Ep 510 - Career Torturers Never Want to Hear "He's Our You."

Dedication
I'd like to dedicate this week's post to one of my longtime readers, Pat Whaley. Pat, thanks so much for making LLL a part of your life, both before and after your retirement. I'd keep writing even if nobody was reading, but it's always great to hear that someone enjoys my musings. If you have some extra time on your hands, I'd love to hear your comments about the blog, the show, or just what's going on as you start the next big phase of your life. Namaste, Pat!


Foreword
"He's Our You" answered more questions than it asked, though the one it asked at the end was a doozy!


Also, a bit of a correction/ retraction from last week - the producers issued a mea culpa with respect to Charlotte's age getting bolluxed up. They have admitted that they wrote the "1979" birthday based on Rebecca Mader's actual age, and Ms. Mader never saw a script with any other date. In any case, it was a mistake. We must sally forth!

You'll further notice that I skipped the visual aids this week. I was just short of time this weekend, and wanted to get this posted. I'm sure you'll all forgive my transgression :)

Finally, moreso than any other episode thus far, "He's Our You" exemplified the theme that was set up in the very first scene of the season, in which Dr. Pierre Chang scoffed at the notion that one could go back in time and kill Hitler to change history...


The Tease
Sayid's story revealed! Amy gets bloodthirsty!! Sawyer tries to have his DHARMA cake and eat it too!!! All of this, plus a shocking ending, in episode 510, "He's Our You."

Flashbacks
In one of the most "traditional" episodes of the season, this week prominently featured Sayid Jarrah, complete with a series of flashbacks that helped fill in the blanks on his story.

Tikrit, Iraq
Sayid earns his father's respect by luring a chicken using some feed and snapping its neck, even as his older brothe stood in paralyzed horror when he had been ordered to do in Mr. Cluck. In this brief scene, we see how Sayid, to please a hard father, first showed signs of the coolly detached violence he would be able to employ as an adult.

Aside Number 1 - Credit, as always, Jeff Jensen for this observation, but this scene was the first in several parallels this episode between Sayid and the late Mr. Eko. Much like Eko, who murdered a man to save his younger brother from having to do it, Sayid here killed a chicken to help his brother escape their father's wrath. In other words, a violent adulthood was at least rooted in a somewhat noble impulse - to save a brother.

Before we leave this scene...is it just me, or could the Jarrah family have made a lot of money by having Dad serve as one of Saddam Hussein's lookalike decoys? I'm just saying...

Moscow, Russia
Slickly long-haired Sayid chases down a Russian named Andropov, who offers him a wad of cash, only to have Sayid shoot him, anyway. When Sayid leaves into the cold, Russian night, he finds Ben waiting for him. Ben tells him they’re done, because Andropov was the last one – the last of Widmore's men who posed a threat to the Oceanic Six. "What do I do now?" Sayid asks, like a long-term prisoner who, upon release, realizes he's not suited to the outside world. "I suppose you should go live your life," shrugs Ben. "You’re free, Sayid."


Aside Number 2 - We now know how it was that Sayid stopped acting as Ben's hired gun. Quite simply, his project completed, the position was eliminated. We also observed the crucial difference between Ben and Sayid. For Ben, the on-again/ off-again relationship with cruel violence is like turning a light switch on and off. For Sayid, however, he needs to be debased into violence, then finds he needs to claw his way back out of it. For that matter, suddenly discovering that he's "finished" his killing spree, without any sense of revenge or justice for his wife's death, must have left Sayid feeling even more empty than when Nadya died in the first place.

Santa Domingo, Domincan Republic
We return to yellow-shirted Sayid in his Habitat for Humanity-esque mode of shanty building. He turns around one day and finds Ben standing there. "How did you find me," Sayid asks, as though the thought of his assasin life and his charity work life crashing into each other was heretofore unfathomable. "I looked," responds Ben, and with Ben, you just kind of accept that it is as simple as that. Ben tells Sayid Locke is dead – murdered as retribution for their work. "If I can find you," warns Ben, so can the people who found Locke." Ben tells him about the man in the car outside Hurley’s hospital. Ben assumes Sayid would want to kill this man because of his capabilities, his nature. What Sayid is, insists Ben, is a killer. "I’m not what you think I am," insists Sayid. "I don’t like killing." Ben responds, "well then I apologize. I was mistaken about you," which is Ben-ese for "yeah, right."


Aside Number 3 - we now know how house-building Sayid ended up back on the killing spree and rescuing Hugo. I gotta say, Ben is a master manipulator. Of course, his ability to, not to mention apparent glee over, pushing Sayid's buttons is explained partially at the end of the episode. As for Sayid...the poor guy really does want to believe his better nature is who he is. But then there's Ben Linus, who, like his father, seems capable of motivating Sayid to be the worst he can be, with but a few words, or a look. If it's that easy, then perhaps Ben is right, and this is who Sayid really is?

A further parallel between Sayid and Eko is seen here. Both men had tried to redeem themselves from their violent pasts by embracing identities that let them minister to those less fortunate - Eko actually became the priest he had pretended to be, and Sayid actually became a man dedicated to building housing for the poor. Yet both men also found themselves compelled on multiple occasions to return to violence by virtue of their involvement in flight 815...

Long Beach, California
Back at Slip 23, Sayid leaves the confrontation between Sun and Ben, and goes to a bar. He’s drinking McCutcheon, the over-priced scotch of choice for Charles Widmore and James "Sawyer" Ford. Next to him is Ilana, who orders the rib eye, bloody. He asks if she’s a professional (meaning "the oldest profession). Warning sign - she's not offended; she says she just thought he looked sad. She slides over. The small talk is pretty awesome - Sayid says he's between jobs, and he did "the only thing I was ever good at." "Why quit," she asks. "I’m trying to change," he responds (as Yoda would say, "no, try not! Do, or do not. There is no 'try'.") She knows why he’s sad – "when you’re that good at something, there will always be people who will tempt you to stay the same." It's a foregone conclusion where this is headed - to a steamy rendezvous in a hotel room. As he unzips her boot, she kicks him several times, then holds him at gunpoint. She's a bounty hunter, hired by the family of the man he killed on that golf course in the Seychelles to bring him to Guam.


Aside Number 4 - another question answered, i.e., what was Sayid doing in handcuffs at the airport? I'm not entirely sure how a bounty hunter gets a badge that she can flash to airport security that they'd be cool with (unless, of course, it's a fake, which, honestly, is a pretty brazen thing to do).

The question remains - was Ilana really hired by the family of that guy Sayid shot last season, or did Ben have something to do with it? I think Ilana can be trusted on this point. After all, per Ben, Sayid's victims were part of Widmore's "organization." And Widmore, like Ben, seemed to believe it was necessary for the Oceanic Six to return to the island. Surely he did not rise to his position of prominence by trusting ineffectual doofuses like John Locke to accomplish everything for him? No, Widmore would have had a backup plan. Ilana, I think, was plan B. The question is whether she knows it or not.

