courtneystodden: Recon

Showing posts with label Recon. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The DarkUFO Season 6 Awards - Day 1 Winners Announced

Here are the results of the Day 1 Votes.

Congrats to the Winners

Best Episode
The End - 56.8%
Ab Aeterno - 20.5%
Happily Ever After - 7.6%
My Choice - The End

Best Flashback/Flashforward(s)
Ab Aeterno - 43.9%
The End - 24%
Happily Ever After - 12.7%
My Choice - Ab Aeterno

Worst Flashback/Flashforward(s)
What Kate Does - 65.8%
Recon - 11.5%
Across The Sea - 5.6%
My Choice - What Kate Does

Best Title
Ab Aeterno - 27%
What They Died For - 18%
The End - 14%
My Choice - The End

Worst Episode
What Kate Does - 65.4%
Recon - 13.4%
Across the Sea - 7.7%
My Choice - What Kate Does

Monday, May 24, 2010

Spoiler Accuracy Thread

One of our users, BookhouseBoy, from the Forum, has started to compile a couple of interesting threads.

These threads take a look back after an episode has aired and looks at all the spoilers that were posted for it and how much we knew and how accurate our spoilers have been. Thankfully so far it's been pretty damn good ;). All our sources for example all rated What Kate Does as the lowest rated episode out of the 8-9 episodes that they had seen, and this appears to have been the consensus of the fans if you look at the current polls/episode table.

Take a look at threads below. We'll be updating this each week so that those of you who do not follow spoilers can see what was spoiled about the episodes that have aired.

Episode 6.01/6.02 - LA X
Episode 6.03 - What Kate Does
Episode 6.04 - The Substitute
Episode 6.05 - Lighthouse
Episode 6.06 - Sundown
Episode 6.07 - Dr. Linus
Episode 6.08 - Recon
Episode 6.09 - Ab Aeterno
Episode 6.10 - The Package
Episode 6.11 - Happily Ever After
Episode 6.12 - Everybody Love Hugo
Episode 6.13 - The Last Recruit
Episode 6.14 - The Candidate
Episode 6.15 - Across The Sea
Episode 6.16 - What They Died For
Episode 6.17/6.18 - The End

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

ODI LOSTcast 57 - Episode 6x08 Recon Recap

Hey All,
With most of you on the east coast or across the world now getting ready for tonight's episode 6x09, I am sure that the recap of last week's episode is not on the top of your list of things to listen to.

However, this week as always Karen, Danny and myself analyze the off and on island fun. We chat about some of things we did not like and how some stuff did not seem to fit, but there were several important scenes we chatted about including Sawyer smashing the mirror, Little House on the Prairie, Sawyer setting up a con of Widmore and MiB and of course MiB talking to Kate about having a crazy mom and much more!

Plus I make an announcement of who our special guests will be this week!

If you are on the west coast or will not be watching the live feed, check out the recap podcast below!

This podcast was posted on iTunes earlier today but here is a link to the audio player and download link:

http://the-odi.blogspot.com/2010/03/odi-lostcast-57-episode-6x08-recon.html

Find LOST with Carmel: Recon

Monday, March 22, 2010

Lost Fantasy League: Week 7 Upadte!

Sawyer knows how to get things done! Not only did he set a record for the season (and possibly LFL history) for a single episode score by a centric character, but he also single-handedly ended our three-episode slump in the points AND he dramatically shook up the standings! "Recon" snagged 835 points overall and it looks like this season is just starting to heat up!

Check out the Fantasy Update video above to see if I've eliminated anyone on your roster from contention. Check below for all the important stats and standings you're used to. And get ready Lost fans! Next week's episode is going to be another double-points episode. Hopefully it will score better than "What Kate Does." Will it have a dramatic effect on the LFL? You'll have to come back next week and find out!

Lost Fantasy Team Lookup Table | LFL on Facebook | G-Man on Twitter | Email G-Man

ODI LOSTcast 56 - Theories with Natalie Abrams, Vozzek and Karen

Hey All,
So once again we recorded a bonus ODI LOST Podcast and this time our special guest was TV Guide reporter and LOST superfan Natalie Abrams. For those of you that do not know Natalie, a little over two years ago she was just a big TV Fan and of course LOST fan, but she was able to get a job working at E! Online with Kristin and now is one of the main reporters for TV Guide covering several different shows.

Natalie joined us this week to talk about not only being a fan but also a reporter having to write and cover LOST for "work". She provided us with her thoughts on Season 6, the flash sideways, and we did discuss Episode 6x08 Recon.

We had a great time chatting with her and we hope you all enjoy it!

As I said this is just a bonus podcast and our full recap podcast for Recon will be out soon.

This podcast was posted on iTunes yesterday, but for those of you that missed it or can not access iTunes below is a link to an audio player and download link.

NOTE: Don't forget to check out TVGuide.com for the latest coverage from Natalie Abrams

http://the-odi.blogspot.com/2010/03/odi-lostcast-56-theories-with-natalie.html

Episode 6x08 Recon - ODI LOSTometer Episode Grade Chart

Hey All,
Below is this week's ODI LOSTometer Episode Grading chart. As expected from the mixed reaction from fans resulting in some lowered ratings, the blogger/media world felt the same way.

Some thought it was awesome and gave the episode an A+, while others just did like it and gave it a C+. The wide range resulted in a average grade of a B- putting it at the level of What Kate Does. I am sure many of you would disagree with the lower grade, but then again a B- is still a good grade. Also there is a little range for each grade level and WKD is at the bottom of that range close to a C+ and Recon was a solid B- so for those that want to rank and keep score, Recon did score higher that WKD but both end up with the same grade.

For me, this week's Sawyer flash sideways seemed a little too cop procedural and soap opera but it was interesting to see James still looking for Cooper but this time around as a cop. The on-island stuff was much more interesting to me especially the con Sawyer is trying to pull on Widmore and MiB, but I am still not down with Zombie Sayid and Crazy Claire, but was cool to see Smokey slap her silly.

BTW, Karen mentioned she ALMOST gave this episode an A, but decided to keep the streak alive and give it an A+.

Quote of the Week via Seat42F: "Seems like an interesting transition episode and well we need to save the A+ for next week :)"

Once again thanks to all that are participating and don't forget to check out their sites and recaps at the following links:

DarkUFO | b3rt4 | Karen's LOST Notebook | Vozzek | Jeff Jensen - EW | Ryan McGee - Zap2it | Peter - SlashFilm | Cultural Learnings | Congested | Jay and Jack Podcast | FourToedFoot | DocArzt | SL-LOST | Jopinionated | Sawyer840 | LOSTzilla | LOST-Media | LOST-Forum | AV Club | Lyly Ford | LOST Mythos Podcast | LOST Blog | F***YeahLOST | Luhks | LOST in Portugal | LOST-Board.de | Seat42F | Rap Basement LOSTIES | LOST in Greece | Find LOST with Carmel | LOST Revisited Now Podcast

NOTE: A+++ and A++ are scored as an "A+"

(Click to Enlarge)

Source: The ODI

Friday, March 19, 2010

UK Viewers - What did you think of Episode 6.08 - Recon

Discuss, Comment and Vote in the Poll in the sidebar.

