This Locke-centric episode opens with Locke in the Black Rock as he is reading a folder which he promptly burns. We can hear someone (his father, Anthony Cooper) making noise in the brig, a room behind him, and Locke tells him to keep it down. Later, Locke arrives at the beach camp and asks for Sawyer’s help. He tells him that he has infiltrated the others and kidnapped Ben and that he wants Sawyer to kill him. Sawyer refuses at first although he does eventually follow him. Sawyer thinks that Locke is trying to con him, but Locke tells him that he is not conning him, he wants him to kill Ben because he can’t do it. Sawyer tells him that he will go to where Locke has Ben but that he isn’t going to kill him, he is going to bring him back to the main camp, but Locke says that he will change his mind. When they reach the Black Rock, Sawyer (and we, I think) sees the slave skeletons for the first time, something that we won’t get any information on until the final season.

When Sawyer enters the brig, Locke locks him in there and Sawyer realizes that the man Locke kidnapped is not Ben. Rousseau shows up to pick up some dynamite and asks about the noise coming from the brig, but Locke doesn’t tell her anything and she leaves with what she came for. Cooper tells Sawyer that he the last thing he remembers before reaching the island is crashing his car and being treated in an ambulance. The next thing he remembers is staring at the man he threw out a window, his dead son, John Locke. Sawyer asks if he was dead because he threw him out the window and Cooper informs him that Locke survived the fall but was paralyzed and that he died because his plane crashed in the Pacific. Sawyer tells him that he was on the same plane and that they didn’t crash in the Pacific, they crashed on the island. Cooper asks if he is sure it’s an island and when Sawyer asks what else it would be he says “It’s a little hot for heaven, isn’t it?” This was a popular theory for a long time, that they were actually in hell, but as we all know that’s not the case (which wouldn’t have been all that much fun). After telling Sawyer about the plane being found on the bottom of the ocean, he mentions that he conned Locke into giving him one of his kidneys and Sawyer’s interest is piqued. He eventually realizes that this is the man responsible for his parent’s death and the man whose name he eventually took. He makes him read the letter, but before finishing it, Cooper rips it up and Sawyer chokes him to death with one of the chains in the brig.

Sawyer vomits after killing Cooper and Locke tells him that he can go back to camp. Sawyer asks Locke why he did this and Locke says that it’s because he ruined both of their lives and that he had it coming to him. Locke tells him that Juliet is a mole and gives him the tape in which she explains who is pregnant, etc. He also tells him that he is not going back to camp with him and that he was never undercover with the others. He says he is on his own journey now and when Sawyer asks if what Cooper said was true (about him being thrown out a window and paralyzed) Locke says “not anymore” and picks up his father’s body and heads off after the others.

At the beach camp Charlie and the other people who know about Naomi debate about whether or not to tell Jack about her, but most of them feel that he cannot be trusted. Hurley eventually tells Sayid about Naomi and brings him to her. Sayid is able to get Naomi’s satellite phone working although there is a signal blocking the ability to use it. When Kate sees the sat phone, Hurley tells her they found it in the luggage, but Sayid is willing to let her in on what is going on. Later, Kate tells Jack about Naomi and that no one trusts him. Juliet tells Jack that they should tell Kate something, but Jack insists that the time is not right.

The flashback consists of what has happened to Locke since he joined up with the others and found out his father was on the island. While setting up camp with the others he is told by Cindy (the stewardess) that everyone has been waiting for him. In a meeting with Ben he is told that in order to find out everything he wants to know about the island he will have to kill his father in order to release the hold his old life has over him. When he is brought to his father, however, he cannot kill him and Ben tells everyone that Locke is not who they thought he was.