At the airport, Sayid sees the other Sixers, and asks if Ilana’s sure they’re going to Guam. Nervously, he asks if they can get the next plane, and says he’s superstitious about flying. No dice - Ilana's instructions were very specific (see my prior aside - Widmore clearly had access to the same data as Eloise Hawking, which said Ajira 316 would go through the island's zone of influence). Once on board, he sees Ben. He asks if Ilana is working for Benjamin Linus. "Who’s Benjamin Linus," she asks (and her ignorance seems believable enough that I believe she does not have more intel on why she's been asked to take Sayid on this flight). Sayid calls Ben lots of names, including "a monster responsible for genocide." "Why would I work for someone like that," asks Ilana. Sayid frowns, "I did."


Aside Number 5 - and there we have it - "genocide." Mass murder, sure, but Sayid's choice of words is the hook to bring us back to the big question - if you could go back in time, could you, and should you, kill Hitler to change history? For me, this was when the episode's ending became apparent (though I'd figured something similar would happen since last week's coming attractions).

Which brings us to the end of the flashbacks, and, I think, to the end of Sayid Jarrah's backstory. We've seen his childhood, how he the CIA turned him into a Jack Bauer type figure, how he embraced that role in the Republican Guard until it put him at odds with his love for Nadya, how he helped her escape, only to be prompted by the CIA to run an undercover op on a would-be terrorist in Australia, how he tried to fly from Sydney to Los Angeles to find Nadya. We saw how he eventually did find her after his rescue as an Oceanic Sixer, how she was killed 9 months later, how Ben used his grief from her death to turn Sayid into an assasin, how Sayid was then turned loose to live his life, and how he willingly returned to violence to help a friend, only to be dragged onto Ajira 316. Yup, I'd say we know Sayid's story cold at this point.

DHARMAville, 1977
Young Ben brings Sayid a chicken salad sandwich, and gives him a copy of A Separate Reality, which Ben says he's read twice.


Aside Number 6 - I can't pretend to have read the book, so I won't discuss what it may or may not be about. But the title, alone, calls to mind the recurring question - what happens if you try to change the past?

Ben asks Sayid if Richard sent him. Sayid notes the camera, but Ben points out there's no microphone. Ben tells Sayid about his running away 4 years ago. Ben says he’s been patient since then. "If you’re patient, too, I think I can help you."


Aside Number 7 - this was big for those keeping score on the timeline - we now know the events of "The Man Behind the Curtain" took place about one year before the events of "LaFleur," or in 1973. Which was the year I was born. Which is cool, but only if you're me.

Minkowski and Horace come for Sayid. Horace cuts off Sayid's plastic cuffs. Radzinsky wants Horace to ask Sayid what he knows about the Swan model, but Horace shuts him up. Horace asks about the cuffs, and surmises either Sayid had a problem with his people, or he's a spy, trying to infiltrate DHARMA. Sayid stays quiet. Horace gives him an hour. If he doesn’t talk, this will be taken to the next level.


Aside Number 8 - Having spent a couple of episodes with Minkowski, I gotta say, I wouldn't be surprised if Kelvin actually blasted his head off, rather than it being a suicide. The guy's a real tool, and super annoying.

Sawyer takes bacon off the stove. Juliet forgot she'd put there. She looks distracted. He sees she’s watching Kate. Juliet asks if they’re over, through playing house. She is scared since they’re back – what if Sayid talks, and tells DHARMA who he is? Sayid won’t talk, Sawyer reassures her. Horace shows up, saying Sayid’s a problem, and he needs to have Oldham “do his thing on him.” Jim asks to have a go at him before that “psychopath.” Jim dismisses Phil, then goes in to see Sayid.

Alone with Sayid, Sawyer asks how he's doing. In one of Sayid's best lines in the series, in responds, "a 12-year-old Ben linus brought me a chicken salad sandwich. How do you think I feel?" Abruptly, Sawyer head butts Sayid. He says he needs to fake the signs of an interrogation. Jim gives him a choice – cooperate, or he’s on his own. “Then I guess I’m on my own," retorts Sayid.


Aside Number 9. At this point, my wife gave me a WTF look, and asked why Sayid isn't cooperating. I'd already suspected what he was up to, but, regardless, after 4 and a half seasons, I've learned, sometimes you have to trust Lost to reveal characters' motivations later that at first seem confusing.

Hurley brings breakfast to Jack and Kate, and urges them to try the dipping sauces. He asks what’s happening with Sayid. Jack tells them what Sawyer told him. Kate suggests she talk to Juliet. Hurley sees the problem – they’re together, like you were together? Jack sends Hurley off, and he goes to make waffles. Kate asks if Jack knew. He says yeah.


Aside Number 10 - Jack really contributed nothing to this episode. As for Kate, her moments were rare, but they were well-played.

Roger Linus comes in to clean around Sayid. He says he can’t figure out how Sayid got caught. "How dumb are you?" he asks. Snidely, Sayid responds, "and yet you’re the one who mops up after me." Roger sees Ben, who pretends he was bringing a swandwich to his loving pop. Roger, sensing a lie, smacks Ben against the bars, and gets a confession that the sandwich was for Sayid. He sends Ben off. Sayid sees this, and takes note.


Aside Number 11 - At this point, my prediction for the ending wavered a bit. Clearly, we were meant to see a connection between young Sayid and young Ben, both bullied into antisocial behavior by hard fathers. Could Sayid's plan have been to be Ben's much-needed father figure?

Sawyer returns with an armed escort, and gives Sayid one more chance. Sayid says nothing, so Sawyer zaps him with a stun gun. Sawyer, Horace, Phil and Radzinsky then take Sayid into the jungle, to a teepee where music is playing. This is Oldham’s place. Sayid asks Sawyer who Oldham is. “He’s our you,” responds Sawyer, ominiously (and hence, the title of the episode). Oldham drops a chemical on a sugar cube. "Better put him in the restraints," he cautions the DHARMA-ites. Radzinsky and Phil cuff Sayid, crucifix style, to a tree, and you can practically hear the banjo music playing. Oldham assures Sayid the restraints are for his protection – there are side effects. The cube is put in his mouth. Oldham assures him he’ll tell the truth, which worries Sawyer.


Aside Number 12 - DHARMA may have had more of a dark side than its utopian ideals suggested, but if Oldham's twitch-inducing truth serum is the closest they come to Sayid's tactics, they're a bunch of pussy cats. No wonder the purge was so effective!

The chemicals take effect. Sayid confesses his name. He was in handcuffs, he says, because he’s a bad man. In a stream of consciousness reminiscent of Hurley's confession earlier this season to his mother, Sayid spills the beans. He’s not a hostile. He came on a plane – Ajira flight 316, "and that’s how I returned to the island." He recalls his whole history. He says for confirmation, they can ask Sawyer. Who’s Sawyer, the DHARMA folk wonder? Radzinsky, never one to leave an idea alone, demands to hear what Sayid knows about the DHARMA stations. Sayid tells them about the Flame and the Pearl, then mentions what the Swan will be for, until there will be an "incident," at which point. Radzkinsky freaks out that the Hostiles know about the Swan. Sayid tells them they are all going to die. He says the Hostiles are going to kill them. He knows this, he says, because he’s from the future. "Maybe I should have used half the dropper," wonders Oldham. Sayid, laughing like the Joker, gives his second best line of the series – "you used exactly enough."


