Episode 610 - Jin Shows Sun "The Package"

The return of a dead villain! The return of a missing hero!! Light shed on Widmore's plans!!! All this, plus some acute aphasia, in "The Package."

Sideways - Jin2 and Sun2

The sideways storyline bridges the gap between where we left Jin2 and Sun2 in "LA X," and where we later found Jin2 in "Sundown."

Sun2 waits for Jin2 outside customs. He is discharged, but the big packet of money is still being held until he formally declares it. He is upset to have missed the meeting at the restaurant. As he and Sun2 turn to leave, he tells her he has no idea what the money was for, but he doesn’t ask Mr. Paik2 questions.

They arrive at the hotel, and learn (as many suspected given their lack of jewelry in "LA X") that Jin2 and Sun2 are not married! Which is not to say they're not together. Indeed, Jin2 visits Sun2 in her room at 11:30 pm (his room, incidentally, is 842, which is cool, especially because 42 is the number assigned to Kwon in the cave...)

Jin2, still worried about his missed meeting, reminds Sun2, "your father sent me halfway around the world to deliver a watch, so I’m going to."

Sun2 invites him in, and insists nobody will be at the restaurant so late. She says the man Jin2 was meeting works for her father, and everything will be fine. Sun2 unbuttons her top button, and playfully brings up Jin2's telling her on the plane to close it up. The flirtation continues until her sweater is off, as Jin2 slowly approaches her. Finally, they embrace.

Aside #1 - so by now we know that these 2 found each other in Sideways world, but here they concealed their relationship from Daddy. Nevertheless, Jin2 managed to course correct himself into Paik2's employ, and, indeed, the lack of an openly acknowledged relationship seems to leave these two in a more tender time with each other than their island counterparts enjoyed.

Jin2 is already awake when Sun2 wakes up, and he looks guilty... until she smiles at him. She suggests they run away together, and says she has an account set aside. He asks if that was her plan all along. He’s not angry, but it’s "forbidden." Sun2's revelations continue, or, that is, they almost do: "There’s something you need to know…" she begins, but then there’s a knock at the door. Jin2 hides, and says to tell whoever it was that she was sleeping. As she examines herself in the mirror (obligatory mirror shot!)…the knock comes up again. Keamy2 is at the door. He says he’s a friend of her father’s, then invites himself in. "I believe you’ve got something for me."

Aside #2 - in "Sundown," I thought the sideways Keamy was an unnecessary indulgence. His clarified role in this episode, however - to the extent anything about the Sideways stories has been "clarified," makes cleary why Kevin Durand's deliciously eeeevil villain portrayal was worth revisiting.

Sun2 tries to hide Jin2’s shoes. She gives Keamy2 the watch box, but he wants the money (curse you, Customs agent!), and asks about Jin2. “No English,” she responds.

Aside #3 - I believe her. On the island, Sun tried to hide her English, but it came out in a time of crisis. This is pretty clearly a crisis situation, but she still can't communicate. But then again, why would she? Island Sun learned English to get away from her husband, Jin. But Sun2, at the same point in her life, was not married to Jin2, and in fact was planning to run away with him. Together, presumably, she concluded they wouldn't need English the same way she would if she were running away alone.

Omar2 arrives, and reports Jin2 is not in his room. Keamy2 spots two champagne glasses, then tells Omar2 to check the bathroom (brilliant hiding place, Mr. Kwon). Since neither Paik2 nor Kwon2 speaks English, and Keamy2 wants his money, they need a translator. So they rely on "Danny's friend," the Russian guy. Which brings us...Mikhail Bakunin2(!), who translates. Mikhail2 has both eyes (for now). Keamy2 is unmoved by the Customs story. He sends Mikail2 with Sun2 to get the money from her secret account, and says he’ll take Jin2 to the restaurant (explaining how he got there, sans Sun2, in "Sundown." Jin2 gets Keamy2 to promise not to tell Paik2 (as if a promise from a gangster means anything).

The bank worker says the account is closed, and the balance is zero. Apparently, Mr. Paik2 had access to the account, and, not happy about his daughter's rebellion, transferred the funds back to Seoul. Sun2 naively asks Mikhail2 why he would do that.

Meanwhile, Omar2 roughly sticks Jin2 in the storage area, and tapes him up. Keamy2 sends Omar2 to go "get the Arab guy." Keamy2 tells Jin2 how unhappy Paik2 was to find out about him and Sun2 (ruh-roh!). The $25k was to pay Keamy2 to kill Jin2 for breaking the cardinal rule - messing with the boss's daughter. Of course, Jin2 doesn't understand any of this, which makes Keamy2's confession really just some mean-spirited torture. "But the heart wants what the heart wants," Keamy2 says, mock understandingly. Jin2, thinking he has an ally based on the accompanying (lying) body language, actually says "thank you" as Keamy2 tapes over his mouth. "I’m sorry," Keamy2 says, with no hint of actual apology. "Some people just weren’t meant to be together."

Aside #3 - Ah, but Martin2, if the Sideways stories have taught us anything, it's that some things actually are meant to be. And a Jin-Sun pairing seems to be one of them. In island world, Jin worked for Paik because he was marrying the old man's daughter. In sideways world, it's reversed, but the end result is the same - Jin2 is a guilt-ridden thug for the old man, and Sun2 loves him.

Jin2 struggles in the storage room as he hears Sayid2’s conversation, and the shooting of Keamy2 and Omar2. Jin2 kicks the door until Sayid2 opens. He begs Sayid2 to let him go, but the Korean doesn't get him very far. Sayid2 says he doesn’t care why Jin2’s there. He turns to leave, but Jin2 asks him, in broken English, to free him. Sayid2 places a box cutter in Jin2’s hand, and wishes him luck.

Aside #4 - I was a bit troubled by Sayid2's initial refusal to help Jin2. Sayid2 was, supposedly, a guy capable of violence but ultimately choosing to do right. He then finds someone held prisoner by the same thugs he just took out in self-defense, and initially assumes he shouldn't help? At least he did the right thing, or at least the bare minimum right thing, in the end.

Mikhail2 brings Sun2 to the restaurant, but senses it’s too quiet. He pulls his gun, and finds the bodies. Keamy2 is still alive. "Who did this to you," Mikhael2 asks, but Keamy's non-responsive answer is, "look behind you you idiot." Jin2 has a gun to Mikhail2’s head. Jin2 tells him to drop his gun, and has Sun2 move away. Mikhail2 wisely surmises that, if Jin2 were capable of the carnage in that room, he would have shot Mikhail2 instead of telling him to back away, so he goes on the offensive. They struggle, and Jin2 shoots Mikhail2 in the eye, but Sun2 takes a bullet (or 2) in the abomen. As Jin2 helps her up, she confesses that she’s pregnant.

Aside #5 - speaking of meant to be, it seems Mikhail Bakunin in any universe was destined to die with only one eye. He's also destined to get his ass kicked by Jin's superior kung fu.

Un"Paik"ing the Sun pregnancy...I'm going to give Sun2 credit for being truly in love with Jin2, and not just being a bit slutty with Daddy's helpers. Assuming this is true (and with only 8 hours of Lost left, it's a safe assumption), that means off-island Jin2 knocked her up, something which pre-island Jin was physically incapable of doing. This suggest the island not only "healed" Jin's sperm count, but somehow, retroactively, caused it to be too low to conceive in the first place. Was that a result of Jacob's touching the Kwon's at their wedding? Did he create part of the problem in their marriage just to lure them to the island? Not cool, Jacob.