Also check out our recaps of Recon
Robz888
Vozzek
Erika

Other "Recon Related Items
Spoiler Accuracy Thread
The LOST Spoilered Perspective Podcast: Recon
US Ratings News
Jorge Garcia Podcast
The Lostometer Ratings
Lost Untangled
Prediction League Update

MISC
Recon - New Mysteries
Recon - Episode Screencaps
Recon - Related Polls

You can also discuss it further in our Official Episode Discussion here.

The Lost Initiative - Episode 6.08 - Recon

Source: Sky One

Episode 6.08 - Recon - Jorge Garcia Podcast

You can also see some BTS photos here
Direct Download

Source: GJB

"Recon" Recap and Analysis, by Erika

Here is the Episode 6.08 recap from Erika Olson (aka "e") from LongLiveLocke.com.

Ready for a little Recon? Let's start with the flashes first...

I FOUGHT THE LAW
AND
THE LAW WON

That hussy messing around with Sawyer wasn't the only one fooled by his undercover brotha-ness. As I stated in my "LAX Part 1" post, I was absolutely positive that in the sideways timeline, Sawyer was still a con man and had set his sights on the gullible, happy-go-lucky multimillionaire otherwise known as Hurley. I love it when I am wrong (only with things related to this show) -- I totally didn't see it coming that Mr. James Ford was a cop. My favorite part of the episode happened very early on when he uttered the code word "LaFleur" and that chick was like, "Le What?!?"

I was also very happy to see Miles as Sawyer's partner -- they make a good team. So good, in fact, that Miles could sense Sawyer had been hiding something from him. Maybe in the alt timeline Miles can read more than just corpses? Anyway, even though Sawyer was on the right side of the law in this version of events, he still was hunting the man who scammed his parents. Meaning, the main issue he needs to find peace with in his life has not been resolved in the alt timeline -- unlike Jack's daddy issues and Locke's acceptance of his paralysis and Ben's quest for power.

Sawyer knew the guy he was looking for was "Anthony Cooper" and had been making calls in his spare time to try and track the con man down. Eventually in the last flash he spilled the whole story to Miles and admitted that he went to Sydney because he thought he had a hot lead on Original Sawyer... but alas, it was a dead end.

The problem now is that we know Locke is the son of the man Sawyer's after, and that he's currently in LA and enjoying an apparently healthy father-son relationship. It may even be possible that Cooper changed his way years ago, maybe right after what happened with the Ford family. But who wants to bet we're going to see Locke's happy world get blown to hell when Sawyer finally realizes that the revenge he's been seeking can be carried out just a few miles away? (Oh Lord, what if it's at Locke's WEDDING?) That's the way I'm leaning... of course the other possibility is that Sawyer gets ready to kill Cooper, Locke intervenes and convinces Sawyer that his father's a changed man, and then Sawyer can finally put it all behind him and everyone lives happily ever after. It could happen. It's the alt timeline -- anything could happen!

'CAUSE YOU KNOW IT'S OVER
BEFORE IT BEGAN

In the midst of Sawyer and Miles' bickering about what Sawyer was hiding, Miles set his partner up on a date. We all thought it was going to be Juliet, didn't we? Yes. So once again I was blindsided when it ended up being Charlotte -- though since Miles did indicate the woman was a colleague of his father's "at the museum," maybe I shouldn't have been as surprised. Regardless, there was Charlotte all dolled up and RAAWWWRRR-looking at the restaurant, and it was only a matter of like two seconds before she and Sawyer decided they needed to take a roll in the hay. That part kind of freaked me out, to be honest. They did not seem right together. I wish I could erase it from my mind.

Then Charlotte had to get all snoopy (it's in her blood... she's a digger), find the forbidden portfolio and get kicked out of Sawyer's place wearing nothing but a blanket. Later Sawyer regrets reacting so harshly and, classy guy that he is, shows up at her door with a six-pack (of beer... 'cause he had his shirt on). My brother wrote me that he was positive Faraday was going to pop up behind Charlotte at her place -- skinny tie in full effect -- and taunt Sawyer. "Don't hate the playa, hate the game!" That would've been AWESOME. You missed a huge opportunity there, writers.

I didn't think about the possibility of Faraday making an appearance, but I WAS 100% positive that Sawyer would end up running into Juliet as he walked down the hall of Charlotte's building. I think I'm still in denial that Juliet wasn't in this episode. Aren't they going to meet for coffee and go dutch, like her dying words hinted? I just don't get when that's going to happen now. I WANT TO SEE IT HAPPEN, dammit!

One more thing about Charlotte -- it did enter my mind that she might've been looking a little too hard in that drawer for a t-shirt. I mean, why would she be digging furiously underneath all of his other clothes? It was kind of like she was hurrying to try and find something before he came back in the room, which doesn't really jibe with the situation. But... I might be grasping for straws -- it's probably too late in the season to think that she, Miles and Miles' dad are part of some sort of conspiracy revolving around Alt Sawyer. So let's turn to the bigger story line -- the one about how all of the 815ers just can't seem to stay away from each other in LA.

HAVEN'T WE MET?
YOU'RE SOME KIND OF BEAUTIFUL STRANGER
YOU COULD BE GOOD FOR ME
I'VE GOT A TASTE FOR DANGER

In the final flash segment, right after Sawyer hands Cooper's file over to Miles and tells him about his plot to kill the man he holds responsible for his parents' death, a car crashes into them from out of nowhere, and since it was nearing the end of the episode I was thinking "Oh, here we go again, who in the hell is THIS going to be?" I was not counting on anyone obvious. Since we already had Charlotte and Charlie's brother Liam make cameos, I figured it would have to be another semi-random. Like Abaddon or Claire's psychic or Mr. Eko or somebody crazy like that. But once we saw a person bust out of the car, then I knew it was Kate with the po-po after her yet again.

She fell into Sawyer's trap and when he slammed her up against the fence they were both like, "Hey... I know you, I know you!" I have to admire these characters' memories. There is no way I would recognize anyone I spent a matter of seconds with on an elevator days earlier. But then again, maybe if I shared an elevator with the likes of Sawyer it would be a different story.

Before we flip over to the Island events, can I just say that I used to freakin' LOVE LOVE LOVE Little House on the Prairie and really got a kick out of seeing Sawyer watch it? I read all of those books and watched the show like a maniac growing up, and that series is why I continue to love Jason Bateman to this day, thank you very much. Ah, the memories. Well, I'm actually still trying to forget the memories of people calling me "Nellie" back in grade and middle school (you know, 'cause of my last name), but there's no need for me to get into that right now.

Enough reminiscing... on to the Island!

NOW THIS LOOKS LIKE A JOB FOR ME
SO EVERYBODY JUST FOLLOW ME
'CAUSE WE NEED A LITTLE CONTROVERSY
'CAUSE IT FEELS SO EMPTY WITHOUT ME

Finally, it's revealed where Sawyer's been... he's been helping nurse Jin back to health at Camp Crazy Claire. But they've soon got company; Fake Locke returns with Claire, Sayid, Kate and all of the Others who decided to tag along. Cindy and The Kids are there, too, and when they ask what happened to everyone who stayed behind, Fake Locke had to break it down for them like this: they're all dead. Sorry in advance for the nightmares, little boy who looks like a girl because he has hairbands in his hair.

Then Sawyer and Fake Locke go off to have a private chat and Fake Locke tells Sawyer straight-up that he is Smokey. THANK YOU writers for finally squashing any remaining doubt left in those who didn't want to accept this until they saw Fake Locke physically transform into a puff of blackness. (Remember the FX budget? That scene was never gonna happen.) Sawyer strangely took this news in stride. I guess after all he's seen on the Island nothing would be that shocking, but a dude who can morph into a giant killing machine made of clouds seems like it should still rank pretty high on the WTF-o-meter. But I digress.

