Desmond calls Jack posing as Oceanic employee + Jack's neck bleeds again

"What That Died For" opens with an iconic LOST shot. We see a close-up of Jack's eye slowly opening, then we see that we are in the sideways at his home. He goes into the bathroom and discovers that his neck is bleeding again, just like he discovered it in the plane's restroom in "LA X." His son, David, then pops his head and says that he made breakfast.

Jack joins David at the table for some Super Bran cereal and David asks him if he's coming to the concert. Jack says yes and then asks if David's mother is coming. David says yes and makes Jack promise not to be weird.

Claire then enters the room and Jack and David rush to make her a bowl of cereal. They all sit around the table like a happy family until Jack's phone rings. He answers to hear a deep voice say that they are with Oceanic Airlines and they have found Jack's cargo (Christian Shephard's coffin). We learn that the voice is Desmond's who tells Jack that the coffin will arrive in Los Angeles by the end of the day and apologizes on behalf of Oceanic Airlines. Jack is emotional as he hangs up and we see Desmond, sitting in a car hang up his phone, with that same confident, zen-like look on his face.

So does Desmond actually know something about the whereabouts of Christian's coffin, or is he just pushing Jack like he's done with others? As we learn later, the concert that Jack, David and his mother will be an important event. More on that much later.

Jack, Sawyer, Hurley & Kate make it to the beach & cry + Locke leaves to complete his plan

Jack makes it to the beach carrying Sawyer. After making it out of the water, he collapses on the beach. Sawyer coughs, indicating he is alive, but remains unconscious. Hurley walks up helping Kate who is still weak from the gunshot to the shoulder. Kate says that they couldn't find Jack as they embrace

They find out that Sawyer is breathing and then ask about Jin and Sun. Jack just shakes his head and Kate and Hurley begin to sob. Jack walks away to the beach of the ocean and looks up. He then hangs his head and begins to weep himself.

Meanwhile, Locke is back at the dock with Claire. He says "it sunk." Claire asks if he means the submarine and if they're all dead. Locke says that not all of them are dead, then grabs a gun and starts to walk away. When Claire asks where he's going, Locke says "To finish what I started."

So this is it. It seems like it's going to be Locke versus what remains of our group, but Ben, Richard and Miles are still around, as are Desmond, Charles Widmore, Zoe and what remains of Widmore's group and the others from the temple. How will this all play out? We don't have long until we find out.

Kate is shot, a gun battle ensues with Widmore's men, Claire is left behind with Locke

The moment after Jack pushes Locke into the water, Widmore's men who are hiding at the tree-line take their first shot which hits Kate in the shoulder. Jack, Sayid and Claire open fire on the numerous armed men hiding in trees and behind tall grass.

After Jack empties his gun, he grabs Kate and heads for the submarine hatch. Sayid helps lower her into the submarine as Claire keeps shooting at Widmore's guys. Locke emerges from the water, climbs onto the pier and angrily opens fire on Widmore's men.

After Sawyer finds out what happened, he goes to the top of the hatch and screams for Claire. Locke is at the other end of the pier and screams "James!" and starts running towards the submarine. Sawyer closes the hatch, leaving Locke and Claire on the pier.

Sawyer radios Frank and tells him to get the captain to dive. The captain flips the levers and the submarine starts moving.

Claire sees the sub leaving and screams as she runs towards it. Locke grabs her with a smirk on his face and says "You don't want to be on that sub."

So why did Widmore's men wait until Locke was pushed into the water to open fire? Also, why was Kate, a non-candidate, the only one shot? Widmore mentioned her earlier and knows she's not a candidate. It all seems to a bit too convenient. Is it possible that Widmore has been working on Locke's team this entire time and his appearance otherwise was all a con?

The group takes control of the submarine, Jack pushes Locke in the water

The group led by Sawyer, crouch down a short distance from the submarine. They see no one guarding the submarine, but Sawyer lays out their plan. He, Hurley, Frank, Jin and Sun will go first, followed 30 seconds later by the rest of them with Jack and Locke coming last.

The first group makes their way to the submarine and climb in with no problems. Sawyer and Frank make their way to a room on the submarine where a man sits and they detain him before he can pull his gun. They force the man to take them to the captain and once they're there, Frank knocks out the original guy. Sawyer tells the captain to get the submarine ready to go.

Outside, just after the second group heads for the submarine, Locke grabs Jack's bag that's behind him and hands Jack the one he was originally carrying.  As the two of them head towards the sub, Locke tries to convince Jack to leave, telling him that whoever told him to stay on the island didn't know what they were talking about. Jack says that John Locke told him to stay and then suddenly pushes Locke into the water. Claire looks stunned.

