Natural Born Killer

Well let's just blow off the first 55 minutes of this episode (counting commercials), and get right to the ending.

Sayid. Killed. Ben.

What? How's this possible? What's this mean for our islanders? All of their lives have just been changed...no purge, no exiled Widmore, maybe no crash of Flight 815...which means no Losties, no Oceanic 6...which means, everything we've seen over the last four and half seasons (discounting the flashbacks prior to the 815 crash) never happened!

How is this possible? How, I ask you?

Easy: it's not possible. And that's why Ben isn't dead. He can't be.

And no, I'm not saying that just because it would change this history of our beloved show. I'm saying Ben can't be dead because it would violate the laws of time travel. Or at least, the laws of time travel to which LOST has thus far subscribed. Namely, the self-consistency principle—known in LOST lingo as "course-correction."

The self-consistency principle says that the past can't be changed, and if you try to change it, you'll be unsuccessful. According to this principle, if one could travel back in time, the time-traveler could affect the past, but they couldn't change it. For example, when Sawyer and Juliet gunned down two Hostiles. The self-consistency principle suggests that, if Sawyer and Juliet hadn't done the deed, then those two Hostiles were going to die some other way. Paul would have still died and Amy would have still lived (and given birth to Ethan). And since the self-consistency priniple suggests there's one unalterable time-line, it means that we're just seeing our characters doing the things they originally did on this timeline.

Which means that the Ben Linus we've come to know must have lived his entire life knowing that Sayid Jarrah tried to kill him when he was twelve years old. Which leads to him being nursed back to health in the DI (being "patient"—and, perhaps, being a patient), because he's still part of the DI when The Purge takes place 15 years later.

But wait, you're saying. How do we know the self-consistency principle applies? How do we know they can't change things? Or maybe you're thinking, "if they can't change things, then won't that make for a lame ending to this series?" Doesn't that mean there's no point? Who wants to watch a show where the characters are all powerless, living out a script without any power to change things?

Well, we don't know that the self-consistency principle applies. But they've given us a lot of hints to suggest this, such as Mrs. Hawking's "course-correcting" speech and Charlie Pace's inevitable death, to name a couple. Also, I think the writers need this self-consistency principle. Otherwise, things get too messy. For example, if Ben dies...we're left with too many questions for them to ever answer. And they don't want to give their audience the impression that everything we've watched for the last few seasons is now moot.

That being said, even if the self-consistency principle applies, I think there will be a wild card or two. I think they'll figure out a way to change the past; But letting all the characters alter the past...that's not going to happen. I think it's more likely that Desmond will be the wild card. Or maybe Christian Shephard, Sun, Lapidus, Locke, or even Ben (middle-aged Ben, that is).

Now, could this have been the moment when the past was changed? Could Sayid have somehow changed the past, and by doing so, removed Benjamin Linus from the future? I suppose. But I really doubt it.

Sayid should have checked that kid's pulse before running off into the jungle, because I'd put a lot of money down saying that Sayid Jarrah, our natural born killer, failed in his assassination attempt.

But if you want a more thorough explanation of the self-consistency principle as seen on LOST, check out this blog post.

Now let's get on with the recap, finally:

Season 5—Episode 10: “He's Our You”

First of all, kudos to Karen (yes, "Karen," because I don't want to get accused of nepotism) for her attempts to answer my question from last week regarding who the "he," "our," and "you" would be in this week's episode. I didn't know it when I asked, but apparently it was an unfair question since we hadn't met Oldham, Dharma's version of Sayid yet.

So, how do we feel about Sayid now? How do we feel about Ben? I'll come back to that later, I think.

Here's some off-island information about Sayid:

—When he was a kid in Iraq, his father asked his brother (presumably an older brother) to kill a chicken. Sayid's father gave the boy a knife, but when it was clear that the older brother couldn't do it, Sayid did it for him. But he didn't use the knife. No, he used chicken feed to get close to the bird, and then he snapped its neck (which was brutal and ominous, if you ask me).

After leaving the island as a member of the Oceanic 6:

—In Moscow, Sayid kills the final man on Ben's list. Ben is outside waiting on Sayid to come out. Then Ben tells Sayid that he's finished—he's killed all the men who were a threat to his friends. And he encourages Sayid to get on with his life.

—Then when he was building houses in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Ben shows up to talk to him. Ben tells him Locke is dead and suggests that someone killed him. Ben then implies that it was done as an act of retribution since Ben and Sayid had killed all the people from the list. Ben goes on to suggest that one of those men is spying on Hurley, and thinks Sayid might just want to go take that guy out, too.

—After storming out on Ben and the others on the wharf (earlier this season) we see Sayid drinking (MacCutcheon, what else?) alone at a bar. And who saddles up to the bar next to him? Ilana. After some flirting, they end up back in his or her room, and just when Sayid thought he was about to unzip her boot...Whap!...he gets straight kicked in the face. And then she's pointing a gun at him.(I'm thinking Sayid might need to stop hooking up with women. Didn't this same thing happen to him in "The Economist"? Only that time, he got shot. This time, not.) And Ilana tells him she's working for the family of Peter Avellino, the man Sayid killed on a golf course. And she's been hired to bring him back to Guam, where he'll "pay for what he's done."

—At the airport boarding Ajira Flight 316, Sayid realizes, as Frank Lapidus would later say, they aren't going to Guam. And he asks if they can take the next flight, but Ilana says no.

And that brings us to the 1977, on-island, and imprisoned Sayid:

Everything on island was pretty predictable: Horace and Sawyer both try to get Sayid to talk, but he won't. Sawyer throws in an arbitrary headbutt (which I think might have been included solely for the trailers leading up to this week, to give us the impression Sawyer was going to completely abandon Sayid).

Then, an unexpected element: taking Sayid to Dharma's version of him: Oldham—a man Sawyer refers to as a "psychopath."

We don't know Oldham's first name yet, and until we learn it (and maybe even after) I'm going to call him Hippie Oldham. After all, he lives in a tent, he's blaring music, and he's creating his own LSD-like substance. Now if only he had Sawyer's hair...

So Oldham drips some of his LSD-looking substance on a sugar cube, and they force Sayid to swallow it.

(Note: In the 60's, the U.S. government experimented with the use of LSD for interrogations, believing it would function as a truth-telling serum. It didn't really work, but maybe Oldham perfected the recipe.)

He says Sayid will tell him the truth, and he's right. Only, they don't believe it, because the truth includes this exchange:

Sayid: You’re all going to die, you know.
Sayid: You’re going to be killed.
Horace: How exactly would you know this, Sayid?
Sayid: Because I’m from the future.

So, the Dharma-folk have a meeting to discuss Sayid. They decide (thanks to some concerns from Horace, whining from Radzinsky, and pleading from new-mommy Amy) to kill Sayid. And when Horace says he would like to be able to say the vote was unamimous, Sawyer raises his hand. (Which, to be honest, prompted me to call Sawyer a pansy as the show cut to commercial break.)

After the break, though, Sawyer gives Sayid a chance to punch him, take his keys, disarm the dimwitted Phil, and escape, adding, "just promise me you won't shoot anybody."

But Sayid turns down the offer saying he now knows why he's here. And with that, let's segue to just about the only non-Sayid element of the episode: the Kate/Juliet/Sawyer love triangle (for those of you who, like me, expected a Season 5 love rhombus, I guess we'll have to keep waiting for Jack to get his groove back).

Sawyer goes to Kate to ask her why they came back. She says she's can't speak for the others, but she knows why she came back. (Um, could it be...for Sawyer? I think that's what that moment was supposed to suggest. And I guess I'm gullible enough to believe it...for now.) But before Kate can elaborate, a flaming Dharma van comes speeding into New Otherton.

But before I wrap this thing up, there are two other short Kate scenes worth sharing.

