"LOST" Confusing people even more in Season 5

It has been eight months since the island moved us. Yes, we know that's not island time — because we also know that we have no idea what island time is.

What we do know is that we, the "LOST" couch-potato castaways, saw Ben turn the wheel hidden in a room below the unfamiliar Dharma Orchid Station, the sky white out and the island vanish. All this was the culmination of a time-traveling, Emmy-nominated season of past and future stories that split up the "Lost" tribe — rescuing some people after 108 days, leaving some to linger on the island and killing others.

If none of the above makes sense to you, yes, it's too late to pick up "LOST" now. That's what DVDs are for.

For four seasons, LOST viewers have flashed backward and forward through a maze of puzzles. When the penultimate season of the ABC hit LOST premieres Wednesday (9 p.m., Ch. 7), executive producers promise that answers will come our way, but it might take fans a moment to notice — because the fifth season puts viewers on yet another narrative roller coaster.

"Although the show occupies the same world, we're always driven not by rules but by what is the best way to tell stories in any given season," executive producer Carlton Cuse said. "Viewers will have to adjust to a little bit of a different mode this year, but we think that in that challenge also is the excitement that keeps 'LOST' fresh."

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First, we got to know our castaways through flashbacks to events that happened before Oceanic Flight 815 crashed in the South Pacific on Sept. 22, 2004. Then, viewers caught glimpses of them in the future, which revealed that some of them were rescued. The groundbreaking storytelling then took another turn when viewers became privy to future events that predated the future they'd already seen.


This season, the flashbacks and flash-forwards will continue, but another storytelling approach will dominate. And in classic "LOST" tradition, the producers won't explain ahead of time what they're doing.

"We're really happy with the scripts that we're writing, but at the same time, there's this complete sense of fear and second-guessing, in terms of whether or not the audience is going to groove on what we're doing," co-creator and executive producer Damon Lindelof said. "The show is taking on a new model, in terms of the way we tell stories, and finding a balance between what's happening off the island and on the island. Are the characters having an emotional experience no matter how crazy it is? That's the part we're focused on."

The first seven episodes of LOST will examine the aftermath of Ben's (Michael Emerson) pronouncement to Jack (Matthew Fox) in the last scene of last season that the Oceanic 6 must all return to the island, including Locke (Terry O'Quinn), who has died. Jack's challenge is to enlist the rescued castaways to go back, but that will prove tricky since he and Kate (Evangeline Lily) have broken up; Sayid (Naveen Andrews) is trotting the globe, killing people for Ben with Hurley (Jorge Garcia) in his custody; and Sun (Yunjin Kim) has gone rogue.

Viewers also will see what has happened to Penny (Sonya Walger) and Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick) after she rescued him, and learn how Locke left the island and later died. The story of Walt (Malcolm David Kelley), who left the island two seasons ago, will continue, although his father, Michael (Harold Perrineau), died attempting to return to the island in the season finale. Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) and Charlotte (Rebecca Mader) survive on the island.

"The conventional thinking might be that we're going to spend the entire season telling the story of how and if these characters are able to make it back to the island," Lindelof said. "That's not what we're doing, not by any stretch of the imagination."

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Because death on "LOST" is a relative term, as Cuse likes to say, fans can expect to see more of: Jin (Daniel Dae Kim), whether he survived the freighter explosion or not; the mysterious Christian Shephard (John Terry), whose death caused his son, Jack, to be on the doomed airliner; and Rousseau (Mira Furlan), who was shot to death. The ageless Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell) will pop up again. Although fans do not know what happened to Claire (Emilie de Ravin) — the actress does not have a regular role this season, mind you — she will appear during the season.

For that matter, so will Vincent the dog, the only character the producers have committed to keeping alive for the entire run of the series.

Here are some questions that arose from SEASON 4 of LOST

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ISLAND?

In the season-four finale, "Other" boss Ben (Michael Emerson) turned a frozen wheel and – poof! – made the island disappear, along with Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) and other "Lost"-aways; the Oceanic Six fled on a helicopter. Ben – landing in North Africa – aimed to protect the island from arch-nemesis Charles Widmore (Alan Dale), who seeks to control it. The show has been exploring the space-time continuum, and that theme will be heightened this season in the search for the island.

