Lost with LOST: Cops & Robbers and a "Matthew Abaddon"-esque Episode

When Matthew Abaddon (of The Wire and Fringe fame) came to pick up John Locke from Charles Widmore, Locke asked Abaddon what he did for Mr. Widmore. Abaddon's response? His job was to get people to "where they needed to be". Well, that's really what I felt was the purpose of last night's episode of LOST: to set up the "war" that Widmore talked about with Locke and to get us as the audience to where we needed to be. It was filler. Sure it was nice to see Charlotte again (looking hot) and I'm always interested in the Sawyer plots as he does the good-guy, bad-guy cop routine in his real life. But we didn't really answer any questions, we didn't get any big character developments, we didn't learn that much more about the Sideways World and the plot hardly moved. And at first glance, I can't say I loved it. That didn't mean that there wasn't plenty to talk about, though. So, like Matthew Abaddon, let me try to get you where you needed to go.

Take Me To Your Leader

Sawyer has always been an interesting character. It seems that Sayid is a killer and will always be a killer. Kate is always running from something or someone. But Sawyer has evolved as a character. He may be the best damn liar FLocke's ever seen, but we've seen him move from unforgiving con man to head of security for the Dharma Initiative and from "I don't care about women" to a protector of women. But above all, Sawyer has never really told the truth. So I knew that when Sawyer made deals with Widmore and FLocke this episode, he wasn't telling the truth either.

The last time a war was coming, Sawyer pitted both sides against each other as well. That was way back in Season 2 when Jack and Ana Lucia were trying to get the weapons from Locke and while they were fighting over them, Sawyer (and Charlie) stole all the guns. It was our first look at a con man's work from Sawyer on The Island. He tried to do the same thing when he saw The Others and the Dharma Initiative fighting and realized he could fit his way into that situation as well.  

The whole situation made me wonder a few things: does FLocke believe anything that Sawyer is saying? What is Widmore trying to do and how does he seem to know more than most people? And who/what is in that locked room on the submarine? Explosives? Walt? Aaron? Some sort of Smokey kryptonite? My bet is on Walt and on Walt playing a role in the end of this conflict. Remember how Walt can effect things with his mind? I think that may turn out to be a big factor. It was Walt who told Locke visiting him in New York that he had visions of people surrounding Locke on the Island and wanting to hurt him. Is this his vision?

FLocke of Deadheads

FLocke is now residing over a weird group. There's a bunch of scared Others represented by the flight attendant, Cindy, and the kids. There's the infected duo of Claire and Sayid (I'm not sure which one I'm more scared of). And there's Kate. The Others seem to be, like Richard Alpert, sick of following Jacob and upset that now that he's dead, they don't have any answers that they had been seeking. Sayid seems to be stoned/zombie-like. Claire is nuts. Just insane. She grabbed Kate's hand, attacked her and then hugged her. She took a slapping from FLocke in between. Sort of a weird thing going on there.

Also weird goings-on with Kate. She gets an apology from FLocke which seems out of place. We also get him opening up about his mother and his past a little. But who was he referring to when he said that Aaron can't have a crazy mother? One thinks Claire but maybe he means Claire's mom or maybe he means Kate. Or maybe I'm just reading into it too much.

I think it was a good thing that Kate didn't accept the hand of FLocke to help her up. Something tells me that touching him is not a good move for people--sort of the opposite of the touch of Jacob. Something also tells me that FLocke has no clue what to do with Kate. He tries to get her alone to talk to her? Huh? He didn't look too happy when she followed and I think he's just trying to make sure she doesn't create trouble. I think he knows that Sawyer and Kate can be played against each other in ways but I'm not sure he knows whether he can count on either one to do what he wants like he can with Sayid and Claire.

Good Cop/Bad Cop

Sawyer opens up the Sideways World part of the episode in the way we've seen him many times: in the middle of a con. Except it was a reverse con. He wasn't a con at all, but a cop! Seeing him and Miles as a two-some again was nice (remember, they worked together in Dharma security). Seeing him use his con skills for good was also nice. Seeing Charlotte again was nice (smoking hot), but I felt like it had gotten to the point of "enough" with this "it's all fate they'll all meet anyways" idea. And what was the point of him showing up at her place with a sunflower, a 6-pack and puppy dog eyes? To show that his charm doesn't work in this world? I'm not really sure.

But one of the things that the Sideways World story of Sawyers made me think that maybe what we're seeing is what would happen to these characters had Jacob never come into their lives. Remember, Jacob gave Sawyer the pen so he could write his letter which carried him along in life. But instead, Sawyer had a folder and a picture of his family. Did that pen lead him to his life of crime?

It also made me rethink the scene earlier this season in which Sawyer let Kate go when she was escaping authorities. It made sense at the time because we thought of Sawyer as a criminal too. But if he was a cop, that makes it an odd thing to do--unless he knew her somehow. It makes it even weirder when his car gets hit by her at the end of the episode and he tracks her down in the alley. He can't seem to get rid of Kate no mater how hard he tries to let her escape. He can jump out of helicopters, jump on a sub, or let her run away from police, but she'll always end up back in his life.

The name of the episode was "Recon" and while it is the short name for reconnaissance which it seemed like Sawyer was doing on Anthony Cooper in his Sideways World. It is also re-con as it do a con again which is what Sawyer seemed to be doing in the Island World to FLocke and Widmore.