Scene 1: Hurley is serving waffles to Jack and Kate, and Hurley spills the beans about Juliet and Sawyer being together. I couldn't keep up with his rambling about how he saw it coming and he figured everyone did...but Hurley was going on about it long enough that Jack needed to cut him short, for Kate's sake.

Scene 2: Juliet and Kate are talking when Juliet asks if Jack told Kate about Juliet and Sawyer being bunkmates. Kate says no, but Hurley told her. And then Juliet said this:

"That’s quite a relief. I wasn’t sure how to do it without it sounding like I was telling you to stay away."

Which basically means, I want to tell you to stay away, but I didn't want it to sound too confrontational...but just so you know now, I do want you to stay away.

New Character Developments:

Ilana goes from being a typical passenger on Ajira 316 to a professional bounty-hunter/assassin passenger.

Roger Linus goes from being a deadbeat dad to a child-beating dad.

Hippie Oldham is introduced as a psycopath.

Radzinsky got more annoying.

Phil, in Sawyer's words, is now a dimwit.

Summary:

I wasn't as interested in these Sayid flashbacks. The point, obviously, was to show that Sayid has always been able to kill. That's the way in which he is "special." But it was good to see more of his off-island interactions with Ben.

But overall, I was a little disappointed. I guess the flashbacks were necessary for setting up the end of the episode attempted murder. Without the flashbacks, could we have believed Sayid would have had the stones to kill the kid whose dad just beat him up because the kid made a sandwich for Sayid? Oh, not to mention the fact that the kid just sprung him from his cell and saved him from a Dharma execution. So yeah, only a natural born killer could follow through with that plan.

But as I've said above, I don't think he was successful. And I'm really curious about what Sayid will do now. Especially if he realizes he can't kill Benjmin Linus, thereby stripping him of his newfound purpose. Yet, then again, even if he is successful, his purpose will still be gone. So what's next for Sayid?

Quotes:

1) Young Ben: I’ve been patient. And if you’re patient too…I think I can help you.

2) Sayid: I killed all those people for you, and now you’re just walking away.
Ben: You didn’t kill them for me. You’re the one who asked for their names.

3) Ben: John Locke is dead. I think he was murdered.

4)Sayid: You came all this way because you want me to kill that man?
Ben: Don’t you want to?…

5) Ben: You’re capable of things that most men aren’t…it’s in your nature. It’s what you are. You’re a killer, Sayid.

6) Sayid: I’m not what you think I am. I don’t like killing.
Ben: Well, then I apologize. I was mistaken about you.

7) Ben: I hate it here. If I let you out, will you take me with you? To your people?
Sayid: Yes, Ben, I will. That’s why I’m here.

8) Sawyer: I just can’t let you go.
Sayid: Why not?
Sawyer: Because these people trust me. I’ve built a life here—a pretty good one. And I’m not gonna give that up.

9) Sawyer: Either you join the party in Dharmaville, or you’re on your own.
Sayid: Then I guess I’m on my own.

10) Jack: What happened?
Sawyer: Three years, no burning buses. Y’all back for one day! Grab that hose.

11) Kate: What did Sawyer tell you?
Jack: He told me to leave him alone and let him do his job.
Hurley: And you’re going to? (Note: I can't remember who told me that Hurley often seems to speak for the audience...Karen, did you say that? But that's definitely happening here. Hurley is asking the question we were all wondering after watching "Namaste": will Jack submit to Sawyer's leadership?)

12) Sayid: Who is that man?
Sawyer: He’s our you.

13) Hippie Oldham: There are side effects to what I’m giving you.
(Note: Significant side-effects? Side-effects we'll see? I hope not. Unless it turns Sayid into the Hulk. Or a Polar Bear. Kidding.)

13) Sawyer: How you doing?
Sayid: A twelve-year-old Ben Linus brought me a chicken-salad sandwich, how do you think I’m doing?

14) Sayid: You were right about me.
Young Ben: What?
Sayid: I am a killer.

Prevailing Questions:

1) What book did Ben give to Sayid? I couldn't tell. But I'm curious since Ben said, "I read it twice. It's good."

2) Sayid has some really, really harsh things to say about Ben being a liar, a murderer, etc., etc., on the plane to Ilana. But I still don't understand where this anger is stemming from. When Ben showed up in the Dominican Republic, Sayid ended up doing what Ben asked...he came to California to kill the man watching Hurley. And yet, right after that, he was adamant about not trusting Benjamin Linus. Why? What did he learn (and when did he learn it?) that made him realize how conniving and untrustworthy Ben is? Did Widmore or one of Widmore's men get to him? Sayid did mention something about Ben letting his daughter die, and how did he know about that? Hurley could have told them, I guess, but the others present during that encounter (Miles, Sawyer, Locke, Ben, Claire, baby Aaron) couldn't have told him. But Widmore could have... Thoughts?

3) If Widmore (or Abaddon working for Widmore) told Sayid about Benjamin Linus' deceit—which is my current suspicion—why didn't they include that in this episode? It seems like it would have fit in nicely, so if they left it out, then it makes me think it will be revealed later—and it might be important...

4) Was Ilana really hired by the family of murdered Peter Avellino? Or was someone else responsible for getting Sayid on that flight? Maybe the "family of Peter Avellino" is no family at all. But let's see, who knew this Peter guy's name? And who knew Sayid offed him? Well, there's Ben. And Ben. Even though Ilana claimed she didn't know him, it doesn't mean he wasn't behind it. Maybe he convinced Mrs. Hawking to set it up? Or Butcher Shop Jill? Or his lawyer friend who was hounding Kate? Regardless, I think Ben was behind it. Do you?

5) Where is Sayid going to go? Join the Others? Where else could he go?

6) Who were the men on Ben's hit list? Were they really men who posed a threat to Sayid's friends? I don't think so. But I don't know who they are. Maybe men who once lived on the island? But I have no support for that. Any ideas?

7) In the introductory "Previously on LOST" section, we once again saw the scene when the even younger Benjamin Linus first met Richard in the jungle. And once again, I wondered why Richard was dressed so differently. If that was 4 years ago, as Ben said, then it was one year before Richard strolled into Dharmaville to find out what happened to his two missing guys. Back in 1954, when Locke met Richard during the time flash, Richard was dressed nicely, the way he is when we've seen him every other time (except for this scene with Ben). So why did Richard dress differently this one time? If it was part of a ruse, or a disguise, for whose benefit was it? Ben's?

8) I also read a fan post on a LOST forum this week suggesting that Ben is obsessed with Juliet because she was nice to him when he was a kid on the island. I think this is possible, but I think it's more probable now that he's been shot—now that he might need a nurse/doctor to keep an eye on him. If Juliet was the one to nurse him back to health, then maybe that's why he has a soft spot for her later. Thoughts?

9) How long before Radzinsky realizes that Sayid might have really come on a plane? If not Radzinsky, then someone at one of the stations Radzinsky radioed (in "Namaste") when Jin burst in demanding to know about the plane crash? Since Sayid claimed to arrive via plane crash, and since he was found just minutes after Jin was talking about a plane crash, shouldn't that be raising any flags?

10) Any idea where the name Oldham comes from? I did a little searching, especially relating to LSD and other psychedelic drugs, but no dice. Thoughts?

—Thanks for Reading

Claire, is that you?

The web is abuzz with debate about a four-second clip from the most recent episode of LOST ("Namaste").

Is the woman in the background Claire? Could it be Charlotte? What about Penny? Libby?

You decide:

Coming Soon: Ford Super Duty Trucks with Tailgate Escalators

(Note: I enjoy good satire—see TheOnion.com—yet I've never tried to write it. Until now. For those not hip to satire's script, dictionary.com defines it as "Irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose folly, vice, or stupidity." And, I figure, the world is full of enough stupidity to keep a good satirist employed forever. So here's my first go...)

