Best scene: has to be the van ride with ‘match-maker’ Hurley, Miles and Dr. Chang.

Rating: 8/10

• Really glad they showed us how Ben came to have Alex — I always knew that he rescued the child, as opposed to just taking her. The additional reveal that it was Widmore’s personal order to kill Danielle (and Alex) gave further credence to the idea that Ben is one of the shows heroes. I enjoyed seeing younger Ben stand up to Widmore’s demand to kill Alex. I am intrigued by Widmore’s later claim that the island did want Alex dead. If that’s the case then this further muddies the Island’s character — although there are perhaps many things we still do not know about life and death in relation to the ‘bigger picture’. Still, this was some nice vindication for Ben fans!

• I’m really not sure about the casting for young Ethan and Charles Widmore! Ethan is a brunette and that guy looked nothing like how I’d imagine a 40-something year old Charles Widmore would look. That said, it was rather funny to see young Ethan volunteer to infiltrate Danielle (considering he later kidnapped Claire) — I wonder what he would have done in Ben’s position?
• Danielle didn’t put up much fight to hold on to Alex did she? I’m not sure that a mother would be perturbed from looking for her child for 17 years just because of whispers — it’s not as if Ben was even that scary. I guess Danielle was all about the self-preservation.
• So Caesar’s dead and he wasn’t a Widmore spy after all? Wow, cheeky diversion, writers! (unless he was, and Ilana is one of Ben’s peeps)
• Why was Lapidus in so much of a hurry to get back to the Hydra island? Having previously left, there was very little for him back for, especially given the nature of the folks on that island.
• “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” Clearly Ilana and friends know more about the island than I thought. Nice reveal!
• Even I have to admit that Ben told a few lies in this episode! Although he probably told just as many truths.
• I’m SO relieved that Ben didn’t murder Penny! (or Desmond for that matter). When he saw Charlie it was clear that he didn’t have the heart to do it, and I was mighty pleased that he didn’t. Too many people were far too quick to write Ben off as the murderer of Penny. I was also glad that he asked Sun to tell Desmond sorry (for shooting him). Forgiveness is a big aspect of the afterlife, it would seem.
• Ben summoning Smokey — “I’ll be outside” — now that was weird. For a moment I couldn’t tell whether he was prepping a mud bath or calling the island’s security system!
• This episode gave us further insight into the relationship between the Island and Smokey — they do appear to be one in the same thing. Smokey is at the very least an extension of the Island, and not a separate entity living on it.
• It was interesting to see how Charles left the island — in handcuffs! Last season I theorised that Ben tricked Charles out of his leadership position — I was almost right, but ultimately the suggestion is that Charles broke the rules (he had an off-island baby — Penny isn’t Island born), and seeming;y wasn’t committed to the island. It was clearly a difficult decision for Ben.
• Locke suggests that Ben is more “corporate” than he likes to think he is. He has a point, Ben did develop the ‘brand’ of the “hostiles” somewhat — he moved them out of the jungle and into the barracks, he gave them a logo (seen on the backs of the guards who marshaled Charles to the submarine), and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the Mittelos Bio Science cover was his brainchild. That said, I don’t see much wrong with that — unless the island was opposed to it.
• The temple scenes were great, although perhaps the execution of Smokey engulfing Ben wasn’t as good as it could have been? I spent most of those scenes worrying whether or not this was the end of the road for Ben. It didn’t ‘feel’ like a ‘death’ episode, but the title posed a lingering threat.
• Good to see Ben being spared by the island — anyone who doubts that Ben is one of the good guys, with the Islands best interests at heart, only has to watch this episode.

Good episode overall, but a bit loose in places. Not the best Ben centric.

Overall rating: 7.5/10

• Great episode title — I thought for sure we would see Faraday, since it’s lifted from his deterministic remark earlier in the season.
• Jin is just acting weird these days. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but they’re not quite servicing his character right now.
• Jack is a jerk. I’m putting him on the same list as Sayid after he refused to help Ben. It’s not even like he was on bad terms with Ben prior to landing on the island — they were allies, and Ben is the reason he managed to get back to the island. He may not be busy trying to control things like before, but he’s still as ignorant and ungrateful as ever.

