Season 03 Episode 14 - Expose

Para-liars.

This week we got something new. A show where half the flashbacks happened on the island and a timestamp on them to boot. We also got the long awaited backstory on Nikki and Paulo, the two newbies this season. For the last few weeks, the Lost boards have been buzzing with the news that Nikki has a seedy past as a stripper. It turns out the truth is much, much worse.
She's an actress.
Oh and a murderess.


Old friends stopped by to say hello, Billy Dee Williams showed up and we got to see the first few weeks on the island from a different perspective. We learned that Paulo knew far more about the island and the Others than anyone else on the beach, but for his own reasons chose not to share what he knew. Bad Paulo!

The big surprise for me was that for once, we got an episode that completely shot down a theory that's been floating around the net all season. More on that later.

Finally, we can all now stop asking "Who the hell are Paulo and Nikki?" The real question has to be "What was the point of Paulo and Nikki?" Surely there was a point.

More on murder, theft, betrayal, lies, spiders, one less Lost theory and a crap load of diamonds after the jump.

The opening this week is a shot of Nikki running desperately through the jungle. She stops to quickly bury something with her bare hands and then gets up and plows on through the jungle.

Cut to her being introduced at a strip bar as "Corvette". Insert adolescent male "vroom vroom" noises and spanking jokes to taste.

As she dances, she sees a man walk through the club with a briefcase. She bursts in to the office just in time to see the case opened, revealing wads of cash being handed over to...Billy Dee Williams?

First "Jabba", then the Old Wookie Prisoner Gag and now Lando Calrissian. This show sure knows how to make us geeks feel right at home. Sparkly bikinis and Star Wars.

An incredibly cheesy exchange between Lando (who we learn is Mr. LaShade and also "The Cobra" - hmmm...bad guy masquerading as a good guy...) and Corvette follows and then just like Han Solo before him, Lando shoots first.

(*Geek side note: Han really did shoot first, no matter how many times Lucas tries to CGI us into believing that Han and Greedo decided to settle their differences though a frank discussion of their grievances over a nice mocha chino.*)

Did she really say "Razzle Dazzle" before kicking the henchman in the face?

By this time, if you haven't figured out that The Cobra and Corvette are characters on a really bad tv show, you really need to burn your Baywatch DVDs.

Sure enough, "Cut" is called and that's a "Series wrap" on the show "Expose" for Nikki. The director/producer takes her aside and suggests that perhaps they could resurrect the character with some (not so) creative writing, but Nikki knows that she's a guest star and what the fate of all guest stars must be. Her character is dead.

Is it just me or has Lost gotten into the habit of talking directly to the audience lately?

Then there's the big reveal that she loves the man she's talking to, a guy old enough to be her grandfather. They kiss.
Greybishop pauses his DVR to go have a shower.
Eeew.

Sawyer is trying to improve his ping-pong game, going best out of five, and then best of seven against the island's resident table tennis shark, Hurley.
As they play, Nikki stumbles out of the jungle and collapses. As Sawyer heads into the jungle to get help, the stripper/actress/molestee breathes one last word to Hurley.

"Dude. Nikki's dead."

"Who the hell's Nikki?"

I almost expected Sawyer to break the fourth wall and wink at us.

(*Theatre buff side note: When a character in a tv show, movie or stage show talks directly to the audience, it is known as "Breaking the fourth wall," which implies that we the audience suspend our disbelief and in effect become the fourth wall of the stage. In recent weeks, Lost has come very close to breaking the fourth wall, particularly with reference to Paulo and Nikki.*)

84 days ago, Nikki and Howie are having a meal together. Howie introduces Nikki to his new chef, Paulo. Apparently, back home, Paulo is the "Wolfgang Puck" of Brazil. Brazil...I wonder if Paulo plays chess or owns a parka?

It seems that Paulo heard that Howie was hiring and showed up at his office every day until he got the job.

I must say, I was surprised that Paulo was a chef. Somehow I just assumed he was a plumber.

Howie passes Nikki a homemade roll and when she removes it from the basket, there's a bracelet behind it. As Howie explains that one day it will be a ring, not just a bracelet, he starts showing signs of heart attack. In moments, he's gone.

Nikki rips open the dead man's shirt and removes a key from around his neck.
"I would have loved it if you could have figured out a way where I didn't have to eat the same food as him."

Not just a bad actress with a great body. A bad person. With a great body.

Bonnie and Clyde head into a walk in closet and open a safe that contains stuff that is "Way off the books." As they open the safe, Paulo tries to light an post murder smoke, but Nikki points out that ashes from the cigarette would be evidence and stops him before he can get it lit. Inside the safe, they find...a Russian nesting doll.