Finally, I do wonder what larger role Mr. Paik, one of the clear villains of the story, plays with respect to the island. We know he's at least acquainted with Widmore, and some of the between-season alternate reality games hinted at connections between Paik and DHARMA. In an island-free world, he seems to be just a plain old jerk. I mean, c'mon, making a guy deliver payment for his own murder to the would-be hitman? That's cold, Paikster. Really cold.

Island

As the episode opens, Flockes’ camp is under some sort of surveillance. Sawyer offers Kate fake cocoa. As the night vision goggle effect gets turned off, Flocke talks to Jin about his injured leg. He suggests airing out the wound, but Jin responds that he tried that, and it only got worse.

Aside #6 - was Flocke, in the guise of helping, trying to speed along Jin's infection?

Jin confirms that Sawyer told him about the cave, and asks which one – he or Sun – is the Kwon on the ceiling. Claire seems to listen in. Flocke, noting Claire but not addressing her, says he doesn’t know, but reveals that his plan hinges on getting all the remaining candidates together, because without them all, there’s no leaving the island. He says he’s working on bringing Sun back.

Flocke tells Sayid he's Leaving for an errand until morning, and asks him to watch over the camp. Sayid says he doesn’t feel anything. "Anger, happiness, pain. I don’t feel it anymore." With a calming smile, Flocke menacingly suggests, "maybe that’s best, Sayid. It’ll help you get through what’s coming."

Aside #7 - I confess to having no idea what's going on with Sayid, but one thing is clear. When it does finally happen, it won't be without set-up.

Flocke leaves, and Jin packs up. Sawyer tries to stop him. “I’m getting out of here before that thing comes back,” says Jin, the one person in this camp who never made any kind of voluntary decision to be there. As Jin and Sawyer argue, the whole camp gets hit with tranquilizer darts. Zoe and one of her companions look around. The man asks, as he examines Jin, is “is this the guy?” And Zoe’s response is, “yeah, that’s Jacob.”

Aside #8 - Whoah! To resolve not only the "which Kwon is a candidate" question, but the actual "which candidate will 'win'" question this early on? But then it occurred to me, especially after the episode played out, that Zoe was just plain lying. Jin may, of course, be the ultimate Jacob replacement (but I think you all know my Jack theory for that one). But it seems Widmore and Zoe are lying to their thugs, who presumably are off-island Others, about their actual plans. And it's much easier to tell the lie that Jin is the grand poobah than it is to drag Jin, Sawyer and Sayid back to Hydra island.

Ilana cleans guns, as Miles and Frank play cards. Despite Ben’s protests, Ilana insists, since Jacob never lied to her, Richard is coming back, and they need to wait for him. Sun is fed up. She chucks some fruit, then goes out to her old garden. Jack follows – "how are the tomatoes," he asks, trying clumsily to get a conversation started. "Dead," she says, in an attempt to short-circuit this unwanted bonding moment. He reminisces, then asks if she thinks Alpert’s coming back. She says doesn’t care. Jack tells her about Jacob’s lighthouse, thinking she'll get the same sense of Locke-ian purpose it apparently gave him. Sun doesn’t care about Alpert or candidacy. She just wants Jack to leave her alone.

Sun cuts herself, then is startled by Flocke’s arrival. "Bad day?" he asks.

Aside # 9 - I wonder if Flocke's customary initial quips are just his checking off the "if I talk first, I can't be killed" protective magic...

He says he found Jin. "I promised you I would reunite you two. It took a little longer than I anticipated, but he’s at my camp, across the island. I can take you to him right now." Sun doesn’t believe him, and accuses him of killing the people at the Temple. Flocke, having to explain yet again, says, "they were confused, lied to. I didn’t want to hurt them. They could have come," he continues, and the implication is clear - you have the same choice now that they made - poorly - at the Temple. "I would never make you do anything against your will," he continues (although we know the penalty for voluntarily choosing otherwise). "I’m asking you to." "Jin is waiting," he says, thinking that should seal the deal…only she runs off into the tall grass! As Flocke chases (on foot? Is his Smokey to Flocke trick starting to fade, or was he just trying to maintain the "it's a voluntary choice" illusion?) alas, Sun, looking back to see if she got away, runs into a tree.

Ben finds her, unconscious. In Korean she asks where he was, but Ben doesn't understand. He asks who did this to her. This, she understands, and says, "Locke" (which, presumably, is the same in Korean as it is in English).

Aside #10 - There must be something in the as-yet unspoken "rules" about joining having to be a voluntary thing, or else why wouldn't Flocke just scoop up Sun and take her away? He is, after all, a telepath, so presumably he could have found her, unless he needs to "point" his brain flashy thing at the target. If this is the case, the inability to see Sun lying in the tall grass would make it hard to find her.

I also love Ben as the caregiver. Even if Ilana quipped this week that she doesn't trust Ben whenever he opens his mouth, Ben's conversion to her cause - whatever that may be - seems complete.

Flocke retursn to his camp and finds his peole knocked out. About this, he is clearly not happy. He pulls the dart out of Sayid, then shakes him awake. Sayid says they were attacked, but he doesn’t know by whom. Flocke’s big concern? “Where is Jin?”

Jin, it turns out, is sitting in Room 23. He tries to open the door, but it’s locked. He flips a switch, and the psychedelic video starts up. He turns it off, and finds Zoe standing behind him. She says DHARMA was doing experiments in subliminal messaging. He says he’s leaving, but she tazes him on the way out. She apologizes, but "we went to a lot of trouble getting you here from the other island." She is somewhat accusatory in pointing out his past in DHARMA. She shows him a map DHARMA he made of a survey of electromagnetism pockets on the main island, and starts to ask him how to find these pockets. He says if she wants answers, he wants to talk to Charles Widmore. "Then you’re in luck," she answers, "because he’d like to talk to you too."

Aside #10 - while it's still a little unclear which reality this Widmore came from, i.e. if anything but Sideways world exists in the outside world, one thing that just now did become clear is that the Losties' time hopping really did put them into the DHARMA past. This suggests that Widmore and anyone else aware of this knew there would be some pretty amazing consequences of these people getting on Flight 815, and also partially eplains why he had to fake the 815 crash site to get the outside world to stop looking for them.

This scene also made clear that Widmore's true purpose is not nearly as simple as just stopping ol' Smokey from leaving the island. Rather, he wants, as he always has, to make some use of the island's unique properties. Doc Jensen surmises he's after Richard-style long life/ eternal youth. I'm not sure we know yet what he really wants, but simply stopping the island evil, if he even intends to do that, is nothing but a means to an end.

Flocke gives Sayid a gun and says they’re taking the outrigger. He then takes Claire aside and asks if something is wrong. She asks about the names on the wall. He tells her her name was not on the wall, but assures her he needs her, "and that there’s plenty of room on the plane for all of them." She laments that Aaron won’t need her, since he's grown up not knowing her. He says Kate is not on the wall either. He explains he needs Kate to help him get the last three people on the plane, "but once she does, then whatever happens, happens."

Aside #11 - Flocke really is a master manipulator. He has fostered Claire's anger and hatred at Kate for taking her child, when in fact it seems he (and Christian, if Christian is a different entity) were responsible for that in the first place. He recognizes Kate as both a valuable tool in manipulating the candidates, and a potential threat that needs to be dealt with. But what Flocke may not know is that, on Jacob's lighthouse wheel, Kate very much remains a candidate.