Last Friday, Ford announced its plan to roll out a line of Ford Super Duty trucks boasting a drop-down tailgate escalator. In the press release, Ford claimed this innovation will bring financial stability to the struggling auto industry.



Ford CEO Alan Mulally says, "Everybody is afraid to buy new cars right now, and that's why we needed to jazz things up a bit. Our Market Research Department is convinced that a tailgate escalator is exactly what consumers have been waiting for."

Critics suggest that Ford is attempting to erase the memory of their trucks (still available on the lots of Ford dealers everywhere) equipped with a "man-step." The ill-conceived "man-step" is currently being maligned in Chevy commercials and snickered at by real men everywhere.

Real man Tommy Barton says, "I bought a new Ford without realizing they had added some kind of step to the tailgate. And now, I can't drive anywhere without kids pointing at me and laughing."

"I don't even use the step," Barton insists. But no one believes him.

Barton's wife, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says she is no longer attracted to her husband. "When we got married, I thought he was a man. But when he brought that truck home, well, now I'm not so sure."

Bill Burton says his "man-step" cost him his best friend. "Ol' Gus been riding in the back of my truck for years. But when I brought my new Ford home, he come a-running up to the tailgate with his tongue just a-wagging. But when I lowered the tailgate, he saw that there step...and he just sorta lowered his head and walked away. He done crawled up under that porch over yonder, and he ain't come out yet."

Initially Ford thought their "man-step" would help them corner the truck-buyers market.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally says, "We thought the step would be perfect for all the lazy men out there. Our R&D people talked to thousands of truck owners who said they never use their truckbeds because it's too much work to climb up there.'"

But apparently Ford underestimated the extent of such laziness.

One hillbilly whose name sounds like an odd combination of Bilberry and Tomburt—all five times we asked him— says, "It useta take one bigol' giant step to climb onto them tailgates, and now it takes two steps, and I ain't no stupid, so I knows that's at least, er, um...well I'll be darned if it ain't more work!"

But Ford has seen the light. Not only have they learned that real men (and lazy men) want an escalator and not a step, they've also determined that, by marketing exclusively to men, they had been unnecessarily restricting their demographic.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally says, "Trucks aren't just for men. And our escalator-tailgates are going to shatter that gender stereotype once and for all."

One middle-aged woman has already pre-ordered a Ford Super Duty Tailgate-Escalator Truck, and Ford expects that number to double or triple by the time trucks start coming off the line in 2011.

"We're not going to market this truck to men at all," says Hamilton Bradley, an unpaid intern and peon in Ford's marketing department who has had zero involvement in discussions about the tailgate-escalators but who has listened, in his words, "very attentively" to those he's passed in the hallways and bathrooms at Ford's home offices. "Instead, we're going to connect with the soccer moms and cougars out there."

Alicia Deaton, a self-proclaimed "soccer mom, cougar, and superfreak—the kind you don't bring home to motha," says, "I'd never even thought about climbing into the bed of a truck before."

"But with the escalator-tailgate," Deaton says, "Ford makes climbing into a truckbed feel like going to the mall."

Ford is determined to reduce its carbon footprint (mostly because not saying this would get the company crucified by every major media outlet), so they're proud to announce that all their tailgate escalators will be completely solar-powered. Even though initial testing suggests they will only work once a week—and even less in the winter.

To further appeal to the superfreaky, mall-loving soccer moms and cougars, Ford is toying with the idea of installing a tanning bed in the back of each of their tailgate-escalator trucks.

"But don't worry," says Ford CEO Alan Mulally, "in an effort to go green, we decided to only equip our trucks with solar-powered tanning beds."

They are still developing the design for theses solar-powered tanning beds, but they have agreed on an initial front-runner (pictured below).






—Thanks for Reading

Character Overview: Daniel Faraday

This isn't a complete character overview, and in some ways, it's more of a prediction/theory. But first, I wanted to create a basic timeline for Daniel's life (as we've seen it), since his journey has been confusing, and doing so helped me assess what's going on with our mad physicist.

So here goes:

Birth&mdash Unknown. Eloise Hawking is his mother, but I stand by my claim that she adopted him...which means it could have happened later and we needn't assume he was born wherever she was living. If their connection is biological, however, then it could mean Daniel was born on the island (as an Other/Hostile, born to that Ellie woman he met in 1954—or Ellie could have given birth to him after she left the island.)

1954—(on the island during a time-flash)—tells the Others what to do with the Jughead bomb, has a strange conversation with Ellie (thinks he recognizes her…)

1974—on the island (after Charlotte’s body disappeared) with Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, and Jin…mumbling about how he can't change things, blah, blah, blah.

1970’s (presumably after 1974?)—working on the construction of The Orchid

1977—Sawyer says Daniel isn’t there anymore…

So where did he go? My guess…since they were constructing the Orchid station in the 1970’s and Pierre Chang expressed an interest in time travel…maybe Faraday was the guinea pig, and maybe that’s what shipped him off the island…?

1996 –teaching at Oxford

After Desmond tells Daniel what numbers to use to “unstick Eloise in time,” they have this exchange:

DESMOND: So, so how does that help me?
DAN: You, what? I don't understand, am I supposed to help you? Didn't I send you back here to help me?
DESMOND: I don't know why you sent me here. All I know about you is that you end up on some bloody island.
DAN: An island. What island, where...why would I go to an island?

2004—living in Essex, Massachusetts, and he has a caregiver who watches over him…? After Flight 815 crashes, he cries, but doesn’t know why. Shortly after that, he’s recruited by Matthew Abaddon to join the team with Naomi, Miles, Charlotte, and Frank.


Another thing to think about…Daniel was the one who went to the Tempest station to shut it down and prevent the spread of toxic gas. Before this, Charlotte was helping him regain his memory…so I think he helped design this station, and that’s why he was the one who knew how to disable it. Maybe...

But here's the idea that really intrigues me. Remember, if you read my Desmond Hume Character Overview, I put a lot of emphasis on Daniel telling Desmond that he is "uniquely and miraculously special." Daniel believes Desmond has the power to change things.

And in 1974, Daniel is really hung up on "what happened happened...we can't change things...the record is stuck, but we're not on the song we want..." So he has this great understanding of time travel, but for whatever reason, he doesn't think he can change things. But he thinks Desmond can!

And what's the fun in time travel if one doesn't have the ability to change things? So where did Daniel go? My answer: to find Desmond Hume. Maybe it'll be in present day, or maybe in the past, but I think Daniel is looking for Desmond. I think he'll find him. Soon. And I'm looking forward to it.

(And one last crackpot theory: What if Ellie the Other is in fact Daniel's mother...and what if his father was a member of the Dharma Initiative. That would give us a Romeo/Juliet type of love story, where Ellie the Other and a Dharma man become "two star-crossed lovers," but without the mutual suicide at the end, of course. Maybe that relationship in the 60's or early 70's even led to the formation of "The Truce.")

Any errors in this thinking? Other ideas?

—Thanks for reading

Everybody say 'Namaste'

We’re more than halfway through Season 5, and finally, it feels like the stage has been set. Which is great...and discomforting. It’s great because, after episodes of flashing around, confused, askew, trying to get back to the island or trying to get the island to hold still, the group is finally reassembled in the same place (though not yet all in the same time). And it’s discomforting because now that we’re feeling settled, things are about to get really messy. You feel it too, don't you?

This week, my summary won’t include everything, but I’m going to hit some highlights and share my thoughts on each. And I’ll be sure to include the quotes and questions at the end. So here goes.

Season 5—Episode 9: “Namaste”

I knew Sun was going to hit Ben with that paddle. Knew it. But I still liked knowing that it was Sun, and not the plane crash, that landed him in the sick bay in the previous episode.

