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I missed writing about it at the time it aired, but with the release of the fifth season DVD on December 8th, I'd like to indulge in a little off-season Lost talk. Perhaps the months I waited to discuss it were a good thing, because, at the time, I was overwhelmed with what we saw and learned. So many questions! Or are there?

Over the course of the seeming eternity since the finale, I've come to realize that we pretty much know the secret of the Island now. Oh, there are details we still have to iron out - Richard's agelessness, Walt's specialness, Adam and Eve, even Libby's back story (I'm convinced Cuse and Lindelof will cave to fan pressure and delve into it, despite denials) - but the gist of it comes to light in the fifth season finale.

Of course, speculation as to what we discover in the finale remains, but most viewers have settled into the assumption that all of our Lost heroes are caught up in some sort of contest between the powers of Light and Dark. Jacob, the representation of Light, appears to have a positive view of humanity. His optimism plays out on his islandic chessboard, with players coming and going over the years. Looks like the enigmatic "Others" who have so plagued our Losties are just one more in a series of groups Jacob hopes will redeem mankind.

A mysterious figure representing the Dark disputes Jacob's beliefs and points to countless failures of humanity to exist in harmony. Dark resents Jacob's idealism to the point of wanting him dead. Problem is, for some unexplained reason, he can't kill Jacob himself.

Further speculation seems to indicate that everything we've seen over the course of five seasons has been manipulation between these two forces, primarily the Dark, to get all of our heroes to the point where either Jacob proves humanity's worth, or Dark kills Jacob. In fact, the Smoke Monster and the resurrected dead seem to be either manifestations of Dark, or tools at his disposal. In the end, Dark seems to have the upper hand, manipulating Ben to the point where he kills Jacob.

Or does he? Jacob puts up little fight. In fact, he seems to provoke Ben. Is he doing some chess piece (or Backgammon piece) manipulation of his own? With his dying breath, he warns Dark-in-Locke's-clothing that "they're coming," the meaning of which has kept fans abuzz all hiatus long. Whoever the supposed "they" are, it may be that Jacob's really been one step ahead of Dark the whole time.

This may or may not tie into the other big development of the season finale, and the major question with which it leaves us: have Jack and Co. altered the future by detonating Jarhead back in Dharma days, or was it always just a part of the so-called Incident we've been speculating about since we first discovered what's going on inside the Hatch back in season two? For that matter, is this all a play on Jacob's part against Dark?

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