Their walk-n-talk leads them to the beach, where Fake Locke tells Sawyer that he needs him to bust over to Hydra to scope out the situation. Of course I then thought Sawyer was going to be shot on his way there... by time-traveling Juliet, of all people. (Some of you wrote me after I mentioned this in my last post, asking what I was talking about. I'm talking about the scene in "The Little Prince" where the time-traveling Losties are in the outrigger and are shot at by an unseen group of people, also in an outrigger. Juliet fires back -- and appears to hit one of them. But then another time flash whips them into a different year, so we never saw who was in the other canoe.)

Sawyer agrees to Fake Locke's plan and sets out for the other island.

SMACK THAT

Fake Locke rejoins everyone else just in time to save Kate from Crazy Claire. Maybe this is awful, but 1) I thought it was HILARIOUS how Sayid just sat there all bored-looking while Claire jumped Kate and had a knife at her throat and, 2) I thought it was even better when Locke up and slapped Claire across the face. Snap out of it, woman! Kate's reaction was priceless -- she realized she was with a bunch of really messed up peeps and was kicking herself for her new No Tagging Along policy. She could've been chilling with Hurley and Jack instead of coming face to face with the evil Squirrel Baby and then being attacked by a weave with a life of its own while Dead-Eye Sayid was off in la-la land replaying some of his all-time greatest ninja-breakdancing moves in his head. (He decided his best was still the twist-kick-neck-snapper he used on an Other in "Through the Looking Glass, Part 1.")

After calming Claire down, Fake Locke took Kate to the beach, told her what he'd asked Sawyer to do, and then revealed that he knew how she must be feeling after seeing Crazy Claire, because his mother was cuckoo, too. His exact words were, "Because... my mother was crazy. A long time ago, before I... looked like this... I had a mother, just like everyone. She was a very disturbed woman. And, as a result of that, I had some growing pains. Problems that I'm still trying to work my way through. Problems that could have been avoided had things been different."

Now, as I've said too many times to count, I don't think they're ever going to reveal the Man in Black's name. And I'm still leaning toward thinking that he's some sort of devilish figure. But many Lost fans started calling the Man in Black "Esau" from the first moment we saw him in the Season Five finale, because in the Bible Jacob and Esau were warring brothers. Esau was supposedly a kinda hairy hunter dude, and Jacob was "a simple man." And guess what? Their momma had some issues. I'm not going to go much further than that except to provide this link I found which gives a quick overview of how their mother (Rebecca/Rebekah) helped screw over Esau. There are SO MANY parallels between this story and the Jacob/Man in Black subplot on Lost that someone could write a book about it... but that person's not gonna be me. Though I thought I'd at least bring the Jacob/Esau story up at this point as some food for thought.

However, since I must always try to play devil's advocate (pun intended) wherever possible, I think that another valid theory is that Real Locke's memories are still inside of Fake Locke (the Man in Black knew Real Locke's dying thoughts, and we've heard him used Locke's trademarked "Don't tell me what I can't do!" line, too). Locke's birth mother was kind of nutso -- remember that she told her son he was immaculately conceived and then proceeded to sell him out to Anthony Cooper, his birth father, who was badly in need of a kidney. I think that qualifies for crazy. And I think I just convinced myself that Fake Locke is drawing from Real Locke's memories, despite the fact that he said "before I looked like this" in his speech to Kate. Keepin' hope alive, yes I am!

BUT DON'T PLAY WITH ME
'CAUSE YOU'RE PLAYING WITH FIRE

Sawyer makes it safely to Hydra, fondles Kate's old dress at the cages, and then comes across a nasty stinkin' heap of dead bodies. One chick named Zoe is still alive, and immediately 1) I thought she was Grown-Up Annie... but then reconsidered because she was asking Sawyer SO many questions, and 2) My husband yelled, "Hey, that girl was the roommate in Singles!" (He was right.)

Zoe was on Widmore's team, and soon Sawyer was face to face with the man himself in the depths of the submarine. Widmore seemed surprised that the Man in Black had taken Locke's form, but nonetheless, he wanted him delivered on a platter, and Sawyer said he'd do just that if it ensured he and his friends could take leave of the Island once and for all. It was a deal. Then Sawyer went back (without getting shot at, phew... but you KNOW that scene is just around the corner...) and spilled everything to Fake Locke. No one should've been surprised that Sawyer was going to try and play both sides. He said as much to Kate, and then told her that he planned to use the sub to escape. Did anyone else think the last scene was a little anticlimactic? "We're not takin' the plane... we're takin' THE SUB." As if that was some huge twist or something? I was like, "Huh? Why is that how this episode ended?" But whatever. We'll see how well Sawyer's plan works. Won't he need to know the exact coordinates to follow in order to be able to break free from the Island's grip, though?

I'M NOT THE MAN THEY THINK I AM AT HOME
OH NO NO NO

Last week I ended with my thoughts on Widmore, so I'm going to close out that same way this time around. I still think Widmore's up to no good, although it's becoming a little clearer that he is not on the same "side" as the Man in Black. Since we know that the Man in Black is also Smokey and Widmore's team was putting up a sonar fence -- pretty much the only thing (besides Magic Ash + Alive Dogen) that can keep Smokey at bay... AND since Widmore seems eager for Sawyer to bring the Man in Black to Hydra, it seems like he intends to fight, kill and/or capture him.

But that doesn't mean Widmore is on Team Jacob. He could just be out for himself -- he's always been driven by wanting to regain control of the Island. He was so insulted and blinded by rage when Ben banished him that he's pretty much dedicated the rest of his life to finding a way back. While Ben recently learned how pointless this sort of quest for power can be, Widmore isn't quite there yet.

Even though I am no fan of Widmore's, there's something that makes me very sad about the thought of Fake Locke/Smokey killing him. I hope that doesn't happen. And I hope he has Desmond hidden away in that locked room in the submarine, for God's sake. We've seen Des for only a matter of minutes this season, and it was waaay back in the premiere, at that. It's been too long. Lost fans demand to hear "brotha!"

BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE

SAWYER: LaFleur.

CHICK: Le WHAT?

[Kate looks at Squirrel Baby in horror.]

KATE: What is THAT?

SAWYER: What happened back at the temple? How'd you know to rescue everybody from that smoke thing?

LOCKE: I didn't rescue them. I am the smoke thing.

KATE: Sayid, are you alright?

SAYID: No.

Until next time,
- e

The LOST Spoilered Perspective Podcast: Recon

"The LOST Spoilered Perspective," covering Recon, hosted by BookhouseBoy and Thirty-Fiver of the SpoilerTV Forums. The Spoilered Perspective recaps the latest episode including all of the information that people who read spoilers knew about the episode months ahead of time (but without any actual spoilers for unaired episodes):http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/77072

The podcast is also available here at ITunes:

Episode 3, covering 6x09, will be broadcast live at http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/77072 at 8PM EST on Wednesday, March 24th.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Things I Noticed - "Recon" by Vozzek69

THINGS I NOTICED - RECON

Sawyer-centric episodes never really disappoint, but Recon was not my favorite episode of season six. Although James Ford's off-island scenario directly opposes what we've seen of his pre-Jughead life, his motivations and basic personality remains constant. There were mirrors and reflections, but no Earth-shattering life changes for him - at least not yet. The on-island stuff was a lot more interesting, but even that seemed a little flat this week. Things I Noticed:

Man, I'm Gonna KILL My Guidance Counselor!

