LOST: The Last Recruit

This was an action-packed episode. More than once, I expected a character to shoot another in the face. Alas, nothing quite that exciting happened.

To sum up quickly, on-island, Sawyer convinced the gang to abandon Flocke in favor of Widmore's sub. Claire got pissed at being abandoned again. Flocke instructed Sayid to kill Desmond. Desmond manipulated Sayid into (probably) not killing him. Dirty Tina Fey kept talking into walkie talkies to cause explosions. Jin and Sun reunited. And Jack jumped off the sailboat (Desmond's, given to him by Libby, if you'll recall) because he felt like leaving the island just wasn't right. Oh, and Widmore decided Sawyer wasn't a good guy after all.

In the sideways world, Desmond reunited Claire and Jack at a meeting with his lawyer - who turned out to be Ilana! Locke was taken to the hospital, about to be operated on by Jack. David and his daddy got more bonding time. Sawyer and Kate flirted a lot. After killing Keamy, Sayid was tracked to Nadia's house by Miles and Sawyer. And Sun survived her gunshot wound - and got freaked out by seeing Locke.

That's the abridged version, and I didn't even mention everything. A couple of interesting notes:

-Who is the "last recruit"? We must assume it's Jack, no?

-The cut from Jack to Locke in the OR mirror sure was good juxtaposition. Two-faced, if you will.

-Who else thought Claire was going to blow Kate's face off across Desmond's purty boat?

-Who else thought Jin and Sun were going to be zapped by the sonic fence?

-Jack's jumping ship mirrored Sawyer jumping out of the helicopter at the end of Season 4.

-Sawyer was eating an apple in his scene with Kate in the sideways world. Is that a hint of Adam and Eve? At least he wasn't playing with snakes.

-Is Jack really under Flocke's control?

-Now we know for sure that Jack's vision of his father was in fact Smokey. But what about visions of Christian by other people - by Locke while turning the frozen donkey wheel, and by Michael on the freighter?

No new episodes for two weeks. Curses! B+

LOST: Everybody Loves Hugo

I wasn't expecting a Hurley episode to shock me. But for the first time this season, I think I gasped. Twice.

"Everybody Loves Hugo" was definitely about more than just Hurley. We're too late in the season for that. But I think it showed what a pivotal player Hurley has become, and I don't think anyone watching the first season would have ever suspected that. At that point, Hurley was the fun big guy who provided comic relief. He's still that, but obviously more.

On island, Hurley is at the center of the discussion regarding the Ajira plane. To blow up or not to blow up? Richard, for whatever reason, is set on destroying it, even though Frank Lapidus could probably tell him it can't be flown again (watch me be proven wrong in two episodes...).

The first shocker of the evening? Ilana totes around her dynamite-filled bag like a Hello Kitty purse and promptly blows up. I didn't see it coming, even though it's the perfect parallel to season one's "You've got Arzt on you." It seemed an unceremonious end to the character we know so little about, though I'm sure we'll get more of her back story before all is said and done.

Oh, did I mention Flocke throws Desmond down a well? Sorry, brotha!

Michael also appears to Hurley, instructing him to talk to Flocke. Against his reservations, Hurley does it, and creates another camp split, with Richard, Ben and Miles going off to destroy the plane.

Speaking of dead people, Libby never appears to Hurley, despite his pleas at her grave. In the Sideways world, we get a different story. After receiving a Man of the Year award (from Dr. Candle, no less) Hurley is convinced by his mother to go on a blind date with one Rosalita. But Rosie doesn't show, and Libby spots Hurley across the restaurant, convinced they shared a past in some alternative life.

Hurley, while a bit weirded out, doesn't think Libby is crazy, and even gets to finally have the picnic date they never did on the island. It's a sweet scene, and Hurley's flash of island memories during their kiss, is chilling. One by one, it seems (and thanks to Desmond), characters are "remembering" the island.

And now, gasp #2: that final scene in which Desmond runs over poor Locke, wheelchair and all. To see Locke lying there, bleeding and quivering, seemed as cruel as anything the show has ever given us. But especially to Desmond, the crime seemed to serve a higher purpose. Just what is that? Some might say revenge for what Flocke did to Desmond, but I think it's something more. Perhaps he's trying to prevent Smokey from inhabiting Locke's body? Or, more realistic, I think: he's trying to unite Locke and Jack Shepherd, Spinal Surgeon Extraordinaire.

There are too many parallels to mention, but here are a couple:

-Ben was the island protector, and in the Sideways world, he's admirably the school protector, apparently concerned Desmond is a pedophile ready to pounce.

-What an image to see Ben trying to revive Locke, while in the other universe he killed him in cold blood.

Other tidbits:

-What might Desmond find at the bottom of the well? The Donkey Wheel? Christian Shepherd?

-We know what the whispers are: per Michael, they're the souls trapped on the island, much like himself.

-Is Michael genuine, or is he playing Hurley? Or could he really be Smokey? (I'm thinking not, since Smokey is trapped inside Locke's form, yes?)

