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Previews for Lost finales always promise shocking surprises and answers to everyone’s most burning questions. As should be expected, “The Incident” provided more questions than answers, but it did surprise. To put it simply, this episode rocked.

Jacob is finally (finally!) given a face. The show opens on him weaving in what appears to be an underground chamber. He goes upstairs, watches a ship (the Black Rock?) sailing towards the island, and talks to his mysterious companion about the nature of the people who come to the island. His friend tells him he wishes he could kill him and vows to find a loophole. Pan up, and a side shot of the statue shows a crocodile’s head. So, Jacob lies in the shadow of the statue.

A quick Googling of “Egyptian crocodile god” reveals that Sobek was the crocodile-headed god who controlled the waters and fertility. He protected other gods, but he was also an ambiguous figure who could just as quickly take away the gifts he gave. Sobek was also an ally of Horus and an enemy of Set, the god of chaos and hostility. So, if Jacob is the Sobek of the island, then his nameless companion might be the Set of the island. In terms of protection, Jacob is shown in different time periods helping the various castaways. He keeps young Kate from getting arrested for shoplifting, gives Sawyer a pen he uses to write the letter to the real Sawyer, saves Locke after he’s pushed out a window, and pushes Hurley to get on the Ajira flight that will take him back to the island.

Jacob’s apparent godliness makes it all the more surprising when Ben kills him at the end. As it turns out, Locke is still dead, and his body is in the crate that Ilana and her people are carrying around. Jacob’s companion has taken the form of Locke and persuades Ben to kill Jacob. When they enter the base of the statue, Jacob appears to be waiting for them and tells “Locke” that he found his loophole. Ben, who resents being apparently ignored by Jacob for years, stabs him, and they throw him on the fire. Jacob’s last words are “They’re coming,” but of course it’s unclear who he’s talking about.

So, does the loophole have something to do with Locke, or does it have something to do with Ben? Maybe Jacob didn’t let Ben see him for years because there’s something about Ben that makes Jacob vulnerable? And who is this mysterious companion? Is it Jacob’s brother? Are they gods? If the mysterious evil guy can take on the form of Locke, maybe Christian Shepherd is really this guy in another form. Maybe the Jacob who went around helping all the castaways was actually the enemy. “Jacob” did want Hurley to go back to the island, so did he push him because he wanted the chance to kill the real Jacob, or was it really Jacob trying to get Hurley to go back so they could reverse everything and prevent his death? If the other guy can take on the form of a dead person, what’s to stop Jacob from going into the real Locke’s body? Maybe that’s why Ilana and her people were supposed to bring the body to Jacob.

Adding to the confusion are the people still in the 70's who decide to nuke the Swan. Sawyer, Juliet and Kate set out to stop Jack, but they conveniently change their minds after Sawyer and Jack beat the crap out of each other. Sayid gets shot and is bleeding, but he’s still alive the last time we see him. Jack drops the nuke down into the hole being drilled at the Swan, but the magnetic pocket has already been hit, and all the metal starts getting pulled into the hole. Juliet gets wrapped in some chains and is pulled towards the hole, and even though she breaks up with Sawyer earlier because she thinks he still loves Kate, Sawyer holds onto her to the point of risking his own death. She tells him she loves him before letting go and getting sucked down. The next time we see her, she’s bleeding, and she hits the bomb with a rock until it explodes. The screen fades to white and the episode ends.

The mini-preview for 2010’s final season says “Destiny Found” with a shot of a green eye. It looks like it could be Locke’s, but maybe not. So, with all the questions raised by this last episode, the real question might be: Who the heck wants to wait until 2010?