"Razzle freakin' Dazzle."

Do I hear more tapping on that fourth wall?

The Scooby Gang is gathered around Nikki's corpse, discussing what might have happened to her. There's no obvious signs of what might have killed her, so the idea of poison comes up. Sun suggests that they check the food supply to be sure. Doing his best Quincy impression, Charlie notices "gunk" under her fingernails.

Sawyer recounts how she stumbled out of the jungle, face planted and said something like "Plywood".

Hurley thought it was "Power lines."

As they discuss it, the big man realizes that it wasn't "Power lines" but "Paulo lies."

"Who the hell's Paulo?"

Knock knock.

Hurley explains that Paulo is her husband or boyfriend. Sawyer wonders where Paulo might be, because if he lies, that's probably a good place to start.

80 days ago, at the airport, Paulo reads an article to Nikki about the man they killed. He was found dead in his home, apparently of heart failure. They seem to have gotten away with it. Happiness and kissing ensue. Nikki notes that he's chewing gum, so he shows her the nicotine gum he's using to help him quit smoking.

Old friends Shannon and Boone show up in the lounge, but there's no where for them to sit. Shannon's bitchy whining draws Paulo and Nikki's attention even before Boone asks if he can borrow their spare chair. When Shannon brow beats Boone into leaving the lounge, Nikki asks Paulo to promise that they'll never end up like them.

Well....

On one hand, unless their parents get married to each other, there's not much danger of that. Of course, there's that pesky dying on Mystery Frickin' Island similarity they might have to watch out for.

From the airport, flash forward to the first few moments after the crash. During the mayhem, Nikki searches frantically for Paulo. During her search, one of the Season 3 theories about her and Paulo is put to bed. For a while there has been speculation that somehow our resident time traveller, Desmond, had managed to change something in the past, which resulted in Paulo and Nikki taking the place of Rose and Bernard on the plane, explaining why the older couple have been so conspicuously absent all season. We see Boone killing Rose with kindness just before Jack rushes in and performs CPR just as badly.

So. No switcheroo. So where are Rose and Bernard anyway?

Just after she sees Boone and Rose, Nikki is stopped dead in her tracks and looks up at part of the plane wreckage. She seems to hear something. This maybe?

Then all hell breaks loose as Mr. Darwin-was-SO- right backs his about to be hamburger ass right into the still running jet engine.

Seconds after the explosion, she finds Paulo and turns him over. Only it's not Paulo, its a completely unexploded Dr. Leslie Arzt. He frantically asks Nikki if they survived and if he's ok. You don't suppose he thinks that he died and is in Limbo or Purgatory do you?

Knock, knock.

In my favourite scene of the week, Boone runs up to Nikki (slinky little flowered dress, no purse) and asks if she has a pen. If you recall, he's looking for a pen to do the "Father Mulcahey from M.A.S.H. style Tracheotomy" on Rose. Nikki naturally gives him the "What the hell could you possibly want a pen for?" look and moves on.

Finally, she spots Paulo and rushes to him. The second she sees that he's basically hale and healthy, she asks about the bag.

The Scooby Gang follow Nikki's trail back into the jungle and come upon another corpse.

"I'm guessin' that's Paulo."

He's just like Nikki, no wound or evidence of trauma. Oddly, his pants are undone and one of his shoes is lodged in a tree across the clearing.

When Jin goes to taste the water from the bottle Paulo was carrying, Sawyer stops him and dumps the water. He's thinking it might be poisoned. Hurley reminds him that the water is "evidence" and that Sawyer is contaminating the "crime scene".

"Crime scene? Is there a forensics hatch I don't know about?"

Knock, knock.

Jin cuts the conversation short before the CSI jokes can start to fly. He figures that the culprit is obvious:

"Monster."

75 Days ago, Nikki is reassuring Paulo that "There's no such thing as monsters." Paulo, like Hurley before him, speculates that it might have been a dinosaur. "It's not Jurassic Park, Paulo, it's the South Pacific."
She snaps Paulo's focus back to the missing bag and their ill gotten diamonds. They have to find them before they get rescued, since they Coast Guard won't wait around for them to find their missing luggage.

Just then, Ethan (You remember Ethan, right? Plumber, surgeon, corporate recruiter, kidnapper, brain-washer, spy, clothier...makes a helluva martini...) emerges from the jungle and suggests that the couple might find their missing luggage further inland, since the plane broke up over the island.

