"Previously on Lost." "Oh God." "It's not your fault she's dead." "It's mine." "I convinced her to stay, because I didn't want to be alone." "You can probably make it back to the temple by nightfall." "I'm sorry you had to see me like that." "Hello, Richard." " You?" " Me." "I am very disappointed in all of you!" "So what were you doing in Australia?" " Business or pleasure?" " Actually, I went on a walkabout." "Welcome to Los Angeles." " Bye, daddy." " Bye, sweetie." "Oh, come on." "John?" "Are you okay?" "Yeah." "I'm fine." "Oh." "Come on, let's get you inside." "Okay." "Well, how long will that take?" "The wedding is in October." "Look, I'm gonna just have to call you back." "Yeah." "I am so sick of caterers and bands and picking fabrics for chair backs." "What do you say we just... get my parents and your dad and do it shotgun style in Vegas?" "No." "You deserve better than that, Helen." "And we can do this." "I know we can." "I like... this one." " That one?" " I meant this one." "You are a very sweet man." "Mmm." "I know." "So how was the conference?" "Boring." "Who's, uh, who's Dr. Jack Shephard?" "Oh, I met him at lost luggage when I went to fill out the forms." "He... he lost something, too." "He's a spinal surgeon?" "Yeah." "Nice guy." "He offered me a free consult." "You should call him." "Oh, he was just being polite, Helen." "So what?" "I mean..." "What are the odds of you just running into a spinal surgeon?" "I mean, who knows?" "maybe it's destiny." "Maybe it is." "All right, Richard." "Time to talk." "Lost Season 6 Episode 4 "The Substitute"" "Welcome back, Colonel." "Wow." "You got a nice tan in Australia." "Did you miss us?" "Sure I did, Randy." "So... how was the conference, John?" "Uh, it was okay." "I didn't really learn anything." "No?" "But, um, I made some good contacts, though." "Really?" "That's interesting." "See, uh, Ken Fisher called and said you had to cancel your lunch with him." "Right, right." "I was a little under the weather that day." " Uh... probably jet lag." " Really?" "'cause then the seminar people called and said you hadn't picked up your credentials." "I did some checking, and it seems that you didn't attend a single event." "Since we sent you to Sydney on the company's dime..." " where the hell were you?" " Look, Randy, I'm really sorry, I'm... why don't we just call it my vacation week?" "I thought you wanted that vacation week in October?" "You know, for your wedding." "Please, Randy." "I-I know I shouldn't have lied, but where I was... it's personal, and I... and I really don't want to talk about it." "Okay, John." "Hey, you're fired." "Thirsty?" "Richard, I'm sorry I hit you in the throat and dragged you off the beach, but I had to do something." " What do you want?" " What I've always wanted... for you to come with me." "Why do you look like John Locke?" "I knew he'd get me access to Jacob." "Because John's a candidate, or at least he was a candidate." "What do you mean... what do you mean, "a candidate"?" " Didn't Jacob tell you any of this?" " Any of what?" "Oh, Richard, I'm sorry." "You mean, you've been doing everything he told you all this time, and he never said why?" "I would never have done that to you." "I would never have kept you in the dark." "And... and what would you have done?" "I would have treated you with respect." "Come with me, and I promise" "I'll tell you everything." "No." "Are you sure about that, Richard?" "Because people seldom get a second chance." "I'm not going anywhere with you." "All right..." "What?" "I'll be seeing you, Richard, sooner than you think." "Am I interrupting?" "Tell me what happened to them." "All right." "There's a fairly reasonable chance that you won't believe me." "Try me." "John Locke killed them." " All by himself?" " Yes." "He turned into a pillar of black smoke, and he killed them right before my eyes." "Did it kill Jacob as well?" "Yes." "Then where's his body?" "Locke kicked him into the fire, and he burned away." "Locke... do you know why he carried Richard out into the jungle?" "He's recruiting." "Hello, James." "I thought you were dead." "I am." "Here's to bein' dead." "You're taking this extremely well." "Taking what extremely well?" "That I'm here." "I don't give a damn if you're dead or time travelin' or... the ghost of Christmas past." "All I care about is this whiskey." "So bottom's up, then get the hell out of my house." "This isn't your house, James." "The hell it ain't." "No." "You just lived here for a while." "This was never your house." "Who are you?" "You sure as hell ain't John Locke." "What makes you say that?" "'Cause Locke was scared, even when he was pretending he wasn't." "But you... you ain't scared." "What if I told you I was the person who could answer the most important question in the world?" "And what question is that?" "Why are you on this island?" "I'm on this island because my plane crashed, 'cause my raft blew up, because the helicopter I was on was riding one to heavy." "That's not why you're here... and if you come with me..." "I can prove it." "Well, I guess I better put some pants on." "Okay." "Okay." "Come on!" "Aw, damn it!" "Dude?" "Dude!" "What are you doing?" "What am I doing?" "What the hell are you doing?" "You ever park a car in your life?" "You're practically in my spot!" " I'm sorry." " Yeah." "But, you know, there's a handicap spot right over here." "Yeah." "Yeah, okay." "But I don't have to park there." "I can park anywhere I want." "You need to stay inside the lines." "I'm really