Wednesday, March 17, 2010

LOST Episode 6.08: "Recon" (Initial Thoughts & Theories)



Good evening, LOST friends. I appreciate your patience - below are my initial thoughts and theories about this week's episode, Recon. I have to admit that it was delightful to have several hours during the day to contemplate, research and write about the episode rather than staying up all night for once. :)


To be honest, while I loved all of notLocke's scenes and dialogue, I was a little disappointed in Recon and Sawyer's flash sideways. That being said, I need to watch it again because I am a bit distracted and focused on other shows while here on location in Vancouver. 


My biggest gripe is that there was potential for more relevant crossovers in the flash sideways; Ana Lucia or her mother working for the LAPD with Sawyer and Miles rather than Charlie's brother Liam appearing, for instance. My second biggest issue is that it was a waste of opportunity to have Charlotte merely reappear as one of Sawyer's conquests. Rebecca Mader may have been thrilled to return, but I believe she and her character deserved better. 


Obviously certain aspects of the show depend on the availability of the actors, but I rarely address what I do not like about episodes and I am no longer going to keep it to myself. 


My plan is to re-watch the episode this weekend and post a second round of analysis, as I will be traveling yet again and anticipate plenty of time both up in the air and while in Atlanta.


Ajira 316





I know that the presence of this plane is not new, but I can finally reveal what I saw during our private press set visit in January; this video and these photos were considered spoiler-ish until now, as no one really knew that the plane would come into play again. The very talented construction team on LOST built this to-scale half of a plane from scratch specifically for S6, whereas all previous footage of Ajira was CGI.




By the way, I don't know if Widmore's crew killed the remaining 316 passengers or if notLocke took a quick side trip to the Hydra and took care of them himself. Although Zoe pretended to be one of them, I don't necessarily believe that she and Team Widmore were the ones who did the deed. Although that scene reminded me of the Other Purge in the early 90's, this one had far more of a creepy zombie vibe.


Cage Match, Part 2




Detective Ford pins Kate, but this time Sawyer is arresting rather than caressing her (S3, I Do). 




Episode Parallels


The Long Con (S2)


Just as Cassidy saw right through Sawyer's attempted con after sleeping with him, in the flash sideways Ava was also onto his game. Of course the tables have turned in this version, as does the outcome.


Ana Lucia and Jack discussed forming an army, just as the war between notLocke and Widmore seems to be taking shape.


Sawyer lied to both Jack and Locke, took the guns from the Swan hatch and hid them, declared on the beach that he was the new sheriff in town and that he was not taking orders from either Team Jack or Team Locke. Sawyer is certainly playing both teams right now, but is not truly part of either. Every man for himself, indeed. 


Sawyer told Kate that "you run, I con; tiger don't change its stripes." It seems, at least for now in the flash sideways, that he is a tiger with alternate stripes.  


Although he was referring to Charlie at the time, Sawyer said that "it looks like Johnny Locke's got himself a nemesis." In addition to Widmore, notLocke appears to have an army of enemies now.


Sawyer told Charlie that "I'm not a good person - never did a good thing in my life." 


Locke took responsibility for teaching Michael how to shoot a gun, much like notLocke took responsibility for Claire's behavior.


Every Man for Himself (S3)




In Recon, there were two great visual parallels back to the S3 scene when Ben first shows Sawyer that he is on Hydra Island; one between Locke and Sawyer, and then between Locke and Kate.


Tricia Tanaka is Dead (S3)


Sawyer told Kate that when he was sick as a child, he watched Little House on the Prairie. As seen in this episode, some things never change. It was touching to see adult Sawyer still so affected by Mr. Ingalls' talk with his daughter, including Lost specific statements like "people aren't really gone when they die; we have all the good memories to sustain us until we see them again."


LaFleur (S5)




Dharma Sheriff Jim LaFleur and his deputy Miles are now LAPD Detectives Ford and Straume. 


In his flash sideways, Sawyer's magic word is LaFleur. {love that, nice touch}


Horace informs Sawyer that there is a sub ready to take him and his friends off of the island in 1974. In this episode, Sawyer plans to use Widmore's sub to do just that.




