"The Last Recruit" was one of those episodes where the time just flew by because the hour was focused on getting characters in certain places rather than the overall mythology of the show. It seriously seemed like only 20 minutes had passed by the time the end credits rolled. So there's not a heck of a lot to say theory-wise. I still really enjoyed the episode, though it didn't live up to the crazy-high expectations I had based on that kick-ass Willy Wonka preview.
I'll tackle the alternate timeline first.- If, as I speculated last week, Des had mowed Locke down in the hopes of inducing his Island memories through a traumatic experience, then his plan worked. Did you catch how Locke said Helen was the woman he "was going" to marry... rather than the woman he is going to marry? That's a sign he's seen the other side, in my book. Same goes for Sun... she'd been shot and thought she might have lost her baby, which was certainly enough to trigger visions of the original timeline. That's why she was freaking out and yelling, "Oh no, it's him!" when being wheeled into the hospital next to Locke (which was a totally cool scene). She thought it was the MIB. When she was out of surgery later, however, she seemed to be back to normal after she found out the baby was OK. But if she runs into any of the 815ers again, will that trigger another memory?
- Over at the police station, Sawyer was flirting it up with Fugitive Kate and musing over how many times they'd run into each other. I'm sure tons of Skaters cheered when Sawyer said, "It's like something wants us together" (or whatever the line was -- close enough). And did you notice how he was eating an apple and offered it to Kate as well? Is that a hint they're going to turn out to be the Adam and Eve skeletons? Then he learned about how Sayid escaped from what would go down in the record books as the Good Eggs Massacre, and he and Miles set out to find their prime suspect. I'm wondering if Kate will be gone by the time they return. I'm thinking she will be.
- Alt Sayid is totally weak and I was not digging him in this episode. His hair is a disgrace, he doesn't wear tank tops, and he was basically brought down by a freakin' garden hose. I mean, come on. What happened to Badass Sayid? He doesn't exist in the Sideways Timeline. I actually prefer Dead Eye Sayid. And now it's clear that NO version of Sayid is meant to live happily ever after with Nadia, dammit.- Elsewhere in the sideways world, Des is stalking 815ers once again. This time he's found Claire, and he convinces her to talk with his attorney friend before she goes in to sign her adoption papers. If I were Claire I would've kicked his creepy butt down the escalator. He was coming on pretty strong, no? But whatever... she agreed, and since I was spoiled by the beginning credits I knew the lawyer would most likely be Ilana. And wouldn't you know it, she'd been looking for Claire in an attempt to settle Christian Shephard's affairs. I don't really know if that's why Des brought her to Ilana, or if he was just trying to get her to reconsider giving Aaron away, but regardless, the detour served to get her face-to-face with another 815er. That never seems to be enough to trigger a vision, though. Maybe she'll randomly go into labor the next time she and Jack reconvene with Ilana and then she'll be like, "I remember you! And I remember ME... with some sort of dead rodent on my head... what tha... ?"
- Jack has to make a quick exit from the will reading in order to attend to Locke. Whom he recognizes after looking in yet another mirror... this one underneath the operating table, very similar to how Ben was laid out for his spinal tumor surgery back in the infamous "KATE! DAMMIT! RUN!" episode (shout-out to Josh G). So call it -- will Jack make Locke able to walk again or not? I'm guessing he will, because then Locke will be one more 815er who is getting everything he ever hoped for in the alternate timeline. If he can walk Helen down the aisle in this life, is that really worth giving up in order to be called "a sucker" by the Smoke Monster? No. Unless something (or someone) convinces him that he will save the world by doing so. I should also mention that when Locke wakes up from the surgery, I believe he will have all of his Island memories still intact. The question is whether or not he'll "remember" anything AFTER the point he's killed by Ben. As in, will he be able to access the thoughts of the MIB since he's parading around in his form?