• Good to see Kate fess up over her reason for taking Aaron — as I always said, she did it for herself, not for Aaron or Claire. If she had really cared for Aaron she would have sought out Miss Littleton (or other members of Claire’s family) instead of passing the child off as her own. Anyway, I’m glad that I am on the same page as the writers when it comes to character motivations, and the disparity between how a lot of the characters see themselves and how they actually ‘are’.
• I thought that the Roger/Kate ‘connection’ was rather forced — did he remind her of Wayne, or even Sawyer? The events in this episode certainly allowed Kate to view events with new eyes. I found the majority of the back-story/present time parallels to be handled well (i.e. Sawyer caring for Ben because that’s how he’d want someone to care for his Cassidy).
• Jack is a jerk. Oh, wait, did I say that already?
• I enjoyed the Miles/Hurley time-travel debate! It was a nice way to lighten the tension, whilst allowing those who are still confused as to how the “rules” work to gain some further understanding. I was surprised, however, by Mile’s belief that they could still die in the current 1977 time-state, despite already existing on the island in 2004. I’m wondering if this is a misconception on his part, and consequently a red-herring from the writers? Or CAN the time-travelling Losties actually die in their current time-state? If this is the case then it is an unexpected addition to the attributes of island time-travel. Had I known this last week I would have been MUCH more concerned for Ben’s welfare, instead of being so sure in my proclamation that future Ben was alive, meaning that Lil’ Ben must live! I mean, I was right, but if Mile’s theory is correct (and I still doubt his theory to a degree), then I was right, but right without having all of the information.
• Despite my dislike for Kate, it was good to see her doing something to take care of Ben. It’s not just because Ben (along with Locke) is my favourite character on the show, but I find it encouraging that someone like her can still show some humanity (unlike Sayid and Jack). I guess both Kate and Sawyer’s own personal experiences of ‘parenthood’ (of sorts) enabled them to value the life of child Ben.
• I always love it when the Others come striding out of the jungle — this episode featured another great moment of the Other’s sneaky ninja skills, where they surround Kate and Ben-carrying Sawyer. Even better was seeing Alpert again! Nestor Carbonell plays the character so very well — just the expressions that he gives, and the timing of his words – he’s perfect for this role.
• I was struck by yet another new revelation in this episode. I had previously believed that lil’ Ben always grew up with the knowledge of the time-travelling Losties and Sayid’s attempt to murder him (“whatever happened, happened”, right?), however, according to Alpert, young Ben will forget “this ever happened”. I guess young Ben will still be told what happened to him by Roger and the D.I., and he’ll probably be told about Sayid (etc)? so it’s not like he’ll have no knowledge of events, just that the personal experience of those events will be removed? That said, judging by what Alpert said, and using Rousseau’s team as an example, it would seem as though Ben will be somewhat transformed by his ‘rebirth’ in the Temple. Indeed, that’s why they call it re-birth. He’ll obviously retain some of himself though, since we’ve seen ahead of the current time period courtesy of previous seasons. Also, in season 3, when Ben said that he was “born on the island”, he WASN’T lying after all! It will be interesting to see the change in young Ben though, as well as the nature of his transformation. I mean, Robert seemed very sinister – enough for him to try to kill the mother of his child! — so it will be intriguing to see the i-dent. that the Temple (or should I say Smokey?) gives young Ben. As I mentioned we’re already privy to the ‘reborn’ Ben, but I think it will give us a better understanding of Ben’s change to see that change occur in the young Ben. In many ways, there was always going to be a slight change in Ben as a result of the Sayid shooting, however I expected it to be a conscious one born out of distrust of people (etc) — now it seems that the change is not only metaphorical and spiritual..but literal.
• I appreciated the reference to Charles and Ellie — 25 years on from their underling roles, they have seemingly come to power in the ranks of the Others. Last season I predicted that Charles was tricked by Ben into turning the wheel (and losing the island), so I’ve long believed that he was a former leader of the “Others”, but I didn’t give as much thought to Ellie’s past Island status (although we know that she’s very ’special’ off island) . Now the suggestion would appear to be that they were ‘joint’ leaders of the “Others” in 1977? ..I guess I’ll have to wait and see on that one. Either way, I loved Alpert going right over their heads and taking matters into his own hands (literally). I always get the sense that Alpert would sooner be the leader himself, but for whatever reason, he’s “not supposed to”. Good to see him making leadership decisions — clearly, he doesn’t rate the abilities of Charles or Ellie — perhaps this gives us more of an indication of the ’sides’ in the current-day war?
• The final scene with Locke watching over Ben as he slowly wakes up from his injuries, was fantastic. It was comforting to see Ben alive (Mile’s comment about time-travellers being able to die even though they already exist in the future, had me slightly concerned — and it did seem as though 2007 Ben was going through the throws of something moments before he opened his eyes..). I loved the look of shock on Ben’s face as Locke simply uttered “welcome back to the land of the living“! Great line embodied with so much meaning and depth, and the confidence soaring though Locke was great to see. I do love Ben, but Locke deserves his time to shine.

This was a great episode, perhaps not as good as last “He’s Our You”, but still very good. Kate centric episodes are never my favourite, and so her angst coupled with some contrivances dragged my rating down a bit, but overall I give it a quality 8/10.

Change is a major theme of this episode, we are reminded of the change that young Ben underwent during his rise as leader of the “Others” — He went from an abused Harry Potteresque child, to the man that we see today — a man of knowledge, sacrifice, ruthlessness and compassion — A man hated by the Losties for much of this journey. It’s hard not to think that 1977 Sayid didn’t play a part in Ben’s future direction. We are also reminded of the change in Sawyer (sorry, “LaFleur”). Gone are the days when he embraced the life of savagery = “We’re in the wild!”, he’s now a man of responsibility, of love..a man who bucks against the trend of his Dharma buddies to bring civility to the truce – “since when did we start acting like them!?”. (although I wasn’t impressed by the raising of his hand for the vote to execute Sayid). But for Sayid, change has never come easy, and when it has come, it’s rarely lasted for very long. Whether it’s through fault of his own, or the fickle nature of the Universe, Sayid has always lived in a cyclical existence of love and death. It follows his around like a bad smell. Nadia, Shannon, Nadia again, Elsa – all gone, all dead. No matter what he does, Sayid can’t seem to change himself or his circumstances. He is capable of love, but he can never hold on to any happy existence; whether it’s the woman of his dreams, or doing some redemption building work in the Dominican Republic.

