Next: “Recon” (Episode 6-08)

“Locke tasks Sawyer with a mission.” We’ll blog our thoughts as soon as we can (Ryan just landed back in Honolulu and may not be fully conscious), but we want to know what you thought about tonight’s episode. Share your feedback, thoughts, theories and questions by posting a comment below, e-mailing us at lost@hawaiiup.com, or calling the LOSTLine at (815) 310-0808.

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235 Responses to Next: “Recon” (Episode 6-08)

  1. Mimi says:

    @Yann – Still doesn’t explain why Ben can’t kill Widmore. Neither is a candidate, at least if they were they are not anymore. Because there are only six left and they ain’t them.

  2. BennyD says:

    If there is on LOST spin off I would love to see, its a Miles & Sawyer Cop Show!!!!!

  3. Pam says:

    There’s no such thing as too much Sawyer for me. In the sideflash his life is dominated by the death of his parents just as it has been for the original Sawyer all along. He punishes con men in general by catching them and his dominating goal in life is to get revenge for this parents’ deaths. But he may be at a point where he has realized that he does not want to continue to be all alone. By telling Miles about his plan to kill Anthony Cooper he greatly reduces the likilhood that he will kill Anthony Cooper if he finds him (because he would be an obvious suspect).

    I was fascinated by the conversation between MIB and Kate. Recent episodes have left me very uncertain about whether Jacob is the good guy and MIB is the bad guy or visa versa. Some of the things MIB said in that conversation troubled me. When MIB talked about his crazy mother I think that he was talking about his own mother, not Locke’s mother, and showing honest emotion. But the motivation for that revelation was to make Kate doubt Clare’s ability to be a good mother. He seems to want Aaron to continue to be raised by someone other than Clare. I am inclinded to believe the warning that it is important for Clare to raise Aaron.

    I am very curious about the “growing pains” that MIB mentioned. He keeps talking about being trapped on the island. Has he been held on the island as a prisioner because of things he did during those “growing pains”? Was Jacob his jailor? Does he pose a danger to the outside world if he leaves the island? Ilana said that the candidates are people who might be able to replace Jacob, but has she described Jacob’s job? MIB has said that Jacob’s job was to protect the island from imaginary threats, but has Team Jacob confirmed that?

    Watership Down is one of the books that Sawyer read on the island. It was Boone’s book and seeing Sawyer with it is what gave Boone the idea that Sawyer had Shannon’s inhaler. Which led to torture, which led to Sayid going off on his own and being caught by Rousseau which led to . . . .

  4. Steve from NYC says:

    @john, @rich – enjoyed reading your posts. I agree Widmore is out for Locke. Rich pointed out some of the symbolism I missed. Do post more.

    @lonestare – Oceanic logo, Battlestar Galactica’s Starbuck painting. Both similar designs with concentric circles. Wonder if that means anything. The circle. BSG’s This has happened before and will happen again. Lost’s What happened, happened. Also, The Wire’s finale did a full circle back to the beginning too.

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/Oceanic.svg

    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3552/3407684904_4a75f46cee_o.jpg

    Back in The Substitute, when Sawyer was pouring drinks in the kitchen, I pointed I think in this site that the salt and pepper shakers looked like the pylons. I thought it was a stretch, but hey, more pylons!

    More numbers. 8:42 – alarm clock, 245, Sawyer’s apartment number.

    There was a weird moment, not sure if my memory is failing me, where in the episode, you saw a gun pointing at someone pov exactly like a 1st person shooter game. That was weird. I always thought the show had a bit of a RPG aspect to it.

  5. Cat says:

    I agree with others above that this episode started out great with Sawyer as a cop with Miles as his partner. Watership down was perfect with the “sub”; Loved seeing Charlotte again etc. I did think the 2nd half of the show was not as strong. Wasn’t happy to see new characters, the double con thing with Sawyer seemed to last inordinately long; The Locke/Kate discussion was weak etc. Overall, certainly not the strongest of shows.

    Loved the pylons being built on Hydra to keep Smokey out. Didn’t Charles leave the island before Darmaville was built? How does he know about how those work?