Sawyer brought Juliet a single flower in their Dharmaville home (S5, LaFleur), just as he brought Charlotte a single flower after he botched their first date.


Growing Pains


Medically speaking, it is my understanding that growing pains primarily refers to pain the legs of growing children. I just love how notLocke described it, because John Locke loses the ability to feel his legs at all.


I Want to Feel the Car Crash




I do love lists, and now we have yet another car crash to add to the collection:


CLAIRE

  • She and her mom got into an accident after arguing, resulting in her mother's coma (Par Avion)

HURLEY

  • Hurley crashed his beloved car after fleeing from Ghost Charlie and being chased by the LAPD (The Beginning of the End)

JACK

  • When Shannon's father and Sarah were in a head on collision, Jack chose to operate on and save the life of his future wife (Abadoned)
  • He was about to jump off of the bridge when a car crashed after spotting him there; he saved the driver's life (Through the Looking Glass)

JULIET

  • Her ex husband was hit and killed by a bus in front of her...after she made a snide remark about it happening (Not in Portland)

KATE

  • While on the run with the help of her childhood ex Tom, they crashed and Tom was killed (Born to Run)
  • While driving in the rain, the Marshal crashed their car after veering away from Kate's infamous black horse (What Kate Did)
  • Farmer Mullen, who was pretending to help Kate, crashed down the side of highway after being chased by the Marshal (Tabula Rasa)

LOCKE

  • Emily Locke was hit by a car, causing her to prematurely deliver baby John (Cabin Fever)
  • Locke was hit by a car confronting his mom in a parking lot (Deus Ex Machina)
  • Locke's dad Anthony Cooper was in a car accident and woke up on the island (The Brig)
  • Locke was hit by a car after speeding away from Abaddon's murder (The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham)

MICHAEL

  • Michael was hit by a car in NY before flight 815 (Special)
  • Michael tried to kill himself by crashing his car (Meet Kevin Johnson)

SAWYER

  • Although not a crash, Christian Shephard opens his car door into Sawyer in Sydney (Two for the Road)
  • Kate crashes into his car as he was talking with Miles (Recon)

SAYID

  • Nadia is killed by a hit and run in front of Sayid as Jacob distracts/saves him (The Incident)

The Land of Submarines




There are myriad possibilities for what or who is behind the locked door on Widmore's sub. My first thought was that it was yet another 'magic box' metaphorical storage locker holding someone significant to the past of someone on the island (a la Anthony Cooper to Locke). 


My second guess was that perhaps Widmore needed Desmond to finally return to the island but once Des' information proved to be correct...Widmore locked him up and gagged him. However, given that Des is his grandson's baby daddy, I doubt it.


My third guess was that Widmore used his son Faraday and his baby mama Hawking to return to the island, and that one of those two were locked up. 


And then I gave up guessing, because all of those options are rather ridiculous.


LOST Book Club


We saw Sawyer read Watership Down on the island, but there are some very interesting parallels to the current power struggle.  A group of rabbits are seeking safety and a new home after avoiding death (including, yes, via poison) and are lured to an oasis of sorts that proves to be a trap. Ironically, they rely upon the female rabbits to ensure their future as a society...something that the island has prevented for many years.


And frankly, some of the lines from the book speak volumes in terms of comparisons to and influences on Lost:

  • "He felt that the darkness itself was alive and hated him, and it never changed, never slept, never spoke. All it had to do was wait for it to go mad, to break down, to give up and surrender. Then he would have lost, and the implacable darkness would have won."
  • "Rabbits need dignity, and above all the will to accept their fate."
  • "They altered what rabbits do naturally, because they thought they could do better."
  • "We all have to meet our match, sometime or other."

LOST Movie Club


In addition to the obvious Indiana Jones analogies, I was amused by Sawyer's reference to Bullitt. For one, the lead character is a police lieutenant who purposely misplaces a deceased body (Christian Shephard) and chases a female suspect who uses various aliases (Kate). In addition, a significant character in the film is Walter Chalmers...Charles Widmore's initials in reverse. 