Aside Number 13 - At first blush, I was confused as to why the first assumption was that time travel meant Sayid had resisted the truth serum. After all, we know the Orchid station had already been built, since Faraday was there during construction. But then I recalled, only a few people know what the Orchid was for. Recall that in the orientation film, Chang/ Hallowax apologizes to Orchid stationees for previously lying to them, their colleagues and their loved ones by saying the Orchid was a botanical research station. The time travel aspect was need to know, only. And, apparently, Horace (DHARMA's purported leader), and Radzinsky (who was designing other DHARMA stations) did not need to know.

Juliet gives Kate a motor pool tour. Kate admits Hurley told her about Sawyer. Juliet, relieved, says, "I wasn’t quite sure how to do it without it sounding like I was telling you to stay away." They see Sayid get brought back. Jim gives a worried look to Juliet.

A meeting is called. Horace asks what to do with Sayid. Not missing a beat, Radzkinsky says to kill him. Horace says he needs more time. Radzinsky reiterates, "either we make a decision, or I call Ann Arbor, and they make the decision for us."


Aside Number 14 - Whoa, really? The DeGroots and the other hippie/ utiopian scientists at the University of Michigan are that bloodthirsty? I had figured it's one thing for the in-the-field DHARMAites to arm themselves and act all "law of the jungle," but the notion that the so-called idealists at Ann Arbor would accede to executing a prisoner calls to question just what DHARMA was really about.


Amy pleads, for the safety of the children, they need to kill Sayid. How will they feel safe with him around? Horace, his wife having spoken, sighs, then agrees to a vote. The group votes in favor of Radzinsky’s solution – all except LaFleur. Horace wants to say it’s unanimous. Jim puts up his hand, too, and looks down.

Sawyer goes into Sayid’s cell. He tells Sayid to hit him and overpower him to escape. Sayid refuses. "When I woke up in the jungle, and realized I was back," said Sayid, "I felt there was a purpose. Now I know exactly why I’m here." Sawyer tells him he’s out of his mind, but leaves him there. Sawyer goes home, then deviates to Kate’s house.


Aside Number 15 - Jeff Jensen seems to fault Sawyer for his compromised morality, saying the real hero would have stood up to the rest of DHARMA. But I see nothing wrong with Sawyer's efforts to both save Sayid, and give the impression that he still belonged in the leadership group. It's one to sacrifice a comfortable way of life because the only other option is to allow a terrible thing to happen. It's another when, like Sawyer, you can think of alternatives that both avoid the evil you know is wrong and preserve your hard-won happiness. Does anyone disagree?


Sawyer asks Kate why they came back. She says she doesn’t know about the others, but she knows why she did. Suddenly, a flaming DHARMA bus drives through the barracks area, and into a house. A fire brigade is assembled, and Jack comes to help. Sawyer calls everyone to building 15. Phil leaves the detention center door open and goes to help. Ben slips in, in a hood. His glasses are broken, for having brought the sandwich. Ben Sayid he really hates it there. "If I let you out, will you take me with you, to your people?" Sayid says yes, he will, and "that’s why I’m here."


Aside Number 16 - again, the implication here is that Sayid truly wants to help young Ben and guide him in a different direction. Of course, given that Ben just set in motion a particularly reckless bit of arson to spring Sayid, perhaps little Linus is already too far gone...

Ben leads Sayid out. They run through the jungle. A DHARMA bus drives by, then stops. Sayid gets Ben to wait. Out steps Jin. He asks Sayid how he got out. He says Sawyer let him go. An alert goes out, but Sayid says the others don’t know Saywe released him. As Jin is about to radio Sawyer for confirmation, Sayid knocks him out, and takes Jin’s gun. He says, almost under his breath, "you were right about me, I am a killer." Then he shoots young Ben square in the chest, and cries, even as Ben falls face down on the ground.


Afterword
Which brings us back to the big theme - if you were able to travel back and time, could you kill Hitler, and should you? Arson notwithstanding, Ben the child had done nothing deserving of an assasination. Clearly, to Sayid, there was absolutely no question as to the morally proper thing to do - Ben, he knew, would grow to unleash so much evil on the world, the math was just plain simple. Kill this one child, and save dozens if not more lives later. And yet, is this actually the right thing to do?


For that matter, is it even effective to try? Consider Faraday's time-travel theory, which is also the title of next week's episode - "Whatever Happened, Happened." Sure, Ben looked pretty dead, but we've seen the island heal and even resurrect lost causes before. (And, to echo a discussion I had with my friend Aviva this week, what kind of professional killer doesn't go for head shots, or confirm his victim is dead)? Anyone care to lay down odds that Ben, indeed survives? For that matter, could this very moment, where Sayid tried to kill Ben to keep him from becoming a monster, actually be the event that pushes Ben over the edge? Consider, he trusted Sayid to be his savior, one of the "hostiles" he so desperately wanted to join. He secured Sayid's freedom, only to get shot and left for dead. Yeah, that's the kind of thing that can really warp an already emotionally-scarred victim of parental abuse.

And consider this - could it be the whole reason Ben so seemed to relish turning Sayid into his violent stooge in the "future" is because he remembers what happened in his childhood, because, again, "whatever happened, happened?" In a sense, in trying to change the course of history, I think we'll discover that Sayid actually caused it to transpire.

Another thought about the consequences of Sayid's actions. As far as DHARMA is concerned, Sayid is a "hostile." Could the arson that led to his escape, coupled with is trying to kill a DHARMA kid, be what ends the truce, and leads to the very same truce that Sayid accused Ben of bringing about?

One final thought (and this is about a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10 of spoilers, so you can stop reading now if you're worried)....


...still here?....




....okay, so the buzz has been that there will be a major death before the end of the season on Lost. Right now, I have to think it will be Sayid. As I mentioned above, his story seems to have been told. He was both redeemed, and then subsequently pulled back to darkness. His story arc seems very, very reminiscent of Eko's - childhood marked by violence, which continued into adulthood, until circumstances caused him to renounce his ways, followed by momentarily being at peace, only to fully embrace the darker aspects of his life when put to a test. Refusing to apologize for his nature got Eko killed by Smoky. Will Sayid suffer the same fate, now that he, tearfully, acknowledged that deep down, he is a killer? Or will that tear be enough of a sign of remorse to, in the end, save him? Right now, knowing that someone will die this season, my money would have to be on Sayid.

So, until next week, on "Whatever Happened, Happened," Namaste.

Episode 509 - DHARMA says "Namaste" to Jack and company

Foreword

A couple of weeks ago, after "Lafleur," I pointed out the apparent discrepancy between Ben's claim last season that Charlotte was born in 1979, and Daniel's belief this season that he saw young Charlotte running around the DHARMA barracks in 1974. On this week's podcast, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse confirmed, this was a mistake. The original script of last season's episode called for Ben to say Charlotte was born in 1970. On the set, Rebecca Mader protested that she's not that old, so the line was changed to 1979. The producers, busily writing the rest of Season 4 in Burbank, were not there to explain the importance of the date, and they just plain missed the change while doing the final edit. Oh, well!

