This War You Had to Wage (Spirit of the Age, Michael Card)

"I wanna know why. I wanna know that Sun and Jin and Sayid didn't die for nothing."
- Kate, What They Died For


I've been trying to get into the heads of each of the major Island players as they move into the final chapter, and I've had a harder time getting a handle on Kate than most. But I think I have a pretty good understanding of where she's coming from, and I don't begrudge her the angry questions she hurls at Jacob. Here's Kate to the tune of Michael Card's Spirit of the Age.

This War You Had to Wage

My eyes are red from crying for Jin, Sayid and Sun,
And I can’t stop thinking of their little girl Ji Yeon.
So what Locke said to Sawyer... Swear to me he lied.
I cannot continue till you tell me why they died.

So Jacob, did you care about the wailing?
What about the sorrow and the rage?
It’s time that you apologized for killing
Victims of this war you had to wage!

You seem so understanding, benevolent and kind.
But does it even bother you that we left them behind?
And what about my number? How come it has been crossed?
Is that your way of saying that all hope for me is lost?

So Jacob, did you care about the wailing?
What about the sorrow and the rage?
It’s time that you apologized for killing
Victims of this war you had to wage!

The accidents and murders that piled up here in Hell
Ought to haunt you even if you only meant us well.
If you’re to be our mentor, our shining spectral sage,
Say sorry for the victims of this war you had to wage!

So Jacob, did you care about the wailing?
What about the sorrow and the rage?
It’s time that you apologized for killing
Victims of this war you had to wage!

Because of me, my best friend died for nothing,
And ever since I’ve craved a blank page.
So how can you accept there are so many
Victims of this war you had to wage?
The victims of this war you had to wage...

Spirit of the Age

When It Ends (A Face That Shone, Michael Card)

"My ashes are right there in that fire... When it burns out, you’ll never see me again."- Jacob, What They Died For

LOST is so filled with wonderful characters, and I love nearly all of them, but there will always be an extra special place in my heart for Jacob and Hurley. In the great epics, this always tends to be my favorite pair: the wise mentor and the loving, humble apostle. Gandalf and Sam. Dumbledore and Hagrid. Aslan and Lucy. Granted, Aslan is something More than those others, Jacob included. But Jacob reflects the light in a powerful way, and Hurley feels a deep sense of connection to him. I was very saddened by Jacob's words to Hurley in What They Died For. I thought of Lucy leaving Narnia in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and I anticipate this parting being equally difficult for Hurley. But even as he dreads the loss, his chief concern is harmony, and something tells me this Star Wars geek holds the key to a satisfying resolution. Here's Hurley to the tune of Michael Card's A Face That Shone.

When It Ends

Though Richard raved and ranted to Jack on the Black Rock,
I was sure that we should follow, for we’re Jacob’s chosen flock.
I knew it from the moment he blessed me with his touch.
When he gave me that guitar case, his assurance meant so much.

He met me at the Temple, and he helped me find the stone
That hid a secret passage to a lighthouse long unknown.
Jacob never acted like he thought that I would fail.
I began to think that maybe the light of kindness could prevail.

So when it ends, I will feel I’ve lost a father,
A faithful friend who believed that I had worth.
But when it ends, I will know that I would rather
Have been blessed to briefly know him.
I’ve been searching for him since my birth.

He brought us to the Island. We became his flustered flock,
And he’s charged us now with stopping his old friend who looks like Locke.
Oh, I know that he’s a monster and he really isn’t John,
But he used to be his brother. That part of him’s not gone.

Jacob said he’d try to kill us and we would need to guard the light,
But reconciliation’s the best end to this fight.
We’ll somehow find the balance so the conflict can be done.
Like Anakin and Luke, the fractured family will be one.

And when it ends, I will feel I’ve lost a father,
A faithful friend who believed that I had worth.
But when it ends, I still will know that I would rather
Have been blessed to briefly know him.
I’ve been seeking him since birth.

He said to me, “You’ll never see me once it’s ended.
I’ll have to go, but you will know you have my love.
You’ll bear the light, and everyone who you’ve befriended
Will snatch a spark, and they’ll be mended both from within and from above.”

And when it ends, I will feel I’ve lost a father,
A faithful friend who believed that I had worth.
But when it ends, I still will know that I would rather
Have been blessed to briefly know him.
I’ve been seeking him since birth.

A Face That Shone

Our Noble Leader (The Gentle Healer, Michael Card)

Sawyer: And I thought that guy had a God complex before.
Kate: James.
Sawyer: Yeah, I know.
- What They Died For

After seeing such a snarly Island Sawyer for so much of season six, I was touched by his humility in What They Died For. Here's Sawyer coming to grips with Jack's role as his leader, to the tune of Michael Card's The Gentle Healer.

Our Noble Leader

Our noble leader always has to save the day.
He gives commands, and I balk and disobey.
Yeah, you can depend on my gettin' in his way.
Our noble leader always has to save the day.

Our noble leader always has to save the day,
And Juliet was the price I had to pay,
For she fell in the well, and now my world is gray.
Our noble leader always has to save the day.