Mirror Moments




Although the producers have been insisting that the flashes sideways are NOT glimpses into a Parallel Universe, there have been purposeful nods to mirror images of each character thus far. In addition, each moment takes place after interacting with a very specific person in each of their flash sideways lives that affects their moral compass in a more redemptive direction...

  • 6.01: Jack in the airplane bathroom, after meeting Desmond on 815
  • 6.03: Kate in the mechanic shop bathroom, after dropping off pregnant Claire on the side of the road
  • 6.04: Locke in his bedroom bathroom, after Helen referring to him meeting a spinal surgeon  as "destiny"...and right before tearing up Jack's card
  • 6.05: Jack in his hallway, after noticing the appendix scar AND Jack in his son's bedroom, looking at photos of them together and deciding to go to his performance
  • 6.06: Ben in his microwave, making dinner for his ill father, whom he is looking after
  • 6.07: Sawyer in the locker room, after being confronted by Miles for lying...and before punching the mirror

No Man is an Island


When notLocke explained to Kate why he killed people in the Temple ("They're convinced that they're protecting the island from me, when in fact all I want to do is leave. So it's either kill or be killed. And I don't want to be killed."), I started thinking about the two sides in the pending war. 


Charles Widmore has finally returned to the island, although I am still not sure whether or not he aims to truly protect/rule it or sink it. And then there are two other categories: 
  • those who want to leave the island: Frank, Hurley, Jack, Jin, Kate, Miles, notLocke, Sawyer, Sun 
  • those w/unknown intentions and wishes: Alpert, Ben, infected Claire, Ilana, infected Sayid
I strongly believe that this entire war and its outcome will determine whether one lives the life we see in the Flash Sideways or whether one is forever stuck on the island; regardless of who is on opposing teams, they will ultimately side with either Jacob (Free Will/Choice) or the Man in Black (Fate/Force). 



War Games

The instructions that notLocke gave to Sawyer before sending him to Hydra Island seem to be key to the game that both he and Jacob have been playing all along: "You tell them whatever you need to tell them to gain their trust. Find out everything you can about them and then get back here."

Also of significance to the larger picture in this pending war was notLocke's question to Kate: "Have you ever had an enemy, someone that you needed to hate? Very powerful, isn't it?" as well as his admission that he gave Claire "something to hate" to "keep her going." 



ANTHONY COOPER


In the flash sideways world, Locke and his father have a good relationship, but obviously he is not aware of his dad's criminal ways. 


By the way, one of my favorite Lost anagrams combines Anthony Cooper and (one of his other con names) Adam Seward: Sawyer, the con man, a poor dad.


CHARLES WIDMORE


I am very conflicted about Widmore. On one hand, I'd like to believe that he has finally returned to the island to save the remaining 815 crew because his son Daniel Faraday pleaded with him to do so (after all, it is Faraday's fault that Jack detonated Jughead, setting off a series of events that brought them back there)...as did his son-in-law Desmond.  Now that Widmore is a grandfather, is it possible that his perspective and agenda have changed?




All credit to Alan Dale - it is hard to get a read on who's side Widmore will land. The obvious choice is that he has been working with the Man in Black the entire time. And it would be strange if he winds up being one of the Good Guys, an assertion that his nemesis Ben has always made claim to. 


CHARLOTTE


It was nice to see Red again, and not as a zombie. But her comment about getting to "travel quite a bit to far off and romantic places" made me wonder if flash sideways Red was born on the island and still searching for her roots. 


CLAIRE




"Now Aaron has a crazy mother too." Squirrel Baby Mama, Party of One.




All joking aside, I am really enjoying Emilie de Ravin's performance this season. Although I was scared that she was actually going to stab Kate in the back when she went in for a hug after a teary apology, I was quite touched by that scene. 


EMILY LOCKE


I was riveted, listening to notLocke reveal that in his former shape - as the Man in Black - his mother was mentally ill: 


"I know what you're going through 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."