The Tease
Frank's super landing depicted! The whereabouts of Sayid and Sun revealed!! Radzinsky finally seen!!! All this, plus Sawyer's minor revenge on Jack, in "Namaste."

Ajira 316
Much as Lost first did with Oceanic 815, we were given the knowledge that Ajira 316 went down, without seeing it happen. Until now.

Just after Frank had his disturbing chat with Jack, he returned to the cockpit, where his copilot says he recognizes Hurley as one of the Oceanic Six. "Maybe he doesn’t believe lightning will strike twice in the same place.". (Heh heh). Frank takes controls ust as plane is engulfed in light. The plane stalls, then emerges into daylight (it had been nighttime just seconds before). Frank’s copilot spots a crude runway.

Frank skillfully sets the plane down, though the bushes at the end of the runway smash through the cockpit windshield, impaling the copilot. Frank goes back to the cabin. Ceasar awakens Ilana, who, semi-conscious, blurts out a name (my wife and I couldn't make it out. Ew.com's Jeff Jensen was semi-sure she said "Sarah"). Frank sees that the people he knows are gone…except Sun. Ben, awake and uninjured, tells Frank the others are gone. Frank asks where. “How would I know?”

Aside number 1 - one of the mysteries over the past couple of weeks was what happened to Sun when the plane went down. Unlike Jack, Hurley, and Kate, we now know she was not whisked back in time. Is the island mad that she didn't bring Ji Yeon?

Also, another explanation from this week's podcast was that the runway was, indeed, the same project the Others had forced Sawyer and Kate to work on back in Season 3. We're meant to have understood (though, without the podcast, I can't guess how) that Jacob, perhaps knowing that a runway would be needed in the future, told the Others to build one, which they dutifully did. Now that's planning.

On the beach, Sun plays with Jin’s ring. Ilana asks if she lost someone. She says she was traveling alone. Frank gathers the survivors. The radio is dead, but there will be a search party (I've heard that one before). Ceasar asks were they are. Frank says the island isn’t on his charts. As Ceasar points out the nearby Hydra station, and suggests they search it, Ben slinks off into the jungle. Sun follows.

In the jungle, Ben doubles back on Sun. Ben says he’s going “back to our island. You wanna come?”. Ben tells Sun about the 3 outriggers, which were apparently an Others stash. Ben slips off his sling.

Aside Number 2 - It would seem Ben is back in the island's favor. One day after sustaining his injuries, Ben has already been healed. That's a far cry from the island giving him cancer. Maybe Ben is not the bad guy he's seemed to be this season...

Sun asks Ben if Jin is on the main island. He says he doesn’t know, but that’s where he’d look. Frank finds them, and asks Sun if she thinks they can trust Ben. She says she has to. Ben leads them to the three outriggers. Frank asks Sun to be careful – the freighter had been full of commandos whose sole mission was to get him. "How’d that work out for them?" Ben interjects. Ben says there’s a dock a half mile across the water at the main islans, and he points it out. Sun then decks Ben with an oar. (Hence his infirmary-landing injury). “Thought you trusted this guy" asks Frank. Remorseless, Sun responds, “I lied.” (Never get on her bad side!)

Sun and Frank get off the canoe at a pala ferry dock, which in disrepair. The sounds that usually serve as a precursor to Smoky's arrival are heard, and the jungle moves nearby, but then it subsides. Sun says probably just an animal. "Animal, snorts Frank. " Right."

Aside number 3 - did Smoky come to check out who dared to come to his island, see Frank and Sun, and then just say, "oh, you two are cool.". Why would the island whisk the other 815ers away, but not mind Sun's presence? My theory - it wants her to leave and bring back Ji Yeon. After all, the island super-charged Jin's sperm count, which qualified as "shooting blanks" before flight 815. Since the island seems able to choose who it does and does not heal, it clearly had a reason for letting Ji Yeon get conceived. It would appear that reason has yet to be revealed. And Sun screwed up by not brining her along.

They walk to the barracks, which are still deserted from the freighter commando attack. The whispers make a return, and suddenly a light turns on in one of the houses. The door to the house opens, and Christian Shephard is standing there. He introduces himself as Christian. He tells Sun to follow him when she asks about Jin.

Aside Number 4 - my prior theory that the whispers were time-hopping team Sawyer's attempts to warn the 815ers of danger doesn't seem to work anymore. The whispers actually seem to be heard any time the island, itself, is about to act, such as here, when it sends Christian to meet Sun.

He leads them into an office, and shows them a photo from 1977, featuring new DHARMA inductees Jack, Kate and Hurley. Christian says Jin "is" there, too.

The door blows open. "I’m sorry," says Christian, "but you have a bit of a journey ahead of you."

Aside Number 5 - what I really wonder is if this photo containing Jack, Hurley and Kate was in the DHARMA barracks even when they were all previously in the Others-appropriated buildings. In other words, did they merely fail to notice their future, which would be in the past, hanging on the wall? Or have they changed the future by going back in time, a-la the disappearing McFlys in "Back to the Future?" Meanwhile, in the background of this scene, there was somebody else in that room!!!! Is that what the opening door was all about? What the frak is going on here?

Thirty years earlier…
The main action of the episode picked up where we left off after LaFleur. Hurley drops the guitar case, and gives Sawyer a huge hug. Jack shakes Sawyer's hand, and Kate tentatively gives a hug (If this were Grey's Anatomy, the dialog between Kate and Sawyer here would be something like, "is this weird? It's a little weird, right?" Since it's Lost, instead we got silent looks). Sawyer, smiling, says Locke said he was going to bring them back. Jack tells him Locke died, but says the how doesn't matter. For some reason, Sawyer doesn't ask a follow-up question (I swear these characters learned their interviewing skills from the Bush-era White House press corps. No matter what response they get, they just nod and say "okeedoke.") Hurley asks about the DHARMA jumpsuits. Sawyer explains that it’s 1977, to which Hurley responds, "uh, what?"

They compare notes – three years have passed for all of them. Jin knows he has to report in.

Jack mentions Sun’s being on the plane, and Jin takes off, saying if a plane landed, Radzinsky would know about it. Sawyer tells them to stay put until he figures things out.

Juliet finds Sawyer back at home rifling through their closet, pulling out era-appropriate clothes. He tells her Jack, Hurley and Kate are back. Juliet seems taken aback (will Kate get between her and Jim; will their arrival plunge this happily settled couple out of their current mini-paradise and back into constant peril; a lot for poor Juliet to process). James says he has to bring them in before anyone finds them and they screw up everything they’ve got there. Apparently reassured by this statement that Jim doesn't want anything to change, either, Juliet points out the next sub is coming in shortly, so they can be inserted into that group of newcomers.

Jin drives to the Flame station. Inside, we find Radzinsky, building a geodesic dome model - one we recognize as part of the scale model of the Swan station that was in the first DHARMA orientation film we saw in Season 2.