Can someone tell me where you sign up for James Ford's job? If sleeping with a suspect's hot wife in order to plant a trace seemed a little over the top for you guys, that's because it WAS over the top. There was very little realism in this week's opening scene, and a whole lot of (intentionally?) bad acting. The entire Ava/con storyline had an overly rehearsed feel to it, right down to James calling "LaFleur" to shatter the illusion and bring in reality.

It would be easy to chalk this scene up as a simple introduction to James Ford the LA cop, but that's not even the half of it. Instead, we're whisked away to a world of awful detective cliches: a wondrous land of cool badges hanging from long chains, of Laker tickets and blind dates with fast, fiery red-headed women who despite being ridiculously hot can't seem to get a guy on their own.

James tells Ava "I don't need saving", using the same line Claire gave Kate during Sundown. We know that on-island, Sawyer and Claire are in the same boat, having thrown in with the MIB version of John Locke. Off-island James Ford doesn't feel he needs saving either, despite still being emotionally tortured by the murder/suicide of his parents.

The most symbolic part of the scene however, comes as James is convincing his mark that she's busted. As far as Ava is concerned she knows where she is, what's going on, and what to do next. All of this is an illusion however, perpetuated by her own version of events. It falls away the moment James says his 'magic word', and the door busts open. In the blink of an eye, she realizes that nothing is not what it seems to be. Quite suddenly, everything changes.

Look at the background as Miles' team breaks into the room. We see a mirror image of the word HOTEL, as if the doorway represents peering through the looking glass to the other side. Yes, I know we're seeing the back side of the hotel's sign that probably faces the road. But at the same time, we're being shown all these mirror-image references for a definite reason. Time and time again, they shouldn't be ignored.

An even bigger clue comes back at the station as Miles serves coffee, taking the black mug while giving his partner the white one. James' mug has the word HOLLYWOOD written across it, as if to emphasize the acting, set-building, and trumped up feel to Sawyer's version of his sideways reality. Just as his encounter with Ava was all a set up, perhaps so is Sawyer's ALT. In that case it becomes a place of magic, mirrors, and special effects... in a single word, it's Hollywood.

Date a Redhead / Die Alone

Just as they were partners in the Dharma version of law-enforcement, Miles remains Sawyer's partner in the alternate reality as well. The two of them are the Ponch and Jon of LOST... those guys were always setting each other up on blind dates with overly-attractive (by 70's standards) women too. Those dates never ended in sex though. They were more likely to end in roller-skating, sharing sodas at the malt shop, and cheesy freeze-frame smiles just as the credits rolled.

We also learn here that Miles' father, presumably still Dr. Chang, got off the island as well - if he ever was on the island in the first place. His own watered-down version of the ALT-reality involves working for a museum.

Claire's Squirrel-Baby Looks LIke Jar-Jar Binks

At least we learned this week that Claire didn't think her baby was Aaron. Instead, she used it to replace the son she lost in order to maintain her maternal sanity. This didn't stop Kate from going "Ewwww" though.

Isn't It About Time For Zach To Ditch The Teddy Bear?

As Flocke tells his people that he'll be available for Q&A, Cindy chimes in by asking what happened to everyone else at the temple. The dark man tells the truth here - that the dark smoke killed them - but not the whole truth; something we've seen throughout LOST. Still, he also seems concerned with keeping everyone safely non-mutinous and reassured.

Every five minutes, Locke keeps promising to take care of everyone. It's as if the MIB has figured out what we've known all along: you get more flies with honey than with a shotgun... more compliance with explanation and answers than mysteries and silence. This is the opposite of Jacob's previous approach, leading to more mirror imagery and direct dichotomy between these two characters.

At the mention of smokey, Claire grips Kate's hand protectively. I thought she did this this to make it known that Kate's 'one of them', and to visually mark her as a loyal member of Flocke's crew. Despite Claire still being infected, this seemed to be a moment of clarity. Later in the episode however, I adopted a different opinion: Claire was scared. More on that later in the recap.

In A Kill Or Be Killed World, It's Good To Be A Smoke Monster

After calling Sawyer over to the new cool kids table, Flocke comes clean about being the smoke monster. Thinking back to what a huge mystery this once was, I thoroughly enjoyed this moment. Although not a revelation for us, this was a pretty big reveal as far as Sawyer was concerned. Still, it didn't even phase him. Sawyer's one true motivation remains the same: getting off the island for good. But by the end of the episode, as he bargains for his friends' safe passage as well? I think we start to see signs of old Sawyer shining through.

Again, it would've been easy for the dark man to lie here. Telling Sawyer the straight-up truth seems to be a refreshing change from all the secrecy and lies we've associated with LOST for so long. Even so, the smoke monster's admission has a deceitfully underlying purpose: he follows that truth by fibbing to Sawyer about why he's sending him to Hydra island, tricking him into going for made-up reasons. "Do whatever you can to gain their trust, find out what you can about them, and then get back here." Now where have we heard that before?

It's kind of interesting that the dark man doesn't do his own recon here. He's already told his army that they'll be sitting around camp for three days, so it's not like he has any pressing engagements. Maybe this has to do with him crossing the water. During dead is dead, Locke took his shoes off during the canoe ride over to the main island, and put them back on when he reached the dock. Yet if the water bothers him, why did we see a resurrected John Locke standing ankle-deep in the ocean right after the crash of Ajira 316? I'm not sure what the deal is with him and water, but something definitely seems up.

In the last part of their conversation, the dark man mentions taking the Ajira plane as a way off the island. I'm calling bullshit on this one, as he mentioned it only to keep Sawyer going. He may want to leave, but I don't think the plane (or the sub for that matter) has anything to do with the MIB's escape. I mean, where would he go? It's not like he's gonna just fly off to LA and take up a 9 to 5 job or something.

I Got To A Point In My Life Where I Was Either Going To Be A Criminal Or A Cop... So I Chose Cop. Because Hey, This Is The Alternate Reality, And That's How We ROLL, Son!

Gag me with a candy apple... Sawyer's whole date with Charlotte - from the ice-breaking banter to the cute little jokes - was over the top sugary and sticky-sweet. It was way too Days of Our Lives, and way too "take me to bed or lose me forever". Like Indiana Jones and his whip, it was also far too Hollywood... too "set me up with a beautiful blind date who wants to have sex an hour after meeting me" perfect.

In fact, everything's going amazingly well until James Ford asks Charlotte if she wants some water. Again, water acts as a catalyst for change. It's here that Charlotte stumbles across the Sawyer corner, replete with Watership Down, Anthony Cooper folders, newspaper clippings, and family photos of a much happier time. Sawyer's even got an 80's style boom-box and a container of petroleum jelly within easy reach - the staples of any good bachelor pad. Smooth, bro.

I guess my point here is that Sawyer's life is a little bit too stereotypically contrived. It's all too neat... as if Charlotte herself were a set up (not saying she is, not saying she isn't...) designed on cue to bring about a change of heart in this version of James Ford. It's like everything we've seen here was written for an episode of [insert crime drama], cheesy dialogue, unlikely situations and all.

Hydra Island... Now With 800% More Death, Carnage, and Flies!