This is quite significant, given that John Locke's mom Emily spent time in Santa Rosa Mental Institute for schizophrenia. 


Of course I have to wonder who the Man in Black's father is. 


I am also very curious about exactly how old the Man in Black might be, and if his mother's mental illness was never treated or cured because remedies/treatments for such conditions had not yet been created or were available in earlier centuries.... 


JIN and SUN


I really hope that their flash sideways episode will be extraordinary, because like most of you - I've grown tired of Jin and Sun merely being on screen to unnecessarily remind us that they're searching for one another.


KATE




Given that Kate was married to a police officer in her previous life, I find it ironic and very entertaining that flash sideways Sawyer turns out to be a police detective. 


MILES


We found out that in the flash sideways, Miles has a girlfriend. My first thought was Ana Lucia, given that he works for the LAPD. But I simply cannot picture them together. And this is probably not an angle to focus upon at this point in the Lost game anyway. 


Do we know if Miles has his I Speak With Dead People abilities in the flash sideways? If so, that would be one way to cut corners to finding clues and solving investigations. 


Seeing Miles as a detective, I was reminded of his comment in S4 (Confirmed Dead) about having a buddy at the police station. I'd always speculated that it was Big Mike, Ana Lucia's former partner. Alas, Michael Cudlitz is busy on Southland now...but I will never give up such silly speculation about trivial comments and characters.


notLOCKE


Terry O'Quinn had some of the best lines ever as notLocke in this episode, including:


"I'm the Smoke thing."
"Well, nobody's perfect." (in response to Kate's "very insightful...coming from a dead man."




Creepy Cult Leader notLocke (with Emma and Zach) and Stern Father notLocke (with Claire) were equally disturbing.


PIERRE CHANG


Miles mentioned that Charlotte worked at the museum with his father. So are we to glean that Dr. Chang has a PhD in art history rather than theoretical astrophysics? If so, I have a feeling that he is an expert in hieroglyphics interpretation...


SAWYER


Just as Claire declared that "I'm not the one who needs to be rescued" in Sundown, Sawyer stated that "I don't need saving." 


In addition to simply wanting to get the hell off of the island on a sub, you know that Sawyer must be thinking about how he talked Juliet into staying for two more weeks rather than getting on that sub in 1974...which turned into three years and ended with her death.




Although Sawyer obviously still has very strong feelings for Kate - evidenced by his reaction to her dress in the cage - I believe that he really feels that "some people are meant to be alone" (What Kate Does) and that "I ain't with anybody" (Recon).


I got goosebumps when Miles asked Sawyer "do you want to die alone?" because both Kate (S3, Every Man for Himself) and Juliet (S5, The Incident) have uttered the infamous "live together, die alone" statement to him. Sawyer also told Jack that "you don't get to die alone" in the S4 finale (There's No Place Like Home). 


I love that although notLocke admitted that Sawyer was "the best liar I ever met," he seems to actually believe him after the Hydra recon. Perhaps the part of Locke that was "amenable for coercion" still exists in notLocke. 


Although he is clearly still a tortured soul pursuing the man responsible for his parents' death, I am fascinated by his admission that "I got a point in my life where I was going to become a criminal or a cop...so I chose cop." This is yet another redemptive flash sideways, and I am excited to discover which version of James Ford will be the last. 


Best Sawyer line of the epsiode: "Take me to your leader."


SAYID


I don't even want to address my favorite character, as I feel like we are now simply awaiting his death because every possible storyline and outcome has been presented. I hope I am very wrong.
---
Thank you so much for checking back in this week, and for not spoiling me at all on Facebook and Twitter! I always appreciate constructive feedback, so feel free to leave Comments below. 


I encourage all of you to tune into Jay and Jack's 30 Hour Podcast for Autism Speaks this weekend. Beginning Saturday at noon and running continuously until 6pm on Sunday, Jay and Jack are raising money for a fantastic cause by auctioning off items and speaking with a great variety of Lost and pop culture friends in the process. You will be able to make donations, listen and watch the Podcast streaming live online for the entire 30 hours. I will be a guest from 11pm EST - midnight on Saturday, if you care to follow along or participate at that time. 