On to the Island.- Things kicked off on a very awesome note with the much-anticipated Jack/Fake Locke discussion. We got confirmation that the MIB had been masquerading as Christian the whole time. He also told Jack that all he'd ever been trying to do was help Jack leave the Island, but that had been impossible while Jacob was still alive. Now that Jacob was gone, they could all bust outta there... but it had to be all of them leaving together. Jack was like "OK..." but inside his head he wasn't buyin' it. Especially after the MIB called Locke a sucker for believing that the Island brought them there for a reason. Since Jack is now a Man of Faith, the MIB had essentially just called him a pitiful punk, too.
- On his way back to the main camp, Jack ran into Claire, who attempted to bond with her long-lost half-bro. But he told her politely that he wasn't exactly on her and Fake Locke's side just yet. And she was like, "Ha, ha, joke's on you." She believed that the second the MIB spoke with Jack, Jack was a goner.
- Then Zoe strolled into the clearing and showed off Widmore's Explosion Skillz by decimating part of the jungle right behind them. It reminded me of that scene in The Princess Bride when Fezzik (Andre the Giant) threw a boulder near the Man in Black's head (AAHHHH, I just realized yet another Lost/Princess Bride similarity... and not even the one I was originally pointing out!) and said, "I did that on purpose. I didn't have to miss." Fake Locke was not fazed and destroyed her walkie-talkie the second she left. "Here we go," he sighed.- That's when everyone started cutting deals left and right, and my husband pointed out that the music sounded very Imperial March-like. Maybe because of Hurley's awesome dark side/Anakin lines. Anyway, Fake Locke announced the plan, and then Sawyer filled Jack in on the Plan B while Fake Locke was telling Sayid to go finish off Des.
- Am I nuts, or did the preview show Sayid's gun firing down into the well? 'Cause that didn't happen. Instead, I'm pretty sure Des guilted Sayid into NOT shooting him. Or else, you know, we probably would've seen Desmond's death scene, don't you think? So between Sayid NOT killing Zoe over on Hydra and now not killing Des, I'm wondering if there's perhaps a glimmer of He of the Black Tank Top left in those dead eyes? I hope there is!- Same goes for Claire... everyone had counted her out, but then she ended up choosing to sail away with her original peeps instead of run to the MIB and tattle on them. Though I did like her "he's gonna be really mad" warning. And kudos to Kate for sticking to the original reason she came back to the Island. I was happy to see that.
- So everyone's on the boat, but then something doesn't sit right with Jack. "If that thing wants us to leave... maybe it's afraid of what will happen if we stay." I did NOT see him jumping off the boat and swimming back coming at all. The Mad Doctor is BACK, folks!- The other group makes it to Hydra and out of nowhere comes Jin in a blindingly white t-shirt for his three-years-in-the-making reunion with Sun. I KNOW I was not the only one who feared they were going to get zapped by the sonic fence. I could barely watch that scene I was so worried.
But the hubby and wife duo didn't get to celebrate for very long, because then Widmore's team threatened everyone at gunpoint while also beginning to bomb the bejeezus out of the main Island.
- Speaking of... Jack makes it back to shore and then immediately gets blown sky high (though he miraculously remained in one piece). Fake Locke carries him into the jungle a ways where they appear to be out of imminent danger for the moment. He assures Jack that he'll be safe because "you're with me now." This brings me to my last point -- are we supposed to gather from this episode's title that JACK is "the last recruit"? Cause, um, I didn't really count Hurley, Sawyer, Kate or anyone else outside Claire and Sayid as technically being "recruited" by the MIB. Usually the episode titles make sense to me, but this one didn't.
Clearly, Jack is NOT on the MIB's side. If anything, he's just going to pretend to go along with him in order to stall... hoping that the Island will reveal whatever it was that he was brought there to do in the first place. The Island better hurry up! And while I'm on the topic of the Island -- I really pray this series doesn't end over on Hydra. That just wouldn't be right.That's it for "The Last Recruit." On a semi-related note, I will not be able to write another recap until the finale, as I have a book manuscript due this month that I'm struggling to finish. I explain a bit more about my plans for the May 4, 11 and 18th episodes at the beginning of my post over at Long Live Locke here. Thanks for your support during this stressful time!
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