    How does Widmore know how to get to the island? After all, it was moved by the frozen donkey wheel. Did the bomb going off put it back? Did Jacob somehow lead him there? If so, why? Clearly Widmore and Smokey are enemies but Widmore and Jacob? Didn’t he get thrown off the island by Jacob? I suspect that Widmore is out there for himself trying to take control of the island.

    Mirror showed up again with Sawyer smashing it.

    1/2 the season gone and I guess I thought I would understand more by this point!!!

  6. Steve from NYC says:

    Oh and Locke says, “I am the smoke monster.”

    Wow, a straightforward non-ambivalent declaration. On Lost.

    Of course, he could be lying… not.

    I can see the t-shirts coming.

  7. Steve from NYC says:

    @Yann – How did Sawyer leave the cave? I was thinking about that too.

    Locke tikka, tikka, tikkas up the cliff, throws down a rope?

    There are ladders leading down to a boat?

    This is my favorite:

    Locke turns to Sawyer, “Wanna go for a ride?”, turns into smokey. wraps a smoke tail around Sawyer, throws him up to the top, wheee! 🙂

  8. Yann From France says:

    @mimi: they only got the Lists. They don’t know if they could get crossed. Linus is one and I think Widmore was one also.
    @cat: Widmore was the leader during Dharma time so I guess he saw back then how Smokey was blocked by the sonic fence.
    How he found the Island? Heloise is in charge of the Lampost I guess she told him where to go… after they came to the hospital to take Desmond (“the Island is not done with you”. Heloise helping Widmore is the only way for him to have found Desmond while he was coming to the hospital.

  9. Vaunda from Idaho says:

    I like the use of the name LaFleur, French for the flower, as the code word for the police to bust in. Of course connecting us to James LaFleur, Sawyers pseudonym, in 1977 as a security guard. Remember when he gave Juliette the sunflower and expressed his love. In “Recon” he tries to reconcile with Charlotte with a big sunflower which he drops on the floor. Good mirror image. Everything in the sideways is opposite. Charlotte was not promiscuous or curt before and now is easily laid. She is the adventurous archeologist working with Pierre Chang, Mile’s father, at a natural history museum.

  10. Carol from Boston says:

    I am off Team Dark now. MIB hitting Clare was the last straw. I do like that MIB actually answers questions (for the most part) but he is like an abusive person who does horrible things and then says “sorry but it was for your own good”.

    I can’t say I am on Team Jacob either.

    I am now on TEAM SAWYER which means just get off the damn island already. Let Jacob and MIB and Widmore fight it out themselves.

    I enjoy the flash sideways connections. It’s part of what made the first season so fun, you never know who is going to show up and in what capacity. I didn’t predict “Charlotte” being Sawyer’s date at all. I can’t wait to see who Miles is involved with, any guesses?

  11. Yann From France says:

    @Vaunda: Charlotte was obsessed with Dharma stuff because she wanted to know where she came from. It is no surprise that she would work with Pierre Chang (or god knows how he loves to call himself lately) if he left the Island. Miles did not became a “con man/thug/thief” having a father figure but instead a cop… that was nice.

  12. Bonita in Atlanta says:

    @Mimi – I thought Linus was on the list but was crossed off & we don’t know when that happened. ~I love your proposal that Ford protecting his secret mission was the reason he didn’t out Kate. I, too, wondered what Charlotte was really after in that drawer.

    @ Yann – alas I think we’ll never know how Sawyer left the cave

    @ Rich – I’ll share your cab fare.

    @ Stephanie – I agree about the ambiguity but I don’t think Sawyer has completely lost his leadership. He did say to Whidmore that he wanted safe passage for the people he brings on his boat. Despite all the lying he was doing, this seemed genuine.

  13. Bonita in Atlanta says:

    Overall I loved this episode, nice season one feel but you really had to have seen most all of the series until now to appreciate the intricacies.

    I loved that James Ford is the one nick-named: Jimmy, Dimples, Jim all names he has never before gone by (that we have heard). This lead me to think that his underlying issue is one of Identity and knowing himself. Until he gets that truly straight he can never be other than alone. Only Juliet ever did see the real James Ford. Juliet, please step forward -it’s time for that cup of coffee!