And it wasn’t long before we learned for sure that Sun, Frank, Ben, and the other Flight 316 survivors aren’t in the same time period as the Dharma folks. All it took to make that clear was one “30 Years Earlier” flash that took us back to the same scene we ended with last episode—with Jack, Kate, and Hurley meeting up with Sawyer.

It doesn’t take long for us to realize that the Oceanic 6 (or at least the 3, 4, or 5 of them—depending how and when you count) aren’t going to be invited to any Homecoming dances. Especially when Sawyer learns that Locke is dead—since I think Sawyer still thought Locke could put things right. No Locke means they're stuck with the current arrangement, and Sawyer seems to think his current life is better than whatever his returning friends have to offer.

And it's not just Sawyer. All the new DI’s—Sawyer, Jin, Miles, and Juliet—found an opportunity to put off the We-Were-Doing-Just-Fine-And-Dandy-Without-You-Here-Thank-You-Very-Much vibes.

Want examples? Well, there was Juliet leaving Kate’s name off the manifold list (accident? I doubt it…), but adding it at the last minute so that she could be the one to come in and save Kate. Why would she do that? Well, because she knows Kate and Sawyer had a little thing, and this is her power play—letting Kate know that Kate’s there because Juliet is letting Kate be there. (Sort of like Tom back in Season 2..."This is our island. You're living on it because we let you live on it.")

Miles certainly didn’t seem thrilled to see the return of the 06.

As for Jin, well, he definitely appears to be a loyal Dharma guy now, but his desire to find Sun sort of trumped everything else—even though he was still able to hold a gun to Sayid’s head when he needed to.

And Sawyer, well, we’re still learning what he’s thinking. He’s glad to see Hurley, not sure how to feel about seeing Kate, and well, not exactly ecstatic to see Jack. And that brings us to our next scene—which I think is the most important and most foreboding scene from this episode.

I don’t know how everyone else feels or has felt about Jack, but I’ve always liked him. I admire his loyalty, respect his leadership—and on an island full of twists, turns, and the likes of Sawyer, Locke, and Ben, I’ve always enjoyed knowing I could trust Jack to be constant. (I guess you could say, Jack Shephard is my constant.) So in this episode, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Jack.

First of all, he had to sit through Pierre Chang telling him that he’s been assigned to be a workman, doing custodial work, because of his scores on an aptitude test. (I bet that’s a tough pill to swallow for one of the world’s premier spinal surgeons.) And while we’re thinking about this, let’s ask ourselves where Pierre Chang got Jack’s test results. After all, Chang told Jack that his file was missing…but somehow, they still had his aptitude test results—and the results made him a lowly workman? Hmmm, now who could have arranged that? (cough…Sawyer…cough)

And then when he goes to talk to Sawyer to see what the plan is—a gesture which suggests that Jack expects to be at least on equal footing with Sawyer—Head of Security Jim LaFleur is not so accommodating.

Sure, the exchange is friendly enough to begin with. Sawyer even tells Jack to “sit down and take a load off” and offers him a cold Dharma Lite. But then again, maybe this was just Sawyer’s way of reminding Jack that the good doctor is now on the outlaw’s turf.

Jack first wants to know what they're going to do about the imprisoned Sayid.

Sawyer says he had no choice, but emphasizes that Sayid is safe. Jack surely noticed when Sawyer said, “he got caught by my people.” My people. That should have been a subtle enough hint, suggesting that Sawyer’s allegiance has shifted. Or, perhaps, that Sawyer's in charge and Jack’s going to have to live with it.

But Jack pushes his luck:

Jack: Where do we go from here?
Sawyer: I’m working on it.
Jack: Really? You’re working on it? Because it looked to me like you were sitting here reading a book.

Sawyer looks away before responding, and it seems like he is steeling himself not just for this one response, but also for the ongoing conflict that will inevitably result from it. And he certainly doesn't shy away from that conflict.

In response, Sawyer begins by saying that Winston Churchill read a book every night (even "during the Blitz"), because it helped him think. And then Sawyer channels his inner high school cheerleader with this:

Sawyer: It's how I like to run things. I think. I'm sure that doesn't mean that much to you, 'cause back when you were calling the shots, you pretty much just reacted. See, you didn't think, Jack, and as I recall, a lot of people ended up dead.

Jack: I got us off the Island.

Sawyer: But here you are... right back where you started. So I'm gonna go back to reading my book, and I'm gonna think, 'cause that's how I saved your ass today. And that's how I'm gonna save Sayid's tomorrow. All you gotta do is go home, get a good night's rest. Let me do what I do.

But here you are "right back where you started," except that now you're a Dharma workman—with no say and no influence—while here I am, the head of security. And oh yeah, you might have noticed on your way in that lady Juliet and I are busy living happily ever after, much happier than you ever were with Kate off the island...so I'll see you later, and don't let the door hit you on your way out. Or do; I don't really care.

So yeah, I don’t expect this power struggle to give way anytime soon.

When Sawyer saw Jack to the door, Sawyer stood on the porch and happened to glance over and see Kate standing on hers. He waved, almost shyly. She did the same. I admit, it was kind of cute.

A few other highlights:

1)
We met Radzinsky—the same guy who later blew his brains out in the Swan station. I feel like there were a lot of clues buried in his scenes, but I couldn’t catch them. We know he was the one putting together the model for The Swan station—which, apparently wasn’t built yet (so could it be the addition of the Swan…and maybe the ensuing Incident?…which led to the no-babies-on-the-island situation in which The Others later found themselves?). Bottom line: Radzinsky was a smart dude who kept his eyes on everything.

2)
Sun and Frank paddle over to the main island, and they find their way to a dark Barracks. And just when they decide it’s deserted, a light comes on. And who’s there? Of course, it’s Christian Shephard. Who else. Christian takes them into a building (did anyone notice which one?) and shows them the Dharma Initiative picture from 1977—where Sun sees Hurley, Kate, and Jack pictured as Dharma’s “New Recruits” (Was Jin also in the picture? I didn’t notice…). And Christian tells Sun that she has “quite a journey ahead of her,” which sounded so much like his typical “you’ve got work to do” mantra.

I wish I could comment more on this scene, but I don’t understand Christian Shephard at all, and it’s driving me nuts. Not only do I not understand his presence and significance, but I don’t get why he keeps telling everyone they have “work to do.” He says that about as often as Hurley says “Dude,” which is only slightly more often than the number of times Michael yelled, “WALT!” If I just understood it, I wouldn’t be so annoyed…but I just don't know why he cares so much.

3) Amy tells Juliet that she and Horace are naming their kid Ethan. And Juliet’s face is priceless. But Ethan’s last name was not Goodspeed; it was Rom. So is it the same Ethan? If so, then that raises another question. Ethan was born into the Dharma Initiative, but if he grows up to be Ethan Rom, then he survived The Purge. And became an Other. Hmmm.

4) After Sayid gets caught by Radzinski (and Jin), Sawyer goes to take care of it. Radzinsky wants to kill him, but Sawyer insists on taking him back to the Barracks. Radzinsky says he plans to talk to Horace about this…and Sawyer tells him to go ahead. I don’t have much of a comment on this, but I think he will talk to Horace and Horace will talk to Sawyer.

5) We learned a little more about the truce. Apparently, the truce dictates that a hostile, when apprehended or on Dharma land, must admit to being a “hostile.” Or, in Sawyer’s words:

Sawyer: My name’s LaFleur; I’m the head of security. I want you to listen real closely to what I got to say. You do that and you’ll be fine. Identify yourself as a hostile. The terms of the truce say you must identify yourself as a hostile.

It seems that they don’t like that term, and won’t admit to being such. It’s not much, but it adds a little clarity. Or does it?