Sawyer's trip down memory lane, much like Jack and Hurley's, was designed to instill ghost-town imagery wherever he walked. The deserted Ajira plane, the beating zoo... it felt a lot like that last episode of Survivor, where the final contestants walk past the burned-out torches of their eliminated comarades.

Revisiting this scenery from seasons past feels a lot like going back to your old childhood haunts and digging up some bittersweet memories. Kate's sundress is conveniently left where Sawyer can ponder their past together, helped out by sappy piano arrangement and some heavy sighing.

If Sawyer somehow ends up with Kate again, a good many people will go absolutely berserk... and probably rightfully so. Although it would be nice to have some closure within the original love triangle, Saywer's relationship with Juliet would be severely cheapened if he starts falling for Kate again within hours of her death. Not to mention that cup of coffee they're still supposed to go for, in this life or the next.

Eventually Sawyer meets up with Zoe, a girl who wins LOST's "suckiest at lying" award for all six seasons. "How many people are you? How many guns do you have?" It doesn't take a con man to know what was up here, and it didn't take long to see we were being introduced to a whole new crowd of people with guns and hidden agendas... again. Sawyer's "Take me to your leader" line was delivered with resigned sarcasm, reflecting exactly what we all felt at the moment, minus ten million eyerolls.

Mirrors, Fists, and Shattered Bromances

I'm not sure why Miles was so up-in-his-partner's-face about going out to Australia. "Trust" didn't seem a good enough reason to pull your friend's credit card info and throw him up against a row of lockers, at least not without some deep-seeded, unrequited man-feelings.

Then again, go back to earlier in the episode where Miles tells Sawyer "You know you can tell me the truth" (cue creepy music) "...about anything". Reflecting back, it's a little bit like Miles is watching over Sawyer in a suspiciously knowing way.

And like everyone else on the show, seeing himself in the mirror reflects back the truth to James Ford. Despite every attempt to be the Ponch to Miles' Jon, he's still obsessed with finding and killing the man responsible for the death of his parents. He can't be James Ford the happy and successful (and set up with a great girl, too) detective until he resolves his Anthony Cooper issues. And these aren't issues you can just shove aside... or lock away in your underwear drawer.

This Is Completely Inappropria- Wait! CATFIGHT!

"Sayid are you alright?" Hell no he's not alright. Claire's not alright either, and if Kate had brought her A-game she wouldn't be ass-down at knifepoint struggling to keep from getting an unwanted tracheotomy. Flocke steps in and tosses Claire off like a sack of potatoes, but not before reprimanding her like he's scolding a little girl.

And so this got me thinking... what if Claire is a little girl? Not in the physical sense of course, but in a mental sense maybe her mind got reset to when she was a kid. Think about that. She's prone to quick bouts of anger, then shows remorse later on by hugging Kate and crying. She holds Kate's hand... she plays with dolls... in essence, she's acting a lot like a scared, angry little girl.

Is this what the sickness reduces you to? Does it strip away the logical inhibitions an adult would have, leaving you with radically childlike tendencies? Did Vozzek just solve the sickness??? I vote 'hell yes' to all three.

Later on, Claire does seem legitimately sorry, as a child would after throwing a tantrum. Either the sickness itself isn't constant - allowing for moments of clarity and remembrance - or it's a twisted version of childhood. I'm leaning toward the latter, as it would make the sickness far more interesting and a lot less 'evil'.

If this is the case, the MIB is gonna have his hands full when Sayid decides he wants to play on the swingset... and delivers an unholy asskicking to anyone that tells him he can't.

I'm Sorry I Keep Stealing Jacob's Lines...

After the catfight, Flocke apologizes twice to Kate. He still seems overly concerned about keeping everyone happy, which makes sense because he knows that most people have been kept in the dark for too long. In trying to make amends, he accepts full responsibility for Claire's attack on Kate, and then uses Jacob's own line: "I'm sorry this happened" - yet another in a long line of direct connections between these two characters.

I've discussed the possibility that Jacob and the MIB are two halves of the same entity, and we see two types of evidence that point to this. The first are the mirrored and reversed traits: white and black, chaos and order, secrecy and full disclosure. Other evidence however, comes in the form of direct parallels between these characters: shared ideology, symbolism, and even identical dialogue. As these last few episodes fly by, keep this in mind and try to look for these things. More and more I get the feeling we're barking up the right tree.

When Kate asks where Sawyer went, Flocke offers to take her hand and show her. She refuses to accept his gesture of help, and gets up to follow him on her own accord. This keeps Kate markedly separate from everyone else on the MIB's crew who has made some type of deal with him. So far, Kate's done nothing of the sort.

All The Biggest Cowboys Have Mommy Issues

Flocke and Kate's conversation as he showed her Hydra island gave us more critical insight into the dark man's past. Once again he claims to be nothing but a man, something that has seemed very important to him these last few episodes. Whatever happened to the MIB, I'm starting to think he somehow lost his original form - the one we saw on the beach with Jacob during The Incident - for good.

Could it be that his physical body was destroyed, but his essence remained on the island in the form of the dark smoke? We already know he can take the form of those who've died, but over time even this seems to be wearing on him. Unlike Jacob, the MIB has no physical persona he can call his own, and it will be interesting to find out what exactly happened to his original body.

Even more mysterious: his mother. The dark man talks of once having a mother just like everyone else, but unlike everyone else his mom was crazy. Maybe she had the sickness when the MIB was just a boy, resulting in what happened to him. The way he spoke of his growing pains seemed like he was downplaying something a lot more horrific. His concerns about Aaron having a crazy mother may be a genuine reflection of him not wanting a child to go through the same thing he had to, and at times like this the MIB garners a lot of sympathy points. His character gets greatly humanized in this scene. Lots to process here, and I think it should make us go back and examine just who was talking to Claire in her season one visions and dreams.

Thanks Michael Landon!

"That's what life's all about - laughing and loving each other - and ***knowing that people aren't really gone when they die***

Yup, that's right... there's an "other side". There always has been, from the very beginning, yet so many people refuse to accept it. This is the proverbial curtain on the stage - the looking glass that separates everything we've seen so far from the real answers we've been salivating over since the show first started. I know it, lots of others know it, and Michael Landon definitely knows it.

If you've listened to the ODI Podcast, you already know my opinion on this. Everyone who's ever died on LOST has reached the other side. What's over there? An open bar, live music, and a lot of drunk "dead" people. Boone, Shannon, Charlie, Eko, Ana Lucia, Rose, Bernard, even Arzt, although they're serving him virgin drinks and still making fun of him whenever his back is turned.

What's that, Michael Landon? "We have all the good memories to sustain us ***until we see them again***. HUGE hints here. Just my opinion of course, but Mike's handing out big clues as to what we should expect at the end of the show.

Want less theorizing and more matter-of-fact reporting on this scene? I aim to please both sides here. With a little help from Michael Landon, Sawyer recognizes that hating on Cooper his whole life is preventing him from actually living a happy existence. He stops off at the Sunflower & Brew store and tries to make amends with Charlotte, but in her words "he blew it". Maybe it's too late for James Ford to turn over a new leaf, even in the ALT timeline.

As always with him, Sawyer sits on the fence between right and wrong, good and bad, convict and cop. The title's clever play on words seems to demonstrate the constant battle between the side of Sawyer that wants to do good, and the side that keeps falling back into more criminal activity. Ponch and Jon never plotted vengeance and murder, unless I missed that episode.