  14. Bonita in Atlanta says:

    Big questions I am wondering:

    Could it be possible 316 could fly again? Lapidus is a pilot, Kate and Sawyer worked on making a runway, Maybe Cindy can be the flight attendent?

  15. Bonita in Atlanta says:

    Favorite lines:
    Sawyer: Is Zoey even your name?
    Zoey: Is Sawyer yours?

  16. Bonita in Atlanta says:

    Loved seeing Michael Landon! His speech included this, ” People aren’t really gone when they die” ->perfect LOST speak.

  17. Bonita in Atlanta says:

    @ Carol from Boston:
    How about Ana Lucia for Miles Girlfriend? She could be friends with Juliet or know her because of a pregnancy issue.

  18. RMO says:

    First time poster here, no one has mentioned the fine fine acting again of Holloway and the near tears when he found Charlotte going through his folder and telling her to get out. Another great performance.

  19. Geef says:

    “eEditor Says:
    March 16th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
    Usually pretty family friendly, tonight’s ep had me reaching for the TiVo ffwd button. 2 Sawyer sex scenes? Really, writers? With only 8 episodes before the final, you’d think such filler could have been avoided. I’m hoping for more quality stuff (like Dr. Linus) next week.”

    “Family Friendly”?!? Sayid slits peoples necks, Clair puts an ax in someones chest, 3 people shot in under 5 seconds, and how many other mind disturbing thoughts… and this is just in this season so far… but 2 non-nude scenes make you feel this is a non-family-friendly episode?!?

    …uh..ok..I kinda think that the show is not family friendly for the reasons I listed.

  20. Joe in TX says:

    Two lines this season keep me thinking that UnLocke is a good guy. When he says, “I’m very disappointed in all of you”. Then last night, “I’ll forgive you”.

    WWJD? 😉

  21. Russell in Raleigh says:

    Couldn’t Widmore afford some tougher looking commandos? His crew looked like the nerds from Chess club running around with guns.

  22. Astro1derboy says:

    Welcome to tonight’s viewing of LOST & Order. ;O) Crazy to see them as cops.

  23. ShannyMac3T0 says:

    Sawyer bare chested with a police badge = heaven. However, Sawyer sleeping with Archeological still nerdy with make up Charlotte = a big old ewww.

    Notice that both Sawyer and Jack have broken mirrors this season.

    I DO NOT want to see another new characters this season. Not ONE when we are still hanging for some old seemingly VERY important characters al la Faraday, Desmond, Charlie, Hawking, Penny to have story closure or even a second of screen time. k? dam.

  24. Bronco says:

    Interesting episode. Not on par with Dr. Linus but pretty darn good.
    The way Sawyer played Widmore and MIB is very reminiscent of ‘Fistful of Dollars’ with Clint Eastwood.
    Another interesting note is that Sawyer talked Widmore into the deal before Widmore actually declared a side. The writers have left a loophole where it is possible that Widmore and MIB are working together, maybe to determine if Sawyer could be trusted?
    Remember that the worst episode of Lost is better than the rest of TV out there, I am thoroughly enjoying the ride!

  25. I have a question… Was Locke’s name on the cave wall or the lighthouse?

    I didn’t think to look for it.

  26. Harold says:

    Mimi, very good inference to explain why Sawyer didn’t arrest Kate in the LA X elevator. Also, there’s no question that Charlotte was looking in the drawer for something other than a t-shirt. To maintain her pretense of being the injured party, she rejects Sawyer’s apology. If she needs no further contact with Sawyer, she must have found what she was looking for.

    Bonita, I like your analysis of Sawyer and his nicknames. Perhaps in this mirrored off-island reality, Juliet will prove to be the mother of Jack’s son, will have or develop some connection to Sawyer, too, and ultimately will see Sawyer die. Or maybe not. They can play the miiror game any number of ways. My favorite line: Sawyer’s (slightly) bonehead-sounding “MY CAR!”

    Did you notice the expressions on Kate when, pinned to the gate, Sawyer tears off her hood. That was pretty convincing and immediate. I say Lily is a very good actress. You Kate-haters.

  27. Harold says:

    Carol from Boston, I resigned from Team Dark when it became clear Locke was killing everyone who insisted upon staying on the island, but his full-power slap of Claire makes me want to rejoin.