-Why won't Libby communicate with Hurley on-island? Maybe because she's not trapped?

-Does Desmond know who "Locke" really is? When Flocke asks he says, "You're John Locke." But his all-knowing smile indicates otherwise, doesn't it? His lack of fear clearly freaks Flocke out.

-How many more episodes until a Jin-Sun reunion? Do you think they're saving it for the finale? If all the upcoming episodes are this eventful and thoughtful, I don't mind. A

LOST: Happily Ever After

For many, the heart and soul of LOST is the Desmond-Penny love story. So for those fans, this episode did not disappoint.


In a sibling to "Flashes Before Your Eyes" and "The Constant," this episode involves Desmond jumping from time to time - not through flashbacks or flashforwards or flashsideways, but going straight there, back and forth.


On island, Widmore, Zoe and their group drag Desmond into a room (eerily similar to Jacob's "Cabin Fever" shack) for apparent experiments with electromagnetism. Desmond immediately travels to the Sideways universe, where things are considerably different for him.


It's almost the opposite, in fact: he does not know (nor has ever met) Penny, he has a friendly relationship with Charles Widmore and is in fact his right-hand man, and he even is offered Charles' precious whiskey. There are other differences, too: we find out Penny's last name is Milton and Daniel's is Widmore, implying there is some sort of spouse or parent swap going on.


Desmond does, however, meet Charlie and has flashes of Charlie's drowning death in "Through the Looking Glass." (For many, the words "Not Penny's Boat" will be one of the series' most memorable phrases.) Charlie seems to have a sense of that other world, and that is perhaps we he seems resigned to a fate of death.

Daniel, too, seems aware that their lives are not quite right, that he may have already set off a chain of events that led to the detonation of Jughead. The only one who seems to have a true idea of what's going on is poofy-haired Mrs. Hawking. She tells Desmond that asking to meet Penny is a "violation." Just as in "Flashes Before Your Eyes," she seems to have a cryptic sense of what's going on, but doesn't bother to share it. Does Charles know too? It's enough to send Desmond to his chauffeur, George (the first victim of time travel nosebleed-itis) to acquire the Oceanic Flight 815 manifest. It seems he has something to share with his fellow passengers.

Back on island, with a new sense of purpose, Desmond happily agrees to go along with Charles, then seems keen to follow Sayid when that lost soul ambushes the Widmore group. It may be soon time for Desmond's sacrifice for the island.

Other notes:

-It was still unexplained what happened to Desmond on the plane in the season premiere. He seemed to disappear. Maybe we will later learn he was flashing back and forth between realities?

-On the plane, Desmond wore a wedding ring. What gives?

-When Daniel mentioned seeing Charlotte, she was eating chocolate. Her last words before her island death were about eating chocolate. Since Juliet's last words were about "going dutch" at coffee, maybe that is a hint of her Sideways flash?

-The gleeful title of this episode strikes me as ominous. Desmond's sacrifice, I fear, may be death. Or as Batman's Adam West would say, "Or worse." A-

LOST: The Package

Is it just me, or after last week's fabulous Ricardo adventure, did "The Package" cost the series some momentum? This episode might be one where we look back later and see the nuances, and think, "Ohhhh, that's what that was." As it stands now, it was an entertaining episode that didn't reveal much. Do you agree?

The Sun and Jin episodes are usually standouts, so maybe my expectations were too high. The sideways story, in particular, didn't do much for me. Yes, we got the back story about why Jin was in the freezer, we got a surprise visit from Patchy, and we go to see Sun and Jin – who are not married in this version – be a little more relaxed and free.

The revelation that Mr. Paik basically sent the couple to the states to off Jin didn't come as much of a surprise. It was kinda cool that the couple isn't married, and refreshing to see Sun and Jin in practically Zen-like states after being so uptight in the past.

The real action, though, took place on the island. Widmore nabs Jin – according to Zoe, because Jin might know about the island's electromagnetic pockets. This seems key to Widmore keeping Smokey from escaping the island. Why, I have no idea.

Speaking of Flocke, he went after Sun, and in her attempt to escape, bonked her head and lost her ability to speak English. Jack – who seems to have acquired the strange, calming sense of Jacob – communicated with Sun through the written word, in one of the episode's most tender moments. It rivaled Jin getting a glimpse of Ji Yeon on Sun's camera, courtesy of Zoe.

And the revelation at the end? That "package" on the sub is indeed Desmond, who was likely drugged for the journey back to the island just like Juliet had been several years before. He looks at Sayid like he's about to spit up MacCutcheon whiskey in his face. Next week promises to be an interesting spin on Desmond's fate.

Tidbits:

-Could Patchy's Sideways eye injury tie into why he wore the patch in the first place? And if Sun dies in the Sideways universe, will she survive the island?

-How long until Claire goes after Kate again?

-I'm still not convinced Jun and Sin aren't both a joint candidate. Otherwise, why all this speculation about which Kwon?

-This was the first episode in perhaps years – other than a premiere or finale - in which every single regular character put in an appearance. I think going forward each episode's scope will be grand. C+