(*Lost fan WTF: Why would Other, Ethan, encourage these two to explore inland? After all, they might stumble on one of the hatches or Otherville's sonic fence...*)

During the discussion, Arzt flies by yelling "Boone! Boone took the water."

Just as the mob prepares to lynch Mr. Cheekbones, Jack returns and gives his signature "Live together, die alone" speech. Oddly, he makes no mention of tattoos, Volkswagon microbuses or secret hatches, all of which are vital to island survival.

Speaking of dying, as they carry the bodies to the rapidly growing island grave yard, Hurley is voicing his opinion as to what killed the couple voted "Most likely to make ridiculously good looking Island Children". He figures it's the monster, just like Jin.

"Locke said when Eko died, his last words were: 'You're next' and Nikki and Paulo were with them. He was talking about them"

"He wasn't saying 'You're next' about them. He was saying 'You're next' as in 'You're all next.'"

"Yeah, that's not really better."

Sawyer figures that the best way to find out about "Nina and Pablo", the two dead "jabonies" is to start with the stuff in their tent.

(*Lost Fan Side Note: I guess that using nicknames on the dead doesn't count against Sawyer's "No nicknames for a week" stake.*)
(*Lost Fan Grin: Jin has this week's best line: "Ja bone ees?"*)

57 Days ago, Nikki's boobs ask Dr. Arzt for help in finding her lost luggage. She takes an interest in his growing collection of biological samples, particularly a spider, latradactus regina, the Medusa spider. A female of the species excretes pheromones strong enough to draw every male for miles. Charmed beyond all capacity for coherent thought, Arzt naturally agrees to help her boobs find their lost luggage.

(*Geek side note: I could only find one spider variety with the name "regina" in it's Latin name, "Pediana regina", which is a spider of unknown toxicity and ugly as sin to boot...*)

Paulo seems a tad jealous of Leslie and his spiders. He brings up the fact that she slept with Zuckerman to facilitate their theft of the diamonds in the first place. She reminds him that she did that for them both. As they argue, they stumble on the infamous Beechcraft still lodged in the jungle canopy. Nikki suggests that Paulo climb up and check for a radio, but he balks at the idea of climbing up into a plane perched so precariously in the trees. Good thing too. Otherwise, Boone would have had to find some other damn fool way to die.

As they start crossing the clearing, Nikki spots the latch handle of the Pearl Station. They clear it off and open it. Paulo wants to go down and check it out, but this time it's Nikki who balks. She figures that exploring a deep dark hole in the ground is at least as foolish as climbing up into the Beechcraft and it's obvious that their missing bag won't be in the hole.

As the Scooby Gang go through the deceased couple's things, they find some of Dr. Arzt's bug collection and a script for "Expose". Hurley knows the show.

"It's like Baywatch, only better." Um...Hugo...nevermind.

He's stoked to discover that Nikki was on the show and that LaShade is "The Cobra".

"The Cobra is this big bad guy who's identity's been shrouded in mystery for four seasons."

Knock, knock.

Along with bugs and scripts, the deceased duo had a walkie talkie. Sawyer figures that Nikki and Paulo were working with the Others.

48 days ago, Shannon and Arzt are confronting Kate about the case of guns that she and Sawyer found in the jungle. While Incest Girl and Boom Boom are concerned about something as important as a case of guns not being shared openly with the camp, all Nikki wants to know is just precisely where Kate found the case.

The two head to the Grotto of Love where Kate found the case and Nikki gets Paulo to do the hard part. Personally, I was hoping for a repeat of the Kate strip-down that we got the first time we saw the Grotto, but alas, it appears that Nikki's clothes only come off when there's a bigger audience than just Paulo. The chef dives in, finds the bag they're looking for and since he's no longer sure of his lady's loyalty, when she asks if he found anything, he lies through his perfect teeth that he only found bodies, no bag.

Back at the makeshift cemetery, the Scooby Gang is discussing the possibility that the couple might have been working for the Others all along. When Charlie asks why then would the Others decide to kill Nikki and Paulo if they were working with them, Sawyer's answer is "Who knows why those people do anything."

Is there even a fourth wall left?

Hurley is skeptical. He reminds everyone that he was with the Others two weeks ago and they're based on the far side of the island. Sun isn't so sure since she was nearly abducted by them. Charlie and Sawyer looks just a bit nervous when she mentions that uncomfortable bit of business. Eager to change the subject, Sawyer draws his gun (??) and heads off to do a "Perimeter sweep" and see if he can see any sign of "Them".