Aside Number 6 - At long last, we have met Radzinsky. He has been one of the shadowy figures of the island's past since the second season finale, "Live Together, Die Alone." In the Desmond flashbacks in that episode, we learned that Radzinsky was stationed alone in the Swan station before Kelvin Inman joined him there. Kelvin told Desmond that Radzinsky killed himself, and the blood spattered on the Swan station's ceiling was from Radzinksy shooting himself in the head. We also were told that Radzinsky painted the cryptic blast door map that Locke saw in the Swan station, although we know that Kelvin later added to it.

Now, it would appear, Radzinsky actually designed the Swan station, and had been present since well before it's construction. The first question this raises is how it is Radzinsky ended up trapped on perpetual button-pushing duty until his suicide - if it was a suicide - until Kelvin came along? More on Radzinsky later...

Jin checks Radzinsky's printout, and demands to check his radar logs. Radzinsky is insulted at the idea he would miss a plane flying over, but Jin tells him to check with the other stations. He asks Jin why the plane is so important, but Jin keeps checking equipment without responding.

Juliet goes to see Amy, who’s sleeping in a hammock. The baby’s name is Ethan…

Aside Number 7 - according to this week's podcast, this Ethan is the same future Other who was obsessed with kidnapping Claire, until Charlie killed him out of revenge. He's also the same Ethan who, along with Richard, recruited Juliet to the island. In other words, if Ethan had not brought Juliet to the island in 2001, she would not have been there in 2004 to go back in time to 1974, enabling her to deliver Ethan in an emergency C-section in 1977. Trippy!

What this, plus the revelation that Radzinsky was around in 1977, tells us is that Ben was not the only survivor of the Purge. For some reason, Radzinsky will be left alive to push the button, while Ben and Ethan will join the Others. We know that Horace dies in the purge, as does Ben's father, Roger. Years later, Richard and Ben told Locke he could only join the Others by killing his father. There is something seriously Oedipal about this whole initiation thing the Others have going on...

Amy asks when she and Jim will have a baby. Smiling, Juliet deflects (and explains why she had snagged the sub manifest from sleeping Amy), by explaining she had come to help the new mom out by making some last minute changes to the manifest that called in - as a favor to Amy.

Still waiting for Sawyer to return, Kate asks Jack if Eloise mentioned they’d be returning 30 years ago. Smiling, Jack says she left that part out. Jack is not sure what to do now, but his new evolved self is content, for the time being, to just go with the flow. Sawyer comes back with his DHARMA bus. He tells them about how they’re masquerading as new recruits, but they have to hurry.

Radzinsky confirms for Jin there's no sign of a plane…when suddenly there’s a data blip. Hostile inside the perimeter! Jin charges out with his rifle. Radzinsky tries to follow. Jin finds…Sayid, still in cuffs. Sayid is overjoyed to see him. Jin asks where Sun is, but Radzinsky shows up at that very moment. Jin has to step into character, so he takes Sayid prisoner, “say another word, and you’re dead.”
In Sawyer’s van, Hurley asks James if he realizes DHARMA is going to get wiped out. Sawyer says they’re not there to be Nostradamus, and mentions Faraday’s theories, then says Daniel isn’t there anymore.

Aside Number 8 - really, guys? This isn't something you want to follow up on? The guy who apparently had some explanations for how they went back in time is gone, and you don't think to ask what happened?

Now let's crunch this "Faraday's gone" thing. In the first episode of the season, we saw Daniel present at the construction of the Orchid station. So we know he, like Sawyer, Juliet and Miles, managed to integrate into DHARMA. Is Daniel dead, or did he simply leave? Charlotte's memory of him from her youth was as a crazy man. Did he continue his downward spiral after her death? Did something go wrong at the Orchid, hurting him, or sending him away? Also, while I'm not quite ready to figure out what it means, I find it interesting that the Orchid was built before the Swan. Perhaps the two stations are connected, and the Swan was needed to deal with unforeseen problems at the Orchid?

They arrive at the welcome reception. Miles pulls up, and sees what’s going on. “what the hell are they doing here?" he demands, but Sawyer shuts him up. Miles tells Sawyer about Jin. Sawyer calls, and finds out about the Sayid/Radzinsky problem.

Our characters watch the Chang orientation tape in the welcome center. Phil (okay, I mixed up Phil and Jerry in my recap last week) calls off Jack’s name. Chang complains about how Jack’s file isn’t there. Chang asks who his shuttle driver was. Jack tells him LaFleur. "Good man, tight operation," says Chang. Jack gets handed a "work man" suit, and, like Roger, he's been assigned janitorial work “based on his aptitude test.” Even Jack has to smile at Sawyer's little dig here. Kate’s not on the list, or the sub manifest. Juliet comes in with a “revised” list, and Phil is satisfied. Juliet “introduces” herself to Kate.

Sawyer gets to the Flame. Radzinsky is paranoid that Sayid saw the model of the Swan, and the plan of where to build it (which, unlike the rest of DHARMA, apparently threatens the Hostiles/DHARMA truce - strange, then, that Radzinsky will be spared in the purge). He suggests they shoot the spy. Jim demands the keys to the storage room where Sayid is being held. Sayid sees him, but knows to be quiet. Jim "reminds" Sayid of the terms of the truce – he needs to identify himself as a Hostile, or they shoot him. "We don’t refer to ourselves as hostiles, but yes, I am one of them." Sawyer leads Sayid off, and Radzinsky complains he’ll tell Horace about this unorthodox handling of a prisoner.

Phil leads the welcome photo - the same one Sun will be shown in 2007 or 2008 or whatever year she's in. Sawyer radios that he’s coming in with a "14-J." Phil asks everyone to hold back, and they see Sayid. Jim takes Sayid to a holding cell, and tells Phil to get him some food. He gives Sayid a knowing look, and Sayid stays quiet.

That night, Jack asks Phil where James LaFleur lives. Phil points it out, "but don’t call him James – he hates it." Juliet opens the door, and smiles. Jack hugs her. "I was looking for Sawyer, guess I came to the wrong house." "No," she assures him, "come in." Juliet leaves them in the living room. Jim invites Jack to sit. He says he had to improvise with Sayid. Jack asks where they go from here, and grumbles about how Sawyer is reading when there's a crisis with Sayid. Jim says he heard once Churchill read a book every night, even during the blitz. Jim challenges the results of Jack’s rule, noting how high the body count was when Jack was acting as the leader. "I got us off the island," protests Jack. "But here you are, right back to where you started." Ouch, Jim. Point, set, match. "So I’m going to go back to reading, so I can think." Jack heads off, and Jim sees Kate. He waves, she waves back, and they leave it at that.

Aside Number 9 - go Sawyer, it's your birthday (whoop whoop)! Jack was, in my mind, a lousy leader. he never asked enough questions to know what was going on around him. Single-mindedly obsessed with getting people off the island (and succeeding with only 7 out of 50), he never bothered trying to figure out what forces were keeping them there in the first place. Sure enough, after three years off-island, he just wanted to come back. I'm glad Sawyer called him on it. Really, Jack thought he was coming back to save those he left behind, when, in reality, it seems to be Jack and company that need saving (at least until the Purge comes along...)