  28. Matio from Denver says:

    Two theories:

    Ilana: Rewatching “Dr. Linus”, I noticed that Ilana seems quite upset whenever she mentions “the candidates”. I believe she is jealous that she was not chosen as a candidate. This jealousy will cause her to turn on the candidates at some point.

    Richard: Was not a slave. Probably a member of the crew on the Black Rock. An uprising on the BR caused him to “end up in chains”. Jacob was able to recruit him into his current position due to Richards shame of being a slaver and desire for redemption.

  29. paintergirl1 says:

    I loved the recurring theme of truth in this episode. Miles and James go around and around about this in the flash-sideways. Back on the island, MiB refers to Sawyer as the best liar he has ever met. Again, we have the mirror images that keep popping up in this season.

    Is the Anthony Cooper James Ford is looking for the dad that is invited to Locke’s wedding? Perhaps Locke was adopted instead of in foster care, and it is his adopted father that gets invited.

    I can’t help but love MiB. He is so fatherly to Claire and Kate. His comments about disappointment and inappropriateness during this episode reminded me of Ilana’s comment that Jacob was the closest thing she had to a father. I guess all the best cowgirls also have daddy issues.

  30. Yann From France says:

    @Adam: Remember… MIB crossed his name in the Cave (and that is why people think it is not Jacob’s Cave)
    @paintgirl: MIB lies to Sawyer when he says he is the best liar… come on! Ben is on the Island!
    Those of you who feel like saying “worst episode”… At least Sawyer did not get a tattoo!
    I am calling it right know: the day we see a Kate centric episode where she gets a tattoo… that will be the worst!
    I’ve just been told I will be in Washington DC between July 17-25 in case someone wants to talk about Lost. That would be quite nice.

  31. lucydog says:

    Hi Ryan and Jen,

    I may be in the minority but fabulous episode. I just lost it when they had the extended Little House on the Prairie clip—-I think that was either the episode where Pa has to put down Laura’s horse Bunny or when Laura wishes her baby brother dies and he does die and she asks God to take her instead. Either episode is a complete weeper–with Pa talking about heaven and all. Poor sad Sawyer.

    So, who is MIB’s [and possibly Jacob’s] mommy and why does MIB have mommy issues? Was Charlotte really snooping and if so, why? (Speaking of Charlotte I so wanted her to turn on the stereo and say at some point, post lovemaking, “Oh, I love me some Geranomo Jackson.”) Why was Chip from “Kate and Allie” there?

    I’m babbling but because I did like this episode. Mostly because I think the Sideways world is so interesting and I’m fascinating about how the Sideways world came to be. What made Sawyer still damaged but now a cop. I do fear that he’ll show up at Locke’s wedding and try to take out Anthony Cooper there (with Sayid and Nadia, the neighbors, in attendance, and with Boone and Shannon being the wedding planners, Hurley in attendance as Locke’s boss, et al..)

    I go back and forth on this but MIB seems to really be the bad guy now with the motive of getting Sawyer off the island so he could get into Kate’s head. He is not to be trusted. Not as if we are to trust Jacob, but I do feel now that Locke’s motives are for him, and Jacob, for whatever reason, is trying to do something, good or bad, to the survivors.

  32. corivee says:

    My people,
    Great comments so far. I am so thankful for this forum because I drive my family CRAZY when I talk about Lost.

    My favorite line:
    Miles to Sawyer when he was trying to set him up w/ Charlotte: “What. Do you want to die alone?”

    @Mimi: I LOVE your theory that Windmore and Ben are the newer version of Jacob and MIB. Very interesting.

    @John: I know you said the episode had no “holy crap!” moments that we love but for me, the holy crap moment was when Flocke talked about his disturbed mother. Who is his mother.?? What IS he?? It is keeping me up at night. I went to ABC.com and reread the summary of the “Cabin Fever” episode (sorry, I dont recall what season) and in that ep. Richard visits Locke as a young boy in foster care. Little Locke has a crayon drawing of a smoke monster and a person screaming. Richard gives him a comic book, a rusty knife, a vile of sand and compass. Richard asks Locke if any of the items beling to him and he inspects each one and picks up the sand and the knife. As he is fondling the knife Richard says “Are you sure” and Locke shakes head yes and RIchard leaves and tells the mom he’s not ready or it was a mistake or something.

