors that we see Jacob touch prior to the crash.

Pier and barracks are trashed, Christian helps Sun, smoke monster looms

Sun and Frank arrive at the main island in the outrigger canoe. The walk up the pier which appears to be run down. The lamp posts are knocked over and there is a Dharma barrel in the water. The smoke monster moves the trees a bit like in the first season. This doesn't phase Sun though who keeps moving. They make their way to the barracks that are really run down. Windows are boarded up, Dharma signs are hanging off of the buildings and trees are knocked over. Suddenly, a light comes on in one of the buildings. Christian Shepard slow opens the door and appears to Sun and Frank. Sun asks him if he knows where Jin is and he says "Follow me."

They go to the room where orientation is held and people are given assignments. The building is run down too and the "Innoculations" sign is still up. Christian goes over to the wall where new recruit photos still hang. He finds the one from 1977 which has Jack, Kate and Hurley in it. He tells Sun that Jin is with her friends. He then says "I'm sorry but you have a bit of a journey ahead of you."

The big question here is, why is all of the Dharma Initiative stuff still on the island in 2007. This stuff wasn't here when the others lived there in 2004. Did something that the Losties did by going back to the 1970s change the course of the island's history? Since there are 1970s pictures still on the wall and nothing more recent, it would seem that the barracks may not have been used since the 70s.

Also, why does the smoke monster appear to open the door of the building they are in a just hang out by the door? That was really strange.