32 Days ago, Paulo is popping nicotine gum and digging a hole on the beach when Locke walks up and asks what he's doing. When Locke realizes that Paulo isn't going to tell him why he's digging a hole, he offers up some friendly advice.
"Things don't stay buried on this island. The beach is eroding. Winter's coming, high tide. Whatever it is you're hidin', make sure you pick a spot that won't wash away."

Paulo does just that. The Pearl Station. He explores it alone and finds the perfect spot to hide the Russian nesting doll: The toilet tank.

Just as he's getting ready to hide the doll, he hears voices outside.

"Who left this open?"

"Tom was down here a couple of days ago."

It's Ben and Juliette! They've come to the Pearl Station to take a peek at Jack.

While they spy on him, they discuss how Ben is going to convince the good doctor to perform the surgery.

"I find out what he's emotionally invested in and I exploit it."

Turns out that Ben has already figured out a way to get Michael to bring Kate, Sawyer and Dr. Jack at the run.

On his way out, Paulo snags a walkie that the Others left behind.

When Sherriff Hurley asks Desmond if he might know anything about Nikki and Paulo's death, he tells the big man that he saw Nikki yelling at Sawyer this morning. Hurley takes the info to Sun and Charlie to get the rest of the Scooby Gang's opinion on the Sawyer situation. During the conversation, Vincent runs off with the tarp that they covered the bodies with.

After Hurley leaves, Charlie reveals his part in Sun's abduction.

9 Days ago, Locke is leading a group to the Pearl Station to check out its computer in the hopes that it can help them find their people. He asks if anyone wants to come along, and Nikki immediately volunteers. Paulo is surprised, but she points out that he's always complaining about not being involved and now's their chance.

While the group explores the hatch and tries to determine if any of the equipment can be salvaged, Paulo retrieves the diamonds from the Russian nesting doll, flushing the toilet to cover the fact that he took a shit load out of the toilet.

At the cemetery, Hurley confronts Sawyer about his argument with Nikki. Sawyer explains that Nikki wanted him to give her a gun. Turns out that he wanted to follow the lead of the dirt under Nikki's nails and see what it turned up and that's why he didn't tell the group about his run in with her. He figures that anything that is important enough to bury when you are moments away from death must be pretty special. He tosses Sun the diamonds to prove that he had nothing to do with the couple's death.

12 hours ago, Nikki asks Paulo if he realizes that Thanksgiving was 2 weeks ago. Paulo reassures her that they'll get rescued. He has a new way of looking at things, like the bag with the diamonds. All that money might have torn the two of them apart. After he leaves, Nikki finds the nicotine gum that was in their luggage and realizes that the bastard has been lying to her murderous face all this time. She heads immediately for Sawyer and the stash of guns she thinks he has. She finds Sawyer deep into Agatha Christie's mystery "Evil Under the Sun". He refuses to give her a gun, mainly because she seems pretty ticked off and nothing good ever came of the combination of an angry woman and a 9mm.

Agatha Christie will tell you that it just ain't that simple to stop a woman bent on killin' somebody.

"How 'bout you go stick your head in the ocean and cool yourself off."

"Thanks for nothin'."

"And who the hell are you?"

Knock...oh, nevermind.

At the cemetery, with a "Thanks for nothin'" of his own, Sawyer closes Nikki's eyes for the last time and sets to work digging the grave for the couple.

Sun stops by and tells him what Charlie told her.

"You gonna tell Jin?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because then we'd have to dig another grave."

She leaves him with the worthless diamonds and a solid slap across the face.

(*Sun fan side note: Was I the only one who read serious attitude in her walk away wiggle? Awesome.*)










Hurley conducts a brief memorial for the fallen couple.

Sawyer tosses the diamonds into the grave.

8 hours ago, Nikki leads Paulo into the jungle. When they are in deep enough, actress Nikki drops the facade and tells Paulo that she knows he has the diamonds because she found the nicotine gum that was packed with them. She tosses one of Dr. Arzt's Medusa Spiders at him and it bites him as he kills it. The Medusa Spider's venom doesn't kill but it does paralyze. Paulo will be unable to move for about 8 hours and his heart rate will drop so low that even a doctor would have a hard time finding a pulse.

She searches the rapidly fading Paulo, removing his shoe and tossing it away. When she doesn't find it there, she tries the next logical spot and undoes his pants. Lo and behold, along with his Brazil Nuts, the diamonds.
As the paralysis takes hold, he tries to explain that he did it because he was afraid of losing her over the diamonds. Riiiight.
Of course, Nikki forgot about the hormone that the female spider produces that brings the males running. Right up her leg. Hey, if I'm a male spider, that's where I'm going too.