For that matter, when Jacob told Ilana she needed to protect 6 people, we didn't see which 6 people. Given that Locke would be dead before she went to the island, isn't it just as likely that Jacob gave her Kate's name instead, so that Smokey wouldn't know there's another Skywalker, er, candidate? (If she turns out to be Jack's sister, I'm quitting).

Sawyer asks why Flocke needs a boat, but Flocke says he can’t just turn into smoke and fly over water. He says he’s going over to Hydra island because they took one of his men.

Aside #12 - there seems to be no reason to doubt Flocke about this limitation on his power. After all, if he could fly over water, wouldn't he have left the island a long time ago?

Jack tends to Sun. She understands English, but can only speak Korean. Jack thinks it’s temporary aphasia. Richard then returns, wearing Isabella's cross. He says, "pack your bags, we’re leaving."

Flocke emerges from the outrigger on Hydra beach, and approaches the sonic fence. Gunshots are fired. He assures Widmore's thugs he comes in peace. He walks along the outside of the fence. Widmore greets him. "Do you know who I am?" Flocke asks. "Obviously you’re not John Locke," Charles responds. "Everything else I know is a combination of myth, ghost stories, and island legend." Widmore denies taking Jin. Flocke considers, this, then says, "a wise man once said that war was coming to this island. I think it just got here," and turns to leave.

Aside #13 - It's clear that Widmore really doesn't know what Smokey really is, which is troubling. It seems his fall from Jacob's grace may have been connected to this lack of knowledge, something along the lines of, "so our job is to keep this thing here, but you won't tell me why?" It's also cool to see Flocke channeling the memories he somehow took over from Locke.

Richard asks Ben where Locke said he’d be, and Ben tells him about Hydra island. Richard says they have to destroy the plane, to keep Smokey trapped. Sun is really not happy about this. "I came here to find my husband so I can bring him home," she protests, in Korean. "I didn’t come to save the damn world." She storms off. (Harumph!)

Widmore is mad at Zoe for declaring war on Locke's camp, and said they should have waited and taken Jin in the jungle. She reminds him that, if he wanted better tactics, he should have put a mercenary in charge, and not a geophysicist. (Boo-yah!) He tells her to get the package from the sub and take it to the infirmary.

Aside #14 - Whatever Widmore's plans, they've already changed. Antagonizing the monster was not what he wanted, and he's so eager to get to the island's unique properties, he didn't think to send the right people for the job. It will be interesting to see how this miscalculation costs him down the line, and how, for example, Sawyer will be able to exploit it.

Jin is brought to Widmore, and tells the former Other he knows who he is. Jin pointedly asks, "why did you bring me here?" Widmore gives him Sun’s camera, recovered from the Ajira plane. Jin sees pictures of Ji Yeon, his first ever look at his daughter (and if you didn't tear up just a little at this sight, then you must have been "claimed" by the darkness like Sayid was). Charles says he knows what it’s like to be kept apart from a daughter. He tells Jin their reunion would be short lived if Flocke got off the island, because, if that were to happen, everyone they love would cease to be. He says it’s time for Jin to see the package, only it’s not a what. It’s a who.

Aside #15 - I wonder if the Swan station, in some way, was part of what kept the monster bound to the island. This occurs to me because, the last time we heard such a dire warning, it came from Eloise Hawking, telling Desmond they would all die if he didn't fulfull his button pushing destiny. What's still unclear, though, is whether only those touched by the island would die, or would the whole world cease to exist? What, really, are the consequences of Smokey getting loose? And do those consequences, in some way, explain sideways world?

In the evening. Jack approaches sun. He talks about an aphasic patient he had during his residency. That man could write, even if he couldn't speak. He gives Sun a notebook, and she writes “yes.” Jack says he went back to the garden, and found "one stubborn tomato. I guess noone told it it was supposed to die." Sun writes, "sorry." Jack asks what Locke said. Sun writes, "he said he had Jin." (Interstingly, not "Jin was with him," but "he had Jin.") Why not go with him? "I don’t trust him." Jack considers this, and asks, "do you trust me?" She looks at him, and nods. Jack nods back. "Sun, come with us, and I’ll help you find Jin, and get you both on that plane, and as far away from this island as you can get." He promises, and holds out his hand, and Sun takes it.

Aside #16 - Raise your hand if you think Sun's inability to communicate with her companions faster than she can write and they can read is going to cause a problem sometime soon. Now put your hand down. You look silly gesturing at a computer monitor.

Kate is joined by Sawyer. She wonders why he isn’t worried. He is, but he thinks Widmore must have killed Locke. What if he didn’t? "Then we’re screwed." Sure enough, Flocke comes back. "Aw hell," a disappointed Sawyer says. Sawyer approaches Flocke, and asks where Sayid is. Locke responds, "remember you said about the room on the sub? I don’t like secrets."

At the submarine dock, Sayid emerges from the water, and sees Zoe and her companion leading... Desmond(!!!)... along the dock. He’s been drugged. He falls, and sees Sayid, but makes no sound. Sayid watches as they drag him off.

Aside #17 - so the island wasn't done with Desmond. What is it that makes him "uniquely special?" I trust we'll find out soon, especially since next week's episode, "Happily Ever After," focuses on the long-absent Scot. If Season 6 is to be faulted for anything, other than the confusion of the flash-sideways, it's that it has kept Desmond out of play from between 5 minutes into the first episode until the last scene of the 10th. Now ponder this - is this the Desmond who seemed to disappear from flight 815 in the alternaverse, or the Desmond who stormed out of the "lamppost" station, thinking Jack and Sun were crazy for wanting to go back to the island, only to be shot by Ben? Or how about this - what if they're one and the same, a way to somehow bridge the sideways/ island gap. Desmond episodes are always pretty trippy in terms of time/ space/ and consciousness and memories that a character has, but shouldn't. I'm very hopeful that next week gets us some serious answers, or at least some serious clues. But, alas, since Des already had his happy ending, I'm worried that "happily ever after" may be an ironic title.

In any case, until next time, Namaste!

Episode 609 - Richard's Story "Ab Aeterno"

Before the cold open ran on the pivotal midpoint episode of the final season of Lost, I went to every blogger's information bible, wikipedia.org, to learn the translation of the episode's Latin title, "Ab Aeterno." Here's what I found: Literally, "from the everlasting" or "from eternity". Thus, "from time immemorial", "since the beginning of time" or "from an infinitely remote time in the past". In theology, often indicates something, such as the universe, that was created outside of time.


Yes, folks, this was a big one, and most real fans knew it. As Doc Jensen reported, Rainn Wilson, star of The Office, just Tweeted the following: ''Tonight's episode was one of TV's greatest of all time. I'm gay for the eternal Richard Alpert. There I said it.''


Let's cogitate on both the Latin translation, and Wilson's, er, feelings, as we recap "Ab Aeterno"

We open with a return to the Ilana flashback from “The Incident.” This time we see Jacob’s discussion with Ilana a little longer. He tells her he’s giving her a list of 6 names that she is charged with protecting – the candidates. This is what she’s been preparing for.

Flash to Ilana, on the beach, telling her group about candidacy. Sun fills in the blanks. The problem is, now that Jack, Hurley and Sun know that they're candidates, whom Ilana is supposed to protect, Ilana doesn’t know what to do next.

Flashback – Ilana, her bandages removed, seems completely healed as the conversation continues. After she’s brought the candidates to the Temple, Jacob tells her, she’s to ask Ricardus, i.e. Richard, what to do next.