We see Richard speak with Locke and let him know that Ben knew he wouldn’t be able to kill his father. He tells him that the other got very excited when they found out someone on the plane was paralyzed but gained the ability to walk again after landing on the island because that could only happen to someone very special. He also says that Ben has been wasting their time with researching things like fertility and that the others have been waiting for someone special to come along and remind them that they are all there for something more important. He clearly thinks that Locke is that person and he wants him to find his purpose, but in order to do that his father needs to be killed. Since he knows that Locke is unable to kill him, he gives him a folder with information about someone who will (Sawyer). Something fun to think about is that we find out next season that Richard has been watching John Locke grow since he was a child based on what he is told by Locke himself (actually MiB if I remember correctly) in the past.

The final flashback shows the others pack up and leave Locke behind. Ben tells him that they will leave a trail that he can track, but says that he shouldn’t bother following them unless he is carrying his father’s dead body on his back. Clearly this is how he ended up in the main scenario of this episode.

This Sun and Jin-centric episode opens with Jack checking in with Sun about her pregnancy. She tells him she is fine, but wants to know why he is asking. Meanwhile, Naomi wakes up saying that she is dying in Spanish and they decide that in order to save her they need to bring Jack there. Desmond plans to run to get him because no one even knows that they are out there, but Charlie reminds him that it is an eight hour walk each way and that there are people on the island trying to kill them. Hurley accidentally shoots a flare into the air potentially giving away their location.

Back at the beach Sun thinks that Jack may be working with the others based on his questions about her pregnancy and Kate explains to her that Juliet was their fertility doctor. Sun confronts Juliet about what happens to pregnant women on the island and Juliet tells her that they die.

Mikhail comes running out the jungle where Desmond and everyone are with Naomi, but almost immediately runs away. Eventually Jin catches up with him and they get into a fight which Jin ultimately wins. They bring him back to Naomi and Desmond holds the flare gun to his chest and asks who he is, etc. Charlie realizes he is the man who shot Sayid and Hurley says that he thought they killed him by throwing him through the fence. Mikhail points out that Des has a flare gun to his chest and Des asks how he thinks it will feel taking a flare to the chest at that range. Mikhail shrugs and says that as Hurley pointed out, he has already died once that week. Eventually Mikhail offers his medical services to fix Naomi in exchange for being let go and Desmond agrees.

Back at the beach, Juliet wakes Sun up and tells her to come with her to the medical station so that Juliet can perform a sonogram and determine the date of conception (D.O.C.). She tells her that if she got pregnant off the island she will be fine, but if she got pregnant on the island they will cross that bridge when they get there.

Meanwhile, Mikhail evacuates Naomi’s airway and she says something to him in Italian. Mikhail claims that she said thank you for helping me, but from his face we can see that he is lying. According to lostpedia, what she actually says is “I am not alone.”

At the medical hatch Sun tells Juliet that she cheated on Jin before they got to the island. Juliet brings Sun into a hidden room which she tells her is hidden because it is where they brought the woman to die.

Back in the jungle, they let Mikhail go despite Charlie’s protests. Jin realizes that he stole the satellite phone and chases after him to get it back.

Sun suspects that the baby is not Jin’s because of his infertility, but Juliet informs her that on the island, men’s sperm counts are about five times higher than normal. Sun realizes her own Catch-22 which is if she is going to live then the baby is not Jin’s and if it is Jin’s she is going to die. In a very nice scene between Sun and Juliet we find out that the baby was conceived on the island meaning that it is Jin’s. When they leave the hatch, Sun tells Juliet that she gave her good news. Juliet tells Sun that she is going to go back into the hatch to make sure they covered all their tracks and asks if she would like to come with her, but Sun says that she will wait outside. When she gets back into the hatch she records a message for Ben telling him that Sun is pregnant and that she is still waiting on samples from the other females. After shutting off the recorder she says “I hate you” before walking out

The episode ends with Naomi waking up and asking where she is. Hurley tells her he doesn’t know and asks if she came to rescue them, explaining that he is a survivor of Oceanic 815, but she says that’s impossible. He tells her that it wasn’t easy, but they did it and she says no, it’s impossible because they found the wreckage of 815 and there were no survivors. Hurley has nothing to say other than “uhhh, what?” and that’s…..LOST

In the flashback, Sun gets blackmailed for $100,000 by a woman who turns out to be Jin’s mother. We learn that his mother was a prostitute (something that even Jin doesn’t know) and Sun meets his father for the first time, but he makes her promise that she will never tell Jin that they met. Sun eventually asks her father for the $100,000 and tells him it is to spare someone she loves a great deal of shame. He figures out it is Jin and tells her that he will bear the burden of the debt by working directly for him instead of as a floor manager.

