The season 3 finale finds the castaways preparing for an invasion by the slightly less mysterious Others, while Charlie and Desmond find more than they were looking for in the underwater "Looking Glass Hatch".

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

After discovering something odd just offshore, Jack and Sayid come up with a plan to confront "The Others" and hopefully get Walt back. Meanwhile, Eko and Locke come to blows as Locke makes a potentially cataclysmic decision regarding the "button" and the hatch.

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.

While Jack devises a plan to do away with "The Others" once and for all, Sayid uncovers a flaw in "The Others'" system that could lead to everyone's rescue. But it requires Charlie to take on a dangerous task that may make Desmond's premonition come true. A Charlie-centric episode.

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

Ben unwillingly divulges information to Locke about the island, taking him on a journey to various locations including strange monuments and the mysterious Jacob. Back at the beach, Juliet's secret is revealed. Flashbacks will show us the origins of DHARMA and the history of the island, including 'the purge.'

After Desmond rescues Claire from drowning, Charlie gets Hurley to help him find out why Desmond has seemed able to predict the future. Desmond recalls exactly what took place in the moments after he turns the key, where he experienced a strange vision of his life prior to his Army days.

The castaways on the raft are surprised at sea by something unexpected. Meanwhile, remaining islanders attempt to blow open the hatch, and a visitor to the encampment might be a threat to Claire's infant son.

Locke thinks he's being sent a sign on how to get the hatch open, and he and Boone venture inland. Jack is reluctant to offer assistance when Sawyer begins to experience excruciating headaches and needs glasses.

The season 3 finale finds the castaways preparing for an invasion by the slightly less mysterious Others, while Charlie and Desmond find more than they were looking for in the underwater "Looking Glass Hatch".

When the hatch suddenly takes on a life of its own, Locke is forced to enlist the help of an unlikely ally to control the matter. Meanwhile, Ana Lucia, Sayid and Charlie go off into the jungle to find out the truth about Henry Gale and see if there really is balloon craft out there in the jungle that carried him and his wife to the island.

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.

The French woman-Danielle Rousseau-shocks the survivors by showing up to the camp with a dire warning about "the Others" who are on the island, and the black smoke that precedes them. Meanwhile, Michael and Jin ready the raft for sailing. In flashbacks, we see the survivors final moments before they boarded their fateful flight.

Jack tends to a severely wounded Boone after Locke returns him to the caves. In the confusion, Locke slips away to deal with his guilt over the crisis. Meanwhile, Claire unexpectedly goes into labor while deep in the forest.

When Kate and Locke arrive at the Others' camp, Ben promises to tell Locke the island's secrets as long as he stops his destructive plan, and Kate's reunion with Jack doesn't go very well when she learns that the Others have offered him a deal. More of Locke's troubled past is revealed.

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 finding an exhausted Michael in the forest, Jack and Kate bring him back to the main camp. When he finally wakes up, Michael has some new details about "The Others." Also, a lovestruck Hurley plans a date for Libby.

After abandoning the Others, Locke takes Sawyer on a trek through the jungle to help him eliminate a common enemy. Meanwhile, back at the beach, the parachutist Naomi has crucial information about flight 815.

Jack, Locke and Kate explore the mysterious hatch but Jack decides to wait before going down into the hatch. Kate and Locke aren't so patient. When Shannon chases after Vincent the dog, she encounters a familiar face in the jungle.

After discovering something odd just offshore, Jack and Sayid come up with a plan to confront "The Others" and hopefully get Walt back. At the same time there will be an answer to the question of where Michael has been and resolution of him and Walt. Meanwhile, Eko and Locke come to blows as Locke makes a potentially cataclysmic decision regarding the "button" and the hatch. Lastly, Desmond returns and he sheds some more light on his experience on the island in the three years prior to when Locke came down into that hatch.

When Hurley becomes obsessed with the French woman and heads into the jungle to find her, Jack, Sayid and Charlie have no choice but to follow. Hurley flashes back to the hugely life-altering experience he had before boarding the plane.

Having escaped the "creature" and retrieved the plane transceiver, a group of the survivors travel to higher ground so they can transmit a signal. En route, they receive a mysterious transmission and encounter another of the island's inhabitants. Meanwhile, back at camp, Jack tends to a wounded man who reveals a secret about Kate.