So we start to see the workings of Locke's real plan once he switches his and Jack's bag. The rest of this scene's screen captures and recap/analysis coming soon.

Claire shows Jack a music box she received in Christian's will

Jack sees Claire at the hospital while he's visiting Locke. She has come to talk to him and they go to a waiting area where Jack gets an Apollo candy bar from a vending machine.

Claire tells Jack that she never met Christian, which is different from the original timeline, and she opens a box containing a music box. She says that the lawyer, Ilana, said there would be more that was left to her in Christian's will, but he specifically wanted her to have her the music box.

Claire asks how Christian died, and Jack reveals that he was found in an alley outside a bar in Sydney and that he drank himself to death. Jack tells her that he flew to Sydney to get the body and they airline lost it, prompting Claire to tell him that she just flew in from Sydney. Jack asks when and when she says Wednesday, he asks "Oceanic 815?," which she obviously confirms. Jack is stunned once again.

Jack asks to look at the music box, and when he opens it, it plays "Catch a Falling Star," the same song from Claire's childhood and the one she wanted to be sung to Aaron, which Kate did off the island. There's a moment where they are both looking into a mirror built into the lid of the box, continuing the mirror trend from the flash sideways stories.

Jack then asks Claire to come stay with him since they are family. They both smile and seem quite happy about their worlds coming together.

Locke tells the group they must take the submarine, not the plane

As Frank leads the group through the jungle towards the Ajira plane, Kate asks Jack if he's coming with them now. Jacks says that he's not meant to go, but he'll help them leave. Sawyer thanks him for coming back for them.

Suddenly, Sayid emerges from the jungle, causing everyone to point their guns at him. Jack tells him it's okay because Sayid cut the power so they could escape the cages. Sayid says that they should go because Locke is waiting for them.

Later, after Locke has gone inside the plane, the group arrives at the Arija plane themselves. They notice the body of Widmore's guy with the broken neck when Locke emerges from the plane and says that he killed the two men. He says that Widmore placed the two men there for show and he knew that he would kill them because if Widmore wanted to keep him off the plane, he wouldn't have moved the sonic fence.

He then says that Widmore wanted to get them all in one enclosed place so they would all be killed with the four bricks of C-4 that were wired to the plane's electronics. He pulls the C-4 from his bag and tells the group that there could be more on the plane, so they'll have to take the submarine.

Hurley objects since Richard said that Locke was not supposed to leave the island. Sawyer says that Richard's opinion doesn't count since he's not there, then he thanks Locke for saving them twice and says that he was wrong about him.

Locke says that the submarine will be heavily defended, so they'll need everyone to succeed. Jack still doesn't want to leave the island, but says that he'll help them. Claire then apologizes to Locke, who says he understands why she left with the group.

Sawyer then hangs back to talk to Jack and starts to scheme again. He asks Jack to keep Locke from getting on the submarine by getting him in the water. It seems that Sawyer believes what Locke said about not being able to cross water earlier this season.

Jin & Sun are finally reunited, Zoe takes the group prisoner at gunpoint

Sawyer and his group swim to Hydra Island after leaving The Elizabeth a short distance from the beach. Once they reach the beach, they are immediately ambushed by Zoe and three other armed guys. They stand down after they realize that it's just them and Locke is still on the main island.

Suddenly, Jin slow emerges from behind some trees and he and Sun see each other for the first time in over 3 year. They run to each other and embrace in a emotional reunion we've been waiting over two and a half seasons for. They exchange "I love yous" and Jin tells Sun that they'll never be apart again.

Zoe then gets word from Charles Widmore and turns the guns on the group again, telling them to get on their knees. We Sawyer says "we had a deal," Zoe says that the deal is off. She says into the walkie talkie that if they have a sightline on Locke, then fire when ready. The result of that order will be in the next post.

Jack decides not to leave the island, jumps off the boat

As The Elizabeth is sailing towards Hydra Island, Jack sits alone at the bow while every one else is in the stern. Frank approaches Sawyer who is at the wheel at asks what the plan is. Sawyer says they're going to get "cuddly" with Widmore until they get on the sub and then point a gun in someone's face until they agree to take them home. Frank says that he likes that plan, then goes with Sun, Hurley and Claire down to the galley to find some food.

Sawyer then goes to talk to Jack, giving Kate control of the boat. Jack tells Sawyer that it doesn't feel right leaving the island because he remembers how it felt the first time he left, like a part of him was missing. He says that if that thing pretending to be Locke wants them to leave so badly, maybe it is afraid of what would happen if they stayed.