As Ilana relates this to the huddled group, Richard laughs nervously/ crazily. He insists everything Jacob ever said is a lie. "Want to know a secret Jack, something I’ve known a long, long time?" Richard teases Jack, and, by extension, us. "You’re dead." He says they’re all dead, and the island is really Hell. "So I’m not interested in what Jacob said," the once-loyal consigliere says. He says he’s going to start listening to someone else, and grabs a torch and walks off into the night. Ben, of course, knows exactly who Richard will start listening to - the very person Ben rejected when he chose to follow Ilana. Ilana loads a gun to go after him, insisting he knows something (Ilana, unlike Richard, has not lost faith in Jacob). Sun lets Jack know that Richard means Locke. "Locke is dead," responds Jack. "If it’s any consolation," Ben answers, "it’s not exactly Locke."

Aside #1 - Sigh, Jack. I want to like you, or think you're progressing. But when you act like something's impossible after you've already seen a dead guy talk to your friend, who led you to a lighthouse on a Pacific island, where you saw your childhood home reflected in a mirror...maybe it's time to stop getting all pissy about the impossible...

Hurley starts speaking Spanish, apparently to nobody (ghost whispering!) but insists it’s not Jacob, and tells Jack it has nothing to do with him. Ben tells Ilana that Jack is right that going after Richard is a waste of time. He’s known him since was 12, and "that should count for something." Frank starts questioning how it is Richard doesn’t age...

...and we flash to the main narrative for the rest of the episode. Like only a handful of prior episodes ("The Other 48 Days" and "Meet Kevin Johnson" come to mind), this episode, during most of its run, doesn't skip back and forth between timelines or past or present or what have you, and instead focuses on Richard Alpert...

Flashback to Richard, on a horse. This is Tenerife, Canary Islands, 1867. Richard ties up his horse, and goes into a hut. Inside is Isabella, his wife, and she’s sick, feverish. Richard tends to her as she coughs blood (TB! Ewwww). He says he’s going for a doctor, and hopes to back before dawn. She kisses her cross and gives it to him to give the doctor in payment. He tries to refuse this most prized possession of his devout wife. "If anything ever happened to you…" he starts to worry, but she calms him. "Close your eyes. We’ll always be together." She kisses him, and he promises to save her.

Aside #2 - Doc Jensen gives us this: (FUN FACT! Tenerife is known for its ancient pyramids believed by some to be a link between Egyptian and Mayan cultures.)

Richard rides off in the rain. He charges past a doctor’s butler, and the doctor orders some blankets – but it’s to keep his floor dry, and not to dry Richard off. The doctor refuses to go with him, but offers him medicine that is very expensive. Richard gives him his money, then Isabella’s cross. The doctor calls the cross worthless, and makes to put away the medicine. Richard begs to let him work off the debt. They struggle, and Richard accidentally shoves the doctor, killing him with a head blow on the table (much like Kelvin’s death at Desmond's hands in "Live Together, Die Alone"). Richard grabs the medicine and runs off past the dumbfounded butler. He returns to Isabella, but she’s already dead. As he cries over her, men rush in to arrest him.

Aside #3 - Doc Jensen ponders, "He bled out like a spilled jug of wine. Ricardo was now a murderer — but he took the medicine anyway and galloped back home. But Isabella was already dead. Was he simply too late? Or did she die because of his sin?" Of course, the very Catholic notion of "sin," we learn, will dog Richard throughout his very, very long life, prompting his somewhat crazed belief that the island is Hell.

Richard is next seen in a jail cell. A priest comes to see him, and offers him food. He asks to see Richard’s Bible, which is in English. Richard has been teaching himself, since he and his wife planned to move to the New World. The priest offers to take confession. Richard apologizes for killing the doctor, but the priest refuses to grant absolution. Richard pleads that it was an accident. He says there must be some way to do gain forgiveness. The only way, the Priest seems to mock, is penance, and Richard has no time, because tomorrow he will be hanged. "I’m afraid the Devil awaits your soul in Hell." The priest wishes that God have mercy on Richard’s soul, then leaves, as the cell is locked behind him.

Aside # 4 - I rely heavily on Doc Jensen this week, because, A. his observations are spot-on, and B. I'm a bit lacking in some of the Biblical and other references hinted at in this episode. Take this for example: "We saw [Richard] reading Luke chapter 4. In this chapter: Christ's temptation in the wilderness by Satan; Christ beginning his public ministry; Christ citing the proverb 'Physician, heal thyself!'; the story of Christ healing the sick and casting out demons.

"Regardless, as I listened to Father Black's pitiless theology, I found myself thinking this theory-thought: If only there was some second-chance place somewhere in the land of the setting sun, where you and other last-chance souls can band together and fight smoke monsters and prove yourself to cryptic gods and successfully score a seat on a flight or sub to Heaven. Could that be a viable theory of The Island?"

Then, all of a sudden, Samsung added yellow to TV pixels (much to George Takei's campy delight) and breaks the Guiness record for fast texting. Those Koreans are something else!

Some men come for Richard in the morning. The priest has them blindfold him. A Mr. Whitfield checks Richard's teeth, then confirms that he speaks English. Since he has strong hands and could work in the fields, he thus becomes the property of Magnus Hanso, and Whitfield says he hopes Richard doesn’t get sea sick. The next thing we know, he is among other slaves on the Black Rock, as a slave, bound for the new world, but rocking in huge waves in a stormy sea, in the same chains we saw him regarding after having led Jack and Hurley to the old wreck. Out a crack, one of the slaves sees the island, and the statue of Tawaret, which one of the others calls the Devil. A huge swell carries the boat up, towards Tawaret’s head. Then there is blackness, before day break, when we see the Black Rock has landed in the now-familiar jungle clearing.

Aside #5 - And just like that, two lingering island mysteries are solved - how did the Black Rock end up inland, and how did the statue end up broken? I must say, "a big tidal wave picked up a wooden ship and crashed it - still intact - through a huge stone statue, into the jungle" was not what I would have predicted, and I think I wanted something a little cooler. But closure is closure on these more minor Lost mysteries. As Doc Jensen snarks about the questionable physics of this turn of events...The Black Rock caught a wave and hurtled straight into Taweret's mug. In the aftermath, Taweret lost her head and became The Four Toed Statue, and The Black Rock crashed in the center of The Island, where the impact shattered the ship into a million pieces and Ricardo and his friends died instantly... but then both boat and humans were miraculously reconstructed by a flock of magical talking Hurley birds. All to say that I didn't quite understand how The Black Rock survived The Island belly flop, but I rolled with it because 1. If rolling with it hasn't become an instinctive reflex by now, you better check yourself before you wreck yourself; and 2. It evoked one of Lost's key literary touchstones, The Wizard of Oz. Ricardo and The Black Rock touching down on The Island = Dorothy and her house landing in Oz. Indeed, just like Dorothy's adventure was a fantastical mirror of her hard-luck dustbowl life and plucky spirit, Ricardo's Island origin story played like a ''This is your life!'' phantasmagoria of his hardscrabble underclass existence and religiously shaped/scarred psyche.

Also, I've heard a number of grouses about some continuity errors that showed up in the episode. The first, pointed out to me by Scott Pepper, is that, in "The Constant," the auctioneer said that Black Rock disappeared in 1845, and Magnus Hanso's journal from the ship was recovered in 1852. Yet, here we learn that Richard's voyage begins in 1867. Especially in light of the fact that Lost's own resident continuity Nazi, Greg Nations, was one of the co-writers of this episode, one might be tempted to think that this discrepancy can somehow be explained by the island's tennuous connection with linear time. But I think that, like Charlotte's botched age a couple of seasons ago, this is just a plain old mistake. The reason the mistake became forced into the narrative is that dynamite - one of the key artifacts found on Black Rock by Rousseau - was not invented in the typical "fuse/ blasting cap/ nytro glycerin" form until 1867. Clearly, the writers didn't realize that when they came up with the auctioneer's dialogue, but did by the time they wrote this episode, and adjusted accordingly. But if you want to believe that team Darlton is infallible, then we can just assume that the auctioneer did his research on Black Rock on some hacked wikipedia site...