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

Stripped of everything, the 48 survivors scavenge what they can from the plane for their survival. Some panic. Some pin their hopes on rescue. A few find inner strength they never knew they had-like Kate who, with no medical training, suddenly finds herself suturing the doctor's wounds. The band of friends, family, enemies and strangers must work together against the cruel weather and harsh terrain. But the intense howls of mysterious creatures stalking the jungle fill them all with fear. Fortunately, thanks to the calm leadership of quick-thinking Jack and level-headed Kate, they have hope. But even heroes have secrets, as the survivors will come to learn.

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.

The celebration of Jack's return is cut short when he arrives at the beach with an Other, Juliet, whose flashbacks pick up from where they left off, showing us how she got onto the island and became an other. Meanwhile, Claire is threatened by a strange illness.

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.

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 survivors are jolted awake in the middle of the night when wild island beasts (which are wild boars) invade the beach encampment. Kate and Michael join the mysterious Locke on a hunt for food -- and a shocking secret about Locke is revealed. On the hunt for food someone is injured. Meanwhile, some survivors are horrified by Jack's plan for the dead bodies still scattered among the wreckage -- he wants to burn them. Jack sees someone that's not there, and we find out that one of the survivors was not able to walk but now he can.

Survivors wonder why Charlie and Claire have been abducted - and by whom - and a search party ventures into the treacherous jungle to look for the pair. Suspicions focus on Ethan Rom (guest-star William Mapother), who, it was recently discovered, was not a passenger on the doomed flight. Jack battles inner demons relating to his father, while Boone and Locke discover another island mystery.

Mr. Eko has dreams about his brother leading him somewhere. He seeks Locke's help in finding a secret location, the "question mark." Meanwhile, Jack and the other survivors grapple with the horrific situation in the hatch with the death of Ana-Lucia and Libby clinging to life.

Violence erupts when Ana Lucia and her group stumble upon Sayid and the other castaways on the island. Ana Lucia holds Sayid captive. Kate and Jack care for Sawyer when Mr. Eko brings him back to the camp himself. Flashbacks reveal Ana Lucia's troubled life as a cop.

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

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 Charlie's vividly surreal dreams lead him to believe Claire's baby, Aaron, is in danger, Locke suspects Charlie may be using again. Meanwhile, Sawyer encourages Hurley to act on his attraction to Libby.

As Kate and Sawyer journey back to the main island with Karl, who is exhibiting effects of the brainwashing video, they argue over whether to go back and save Jack. On Hydra island, as Juliet's fate rests in his hands and a power struggle within the Others ensues, Jack recollects the time he spent in Phuket, Thailand and his relationship with Achara, a mysterious tattoo artist.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Jack, Kate and Sawyer fight over possession of a newly discovered locked metal briefcase which might contain insights into Kate's mysterious past. Meanwhile, Sayid asks a reluctant Shannon to translate notes he took from the French woman. A rising tide threatens to engulf the fuselage and the entire beach encampment, and Rose and a grieving Charlie tentatively bond over Claire's baffling kidnapping.

Michael sets off into the jungle by himself determined to find Walt, but discovers that he is not alone. Meanwhile, Sawyer and Jin are ordered by their captors to take them to their camp, and Sun frantically searches for her missing wedding ring. In flashbacks this episode reveals more of Jin's life before ending up on the island.

Locke, Eko and Desmond are found scattered about the island after the implosion of the hatch. Locke receives a message from the Island asking him to fix the situation he caused. Hurley returns to the beach camp to report the imprisonment of Kate, Jack and Sawyer by the Others. Desmond has been fundamentally altered by the implosion, giving him a mysterious new power.

Rose is surprisingly and vehemently opposed to Bernard's plan to create an S.O.S. signal; romantic sparks are rekindled between Jack and Kate when they trek into the jungle to propose a "trade" with "The Others"; and Locke begins to question his faith in the island.

Jack suspects foul play when Michael becomes violently ill while building the raft. The suspects include Sawyer and Kate, who compete for the last seat on the raft and do anything possible to prevent each other from getting it. Meanwhile, a secret from Kate's past is revealed to the other survivors on the island.

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.

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.