This Desmond-centic episode opens with one of Desmond’s flashes in which he, Charlie, Hurley and Jin are walking through the jungle and Charlie is killed by one of Rousseau’s traps after he steps on a wire and an arrow is shot through his neck. Through the flashes we see someone parachute on to the island. He is reluctant to tell Hurley exactly what he saw because he thinks it may change the outcome which he believes is Penny coming to the island. In order to get everything set up the way it is supposed to, Desmond organizes a camping trip and assures Charlie that he is not going to die.

At the beach, Kate and Jack have a somewhat awkward conversation about how weird it is to be back before Jack has dinner with Juliet and Kate goes to Sawyer’s tent. Meanwhile, Desmond and company see the helicopter crash into the ocean and a blinking red light descending toward the island. Des wants to leave to find the person who parachuted right away but Charlie refuses and they decide to leave at first light. On their way to find the person who jumped from the chopper they find her bag and inside is a satellite phone and a foreign language version of Catch 22 with the picture of Desmond and Penny being used for a bookmark. This convinces Desmond that the person who jumped was Penny, although I’m not sure why he thinks she would have a book in a foreign language.

When it comes time for Charlie to die, Desmond tells him to duck and tackles him causing the arrow to miss Charlie’s neck and hit his guitar instead. He admits to Charlie that he knew all along and that he was supposed to let Charlie die. He says that it could be a test, similar to when God tested Abraham by asking him to kill his son, Issac, except that Desmond failed because he has saved Charlie four times and it hasn’t done any good. They finally reach the woman who jumped and they cut her down but she is unresponsive and they assume that she is dead. She eventually begins to move, but when Desmond takes off her helmet we can see that it is who we come to know as Naomi. She says his name, but Desmond clearly does not know who she is….LOST

In the flashback, we follow Desmond as he becomes a monk although he is eventually fired after getting drunk on the wine they bottle at the monastery. His mentor monk tells him that the abbey (the monastery) is not where he is supposed to end up and we see a picture on the monk’s desk of himself and Eloise Hawking. Unfortunately, I don’t think we ever get an explanation for how the monk knows Hawking, but it’s a fun little easter egg that I’m pretty sure I missed the first time through. The final flashback gives us a glimpse of when Desmond first meets Penny and it is, as you would expect, a great scene.

There is not much to discuss about this Juliet-centic episode, but there are a couple interesting aspects to look at.

In the on-island story, Jack, Sayid, Kate and Juliet reach the beach camp and, naturally, everyone is skeptical of Juliet. Hurley is sent to keep an eye on her and tells her about what happened when Ethan was at their camp and shows her where they buried him. Later, the group discusses what they should do about Juliet and Jack explains what happened while he was with the others and how he saved him because Ben told him that he would let him go home. Interestingly, Sawyer tells him that he should have “let that bug eyed bastard die.” If I’m not mistaken, though, Sawyer is the one who saves Ben’s life in the 70s after he is shot by Sayid.

Claire gets sick and Juliet ends up saving her with medical supplies from a hidden stash that Ethan had nearby. Sayid and Sawyer follow her to the supplies and attempt to get answers from her and she says that it’s funny that they turned out to be the moral police on the island and asks how long it took Sayid to tell everyone how many people he tortured and if Sawyer sat everyone down after they crashed and told them about the man he killed before getting on the plane in Sydney. She leaves without telling them anything.

