S5: Follow the Leader

Season 5 has taken us far.  It has brought those who left the island - back, it transported those left behind to 1977, and it has put Locke back where he's wanted to be - the leader of the Others.  But who else is leading?  And who is following who?  This episode shows us a few things.

It appears that Eloise is the leader of the Hostiles (the Others).  Horace was the leader of the Dharma Initiative and it seems that Radzinsky is taking over.  And in Faraday's death, Jack appears to be leading those that wish to follow on a plan that Faraday put in his head

Everyone has their mission.  Jack's mission is to destroy the energy at the Swan station, erasing the last three years.  The Dharma Initiative is evacuating all non essential personnel, and continuing, on schedule, to tap the energy at the Swan station.  Locke plans on killing Jacob.

So what's going to happen next?  Will Jack be successful in erasing the years he was on the island?  Is what Jack is doing what he's meant to do all along?  Is "the incident", mentioned in the Dharma Initiative training video, in the making?  And with Locke destroying Jacob, how will that effect events?

The best part of this episode, for me, is when Jack explained his plan to Eloise, she turns to Kate and asks if he's telling the truth, if Jack actually believes and knows what to do.  Kate coldly says, "He thinks he does."

One could argue that that one line could be the basis for the whole show.  People on and off the island do what they do because they think it's in the best interest of themselves, their friends, or the island itself.  And that's just human nature.  Ask Ben what's best for the island, and he'll tell you, it's killing off the Dharma Initiative or stopping those on the freighter, or killing Locke.  From each person's point of view, he/she believes they are doing the right thing.  Even when Sayid shoots young Ben, he believes he is doing the right thing even though he knows it's wrong.

I really enjoyed this episode.  It definitely opened a lot of doors and it will be great to see what happens when they walk through them.