Awwww... What An Adorable Little Sonic Fence!

For about the 800th time, Saywer is marched somewhere at gunpoint. Widmore's sub has all the dark corridors and sinister locked rooms you'd think it should have, while above deck his crew begins setting up a low-budget version of a sonic perimeter. Someone should probably tell them there's only a half-season left.

In Widmore's quarters, Sawyer does almost all of the talking. He refuses to take Widmore's hand, then blames him for the death of the Ajira people. Pushing aside Widmore's denials, Sawyer cuts right to the chase: both of them know Locke is dead, yet he's still walking around and plotting new craziness. Sawywer however, makes the quick and possibly inaccurate assumption that Charles Widmore is here to do battle with the man in black.

"I'll bring the old man right to your doorstep... then you can kill him." Widmore smirks here, probably because he doesn't WANT to kill Flocke. It's hard to say what Widmore's motives are at this point, but he definitely knew Locke had to go back to the island. It also stands to reason he knew Locke would have to die to accomplish that goal. Therefore, if Widmore had wanted Jacob safe, he wouldn't have encouraged Locke to go back at all.

The only deal Sawyer's willing to shake on involves the safety of his friends. He's playing both sides of the fence to get what he wants, and doesn't seem to trust either side. He's a smart enough con to hedge his bets.

Puppy-Dog Eyes And An Ultra Lame Ending

Unfortunately, the ending of Recon was pretty lackluster. After giving Miles his best puppy-dog eyes, James Ford hands over the folder containing all his info on Anthony Cooper. It's unsure whether or not he plans to keep tracking the con man down, using the present tense as he tells Miles "When I find him, I'm gonna kill him".

As a good partner, Miles is obligated to talk Sawyer down off this ledge for a few days before ultimately helping find Cooper and bring him to justice. Sawyer's redemption comes the moment he catches Coop and refuses to kill him, which at this point would be pretty damned predictable. Cue fugitive Kate, a car crash, and yet another "son of a bitch!"

On-island, the ending is even worse. Sawyer and Kate could be playing 'I never', but instead they're discussing how to escape... not by plane, mind you... but BY SUB! Dun-Dun-DUUUUUNNNNN!!!! Sorry, but that just totally sucked.

So What Saves A Shitty Ending?

An incredible, jaw-dropping promo for next week's episode. If you refuse to watch it for fear of being spoiled, you're probably a Communist.

Good Cop, Bad Cop: "Recon" - Recap by Robz888

Update: 20th March For those that have been asking/emailing here is the link to Robz888 FlashForward Recap.

After last week's moving reunion of Jack, Hurley, Sun, Miles, Frank, Ben and Richard on the beach, "Recon" began with its own reunion. A little awkward, wasn't it?

That's because Flocke's group is a hodge podge of dispirited Others, Smoke Monsters, the possessed, the insane, and some deeply confused main characters. And yet, Flocke quickly goes to work making reassurances, keeping the peace, and gathering intelligence.

I liked this episode quite a bit - maybe not as much as "Dr. Linus" or "Sundown", but there was plenty going on all over the place, and that was nice. In addition to learning about Sawyer's life in the ATL, I was extremely happy to revisit the Ajira situation. We also received at least one extremely crucial insight into the Man in Black. Needless to say, I'm a little surprised to see the episode so far down in the polls. Then again, I liked "Expose", so what do I know?

Before I get to my recap, I just wanted to make a quick plug. ABC's "FlashForward" will be returning this Thursday, and I will be writing recaps after each episode just like I do for Lost. My recaps will be posted over on the FlashForward section of the Spoiler TV main site (scroll up, scroll over to Spoiler TV, click more shows, click ABC, find FlashForward). I encourage Lost fans to give the show a try - with Lost ending, we have to stake out some new territory, you know?

Anyway, I'd love to have many of you join me for FlashForward each week. But for now, on to "Recon". I'm going to cover all of the ATL first.

JAMES LAFORD, L.A.P.D.

If Saywer is a cop, I wonder why he let Kate get away in "LA X"? He probably would have known what the security code for "escaped fugitive" was, and it was pretty clear that he knew she was the fugitive. Was it just because he thought she was attractive that he let her go? We know Sawyer (Sayid as well) decreases in competence when the ladies are around, but this seems like quite a leap. Was a subconscious MTL (main timeline) relationship with Kate affecting his decision making? He of course recognizes her when he captures her at the end of "Recon", but maybe it's from more than just the flight?

In any case, Sawyer is a cop in the ATL. He doesn't go by Sawyer - it seems he always stuck with James Ford in this reality - but he's still sleeping with rich, beautiful women, and in a way, he's still conning them, but now it's on behalf of local law enforcement! After he does the whole "you weren't exactly supposed to see that" routine, the woman pulls a gun on him. But all James Ford has to do is say the magic word "LaFleur", and his fellow officers bust in - among them, his partner, Miles.

We've actually seen Mr. Ford working with police before. There were his Dharma days as Head of Security, of course. But, also, remember his flashback in Every Man for Himself? That situation was somewhat similar to this one - he was conning on behalf of the police. This time, of course, he IS the police. The woman remarks that he is a lousy con man, but man is she wrong. Though Lost has offered up no shortage of con men, Sawyer is without a doubt the best, as Flocke points out later in the episode.

MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP

The inclusion of Miles in the ATL is very exciting to me and my Fantasy League Team. If you've been reading my recaps each week, you know that I set aside a certain amount of space in every recap to bemoan Miles's lack of inclusion in the plot. But his star definitely seems to be on the rise. The question now is does he have his ghost-busting powers in the ATL? This one could probably go either way, but we do have some other important information to help us decide.

Back at the station, Miles informs Sawyer that he's going on a date with a "friend of mine - works with my dad at the museum." I actually missed this upon my first viewing, but it's pretty key. It would make sense for Pierre Chang and Charlotte to work together at a museum. We know based on what Roger told us in "Dr. Linus" that in the ATL, the Dharma Initiative and the island still existed at some point. If Roger and Ben were there, most of the rest of the Dharma crowd probably was, too. Chang was probably friends with Charlotte's parents, and it would make sense for them to work together, and for Miles to know her (them both being Dharma babies and all).

This of course means that Miles was indeed born on the island in the ATL. Since we've never discovered how exactly Miles gained his power, my best guess is that it's the result of some funky island electromagnetism. Since he wasn't actually on the island for very long in the MTL, maybe whatever caused his powers happened very near his birth, or was even passed onto him at birth or conception from one or both of his parents being exposed to electromagnetism. This leads me to believe that Miles will still talk to dead people in this reality.

On the other hand, the ATL seems to be where our characters have second chances and can free themselves of the crippling burdens they bore in their other lives. Thematically, it might make more sense for Miles not to have his powers here.

It's great that James and Miles work together in the ATL. Their bond was one of the last to develop over the course of Lost, but it's really a terrific one. I'm glad that these Dharma pals are destined to be buddies.

One more word on Miles - he mentions that he has a girlfriend. Want to guess who? Since it basically has to be someone we know, there are only a couple good guesses. It can't be Kate, Claire or Sun, Shannon is still in Australia, if Libby shows up she'll be with Hurley, Danielle is too old, Alex too young, Juliet will end up with Sawyer (getting coffee) if she appears at all, and we know it's not Charlotte. You know who that leaves?