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HOW DOES LOCKE BECOME JEREMY BENTHAM?

The cliffhanger revealed that Locke was "Jeremy Bentham." Under that alias, he apparently died after visiting Jack and some others who left the island with troubling news: They need go back. While visiting Locke's casket, a cryptic Ben tells Jack they must rally his fellow crash survivors – and return with Locke's lifeless body. Lucky for Jack, Ben always has a secret plan. Emerson tells New York magazine his bug-eyed alter ego will "carry on what seems to be his calling or his life's work or his war, whatever it is – I'm not sure exactly what it is." But it includes orchestrating a survivors' reunion.

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WHAT'S GOING ON WITH WIDMORE AND BEN?

Widmore is the wealthy industrialist who staged the fake plane crash of Oceanic 815 and ordered a team of mercenaries on a mission to find the island and kill everyone on it. Widmore and Ben appear to have a deep-seeded rivalry, deepened further after Widmore's agents murdered Ben's daughter in cold blood. Off the island, Ben recruited Oceanic Six survivor Sayid (Naveen Andrews) as an assassin; he also dropped by Widmore's home in the wee hours, vowing to kill his daughter as revenge. Whatever game they're playing, it has rules – and Ben says Widmore has broken them. One possible rule: Widmore and Ben cannot kill each other. That would be a very Harry Potter/Voldemort-esque plot twist.

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WHO THE HECK IS JACOB?

We've never seen Jacob, though he seems to be the all-knowing island messiah. The shadowy character lives in a creaky cabin that moves around a lot, hates technology and has communicated to the Others through Ben. Last season, Ben brought Locke to the cabin; Locke could not see Jacob but heard him say, "Help me." After Widmore's men stormed the barracks, Ben and Locke visited Jacob again – this time, Jacob spoke to Locke through a representative, Jack's ghost-daddy Christian (John Terry), who said to move the island. Ben, sensing that he'd been replaced by Locke, did the deed and peaced out. As far as we can tell, Jacob has unknown powers, dead people for friends and a cabin fever that keeps him locked in. Online theories abound: Is Jacob an ancient supercomputer, a divine entity, a superhuman being? Expect the unexpected, and expect to see more of him this season.



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WHAT HAPPENED TO CLAIRE, JIN AND MICHAEL?

Claire (Emilie de Ravin), who we recently learned is Jack's half-sister, seemed to survive a house fire – but then things got weird. She walked off in the jungle with her (un)dead father Christian. The next time we see them, she's in the shack with Jacob, acting creepy. As for Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) and Michael (Harold Perrineau), they presumably died on the freighter when it exploded. In an earlier flash-forward, Jin's wife, Sun, was shown at his memorial in Korea. Some bloggers speculate he'll turn up in early episodes, dead or alive, this season. If he perished in the blast, maybe we'll see him cavorting with Jacob, Christian and other ghost people.

LOST Season Finale - So Who is JEREMY BENTHAM

Moving islands, marching armies of mercenaries and even a freighter loaded with explosives weighed heavily on the minds of Lost fans anticipating Thursday’s two-hour season finale. But they all became secondary concerns as a new question twisted its way into the foreground: Who is Jeremy Bentham?

We knew from past flash forwards that the Oceanic Six escape. But at the end of the last episode they were spread across the island, the beach and the freighter off shore and outside whatever dome of solitude surrounds the island.

Sun and baby Aaron had just reached the freighter with Jin, when Michael and Desmond discover a room full of explosives. The popular consensus is that the object baddie Keamy wears on his arm will trigger the explosives if he dies.

Jack, with Sawyer in tow, tracked down the chopper to find Lapidus tied up. He says the bad guys have gone to The Orchid to capture Ben. Archie and Reggie launch back into the woods to find Ben’s running mate, the much-loved Hurley.

The last we saw of Hurley, he was hiding with Locke in the woods near The Orchid when Ben revealed himself to Keamy and crew as a diversion.

While Faraday continued to funnel people off the island on a tiny boat, Sayid and Kate charge into the woods in search of Jack and Sawyer - who they’ve learned are heading into trouble. They manage to find their own problems, however, when the ageless Richard Alpert and his gang of Others capture them and lead them into the woods.

