LOST: The Substitute

Last night's Lost was the first classic and truly great episode of the season. Locke's story was at once touching, funny and action-packed. I'll admit: I was sad when it set in that the real Locke (at least in the Island World) was dead, but Ben and Lapidus certainly made the funeral entertaining.


In the Sideways Universe, Locke somehow was engaged to Helen (the always lovely Katey Sagal). She even mentioned John's father, meaning Locke never threw Helen over in favor of stalking his dad, and in turn his dad never threw him out a window. So how did Locke end up in a wheelchair? Something tells me we'll find out. And even though John tore up the card with Jack Shepherd's name on it, something tells me we'll see that meeting too.

Seeing Ben Linus as a European History teacher was a scream, and it's fitting that Hurley is finally happy and in charge. It's interesting – isn't it? – that Hurley is more confident and proactive in both worlds. I hope that doesn't somehow spell doom for him. And Rose still has cancer. And she's still direct, sympathetic and down-to-earth, all at once.

Back on the island, it was jarring to see Richard – so normally put together – in such a precarious position. One could say his eyeliner was running. What do we make of Sawyer's following the Man in Black (aka Fake Locke) to the cave, then agreeing to leave the island with him? Is Sawyer really that easily manipulated, or is he setting up a long con of his own?

Finally, the NUMBERS. Now we (sorta) know what they mean: they correspond to our Losties brought to the island to take over for Jacob as "protector." So why wasn't Kate one of the designated on the Cave-crusted list? Is she the odd one out?

Also…
-Who's the blond kid? Aaron? Jacob? Someone else? What's his purpose?
-Just as last week's story paralleled "What Kate Did," this one clearly mirrors "Walkabout."
-"The Substitute" has a nice ring to it, a la "The Constant" and "The Variable." I think it means Locke, Desmond and Farraday are three of the biggest characters in the LOST puzzle.
-EW's Doc Jensen points out that Helen is making plans for a wedding with Locke – coordinating all the details and all. She's bound to run into Boone and his wedding planning company, no?
-The black and white stones go all the way back to Season One, with Locke's explanation of Backgammon and the skeletons in the cave. Clearly it's all coming full circle.

Hopefully next week is this good. A