In the flashback, Juliet leaves her sister to take the job that Richard offered her on the island. In order to get there, Richard gives her a tranquilizer in a glass of orange juice because the ride can get a little bumpy. After taking it, she wakes up strapped to a bed in the submarine and Ethan lets her know that they have arrived at the island and she meets Ben for the first time. Later, a pregnant woman dies and Juliet asks Ben if she can take a pregnant woman off the island to see if she will be able to give birth there, but Ben says no. She tells him that she wants to go home so she can be there when her sister gives birth and Ben tells her that her sister’s cancer came back and that she will be dead before she can give birth. He tells her that he will let her go home if she wants, but if she stays Jacob will cure her sister’s cancer. She chooses to stay in exchange for her sister’s cancer to be cured. Although we never find out one way or the other, I’ve always assumed that her cancer never came back so there was nothing to be cured; I think Ben just told her that to get her to stay on the island. This theory becomes even more plausible when we remember that Ben never had any direct contact with Jacob. In the final flashback we see Ben and Juliet go over the plan that has played out over the last two episodes (Juliet handcuffing herself to Kate, etc.). We also find out that Claire had an implant in her which was activated to make her sick and Juliet saving her was part of the plan to get the losties to trust her.

A quick note: This is one of the only stretches of episodes in which I dislike Jack. I disliked him when he was on Ana Lucia’s side in season 2 and I dislike him during this stretch because of his relationship with Juliet. For some reason, even though we find out that he knows about the plan she made with Ben and that she is actually double crossing him, I still dislike the both of them in these episodes that close out season 3.

The on-island story mainly focuses on Kate and Juliet who are left behind when the others leave the barracks. We learn early on that Locke has gone with them. After being knocked out with some kind of gas, Kate wakes up in the jungle handcuffed to Juliet who claims to also have been drugged. They begin to make their way back to the barracks to find Jack and Sayid and argue almost the whole time. Eventually they fight and Kate dislocates Juliet’s shoulder before getting chased by Smokey. Juliet pretends to not know about the monster and as they hide out in a tree, Smokey comes up and we see a series of flashes, similar to a camera flash, before he leaves. Later, they are chased again and reach the pylons which Juliet says have been turned off. Kate refuses to go through them which causes Juliet to take a key from her pocket and unlock the cuffs. After getting inside the pylons Juliet activates them and Smokey seemingly hits an invisible wall before going off in the other direction. Kate wants to know why Juliet had a key and she tells her that her people left her so she thought if she could make Kate think that they were in it together, she wouldn’t get left behind again. Kate takes her own cuff off and walks away toward the barracks. Once they arrive, Kate goes to find Jack while Juliet goes for Sayid. For some reason Sayid and Jack are both still knocked out from the gas and Kate wakes Jack up and fills him in on what is going on. He asks about Juliet and she tells him that they left her too. Kate asks what they are going to do now and Jack tells her that they are going to go back to the beach. Everyone meets in the courtyard and Sayid says that Juliet is not coming with them, but Jack says that she is because they left her behind too.

The beach storyline revolves around Hurley telling Sawyer that there is going to be a vote about whether or not to banish him, so he spends the episode trying to win people over. In the end, we find out that there was never going to be a vote and that Hurley told him that because if he (Sawyer) is going to be the temporary leader, then he needs to do some damage control. Sawyer wants to know what happens if he doesn’t want to be the leader and Hurley tells him that he doesn’t think Jack wanted it either, so it “sucks to be you, dude.” This is really the first time that Sawyer gets into a leadership role in the series. Although he may not want it, it ends up being good practice for when he is forced to take on the role full time in season 5.

In the flashback, Kate meets Cassidy, the woman Sawyer conned and the mother of his child. They become friends and Cassidy helps Kate talk to her mother for the first time since she went on the run from killing her father. When she finally does speak to her, her mother tells her that she will let her go without telling anyone this time, but if she ever sees her again she is going to scream for help (which we see in the episode when Kate accidentally gets her childhood friend, Tom, killed). In the final flashback, Kate asks Cassidy if she wants her to track down the guy who stole her money (Sawyer) and Cassidy tells her that she is pregnant with his child. Kate advises her to call the cops on him and put him in jail. Cassidy asks if Kate will ever forgive her mother for calling the cops and Kate says no. But we know that Cassidy obviously takes this advice.