The rest of the characters were left waiting on the beach for their turn to leave the island, save for Clair, who was last seen chilling out with her dead father in Jacob’s mystic cabin.

This episode starts where Season Three ends: With a drunk jack screaming at Kate outside the airport, demanding that they go back to the island. This time, she stops the car. She gets out and laces into Jack for tormenting her and demanding she go to “Jeremy Bentham’s” funeral. She hints that something this unknown person said made Jack realize they had to return to the island, although at this point what that was remains as mysterious as his identity.

Back on the island, we join Jack and Sawyer heading for The Orchid. They find Hurly urinating in the woods and, after brief awkwardness between Hurley and Jack, they join Locke and The Orchid station. Jack and Locke bicker until Jack realizes all he came for was Hurley and tries to leave, but curiosity gets the better of him and stays to see what Locke is up to.

Meanwhile, Keamy and his mercenary crew are leading Ben back to the chopper, when Kate comes running out of the woods, claiming to be chased by Ben’s friends. The troops get their weapons ready. A mysterious whispering engulfs the group before the Others attack them from the woods like a pack of Ewoks. Kate gets Ben to safety, while Sayid tackles Keamy and the two trained fighters battle. Keamy is about to kill him when Alpert shoots Keamy in the back. To thank them for saving him, Ben gives Kate and Sayid the chopper and says they can leave the island.

In the next flash forward, Hurley is visited in his psych ward by a much older Walt. It has only been three years since he left the island, but the kid can now grow a better moustache than Sidney Crosby. Walt is upset that the Oceanic Six didn’t come and visit him. But he says Jeremy Bentham did visit and left him angry that the survivors are lying about what happened. Hurley says they have to lie to keep people on the island safe. “Like my dad?” Walt asks. Hurley hesitantly says yes.

Back on the island, Hurley and Sawyer eat 15-year-old crackers while Locke and Jack take up their age-old debate on destiny. Locke says Jack knows he’s supposed to be on the island, and will be consumed with guilt if he leaves (score one for Locke). Locke says it’s not an island, it’s a place where miracles happen. Jacks says there is no such thing as miracles. Locke: “Just wait until you see what I’m going to do,” meaning his intentions to move the island to keep it safe. Ben joins them and dismisses Jack, telling him he, Hurley and Sawyer should leave the island, then leads Locke into the underground.

On the boat, Michael is still battling the explosives, which haven’t exploded. The plan is to freeze the battery with liquid nitrogen. In conversation, Sun tells him that she’s pregnant, which he seems sad about, likely because the boat is about to explode.

Meanwhile, Faraday has returned to the beach and tells his friends Miles and Charlotte that they have to be on the next trip, because there won’t be another. Miles says he’s not going to leave, and sits happily eating nuts. Miles then says to Charlotte that he’s surprised she wants to leave, considering how hard she worked to get back “here.” What do you mean, she asks nervously, and Miles acts coyly. Charlotte decides to stay, telling Faraday that she “was still looking for where she was born.”

In The Orchid, Locke finds a vault that opens into a mystical bubble. An orientation video Ben makes him watch says a “Casimir effect” lets the Dharma Initiative do experiments on space and time. It’s a time machine, but not “the magic box,” Ben says. The orientation video says its important not to put metal into the vault, but Ben is frantically loading everything he can into the small room. A living, but angry, Keamy arrives and tells a hiding Ben about the bomb trigger that will go off if he dies. Locke appears and tries to talk him into putting down his knife. Ben uses the distraction to attack him, stabbing him several times.
Locke: “You just killed everyone on that boat.”
Ben: “So?”

Jack, Hurley and Sawyer get to the chopper and join Lapidus, Sayid and Kate. They get into the chopper and take off, all excited to get off the island, including Sawyer it seems. As they head for the freighter, they run out of gas. They start jettisoning things to reduce weight, but it’s not enough. Sawyer gets that “reluctant hero” look in his eye, and whispers some directions to Kate (likely something about visiting his daughter, Clementine) before kissing her and diving off the chopper. He swims back to the island.