Ben, somewhat surgically, cut to the core of of Sayid’s existence by suggesting that killing is in his nature, that it’s not a choice, but a matter of fact..a matter of fate. In the very moment that he uttered those words, I could almost hear the Universe rubbing it’s metaphorical hands with relish — Sayid was determined to prove Ben wrong, to prove to himself that he could change, that he had freewill to alter his existence and become one of the ‘good guys’.

But Sayid began proving Ben right almost immediately — he was back in hit-man mode before Hurley could checkmate the spirit of Mr. Eko. Sure, Sayid cares for Hurley, but helping a friend out of a fix was never really the problem. It’s his inability to stop killing people that Sayid can’t seem to kick. Whether it’s Mr. Avelllino, the men with the dart guns (probably hired by Ben), or the Russian dude with the wad of case, Sayid gets a buzz from killing people (just look at the artistry of his ‘kills’). The suggestion from the writers seems to be that it stems from his childhood — not so much in sparing his elder brother from the expectations of his moronic father, but happily exceeding what was expected of himself, no matter what the cost. We’ve seen so little of Sayid’s family, so having this insight was extremely useful, albeit somewhat contrived – we really needed more to go on than one chicken kill to trace exactly why Sayid is the way that he is (although the chicken scene did serve the purpose of metaphorically laying out the all important question in relation to his time-travelling execution of young Ben: What came first — the chicken or the egg?). That said, whether we like it or not, the writers are certainly of the opinion that murder is second nature to Sayid.

Back on the island, Sayid comes full circle with young Ben, who brings him sandwiches and a book — “A Separate Reality”, take a note of that because I’ll be coming back to it in a bit. I loved all of the scenes between young Ben and Sayid, but I wasn’t quite sure where it was going at this stage. My initial impression was that Sayid began to feel a sense of sympathy, or empathy, even, towards lil’ Ben. Although the scene with Roger Linus roughing up his son for bringing Sayid a sandwich was contrived (I mean what are the chances of both Linus’ ending up in Sayid’s cell together at that moment), it was vitally important in distracting me from what was to come. I noticed Sayid instinctively leaping up from his bed when Roger grabbed lil’ Ben — it seemed clear to me that Sayid wanted to protect the younger Linus — a sense of mutual understanding had surely bought them each others trust — “daddy issues” were about to bring them together, right!? At this point, I began to believe that Sayid wanted to take young Ben under his wing and try to change the path that he goes into take. In the infamous words of John Locke, “I was wrong”.

Going into this episode, the thing that I most wanted to know was whether young Ben, at this time, had fore-knowledge of  future Sayid and the Losties. The notion went against my belief in the “rules” of time-travel, but the end scene between Sayid and Ben in the previous episode (“Namaste”) was so ominous that I began to wonder whether Ben somehow knew of 2004 + Sayid at this stage. Thankfully, my initial understanding was confirmed, through young Ben’s utter fascination in Sayid, and by extension, the Hostiles. Ben had been told by Richard Alpert to be “patient” 3 years earlier (“The Man Behind The Curtain”), and he took Sayid’s arrival as a vindication of that patience. Importantly, we have it confirmed that consciousness of future events only travels from the point of view of the time-traveller, not those who are “when” they are supposed to be (i.e. young Ben and the Dharma idiots). That said, I’m confident that at some point in his adult life, Ben began to realise that he was part of a much bigger cyclical game involving time-travelling folks — how else would he know so much about the Losties in 2004? My guess is that Alpert (or Jacob) later informed him about the visitation that was bound to fall from the sky in the mid-00’s — a re-meeting with old friends who wouldn’t remember him because for them, it hadn’t happened yet. Again — what came first, the chicken or the egg?

The cyclical nature of events in this episode were also accompanied by mirror images, specifically with Oldham the D.I. version of Sayid – I loved the “He’s Our You” line by Sawyer, it spoke a 1000 “levels” (as did Horiss’ ‘game’ shout-out to Mikhail’s line in “Enter 77″). The entire torture scene was fantastic: instead of pliers or reed, the D.I’s top torturer uses reality changing drugs (a shout out to the book referenced earlier), that compel Sayid to let go and tell the truth (“the whole truth”). Indeed, Oldham’s words could be said to mimic Sayid’s battle with change - “it’s out of your control, so fighting it is a poor use of your energies”. On a deeper level, the suggestion is that Sayid is fated to be what he’s always been..even trying to change seems futile for Mr. Jarrah.

I loved seeing Sawyer sweat it out as Sayid gave a hilarious drugged up performance, which veered between uber awareness and total confusion — Fantastic stuff! Radzinsky’s interruptions were also hilarious, he really is a pain in the ass (at least we have his death to look forward to). I was intrigued by the D.I’s response to the future knowledge they were receiving from Sayid. Despite Radzinsky’s protestations, they seemed to brush it off as Sayid reacting to an overdose of the hallucinogen, but I’m guessing they will begin to realise Sayid’s authenticity once the incident and purge come along.