This is one of those episodes that get a super bad wrap and it’s not totally unjustified. On my first run through the series I didn’t think it was that bad, but I was going quickly. Looking back on it, it is a pretty pointless episode but, then again, Nikki and Paulo were pretty pointless characters.

The episode opens with Nikki running through the jungle and we see her bury something before running out to where Hurley and Sawyer are playing ping pong. She mumbles something that sounds like Paulo lies, but is actually paralyzed and falls down. Everyone assumes she is dead (and when they find Paulo they assume the same thing about him) but we all know that they are just completely paralyzed from being bit by medusa spiders. Charlie finally tells Sun that he and Sawyer planned her kidnapping and that he is the one who dragged her into the jungle, not the Others. Later in the episode we find out that Sawyer knows she buried something because of dirt under her fingernails and he finds the diamonds. After being accused of poisoning Nikki and Paulo by Sun, however, he ends up throwing the diamonds in with their bodies before burying them alive.

The flashback of this episode chronicles the time Nikki and Paulo spent off the island in Australia and their partnership in stealing diamonds from a man that Nikki pretended to be in love with. We see the return of several much loved, but now dead characters including Boone, Shannon, and Dr. Arzt. The rest of the flashback attempts to show that they were always on the island, revisiting key scenes through the series from their perspective. We eventually see that Paulo found the diamonds on the island (they were lost during the crash) but he doesn’t tell Nikki for fear she will leave him. In the end we realize that she planned to paralyze Paulo with the medusa spider so that she could get the diamonds from him, but the plan backfired and they both ended up paralyzed.

There is one flashback scene that interests/bugs me quite a bit in this episode and it involves Nikki and Paulo coming across Yemi’s plane in the jungle and finding the hatch. It obviously takes place before Boone dies because the plane is still in the trees. They open the hatch and Paulo wants to climb inside, but Nikki says no. Since we didn’t get into our hatch until after Boone’s death we also know that no one knows what is inside. The way they act (not super shocked) suggests that they know about our hatch already, but it is really strange that they wouldn’t tell anybody about this right away considering everyone wants to know what’s in the other hatch. Eventually Paulo does climb down there, though, and he hides the diamonds in the back of the toilet. While he is there he hides from Ben and Juliet as they watch Jack on the tv’s that are down there while they discuss getting Jack to their camp so he can operate on Ben.

A couple quick side notes on the episode: Hurley confirms that Eko’s last words were “you’re next” and that Nikki and Paulo were there when he died. Sawyer states that he meant you’re all next.

At one point in the episode Sawyer refers to Nikki and Paulo as “jabonis” and if I’m not mistaken, in either season 4 or season 5, when Miles is standing over their grave, he also refers to them as jabonis. Just an interesting and fun little fact if I’m correct.

In the flashback for this episode we finally find out how Locke ended up in a wheelchair. We see him visited by the son of a woman who is currently dating his father, although Anthony Cooper is now known by a different name. Locke tells the guy that he donated his kidney anonymously and can’t speak toward what kind of man he is. Locke eventually visits his father and tells him to leave this new family alone and Cooper says that he will. Later in the flashback, Locke learns that the man who visited him was killed and he goes to question his father. When he threatens to call Cooper’s fiancé and ask if she really called off the wedding, Cooper shows him where the phone is, but pushes him out of the eight story window before he can make the call. As we all know, somewhere in the background Jacob is sitting on a bench and that he will touch Locke shortly after he lands so that he ends up on the island. We later find out that Cooper fled shortly after Locke was pushed out the window and has not been caught. We also see a nurse tell Locke that he is going to get in a wheelchair for the first time and Locke tells the man that he can’t do it. The nurse tells him that he doesn’t want to hear about what Locke can’t do and puts him into the wheelchair

Just to refer back to a pervious entry: In a Hurley-centric episode I mentioned the man who falls past the window while Hurley is meeting with his accountant and suggested that it may be Locke, which would have been a great tie-in. As I watch this episode, however, I doubt that it was Locke. I see no reason why a fancy penthouse-like apartment would be in the same building as an accountant’s office. Oh well.