6) And last but certainly not least, at the end, a little boy named Ben brings Sayid a sandwich (no mustard though, for whatever that’s worth). Ben’s interest in “The Hostiles” is evident—and I suspect (can we confirm this?) that this meeting happened sometime after Ben met Richard in the woods. This scene was fun. And it confirmed that little Ben is on the island with our group while older, weasely-er Ben is still 30 years in the future.

Summary:

Sawyer is living large and in charge. He seems pretty proud of himself. He thinks, therefore he thinks he’s a good leader, and it’s hard for me to disagree with someone who values reading so much.

But the truth is, he’d be a sucky leader without Juliet. She’s the one who’s “had his back,” supporting his decisions (which, I contend, he wouldn’t have had the guts to make without her support), and giving him ideas.

For example, when he’s trying to figure out what to do with Jack, Kate, and Hurley:

Sawyer: I gotta figure out what to do before someone else finds them.
Juliet: There’s a sub coming in this afternoon.

So while Sawyer is trying to think, Juliet is providing his answer. Without her, I think he’d be in trouble. But even if she stays by his side for the rest of the season (see how boring that sounds?), I still think things are going to start crumbling around him. Maybe it will begin when he has to explain to Horace why he brought Sayid in…I don’t know. But I do know this, opposing Jack, Sayid, and Kate isn’t smart. Especially if Jin—desperate to find Sun—agrees to help them.

The divisions aren’t clear yet, but it definitely seems like battle lines are being drawn. Should be interesting…

Quotes:

1) Frank’s co-pilot: “Is that a runway?”

2) On the plane after the crash landing…
Frank asks Sun, “Where’s everyone else?”
Ben: “They’re gone.”
Frank: “Gone? Gone where?”
Ben: How would I know?

3) Sawyer: It’s good to see you, Kong.
Hurley: Kong, I actually missed that.
Sawyer: I missed it too.

4) Sawyer: We’re in the Dharma Initiative.
Jack: What? They came back?
Sawyer: No, we came back.

5) Hurley to Jin: Dude, your English is good.

6) Sawyer: It’s 1977.
Hurley: Uh, what?

7) Ben (to Sun) why are you following me?
Sun: Where are you going?
Ben: Back to our island. Want to come?

8) Radzinsky: We shoot him.
Sawyer: I appreciate your input there, Quick Draw, but I want to talk to him first.

9) Hurley: So it’s 1977.
Sawyer: Yep
Hurley: And you guys are all members of the Dharma Initiative.
Sawyer: Yep
Hurley: You know those guys get wiped out soon, right?

10) Jack: Did you say Faraday? He’s here?
Sawyer: Not anymore.

11) Kate: The woman who told you how to come back…did she say it was going to be 30 years ago?
Jack: No, she left that part out.
Kate: So what are we supposed to do now?
Jack: I’m not sure yet.

12) Amy: When are you and Jim going to have a baby?
Juliet: I don’t know…the timing’s got to be right… (ha)

13) Sawyer: Nice suit, Doc. Not exactly island wear.

14) Jack: What do you think?
Kate: I think we should listen to Sawyer.
Hurley: I vote for not camping.

15) Hurley: What if we can’t answer questions like who’s the president in 1977?
Sawyer: It’s not a damn game show, Hugo.

16) Sun: Why are you leaving?
Ben: Why are you staying?

17) Pierre Chang: Good man, Lafleur. He runs a tight ship.

18) Frank Lapidus: Last time I was here, I was on a freighter filled with commandos, and their only mission was to get him.
Ben: Yeah, and how’d that work out for them?

19) Juliet: I’m sorry for the mix-up. I’m Juliet.
Kate: Kate.
Juliet: Hi, Kate. Welcome to the island.

20) As they’re taking the New Recruits picture…
Camera person: Everybody say, ‘Namaste’
Hurley: Nama-what?

21) Phil tells Jack that he probably shouldn’t call Jim LaFleur, “James,” adding, “He hates it.” (ha)

22) Ben: What’s your name.
Sayid: Sayid. What’s yours?
Ben: I’m Ben.
Sayid: It’s nice to meet you, Ben.

Prevailing Questions:

1) Why did Sawyer say Daniel’s not there anymore? Where did he go?

2) Why did only a few of the passengers of 316 flash back to 1977? Each idea seems to offer conflicting evidence. Maybe because Ben and Frank weren’t passengers on 815…but wait, Sun was. Maybe it’s because a younger Ben is already on that island in 1977…but wait, does the island also have a younger Frank and a younger Sun? Any ideas?

3) What kind of Dharma assignment is Hurley going to get? One way or another, it should involve fried chicken.

4) Right now people seem to be wondering if Sawyer’s interest in Kate will be rekindled, but what about Juliet—the brains behind Sawyer? Any chance she ends up standing beside Jack, not Sawyer?

5) I’m thinking young Ben is going to befriend one of our characters. But I don’t know which one. Sayid seems like the odds-on favorite right now… But I’m going to say Jack. After all, Jack is a workman. And at the time of The Purge, Ben is a workman, too. Thoughts?

6) How many episodes before Desmond shows up? I'm hoping not many.

7) If Ethan Rom (the Other) is the same Ethan born to Amy and Horace, did Ben spare him during The Purge as a tribute to Horace? According to lostpedia, The Purge happened in 1992. So that means Ethan would have been roughly 15...definitely old enough to remember his parents and his last name. Hmmm. It also means he would have been in his mid-twenties when Flight 815 crashed, which seems a little unlikely (based on his appearance). But who knows?

Next week, it's "He's Our You."

So that's the bonus question. Who is the "he" and who is the "you"?

—Thanks for Reading

Because They Came Back

I’m getting sick of being so surprised by LOST each and every week. I mean, the show’s unpredictability is becoming way too predictable. One week, just once, I wish they’d mix things up and leave me saying, “Wow, I wasn’t surprised at all by this episode…that one was completely expected…and obvious...and boring.”

Okay, I didn’t mean a word of that. But the real point is, they surprised my pants off (I’m not sure that’s a real saying…and it probably shouldn’t be) yet again.

Season 5—Episode 8: “LaFleur”

Now that the island is finally done jumping, the producers and writers decided to flash three years forward, three years back, three years forward, and back and forward again. But in this recap, I’m going to eschew LOST’s time-flashiness. That’s right, I’m going to do something absurd: tell the story CHRONOLOGICALLY. Starting with the moment when Locke stopped the flashing island, I’ll recap this episode, flashing forward just one unavoidable time.

I would say the LOST writers are happy to be back on the island again. This episode might have included more witty dialogue than the preceding episodes of Season 5 combined (how can “hootenanny” be anything but hilarious?). But then again, maybe the Sawyer-focused episode had something to do with that.

So in the beginning, the first shocker: Jin points, directing the others’ attention to the back of a large (four-toed?) statue. Seeing only its back, we still don’t know anything about its origin, but I think it’s safe to assume it wasn’t Dharma’s work. Hostiles, maybe. Dharma, don’t think so.

So we begin, episodically and chronologically, with Sawyer, Jin, Miles, and Juliet. First of all, our foursome realizes that this flash was different somehow, “more like an earthquake,” in the words of Miles Straume. And they realize their headaches and nosebleeds are gone. And the well is back! So Sawyer screams Locke’s name, grabs the rope, and leaps over the lip of the well…only to find it filled with dirt.

They decide that Locke must have been successful, and so they traipse back the way from which they came. And they find Daniel, sitting alone on the ground.

Sawyer: Where’s Red?

Charlotte is nowhere to be found, but Daniel keeps saying things like, “I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to tell her.”

He pauses long enough to tell them that Charlotte died and when they flashed, “her body…just disappeared.”

Daniel: She moved on, and we stayed.
Sawyer: …you’re telling me, it’s over?
Daniel: Wherever we are, whenever we are, we’re here for good.
(Note: I think it's more likely they're "here for awhile," but not "for good." But I guess we'll see.)