Food arrives for Sayid, carried by…young Ben Linus. As he previously did when he first met Richard, Ben asks if Sayid is a "hostile." Sayid asks, "do you think I am?" Ben introduces himself, and Sayid says, "It’s nice to meet you, (pause) Ben."

Aside Number 10 - perhaps I am letting myself get led astray by the scenes from next week, but I think I have an idea where this is all going. Before "breaking up" with his fellow Oceanic 6ers, and subsequently showing up on the island, Sayid made no secret of his rising animosity towards Ben, or of his willingness to violently deal with Ben should they meet again. Perhaps on some level, Sayid has come to blame Ben for Nadia's death; given his paranoia, and his rejection of the two years he spent as Ben's assassin, such a belief would be consistent. I think Sayid sees his chance, now that he's in the past, to kill young Ben, preventing much of the pain from his future from happening. However, since DHARMA thinks Sayid is a "hostile," and since, according to Faraday, such an attack from Sayid is doomed to fail, I theorize that Sayid's botched attempt to kill young Ben will be the end of the truce...which will lead DHARMA to create the deadly gas...which will lead directly to the Purge. Or not.

One final note of interest from this week's podcast - the season finale now has a title - "The Incident." No doubt, this refers to the same "incident" written about on the Swan hatch door, and discussed by Chang/Candle in the Swan orientation video. If you recall, the "incident" has something to do with why the Swan button needed to be pushed every 108 minutes. It appears, by the end of this season, that will all make sense. Which is really funny, when you recall that, at the beginning of the season, Hurley himself commented on how he was never quite clear what that was all about.

As for next week, Sayid will be confronted with DHARMA's version of a tough interrogator, in episode 510, "He's Our You." Until then, rehashing the title of this week's episode, Namaste!

Episode 508 - "LaFleur" Shoots and Scores

Preface
In an interview before Season 5 began, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse discussed how this season was going to be the “Year of Sawyer.” Halfway through last night’s episode, “LaFleur,” we also hit the halfway point of the season. And, sure enough, James “Sawyer” Ford finally, indeed, stepped into his own, under his assumed DHARMA guise as the titular “Jim LaFleur.”

A Word From Our "Sponsor"

Before we continue, a brief commercial message. My good friend, David Kury, has begun selling and custom building some of the amazing hanging mobiles he has painstakingly crafted since high school. Already a successful digital artist (he works for a prominent video game studio as an animator, artist and producer), Dave is now sharing his more personal creations with the world. Check them out at http://www.mobilesbykury.com/.

The Tease
The full Ancient Statue! Another look at life in DHARMA!! Juliet finally delivers a live birth on the island!!! All this, plus Sawyer as leader, in “LaFleur.”

Where We Left Off
The narrative structure this season has tended to be such that we lurch forward with the story, then jump back to fill in the blanks. So it was with “LaFleur,” which picked up where “This Place is Death” left off, only this time, from the now Locke-less Team Sawyer’s perspective. We return to Sawyer, holding the rope that got lodged in the ground during the time jump that sent Locke plunging into the donkey wheel cave. Miles spots the best evidence that this jump took them to a time well before the well was even built – a massive, Egyptian-looking statue facing out towards the ocean.

Aside Number 1 – some may think I’m being too quick to just assume this colossus is, in fact, the four-toed statue of which Jin, Sayid and Sun spotted the last remaining foot way back in the finale of Season 2, “Live Together, Die Alone.” But, with only a season and a half of story left to tell, I have to think the “big” mysteries of Lost are in a contraction phase, and there’s little to gain by adding multiple giant ancient statues. Feel free to disagree, but I’m going to come right out and say it – that was Mr. Four Toes, fully realized (at least from behind).

After Locke fixes the wheel, there’s another flash, which both Miles and Juliet realize “feels” different from the prior ones. The time is now…

1974
(Although our heroes have yet to figure out when they are). Sawyer, seeing the well again, and ready to assume his new role as leader of his makeshift group of left-behinders, charges headlong into following Locke, only to find the well is filled in with rocks. Juliet - whose cool logic during the time-hopping ordeal seems to have provided most of our knowledge of what the frak’s been going on – thinks it's over, that Locke saved them. Sawyer proclaims that now they wait for Locke to come back. Juliet asks “for how long,” and Sawyer responds, “as long as it takes.”

They find Daniel, sitting alone. He murmurs that Charlotte's body disappeared in the last flash. "She moved on, and we stayed." Daniel says "whereever we are now, whenever we are now, we're here for good." He goes on to mumble “I’m not going to do it again,” or something to that effect.

Aside 2 – We see again Daniel’s theory that history cannot be changed come into conflict with his desire and attempts to, in fact, change history. As for Charlotte’s disappearance, two thoughts. One, since the island seems to be yanking specific people through time (still can’t discern what the criteria are being one of the yank-ees) perhaps it no longer needs you once you’ve died. The other thought is that, somehow, Charlotte has been erased slowly from existence, by virtue of history actually having been rewritten since Ben turned the wheel. Remember, shortly before she died, she felt her memory of her mother fading. Could her whole family start to disappear? More on Charlotte in a bit…

Sawyer wants to make for the beach. Miles doesn't like the idea. "Sure, we'll go to the Beach. Until you want to go back to the Orchid. Then we'll go back to the beach again. Those are the only plans you people ever have." (Miles has yet to discover he has become as much a part of "you people" as the rest of the group). Sawyer insists that, if they’re in a time in which their stuff at the beach isn’t there, they’ll just build new stuff. Juliet stands by James, and Miles wonders who put James in charge. Privately, Juliet tells Sawyer the beach was a stupid idea, but any plan is better than no plan. He thanks her for having his back.

Suddenly, they hear gunshots and screams. A woman we’ll come to know as Amy (Reiko Aylesworth, best known as the late Michelle Dessler on 24) is being held at gunpoint by two men in Hostile-era Others frocks, with a sack over her head, and the dead body of her husband, Paul (wearing a DHARMA jumpsuit) at her feet. Miles tries to get Dan to agree - they don't get involved, because there’s no changing history. Daniel, still devastated from losing Charlotte and losing patience with explaining time travel, reiterates, not that taking action is wrong, but that “whatever happened, happened.” Sawyer quips, “thanks a lot, Plato.” With Juliet again at his back, he goes to intercede. One gunman turns on him, but Juliet shoots him, then James kills his companion. Amy asks who he is...(providing an opportunity to be anyone).

As Amy cries over Paul’s body, Juliet explains to James she doesn't know these Others because this is before her time (and, if Daniel is right, they always had killed them, so she never would have met them). Sawyer tells Amy their ship wrecked on the way to Tahiti. They have to move, he insists, because the Others will call for help (as if the term “Others” has any meaning to Amy). Amy insists they need to hide the Others’ bodies because of a truce, and take Paul’s body back with them. They march, then Juliet shouts to Daniel to stop in his tracks - they're at the sonic fence, only it's all new and not rusty like we've seen it in the past (future). Juliet figures out to play dumb about recognizing the fence, but Amy gets there's something up. She agrees to turn off the fence. Sawyer has Amy go first, then they follow her through...only they're all knocked out. Sneaky Amy had put in earplugs!