In the next flash forward, Sayid sneaks up and kills a guy stalking Hurley’s mental institution, before going inside and asking Hurley to come with him. He’s sitting at a chess board alone. Sayid says things haven’t been safe since Bentham’s death and wants to take him to safety. Hurley lets it slip that Bentham is a fake name. He makes Sayid swear they’re not going back to the island. As he gets up, he makes one more chess move. “Checkmate, Mr. Eko,” he says. Apparently, Charlie isn’t the only dead island-dweller that has been visiting Hurley.

Locke fights to keep Keamy alive, but he’s fading fast. “Wherever you go, Widmore will find you,” he tells Ben. “Not if I find him first,” he says. Keamy dies, and the red lights start flashing. On the boat, Michael and Jin stay to keep the bomb’s battery frozen and inactive, while Desmond runs to evacuate the ship. “Bloody Hell,” he says as the chopper approaches. Lapidus has to land. They quickly refill the tank and get ready to relaunch. Sun says she won’t leave without Jin, but Kate gets her on the chopper and says she’ll find him. Jack intercepts her and forces her onto the chopper as well. Michael, meanwhile, gives Jin the “you are a father” speech to get him to leave, but he gets to the deck after the chopper has taken off.

Below, Michael hears the mystic whispers, before Jack’s dead father Christian appears and tells him he can “go now,” meaning (most likely) that he’s free to die. Moments later the ship blows with Michael, Jin and others still on board.

Sun breaks down after watching her husband blow up, ultimately blaming Jack for his death. In a flash forward, we find her in London, approaching Widmore. “Are you going to pretend you don’t know who I am?” she asks, before offering him her business card and telling him they have lots to talk about. She subtly offers to help him find Ben, and she seems just angry enough about Jin’s death to do it.

Inside the Orchid station, Ben starts the magic vault overloaded with metal, and it explodes. It seems to be part of the process, because Ben puts on his parka and climbs in. First, he tells Locke that he has to go, because whoever moves the island can never come back. Locke has been chosen to lead the Others and care for the island. Ben climbs through the vault and into an icy tunnel. Finally, he climbs down a ladder into an anti-chamber, where he slips and cuts his arm. There’s a huge lever, which Ben works to turn. As he does, things get very bright and a loud humming engulfs the island. The chopper crew, on their way back to the island, watches it seemingly sink into the ocean. The chopper runs out of gas and crashes. Everyone survives and loads into an emergency raft.

In the next flash forward, Kate wakes up in her home and hears someone in Aaron’s room. She loads her gun and jumps into the room, to find Claire sitting over her child’s bed. It turns out to be a dream, but Kate still seems shaken by Claire’s demand that Aaron never return to the island.

On the raft, Hurley tells everyone that Locke moved the island. Despite his own eyes, Jack refuses to believe that it happened, but he does tell everyone that they have to make up a story to protect the remaining island dwellers. They see a rescue boat, which turns out to belong to Penny, Desmond’s girlfriend. They run to each other, and he promises never to leave her again. Jack ruins a pleasant round of introductions by telling them that they all have to talk.

In the end, he convinces the Oceanic Six that they have to leave the boat and stage a rescue at a nearby island, in order to keep their cover story legitimate. Desmond and Lapidus remain on Penny’s boat. The Oceanic Six paddle to a village, where the residents rush to help them. At this point, the storyline catches up to the flash forward from Episode 12, as the survivors are led into a press conference, before going their separate ways.

The final flash forward finds a wasted, bearded Jack driving to the funeral hall where Jeremy Bentham remains. It’s midnight, so he breaks in, crying, pacing and reluctantly opens the coffin. Before he can reveal who is inside, Ben appears. “Did he tell you I was off the island?” he asks. Apparently he did. Bentham is actually someone who escaped the island to visit Jack and Kate, telling them both that terrible things had happened since they left and blaming them all on Jack.

Ben says Jack has to come back to the island, and has to bring everyone with him. Jack says no one will want to, but Ben says he’ll help convince them. They have to take Bentham’s body as well. Finally, after two hours of wondering who Jeremy Bentham is, the truth is revealed. John Locke lies inside the coffin, far from the island he was destined to find.