Opening It Up For Discussion

I have a ton of friends who are LOST enthusiasts and many who I've watched episodes with and debated over what's going on. So I decided to throw out some of the over-arching questions on LOST and see what they think about it. The first question I threw out was (pre-last night's episode) “Does anyone have any clue what this ‘Sideways World’ we’re seeing is?”

Andrew: I thought all along that it was the diverging path (a la Sliding Doors) of what would have happened had the bomb done what Jack intended. But I’m wondering, especially after last episode and seeing that Ben and his dad are both alive and well, if this can be true. If a nuclear bomb was exploded on The Island, wouldn’t they both be dead?

Some have suggested that maybe this is where the characters go to when they die (Juliet’s and Charlotte’s dialogue before they died hinted towards that). Others (well, me) have suggested that maybe this is world that Desmond was experiencing in his flashes. So what do you guys think? Why is there all this déjà vu with the characters? Why did Jack have that nick on his neck and forget about his appendectomy? It is a world where The Island never really existed? Where Jacob or the Man in Black never existed? Or something totally different?

Shira: Part of me thinks the writers are just messing with us because I heard an interview with them where they basically admit there will be a lot of loose ends that will never be dealt with. What I am guessing is it is a world that shows what their paths would have been with out the islands existence. Hopefully tonight will shed some more light.

Alaine: To get to your question, I still think the "sideways world" is what would have happened if the bomb went off as intended. Seeing Ben and his father alive in the last ep threw me off too, but they said that they left the island... Maybe the bomb changed something along the timeline that results with Ben and his father leaving the island, but not dying...?

Andrew (written after the episode): Interesting idea. Though I'm still not sure how they would survive the nuke. But good theory!

Another idea that I had in the middle of tonight's episode (and if you haven't seen it yet, probably stop reading) was that the Sideways World maybe was the world in which Jacob didn't exist and didn't touch these characters. So maybe the Sideways World didn't start when the nuke exploded. Maybe the nuke never exploded. Maybe the Sideways World was cause when Jacob was killed.

You notice that Sawyer ended up as a cop instead of as "Sawyer". Maybe Jacob never gave him that pen after his parent's funeral. Maybe he never finished that letter. And maybe instead of making it his life mission to find Sawyer by keeping the letter as a memento, he instead became a cop and tried to find him. It still led to a destructive and lonely lifestyle but at least he was trying to do good while he was doing it. Jacob's touch seems to be both a curse and a blessing to those he touched. Kate still turned into a criminal, Jack and his father still had issues, Sawyer still searched for "Sawyer" and Sun and Jin still had marital problems. They just happened differently.

The other question I need to pose after talking with Ari after the episode is are people sick of the whole "this is all fate that they end up together"? I liked seeing Charlotte and Miles and all them but I feel like it's gotten a bit hokey and convenient.

Or maybe them going back to 1977 actually effected the future of that timeline. After watching the episode Ben gets shot and then saved with Sarah tonight, I had this idea. When we saw Ben and his dad together and happy, I wonder if we're seeing what happened after Ben got shot and his dad realized how much he meant to him. Maybe all the other changes were because of that change in the past too. Maybe Sayid could never kill Ben but he could effect his future. Just throwing that out there as well.

Alaine: Andrew- that's a great idea about linking Ben getting shot in the alternate 1977 timeline and the Sideways world. I think you're onto something there. Just like what happened in Back to the Future... like the Doc explained... when our characters went back to 1977 and the Darma-era island, they changed the course of history! SO when the bomb exploded, it happened in the ALTERNATE 1977 and not the reall 1977 (the one where Ben is not shot). Therefore, it WOULD make sense that Ben and his father are alive in the Sideways world, which is a continuation of alternate 1977 if the bomb had gone off....or at least thats the theory. Ok enough Back to the Future flashbacks, or flash forwards....

I loved last nights episode... and yeah, it had a lot to do with the fact that we saw Sawyer (or whatever you want to call him) a LOT! haha! And we also learned a little more about FLocke, he seemed to reveal something about himself when talking to Kate, and also about Aaron. I feel like we'll be seeing Aaron again this season-- he has a lot of significance to Claire, Kate, and to FLocke (since it seems thats how he got Claire on his side in the first place)...

I also think it's a little hokey to be putting all of our characters into the Sideways world, almost scattered in there willy nilly...but i also like it! Maybe it's because I'm so saturated with LOST characters to begin with that I dont want anyone else coming into the story...or maybe it's because I like circles, and I like the notion that they all would have met anyway. Anyway... I like it.

Conclusion

8 episodes left before the finale. That's what the preview after the episode told us. So I have a feeling we're starting to move towards some answers. The other thing the preview told us? That Richard's long-awaited story is coming next. I can't wait. This is one we've been waiting for since he showed up on Juliet's doorstep with his guyliner. We said that this episode had to be Sawyer because of our 10 Commandments telling us the 8th is "thou shalt not steal". The 9th? Do not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Not sure what that means to LOST, but I'm excited to find out. Let us know your theories and thoughts on the episode last night in the comments below! And while you're doing so, figure out where you fit on on LOST's five types of fans (H/T Jay). I think I'm a cross between "Hardcore" and "Eternally Confused and Faithful".

Pictures from LOST's wikia