Seeing as this is Lost, and very little is coincidence, Sayid’s crucifixion-like pose as his was whacked out of his mind on LSD cubes was surely intentional. As was the image of him being ‘tempted’ by Ilana, who was obviously playing the tole of the ’snake’ which tempted Sayid out of his metaphorical Garden of Eden — weakening his preparedness to walk away from Island life, and bringing him back to the place where awakening happens, and where knowledge is king. (notice the amount of red in that bar scene). I liked the fact that they cleared up how Sayid came to be on the plane in handcuffs, and who Ilana was. Although I still believe that Widmore was behind it — Ilana may think that she’s working on behalf of Peter Avellino’s family, but since he was a Widmore associate killed in this ‘war’ with Ben, I’m betting that Widmore is doing his part of the job in getting people to ‘where they need to be’. For me, it’s clear that although Ben and Widmore are on opposing sides, they have to cooperate to a certain extent if they want a shot at ultimately bending fate to their advantage. Otherwise why on earth would Widmore tell Desmond where Mrs Hawking was, and why would both Widmore and Ben both help Locke (and the rest) get back to the island? Because it’s mutually beneficial.

Sayid’s moment of clarity was quite something — he suddenly believed that it was his purpose to kill young Ben Linus. Reading between the lines, this was Sayid making an excuse for his hopelessness. He couldn’t face the idea of his return to the island being meaningless, not after all that he had lost. So he relegated his freewill to his own perception of fate. It’s an easy enough thing to do when you’re desperate — just look at John Locke’s belief in the hidden message of the Swan hatch light from season 1. There can be confort in even the false light of destiny. But unlike John, Sayid seems unable to grasp onto any altruistic purpose. Sure, he has an eye for the ladies, but other than that he is a killer. It should be noted that his ‘awakening’ also seemed to the result of the LSD that Oldham gave him. After all. I can’t see the  literary reference as being meaningless.

The burning bus was a good diversion by young Ben — he’s clearly displaying “Otherish” skills already — it can’t have been easy coordinating that with such precision. Sure, it was a bit contrived in the way it deflected every-one’s attention (including that ‘man of thought’ LaFleur), but I loved the way a hoodied-up Ben slinked his way into Sayid’s quarters. My heart broke ever so slightly as his broken glasses were only out-sorrowed by his pathetic tears — the poor boy was clearly at breaking point, I mean, how much abuse can one person take? Ben was not only fascinated by the Others, he wanted to escape, he wanted to embrace something different other than the life he had been given. After all, when the fists are flying, sure anything is better than here.

I was hoping that Sayid would take young Ben under his wing. I was hoping that he’d instill a positive influence in his life. For someone who is so opposed to adult Ben, this was Sayid’s chance to tabula rasa Ben, to shape him into a person he believed was better. Instead of that, Sayid proved conclusively that he doesn’t kill out of choice, but because it’s a part of his nature. He took the easy option. Maybe he was always supposed to. Acting as Ben’s role model was far too much work, so he decided that Ben didn’t deserve to live. I find this a preposterous attitude — if adult Ben was really that bad then why did Sayid ever work with him post-Island? It seems that Sayid cannot see the bigger picture here! Ben isn’t Hitler, and yet Sayid lured the young boy out into the wild. Once Jin was dispatched (contrived scene I have to admit – only served the purpose of giving Sayid the gun with which to kill Ben), he had the audacity to tell Ben that he was right (as if young Ben knew what he was talking about!)..and he shot him.

The most despicable act on Lost. Ever. There is no-way back from this for Sayid — intending to murder a 12 year old kid is unforgivable. Especially when there were other options. Especially when the likes of Sawyer and Juliet, who had been through just as much conflict with Ben as Sayid has, are able to coexist with young Ben without harming a hair on his head. Make no mistake, this wasn’t an altruistic act by Sayid, this wasn’t Sayid protecting his ‘friends’, this was Sayid executing a 12 year old boy because it gave him a purpose. Let’s see that line again: shooting young Ben gave Sayid a purpose in life — it was, he believed, his destiny. How sad, how pathetic, how tragic..is that.

But then, maybe it was always supposed to be this way — whatever happened, happened, right? Did Sayid actually challenge this notion, or did he merely follow the rules of his own predetermined path? Oh fate, you’re so deceptive!

That’s not to say that Ben IS *dead*. Personally, I don’t think this is the case — we know that he’s alive in 2007. We also know that there are “rules” on what you can and cannot change. Unless a bullet wound suddenly materialises in future Ben’s chest, then I think it’s safe to say that his he never died in 1977. My guess is that the island healed him, and that Sayid’s act was seen as an act of aggression from the “Hostiles” on the D.I., thus blowing the truce wide-open, and eventually leading to the purge..and in turn, to the slightly older Ben defecting. (as we saw in “The Man Behind The Curtain”.)