Then Daniel goes back into his “I’m not gonna…I won’t…” routine, prompting Sawyer to say, “Until Dan checks back in, let’s go back to the beach.”

I think Daniel is remembering his final exchange with Charlotte, when she remembered (a question for later will be, why did she only remember it then) that a “crazy, scary man” told her that if she left the island, she’d die if she ever came back, and he’s decided that this time, if he sees her, he’s not going to tell her. For one thing, it didn’t help. And two, maybe he wants to see if it’s possible to change things—by not telling her—so that she might live, or so that, if she still must die, she won’t think of him, on her deathbed, as the scary man who spooked her as a child.

Much to Miles’ sarcasm and chagrin, Sawyer assumes the role of leader—and Miles reluctantly concedes, but only because Juliet is quick to play Bonnie to Sawyer’s Clyde. (If that reference doesn’t work, I apologize. I’ve never actually seen the movie, or show, or whatever it originally was.)

But our fivesome (now that Daniel has joined the jungle party) never makes it to the beach. They hear a woman in hysterics, and they see two armed men standing by her. She’s on her knees, and they’re about to put a bag over her head—a mafia-style offing. (How modern for these old-world Hostiles.) Her husband, a man named Paul, is already dead on the ground beside her.

Sawyer wants to do something to help, and Miles is nervous about this. Hoping Dan is still the man with the answers (as he was earlier this season), Miles asks him, “Dan, we don’t get involved, right? That’s what you said…”

Daniel responds, in a tone that reveals a total lack of interest (or shock), “It doesn’t matter what we do. Whatever happened happened.”

To which Sawyer replies, “Thanks a lot, Plato.” (Ah, welcome back, James.)

Striding out like the would-be hero, Sawyer raises his gun and commands the men to drop theirs. Instead of listening, one of them spins and fires. But Bonnie saves Clyde (that’s the last time with this analogy, I promise), gunning down Sawyer’s would-be killer. Sawyer has time to look incredulously at Juliet before he fires and takes down the other man.

Sawyer tells the woman she’s safe, and she, of course, wants to know who they are. At this, Sawyer the conman is resurrected. (Perhaps I should say he “resurfaces.” I don’t want to steal any of Locke’s thunder.) Sawyer talks about their ship wrecking on the way to Tahiti…but this woman—whose name is Amy—starts raving about a “truce” and the need to bury the two dead man. And, of course, they have to haul Paul’s dead body back to New Otherton, too.

Jin offers to carry Paul, and they hurriedly bury the two men.

As they’re hiking over to Otherburbs, Juliet suddenly screams, “Daniel, stop!” Daniel, his mind still elsewhere, has almost walked into the perimeter of the stroke-inducing fence.

Juliet unnerves Amy by demanding that she turn off the “sonic fence.” Amy asks them to tell her again where they said they were from. But they’re not interested in talking until they get back to her camp. Now Amy looks at them and (it was so apparent to me) seems to decide that she shouldn’t trust them. Not yet. So she pretends to turn the fence off, but she really just slips some earplugs in. So she walks through the fence unhindered, but when the fivesome follows her lead, they get knocked out by the fence’s sonic power.

(Time out: Okay, I understand why most of them fell for this little trick. But Juliet? Juliet? Not only does she have a history of not trusting people—does she trust anyone?—but hasn’t she also pulled a different variation of the same sonic-fence trick, back when she disabled it so she and Kate could get inside the barrier before the smoke monster slammed into the perimeter? So couldn't she have at least kept an eye on Amy to make sure she wasn’t up to anything funky? And don’t we think Juliet would have at least done that? Not to mention the fact that the earplug trick probably still existed thirty years later when Juliet was an Other. I just think she should have been savvy enough, and alert enough, to avoid getting hoodwinked like this. That's all.)

When Sawyer comes to, Horace Goodspeed is standing over him—of course, Sawyer doesn’t know who he is yet.

Among other things, while asking Sawyer where he and his people come from, Horace acknowledges that there are “hostile, indigenous people on the island” and the Dharmatians “don’t get along with them.” (Note: I liked the term “indigenous” in this description. It felt like a subtle acknowledgement on Horace’s part—saying that he understands that they were on the island long before the Dharma Initiative. This also interests me since Horace was the one who apparently built Jacob’s cabin, and Jacob has always seemed to be connected to the Hostiles, not the Dharma-ites. But I’ll have to ponder that a little longer.)

Conman Sawyer launches into old form again, and he is back, as the rappers of the early 90’s liked to say, in full effect. He claims to be the captain of a searcher vessel that he and his crew were using to locate a missing slave ship, the Black Rock. (When asked, Horace says he hasn’t heard of it. I think 1) he’s lying, because he wants to make sure Sawyer and friends leave the island posthaste or 2) he doesn’t know about the ship because he hasn’t strayed that far away from the Barracks. I’m leaning toward option 1.)

Sawyer assumes the name James LaFleur, and he tells Horace, “but you can call me Jim.” (Note: I realize that my chronological recap removes some of episode’s best surprises, like when the two Dharma men saw Horace blowing up trees and they went to get “LaFleur,” and shock: it’s Sawyer! But I realize the flaws inherent in this approach, and that’s why I’m relying on these parenthetical citations to recreate those shocking moments…clever, huh? No? Ah well, I tried.)

So Horace tells Sawyer that he and his friends will be on a submarine headed to Tahiti the following morning. This isn’t great news for them, since they plan to wait for Locke to return. But it’s certainly better treatment than they would have gotten from Ben 30 years later. Of course, even though the two groups have occupied the same living area, Horace’s Dharma-ites are not the same as Ben’s Hostile Others. I need to remind myself of this at times. Like right now.

Not that the Dharma folk don’t have their own secrets and idiosyncrasies. For example, Horace tells Sawyer in no uncertain terms, “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, Jim, but please, you are not Dharma material.” Interesting. (Note: What is "Dharma material"?)

Sawyer shares the news with his friends, and then Daniel notices a cute little girl running around in a red dress, and for the first time, his face brightens: “Charlotte?”

Before we can really ponder this, sirens sound and security lights flash throughout the compound. Sawyer and friends are ushered into a house where they’re guarded at gunpoint by a woman (did they call her Heather?).

Outside the window, we see Richard Alpert walking—strutting, almost—into the center of the compound. Richard plants a lit torch in the ground and then strides about the empty compound like a tiger circling prey.

As they’re looking out the window at Richard, Juliet shuts her eyes in an “I do not like this” gesture, and then she turns to Sawyer, who meets her gaze with the words, “Uh-oh.”

Horace goes out to meet Richard, and says, “Hello, Mr. Alpert. If I had known you were coming, I could have turned the fence off for you.”

Richard’s response was almost menacing, “That fence may keep other things out, but not us. The only thing that does keep us out is that truce, which you’ve now broken.”

Horace plays dumb, but Richard asks point blank, “Where are my two men?”

Then we see Horace come indoors and he asks how well they buried the men. The answer isn’t reassuring, so he tells someone (Heather?) to “call the Arrow and let them know we’re at level one, and have the fence turned all the way up.”

And this is when ol’ Jim LaFleur takes charge, saying that he wants to talk to Richard. Horace doesn’t think that’s a good idea, but Sawyer says, “It’s a good thing I’m not asking then.”

Outside, Richard is seated casually on the bench (the same bench where Horace dies during The Purge, perhaps?). Sawyer strolls up and, almost as casually, offers a “Hello, Richard.”

Richard: I’m sorry, do we know each other?
Sawyer: I’m the guy who killed your men.

(Note: Did Richard meet Sawyer 20 years before this? In "Jughead"? I would have thought he would have recognized Daniel, at least, since Daniel was their purported leader at that time. Then again, Daniel was strangely absent for almost all of this episode, so I suppose Richard probably didn't see him.)