Happy St. Patrick's Day!


-Jo

16 comments:

Unknown said...

If it will help: I think there may still be hope for Sayid, as he is at least aware of the change in himself. When Kate asked if he was OK, he said,"No". So maybe that's just the early stages of infection, but it could be that he's fighting for control of himself. I mean, if they can redeem Ben, BEN, then there's no reason it should be too late for Sayid.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to make bullet points of things I want to comment on.

1) First off, I too thought this episode was a little slow and light, wasting time with some things that don't appear to matter, and not really digging into things that do seem to matter.

2) I'm up in the air about who may have killed the few remaining Ajira survivors. FLocke might have done it, thinking there were more Team Jacob people there, but it was always standard operating procedure of 'the Others' to kill newcomers to the island without so much as a 'by your leave'. But then Charles did seem unworried about the report that there were people on the beach of the main island, not even bothering to take a look. So maybe he's not worried about anyone else.

3) I loved that James Ford chose the law as a way to find the man responsible for his parent's death. And an Ana Lucia sighting would have made a lot of sense, or her mother. And heck, wouldn't it have been nice if she'd not been shot and been able to have her baby. Oh well, not to be, at least, not yet, or not at all.

4) Claire is way off the rails, but it's kind of fun to watch, and a bit scary. Flocke's story about his crazy mom and how he's still dealing with the crap from that didn't really make me care for him. But the comment about how Aaron now has a crazy mom really struck home. Is Flocke comparing himself to Aaron? Could Aaron be the type of person that Flocke is?

5) In regards to Flocke's family history, I'm of the opinion that it's more like millenia, not centuries, since his crazy mom was in charge of his life. With the Temple and the Statue appearing to be of the anicent world, I'm thinking Jacob and MIB were also of the ancient world. And Flocke talking about a crazy mom messing up his life sounds like such a Greek Tragedy to me.

6) The pending war, I'm not sure there are just two sides. You give people Free Will, and they do all sorts of crazy things with that free will. So there is Team Jacob and Team MIB/Flocke and Team Widmore is either on one of those two teams, or they are Out for themselves. We know Sawyer is out for himself. So, lots of sides, how annoying.

7) some of the sideways flahses have me confused. I do believe both Charlotte and Miles were born on the island, but with the explosion in 1977 sinking it under the sea, I don't think either of them are linked to it anymore. Miles may still have his 'talking to dead people' thing intact, or he may not. But I don't think Charlotte is looking for the island, there really wasn't enough info to really determine anything about her sideways self. It would be nice to see that Dr. Chang came back to the states too and that Miles had a happy childhood. And we don't know if Sawyer's visit to Australia happened the same way or not now. Did he meet Christian in a bar and did he shoot a man who was not the one responsible for his parent's death, getting himself kicked out? We just don't know.


And I think I have to stop now, need to go to sleep and then go to work tomorrow.

Yukailin

arbitrary said...

I vote Naomi or Ilana for Miles' girlfriend. They most fit into museum work for me. But it doesn't hAVE to be someone we know, I suppose ;p

Ashleigh Rajala said...

Sawyer's comment that he was going to bring the MIB to Widmore so Widmore could kill him made me think that there is something special about Ben Linus and Charles Widmore (as the heated rivals they were) that maybe only Ben could kill Jacob and maybe only Widmore can kill the MIB..... just a thought!

Sherylm said...

I have to say I wasn't crazy about this episode. My head feels like it will explode if the writers add in any more alliance possibilities and new characters like Widmore's lady lieutenant, who, by the way, made me think of Diane Keaton in "Something's Gotta Give" ;-)

I'm unhappy seeing Sawyer reverting to his old self, although the scene with Miles just before the car crash gave me hope that he will find the goodness he had when he was with Juliet. I like Miles as the good cop, though, and seeing Liam at the police station means we might see Charlie again soon, right?