The only other possibility that I can see happening, is if this current time-line (even though I don’t believe that time is linear), is a separate time-line..or, as the book reference alludes: “A Separate Reality”. This could add credence to the “Imaginary Time/Space” reference from Faraday’s journal. If the events that took place in this episode (i.e. Sayid shooting Ben)  are actually happening in a separate reality, then, and only then, could a version of Ben die 1977, whilst still leaving a future Ben (from the original reality) alive and well in 2007. But one would have to assume that at some point these 2 realities would have to converge, which could lead to disastrous consequences and probably paradox. (Cazimir Effect?) Hence why I think it’s safe to assume that Ben never died in 1977, and that if we were to see his chest in the present day, we’d see the scar from the bullet where Sayid ALWAYS shot him in 1977. If this is the case, then Ben is a man of great control — knowing that Sayid did that to him in his relative past and showing such restraint (and at times compassion) towards the guy — wow! Especially when we bear in mind the way in which Sawyer hunted down and murdered Cooper (a man who didn’t actually murder his parents), it just shows what a forgiving man Ben is.

By it’s very nature, this episode was about choice and freewill. It used mirror themes, and contrasting character directions (Sawyer/Sayid) to get across some very powerful messages. Ultimately, i’d like to think (although it’s probably the opposite) that Sayid had freewill but he didn’t use it because he believes that he can’t change. This in itself begs the question of what represents the ’script’ and what it the improvisation (freewill)? By reverting back to his typical self, did Sayid do what he was “Supposed to do”, or did he throw away a golden opportunity to actually change the script of fate? From what we saw, he gave in to fate’s cyclical hold over his actions — he succumbed, he didn’t “have a choice about it” (as Oldham pointed out during the ‘truth’ torture scene) — he did what he always did.

My belief is that Sayid knows that he is unable to change. So instead of trying to change himself, he attempted to change the world – he tried to change the his environment, and consequently he settled for the idea of altering future events by *killing* Ben. Ironic, because the saying goes: “Before you can change the world, you must change yourself” (or words to that effect). The duality of this decision is quite fascinating when I think about it. On the one hand he’s accepting the fact that he himself can never change, but on the other hand he’s attempting to exert his perceived importance on his surroundings by trying to kill young Ben. He’s embracing this perceived sense of destiny – the singular purpose of his entire life to kill Ben, but what he’s failing to see is the futility of his self-perpetuating anguish.

Whatever happens to Sayid from here on it, he’s shown that he’s a man of fate – he played right into it’s hands. He gave up, and as he himself said whilst under the truth serum – he’s a “bad man”.

That said, I can’t wait to see lil Ben recover from this and go on to join the “Hostiles” in the early 1980’s. Strange to think that the fall-out between the D.I. and “The Hostiles” was always heightened by Sayid’s actions on this very day in 1977. After everything that has happened on this show, this is becoming one of the most mind-boggling, yet totally viable series of events. In other words — the pieces are beginning to fit right into place.
Excerpt from the book that young Ben gave to Sayid – “A Separate Reality”:

You think about yourself too much and that gives you a strange fatigue that makes you shut off the world around you and cling to your arguments.
A light and amenable disposition is needed in order to withstand the impact and the strangeness of the knowledge I am teaching you. Feeling important makes one heavy, clumsy, and vain. To be a man of knowledge one needs to be light and fluid.

One has to reduce to a minimum all that is unnecessary in one’s life.

Once you decide something put all your petty fears away. Your decision should vanquish them. I will tell you time and time again, the most effective way to live is as a warrior. Worry and think before you make any decision, but once you make it, be on your way free from worries or thoughts; there will be a million other decisions still awaiting you. That’s the warrior’s way.

A warrior thinks of his death when things become unclear. The idea of death is the only thing that tempers our spirit.

To be a warrior you have to be crystal clear.

My acts are sincere but they are only the acts of an actor because everything I do is controlled folly. Everything I do in regard to myself and my fellow men is folly, because nothing matters.

Certain things in your life matter to you because they’re important; your acts are certainly important to you, but for me, not a single thing is important any longer, neither my acts nor the acts of any of my fellow men. I go on living though, because I have my will . Because I have tempered my will throughout my life until it’s neat and wholesome and now it doesn’t matter to me that nothing matters. My will controls the folly of my life.

Once a man learns to see he finds himself alone in the world with nothing but folly. Your acts, as well as the acts of your fellow men in general, appear to be important to you because you have learned to think they are important.

We learn to think about everything, and then we train our eyes to look as we think about the things we look at. We look at ourselves already thinking that we are important. And therefore we’ve got to feel important! But then when a man learns to see , he realizes that he can no longer think about the things he looks at, and if he cannot think about what he looks at everything becomes unimportant. Everything is equal and therefore unimportant.

We need to look with our eyes to laugh. When our eyes see , everything is so equal that nothing is funny. My laughter, as well as everything I do is real but it also is controlled folly because it is useless; it changes nothing and yet I still do it.

One must always choose the path with heart in order to be at one’s best, perhaps so one can always laugh.
You don’t understand me now because of your habit of thinking as you look and thinking as you think. By “thinking” I mean the constant idea that we have of everything in the world. Seeing dispels that habit and until you learn to see you will not really understand what I mean.