Sawyer wakes up on a couch in the familiar barracks rec room. Horace Goodspeed, who we know several years earlier personally recruited Roger Linus and his young son Ben to DHARMA, is waiting for him. He appreciates what our heroes did for Amy. Horace explains (in an understated way) about their not getting along with the Hostiles. Sawyer, sensing his con artist skills may be useful here, introduces himself as Jim LaFleur. Thinking on his feet (or, as it were, the couch), he says his people were in a shipwreck, from a salvage vessel, searching for Black Rock. Horace hasn't heard of the ship. LaFleur says his group was looking for the rest of his crew when they stumbled across Amy and the Hostiles. Horace says they're going to have to leave by sub first thing in the morning. Only DHARMA members, he insists, can stay at the barracks, "and you are not DHARMA material."

Aside Number 3 – Is Horace lying about not recognizing Black Rock? I had always believed that Magnus Hanso’s getting marooned on the island in Black Rock was how Alvar Hanso’s family learned about the island, which was how DHARMA came to be there in the first place. Charles Widmore would certainly come to know about Black Rock in the future, and Rousseau, who would come to the island in another 14 years, seemingly discovered it shortly after her arrival. So it seems Horace must be lying, because how would the leader of the DHARMA camp not know about such an important relic on the island? On the other hand, perhaps Black Rock has not yet been marooned. Given that the ship launched in mid-1800s, this would seem impossible…unless the time jumping is not as “finished” as Juliet surmised. Indeed, we know, sometime between 1974 and 2004, Ben will trick Charles into turning the wheel. Perhaps the trick will be based on having to fix the time jumps, just as Locke did. In any case, I’m interested in seeing why Horace claims not to know about Black Rock.

Juliet, looking at her former/future house at the barracks, explains her history to Miles. Jin asks Daniel about the lack of further flashes. Daniel explains the flashes have stopped because the record is spinning again. “We're just not on the side we want to be on.” (Hey, the guy loves his metaphors!) Daniel sees a young girl with a British accent playing, and recognizes her as Charlotte.

Aside Number 4 – this girl being Charlotte represents a bit of a disconnect. Last season, when captive Ben wanted to illustrate how well he knew about the newcomers to the island, he announced Charlotte’s history, and said she was born in 1979. Yet, here we are in 1974, and Daniel thinks this little red-haired girl is his precious Charlotte. Two explanations – one, he’s just wrong, and the pain and guilt over losing his no-longer-secret crush is getting him to project onto this girl. Alternatively, as part of covering up their DHARMA past, Charlotte’s mother may have falsified records, including Charlotte’s birth certificate. Still, it can’t be easy to pass off a 6-year-old as a newborn. So ultimately, either Ben, Daniel, or (gasp!) the writers made a mistake.

Rejoining the rest of his group, Sawyer explains he chose “LaFleur” because it’s Creole, and he liked the spiciness. Miles likes the "leave tomorrow on a sub" idea. Suddenly an alarm blares. They get pulled indoors by a security tech named Phil, who tells his rifle-slinging wife to keep an eye on them. Outside, they see Richard walk into the middle of camp and plant a torch. Sawyer and Juliet exchange a frightened look.

Horace goes to speak to Richard, who makes clear that the sonic fence doesn’t keep him or the Others out (so much for the theory that DHARMA built it for them). Richard says the truce is broken and he wants his missing men. Miles really wants to get on the sub. Horace comes back and asks how well LaFleur and company buried the bodies, to which James responds, "that depends how well they look." Horace tells Phil to call the Arrow station and get the heavy ordinance ready. James asks him to hold off and says he'll go and talk to Richard (whom he called out as looking like he wears eyeliner).

James addresses Richard, who does not know him at this time, by name. Shifting from con man to incredibly honest, he introduces himself as the guy who killed the men, then tells the story about why he did it. He also explains DHARMA are not his people. Richard wants to know who he is, if not DHARMA. Sawyer asks about the Others’ burying of Jughead, and tells him he knows about Locke showing up, then disappearing. He says he's also waiting for Locke to come back, which seems to move Richard somewhat.

Aside Number 5 – this scene takes place 20 years after the events of “Jughead,” but also 19 years after Richard went to see Locke’s birth, and 13-16 years after Richard angrily determined that Locke had failed the compass test. Does this conversation with James explain why, another 30 years later, Richard will again try to get old man Locke to take over as the Others’ leader? Did he perhaps figure out that the compass test wasn’t the best way to identify his chosen leader?

Richard believes James is not DHARMA, but says his people need some kind of justice. Sawyer and Horace go to see Amy, still standing over Paul's body. Horace explains that Richard needs to take Paul's body with him to maintain the truce. Horace, passive-aggressively, tells Amy, “if you don't want to give him to them, we can suffer the consequences.” Amy relents, but requests a minute. She reaches into Paul's jumpsuit, and retrieves an ankh on a necklace. Sawyer apologizes to Amy, then offers to help Horace move the body. Horace says they can stay for two weeks, while the sub is on its next run, to continue to look for their crew.

Aside Number 6 – A number of things have come together now to suggest that Richard Alpert may be of Ancient Egyptian decent. First, we know from Juliet that he’s “old” and has “always” been on the island. We have now seen the full statue, and it sure looks a heck of a lot like Egyptian god Anubis, especially with the ankh in his hand. The temple where Smoky dwells, and the writing on the walls by the donkey wheel, all appear to be Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Thanks to quick research performed, not by me, but by Jeff Jensen, I can tell you that it’s believed that in ancient Egypt, men tended to wear an eye-liner-like form of makeup. Throw in the other Egypt references – Paul’s ankh, the appropriated glyphs on the DHARMA countdown clock in the Swan, and the name of DHARMA’s leader – Horace (another Egyptian god) – and we’re clearly meant to get the hint that Ancient Egypt has a connection to the island. And I personally dig the theory that Richard, himself, may very well be that connection. Now, as for how that it possible…I can only guess. Thoughts?

Sawyer finds Juliet by the sub dock, and tells her about their two week reprieve. She wants to leave, anyway. They're saved, she notes, with no more threat from the flashes, so whether Locke comes back or not, there’s nothing left for him to do for her. Sawyer reminds her it’s 1974 (the first time we get the actual date), and there's nothing she knows back in the U.S. to leave for, but she responds, that’s no reason not to leave. She reminds him how she had been Ben’s captive on the island for more than 3 years, and, regardless of where (or when) she would be going, she just wanted to leave (very pre-conversion Jack of her). James turns on the charm – “What about me, you going to leave me with the mad scientist, and the guy who sees dead people?” Pointing out that Jin’s conversational skills leave a lot to be desired, he asks, with a grin, “who's going to get my back? Just give me two weeks. That's all I'm asking.” She agrees, and Jim LaFleur – because that’s who he’s about to be for real - smiles.