In the on-island story, Kate, Sayid and Locke approach New Otherton and Kate sneaks into Jack’s house, but he tells her to leave right away because the others are watching him. They bust down the door and throw Sayid on the floor, asking who else is with them, but she tells them that it is just the two of them. Meanwhile, Locke sneaks into Ben’s house and holds him at gunpoint and tells him that he is looking for the submarine. Alex comes to Ben’s door and Locke pulls her inside and holds her at gunpoint. Locke and Alex hide in the closet as Tom and Richard come in to inform Ben that Kate and Sayid are there. Ben tells Tom to separate them and find out how they found the place and he asks Richard to bring him the man from Tallahassee. Shortly after this, Alex goes to get Locke’s bag from Sayid.

Ben has Locke help him into his wheelchair and figures out that Locke is planning on blowing up the sub. He proves to Locke that he knows all about him by telling him his life story. He asks if it hurt and Locke assumes he is talking about when his back broke and Locke says yes. Tom brings Jack to see Kate and Jack tells her that the people they took throughout their time on the island are all okay. Kate asks if he is with them now and Jack says that he is not with anybody. Kate says that they came to rescue him and Jack says that he told her not to and wishes she had listened to him. He tells her that Ben has promised to let him go home and after he is off the island he will come back for her. As Alex arrives to get Sayid’s bag he tells her that she looks just like her mother, but she says that her mother is dead and Sayid says that he is sure that’s what they told her.

Back at Ben’s house, Locke is eating some chicken when Ben asks him not to blow up the sub because if he does then Ben will have a serious problem with his people. He explains that he was one of the last people born on the island and that most of his people can’t say that. He says that he needs the sub to keep up the allusion that his people can leave any time they want to. Locke asks if he is lying to them and Ben says that he is not lying, some of the people are just not ready to make the full commitment. Ben also tells Locke that he knows Locke has already made the choice to stay on the island and that he can show him things that he knows he wants to see. He then tells him to imagine a box that when you opened it, anything you wanted would be inside and Locke tells him that he hopes the box is big enough to give Ben a new submarine. Ben asks Locke why he is so angry and Locke tells him that he (Ben) and his people are cheating. He says that if they really knew what the island was they wouldn’t be keeping chicken in their refrigerators. Ben says that he has been on the island his whole life so why does Locke think he knows more about the island than he does and Locke says it’s because Ben is in the wheelchair and he isn’t.

Locke is going to have Alex take him to the sub and Ben tells him about the deal he made with Jack and says that the underwater beacon no longer works, so regardless of whether or not he blows it up, once it leaves it will never come back to the island. Shortly after, Jack and Juliet visit Ben to say goodbye and Jack wants to make sure that he is going to let Kate and Sayid go once he is off the island and Ben says that he is going to. As Jack and Juliet approach the dock where the sub is, Locke comes walking down the dock soaking wet. He is told to get on his knees which he does and he apologizes to Jack. Jack asks what he is sorry for and the sub blows up. Jack looks furious. This scene has always made me curious because there is really no reason for Locke to be wet. For a short time I thought maybe he had moved the sub and swam back to shore and that he didn’t actually blow it up, but I doubt that is the case. I’m still not sure why Locke is wet though.

Later, Ben tells Locke he is going to show him what came out of the “magic box.” He tells Locke that he misunderstood him earlier when he asked if it hurt. He says that what he wanted to know was what it felt like when his own father tried to kill him. He then asks if he blew up the sub because the island is the one place where his father can’t reach him, but instead of answering, Locke asks what Ben wants from him. Ben says “I don’t know how it happened, but you have some sort of communion with this island” and tells him that in time he will understand more. Ben has Richard open the door they’re standing in front of and we see Locke’s father tied to a chair and gagged…LOST

One of the biggest loose ends that may have been left when the series ended is how Locke’s father actually got to the island. We know that the box Ben is referring to isn’t an actual box, so how did Anthony Cooper get to the island? He claims that he was rear ended and got into a car accident and then woke up on the island, but there is no way (that I can think of anyway) that they would have been able to do that within a couple of hours. Did they have Cooper on the island already? Just waiting for a scenario where they could present him to Locke? Somehow that seems doubtful as well, but I don’t really see any other explanation unless there just wasn’t enough time to get to it on the show. Oh well, if anyone has any ideas I’d love to hear them, haha.