Oh, I know that he’s a tender-hearted man.
When no one cared, he lent a helping hand.
Yeah, but trustin’ folks was never quite my plan.
And yet I know that he’s a tender-hearted man.

Our noble leader, he’s number twenty-three,
And now Jacob’s told him, “Jack, you’re just like me.”
I want to be sarcastic, but I see
That our noble leader is what he was meant to be.

He Called Him Brother (They Called Him Laughter, Michael Card)

"I only picked one name."
- Claudia, Across the Sea

The epic rivalry between Jacob and his brother started with their birth. Here's a reflection on that to the tune of Michael Card's They Called Him Laughter.

He Called Him Brother

A stormy wind and a restless sea
Left Claudia lost. She was destined to be
A pawn in the game of the woman who guarded the Island.
Accepting the help of the stranger who spoke,
She pushed, and her baby was born and awoke.
But Jacob would soon have a brother because there were two.

He called him Brother thanks to their mother.
Though she was expecting,
She didn’t know twins would be due.
So Jacob was frozen in the name she had chosen,
But he called him Brother.
There weren’t enough names for two.

She clothed him in darkness and Jacob in light
And planned for the day when she’d force them to fight.
She applauded the sins of the brother, and poor Jacob knew.
He tried to be faithful to mother and twin,
But given the choice between parent and kin,
He stuck with the former, becoming a desolate boy.

He called him Brother thanks to their mother.
Though she was expecting,
She didn’t know twins would be due.
So Jacob was frozen in the name she had chosen,
But he called him Brother.
There weren’t enough names for two.

He called him Brother thanks to their mother.
Though she was expecting,
She didn’t know twins would be due.
So Jacob was frozen in the name she had chosen,
But he called him Brother.
There weren’t enough names for two.

They Called Him Laughter

Jack's Pledge (The Edge, Michael Card)

"I'll do it... This is why I’m here. This is... this is what I'm supposed to do."
- Jack, What They Died For

Jack has been Our Hero from the very beginning of LOST, but he's had to work through some massive issues before he was ready to embrace the role of Island guardian. Here, he reflects on what he's learned as fatherly Jacob makes him his replacement, to the tune of Michael Card's The Edge.

Jack’s Pledge

You were calmly watching me on that momentous day
When I arrived and dove into the fray.
Yes, you tracked me down and followed me and drove me to the edge,
And now I am content to make this pledge.

I promise I will cast away the dark and serve the light.
I swear, as your replacement, I will face this final fight.
I’ll drink your holy water, and I will count upon each friend
Who will aid me, for you made me the ticket to the end.

I’ve found more than I lost, and I am ready for this task.
I’m glad you think that I have what it takes.
You’ve given me a mission, and I’ll do just what you ask,
For you’ve healed me and forgiven my mistakes.

I promise I will cast away the dark and serve the light.
I swear, as your replacement, I will face this final fight.
I’ll drink your holy water, and I will count upon each friend
Who will aid me, for you made me the ticket to the end.

I realize the thirst for good in every human heart
Is better quenched together than apart.
I never was a Man of Faith; I stuck with facts instead.
But at last I see it’s best to blend the spirit and the head.

I promise I will cast away the dark and serve the light.
I swear, as your replacement, I will face this final fight.
I’ll drink your holy water, and I will count upon each friend
Who will aid me, for you made me the ticket to the end.

I will cast away the dark and serve the light.
I will face this final fight.

I Will Destroy the Beast (God's Own Fool, Michael Card)

"It's where I was told I could summon the monster. That's before I realized that it was the one summoning me."
- Ben, What They Died For

Ben's actions on the Island in What They Died For initially really depressed me because it felt like such a sad regression back into villainy. But the more I think about it, the more certain I am that Ben is running his own con, and because of his incredibly dark past and his willingness to kill his old enemy to get his point across, he may just be able to pull it off where Sawyer failed. Here's hopin'. Here is Ben to the tune of Michael Card's God's Own Fool.

I Will Destroy the Beast

Seems he misled me for all of my life
Since I came to this place as a kid,
And he molded me into a murderous man.
I cringe at the things that I did.
For ever since Jacob clutched me as he died
And then Miles confirmed that he cared,
I've seen how this monster made use of my pride
Until I was wholly ensnared.

So I, in my foolishness, ate up his lies.
I was his tool then, but now I’ve grown wise.
When I was a leader, he conned me so long.
Now I’ve been humbled and know I was wrong.
And so I’ll make that thing a fool.
I owe that to Jacob at least.
I won’t stand by and be his tool.
I will destroy the beast.

I’ll give up my life for the sake of this con
That will rid us of evil at last.
I’ll do it for Jacob and Alex and John.
I’ll purge the mistakes of my past.
I’ll surrender the power that never was mine,
Be the man Jacob hoped I could be.
For I’ve been through the fire and I’ve been refined,
And though I was blind, now I see.

Yes, I, in my foolishness, ate up his lies.
I was his tool then, but now I’ve grown wise.
When I was a leader, he conned me so long.
Now I’ve been humbled and know I was wrong.
And so I’ll make that thing a fool.
I owe that to Alex at least.
I won’t stand by and be his tool.
I will destroy the beast.