Stray Thoughts:

• Parallel in Sayid killing the chicken in his flashback and Ben bringing him a chicken salad sandwich.
• In the flashback with the Losties and Ben at the dock, we got a another glimpse of the yacht with the word “ILLUSION” written on the side. Makes me wonder if this adds further weight to the “Separate Reality” literary reference that was dropped in this episode. Or perhaps the “illusion” refers to the “Reincarnation” anagram written on the side of Ben’s van (also again pictured in the shot at the dock)?
• The Dharma Initiative were open to defectors joining their ranks. This makes sense, because know that the “Hostiles” (“Others”) have  also seen defectors join their ranks — namely, Ben and Ethan (and probably others). It also seems likely that some of the “Hostiles” had previously defected to the D.I. All this really adds credence to this ‘war’ that the two sides were engaged in. Much of any war is political.
• Glad we didn’t get much Jack and Kate in this episode. Though I did laugh as Jack’s eyes lit up when he saw the fire — this is right up your street, huh, Jacko! Getting sick of seeing Kate’s sour-puss attitude though.

Best Lines:

Ben to Sayid: “You didn’t kill them for ME, Sayid. YOU’RE the one that asked for their names. There’s no one else in Widmore’s organization that we need to go after. Congratulations! Mission accomplished!”

Sayid to Sawyer: “A twelve-year-old Ben Linus brought me a chicken salad sandwich. How do you think I’m doing”

Sayid: “..ask Sawyer”

Oldham: “Who’s Sawyer?”

Radzinsky: Who Cares!? — Just the way he said it, hilarious!

Sawyer to Sayid: “You’re out of your mind” — he was, quite literally. Another reference to the book “A Separate Reality”?

Overall episode rating: 9/10 – loved it!

We’ve been here before

I love it when they show us the same scenes playing out from different perspectives, it marries well with the cyclical nature of the show. A show that is becoming more and more like my “spiral theory” the further we go through the looking glass.

The flash  seen from this perspective was definitely different from the one Jack, Kate and Hurley (and Sayid) experienced, no doubt signifying the different era’s that each group flashed to — Jack’s crew 1977 and Ben’s crew 2007 (so even they still flashed back two years from 2009). But why didn’t Sun flash back to 1977? Could it be because she gave birth on the island, or is the Universe remedying a possible paradox?  Hmm..

Frank is one helluva pilot. landing that thing without losing any lives (except his poor co-pilot). Then again, what kind of pilot did I think he was? Great to have the “run-way” confirmed (again). Good looking out, Ben!

Caesar and Ilana may be plants, but they don’t appear to have been sent by the same person..or at least, they’re not aware that they have been sent by the same person. I would put their existence down to coincidence – unwitting passengers on-board the flight of destiny, except for the fact that Caesar was definitely looking for something inside the Hydra facility at the beginning of “The Life And Death of Jeremy Bentham”.

Old faces, Old times, Same Old “Craphole”!

Kate sure caught the sun. She was as pale as a sheet on-board Ajira, I guess she the hot flash gave her a hot-flush..or was that from seeing Sawyer again?

Loved hearing Sawyer call the barracks “Dharmaville”. It’s not quite up there with “Othersville”, but it beats out “New-Otherton”!

Witnessing Sawyer coming up with the plan to integrate the Island Returners gives me the impression that he’s the thinking man’s Jack. He really is.

Baggy Sweatshirt

So glad Sawyer had one of those or Hugo would have been so screwed.

I was still unsure about the Sawyer/Juliet relationship last time round in “La Fleur”. I liked it, but with ‘freckles’ and ’see no evil’ back on craphole, I was worried that it would be a short-lived relationship (even though technically, it’s been 3 years for them!). But I was pleased with the direction they took in this episode — rather than being over the moon about the other half of the square’s return, they were just worried about them screwing up the good thing they had going with the D.I. And why not? Sawyer’s doing great, he’s actually somebody on the island — a man of power, a man of thought, a man of compassion, and a man of love. And Juliet, well she’s just delivered her first baby in, like, 36 somethin’ years, so whilst this place is death to some, it’s a whole new lease of life for the island’s hottest couple. In other words, 3 years is more than enough to get over someone who never really had your back in the first place!

Radzinsky!!!!!1

I’ve heard so much about you, I’ve seen your mural, your blast doors, your Swan Station, oh, and your brain stain, but it’s so good to see you in the flesh, Mr. Radzinsky!

Now that’s over with, I must say, I like him! I thought they were going to spring a surprise on us and have him turn out to be Faraday or some madness like that. I do wonder though, with him being such an irritant, did he really blow his own brains out, or did Kelvin do himself a favour?

So, we have an approximate date on the Swan Station (and we know that Raddy designed it) — still in blueprint stage by the time the O6′ers returned to the island in 1977, it was probably built a couple of years after that? Can’t wait to see “the incident”, by the way.

Also, when did he get transferred from ‘Flame’ duty to ‘Swan’ duty? Maybe he got a demotion.

