They thought they had met the enemy. They thought they had seen evil. They thought wrong. As the new season begins, the survivors feel that rescue is close at hand, but they don't know whether or not to believe Charlie's final message that the people claiming to liberate them are not who they seem to be. As unlikely alliances are formed, those they thought could be trusted may turn against them, as the enemy of their enemy becomes their friend. But who can be trusted? Is rescue really as close as it seems?

The survivors begin to question the intentions of their supposed rescuers when four strangers arrive on the island.

Locke's hostage may be the key to getting off the island, so Sayid and Kate go in search of their fellow castaway in an attempt to negotiate a peaceful deal.

Kate needs to get information out of the hostages, but it may jeopardize her standing with Locke -- as well as with Sawyer. Meanwhile in the future Kate's Court hearings take place.

Sayid and Desmond hit a bit of turbulence on the way to the freighter, which causes Desmond to experience some unexpected side effects.

Juliet receives an unwelcome visit from someone from her past and is given orders to track down Charlotte and Faraday in order to stop them from completing their mission -- by any means necessary. Meanwhile, Ben offers Locke an enticing deal.

Juliet is forced to reveal some startling news to Jin when Sun threatens to move to Locke's camp. Meanwhile, Sayid and Desmond begin to get an idea of the freighter's crew when they meet the ship's captain.

Sayid confronts Ben's spy on the freighter, and Ben urges daughter Alex to flee Locke's camp in order to survive an impending attack.

Jack tries to discover the identity of a body that has washed ashore. Meanwhile, Locke's camp is attacked by Ben's adversaries.

Kate and Juliet must learn to work together when Jack's health is seriously compromised, and something goes wrong as Sawyer, Claire, Aaron and Miles continue their trek away from Locke's camp and back to the beach

Locke finds out where Jacob's cabin is. Life on the freighter becomes dangerous.

Sayid goes back to the island to bring the rest of the people to the freighter. Ben, Locke, and Hurley go to another Dharma station in order to "move the island".

The face-off between the survivors and the freighter people continues, and the Oceanic Six find themselves closer to rescue.

The remaining island survivors start to feel the effects of the aftermath of moving the island, and Jack and Ben begin their quest to reunite the Oceanic 6 in order to return to the island with Locke's body in an attempt to save their former fellow castaways.

Hurley and Sayid are on the run from the cops after stumbling into trouble at the safehouse; the island survivors come under attack by unknown forces; and an old friend offers some shocking advice to Kate in order to ensure that "the lie" remain a secret.

Desmond looks for a woman who might be the key to helping Faraday stop the island's unpredictable movements through time; Locke finds out who has been attacking the survivors.

Kate discovers that someone knows the secret of Aaron's true parental lineage. Meanwhile, the dramatic shifts through time are placing the lives of the remaining island survivors in extreme peril.

Locke shoulders the burden of ending the island's increasingly violent movements through time; Ben is stymied in his efforts to reunite the Oceanic 6 and bring them back to the island.

The members of Oceanic 6 discover how to get back to the island, but not all of them want to return.

Locke's mission off the island as Jeremy is revealed.

Sawyer perpetuates a lie with some of the other island survivors in order to protect themselves from mistakes of the past.

After meeting old acquaintances Sawyer is forced to continue lying to protect them.

Everyone on the island is at risk when one of the survivors decides to go against them and taking matters into their own hands.

Kate goes to extreme measures to save Ben's life when Jack refuses to help. Meanwhile, Kate begins to tell the truth about the lie in order to protect Aaron.

To atone for sins of the past, Ben must attempt to summon the smoke monster in order to be judged.

Suspicions about a possible breach intensify after Ben is taken from the infirmary, and a reluctant Miles is forced to work with Hurley when he's asked to deliver an important package to a top Dharma official.

On the 100th episode milestone for the series, the time of reckoning has begun when Daniel Faraday comes clean regarding what he knows about the island.

Jack and Kate find themselves at odds over the direction to take to save their fellow island survivors, Locke further solidifies his stance as leader of "The Others," and Sawyer and Juliet come under scrutiny from the Dharma Initiative.

Jack's decision to put a plan in action in order to set things right on the island is met with some strong resistance by those close to him, and Locke assigns Ben a difficult task.

Jack's decision to put a plan in action in order to set things right on the island is met with some strong resistance by those close to him, and Locke assigns Ben a difficult task.