Come on, that makes sense! She's an LA cop, her bad attitude can match Miles... they'd be perfect for each other. I'm not spoiled or anything, this is just a guess. But really, who else could it be? (Second best option - Juliet's sister, Rachel Carlson, as a way of introducing Sawyer to Juliet in the ATL).

NEW SAWYER, SAME STORY

We're only following Sawyer's new life for a couple minutes before hearing a familiar and foreboding name - Anthony Cooper. James is still looking for him, and in fact traveled to Australia to dig up information on him. Despite this similarity, I doubt James killed anybody in Sydney. He might have the same motivation, but he's a different person - one that never adopted the name of the con man that took away his parents. I'm also assuming that he never wrote the letter, or else we would have seen him reading it instead of watching Little House (Charlotte might even have found that in his dresser rather than the file).

The fact that he never wrote the letter might mean that Jacob never existed in this reality (or died much earlier). It was, after all, Jacob who pushed him to finish it after his uncle warned him not to. Jacob pushed James down the path of obsessive vengeance, of becoming a con man rather than a law man. Are we seeing a world without Jacob? A world where our characters are free to live their own lives without this meddlesome entity and his damned island? I must say, Jacob isn't exactly looking like the good guy at this point (I actually don't think Jacob or the Man in Black are all good or all bad, but I'll discuss that in the Flocke section).

The fact that Anthony Cooper is still responsible for the deaths of Sawyer's parents in the ATL raises some interesting questions, because it appears inconsistent with other information we have on Anthony Cooper. John Locke seemed to be on good terms with his father in "The Substitute" - he had a picture of them together on his desk and Helen mentioned that Cooper was invited to the wedding.

Maybe Cooper is still a bad guy and he's just conning John because he hasn't gotten his kidney yet, or something, but it seems to me like Helen would figure that out. She's pretty smart, and she has no problem following people around when she doesn't trust them. I have a feeling that if Cooper is okay in Helen's book, he should be okay in all of our books.

My honest guess - and that's all this is - is that Cooper did cause Mr. Ford to kill Mrs. Ford, but he later came to feel bad about it/his con man ways. I'm also going to bet that Sawyer meets him, finds him to be apologetic, and forgives him. Wouldn't that be a fitting way for ATL Saywer to find redemption?

YOU BLEW IT

James and Charlotte seem to hit it off, quickly heading back to the bachelor pad to roll around in polar bear cages or whatever they're calling it these days. Sawyer and Charlotte are a pretty ridiculous couple. It's funny to see them getting along, as just about everybody wanted to punch Charlotte in the face on the island (including many fans). I always felt some sympathy for her and felt like her bad attitude could be explained by her unpleasant first experience on the island as a prisoner of John and a shooting victim of Ben. Outside that context, she seems to be a pretty enjoyable person.

Alas, after the love-making, she accidentally stumbles across the Sawyer file in his sock drawer. This is enough to trigger season 1 Sawyer, and she's quickly ejected from the apartment. When Sawyer wants a second chance later on, she tells him, "You blew it." It looks like there won't be any red-headed, nick-name giving toddlers in John Locke's substitute kindergarten class anytime soon. I wonder if the museum will be opening a new physics wing, bringing in a potential love interest for Charlotte in the form of a familiar fling named Daniel Faraday?

James also happens across another familiar face - Charlie's brother, Liam, who's come to the states to bail Charlie out of LAPD lockup. I'm looking forward to seeing more of Charlie, though I'm not sure which character's ATL flashes could cover it. Maybe Miles is getting his own side-flashes episode? Jin/Sun and Hurley are really the only other characters left who will get side-flash episodes for sure. Who knows, maybe Lost will do some doubling up.

Eventually, James reveals to Miles his plan to find and kill Anthony Cooper, but before they can discuss it in much length, yet another familiar face slams into their car. James soon corners the fugitive Kate Austen. I don't know where this is going to go - will James help her or arrest her? What will be the outcome of the ATL for Kate?

I was really expecting Juliet to show up in Sawyer's alternate life, but maybe they're saving that for the finale. I have little doubt that they'll end up together in the ATL, but this episode marked the first time in at least two seasons where I actually thought Kate and Sawyer might end up together in the MTL. How's that for the love-triange people: Sawyer and Juliet in one reality AND Kate and Sawyer in the other! That would be slightly absurd.

FLOCKE IS GOING TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOU

You know who Flocke was reminding me of this episode? John Locke. (I'm blowing your mind, I know!) But seriously, in addition to the fact that they're played by the same actor, John is kind of the only island leader who ever tried to comfort his followers. I'm not saying Jack's a bad leader, but his plan was usually to charge recklessly into the jungle with some or all of the A-Team. He never did very much communicating with your everyday crash survivors. Chalk it up to bad bedside manner. Flocke, on the other hand, can be temperamental and violent - he's a disembodied cloud of black smoke, after all - but he can also be downright grandfatherly.

Nor does he try to hide the truth. Well, okay, he does a little bit - he doesn't tell everybody that he IS the Smoke Monster - but he does tell them that the Temple folk are dead. He expresses concern that this troubles young Zach, and he promises to take care of all of them. This reminded me very much of the way John, especially in early seasons, was often a source of calmness and comfort to the other crash survivors.

Flocke, however, is a much more effective leader than John Locke, because he knows when to be soft and he knows when to punch people in the face. After Sawyer raises his voice, Flocke privately scolds him and then says, "I forgive you." This struck me as something a very powerful, important person would do. Flocke is kind of like a mob boss, isn't he? He offers his protection to some people, he wipes out others.

Still, Flocke uses reason to appeal for support. He explains to Sawyer that he only killed the people at the Temple because they illogically cling to false beliefs. If they would only allow Flocke to leave the island, he would have no quarrel with them. But it's kill or be killed, "and I don't want to be killed," Flocke explains.

Do we believe him, at this point? I myself have gone back and forth. After "The Substitute" I wrote extensively on the parallels between Flocke and Walter, the villain of Stephen King's books, noting Walter's use of rationality while simultaneously being full of deceit and evil. But last week, I changed my tune and discussed the notion that Jacob and MIB are not good and evil, they are merely personifications of faith vs. science and destiny vs. free will, previously identified by Jack vs. John. Now Jack is a man of faith and destiny, and John is dead, his body inhabited by a seemingly logical, free will-supporting entity.

My point is that Lost is really, really humanizing Flocke. If it still wants to turn him into the main villain, it better start soon. And Jacob is going to have a lot of explaining to do before anyone (viewers or characters) puts much trust in him.

Anyway, Sawyer is given a mission to infiltrate the Ajira survivors on Hydra Island and prepare for takeoff in the crashed plane. He grabs a paddle, hops in a canoe, and makes his way to the little island where the Others once held him prisoner.

By the way, I'm now fairly certain that we will soon have an answer to the mysterious "other Others" who shot at Sawyer, John, Juliet, Miles Daniel and Charlotte during their canoe trip to the Orchid in "The Little Prince." These unknown assailants will probably turn out to be from Flocke's group or Widmore's team.

CRAZY MOMS

You know what? I really liked Kate this week. Her situation is pretty interesting. She doesn't really know what's going on. Jin is on crutches. Sayid isn't quite the pal he used to be (Okay, Sayid-is-posessed theorizers - I admit defeat! He's totally possessed!). And then there's Claire. She holds Kate's hand during the Flocke's-keeping-everybody-safe-speech, which was definitely weird (the hand-holding, not the speech).