Surprisingly, Sawyer tells the truth about the events: seeing the woman with the bag over her head, the men with guns, the one guy already killed, Sawyer’s command that they put down their weapons, the shot fired at him, and the subsequent deaths of both Hostiles. (Of course, he doesn’t mention that Juliet killed the first one. But for a conman, that's still pretty darn close to the exact truth.)

Richard’s response: Do your people know you’re telling me this?
Sawyer: They ain’t my people, Hoss. (I couldn’t tell if he said “Hoss” or “Boss,” but since he calls Horace “Boss” a few times this episode, I prefer to think Alpert is “Hoss.”)

It’s kind of fun to see Richard flummoxed, isn't it? He says, “If you’re not a member of the Dharma Initiative, then who are you?”

Sawyer, has the perfect response:

“Did you bury the bomb?”

Sawyer provides details about the Jughead bomb, and then if that doesn’t completely befuddle Richard, Sawyer has some more ammunition:

“I also know a bald guy stumbled into your camp 20 years ago mumbling about being your leader and then poof, he disappeared. Any of that ringing a bell?” Sawyer lets that sink in for a moment. “That man’s name was John Locke, and I’m waiting for him to come back. Still think I’m a member of the Dharma Initiative?”

Richard’s convinced, but he says his people still need “some kind of justice,” so he asks Sawyer, “what are we gonna do about that?”

Apparently Richard decides that Paul’s dead body would suffice. (Just to prove to his people that they killed one of the DIs? That seemed weird to me. What does he need the body for? A Smoky sacrifice?)

Horace talks this over with Amy, and he says, “We’ve been friends for a long time…(Note: and if we were flashing ahead—which we clearly are not doing—we would know that Amy and Horace will be having a baby together in just three short years)…if you don’t want to give in to them, we’ll suffer the consequences.” (Note: Horace seems like a good guy. Just saying.)

Amy gives her consent, saying Paul “would want to keep us safe.”

This is all well and good, but it begs the question again, what did Amy and Paul do to deserve execution at the hands of the Hostiles? Did they violate the truce by leaving the perimeter? If that’s what caused this hullabaloo in the first place, and if Paul was really interested in keeping everyone safe, then what were they doing out there?!?

So after Sawyer’s dealings with Richard, Horace tells Sawyer that they don’t need to leave the next day. They can stay two weeks, which is when the sub will return again.

Sawyer shared this news with Juliet, but she’s not as thrilled as he is.

“I’ve been waiting to get off this island for three years, and now I’ve got my chance. I’m going to leave,” says Juliet.

Sawyer doesn’t want to accept this. “You realize it’s 1974, and whatever you think you’re going back to doesn’t really exist anymore.”

He goes on to say, “What about me? You really want to leave me here with the mad scientist and Mr. I-Talk-to-Dead-People. And Jin? He might be a great guy and all, but he isn’t the best conversationalist. Who’s going to get my back? Just give me two weeks; that’s all I’m asking.”
Juliet smiles and consents, “Alright, two weeks…”

And with that, we will fast-forward three years. Just this once.

We begin with two men working the night shift in a Dharma monitoring station, and they kickstarted this segment with some great quotes (you can find them below). They quickly discover that Horace is drinking—completely sloshed—and he’s hurling dynamite at trees. Which is funny, no, make that, hilarious. How often do you see mathematicians stumbling out of the jungle, drunk and hurling sticks of dynamite? Not often enough, I say.

So they go get Sawyer/Lafleur, and Sawyer and Miles go to retrieve Horace, who Sawyer refers to as their “fearless leader.”

Sawyer talks to Amy and learns that she and Horace had fought about Paul—her murdered husband now three years dead.

“Musta been a doozy,” Sawyer LaFleur says about their fight.

And then, suddenly, she’s going into labor…three weeks early.

We learned a couple things about Dharma’s history with childbirth in the days before pregnancy was fatal.

For example, the women always delivered on the mainland. (What mainland?) The sub takes the women to shore so that proper doctors can take care of them.

The obstetrician who shares these facts with LaFleur does not feel like he can perform the necessary Cesarean, so Sawyer LaFleur fetches Juliet.

(Time out: Was anyone else distracted by how clean Sawyer’s hair looks now that he’s been showering in New Otherton for three years? It was almost distracting, it looked so out of place—like a Pantene or Herbal Essences commercial or something. Or, more likely, Dharma 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner.)

Juliet is reluctant, saying that “it doesn’t work” whenever she tries to help a woman give birth on that island.” But Sawyer persuades her with some encouraging words—and his dimples and shiny hair.

(Note: Jin showed up while Juliet was helping with the delivery, and his hair looked long and pretty and sort of Pantene-commercial-ish, too. I’m just saying…Sawyer’s hair was one thing, but he’s always had long hair. But why doesn’t Jin get a haircut? They don’t have scissors in the Otherburbs?)

Jin and Sawyer speak briefly and we learn that Jin has been searching grid points to see if they can find “their people.” Nothing yet.

Jin says, “How long do we look, James?” (Note: I can’t remember Jin calling him “James” before. But maybe that’s just because “Sawyer” isn’t his name right now.)

As if he’s our new “man of faith,” Sawyer responds, “As long as it takes.”

Then Juliet emerges from the house, crying—but happy. And Sawyer is all smiles and dimples and for her. And hair.

Oh, by the way, the baby is a boy. Which frustrated me, because I expected that to be baby Charlotte (although I blame the Todd for planting this misguided theory in my head last week—and it’s clearly all his fault). But a boy? Who could that be? (My first thought: Daniel Faraday…though I’m still trying to work out those logistics…but I’m going to cling to that theory until we see Daniel again. And so far, we haven’t.)

As if we weren’t completely convinced that Head and Shoulders Sawyer is hooking up with Dr. Juliet Burke, the next scene left no doubt:

Sawyer picks a yellow flower (la fleur, for those of you who parle francais) and smells it (out in the open, for all to see!) his dimples preening for the cameras once again. (Yes, his dimples were preening. I don’t know how, but it happened.) If Sawyer had seen Hurley or Charlie Pace doing something like this for Libby or Claire, he wouldn’t have let them hear the end of it—calling them Don Juan, or Casanova, or…Romeo. (ah, how fitting.)

Sawyer carries the flower into Juliet’s house (the same one she lived in for 3 years?), where there’s wine on the table and Juliet is making dinner.

Juliet: Is that for me?
Sawyer: You were amazing today.
Juliet: Thanks for believing in me.

And then they start kissing.

Juliet: I love you.
Sawyer: I love you, too.

And then they kiss and canoodle some more…but wait a second, did Sawyer just bust out the “L” word? That’s big-time. And if I thought Sawyer was sappy four episodes ago…wow, look at him now! But actually, I don’t mind romantic, sappy Sawyer. I just didn’t like lovesick, sappy, I-miss-Kate Sawyer.

Speaking of Kate, though she wasn’t mentioned by name, we all know Sawyer was talking about her when he convinced the recently-revived Horace that one can get over someone in just three years. Amy can get over Paul, because Sawyer got over that one girl—that girl whose face he can't even remember anymore. (Right...)

But if he’s really over Kate—completely over her—then why didn’t he tell Juliet where he was going when Jin called, prompting him to leave Juliet alone in bed without an explanation:

Juliet: Who was it?
Sawyer doesn’t respond.
Juliet: James!
Sawyer: It was Jin.
Juliet: Is everything okay?
Sawyer: Yeah…but, I gotta go.

Sawyer, wearing Dharma-issue coveralls and glasses, drives a blue jeep out to meet Jin. And the van pulls up and out climbs Hurley, Jack, and…a minute later…Kate.