sorry." "They were supposed to reserve a spot for me." "So, you know," "I just parked here." "I haven't seen you before." "You work here?" "Actually, I own the company." "Hugo Reyes." "John Locke." "Cool." "What do you do here, John?" "Uh, actually, nothing." "My boss just fired me." "Oh?" "Who's your boss?" "His name is Randy." "But, uh..." " Randy Nations?" " Yeah." "Yes." "Yeah, that guy is a huge douche." "You want me to talk to him for ya?" "No, that's okay." "Tell you what, John." "I own a temp agency, too." "Call this number and tell 'em that Hugo said to hook you up with a new job, pronto." "And chin up." "Things are gonna work out." "Whew." "He's gettin' pretty ripe." "Where is everybody?" "They left." "They said they were going to the temple." "Right now it's the safest place on the island." " We should go there, too." " Are you all right?" "I'm fine." "Come on, let's get out of here." "What makes you think that I'm going with you?" "Because you want to find Jin." "What do you know about my husband?" "I know that if he's on the island and he's alive, then he'll be at the temple." "Let's get moving." "What about John?" "We need to bury him." "What were you doing alone in that house, James?" " Drinkin'." " Where's the rest of your friends?" " Some temple somewhere." " Why aren't you with 'em?" "You know what?" "how about we just don't talk?" "You got it." "Who the hell's that?" " You can see him?" " The kid?" "Hell, yeah, I can see him." " Hey!" " What... Uhh!" "You know the rules." "You can't kill him." "Don't tell me what I can't do." "Don't tell me what I can't do!" "Locke!" "Locke!" "Look, whoever you are, you got about 20 seconds, and then I'm outta here!" " Where is he?" " What the hell are you doing here?" " Where is he?" " Locke?" "Ran off into the jungle after some kid." " We need to go now." " Go where?" " To the temple." "Let's go." "Let's go." " You know what?" "I've been to the temple." "I think I'm sticking with Locke." " That man is not John Locke." " I know." " Then why are you with him?" " Because he's got answers, says he knows why I'm on this island..." "Unless you" " wanna tell me why I'm here, Richard." " Don't be naive." "He's not gonna tell you anything." " He's gonna kill you." " If he wanted to kill me, he could've done it a dozen times already." "You don't understand what you're dealing with." "He doesn't just want you dead." "He wants everyone dead... everyone you care about, all of them... and he won't stop." "Who you talking to?" "Nobody." "You ever catch up with the kid?" "What kid?" "Right." " Let's get on with it, shall we?" " Yes, James." "Les get on with it." "What kind of animal would you describe yourself as?" "Excuse me?" "What kind of animal would you describe yourself as?" "Uh..." "I-I don't know what that has to do with..." "Just say whatever comes to mind." "Would you describe yourself as a people person?" "May I speak to your supervisor?" "Of course." "I'll go get her." "Good morning, Mr..." "Locke?" "Yeah." "I'm Rose Nadler, the office supervisor." "What can I do for you?" "Uh, what you can do, Ms. Nadler, is spare me the question about what kind of animal I am and hopefully place me in a job." "Absolutely." "What kind of placement are you looking for?" "Well, I see here that you have a listing" " for a site coordinator." " Construction site coordinator." "Uh, I'm not sure that's a good match." "Well, if experience is the issue," " I have..." " Experience isn't the issue." "Look, Mr. Reyes told me if I came down here, I would be taken care of." "And Mr. Reyes is my boss, so if he said that," "I can make it happen of you." "If you want to work construction, you got it." " Thank you." " I'm not finished." "I will send you down there tomorrow, and then the day after, you will be back in my office." "Look..." "Mr. Locke, let's try to be a little more realistic." "And what do you know about realistic?" "I have cancer." "Terminal cancer." "I'm sorry." "When the doctors first told me," "I had a hard time accepting it." "But eventually, I got past the denial part and I got back to living whatever life I've got left." "So..." "How about we find you a job you can do?" "Do you read?" "Excuse me?" "Books." "You read books?" "Sure." "Who doesn't?" "My favorite's Steinbeck, "Of mice and men."" "You know that one?" "Nope." "A little after my time." "It's about these two guys, George and Lennie." "Lennie's kind of slow, causing George problems." "So George walks him out in the woods, tells him to look out yonder and picture the pretty little house they're gonna live in one day." "And he shoots Lennie in the back of the head." "Well, that doesn't sound like a happy ending." "It aint." "What's on your mind, James?" "I'm wondering what would happen to you if I put a bullet in your head." "Mmm." "Why don't we find out?" "What are you?" "What I am is trapped, and I've been trapped for so long, that I don't even remember what it feels like to be free." "Maybe you can understand that." "But before I was trapped, I was a man, James, just like you." "I have a hard time believing that." "Well, you can believe whatever you want, but that's the truth." "I know what it's like to feel joy, to feel pain, anger, fear... to experience betrayal." "I know what it's like to lose someone you love." "If you wanna shoot me, shoot me." "But you're so close, James, it would be such a shame to turn back now." "Why did you have to bring him to the statue in the first place?" "Because the people there need to see the face of