The other seeming continuity glitch is the fact that, in "The Incident," when the ship first appeared on the horizon, it was clearly a lovely, sunny day, so this nighttime storm couldn't possibly involve the same ship. Some have suggested that the ship we saw last year was just a different ship. Not so, according to this week's official podcast. But this one doesn't bother me in the least. First of all, we know from "Live Together, Die Alone," that Desmond spent days circling the island, unable to sail away. Presumably, Black Rock spent a similar amount of time in "orbit." We also know from when the chopper first took Desmond and Sayid to the freighter, that some paths in and out of the island's immediate vicinity can go through big weather changes and different times of day in an instant. And, really, folks, if we're going to accept that Jacob can summon specific people to specific vessels, then summon those vessels to the island, and pick up tall ships with tidal waves, plunging them straight through statues, etc., why can't we give the guy credit for conjuring up some rain clouds?

Richard's companion says God spared them – at least some of them. They hear voices, including one referring to Captain Hanso, who is dead. They call for help, and down walks Whitfield. He draws his sword and starts running the slaves through. He justifies (to himself, or Richard, we're not sure) they are shipwrecked with no water and supplies, with only five officers left. He says he’s doing this because if he freed them, it would only be a matter of time before they tried to kill him. Isabella’s cross is gone from Richard's neck, when he grabs it for mercy. As Whitfield goes for Richard, the sound of smokey can be heard. There are screams outside, and blood starts to trickle in. Then the smoke comes, and yanks Whitfield away. Richard tries to wrench himself free, then turns as Smokey slowly enters and goes right up to him, crackling electricity. Richard closes his eyes, then the sound stops, and Smokey is gone.

Aside #6 - I wonder if Smokey, for some reason, is unable to directly assault people once he learns through his telepathy flashes that they're among those who Jacob, himself summoned? Clearly, Richard falls into that category. In light of the conversation Richard has with Jacob later in the episode, I wonder if Smokey's "prize" for winning his ongoing wager is the ability to pummel those who "chose poorly" to death. If that's how he gets his Smokey jollies...

A butterfly flies in to Black Rock, where Richard tries to free himself. Outside, a storm hits, and Richard struggles to get to where the rain water is leaking in. Eventually, the pin he worked at comes loose, and then he uses it to try to loosen the chains against the bulkhead, but to no avail. He wakes up prone day and sees a boar eating his companions. The board charges, knocking the nail, his only tool to affect his escape, out of his reach.

As Richard lies starving, presumably days later, he hears a woman’s voice asking if anyone is there. He answers…and sees Isabella. She tells him they’re both dead, and in Hell. She says she’s there to save him before the Devil comes back. She looked into his eyes and saw that he was evil. They hear the smokey sound. Richard tells her to run. She runs outside, and he hears her screaming, and begs for Smokey to leave her alone. She is silent, and he cries.

Aside #7 - This is Smokey's dirtiest trick yet. We have seen him take the form of dead loved ones many times to manipulate people. But to take the form of Isabela, then create the noises of Smoke monster menace just after she leaves to spin the illusion that he is menacing her...dude, that's cold.

As Richard lies on the floor, a lantern is carried in. A man’s hand touches him, and a strange sound is heard. He awakens with a start. We expect Jacob, but it’s the man in black, who gives Richard water. He says he’s a friend, in much the same seductive tone we've come to associate with his Flocke guise. He says he was there long before the ship. Richard tells him about the smoke, and how Isabella didn’t come back. That probably means he has her, the man in black says with fake concern. Richard asks, who, and MIB responds, "you know who. I want to be free too." He has keys, and gets Richard to promise to do anything he asks. When Richard agrees, he frees him. He says it’s good to see him out of those chains, (the line that decades later would be repeated by Flocke) then raises Richard to his feet. He says they’re going to need his strength, if they’re going to escape. There is only way to escape from Hell. "You’re going to have to kill the Devil."

Richard eats boar. MIB tells him to go to the statue and kill the Devil. He hands him the dagger Dogen had. As Dogen told Sayid, if his intended victim speaks, it will already be too late. MIB admits he’s the black smoke. He says Isabella was running from him, but he couldn’t do anything to stop Jacob from taking her before he could help. He says the Devil betrayed him, taking his humanity, and his body. The Devil has his wife, and he has to kill him if he wants to get her back. Richard is concerned that, he's only in Hell because he killed someone, so killing the Devil seems like a bad way to try to get out. "You and I can talk all day about right or wrong," an annoyed MIB states, "but the question remains, do you ever want to see your wife again?" "Yes I do," is Richard's now loyal and emboldened response. MIB gives him the dagger, and Richard makes his way to the statue.

Aside #8 - I'm not sure what to make of the fact that the instructions - and implement - to kill both Jacob and MIB are precisely identical. Nor am I sure what to make of the fact that neither assassination by proxy attempt was anywhere close to successful. Was Dogen really doing Jacob's work by trying to have Sayid kill Flocke? Do the "rules," whatever they are and however they came to be, stop both Jacob and MIB from killing each other? Does the parallelism suggest a deeper connection between them than simply whatever it was Jacob did to steal MIB's humanity and corporeal body?

Doc Jensen writes: '''There's only one way out of hell,' MIB said. 'We're going to have to kill the devil.' Ricardo argued that he'd basically be damning his soul with the same sin that damned him in the first place. Again: shades of Sayid. MIB got pragmatic on him. 'My friend, you and I can talk all day long about what is right and what is wrong but the question before you remains the same: Do you ever want to see your wife again?' His utilitarian logic is located in the broad, contentious body of thought known as 'Consequentialism.' As you might glean from MIB's sentiment, a weaknesses of 'Consequentialism' is its shaky, nebulous definition of justice. A major egghead in this field? Jeremy Bentham, the name Charles Widmore gave John Locke before his death. He had at least one thing in common with MIB/Fake Locke: Bentham was an abolitionist. And that explains everything, right? Right!

Sure enough, the statue, when Ricardo arrives, is all broken up, after the collision with the ship. Richard draws the dagger as he approaches the door in the foot. But he’s attacked from the side, and knocked down several times…by Jacob, who succeeds in disarming him.

Aside #9 - Burning question - why did Jacob defend himself against Richard, but not against Ben? He's clearly capable of self-preservation and self-defense, and if he's got this much kung fu mojo, surely weasly little Ben didn't have to get the better of him. The obvious answer? Jacob either wanted to die when Ben came for him, or at least was willing to if Ben made the wrong choice when all his remaining candidates were on the island.

Richard asks where his wife is. Jacob asks why Richard thinks his dead wife is with him. "Did you meet a man in the jungle dressed in black?" Richard tells him what the man told him. Jacob assures him he’s not dead, and demonstrates the point by dragging him to the ocean, and holding him under water, then pulling him up, repeatedly asking if he’s dead. "Why should I stop?" "Because I want to live," Richard protests. And, checkmate! Jacob tells him to get up, since they need to talk.