Was that Smokey we heard just as the Spider Cavalry rode in?

She gets bit, and now we return to that opening scene of her running through the jungle and furiously burying the diamonds before crashing onto the beach where Hurley and Saywer are playing ping-pong.
Not "plywood" or "power lines" or even "Paulo lies".
Nope.
"Paralysed"

The grave gets filled in and just before the first shovelful hits her face, Nikki's eyes snap open. No one notices and they continue to fill in the pit until it's completely covered.
So, for all the Nikki and Paulo haters, they're gone.
Of course, like Locke says, "Nothin' stays buried on this island."
In the greatest ironic twist I can imagine, I almost hope they do come back, because if they don't they were pretty much pointless.

Season 03 Episode 13 - The Man From Tallahassee

SUBterfuge.

There's good news and bad news this week.
The good news is that some of the tenuous connections that have been implied over the last two and a half seasons are looking like they might actually dovetail together and answer a few of the questions that Lost fans have been asking. If Locke's father is indeed "The Man From Tallahassee" which he certainly seems to be, then there may just be a final confirmation that Locke's con man Father is the same con man that created con man Sawyer by destroying his family. All indications point to it. There's further good news in that we are likely going to get a sure to be fantastic scene between Locke and his Father, very soon.

The bad news? Locke's pop may have come out of a magic box.

A. Magic. Box.

Remember the cat in the box? I'm beginning to regret making the connection.

Episodes like this one are often described as "Pivotal". The episode when Fonzie jumped the shark was "pivotal" too.

Has Lost lost it? Read on.

This week opens with Locke's life in someone else's hands. In this instance the "someone else" is a government bureaucrat who is going to suspend his disability insurance until he returns to therapy. I'll admit my surprise when Locke stood up and walked out of her cubicle. He was on disability for depression, and at this point in his life he was fully ambulatory.

Nice foreshadowing as the camera follows Locke walking out of the office past a huge shelf unit full of (what else?) boxes.

One thing that the producers, writers and make-up folks have mastered is deflating John Locke's dignity for the flashback sequences. The formula is a simple one: Add hair.

One close shave later, Locke, Sayid, Kate and Rousseau are right where we left them last week: Watching Jack pal around with the Others, seemingly enjoying himself and their prisoner no more. As they watch, Rousseau grows frustrated and leaves without a word. When they observe Jack shaking hands with a wheelchair bound Ben, Locke sums up the situation in one sentence.


"This is gonna be more complicated than we thought."




Assuming that Lost has the often projected five season run, this episode was the first episode of the second half of the show's run. For those that thought that we'd start seeing some resolution to some of the mysteries that have been introduced so far, now that we're past the mid-way point, I refer you back to Locke's statement. Don't expect any big answers just yet, folks. If you want answers, real answers, best hop in your time machine, set it for two years in the future and fire it up. Between now and then, we're just going to get teased. Mark my words.

Once they notice that Rousseau is gone, the band of three regroup to make plans for Jack's rescue. While Sayid and Kate argue over the best way to rescue him, Locke gives them pause by reminding them that Jack is supremely logical and self sacrificing. Locke figures that if Jack is shaking hands with the Others, he must have a good reason. A reason they just have to figure out. His approach is to wait until dark, get to Jack when he's alone and rescue him if he needs rescuing. His plan makes a lot of sense, as far as it goes.

Flash back to Locke in his apartment, eating a tv dinner.

Anyone catch what show was on the tube? I only caught two women's voices talking about stolen Bolivian gold and an armed man "behind winged victory" which tells us that the scene in question takes place in the Louvre in Paris, none of which seems at all relevant, but I try not to dismiss anything. I'd bet money that whatever the show is, it's about some kind of con.

A knock at the door proves to be a young man named Peter Talbot. A quick google gives a whole bunch of Peter Talbot's to choose from, but the three most interesting were Peter Talbot, the Archbishop of Dublin from 1669-1680, a Canadian politician and an M.D. who started a nano-tech firm and holds numerous patents in the field of solid-state chemistry, automated chemical manufacture and nano-materials.
Probably all irrelevant, but being a Lost fan has turned me into a google-aholic every time they add a name to the mythology, so I share.

Talbot wants to talk to Locke about his mother and someone named "Adam Seward" (Google only turned up a football player for the Carolina Panthers) who is courting her. Talbot had a gut feeling about "Seward" and it wasn't a good feeling, so he checked him out. He knows that "Seward" is actually "Anthony Cooper" and that Locke donated a kidney to him. He's hoping that the donation means that "Seward" is not the villain that Talbot thinks he is. Locke lies that the donation was an anonymous one.