Sawyer then orders Jack to get off of his boat. He says that he can either keep the crazy talk to himself or go in the water. Jack says that the island is not done with them and a part of Sawyer knows that leaving is a mistake. Sawyer says that he's done with the island and if Jack wants to take a leap of faith, then get off of the boat.

Jack apologizes for getting Juliet killed, then looks back at Kate and jumps into the water. Kate screams for Jack and Sawyer tells her that Jack changed his mind. Kate wants to go back for him, but Sawyer says they are done going back.

So it's interesting to see Jack's transition to being completely a man of faith. He now seems to have complete faith in the island and Jacob's plan, but it's still unknown what exactly that plan is.

Jack meets Claire with Ilana's help, David is with him

In the sideways, Jack and his son David arrive at the same building Claire and Desmond were at earlier. Jack is talking to his ex-wife, who has yet to be revealed, and tells her that he'll bring David around 5, but David shakes his head and Jack pushes it to 7. Jack is there to hear his father's will read and David is there to support him, so clearly, their relationship has been repaired.

They arrive at Sweetzer and Verdansky's offices where they are greeted by Ilana who says she has a surprise for them and asks if he believes in fate. She leads them to a conference room where Claire is sitting at the conference table.

Ilana introduces Claire to Jack and David and Jack says to Ilana "you found her." Ilana tells him that she found them. Jack tells Claire that she is in his father's will and Claire informs him that Christian is her father too.

Jack is stunned for a moment, then has to step away to take a call from the hospital. He tells the person that he's talking to that he is 20 minutes from the hospital and to go ahead and prep the patient. Jack apologizes to Claire and Ilana and says that they'll have to reschedule.

Jack leads his group to The Elizabeth, Claire follows, Kate convinces her to come

As Locke is leading his group across the island, Jack asks Claire how how long she's been with Locke and why she trusts him. She says that he's the only one who didn't abandon her. It still doesn't really make sense that she blames everyone else, but not Locke who lured her away by appearing as Christian.

Locke falls back in the line and asks Sun if she's seen Sayid. Sun can't speak English and writes to him on her pad "You did this to me!" Locke says that he didn't do anything to her and moves on. He tells them to keep going and he's going to make sure no one got left behind.

Jack sees his moment and pulls Hurley, Sun and Frank aside and they make a break for it. Claire sees them leave and looks fairly pissed about it.

As Jack and the rest arrive at The Elizabeth, they board and Frank asks if they're sailing home on the boat. Sawyer says that they can't leave without a bearing. He says that Dharma used a sub to get to and from the island, so that's what they're going to use.

Then, Hurley sees Claire emerge from the jungle pointing a gun at them. Kate steps out and tells Claire that they're leaving the island. Claire asks why they are not waiting for Locke and Kate says that the man is not Locke and he's not one of them. She asks Claire to come with them so she can be with Aaron again. As Sawyer objects, Kate says that either Claire comes with them or she is staying behind too.

Claire is uncertain, but Kate tells her that she was there when Aaron was born and that she shouldn't have raised him. She tells Claire that she came back to the island to bring Claire home. Claire gives Kate her gun and joins them, but she tells Kate when Locke finds out, "he's gonna be mad."

Desmond pushes Claire towards Ilana, who has been looking for Claire

In the flash sideways, Claire arrives at an office building where she as an appointment with the Western Pacific Adoption Agency. Desmond walks to the counter and approaches her. Claire seems suspicious of him, but she tells him that she ended up at the hospital, but he was right about her being pregnant with a boy.

Desmond follows her up the escalator, asking her about her going to the adoption agency alone without any legal representation. They reach the elevator and are both going to the fifteenth floor (we see one of the numbers again). He pushes her about the lawyer until she agrees to go with him to visit his friend, who is a lawyer.

They walk into the office with the names Sweetzer and Verdansky on the door. The receptionist tells him to have a seat, but Ilana quickly emerges from an office and gives Desmond a hug. Ilana's last name is Verdansky and she speaks with an American accent in this timeline.

When Desmond introduces Claire, Ilana knows who she is and says that she's been looking for her. Claire looks shocked and concerned, but agrees to go talk with Ilana.

So once again, we see Desmond pushing Oceanic 815 passengers towards people that bring them closer to the original timeline. We'll see where Claire's meeting with Ilana leads in a later post.

Zoe demands Desmond back, drops a bomb + Sawyer plans escape

At Locke's camp, Sawyer is planning to escape from Locke and is telling Hurley about Widmore's submarine. At the same time, Kate is telling Sun. Sawyer says they are leaving Sayid, because he's gone to the dark side. Hurley says you can always bring people back from the Dark side, and references Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars movies.

Claire walks over to Hurley with a big smile and gives him a hug. Locke and Jack then return to camp and Locke remarks that it is nice to have everyone back together again.