Unlocke's whole talk with Kate gave me the creeps...saying he gave Claire something to hate to keep her alive rather than giving her hope. But the whole crazy mother spiel seemed to just be a ploy to get Kate on his side by promising her the one thing he thinks she wants most, i.e. to be Aaron's mother. Although Kate has not always been one of my favorite characters, I do think she is not going to fall for any of that because she came back to the island in order to stop living a lie and to reunite Aaron with his real mother. I think she is going to prove pivotal in saving Claire and reuniting her with her son.

And I don't know how many more episodes of zombie Sayid I can take. It's worse than if he were dead.

I think Unlocke killed all those Ajira people and that he sent Ben over to Hydra Island expecting to get him killed by Widmore.

After rewatching last week's episode, I'm feeling like Ben is going to find his ultimate redemption in being the one to rid the island of Unlocke and probably dying himself in the process.

Is it just me or has there been a microwave in every sideways episode since the beginning of Season 6? And if so, does that mean something ? ;-))

Thanks again and enjoy the rest of your stay in Vancouver.

Unknown said...

I'm in total disagreement with you about Emlie DeRavine's performance this year... The whole claire thing is making me so uncomfortable (maybe that's the point, i know) but also I just feel like she's beyond redemption and want to know what her purpose is, other than to make Kate feel like a complete ass for leaving Aaron behind to go find his mother, only to discover she's a loony bird. I dunno...I really hope she and sayid can be "cured" or something because I hate to see them past the point of no return. I was SURE she was going to stab her in the back during the big hug moment as well, but then when she didn't I was like, "ugh.. crocodile tears... CRAZY crocodile tears" and am really hoping kate doesn't lower her defenses because i think squirrel baby mama will take another shot when she can.

lennyg said...

Good recap with all the things you have going on! Smokey's mommy issues was a great new insight. I agree that it must pertain to a long time ago. I'm sticking with the bible references of Jacob, ancient Egypt, Benjamin, Jesse (Jack), David, Temple, etc. If MiB is Jacob's twin, he has mommy issues. Biblical Rebeccah (Isaac's wife, their mom), helped Jacob steal Esau's birthright and Isaac was left telling Esau he could be free of Jacob only after being aggrieved. That's a rule. Ahhh, still can't put this together as a Lost Theory of Everything!

Anonymous said...

My only problem with the comment about Jacob representing free will & choice and notLocke representing force & fate is that Jacob brings people to the island not of their free will but because he touches them. Also, the dynamite didn't blow up Jack because he was "brought to this island to do something" implying that it is his destiny (aka fate) to do something. If Jacob brought him here then and if Jacob represents free will & choice then Jack shouldn't be destined to do anything.

Brian said...

Jo, your reviews/theories/observations are well worth waiting for.

I was wondering about MIB's mother, too. As I heard him describe his mother, I tried to think of all possible females in mythology, religion, etc. that could be described as mentally ill. I started think of MIB as Cain and his mother as Eve, but that's probably too obvious or too much of a stretch. The only fit is that Eve sinned first and because of her actions - and Adam's - all humanity, including her son, have "growing pains."

Question about Widmore: how did the freighter find the Island and how did he find it with his sub? And why come to the Island now, and not earlier? My guess is he found the Island both times with the help of Hawking. Since the Island is moving, it would stand to reason that anyone who wants to go to the Island needs to know how to find it, and the only way to find it is the Lamp Post. Am I correct on this? As for why he's coming now, he probably deduced that the timing was right. Perhaps he knew that Jacob was dead, the Temple had been cleared, and that MIB was seemingly in charge. It's still hard to say what he's going to do.

Faraday would be dead. He could be alive in the flash sideways, but not in 2007. But Widmore could have a copy of his journal or Hawking with him. As for the lock on the sub, I was wondering if there is something there that would be akin to kryptonite, or whatever could kill MIB. He seems to be impossible to kill, yet Widmore was very confident that he could do the job. That, or he wanted to use Sawyer to reconnect with MIB as an ally.

Charlotte may have deserved better, but I'm guessing that she, along with characters like Mr. Eko, Michael, and Shannon, will only get the cameo treatment.