Two outcomes of the detonation of the hydrogen bomb are presented. Flight 815 lands safely at LAX, where Kate escapes from the marshal and Jack learns that his father's body was lost in transit.

Jack, Sawyer, Kate, Miles and Hurley, struggling to save Sayid, face an ancient secret. Meanwhile, a fake Locke exits the chamber to everyone's awe.

When Sawyer escapes from the temple, Kate and Jin are sent to bring him back. Meanwhile, the Others determine Sayid is infected and attempt to poison him. In the flash sideways, Kate, still on the run, takes Claire to a hospital when she goes into labor.

On the island, the Man in Black attempts to recruit Sawyer in his attempt to leave the island, while an impromptu funeral is held for the real Locke. In the flash sideways, Locke is fired from his job and becomes a substitute teacher.

On Jacob's orders, Hurley leads Jack to a lighthouse. Meanwhile, Claire questions an Other she has captured while tending to an injured Jin. In the flash sideways, Jack is a single father trying to bond with his son.

After recruiting Sayid to his cause, the Man in Black issues an ultimatum to the Others: either join him or die. Meanwhile, Kate is reunited with Claire. In the flash sideways, Sayid helps his brother, who is in debt to a loan shark.

Ilana discovers Ben killed Jacob, so she plans to kill him. Meanwhile, Jack, Hurley and a suicidal Richard visit the Black Rock. In the flash sideways, Ben, a high school teacher, tries to blackmail the school's principal.

The Man in Black sends Sawyer on a reconnaissance mission to Hydra Island, where he discovers that Charles Widmore has returned to the island with a team of scientists. In the flash sideways, Sawyer is a lonely cop who is still searching for the original Sawyer.

Richard Alpert's back story is shown: In 1867, he is brought to the island on the Black Rock as a slave. He makes a deal with Jacob to be his representative in exchange for immortality. In the present day, Hurley convinces him to help the candidates replace Jacob and stop the Man in Black from leaving the Island.

After Jin is kidnapped and taken to Hydra Island by Widmore's team, the Man in Black confronts Widmore. On the main island, Sun loses her ability to speak English. In the flash sideways, Sun and Jin are abducted after failing to complete a transaction for Sun's father.

On the island, Widmore subjects Desmond to a large amount of electromagnetic energy as an experiment. In the flash sideways, Desmond, with the aid of Charlie, starts to have visions of his life in the original timeline.

In order to prevent more loss of life, Hurley leads the other survivors to speak with the Man in Black. In the flash sideways, Hurley meets Libby, while Desmond continues his mission to let the Oceanic 815 passengers know of their lives on the island.

The survivors split into two groups; one led by Sawyer, the other by the Man in Black. Sawyer's group travels to Hydra Island, where they are captured by Widmore's crew after Sun and Jin are reunited. In the flash sideways, the passengers of Oceanic 815 continue to cross paths with each other.

After the remaining survivors are reunited, Sawyer and Jack hatch a plan to divert the Man in Black's attention and leave the island without him on Widmore's submarine, but disastrous consequences await them. In the flash sideways, Jack investigates the cause of Locke's paralysis and offers treatment.

Jacob and the Man in Black are revealed to be twin brothers. They are raised by a mysterious woman who is charged with protecting the island. As revenge for the murder of their adoptive mother (who killed their real mother), Jacob throws his brother into the source of electromagnetism after being made the island's guardian, which transforms the Man in Black into the smoke monster.

Ben finally takes his revenge on Widmore after accepting the Man in Black's request for assistance. Jacob explains the purpose of the candidates, and Jack volunteers to take his place. The search for Desmond reveals that he has been rescued and the Man in Black plans to use him to destroy the island. In the flash sideways, each person ends up on their way to a concert.

For different reasons, Jack and the Man in Black both use Desmond to extinguish the light at the heart of the island. The island starts disintegrating, but The Man in Black is also made mortal. Still desperate to escape, The Man in Black fights Jack and mortally wounds him, but with help from Kate, Jack kills him. Realizing his destiny, Jack sacrifices himself to relight the heart of the island, so his friends can escape on the Ajira plane. Hurley takes Jack's place as protector of the island and makes Ben the new advisor. The flash sideways is revealed to be a type of limbo, or holding pattern, for the main characters, where they reside until accepting their life and death, and are then able to "let go" and "move on" together.