Just to clear this up — Radzinsky detected no sign of the Ajira plane crashing on or near the island because they’re in a different time from the likes of Ben, Sun, Caesar, Ilana and Frank. I didn’t give this much thought whilst watching the episode, but I want to make a note of this as it puts into context just how separated, yet near our star crossed lovers of Sun and Jin truly are. It’s quite torturous to think that they are a whisper away from each other in their hearts and minds, but decades apart. It will be interesting to see how this time-disparity is adjusted (if it ever is). I’ll just make a random guess and say it involves Faraday, the Frozen Donkey Wheel or the Incident. heck, why not all three!

Suspicious Minds

Caesar’s suspicious of Frank, Sun’s suspicious of Ben, Ben’s suspicious of Frank, but unfortunately he doesn’t see Sun’s paddle coming – d’oh! I have to say, I detest Sun. Like, really. She is almost as hateful as Kate. Her “I lied” was well delivered, but before you go pinching lines from Ben (aka, the master),  try showing the man some respect. It makes no sense to me that she’s hold Ben accountable for Jin’s death..oh, wait, Jin’s alive?..and why are you able to know that Sun?..why are you back on the island? Because of Ben! That’s right, knock him out, the only guy who actually has a clue as what to do next.

Oh. and by the way Frank - “stick together, and hunker down” is  a valiant effort, but it doesn’t have the goosebumple gravitas of “live together, die alone”

OMFG, it’s Ethan Jnr..snr..jnr-snr!..

I have to say, that was a nice reveal. Ethan was on my list of possibilities, but I had made up my mind that it was Desmond. It’s not that surprising in truth, but it’s still crazy to think that Juliet helped bring Ethan into the world. I think she threw-up in her mouth a little bit when Amy told her the name. Speaking of ‘Jules’, I wonder what happens to her..she has to leave the island before her future counterpart arrives in the late 90’s. Maybe she and some of our time-travelling Losties get caught up in the ole purge?  It just makes me appreciate the idea, that in all of this interchanging of possibilities, the island is our one constant. The island and Alpert, of course.

Do I detect a Juliet/Sawyer baby in the works? “The time has got to be right”. What better time, Jules..what better time? That said, if they do have a kid, it could end up being someone that we already know..heck, it could end up being Sawyer himself. *Scoops brain up from floor*

So what are we supposed to do now?

“I’m not sure yet”.

Clearly Jack is not a man of great initiative (get it?). That’s right, Jack, just stand there and tap the watch your daddy gave you.

I have to wonder though, either fate has their back somewhat, or luck is on their side — with another batch of recruits not due in for another 6 months and a couple deciding not to travel on the incoming sub, it’s a good thing that they arrived when (and where) they did!

Shut up and pretend you don’t know me (P.S. it’s great to see ya!)

Motion detectors, huh? At least now we know how Mikhail knew in advance that Locke, Kate, Sayid (and Rousseau) were approaching the Flame station back in “Enter 77″. Great moment though, seeing Jin and Sayid almost, nearly, oh so nearly re-acqaint themselves before Radzinsky spoilt the party. Important in this scene is the confirmation that Sayid also flashed onto the main island with (well, not quite “with”) Jack, Kate and Hurley..and more importantly, that he flashed back to the same year as they did. What must the D.I. make of his snazzy purple shirt, I wonder?

With all these time-travelling Losties, this fragile “truce” that the D.I. and the “Hostiles” have wont last very long, that’s for sure. It’s weird to think that our Losties could end up being the very thing which triggers the purge – “Whatever happened, happened”, right? I mean, there’s no doubt that their presence back in the Dharma-dayz will influence events — which in turn gives us stunningly new perspective on the modern-day conflict which they had with the “Neo-Hostiles” (aka “the Others”). As I’ve always said, Ben is one of the good guys, I see no reason to break with that viewpoint after what I have seen this season. Sure, it could still go the other way, but I doubt it.

You do realise those dudes get wiped out right?

Thank you Hugo! It seems that Sawyer and the other former-Losties are all too aware of this fact though — Faraday being the principle advocate of the “what happened..happened” mentality. I always did say that guy was a pessimist.

I bet Jack was glad to know that his name was being put on the D.I. recruit list. I guess this kinda makes up for not being on Jacob’s list, right, Shepherd? Oh, and “workman”! I couldn’t have scripted it better myself. How the times are a-changin’, and the roles are a reversin’!

Why are you leaving?

He’s leaving, Sun, because Ben is a man who’s fate is secured — at least in this time (2007). It makes sense that he didn’t get shuttled back to the D.I. heyday, as surely that would cause a paradox..or Casimir Effect..or something. Either way, it looks like Ben is still on a mission, and I’m sure that had he not been whacked out by Sun, his first port of call would have been to go see Richard, or Jacob.

I love how Ben deals with Frank — first he speaks volumes without even uttering a word, and then he reminds Frank that  the mercs killed many innocents — far from having a “sole mission” of just capturing Ben, huh Lapidus. *Michael Emerson is simply fantastic by the way* Too bad Sun can’t be trusted. Different time, but some things..don’t change.

Namaste

Great to see he of many candle-orientated names again! He’s a cantankerous man, but he managed to present a pleasant veil to Jack. Love how he accused the “other side” for their admin error that never was. Looks like he should be keeping a closer eye on his own people *cough* LaFleur *cough*.