Night has fallen at the Others' compound, so Locke deploys Sayid to guard the front door while he goes around the back, sending Kate in alone to confront Jack. Entering the house, Kate finds a neat, tidy home and a fairly neat and tidy Jack playing piano alone. She's obviously surprised and stands there watching him for a while before he sees her. He tries to send her away, knowing that he's being watched and that she's in danger. When the Others burst in and capture her, they bring Sayid in too and demand to know who else is with them. She lies that it was just the two of them.

Ben wakes up and feels the presence of someone else there. He calls out for Alex, but Locke answers the call and comes through the door. Ben tells him that can tell him where Jack is.



"I'm not lookin' for Jack. I'm lookin' for the submarine."



(*Fan side note: You remember the submarine, right? The one that brought Bakunin to the island. The submarine that is able to leave the island but for some reason unable to return without the underwater sonar beacon that is no longer working. Anyone out there who is familiar with my rantings...er, theories about Lost will know about Greybishop's longstanding "Island in a Bottle" theory. I've been saying for as long as I've watched the show, the island is somehow physically isolated from the real world, "In a bottle" so to speak. Last weeks tidbit about the sub and the beacon just added to the theory which resulted in a Greybishop Happy Dance in my living room. *)

While Ben lamely tries to deny the submarine's existence, we know it exists, and so does John.

Alex has the misfortune of picking that moment to check on her Dad, giving Locke the opportunity to take her hostage and use her as leverage against Ben. As he grabs her, Tom comes a knockin' too. Locke and Alex slip into the closet and watch as Tom delivers the news that "Austen and Jarrah" have found their way into the village and are being held. Tom's not alone either. Ben asks "Richard" to stay and to bring him "The Man From Tallahassee".

Locke suspects that "The Man From Tallahassee" might be code for something, but Ben assures him that the Others "...don't have a code for 'There's a man in my closet with a gun to my daughter's head,' although we obviously should." Second best line of the episode.

Locke sends Alex to retrieve Sayid's pack. She may currently hate Ben, but he's still her Father and she obviously wants to protect him.

Locke tracks down Cooper and confronts him in a flower shop where Cooper and his pigeon de jour are shopping for flowers for the wedding. Locke uses his knowledge of Cooper and his tactics to force the con man to call off the wedding. He's not going to let him ruin any more lives, because what Cooper does is "Not Fair" to his victims.

Back in Ben's room, Ben asks Locke to help him get into his chair, to allow him some dignity. After a pointed remark about dignity and what Locke knows about wanting some dignity, the conversation turns to the submarine and how Locke plans to pilot it.

"For all you know, I was a commander in the Navy."

Locke doesn't know that Ben probably has already had "John Locke - A History" discussed at the local Book Club. The look he gets from Ben when he says that is priceless.

Ben knows that there's every chance that John took explosives from the communications station and that Locke is planning on destroying the submarine. Ben knows Locke. He knows that he was born in California, raised in foster care, wasted years of his life pushing paper at a box factory, that he spent the four years prior to his arrival on the island in a wheelchair and how he ended up in it.

"Tell me John, did it hurt?"

"I felt my back break. What do you think?"

Kate Houdini is working her way out of the restraints that hold her hands behind her back when "I'm Tom, by the way" brings Jack to see her, warning him with a gesture to remember that they're being observed and listened to.

Jack tries to explain to Kate why he's acting so comfortably with the Others. Turns out that he made a deal and they're going to let him go. They're going to let him go home. He plans to try to bring back help.

When she asks how he can trust these people, he reminds her that she told him to trust them when she asked him to save Sawyer's life. She doesn't know that Jack saw her bear-ing down on Sawyer...

Juliet comes in and forestalls any further uncomfortable conversation between the two. As he leaves, Jack promises that he will come back for her.

In the parking lot of his building, two police detectives confront Locke and ask him about Peter Talbot. He lies that the young man was a solicitor and that he sent him away. Turns out that Talbot's family is worth around 200 Million dollars, that he had Locke's name and address in his pocket and that he's dead.

As Locke watches the compound through the window, Ben tells him how difficult it was being locked in the hatch, seeing John, knowing about his history and his condition and not being able to ask him about it without giving away his own identity. Now that Locke knows who he is, he suggests Ben ask his questions.

Ben seems uncharacteristically eager to follow John's lead and starts in with the questions.