    My reason for mentioning all this is that Locke and smokey have had a connection since Locke was a kid. How, why, we dont know. John was a preemie who barely survived. Maybe this has something to do with it. Maybe the loophole MIB mentioned was used earlier than we thought. We assume the occupation took place when Locke died but maybe the transfer started when Locke was a baby and only was complete when Locke died.

    Remember, the conversation about the loophole took place as the Black Rock ship was approaching the island. This was hundred’s of years before Locke’s birth. If MIB and Jacob are dieties than time is eternal.

    In that same episode, Richard returns when Locke is a teenager and he is locked in a locker. The principal gets him out and takes him to the office to meet Richard who wants Locke to go to a special science camp. Locke isnt interested and the principal says, “Face it John, you are never going to be the hero, the football star, the homecoming king.” and Locke says, “Dont tell me what I cant do!” SO we never find out if Richard ever took Locke to camp and if he did, what happened there between him and Richard.

    Does anyone remember exactly what Richard says the first time the two meet on the island? Does Locke remember him?

    Does this have anyone else wondering??

  33. Matio from Denver says:

    …oh, and Desmond is behind the locked sub door.

  34. Rich in Cleveland says:

    Finishing my thought from last night, a very deliberate contrast has been set up between the arriving 815 with its’ all-seeing eye and association with water (Oceanic) symbolic of Jacob and the soon-to-be-departing 316 with a logo of the perfect killing machine of a tiger (what immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry?) leaping from a ring of fire.

    This contrast might shed some light on who’s aligned with whom. Recall that Sun was detained after accosting Widmore in London. The implication was that he controlled Oceanic Airlines as part of his vast empire thus strengthening his association with Jacob. Widmore’s allegiance to Jacob is not definitive and could be a test as Bronco said above.

    Three things trouble me about this ambiguity.
    1) If Widmore is aligned with Jacob, by the law of opposition, Ben must be an agent of the dark side. This would be so wickedly diabolical after they redeemed him last week. As I’ve speculated for some time, Ben has received his lists and instructions from Smokey masquerading as Jacob. However, the scene last week in which Smokey set Ben free undercuts the idea of Ben’s awareness that he is deep under cover.
    2) Thy pylons are meant to be the dead giveaway that Widmore is trying to keep Smokey out. Are they? Is it possible they hinder the good visions, whether of Jacob or Eko or other benign spirits? Radio waves.
    3) If Widmore is aligned with Jacob, then Jacob is just as capable of leaving a pile of dead bodies in his wake. Who went all Lord of the Flies on those people? For me, that really raised the stakes and created some cognitive dissonance.

    Odd notes.
    Did you see Zach lugging the Teddy Bear?
    On the rewatch of “Dr. Linus” I thought I saw J-14 on the wall. Wasn’t that the alarm code that came over the phone when Alex disarmed the sonic fence for Keamy?

    In the preview, Richard said “this place is not what you think it is.” I will be calling in when they all wake up from their dream.

  35. Rich in Cleveland says:

    @corivee
    Plus “The Book of Laws.” And a baseball glove. I thought it was a companion piece to Dogen’s baseball until they offered anther explanation.

  36. Tawl in San Diego says:

    @Yann . excellent questions
    – How did Sawyer leave the cave?
    _ Sawyer doesn’t mind having sex with a room full of cops watching and listening?

    Add this question to the list?
    _ Who flew in the food drop to the Losties in Season 1? (The food Hurley found). Widmore doesn’t know where the Island is. The Dharma folks use the sub to go thru a portal in the ocean. Hmm?

    Theory.. Locke’s (secret) half-brother is Ben (same mom). Locke’s name was on the wall, but crossed off.. maybe Ben is actually a candidate. Hmmm?

  37. Josh says:

    Watching last nights episode I thought back to when Eleanore Hawking told Ben that Locke must go back to the island in order to be a substitute. Now everyone took it as being a substitute for Christian Shepherd’s dead body, but as I watched the episode last night, maybe it was a substitute for the Man in Black? Think about it, when Christian Shepherd landed on the island, people began seeing him roam the island, even helping Locke turn the wheel. Then when Locke comes back, Lock is roaming the island. It’s a bit of a stretch but meh.