Aside #10 - Doc Jensen on Jacob: "I loved the way he was framed against the blue sky, bright and elemental, a morning star. The Latin word for ''morning star''? That's right: Lucifer. Which brings us to the semiotic cipher that is Mark Pellegrino. The actor is marvelous as Jacob. But Pellegrino also appears on Supernatural, playing... Lucifer. According to a few recaps I've read, Pellegrino's Lucifer is on a mission to purge the Earth of mankind, which he views as innately corrupt, and torments humans with visions of the dearly departed dead. He also requires a human host to get around. Again, I say all of this having never seen an episode of Supernatural, so here's hoping the Internet is reasonably correct. Regardless, I find the Lucifer/Luciferesque overlaps between Supernatural and Lost to be intriguing and ingenious. What better way to cultivate further mystery around Jacob's moral allegiance than by casting him with an actor who currently plays the devil on another show? One would assume that neither Lost nor Pellegrino would want to duplicate efforts — unless encouraging that assumption is exactly why you make that move."

Richard dries off in a blanket, and Jacob brings him some booze. "Noone comes in unless I invite them in," Jacob explains enigmatically. He pours, and toasts. "Are you the devil?" Richard asks pointedly. "No," Jacob responds, as directly as ever reveals anything. "Then who are you?" Jacob's explanation is the most detailed reveal we've had to date of what the frak is going on over on Lost island. ''Think of this wine for what you keep calling hell. There are many other names for it, too. Malevolence. Evil. Darkness. And here it is, swirling around in the bottle, unable to get out because if it did, it would spread. The cork is this island. And it's the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs. That man who sent you to kill me thinks that everyone is corruptible because it's in their very nature to sin. I bring people here to prove him wrong. And when they get here, their past doesn't matter.''

Aside #11 - for some, the debate rages on as to whether Jacob or MIB will indeed turn out to be the evil one. Jacob certainly seems to have taken on, at the very least, some of Old Testament God's less savory characteristics, including testing people for seemingly no purpose but to show they have faith under bad circumstances. But let's make no mistakes here. MIB is a liar. A killer. A manipulator. And every bit the user Jacob is. The idea that some twist ending will make him the "good" guy seems to me to get more and more remote as time goes on. Plus, you have to at least admire Jacob's seeming purity - he discounts the past and gives all on the island the chance to be "good," regardless of the murkiness of who it is who's judging. And this is why I think Jack will turn out to be the final candidate. Think back to Season 1, when Kate practically begged to confess why she was in handcuffs. At the time, Jack said it didn't matter, because after the crash, none of their lives before that moment really mattered. Clean slates all around. Very Jacobian, n'est-ce-pas?

Jacob says there others before Richard, but they are all dead. He wanted them to help themselves, to know the difference between right and wrong without him having to tell them. "It's all meaningless if I have to force them to do anything!" Jacob explains. " Why should I have to step in?" In his first moment as Jacob's trusted advisor, Richard imparts this wisdom: "If you don’t, he will." Jacob then offers Richard a job. "I don’t want to step in, maybe you can do it for me. You can be be my representative, my intermediary to the people I bring to the island." Richard asks, "what do I get in return?" Jacob says he can’t bring back his wife or absolve him of his sins so that he doesn't go to Hell. Richard then asks for the next best thing "Then I want to live forever," i.e., if he can't avoid Hell when he dies, he doesn't want to die. "Now that," smiles Jacob, "I can do." And he touches Richard. And the rest, as we know, is 140 years of history.

Richard then wanders into the jungle, to the man in black. "You let him talk to you, didn’t you?" he asks, but doesn't seem too angry about it. Richard delivers his first of many messages for Jacob. "He told me to give you this" – a white wrock. "I’m sure you realize," MIB tries once again, "if you go with him, you’ll never be with your wife again." Richard doesn't respond. "I understand, he can be very convincing. But I want you toknow, if you ever change your mind, my offer still stands." MIB then gives him back the cross, then disappears. Richard then digs a hole, and buries the cross, under an old stone bench.

Aside #12 -Jensen's take on this scene: "You got the sense that MIB's current incarceration had something to do with buying into something Jacob had once sold him long ago — something that hadn't gone exactly as planned or promised."

Back in the present, (or 2007 or 2008 or whenever we're supposed to be now), Richard comes into a clearing, to the same bench, now grown over with vines. He digs, and finds the cross. He says loudly he’s changed his mind. He calls out, "are you listening to me? I’ve changed my mind. I was wrong. You said I could change me mind. Does the offer still stand?" He turns, and…Hurley comes out. "What offer, dude?" Richard tries to shove him away. Hurley says his wife sent him. "She wants to know why you buried her cross." She saw him dig it up, and she’s standing right next to him.

Isabella is there, at least to Hugo. She tells Hurley to tell him his English is beautiful ("awesome" is his translation). Richard starts to cry. Through Hurley, she has him close his eyes. She says it was not his fault she died. It was her time, no matter how hard he tried to save her. She touches his face, and says he has suffered enough. He says he would do anything for them to be together again. She assures him they are together again. He opens his eyes, and Hurley confirms she is gone. He puts the cross back around himself (a reaffirmation of his faith and purpose). He thanks Hurley. He asks if something is wrong. "She said there’s one more thing," Hurley relates. "There’s something you have to do. You have to stop the man in black. You have to stop him from leaving the island. Because if you don’t, we’re all going to Hell."

Aside # 13 - query how the dead have access to Jacob-type knowledge. Is Jacob also taking the forms of others, and appearing through Hurley? Or is Jacob somehow connected to a higher power? In either case, over the past couple of weeks, a theme has emerged in these distant messages. Here, one came from the dead. Last week, in sideways world, it came from TV. As Jensen writes, "[Isabela's message is] what Michael Landon said in that Little House on the Prairie clip from last week: It's about ''knowin' that people aren't really gone when they die. We have all the good memories to sustain us until we see 'em again.''

From a distance, Flocke watches. His expression seems to state that he realizes after 140 years, his play to corrupt Richard, no matter how long he was willing to wait, had failed.

We Flash back once more to MIB surveying the island from a hill. Jacob joins him. "I see you got my present," he says, indicating the white rock. "Don’t gloat Jacob, it does’t become you." He says he wants to leave. "As long as I’m alive," Jacob taunts, "you’re not going anywhere." MIB says he'll kill him. "You don’t figure someone else will take my place?" Jacob asks. "Then I’ll kill them too." (bad news if you're a candidate!) Jacob hands him the bottle – something to pass the time. "I’ll see you around." Jacob is gone, and MIB says, “sooner than you think,” and breaks the bottle.

Final Aside - so the island is a cork, holding all the evil and malevolence of the world at bay. But some of it has seeped out - think about the transmission of the numbers, and the seductive (lottery win!) and evil (family tragedy!) events that triggered, just for poor Hugo. And the island offers its special invitees - who apparently can survive even the worst of calamaties - a clean slate, and an opportunity to do what's "right" in the face of temptation to exploit, cheat and steal for the power of the island. And lest you think the cork metaphor was just a ploy to sway Richard, Damon Lindelof confirmed on this week's podcast that "cork" was the metaphor the writers have used since Season 1 in their discussion of what the island really is.

On another note, this really was Nestor Carbonel's moment. Emmy for supporting role, look no further. He was brilliant throughout, and I can't help but wonder if Jacob engineered the cancelation of the actor's short-lived CBS drama, "Cane," just to get him back to his rightful place on Lost.

Now, again, I'm a bit disappointed in the continuity glitch, and was hoping for something bigger for both the landlocking of Black Rock and the destruction of Tawaret. But at least we've gotten answers to lingering questions, and on balance, I think this extended look at Jacob, MIB and Richard seriously did the trick of setting up the last half of the last season.

