Well right off the bat, we get the answer to a question that has been nagging a lot of viewers: Where were Jin and Sawyer during Claire and the Locke Ness Monster’s raid of the Temple. Turns out Jin was convalescing and Sawyer was, I guess, babysitting. Works for me!
While I enjoyed the opening sideways “tease,” where we learned that Sawyer is actually a cop in the alternate reality (where he’s now using his classic ploy as a different type of trap), I was a bit spoiled after reading an off-hand comment made by actor Josh Holloway. But I did love the appearance of Miles as Sawyer’s partner.
Speaking of Miles, his casual reference to his father is potentially significant. Last week we did learn that the Dharma Initiative was in existence, as was the island until at least the 1970’s. So, much like Ethan, Ben and his dad, what are the circumstances that surrounded Miles and Dr. Chang leaving the island? Presuming they were on there in the first place.
Actually, I suppose that same question could apply to Charlotte as well. Was she ever on the island? And does her work relationship with Dr. Chang relate to the island in any way (“Hey, didn’t your parents used to live across the barracks from me?”)
I don’t have a whole lot to say about the Sawyer/Charlotte escapades (other than the fact that I loved that Sawyer brought a 6 pack of beer with him when he went to apologize), except that I do have to sorta confess that I was hoping he’d get set up with Juliet. I still expect that to happen, but I suppose they may be holding off on that.
One final thought: I’m curious, but how did Sawyer discover that his “Sawyer” is Anthony Cooper? In the world we’re familiar with, he only came to this realization after meeting the man himself. How’d he find it out in the sideways universe? For that matter, this was a pretty big revelation. In the Locke episode, we’ll led to believe he has a healthy relationship with his father (which includes hunting trips and wedding invitations). Is this the same man that conned Sawyer’s parents?
Oh, and the subtle Charlie reference was nice.
Over on the island, the Locke Ness Monster sent Sawyer over to Hydra Island (I kinda love that that’s now its name even within the show’s universe), where the conman met a little lady who tried to manipulate him with some of her own lies. Naïve little girl. I am interested in this little game Sawyer is playing, though. He’s basically playing both sides against each other, hoping to slip through the cracks in the midst of the chaos. What’s intriguing, though, is that this isn’t entirely the long con that many assumed it was. It doesn’t seem that Sawyer is fishing for information. He genuinely does seem obsessed with getting off of the island. And until Kate and his friends arrived, it really doesn’t appear that he was looking to bring anybody else with him. But if Survivor has taught me anything, it’s that simply telling everybody what they want to hear will eventually bite you in the ass.
Yeah, this is probably the Jack/Kate fan in me talking, but I really could have done without Sawyer longingly reminiscing about his cage sex with Kate. In addition to me not wanting this relationship to happen, I think it cheapens Sawyer’s devastation over losing Juliet. I know most people don’t want to see Sawyer acting all mopey and Emo for 18 episodes, but in terms of the show’s storyline, didn’t Juliet die, like, yesterday? A little soon to be thinking about reigniting a romance with an old flame, don’t you think?
I was fascinated by the story Locke told Kate, mostly because of the duality of it. We know full well that the real Locke had a mentally disturbed mother, so when he began pouring his heart out, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was referring to the history of his visage in order to manipulate Kate. But as he continued, you got the sense that he was actually providing us with some potentially critical information about the history between Jacob and the Man in Black. And perhaps most interestingly of all, there was something compassionate and remorseful about his tone – as if he genuinely wished circumstances were different. I’m now really buying into this theory that Jacob and the Man in Black are brothers.
And man, what a visual seeing him slap Claire after her outburst on Kate. I’m thinking that there might be something to this idea that the Locke Ness Monster can’t lie now, because of the dagger Sayid stabbed him with. There were a couple of occasions that he seemed to rub his wound as he reluctantly told the truth about a situation. And he seemed oddly even more honest than he had in the past. And there did seem to be a certain resistance, as well. And in regards to Claire, how sincere do you think that hug was?
Alright, it’s been a pretty exhausting week (how is it just Tuesday), so I’m cutting things off at this point.
Anyway, anybody else REALLY looking forward to next week’s Richard episode? This is the one episode where I’ll say that they shouldn’t pull any punches. Go balls out!
Matt Basilo has been writing for Inside Pulse since April 2005, providing his insight into popular television shows such as Lost, 24, Heroes, and Smallville. Be sure to visit his blog at [a case of the blog] and follow him on Twitter.