This Claire-centric episode opens in a flashback just after Claire and her mother have gotten into a car accident. Claire’s mother was thrown from the car and she ends up in a coma which eventually leads to Claire meeting her father, Christian Shephard for the first time. Near the end of the flashback, he tells Claire that her mother is alive, but that she is not really living and essentially suggests killing her to put her out of her misery. Claire isn’t interested and he tells her not to keep her alive for the wrong reasons because “there is hope and there is guilt” and he knows the difference. Of course, it’s a good thing that she didn’t take his advice because as we know, she eventually comes out of the coma. In the end, Claire wants nothing to do with Christian and sends him on his way without ever finding out his name.

In the on-island story, Desmond enlists Charlie to go hunting with him, telling him that it’s probably the best thing that he could do for the day. Claire watches a flock of birds fly by and says that she has an idea that may get them off of the island. She plans to catch one of the birds and attach a message to the tag she saw on its leg.

Meanwhile, Sayid, Locke, Kate, Rousseau and Mikhail are getting closer to the barracks. While they are filling up water bottles, Kate asks Rousseau why she hasn’t asked her anything about her daughter and Rousseau tells her that she doesn’t want to know. She asks Kate to think hypothetically how she would feel if she didn’t see Jack for sixteen years and then found out he was alive, but knew that he would never remember her or even know that she ever cared about him. I found this to be a fairly interesting scene because although it’s not exactly what happens, a similar situation takes place between Kate and Jack in the final episode of the series. Kate remembers everything that happened between them on the island, but Jack still doesn’t remember anything about it. Whether or not it was planned, it is still an interesting parallel.

Later, Mikhail informs them that a few weeks ago there was an electromagnetic event (when Desmond turned the fail-safe key) which caused the underwater beacon to stop giving off a signal so if anyone leaves on the submarine again, they will never be able to get back to the island. Kate asks him why they would want to come back and he tells her that she is not capable of understanding because she was not on the list. He goes on to imply that none of them were on the list for various reasons, although we know that all of them, at least at one point, were on the list. He also says that the man who brought him to the island is a magnificent man, but he is not referring to Ben. Sayid tells him not to act as if he knows them and Mikhail give a great speech in which he sarcastically says “of course I don’t know you, Sayid Jarrah, how could I? And you Kate Austen, are a complete stranger to me, but you John Locke, you I might have a fleeting memory of, but I must be confused because the John Locke I know was parlay—“ and he is cut off before he can say paralyzed. I’m very curious as to whether or not Mikhail actually knew Locke in some way or if he was just saying that because he knows his backstory. I’m assuming he is just saying it to show that he really does know a lot about them, but I can’t remember if he ever meets him in the past at some point, but it’s something I’ll have to pay attention to in the coming seasons. Either way, it’s a great scene.

As they reach the pylons surrounding the barracks, Mikhail tells them that they have not worked in years and that they can walk right through them. The group doesn’t believe him and want to go around, but he informs that the pylons encircle the whole camp. Eventually Locke grabs Mikhail and throws him through the pylons which make a loud noise and kill him. They decide to chop down a tree and climb over the pylons and Sayid finds a brick of C-4 in Locke’s bag, proving that he knew the Flame station was rigged with explosives.

Back at the main camp, Claire follows Desmond to a rocky part of the beach as he goes after one of the birds she has been trying to catch. She asks how he knew about the bird and he explains his flashes to her and tells her about the times that he has saved Charlie. Later, Charlie reads the letter that Claire wrote to put into the bird’s tag and it’s not terrible, but it is pretty cheesy.