what they're up against." "And what's to stop what they're up against" " from changing his face?" " He can't." "Not anymore." "He's stuck this way." "Does anyone want to say anything?" "Didn't any of you know him?" "All right, I knew him." "John Locke was a... a believer." "He was a man of faith." "He was... a much better man... than I will ever be... and I'm very sorry I murdered him." "This is the weirdest damn funeral" "I've ever been to." "Hello." "Dr. Shephard's office." "Hello?" "Can I help you?" "No." "No, you can't." "Who was that on the phone?" "Mmm, no one." " No one?" " Mm-hmm." "John, I just heard you talking on the phone." "I was, uh," "I was calling Dr. Shephard." "Well, good for you." "When are you gonna see him?" "I'm not gonna see him." "Well, I-I don't understand." " Why wouldn't you want..." " I got fired, Helen." "Coming!" "Ma'am?" "Oceanic courier." "I'm delivering your lost luggage." "All right." "Sign here to accept the delivery." " Thanks." " Okay, thanks." "Okay, John." "Now talk to me." "How did you get fired?" "I lied to Randy." "I didn't go to the conference in Sydney." "What?" "Open the case, Helen." "W-what are these for?" "My walkabout." "Your... y-your what?" "My walkabout." "An adventure in the outback... man against nature." "But they wouldn't let me go." "And... and I sat there yelling at them, shouting at them, that they couldn't tell me what I can't do." "But they were right." "I'm sick of imagining what my life could be out of this chair, Helen." "What it would be like to... walk down the aisle with you, 'cause it's not gonna happen." "So if you need me to see more doctors, if, uh... have more consults," "If you need me to get out of this chair," "I don't blame you." "But I don't want you to spend your life waiting for a miracle, Helen, because... there is no such thing." "There are miracles, John." "And the only thing," "I was ever waiting for... was you." "Nice view." "Now what?" "Now we go down." "Down where?" "Down there." "No offense, but you already died, so it's great that this is not a big deal for you." "But if you think I'm climbin' down there first," " you are off your damn nut." " It's no problem." "I'll go first." "You coming, James?" "Ohh!" "James!" "Locke!" "Jump." "I got you." "Come on!" "Come on, I got you!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "Uhh!" "Come on!" "Aah!" "Look out!" "What is this place?" "What the hell's that all about?" "Inside joke." "So this is what you wanted me to see... a hole in the cliff with some rocks on a scale?" "That's why I'm here?" "No." "That's why you're here." "That, James, is why you're all here." "All right, dig it out." "Come on." "All the way." "No cheating'." "Come on, now." "Come on, all the way." "You can catch 'em." "You can catch 'em." "Come on, dig it out." "Bring it in now." "Bring it in all the way." "Good job." "Good job." "All right, everyone!" "Please open your textbooks to chapter four." "Today we are going to talk about... the human reproductive system." "Do you know where the teach..." "Excuse me." "Can you tell me where the teachers' lounge is?" " Yeah, it's over there." " Thank you." "All right, I know I sound like a broken record, but how many times do we have to go over this?" "If you have the last cup of coffee, you remove the filter and throw it away." "Fear not." "I will make a fresh pot." "Actually, I was just hoping for some Earl Grey." "Tea?" "Now there's a gentleman's drink." "I don't believe we've met." "Ben Linus." "European history." " John Locke." "Substitute." " Well, welcome." "Who wrote all this?" "His name was Jacob." ""Was", Jacob?" "He died yesterday." "You don't seem too upset about it." "I'm not." "Why are all the names crossed out?" "They're not all crossed out." ""Shephard."" "That'd be Jack Shephard?" "And he's not the only one." ""Reyes."" "That's Hugo, right?" " What's the eight about?" " Jacob had a thing for numbers." ""16." "Jarrah."" ""42." "Kwon." I don't know if it's Sun or if it's Jin." "Here. "4." "Locke."" "I think we both know him." "Last but not least..." ""number 15." "Ford."" "That would be you." "Why would he write my name on this wall?" " I never even met the guy." " Oh, no, I'm sure you did meet Jacob." "At some point in your life, James, probably when you were young, when you were miserable and vulnerable, he came to you." "He manipulated you, pulled your strings like you were a puppet." "And as a result, choices that you thought you made were never really choices at all." "He was pushing you, James." "Pushing you... to the island." "Why the hell would he do that?" "Because, you're a candidate." "Candidate for what?" "He thought he was the protector of this place, and you James, have been nominated to take over that job." "What does that mean?" "It means you've got three choices." "First, you can do nothing and... see how all this plays out." "And possibly, your name... will get crossed out." "Second option, you can accept the job, become the new Jacob and protect the island." "Protect it from what?" "From nothing, James." "That's the joke, there's nothing to protect it from." "It's just a damn island." "And it will be perfectly fine without Jacob or you, or any of the other people whose lives he wasted." "You said there were three choices." "The third choice, James, is that we just go." "We just get the hell off this island and we never look back." "And how do we do that?" "Together." "So what do you say, James?" "Are you ready to go home?" "Hell, yes." "Edited by Scooby"