A season that resumes next week, back in sideways fashion, with "The Package," which gives Jin and Sun their moment, and maybe even their reunion after a season and a half of separation. Until then, Namaste!

Episode 608 - Sawyer Goes on a "Recon" Mission

I've seen and heard a lot of complaints about this week's episode, "Recon", which, let's face it, was a set up episode for things to come. But the impressive depth of featured character Sawyer's flash-sideways, in my mind, made it all worthwhile. So, away we go...

A pile of dead Others! More Sideways DHARMA survivors!! A new mystery to debate!!! All this, plus shirtless James Ford2 knocking more boots than a tree full of shoe elves, in "Recon"

Flash Sideways - James Ford2

Right from the get-go, I'm not calling this guy "Sawyer2" anymore, since we learned this week that Sideways James Ford, while still obsessed with finding and getting revenge on Anthony Cooper2 (he should try Locke2's wedding...) zigged where his island counterpart zagged, and never became a con man. As such, he never took on the "Sawyer" moniker.

Of course, we first meet James2 in bed with a vixen (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, most recently of "Prison Break,") pulling the old "pidgeon drop" where he lets his briefcase full of cash spill open (hello, Season 1 flashback). But this is not the start of a con. It's actually a sting operation. James2 is a cop, and his partner (part of a daring rescue after Ford gives the wink-wink codeword "LaFleur,") is Miles2 Straum!

Aside #1 - it seems these two "lawmen" are destined to work together, with James acting as the Alpha partner, regardless of the reality...

As James2 methodically searches for the real Anthony Cooper (he doesn't seem to be following the Terminator "kill all Sarah Connors" plan), Miles2 overhears him. James2 covers (badly) by saying Cooper was someone he met on his trip to Palm Springs who was going to give him Lakers tickets. But Miles2, after trying to score one of those tickets, changes the subject, and reminds James2 that he's setting him up on the date with a woman "who works with my dad at the museum." When James2 balks, Miles2 asks if he wants to die alone, then, letting James2 in on the fact that he smelled the lie about who Cooper is, Miles2 adds, "you know you can tell me the truth."

Aside #2 - given the small number of episodes that are left, it's safe to assume that "my dad" refers to Pierre Chang, and not some adoptive alternaverse papa Straum. So now we know that, in addition to the Linuses, and (presumably) the Goodspeeds, the Chang family also willingly left alterna-DHARMA and didn't end up dying in the purge (that never happened). Further evidence that Chang left DHARMA? Miles2 became a cop, instead of a bitter, angry, Daddy-issue ghost-whispering swindler. Also love the shout out to island Sawyer's surmising he was meant to be alone, when Miles2 asked James2 if he wanted to die alone.

James2's blind date turns out to be a very flirtatious Charlotte2. Still an archaeologist, she plays with the notion that she has an Indiana Jones whip, but then she doesn't allow James2 to get off with the "why I became a cop" story that he tells all the girls. So James2 reaches deep down and levels with her - he became a cop because there came a point in his life where it was that or criminal, and he chose cop. That moment of intimate conversation turns into a passionate roll in the hay at James2's place (and, yes, ladies, Josh Holloway gave you another shirtless scene to drool over). As post-coital James2 goes to fetch the couple water, Charlotte2 looks for a t-shirt, (and spots a copy of Watership Down on James2's dresser, a book he was apparently destined to read) but stumbles upon James2's hidden, private "Sawyer" file. James2 finds her flipping through it, gets enraged, and throws her out at 3 in the morning.

Aside #2 - the implication seems to be that, in alternaverse, Jacob never gave young James2 the pen that he used to right his revenge letter, which nudged the boy in the direction of using the law instead of flaunting it. But, at the end of the day, cop or criminal, it was all just a means to an end - a lifelong vendetta quest against the man who took his parents.

And yet, we know that in Alternaverse, Anthony Cooper is not quite the same slimeball he was in island world. This Anthony Cooper, whatever his past, managed to reconcile and have a relationship with son. Will Cooper's redemption be enough to stop James2 from killing him? Will it even have to be...

The next day, in a cute little Easter Egg moment, James2 bumps into Liam Pace, at the police station to find his drug-busted brother, Charlie (apparently, LAPD has only one station in alternaverse, where all detectives, and all drug users booked at LAX convene). Miles2 confronts his partner, and is pretty steamed about how James2 treated Charlotte. James2's curt explanation is only that she "opened the wrong drawer." Fed up, Miles2 asks why James2 was in Sydney when he said he was in Palm Springs. James2 blows up at him and the break up as partners (can cops actually just "declare" they're not partners anymore?) James2 then gets his signature "alternaverse look in the mirror" shot, but unlike his more contemplative former flightmates, he angrily punches a hole in the mirror.

James2 comforts himself, not with rage, angy sex or thieving, but with a cold beer, a TV dinner, and an episode of Little House on the Prairie. As Jeff Jensen writes, "James sulked by eating microwave dinners and watching Little House on the Prairie. An inspired, perfect choice for a guy who, like the tragic hero of his favorite novel, Of Mice and Men, dreams doomed dreams of home and hearth and living off the fat of the land with family and friends. In the scene, Charles Ingalls tries to assuage his daughter's mortality angst with some Highway To Heaven touchy-feelies: 'You can spend your whole life worrying about what's going to happen. People aren't really gone when they die, because they live in memories. Memories that sustain us until we see them again.'" This seems to motivate James2 into "do the right thing" territory, and he goes for the same innate "I brought you a single, droopy sunflower" move that made Juliet melt in DHARMA times. But Charlotte2 is a tougher nut to crack, and she tells him he blew it.

James2 then goes to reconcile with Miles2. In a move that island Sawyer would never make, he gives his partner the "Sawyer" file, then tells him his sad story. He confesses he went to Australia as part of his quest to find Sawyer, and it paid off with the name "Anthony Cooper." He then confesses that, if he finds him, he'll kill kim. The reason he told Miles2? So that his partner would talk him out of it.

Aside #3 - I really believe James2 in all of this. First of all, that he only "got a name" in Australia. When we saw him get off the plane, this was not a man who just killed someone, only to find out it was the wrong the person. No, this was a guy who seemed at peace, presumably because he gained new intel. I also believe that he meant it when he said he wanted Miles2 to talk him out of the murder. This is a James Ford who found himself in law and order much earlier than his island counterpart, and figured out the man he wants to be. He may never forgive Anthony Cooper, but he's the bigger man. Which I why I hope and believe he'll earn his reward - when he and Juliet2 go Dutch for coffee.

But the reconciliation moment is cut short when a car fleeing from some other cops crashes into James2's unmarked sedan. The fleeing driver bails, and James2 chases. This driver is dressed exactly the same outfit that dark Charlie wore when he assisted James2 in the kidnap Sun to get the guns gambit in Season 2. James2 catches the suspect, pulls back the hood, and recognizes Kate2 as the person he assisted at the airport (talk about a not cop-like thing to do!) "Son of a bitch!" is James2's expression as this sideways storyline ends, for now...

Island - Team Locke (Starring Sawyer)

The "main" story can really be summed up in a few broad brushes...

Sawyer tends to ailing Jin in Claire's tent (why we didn't see them during the Temple massacre), and promises to help Jin find Sun before they leave the island.

Flocke returns with the "we chose to leave at sunset" Others, and promises protection for his new band of Others (especially young Zack and Emma - and isn't Zack getting a little too old for that ratty old teddy bear?), and, while he tells them that the Black Smoke killed those who stayed at the Temple, he tells only Sawyer that he, himself, is the Black Smoke.