"Was it immediate? It started the moment you got here?"

"Yeah."

"And you were just walking, the feeling returned right after the crash, that day."

"That's what immediate means, Ben." Best line of the episode.

Locke realizes that Ben isn't healing as fast as he'd like. Then he follows the logic path that fans have been wondering about for months. How did Ben get sick in the first place?

When he asks that question, Ben deflects with one of his own. "Are you afraid it'll go away, John? Is that why you want to destroy the submarine? Because you know if you ever leave this island you'll be back in the chair?"

John knows how to play the "deflect-a-question" game too. "You got anything to eat?"

Alex finds Sayid chained to a swing set (implying that there are children somewhere about) and manages to convince the guy guarding him to give her his pack. When Sayid calls her by name, she's naturally curious as to how he knows what her name is. He explains that she looks like her mother.

"My Mother is dead."

"I'm sure that's what they told you."

For his trouble, Sayid takes a gun butt to the gut, but he effectively planted some seeds of doubt and dissent in the young woman, which was likely his main intent.

When Locke asks where they get their electricity, Ben answers, "We have two giant hamsters running in massive wheel at our secret underground lair." Third best line of the episode. When Locke opens the fridge, we see a lot of Dharma brand groceries. Yet another connection between Dharma and the Others, that gives us pause as to the exact relationship between them.

Ben tries to explain that Locke blowing up the submarine will cause problems for him as the leader of his people, since not all of them are "fully committed" to remaining on the island for life. If Locke destroys their one means of returning home, the members of the community who still might want to leave someday will become a problem for Ben. Locke wonders if Ben thinks that's somehow an incentive for him not to blow up the sub.

Because John is already "fully committed" to staying on the island, he doesn't need the "illusion" of the possibility of returning to the outside world. Ben wants to show him things he wants to see very badly.

Remember earlier when I mentioned the shark jumping episode of "Happy Days"? I think I hear an outboard motor...

"Picture a box. You know something about boxes, don't you John? What if I told you that somewhere on this island, there's a very large box. And whatever you imagined, whatever you wanted to be in it, when you opened that box, there it would be. What would say about that, John?"

And they're coming up on the ramp. The shark is circling...

"I'd say 'I hope that box is big enough to imagine yourself up a new submarine'."

And ladies and gentlemen, you will be relieved to learn that no sharks were jumped. The jump has been waved off. This week.

A magic box? Ben can't be serious, can he? Really? I hope not. I was just diggin' the sonic fence because it seemed pretty science fiction-ee. Add a magic, wish fulfilling box and we're into territory I have a hard time reconciling with my vision of Lost. I hope that this is just another one of Ben's attempts to manipulate Locke and not an actual object that we will see.

John lets Ben know that he's angry because by using electricity, running water, guns, communications gear and the like, they're cheating. They aren't living as he feels the island inhabitants should. He even calls Ben a "pharisee" which is a word used to describe a sanctimonious, self-righteous, or hypocritical person and that derives from a specific sect of the Jewish religion that differed from and was more strict than the mainstream in its practices. An interesting word choice for a man like Locke. The derivation ultimately comes from an Aramaic word meaning "to separate". Locke probably feels that by using technology the Others really allow themselves to be separated from the island and its special nature.
When Ben asks him how it is that he, a man only 80 days on the island, could know it better than Ben who was born on the island, Locke's answer is as simple as it is damning:

"You're in a wheelchair, and I'm not."

Alex returns with Sayid's pack and Locke takes her with him as a guide, trusting that Ben will not raise the alarm because of her presence.

As they head out the door, Ben tells Locke much the same as what Bakunin told him previously. The communications gear is down, so once the sub leaves, it will never be able to return. Alex seems troubled by this revelation.

(*Continuity side note: Jack tells Kate that he's leaving "First thing in the morning" but Ben tells Locke that the sub is leaving "in less than an hour". Is Jack trying to deceive Kate or is this just some inconsistent writing?*)

As they head to the sub, Alex tells Locke, "You know he's manipulating you right?"

"How's that?"

"That's what my Father does, he manipulates people. He makes you think that it's your idea, but it's his."

"I'll have to keep that in mind." And you should too, because it's a concept that is about to become VERY important.

Locke lets Alex go, apologizing for involving her, then heads to the sub. As she heads back to the compound, in the shadows Rousseau watches her go and the look on the French woman's face tells us that at the very least, she believes that Alex is her daughter.

In a very "Season 1 Cliffhanger-esque" moment, Locke opens the sub's hatch and peers down into the darkness. He then enters the sub and flips the lights on, apparently looking for a good place to plant the explosives.

