Lost: Season 6, Episode 16 "What They Died For" Review

 "He doesn't get to save his daughter."

-Ben Linus

"What They Died For" picks up in the flash-sideways with Jack (Matthew Fox) receiving a call that his father's coffin will be arriving in Los Angeles that day.  It turns out the call was from Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick).  Desmond then goes back to the school where he ran over Locke (Terry O'Quinn), where he is confronted by Ben (Michael Emerson).  Desmond attacks Ben, which causes him to have flashes to when Desmond attacked him at the marina.  Desmond tells Ben he is trying to get Locke to let go.  Ben tells this to Locke, which inspires him to visit Jack and ask for the surgery.

Desmond turns himself in to the police and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) puts him in jail with Sayid (Naveen Andrews) and Kate (Evangeline Lilly).  The three of them are put in a vehicle to be transfered, but Desmond tells the others he can get them out if they promise to do what he asks.  They agree and are freed by their driver, Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), who is bribed by Hurley (Jorge Garcia).  Hurley takes Sayid with him, while Kate accompanies Desmond.

On the Island, Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sawyer set off to get Desmond out of the well, but on the way, Hurley is stopped by young Jacob (Kenton Duty), who demands his ashes and runs off with them.  They meet older Jacob (Mark Pellegrino) who explains that he choose the candidates because they were all flawed, alone, and needed the Island as much as the Island needed them.  He says he needs one of them to choose to become the protector of the Island to defend the Heart of the Island from the Man in Black (Terry O'Quinn) and that Kate can take the job if she wants it.  She was only crossed out because she became a mother.  Jack takes the job and Jacob makes him immortal.

Ben, Richard (Nestor Carbonell), and Miles (Ken Leung) arrive at the Barracks and collect C-4 from Ben's house.  Widmore (Alan Dale) and Zoe (Sheila Kelley) arrive with word that the Man in Black is coming.  Widmore and Zoe hide in Ben's secret room, while Miles takes off into the jungle and Ben and Richard decide to try and talk to him.  As the Monster, the Man in Black tosses Richard into the jungle and then asks Ben to kill some people for him.  In exchange, he will give Ben the Island when he leaves.

Ben rats out Widmore and the Man in Black kills Zoe before asking Widmore why he brought Desmond to the Island.  In exchange, the Man in Black will spare Penny's (Sonya Walger) life.  Widmore tells him that Jacob asked him to bring Desmond to the Island as a last resort in case all the candidates were killed, but Ben kills Widmore to prevent him from saving his daughter.  The Man in Black and Ben journey to the well and find that someone has let Desmond out.  The Man in Black then reveals he plans to use Desmond to destroy the Island.

What Works:

My favorite parts of the episode come from the flash-sideways.  We get some incredibly emotional moments from both Ben and Locke.  I love when Ben realizes that Alex sees him as a father figure.  It might be the nicest Ben moment in the series as he tries to choke back tears.  We also get Locke asking Jack to help him get out of the wheelchair.  These are powerful moments for these characters.

Desmond is hilarious as he turns himself in and greets Sayid and Kate.  I love their reactions to him as they are being transferred and Sayid's quick promise to do what Desmond asks is hysterical.  It's also really nice to see Ana Lucia again.

I love that this episode finally gives us a sit-down between Jacob and the Candidates.  Jacob's revelation that he choose them all because they were flawed people like him is great. It's the final look at the character of Jacob and how he chose a replacement.  It's a good reveal and a solid payoff to the Candidate storyline.  Of course Jack would be the one to take the job.  It's a little obvious, but it works super well with what happens in "The End."

Finally, Terry O'Quinn is awesome as the Man in Black.  He finally sheds any pretense that he isn't the main villain.  He's here to kill anyone who gets in his way.  I love that he kills Zoe without any hesitation, that he tosses Richard out of his way because he doesn't need him, and the way he threatens Widmore.  It's great stuff.

What Sucks:

While I like the conversation between Jacob and the Candidates, I wish it had gone on longer.  This would have been a good opportunity to get a couple more answers.  It's a really good scene, it just felt too short.  This was such a long time coming that the writers absolutely could have milked it a bit more.

Platinum Polar Bear:

The Platinum Polar Bear goes to the most competent character of the episode.  For "What They Died For," this award goes to Jacob for finding his replacement.  This is his 2nd time winning this award, which ties him for 15th place with Rose, Ana Lucia, Ben, Lapidus, and Daniel.

Verdict:

As far as penultimate episodes go, "What They Died For" does a great job at setting up the finale and giving us plenty of emotional character moments.  Ben, Jack, Locke, and even Widmore have some excellent emotional moments, Desmond and Sayid are hilarious, and the Man in Black gets to go full villain.  I liked the meeting between Jacob and the Candidates, even though I wish we had gotten more.  Even so, this episode has definitely got it going on.

 9/10: Great