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Episode 321 – “Greatest Hits”
Note: The first time I saw this episode I was ill, but I cried bucket loads. I purposefully skipped this episode the second viewing and now on my third I cried again. God I love Charlie.

The flashbacks are short glimpses of the five greatest moments from Charlie’s life as we reach the culmination of this season. They are the first time Charlie heard himself on the radio, when his Dad taught him to swim at Butlins, the Christmas Liam gave him the ring, the day a woman he rescued called him a hero and the day he met Claire.

Jack takes some of the survivors into the jungle and shows him his plan, he is going to blow up the Others. Juliette is going to mark the tents as she was asked to do but when the Others open the tent, boom. Karl appears in the boat and tells Sawyer that the Others are coming, they know but Karl says they’re on their way now, they’ll be there tonight. Jack has to change his plan, they’ll have to shoot the dynamite to set it off.

Only three gunmen are going to stay behind, Sayid, Jin and Bernard the rest of the camp is to be led to the radio tower to turn off Danielle’s signal. Meanwhile Charlie and Desmond are going to go to the Looking Glass station which is under the water. Here Desmond sees Charlie pushing a button and drowning but in doing so Aaron and Claire get on a rescue helicopter. Out in the ocean Desmond says he’ll take Charlie’s place, perhaps the reason he sees Charlie die is because he is meant to take his place. Charlie refuses and knocks Des out with a paddle.

Charlie swims down into the moon pool of the Looking Glass station, relieved to be alive. Suddenly two women appear and hold Charlie at gunpoint.

Episode 322 – “Through The Looking Glass – Part One”
In apparent flashbacks we see Jack on an Oceanic Flight, he is handed a newspaper as he isn’t allowed another drink and he sees an article that sends him into a state of shock. Later he is driving to a bridge, he reads the newspaper article again, tears flow from his eyes. He rings a number and says he read the article and hangs up. He then climbs out onto the bridge and prepares to jump. He asks for forgiveness but as he’s about to jump a car crash happens behind him. He rescues the woman and child. Whilst he is getting stitched up Sarah comes to visit him, she is still on his emergency contact list and she is pregnant. The next day Jack is inspecting the files of the woman who crashed her car, he wants to perform surgery but the new Chief of Surgery won’t let him.

On the island Sayid, Bernard and Jin prepare for an attack by the Others as Jack leads the rest to the radio tower. As night falls the Others arrive at the camp and the survivors begin their attack. They manage to blow up two of the three sets of dynamite, killing seven of the Others but end up being captured. When threatened, Bernard tells Tom the plan to go to the radio tower and to turn off the jamming beacon.

Ben sends Mikhail to the Looking Glass to stop Charlie but Mikhail and the Others are suspicious since Ben said that station was flooded. At the station the girls are still interrogating Charlie when Desmond shows up. He manages to hide in a locker but then Mikhail shows up too. Mikhail gets on the radio to Ben who says Mikhail needs to kill everyone down there.

Sawyer decides he is going back to the beach, to help his friends. Juliette goes with him as she knows where they can find some guns but on the way she confesses there are no guns. Hurley turns up, he wants to go with them but Sawyer says he’ll just get in the way and tells him to go back. In a pit full of dead bodies Locke wakes up, he sees a gun on one of the bodies, he grabs it, cocks it and points it at his head when above him appears Walt. He tells John to get up, they’ve got work to do.

Episode 323 – “Through The Looking Glass – Part Two”
In the second part of the season finale in apparent flashbacks we see the continuation of Jack’s story as he falls further into drink and depression. His flat is a pigsty, he isn’t allowed any more prescriptions and people still think he’s a hero. He steals meds from the hospital and the new Chief of Surgery wants him to go home and rest. Life isn’t good for this Jack.

On the island and Ben and Alex are going to cut Jack and his group off before they get to the radio tower while Richard leads the rest to the Temple. When Ben arrives he asks to speak with Jack, he asks him not to call the freighter as if he does every single living person on the island will die. Jack refuses to accept that and says he’s going to call the boat so Ben has to resort to plan B. He radios the beach camp where Tom and Ryan have Sayid, Jin and Bernard captive, Ben says to kill them if he doesn’t speak to him in one minute. Jack won’t save his beach friends and lets the minute expire. Bullets are fired and Jack lays into Ben who doesn’t fight back.

They tie up Ben and continue to the radio tower where they shut off Danielle’s signal. At the beach and Ryan and Tom argue because they didn’t follow orders, they fired bullets into the sand and Sayid, Bernard and Jin are still alive. Sawyer and Juliette arrive to save them but they don’t have any weapons. Then Hurley arrives in the Dharma Van. He runs over the Others which allows Sawyer and Sayid to attack. Sawyer shoots Tom and says its for taking Walt off the raft.

Guilt stricken Jack can’t face what he’s done when Hurley radios in and says he saved them all. Jack is happy but Claire asks about Charlie, there is still no sign of him. In the Looking Glass station Mikhail shoots the two girls, killing one of them. As he turns for Charlie Des jumps out of he locker and shoots him with a spear gun. Charlie gets the code from the girl whose alive and enters it into the computer. He gets connected to Penelope Widmore! She is shocked Desmond is there but tells Charlie that she doesn’t have a boat anywhere looking for him. Then Mikhail appears at the window with a grenade. Charlie locks himself into the room and the grenade goes off, water flooding into the room. Charlie writes “Not Pennys Boat” on his hand and holds it to Desmond. Charlie drowns.

Then Naomi gets a signal on her phone, Ben pleads with them not to call the freighter again but just as the phone connects Naomi gets a knife in the back from a returning Locke. He holds the gun to Jack and tells him not to make the call or he’ll shoot, but Jack does and Locke walks away defeated. Jack speaks to a Minkowski who says they’ll get a lock on his signal and be there right away.

In the final off island scene, Jack calls the same number he’s been trying for weeks. He gets through and asks the person at the end of the line to meet him in the usual place. Jack arrives at the airport, so does another car. Out steps Kate! They talk for a moment, Jack says how he uses the golden ticket they were given every week to travel, hoping the plane crashes. Kate says she has to go, “he’ll be asking” where she is. Jack cries they have to go back, they have to go back! This is a flash-forward!

Season Three Questions
– Why, if Charlie knew it wasn’t Penny’s boat off the shore and therefore not the rescue Des envisioned, would he still kill himself? He could have locked himself out of the room.
– Why do pregnant women die on the island?
– Why do injuries heal quicker on the island?
– Who else is with Naomi?
– Who is Jacob? Why couldn’t Locke see him?