Ben is tidying up after his visit with Locke, putting the leftover chicken back in the fridge when Jack and Juliette walk in.

Jack has come to ask for one last favour.

Ben's typical atypical response? "You don't knock?" The man is consistent. Never answer a question or offer information when you can ask a question instead.

Jack ignores the jibe and asks his favour. He wants Ben to let his friends go. Ben agrees to let them go, giving his word that he'll let Jack's friends go "Just as soon as you've left the island." What was that Alex was saying about manipulating people being what Ben does?

Juliette thanks Ben for keeping his promise. Little does she know that Mr. Blow-Stuff-Up-Every-Week is down at the submarine as they speak...

Locke gets caught coming from the dock and he's soaking wet. When Jack sees him, he wonders what he's doing there.

"I'm sorry, Jack."

"Sorry for what?"

Naturally, John doesn't have to answer, since the C4 does all his talking.

John confronts Cooper about Talbot's death. John figures that Cooper is responsible, killing Talbot to silence him before he and Locke told Cooper's intended about his real intentions. Pouring a glass of MacCutcheon's Scotch for both of them (with a slight, but visible, hesitation before filling the second glass - hmm...), Cooper tries to calm his son down, explaining that he's a con man, not a murderer. Peter's Mother has called off the wedding and now there's no profit in the game, so it's over.

John wants to confirm Cooper's story. Cooper shows him the phone. Then he shows him the quickest way to the ground floor...through the window.


In the hospital, the two police officers confirm that Cooper is gone and not likely to come back. He could be anywhere in the world by now.

The two cops leave Locke to the tender mercies of a medical professional who just won't take no for an answer. He's going to get Locke out of bed and into the wheelchair, regardless of Locke's protestations. When Locke whines that he can't do it, the response is a new twist on an old Locke-ism.

"John, you fell eight stories and survived. I don't want to hear about what you can't do."

And just like that, he's in the wheelchair. The experience is so overwhelming that Locke is driven to tears.

In a dark room, chained to an overhead pipe, Locke is visited by Ben and Richard, the man we know as Dr. Alpert from Mittelos. When Ben implies that Locke has done something that has put him in serious trouble, Locke responds by telling Ben that he knew all along that Ben wanted him to blow up the sub. That's why the C4 was still in Sayid's pack. Ben wanted to destroy the sub and he manipulated Locke into doing it for him.

(*Remember when I said that we should keep in mind that Ben manipulates people AND that Locke says he'll keep it in mind? Here's why:
Locke came down the dock soaking wet after planting the explosives. He was inside the sub. Why would he be soaking wet?

Two possibilities come to mind.

The first is that in his effort to destroy the sub, he was very thorough, opening the tanks that hold the ballast water (subs go up and down by regulating how much ballast water they carry with pumps) and planting the C4 in the tank to ensure that the sub would sink. Unlikely but given Locke's fascination with strategy games, it's something he might take the extra time and effort to do. Depending on your perspective, it might also be wise because by planting the explosives in the ballast tank, the damage might be repairable in the long run, as opposed to say, blowing up the sub's engine room. A little arc welding and sheet metal and you might be able to use the craft again.

The second is more devious and the one that I think more likely. I think that Locke used that strategy game knowledge and flooded those ballast tanks, sank the sub and swam to the dock. Then he set of the C4, blowing up enough of the dock to make it seem like he'd blown up the sub. That's why he's soaking wet. He had to swim out of a sinking submarine.*)

After Richard releases Locke, Ben explains that if he let Jack go, it would be a sign of weakness that would cause problems for him as the leader. Killing him was also out of the question, because Ben's word had been given and to break it in that way would also cause him serious problems. Then in rides Locke, his pack full of C4 and his penchant for destruction, solving Ben's problems without Ben lifting a finger.

"You're not gonna start talkin' about the magic box again, are you?"

"No, John. I'm gonna show you what came out of it."

Ben wonders if John misunderstood his question about the pain John experienced from his accident. He wants to know what it felt like for John to know his own Father tried to kill him. Ben figures that John destroyed the submarine because he's afraid of Cooper. He's so afraid that he's willing to stay on the island because it's the one place that Cooper can't get to him. John seems to have "Some communion with this island" which makes him very, very important to Ben.

Ben wants to help Locke.

"Why?"

"Because I'm in a wheelchair and you're not."

Richard opens the door that they've come upon to reveal...




The Man From Tallahassee.



I worry that they might be setting that ramp up for another run at making the jump...