Later, Jack and Kate sit down and Kate tells him that Sayid is different now. Jack tells her that she is not sure whether he believes that Locke just wants to leave the island and they need everyone together to do it.

Suddenly Zoe walks into camp and asks to talk to the man in charge. Locke emerges from his tent and Zoe demands that he give Desmond back, but Locke pretends that he doesn't know what she's talking about.

Zoe pulls out a walkie talkie and says into it "show them what we're capable of." The whistle of a missile or rocket can be heard and then an explosion happens behind Locke, just outside the camp. She tells Locke that he has until nightfall to return Desmond or the next bomb won't miss. She hands him the walkie talkie so he can tell her when Desmond is ready to be picked up.

As Zoe leaves the camp, Locke drops the walkie on the group and smashes it with the big stick he was carving in "Everybody Loves Hugo." He pauses and says "Well, here we go."

It would seem that Locke sees Zoe's threat and display as a sign that the war has begun, so there's likely a lot of death coming to the island soon.

Jack & Claire meet as family, Claire says he's already joined Locke

As Locke and Jack are making their way back through the jungle, Locke stops and tells Claire to come out because she's been following them. Claire says she was there because Jack is her brother and Locke leaves them to catch up.

Claire asks Jack if he knows that Locke was the one pretending to be Christian, and Jack says yes. Claire says that she never had much family, so she's glad that Jack decided to come with them, meaning Locke's group. Jack says that he's not decided to leave yet, but Claire says that he has. She says that Jack joined Locke whenever he let him talk to him, just like her and the others.

So what is the deal with letting Locke/smokey talk to someone? Does it have real meaning, or is he just very convincing? Richard seemed to break that rule and something tells me Jack will be next.

Desmond crosses paths with Hurley & Claire, Minkowski is his driver

At LAX, we see Desmond in a daze, staring at his reflection in the Oceanic flight status board. Hurley walks by him and says that the bags for 815 are at carousel 4 (one of the numbers).

At baggage claim, Desmond helps Claire with her bad since she is struggling to retrieve it. He asks her if she's having a boy or girl, and she reveals to him that she doesn't know. He offers Claire a ride but she tells him that someone is picking her up (as we know, that didn't happen). As she's walking away, Desmond tells her confidently that she's having a boy. He seems to remember this from the original timeline.

As Desmond walks further, he approaches none other than George Minkowski, who introduces himself as his driver. Desmond reveals that he wants to go straight to the office and that he was in Sydney closing a deal for the boss (Charles Widmore). Minkowski tells Desmond that if he needs anything while he's there, just let him know (it's a bit like Matthew Abbadon's offer to Locke in the season 5 episode "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"). Then Minkowski awkwardly offers to get Desmond a prostitute, which he quickly turns down.

Locke says that Claire & Kate are not candidates, the smoke can't cross water

At the camp, Locke asks Sayid if he can swim and tells him to wrap a gun in plastic.

Locke asks Claire what is wrong because she is nervously watching them. She asks if her name is on the wall of the cave, but Locke says it's not, but says that he does need her. He tells her that Kate's name is not on the wall anymore, but he needs Kate to convince the three other people he needs to leave the island. He says that once Kate fulfills her purposes, then "whatever happens, happens," implying that Claire can do what she wants with her.

As Sayid and Locke prepare to leave for Hydra island, Sawyer questions them, and asks why Locke can't just turn into smoke and fly to other island. Locke says that if he could do that, he wouldn't be on the island. He says that he's going to Hydra island to get Jin back.

Locke returns to camp to find everyone unconscious

Locke returns to his camp to find everyone unconscious. He looks panicked as he walks through the bodies strewn about. He finds Sayid, wakes him up and asked what happened. Sayid said they were attacked and he does not know by who. Locke is really panicked now and asks where Jin is.

I think this is the first time we've really seen smoke monster Locke appear scared. With Jin missing, is his grand plan unraveling?

Widmore's team spies on Locke's camp + Locke talks to Jin

At Locke's camp, we see night vision images from Widmore's team observing Kate, Sawyer, Claire and Locke. We see that Sawyer managed to find some cocoa, presumably Dharma cocoa.

After the night vision shots, Locke approaches Jin and we learn that Sawyer told Jin about the candidates names in the cave. Locke says that he needs all of the remaining candidates together in order to leave the island and that he'll take care of bringing Sun back.

Claire can be seen eavesdropping on Locke and Jin's conversation, wondering how she fits into Locke's plan.

So does Locke really need the candidates to leave with him, or does he plan to kill them? He told Jacob in "Ab Aeterno" that he would kill anyone who might take Jacob's place.