So I’ll make that thing a fool.
I owe that to John Locke at least.
I won’t stand by and be his tool.
I will destroy the beast.

Invincible (Now That I've Held Him In My Arms, Michael Card)

"Now you're like me."
- Jacob, What They Died For

I've been thinking about the song that Charlie started to write in the season two episode Fire + Water and hoping that it makes an appearance, in completed form, in The End. It was a beautiful song, and its lyrics - "All alone, I tried to be invincible; together now, we can be saved" - seem so fitting for what's about to happen. Jack has always had a little trouble letting go and allowing others to help him, and now that he is almost literally invincible, I imagine Jacob wanting to give him just a little reminder of the importance of his own "Live Together, Die Alone" philosophy. Here's Jack's coronation scene, to the tune of Michael Card's Now That I've Held Him in My Arms.

Invincible

The old man didn’t look it.
Golden-haired and strong,
Jacob had been forty-three forever.
The centuries of planning
Led him to this moment,
The time of his anointing his replacement.

“Now, Jack, at last you are like me.
I know we’re nearing the end.
You will be the one to make it cease.
But I hope you remember
That you must work together.
Please don’t try to be invincible alone.”

Jacob once was in Jack’s place,
But not his state of being.
He drank, but he didn’t have a choice.
Now brimming with affection,
Jacob’s gentle eyes
Look upon Jack, the long-awaited son.

“Now, Jack, at last you are like me.
I know we’re nearing the end.
You will be the one to make it cease.
But I hope you remember
That you must work together.
Please don’t try to be invincible alone. No...

Now you’re like, but more equipped than, me.
Don’t be afraid to count on your friends.
All of them will help you make it cease.
I hope you remember
That you must all work together.
Please don’t try to be invincible alone. No...”

Now That I've Held Him In My Arms

I'll Walk Away (The Voice of the Child, Michael Card)

Seeing Jacob's grief-stricken act of vengeance upon his brother in Across the Sea reminded me of one of my favorite elements of the season two finale: Hurley's refusal to seek revenge for the death of Libby. He first rejects the gun Jack tries to give him at the beginning of their trek, and then when Michael is outed as the killer, he makes no attempt on his life. I thought, "If only Jacob had been that level-headed." If everyone on the show followed Hurley's example, there would be a lot less turmoil on the Island. Here's Hurley to the tune of Michael Card's The Voice of the Child.

I’ll Walk Away

We’d planned on a picnic.
It was going to be such a perfect day.
But then Libby was shot ‘cause of what I forgot,
And it’s not okay.
She didn’t deserve this.
I need you to know that she rescued me.
She was sweet and compassionate, gentle and wise,
And I found true love when I looked in her eyes,
Now lifeless and gray.
She was pure. You aimed anyway.

I hate what you’ve done, but if I had a gun,
I would stop, and I’d let the thing drop.
I am deep in dismay, but revenge doesn’t pay,
So instead, I’ll just walk away.

You murdered her, Michael.
I know you want Walt, and that‘s why she died.
But you don’t have the right to extinguish the light.
He’d be horrified.
The guilt must be setting in.
I don’t know how you can sleep at night.
I could retaliate now for your killing spree,
The moment you acted so mercilessly.
But Michael, what good would it do?
Vengeance isn’t for me.

I hate what you’ve done, but if I had a gun,
I would stop, and I’d let the thing drop.
I am deep in dismay, but revenge doesn’t pay,
So instead, I’ll just walk away.

We’d planned on a picnic.
It was going to be such a perfect day.
But then Libby was shot ‘cause of what I forgot,
And it’s not okay.
But though my heart’s breaking,
I’m stopping the cycle.
I’ll walk away.

The Voice of the Child

Leaving This Island (The Greening of Belfast, Michael Card)

Anyone who has read several of my LOST-related posts from the past three months will probably have the idea I'm a bit hung up on Charlie's death. It's been mentioned in half a dozen poems before this one, and I keep telling myself that's it, but then I wind up deciding there's still more to say...

This reflection, to the tune of Michael Card's The Greening of Belfast, finds Charlie alone, lost in thought as he strums his guitar a short time before he leaves with Desmond in Greatest Hits.

Leaving This Island

With the soft, soft sand
Shifting under my feet,
I retreat to the solace of song.
I must strive to shield
Little Aaron and Claire
From the terror that's loomed for so long.

Claire will be leaving this island.
I think I'm prepared now although it's unfair.
My love is leaving this island,
But when rescue comes, I wish I could be there.
When rescue comes, I wish I could be there.

It gives me chills
Looking on her face,
Aware that my life's almost done,
For my will to live
Tortures me as I stare
At those eyes that shine bright as the sun.

But I'll dry my tears
And I'll say my prayers
As I leave her behind on the shore,
And I'll rest in peace
Knowing I have released
The one I love most from this war.

Claire will be leaving this island.
I think I'm prepared now although it's unfair.
My love is leaving this island,
But when rescue comes, I wish I could be there.

When rescue comes, I wish I could be there,
But Claire will be leaving this island.

Greening of Belfast