SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT
* Historically, I’d come to dread Jin/Sun episodes of Lost. They were to me what Kate episodes or “FlashJacks” were to a lot of other people. Yes yes, they’ve had a troubled relationship marred by deceit, we get it. Things necessarily livened up once the flashbacks gave way to flashforwards, the Islanders/Oceanic Six split, and time jumps. But since I knew that this season’s Jin/Sun episode would be showing us what the couple was up to in 2004, flashback style, I really wasn’t looking forward to it at all. Not even knowing that Jin would end up bound and gagged in a gangster’s kitchen someplace did much to sweeten the pot.
* But whaddyaknow, it was a good episode!
* For one thing, it turns out that Jin ending up bound and gagged in a gangster’s kitchen someplace sweetens the pot quite a bit. The flashsideways couldn’t end with some little epiphany about their relationship, it had to end with how Jin escaped from his plight. The relationship stuff was sort of seeded throughout, and came off the better for it. And hey, it’s still all based on lies, but this time it’s a mutual lie rather than one lying to the other. It’s not quite the breakthrough achieved by Jack, Ben, Locke, or Sawyer, but it beats poor Sayid.
* Also, it wasn’t the worst idea in the world to kick off the Jin/Sun stuff by having Sun take her top off. I’m just sayin’.
* But beyond that, it gave Sun something to do! I wasn’t super-into her heel turn during the flashforwards when she was plotting to kill Ben, but as the Missus always puts it, she’s not a person you wanna fuck with. I like that she’s normally sweet but very dangerous when cornered or pressured. She’s her father’s daughter.
* Another thing the episode had going for it was that it appears we’ll be advancing the main Island mythology ball at a pretty rapid clip at this point, or at the very least eliminating some possibilities as to what the heck’s going on. For example, between Fake Locke’s bug-eyed distress upon finding his camp raided in his absence–and surely all of us thought he’d left on purpose!–and the dick-measuring contest he had with Widmore on the shore of Hydra Island, we can now rest assured that they really aren’t on the same side.
* This raises the question: If Widmore and his people want to stop the Monster, and Ben and his Others worked (after a fashion) for Jacob who also wanted to stop the Monster, then we really were looking at a blue-on-blue conflict, if you will: Two rival teams of “good guys” who were doing horrible stuff all the time to one another and to anyone else who got in the way. “Good guys” really deserves its sneer quotes on this show.
* Also, our Cavalcade of Unreliable Narrators with regards to explaining the Monster/MIB/Fake Locke saw the addition of Charles Widmore. Welcome aboard, Chuck! Now in addition to Richard’s warning that he’d kill everyone on the Island and everyone everyone on the Island cares about, and in addition to Jacob’s characterization of the MIB as a darkness that can’t be allowed to spread past the Island, and in addition to the late Isabella’s warning (via Hurley) that if the MIB escapes “we all go to Hell,” Widmore says that should the MIB get off the Island, Sun and Ji-Yeon and Penny and presumably many more people besides will “cease to exist.” !!! What is this guy, Azathoth?
* And then there’s Fake Locke himself, explaining that he needs all the remaining Candidates to get off the Island. Apparently they have to come willingly, since otherwise he could have just Smoke Monstered Sun’s ass to wherever he needed her to be. Jack and Hurley too, for that matter.
* Kate’s not listed on the wall of the cave “anymore.” She used to be–what changed?
* Great bit with Sayid not feeling anything. I was curious as to how Fake Locke would react to that–was this a surprise to him, or something he’s seen before, or at least expected? Seems like he was unfazed, for whatever that’s worth.
* I’m quite glad Kevin Durand was back again as Martin Keamy. How creepy! I do wish Andrew Divoff had been given more to do as this new, two-eyed, more mild-mannered, easier to kill Mikhail Bakunin, however. And it was also a bit weird to see an Other mixed up with Keamy’s crew–almost a stretch, I’d say.
* Speaking of which, I’m waxing enthusiastic for this episode despite my hunch that Internet naysayers will have a field day with this one. Sun’s loss of English (followed by the now de rigeur fanservice acknowledgement by Frank–could have been Hurley or Miles or even Sawyer too–that this is kind of ridiculous), Jack’s line about the tomato that didn’t know it was supposed to die, Mikhail getting shot in the eye OMG!!!, Jack once again earning someone’s trust for a big plan despite the fact that all his previous plans ended in bloody disaster, a SWAT team led by a geophysicist and that dimpy guy from various commercials taking out a few dozen hardened Others and Castaways with poison darts…a lot of the stuff in this episode could read as clunky or cheesy or forced. I just read it as fun.
* One thing about that Jack/Sun conversation: I think it’s worth pointing out that you can trust people for different reasons. Trusting Jack doesn’t necessarily mean that you have confidence in his ability to successfully execute a plan, it just means that you trust he’s a good person with your best interests at heart. Frankly, I too would take that over a smoke monster wearing the skin of my crazy dead friend.
* Was I disappointed that it was Desmond in the locked room, not Walt? You betcha. I mean, I guess I ought to have known that the guy in the opening credits in every episode would show up by now. Oh well. Still holding out hope that Walt is 108.
* Oh yeah: What the heck can Desmond do to stop the MIB? We’ve seen that he has some rare abilities in terms of weathering time travel of various kinds, and he managed to blow the Hatch without imploding…
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