Jack’s face as Pierre heralded LaFleur’s “tight operation” was very revealing — though both Jack and Sawyer respect one another, there’s clearly still a great rivalry between them. Dare I say Jack is jealous that Sawyer’s managed to make a life for himself (and Jules) on the island? I bet he’s wondering just where this ‘big crisis’ is –  dude probably envisaged the island burning to a cinder as Jules, Sawyer and the rest of the tragic island residents cried out for his help.

Could Kate look anymore suspicious? Sheesh, good thing Juliet was there to save her ass..with a courtesy ’smile’, of course.

So, the “Hostiles”/”Others” didn’t know about the Swan afterall?

Radzinsky’s concern over Sayid possibly glimpsing the model of the Swan station and the location of where they were building it, implies that it was being built in D.I. secrecy; without the “hostiles” knowledge or planning permission. I guess it’s on of the advantages of this “line” business — the other side can’t see what’s going on over on the other side. This gives new context to Ben’s 2004 venture in the the said station, and his mocking of it’s importance. Then again, surely young Ben knew about the Swan, so perhaps the “Hostiles/Others” did know about it through him? OK, my reasoning is clear now – That would also make sense that they did know about the Swan (prior to Ben’s capture in “One of Them”, because they knew that Desmond was down there, as they had CCTV footage of the Swan from the ‘Pearl Station’.

Interesting also to note Radzinsky’s “quick draw” execution style mentality. Goes to show that the D.I. were far from peace-loving hippies. Ironic that it should be LaFleur, the same man who has executed grandpas with rusty chains, who elects for the peaceful resolution. Not that he was ever going to murder his old pal Sayid, mind.

I enjoyed Sawyer’s mock interrogation, but more interesting was hearing the “terms of the truce”, and the rather ironic statement from Sayid  regarding the fact that “the Others” do not see themselves “hostiles”. I guess this is as much an admission of regret (over the way that he handled his future encounters with “the Others”) as we’re going to get. As a member of the ‘Ben Foundation’, I accept your apology on their behalf, Sayid.

Probably just an animal

No Sun, it’s Smokey. Don’t go down the Jack route of “the island didn’t move” style denial.

It’s still weird to think that Sun and Frank are occupying the same space in a different time from the rest of their pals.

Good to see that Christian Shepherd and his ghostie pals have upgraded from Jacob’s cabin to Dharmaville. I’m still dubious about which side he represents. Somehow, I don’t think it’s Jacob. Somehow, I don’t think he has every-one’s best interests at heart. It’s like he’s watching a game unfold, a game where he knows the probable outcome, and he’s just pushing the pieces into the right positions and down the right paths (“right” being a relative term). I guess that’s what they call “fate”. Hmph. We need a bit of freewill up in this joint.

Nama-what?

Oh, Hugo. *rolls eyes*

Meanwhile, we have a “code14J” coming through. That causes a few guilty looks from those Losties lucky enough to end up in the right place at the right time.

Yes, Jack, James is tappin’ that

To be fair, Jack masked his jealous rage very well. This scene was one of the best of the entire season — it really brought home the changing roles in changing times. Sawyer gave Jack a lesson in psychology that only Locke and Ben have previously managed to do. Although somewhat conveniently, he distanced himself from Jack’s ‘battle with the Others’. Yeah, because you had no beef with them did ya, James? From what I can remember, “LaFleur” hated Locke and Ben’s guts (and their love for the island) nearly as much as Jack did. Sawyer may be a “thinking man” now, but his plans were pretty “piss-poor” back in the day. Or should that be, forward in the day? Needless to say that Sawyer enjoyed this latest game of “let’s get a ruler” between himself and Jack.

Sawyer compared himself to Winston Churchill, whilst he compared Jack to..erm..Jack – a guy who reacts, who goes in without a plan (like getting on-board Ajira without asking any questions first, lol!)..a character trait highlighted by Locke way back in season 1, when Claire got kidnapped by little baby Ethan (lol). Not much changes, huh, Jack — right back were you started. This very visual time-travel arc says so much about the metaphor of “Lost”, and it’s cyclical journey through freewill and fate, fate and freewill, freewill and fate..

To be fair to Jack, he didn’t react to Sawyer’s taunts, it was obviously killing him inside to have to listen to Sawyer crush his ego like a tree frog. But I get the sense that 1977 Jack has something that he didn’t have ‘the last time around’ — he’s now somewhat of a believer..not only in the island, but in his own role in it’s future. Like with any faith, a bit of assurance can get you a long way.

Lil’ Ben

This has to be the best moment of the episode — as a Ben fan from the very beginning, it was amazing to see his relationship with Sayid come full-circle like this. Sure, we all assumed that Ben HAD to have been on the island around about the time that the O6 returned, but to see his ‘introduction’ play out in the brief, yet rewarding way that it did, was simply amazing. What must have been going through Sayid’s head when he realised that this young, unassuming geek would grow up to become the leader of the Others and long-time antagonist, sometime ally, Benjamin Linus?

It’s moments like this when I’m reminded why “Lost” is quite simply the best, most layered, most rewarding, most delectable show on television.

Next week? I can’t wait!

Namaste..and good luck.