Aside Number 7 – I really like how the Sawyer/Juliet relationship has progressed. They first bonded in “Through the Looking Glass,” as both of them had something to prove to themselves when they chose to go back to the beach to save Sayid, Jin and Bernard from Tom’s attack team. They then found themselves thrown together in this misfit group of left-behinders, and I totally believe the trust they’ve formed, backing each others’ plays even as they disagree with them. You know it’s happened naturally, too, when Sawyer, of all people, reached out to Juliet this way. Too bad it might not have a happy ending (more to follow)…

1977

We get a glimpse of the glory days of DHARMA, from the perspective of a barracks video security room that looks a lot like the Pearl station. This room is manned by Jerry and Phil, only Jerry has, in typical 70s fashion, invited Geronimo Jackson-loving Rosie to party with him while he's on duty, against the rules (Jerry ironically quips that it's not as if the polar bears are ever going to escape). They notice that someone just dropped by the perimeter fence. Is that a Hostile, they wonder. No, it's Horace, who lights a firecracker, then blows up a tree. They kick out Rosie, and Phil says they need to get LaFleur. They run to the barracks, and apologize to James about the sudden security emergency. James Ford, now three three years into his long con role as LaFleur, has become head of security for DHARMA (so much for two weeks).

Miles, also part of LaFleur's security contingent, gets into Lafleur's DHARMA bus. Horace's tree-demolition spree is apparently the result of drunkenness. Given that Horace is DHARMA's leader, and nobody thinks he's a drinker, they realize they have to keep this on the down low. James decides he'll be the one to take him home, because he can tell Amy where they found him.
Amy, we discover, is now married to Horace, and very, very pregnant. Amy explains she and Horace had a fight about Paul, her late husband, when she goes into labor.

The baby is in breach (which seems to happen far more often with TV babies than in real life, right?). DHARMA women always go to the mainland to give birth, we discover, but Amy's early, which is why she's still around. The only doctor is an internist, and not at all comfortable with performing a C-Section. Sawyer goes to get Juliet, who, still there three years later (more on this shortly) has been living the life of an auto mechanic. Juliet, three years removed from her time as an experimental obstetrician, resists Sawyer's pleas for her to help, and reminds him that every birth she's tried to facility on the island in the past has resulted in the death of mother and child. Sawyer suggests the toxic fetus problem may not have happened yet. Juliet, out of excuses, takes charge, and Sawyer waits outside.

Jin arrives and asks if everything's ok. He now speaks English (three relatively crisis-free years makes for better language lesson time than four months of struggling to survive). Sawyer tells Jin he had to pull Juliet out of retirement. Jin reports he finished another grid - no sign of their people. Sawyer wants him to keep looking. Juliet comes out. It's a boy, and everyone's ok. Her first success as an OB on the island!

Aside Number 8 - as much as this was a Sawyer episode, I loved that Elizabeth Mitchell finally got some good scenes. She was one of few bright spots in the third season, but has been largely relegated to a lesser role since then. Her fine acting skills really showed through in this episode - so much so that I "became a fan" on Facebook.

As for the baby-birthing crisis not claiming Amy and her son, there can be a few explanations. One is quite simply that Amy is DHARMA, and not an Other. The problem Juliet could never solve may have something to do with what makes Others, Others. After all, they weren't yanked through time during the flashes, and, according to Richard, the sonic fence doesn't affect them either. The other explanation was Sawyer's - that the problem has not yet happened. Given that we will apparently be spending more time in the DHARMA years in upcoming episodes, I think James may have been on to something. I'm very much looking forward to learning what caused the fertility crisis, as well as what the "incident" was.

Later, Sawyer picks a flower. A dinner table is waiting for him, complete with DHARMA merlot. Juliet is cooking. He gives her the flower, and tells her she was amazing, then gives her a hug. "Thank you for believing in me," she says, her face awash with emotion. They kiss, passionately. She says she loves him, and, now three years since the time when he might have been tempted to get all Han Solo in response, he smiles and returns the "I love you."

Sawyer reads (in glasses made for him, unlike the jerry-rigged pair Jack once fashioned for him) as Horace snores. Horace wakes up with a hangover. James says he has good news and bad news. The good news – he’s a daddy. Bad news, he missed it. Horace explains he was drinking because he discovered that Amy was still keeping Paul's ankh hidden in her sock drawer. He wonders if the three years that have elapsed are enough time for Amy to have gotten over Paul. Jim has to think about that, then reminisces about a girl he could have taken a shot at, whose face he says he can now barely remember. "She’s just gone, and not coming back. Is 3 years long enough to get over someone? Absolutely."

Aside Number 9 - you really wanted to believe, for his own sake, that James meant this, especially after seeing how well he had settled into his new life with Juliet. But I think that he and Jin have continued their clandestine searches for their missing crashmates out of a hope that they'd be reunited with their lost loves. Poor Juliet!

In the morning, Jim and Juliet are spooning when the phone rings. He growls, then seems genuinely shocked when he answers. "Don’t bring them in, just meet me in the North valley," he orders. Juliet asks who it was. He says it’s Jin, and then just says he has to go.

Sawyer takes a jeep to meet Jin’s DHARMA bus, out of which step Hurley, Jack (who smiles - apparently three years is enough for even him to miss Sawyer), and Kate. The look on James's face makes it abundnantly clear - he has not forgotten her, at all.

Afterthoughts

Curse you, Kate Austin! Poor James Ford finally, after making his clean break with the kiss and dive act on the chopper, found a life he could live in happily ever after (or at least until the purge). And then, of all the time-traveling tropical jungle islands in all the world, you had to come into his. And poor Juliet! The weight of all those failed pregnancies finally lifted, she, too, actually managed to settle into a happy life on the island. What will happen to her? And let's not forget, she had confessed her love to Jack just days before he left the island, too.

As for DHARMA, there were four characters noticeably absent from the glimpses we got in this episode. Naturally, we have to start with Pierre Chang. If Horace is the leader, what is Chang's role?

Next up is Olivia Goodspeed, Horace's apparent significant other from the late 60s. Behind the scenes, I've learned (ok, Jeff Jensen reported on ew.com), that actress Samantha Mathis just didn't want to come back to the show. But, storywise, what happened to Olivia? When Locke saw the vision of Horace in an endless time loop constantly building "Jacob's" shack, he said it was for he and the Mrs. Horace's hair in that vision was the same length it had been in the 60s, and not the longer cut we spotted here in the 70s. Was that something he did for Olivia, or for Amy?

Finally, and most importantly, there's Roger and Ben Linus. I'm pretty sure the Linus boys joined DHARMA a few years before Jim LaFleur and company. Given what Sawyer and Juliet (and Miles, having talked to the dead) must know about the purge, not to mention the hell Ben would someday put them all through, why have they not taken an active interest in changing young Ben, getting him off the path of the wicked (or, more Machiavellianishly (if that's a word), just killing the little twerp)? Have they tried, only to discover that Daniel's "what happened, happened" theory keeps this from working? Can't wait to see.

Now, it's going to be a couple of weeks before we get another episode (not sure why that is, but I bet it has to do with "American Idol"). In the meantime, until March 18, when we see the fittingly entitled episode, "Namaste," I bid you all, namaste.