Claire takes Kate's hand, a sign of reassurance, during the Flocke talk, only to then try to slit Kate's throat for taking Aaron. As Kate struggles to get free of Claire, Sayid, who just told Kate he is "not alright," just stares and doesn't help. But Flocke pulls Claire off, and slaps her hard for "inappropriate behavior."

Flocke tasks Sawyer with taking an outrigger to Hydra island to recon the Ajira survivors who "I believe intend to do us harm."

Sawyer reminisces at the bear cages when he sees Kate's old sun dress, then finds the Ajira plane. He follows drag marks to a pile of corpses (the remaining Ajira survivors), who seem to have died without having been shot or stabbed. There he encounters Zoe, a mousy woman who claims to be the last survivor of the flight.

Sawyer calls Zoe's bluff, and pulls a gun on her. She whistels, and out come 6 armed men, who take Sawyer to...the submarine they arrived on.

Flocke talks to Kate to apologize for Claire, then reveals that he had a "crazy mother," who caused "growing pains" that he's still dealing with, a revelation he tells her because Claire will be a crazy mother to Aaron if she reunites them.

Sawyer is taken past a few of Zoe's companions erecting a sonic fence like the one surrounding the DHARMA barracks, and onto the sub, where he is marched past a double-padlocked door with a sentry stationed outside. Nobody wants to answer his question about what's inside (mystery debaters, begin! My favorite theory that I've heard thus far comes from my buddy, Grant, who emailed me right after the episode with a one-word answer - "Desmond").

Sawyer is then taken to see Charles Widmore, who laments how little James Ford knows. Sawyer lays it out simply - in exchange for safe passage for the specific people in the boat he brings back to Hydra island (presumably Kate, Jin and Sun, and maybe Claire and/or Sayid), he will tell Locke (who both of them know isn't Locke) that the coast is clear, so that Widmore can have a free, easy, served-on-a-silver platter chance to kill Flocke. This makes Widmore smile.

Sawyer then returns, and tells Flocke everything, including his promise to assist Widmore in killing Flocke. He makes it clear that he knows that Flocke knew he wouldn't find Ajira survivors when he went over there, but in a show of what "Flocke" calls loyalty, he says now that Widmore is expecting them to come straight to him, he'll be caught unaware by their change of plan. The loyalty thing is all about his deal with Flocke to get him off the island.

When Kate asks Sawyer why he's helping Flocke, Sawyer tells her he ain't helping - and they aren't going to leave on the Ajira plane. His plan is to get the Widmore and Others forces trying to kill each other, then grab Kate (and other 815ers?), steal the sub, and get out that way.

Global Island Aside -

So what is Sawyer's game? He told Jin he's about helping to rescue Sun. He told Flocke he's about honoring their deal (and Flocke can't be that stupid, can he?). He told Widmore he'd betray Flocke for safety (after telling him he knows that Widmore tried to have them all killed three years earlier), and he told Kate he's duping all the rest of them, but she should trust him. I like to think the truth is somewhere in what he told Jin (with whom he bonded in DHARMA times) and Kate (who he remembers loving thanks to his bear cage visit).

Is Claire really going to play nice with Kate? Why would Flocke help her along for so long, only to try to have Kate keep her from Aaron?

What is going on with Sayid "I stare with darting eyes but no discerable reaction" Jarrah? Do he and Claire have a stronger bond now than simply both being kind of nuts?

Last week, when Flocke told Ben to meet him at Hydra island, what was he really trying to get Ben to do? Be a decoy for Widmore? For that matter, I have to believe it was Smokey himself who killed the Ajirites. Widmore's people had guns, but that pile of bodies had not been shot (unless the set dressers simply got lazy).

What is it that Widmore wants? Killing everyone on the island seems to be a way to wipe out Jacob's candidates, which would seem to assist Flocke. But he seems to genuinely want Flocke dead. Of course, that may just have been a false assumption Sawyer made, but then what's with the sonic fences? Before this episode, I thought there would be some sort of kahoots between Smokey and Widmore. Now...

For that matter, and apropos of nothing in this episode, I think back to Season 4, when, in the wake of Keamy killing Alex, Ben somehow summoned the smoke monster to attack Keamy and his group. Why was Smokey so willing to be directed to specific victims, when he had candidates in the group he left untouched? For that matter, why would Smokey do anything at Ben's beck and call?

And then there's the mystery of the locked submarine compartment. I did like the whole Desmond theory (if for no other reason than Henry Ian Cusick has remained in the opening credits of each episode despite only appearing so far in the first 5 minutes of the 8 hours we've seen so far this season). Doc Jensen has another explanation. But it's an explanation that first requires his theory on what/ who Smokey really is. This one's a doozy, but there is a certain logic to it...

This was the real re-con of ''Recon'' — Fake Locke's bid to get Sawyer to commit patricide one more time by killing Charles Widmore. Which is all to say, meet the Man Behind The (Smokey) Mask:

Daniel Faraday.

Not the Daniel Faraday who was shot and killed by his crazy mother in 1977. And not the fetal Daniel Faraday who was growing inside his pregnant mother when she shot and killed adult Daniel Faraday back in 1977. I’m saying: It’s a freaky fusion of both, a disembodied mutant hybrid soul, essentially left behind on the Island as a consequence of the Jughead time reboot that also rebooted pregnant Eloise Hawking. It’s possible that this entity may have been grafted onto an eternal supernatural being that has lived on the Island performing some great spiritual function that it has now tired of. Or it could just be a feral supernatural force that’s been left to develop and grow haphazardly on its own, possessed by the dream of one day becoming a real human being again. Either way, Smokey Faraday is all kinds of wrong — and I think that’s why his father, Charles Widmore, has come to the Island. To take responsibility for his own Abominable Faux Son, and put it/him out of its/his misery. What does Charles have locked up in his submarine? A secret weapon. A weapon more powerful than the dream of vengeance that possessed Sawyer and Claire for so long: It’s the toxic brew of guilt and love, damnation and redemption. Her name was Theresa Spencer. She’s the woman that Daniel Faraday once loved, but whose mind he broke as a result of his time travel experiments that his psycho mom spurred him toward, a woman that Charles Widmore kept alive on his own dime for years, just so he could use her for this very moment.

What I don't like about this theory is its tendency to delve into the high-falutin, mumbo-jumbo stuff that sci fi typically gets scoffed at over, which ultimately makes no sense because if you use enough "soul" and "transdimensional" language, things no longer seem to have to make sense. But what I do like is how well the pieces fit - Daniel clearly was the only character we've seen to have serious mommy issues (even if they only became clear at the moment of his death), and if his back in time to die Odyssey really did somehow turn him into Smokey...who was there 120+ years earlier...well, that would correspond with Flocke's "crazy mom" story. And let's face it, the Theresa Spencer thing was seemingly out of character for Widmore, unless he had a purpose he was working towards. But I can't imagine the big mystery of the locked compartment is really "that comatose chick we saw for one scene back in Season 4, who was awake in one scene in Season5." It doesn't feel epic or monumental enough, and the producers like to shy away from writing anything into the show that requires the viewer to have too crazily obsessed a recall for all things Lost to fully appreciate. So I just give you Jensen's theory as a nifty bit of mental experimenting, and leave it to you to decide if it has merit.

Anyway, next week promises to be a watershed moment for Lost, when we'll finally get Richard Alpert's backstory (and, if Kristin Dos Santos at E! Online is to be believed, the answer to what the island is). So until then, when we reconvene for Ab Aeterno, Namaste!