Sawyer takes his glasses off, and Kate swallows, showing a little dimple of her own. But Sawyer doesn’t smile now…and he doesn’t look happy (or sappy) at all. Just conflicted. Uncomfortable.

Summary:
We saw a couple of characters resorting back to familiar roles: Daniel is back to a semi-coherent smart guy who operates (both mentally and physically) somewhat separately from everyone else. Meanwhile, Sawyer is back to being a feared man in camp, although still not quite the leader (with Horace serving as Sawyer’s new “Boss”). He’s got a pretty girl by his side, and by the time Kate climbs out of the van, he has most likely found himself right smack in the middle of another love triangle—although in fairness to Jack, this situation probably necessitates a geometrical shape with more sides. Perhaps a love quadrilateral, or love rhombus. (Yes, I like the love rhombus. Methinks that fits.)

But it seems like Sawyer was so content in his Dharma world. Like he was fitting in somewhere for the first time in his life.

So how is he going to feel about the return of his friends…and Kate?

Notable Quotes:
1)
Juliet: I think it’s over. I think John did it.
Jin: Now what?
Sawyer: Now we wait for him to come back.

2)
Sawyer: Thanks for getting my back on that whole beach thing.
Juliet: You should thank me; that was a stupid plan.

3)
Sawyer: Just keep your mouth shut and let me do the talking.
Miles: You really think you can convince them we were in a boatwreck.
Sawyer: I’m a professional; I used to lie for a living.

4)
Sawyer: Sonic fence? Didn’t I say let me do the talking?
Juliet: If Daniel took another step, it would have fried his brain.
Sawyer: His brain is already fried.

5)
Miles (While Horace is in talking to Sawyer): We’re screwed. He’s probably in there trying to explain time travel right now.

6)
Jin: Daniel, no more flash?
Daniel: No, no more flash. The record is spinning again. We’re just not on the song we want to be on…

7)
Miles: Mr. LaFleur?
Sawyer: It’s Creole. I improvised.
(Note: If only I could capture Miles’ tone in these quotes.)

8)
Sawyer: Your man out there with the eyeliner, let me talk to him.

9)
Juliet: James, are you sure you know what you’re doing?
Sawyer: Not yet, but I’ll figure something out.

10)
Dharma guy (when he sees other Dharma guy dancing with a girl): Are you kidding me? I’m gone ten minutes and you’re having a hootenanny?

11)
Dharma guy: What’s going to happen, the polar bears are going to find their way out of the cages?

12)
Dharma guy: Is that a hostile?
Other Dharma guy: Is that…Horace?
Dharma guy: Oh…he’s got dynamite. This is bad.

13)
Sawyer: Our fearless leader is out blowing up trees.
Miles: Why?
Sawyer: He’s loaded.
Miles: Since when does Horace drink?
Sawyer: He doesn’t, and that’s why we’re going to keep this on the down-low.
(Note: That’s pretty admirable for Sawyer. Is he covering for Horace out of respect for the man, or to protect the Dharma community? Either way, it’s a new side of Sawyer.)

14)
Sawyer: Juliet’s in there.
Jin: Juliet?
Sawyer: I pulled her out of retirement.

15)
Sawyer: I got good news and bad news, which you want first?
Horace: Good news.
Sawyer: You’re a daddy. Bad news is you missed it.

16)
Sawyer: I had a thing for a girl once, and I had a shot at her, but I didn’t take it. For awhile I’d lay in bed every night wondering if it was a mistake, wondering if I’d never stop thinking about her. And now I can barely remember what she looks like, and her face…she’s just gone. And she ain’t never coming back. So is three years long enough to get over someone? Absolutely.


Questions:

1) Why were Richard’s men—the hostiles—killing Paul and Amy? Doesn’t this violate their truce? Or were Paul and Amy violating the truce by wandering too far from the Barracks? Does the truce involve staying inside their sonic fence?


2) Apparently some people think that “the war” to which Widmore referred is The Purge, and our characters are going to help the DI survive the purge. This is interesting, and possible. But I have a couple problems with it. First of all, Ben is on the island now. And if it’s 1977, how long will it be before Ben’s dad brings young Ben to the island? That seems impossible, doesn’t it? Young Ben and current Ben in the same place?

3) I don’t think we’ll see young Ben come to the island while Sawyer and friends are still kicking it with the Dharma crew, but if we did, I think it’d be funny to see Sawyer interact with the young kid who will one day become the Benjamin Linus who tormented them. I just realized this isn’t a question at all, and I apologize for that. Here, let me fix that: Wouldn’t that be fun?

4) So where did Horace get the dynamite? Do they have their own supply, or did he make a trek over to the slave ship he told Sawyer he didn’t know about? If he got it from the Black Rock, did he lie to Sawyer, or is that a new discovery in the last three years?

5) Charlotte’s memory of Daniel telling her, when she was a child, that she would die if she came back the island…why does she say “I remember now…” near the end of her life? Is it because something changed and her future changed? Meaning, she couldn’t remember it until Daniel showed up on the island—in the past—and tells her this? And here’s the question that really intrigues me: Can Daniel not tell her this time? Or is that an element of history that is unalterable? Something which cannot be changed?

6) Why did the Hostiles/Dharma agree to a truce in the first place? And if they can manage a truce, why can’t they just get along? Richard and Horace both seem reasonable enough, right?

7) When Ben comes to the island, is Horace the leader of the Dharma folks? It didn’t seem like it, although he did seem important. His worksuit said “Mathematician”—another reason I thought he could be Faraday’s father. (Oh, and if you’re saying, but Elosie Hawking is his mother, not Amy…then I stand by my hunch/claim that Ms. Hawking is Daniel’s adopted mother.)

8) So if Horace is with Amy, and they give birth to a son, who is this Olivia Goodspeed he's with on the day of Benjamin Linus' birth? Back when they're driving outside Portland when Ben's dad carries his dying wife and newborn baby to the roadside where Horace and Olivia try to help them? I had assumed Olivia was his wife... (a quick lostpedia check revealed that Ben was born in the early 1960's, so it was a little over a decade ago that Horace was with an Olivia Goodspeed. Hmmm.) Olivia would later serve as Ben's teacher. So she's with Horace before Ben comes to the island, and she's still on the island once Ben is there, so it seems like she should be there now? But what's her connection to Horace? Any insights? (Note: Olivia's last name hasn't been revealed on the show, but ABC's website referred to her as Olivia Goodspeed, according to lostpedia.)

9) Richard always baffles me. But in 1974, Richard not only looks the same as he will 30 years later, but he's even dressed similarly. Yet just a few years after this, when Ben meets Richard in the woods, he's dressed a lot differently—more like a hippie. Why?

10) And a question dating back to the previous episode, "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"...when we see Ben seeing Locke and Abaddon after Locke's heart to heart with Walt, Ben is dressed nicely. Wearing a tie, I'm pretty sure. If he found Locke because he had someone watching Sayid, he wouldn't have put on a tie to come spy on John. And I don't think LOST is careless enough to dress Ben up for no reason. So he must have been dressed up and in New York for something...but what?

11) By the end of this episode, it should be 1977, right? Three years after Sawyer said it was 1974. If Ben was born in the early 60's (lostpedia tells me its true), then shouldn't he be on the island by now? If not, he must be coming really, really soon...right?

12) Didn't Widmore tell Locke that Ben tricked him (Widmore) into leaving the island? So if Ben's not on the island yet, then Widmore still should be, right? Although, he'd be in Richard's camp, not in camp with the Dharma folk. How much do you want to bet that Ben and Widmore were once good friends? I don't want to bet anything, but I wonder...

13) This probably means nothing, but remember back in the day when the Others gave Michael a list of four names—and he was instructed to bring all of them to the Others? When this episode ended, who were the four standing and staring at each other?

—Thanks for Reading