The episode ends with Kate and company reaching the barracks and as they spy on them from the jungle they see Jack running toward them before realizing that he is having a catch with Tom Friendly….LOST

In an effort to save even more time, starting with episode 3x20 (The Man Behind the Curtain) I will be totally switching up the way I write these. You have been warned.

Until then, however, things will be pretty much the same. New entry will be up tonight.

This Sayid-centric episode opens on the beach with Sawyer looking for Kate. Meanwhile, Kate, Sayid, Locke and Rousseau come across the Flame station, where Mikhail is stationed, on their way to the other’s camp.

Back at the beach, Sawyer and Hurley play a game of ping pong, if Sawyer wins he wants all of his stuff back, but if Hurley wins, Sawyer is not allowed to use any nicknames for a week. Hurley eventually wins. Meanwhile, at the Flame station, Sayid plans to approach it and Rousseau goes to wait by the stream because she says that she has survived on the island for sixteen years by avoiding these types of situations. As he approaches the station he is shot by Mikhail who is pretending to be the last living member of the Dharma Initiative. After entering the station, Mikhail begins to take the bullet out of Sayid’s arm as Kate and Locke snoop around the house. While Sayid is being patched up, Locke finds a computer and plays a game of chess.

We find out that the main purpose of the Flame station is to communicate with the outside world, but that the satellite is broken. We also find out that everyone from the Dharma Initiative is dead because they started a war with the hostiles known as the purge. Mikhail claims to not know how long the hostiles were on the island before Dharma arrived, but he tells them that they have been there for a very long time.

Later, Mikhail checks on Locke and tells him that he will be unable to beat the chess game because the computer cheats, but Locke tells him that he is pretty sure computers don’t know how to cheat. Sayid tells Kate that he knows Mikhail is not who he says he is and that he is certain that there is someone else in the station. During their conversation, Sayid tells Mikhail that they killed one of the hostiles and Mikhail asks why they are still playing games when they all know that things have moved to the next level. A fight ensues and they eventually tie Mikhail up. Locke claims to have checked every nook and cranny of the house, so if someone else is there, they’re hiding pretty good. Sayid lifts the carpet to reveal a trap door which Sayid and Kate eventually go down into.

Underneath the Flame station, Kate and Sayid realize that the whole place is rigged with C-4. Upstairs, Locke leaves the tied up Mikhail to go finish his chess game and he wins, causing a video feature Pierre Chang to come on. The video gives Locke several options including contacting the outside world, using the sonar, and getting a food drop. Eventually it asks if the station has been taken over by hostiles and if it has to enter 77. Just before Locke can enter the numbers, however, Mikhail comes up behind him and puts a knife to his throat.

Back underneath the Flame, Kate is tackled by Ms. Klugh, but Sayid puts a gun to her head and they lead her upstairs. Locke is outside with a gun to his head and Mikhail tries to exchange Locke for Klugh, but they begin to have a conversation in a different language which ends with Klugh saying “just do it, Mikhail” and him shooting her in the chest. Shortly after this, they get Mikhail’s gun and subdue him.

Later, Locke is watching the video again and is about to hit 77. Meanwhile, Sayid tells Rousseau that they found a map which lists the barracks and Mikhail tells him that at some point he will let his guard down and Mikhail won’t hesitate to kill him. Rousseau thinks that they should just kill Mikhail, but Sayid says no. Locke and Kate come out of the station and Locke tells Mikhail that he played the chess game again and he knows why he didn’t want him to beat it. The station explodes and Sayid asks what he did and Locke explains that the game told him to enter 77 if there was an incursion by the hostiles and that’s what he did.

The flashback in this episode is more or less meaningless in terms of Sayid’s back story. It follows Sayid through a time when he was captured by the husband of a woman he tortured as part of the Republican Guard. For a while, he refuses to admit that he is the man who tortured the woman but he does eventually apologize to her and she lets him go in return.