As the truth about Sun's kidnapping by "the Others" comes to her attention, Hurley becomes suspicious of Sawyer's attempt to reveal the mystery behind two fellow survivors, Nikki and Paulo. Through series of flashbacks we will discover what Nikki and Paulo were doing before the crash and how they survived 65 days on the island.

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.

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.

When Locke learns that Boone wants to share their "secret" with Shannon, Locke decides to teach him a lesson. This leads to Shannon's life being placed in what seems like peril. Boone and Shannon's dark past is revealed in a shocking backstory that recalls their relationship right before the plane crash and presages the return of the beast. Kate, who has become a confidante to the soft-spoken Sun, is puzzled by Sun's mysterious behavior and the revelation that she can speak English. A hungry Hurley must convince Jin to share his fish by making up for offending Jin by rejecting his offer of raw fish early on, or he'll continue to suffer digestive problems from the limited island diet.

A delirious Eko wrestles with past demons; some of the castaways go to the Pearl station to find a computer they can use to locate Jack, Kate and Sawyer; Jack does not know who to trust when two of the Others are at odds with each other.

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.

Walt and the others are shocked when Michael is brutally beaten, but only the non-English-speaking Jin and Sun know the truth behind the attack. Meanwhile Kate, Jack, Sawyer and Sayid argue about where the survivors should camp -- on the beach, where they're more likely to be seen, or in a remote inland valley where fresh water abounds; and Locke discovers Charlie's secret.

Sun and Jin's lives are put in danger when Sayid tries to locate Jack and the other missing castaways. Sayid also creates a plan in order to get the attention of the "Others" on the beach. Meanwhile, Henry (i.e. Ben) gives Jack an offer that is very tempting in exchange for his cooperation. Lastly, Kate and Sawyer must adjust to harsh conditions that are being forced upon them by "The Others."

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.

Violence ensues and a mysterious island beast makes a re-appearance when Michael and Locke clash over Walt's upbringing. Meanwhile, Charlie is tempted to read the missing Claire's diary, and Sayid enlists Shannon to help decipher the French woman's map.

Desmond convinces Hurley, Jin, and Charlie to follow him on a trek through the jungle after he receives a series of visions. Flashbacks reveal the time that Desmond spent with a cloister of monks. Meanwhile, a despondent Kate turns to Sawyer for companionship after seeing Jack and Juliet together.

Sun comes to the realization that she might be pregnant. She struggles on whether to tell Jin about the situation. Meanwhile, with no success from Jack or Sayid, Ana-Lucia is called in by Locke to interrogate the new prisoner Henry Gale to get more information out of him about the balloon that he and his wife supposedly landed on the island with.

Jack is nearly delirious from lack of sleep and struggles to overcome the haunting events that brought him to Australia and, subsequently, to the island. Meanwhile, Boone gets caught in a treacherous riptide trying to save a woman who went out swimming. A pregnant Claire's health takes a bad turn from lack of fluids, and a thief may have stolen the last bottles of water. Veronica Hamel guest-stars as Jack's mother, Margo. Also, Jack flashes back at 12 years old, to find himself on the playground in an altercation with a bully, who ultimately beats him up, and later learns a life lesson from his father.

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.

After the missing Claire returns with no recollection of what has happened since before she boarded the doomed Oceanic flight 815, Jack and Locke formulate a plan of defense against her kidnapper, the mysterious Ethan (guest-star William Mapother), who threatens to kill off the other survivors one by one unless Claire is returned to him. Meanwhile, the disappointment Charlie feels when Claire does not remember him triggers recollections of a woman he had let down in the past.

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.

Libby lends a helping hand to Hurley to support him when he begins to think the island is having a strange effect on him. Hurley begins to see Dave (guest-star Evan Handler, Sex and the City) on the island, who was his friend in the mental institution Hurley was in. Also, Locke's sense of purpose is shaken when the prisoner gives him new information about the hatch.

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.

Kate and Juliet are stranded in the jungle after Kate learns that there is a traitor in the survivor's midst. Meanwhile, Sawyer's poor attitude and selfish ways towards the beach community may earn him a vote of banishment if he doesn't have a change of heart.

Claire has an idea to send a message to the outside world. Charlie, however, is resistant to the idea, and Desmond tries to sabotage the plan. As Claire tries to get the truth behind their actions out of the pair, she remembers traumatic events from her past. Meanwhile, the rescue party encounters a dangerous obstacle.