The LA X universe is still somewhat of a mystery to me. With all of our beloved characters running into each other - quite literally here - will they all meet up for some larger purpose?

I'm glad you noticed the mirrors. I think the mirror is a key symbol to help us understand how the two worlds are connected.

Looking forward to the next episode!

Unknown said...

Another mirror, in the Lighthouse, the mirror that is supposed to reflect the light out to ships, but instead showed people's residences or important buildings. I definitely think mirrors are an important thing.


And one more note of FLocke and Claire and Aaron and FLocke's crazy mom. If he is comparing Aaron to himself, and we've heard before that Aaron is important, might FLocke want control of Claire so he can ultimately have control of Aaron?

Yukailin

Eric said...

thanks Jo. your recaps are always insightful!

RocknRollJoel said...

One thing that struck me about Widmore is that he was in the sub. And it got me thinking that maybe he couldn't leave the sub. We've been told in the past that he was exiled from the island and wasn't allowed to return. My theory is that he CAN'T return, he's (currently) physically incapable of setting foot on the island (well, i guess it would be both islands). I'm wondering whether he too needs to find some sort of loophole before he can come onto land, and whether NotLocke has something to do with that. Just a theory..

august said...

I really like your recaps. They are quite helpful.

I very much agree with being disappointed in their use of Rebecca Mader - a one-night stand for Sawyer? Have the producers said we won't see Daniel Faraday again, because it seems like putting them together once more would have been much more satisfying. Anyone could have been Sawyer's one-night stand. I've seen some other people suggest that they thought Rebecca was looking for something other than a t-shirt in Sawyer's drawer, so maybe she will do more in the future. I hope so.

Also, one question I had when watching the exchanges between notLlocke and Sawyer: can't Smokey TELL when Sawyer is conning him? Hasn't it been acknowledged that the Man in Black can read minds (he knew what John Locke was thinking when Ben killed him; others have posted on how it seems the Man in Black has been able to make things appear on the island that were manifestations of memories from the Losties' pasts, like Kate's black horse; we think it was Smokey who was able to pull information from Eko's brain and thereafter have his brother appear and bring up incidents from their past life; Smokey appeared to be reading Ben's inner self when he was being judged last season), so as Sawyer was lying to notLocke and notLocke paused and then smiled at Sawyer, I was thinking, "notLocke knows he's lying." Which made me very afraid that the long con is being pulled by notLocke against Sawyer, and not the other way around.

Luke Temple said...

Hey, enjoyed the recap as ever, this is the only blog I check for my Lost fix now!
Some things -

1) some people have discussed Sawyer lying to FLocke, but when does he? When he comes back he tells FLocke everything about Widmore, only keeping his plan of escape to himself. Not really a lie.

2) Don't want to repeat my theory (because it is only that), but I'm still absolutely convinced that the Fate and Free-Will concepts are represented the other way round, as "gbrii" explains above.

3) I don't think FLocke is trying to get off the island, that's just the most motivating ploy he can use, especially on Sawyer. FLocke wants all the people off the island (finale S5). I think he will ultimately attempt to kill all of them, but he has to provide them with a choice (like his ultimatum at the Temple), before he can take action.

4)Agree in general that the episode was quite weak - some pretty hard to believe sections. However, FLocke's lines were very good.

That's enough, looking forward to next ep.

LisaCPhotography said...

Hey Jo,
Great analysis as usual, very strange to have to wait for yours! Didn't Sawyer already say it was his fault that Juliet didn't get on the sub in 1974 (to Kate at the dock before he threw the ring in the water)?
The Charlotte scene seemed like a throwaway, since we were all expecting Juliet, unless her searching through his private stuff was intentional...
I liked this episode most of all this season, and I'm not sure why I am in the minority on this.
Looking forward the next installment!
Lisa C

The Calandro's LiHD Blog said...

I don't think Sawyer lied once this episode (while on the island). NotLocke tells him that he's a great liar, so I noticed when he kept telling the truth to everybody. Is it possible that he's decided to go completely against what he would normally do because the way he had been behaving kept getting him stuck on the island?