Later, as Kate attempts a frustratingly difficult conversation with Zombie Sayid, Claire tackles her and attempts to stab her as Sayid watches, doing nothing. But Flocke comes to the rescue and even hits Claire in the face. Eventually, he apologizes to Kate and confesses to confusing Claire with his "the Others have your baby" nonsense. He was only trying to give her a sense of purpose. "Have you ever had an enemy?" he asks. "Someone that you needed to hate? Very powerful, isn't?" We know of course that Flocke's hatred for Jacob may very well have been his motivation for many of his actions. Perhaps it was the thing that kept him going when he was a prisoner for possibly years or decades or centuries.

We soon learn that Jacob may not be the only person whom the Man in Black hated. In what was undoubtedly the biggest reveal of the episode, Flocke tells Kate that he had a mother who was crazy. The craziest thing, though, is the way he tells it - with extreme hesitation/uncertainty. He struggled to form his sentences, and could only say that his mother was crazy, it caused him "growing pains", and things could have been different. I can draw 3 different conclusions.

1) He struggles to tell the story because he's making it up on the spot. So far there have been several cases where we're not sure whether he's telling somebody the truth or simply what they'd like to hear. This might have simply been an on-the-spot attempt to recruit Kate. Even so, I don't like this explanation, because Flocke seems fairly bright. He may have been trying to recruit Kate, but I'd expect him to rehearse his story first.

2) He struggles to tell the story because it's true, and it's painful for him. This is highly plausible. If you believe the Jacob and Esau Biblical connection, there should be a mother named Rebekah. Rebekah preferred Jacob whereas the father, Isaac, preferred Esau. But thanks to the machinations of Jacob and Rebekah, Esau was cheated out of his inheritance. If MIB is supposed to be Esau, he might very well think his mother was crazy. This could also account for a host of other things, including the inability of women to survive childbirth on the island. Perhaps Esau took revenge against all mothers in his domain by initiating such a curse (by toppling the Statue of Tawaret, maybe?)

3) He struggles to tell the story because he's reaching into his subconscious and stealing it from John. John, after all, had a crazy mother who made his life difficult. While I think the parallel exists regardless, Flocke seemed to be taking on more and more of John's better traits this episode. I still hold the view that the real John might be buried in his subconscious somewhere, available to be mined for information and mannerisms. How else could Flocke know what John was thinking when he died?

In any case, Flocke seems to be implying to Kate that she may have to raise Aaron after all, which could be exactly what Kate wants most. Flocke is quite the wish granter.

Kate and Claire make up by the end of the episode, with Claire giving Kate a hug. I wonder how long this peace will last. Claire seems too unbalanced to continue to feel warmly toward Kate for very long.

A TRIP DOWN HYDRA LANE

Sawyer isn't actually able to accomplish his specific assignment, as the Ajira passengers are all dead and piled into a heap. A week or two ago, I remarked that we had now witnessed the systematic destruction of the three major groups we've come to care about - the Oceanic survivors, the Dharma Initiative and the Others. While the Ajira people don't seem to matter very much in the long run, we can now add them to that list.

For the record, I think Flocke zipped over to the Hydra Station and killed them all. He discussed doing so in the Incident, and I just don't know who else could have done it if it wasn't Widmore. And it doesn't really seem like Widmore. Also, if you look at the screenshots, none of them appear to be shot, but they might have been bludgeoned to death, which is Smokey's thing.

After catching a pretend Ajira passenger in her lie (She wasn't on the plane! No surprise there), Sawyer is captured by Widmore's people and brought to the sub. No offense, but Widmore's people this time around are pretty nerdy. They didn't seem nearly as threatening as the Keamys and Omars of the world.

Anyway, I couldn't help but wonder why Widmore was still in the sub. I think it's possible that he can't set foot on the island yet. Perhaps he needs MIB contained in order to do that, or something (his team is setting up a sonic fence-like border). Also, what do you think is in the locked compartment on the sub? Yeah, I'm rooting for it to be Desmond, but doesn't some sort of explosive seem more likely, given the history of things that Widmore brings to the island? But if it were Desmond, that would be awesome.

I was curious how much Sawyer and Widmore would know about each other. I don't think Sawyer realizes he met Widmore in the 50s, but he knows this man sent the freighter to the island to kill everybody. Widmore, for his part, seems to know Sawyer. I wonder if they both know they lived on the same island for three years in the 1970s?

In any case, Sawyer makes Widmore a deal - he'll tell Flocke that Hyrda Island is safe and Flocke will walk right into Widmore's trap. Widmore can then kill Flocke. This really threw me for a loop, as I fully expected Widmore to be on the Man in Black's team. Why, then, was he helping John in "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham"? Did he sincerely believe in John's quest to bring the Oceanic 6 back to the island? Is he working for Jacob?

I'm starting to think that Widmore might have his own agenda. But the fact that he seems interested in trapping and killing Flocke might make him part of Jacob's team. If Jacob really isn't the good guy, though - which is increasingly what I believe - Widmore might make more sense as an ally of his. Still, I assume that Jacob at least tacitly approved Widmore's exile from the island after the Purge, unless Ben and/or Richard did that all on their own. You never can tell with Jacob.

I'M LOOKING FOR THE SUBMARINE

Sawyer spills the whole deal with Widmore to Flocke, who expresses sympathy for the dead Ajira folk and somewhat forced surprise at the mention of Charles Widmore. I took this to mean that both 1) Flocke killed the Ajira people, and 2) he was expecting Widmore. Again, it's really surprising to me that they're not working together.

But you know what? They might still have been working together. Sure, Sawyer seems like Lost's greatest con man, but Flocke might be better. What if he is working with Widmore, and this whole reconnaissance mission was only Flocke's test to see if Sawyer was loyal to him? This could be why Widmore almost seemed to be expecting Sawyer. Flocke could have told him - after murdering the Ajira folk - that he was going to send Sawyer over. "Tell him you want to kill me," Flocke may have said, "and see how he reacts." The pylons could have been part of the con to convince Sawyer of false enmity between MIB and Widmore.

Also, think about "Dr. Linus". Remember when Flocke told Ben to head to the Hydra Station? Well, he told his group that they might not leave their present camp for a couple days, whereas he told Ben to ditch (and kill) Ilana and head for the Hydra right then and now. If Ben had shot Ilana and made his way to the Hydra, he would have fallen right into Charles Widmore's clutches. Since I'm guessing that killing Ben might still be Widmore's top priority, Flocke may have agreed to deliver Ben to him in exchange for help.

I could be totally off here - maybe Charles represents a third side or even higher authority (that crazy mother of Flocke's, even) or maybe he's just with Jacob after all.

Either way, Sawyer tells Kate (who, by the way, shared a seemingly genuine make up hug with Claire earlier in the episode) that he's not loyal to anybody ("Anybody but you, beautiful," he basically said). and just wants to get off the island. While Widmore and Flocke fight it out, he's ditching them and commandeering the sub. All I have to say is, he better get to it before Flocke. If the Man in Black continues channeling his subconscious John Locke, that sub is going to get blown up faster than you can say "You're not supposed to leave."

No major cliffhanger this week, which is fine. Not every episode has to have some surprising character appear on a submarine at the end. I was missing our friends at the Beach Camp, though, and will be excited to hopefully return to them next week.

Thanks for reading! Until next week,

- Robby "Robz888"