    So Sawyer knew Kate was in handcuffs, yet did nothing about it in “What Kate Does”, yet they come full circle. Very nicely done. I also don’t think that Claire is done with Kate yet, but that’s just me.

    Now onto what I really want to talk about and that is Richard Alpert. The glimpse of next weeks episode pretty much erased everything that happened on last nights episode. Between Daniel Faraday and Desmond, I have never been enthralled with a character so much, with so little known about him. Next weeks episode is titled “Ab Aeterno”. Latin for: since the beginning of time. We found out that Jacob touched him, but when? We’ll finally get that answered and man am I excited for it.

    Okay, back to last nights episode. At first I thought that lady was simply a survivor off of the plane that didn’t go with Illana, Ben, Sun, Lapidus, etc. Then I thought she was a Protector along with Illana, then I realized that she was with Widmore. Given the fact that they were putting those beams up that encased the village, I’m going to go with that he knows way more about the Man In Black than anyone else, besides Jacob.

    With that said, I’m going to segue into Charles telling Locke that if he didn’t go back to the island, the wrong side would win. As we can clearly see, for now, the wrong side is winning, unless Charles does in fact what Unlocke to win, but why would he want Sawyer to bring him to him for him to kill him? That’s a tad confusing. Anyway, that’s all I have to say about this episode.

  38. Carol from Boston says:

    So many comments and no time to read them yet. But has anybody mentioned the new theme brought up by MIB that we haven’t really considered yet, – mother issues.

    We’ve been thinking so much about the dads we forgot about all the dysfunctional relationships with the mothers.

    Locke- Mom was crazy and gave him up to Anthony Cooper for money.
    Sawyer – mom got involved with Anthony Cooper and lost all the family’s money and when his dad found out all hell broke loose.
    Jack- his mom seems to be dependent on him for every little thing, wants him to “fix” everything.
    Hurley- loving mom, but she never got over his dad leaving him.
    Jin- mom was a prostitute, so he grew up not having a mom. Ironically he had a wonderful dad that he was ashamed of because he was a fisherman.
    Kate- mom involved in abusive relationship, exposing Kate to a miserable life and leaving Kate’s stepdad the man she really looked up to and admired.
    Clare- had a fight with her mom causing the accident that put her in a coma.
    Daniel – Mom killed him (need I say more)
    Miles- Mom never told him the truth about his father because she didn’t understand why she had to leave the island.
    Shannon- stepmother made her life miserable
    Boone – totally under his mother’s control

  39. Ben Mc says:

    This episode was a way bigger deal than most people give it credit for.

    We know Locke Monster is evil incarnate, now we learned that he had a crazy mother also overcome with evil like Claire.

    There’s a locked door on the sub. Hmm.

    Locke isn’t on anyone’s “side”. Atheist?

    Locke Monster fills people with “hate” to drive them. He sounds even further devilish.

    Locke Monster smacks around his little evil drones like they are nothing to him.

    The Widmore thing – well, I don’t think they’ve really given us enough to go on, they want us to keep guessing a little. Notice that neither Widmore NOR Lock Monster commented on the self-concocted idea of Sawyer. They may be playing him.

    Lastly, one thing I want to point out about good and evil. If you are still fighting that Jacob is supposed to represent God, think about this, God was never all butterflies, rainbows and smiles. There is something called the “wrath of God”. He allows you free will, he will let you repent to save your soul, BUT, God tests people (he tested his own son a few times), he purges villages of people who don’t believe, he manipulates situations to test the free will of the people.

    But the devil – pretty simple. Deceitful, liar, violent, manipulative, hateful.

  40. Connie in Oregon says:

    I have been really pondering Richard Alpert’s background and a lot of things make me wonder. Right from the start, when we first begin to realize that Richard is very very old, I wondered how his speech or vernacular could be so modern and contemporary. Without exposure to outside media or spending copious amounts of time in the outside world with people, you would think that his speech patterns would reflect whatever time period he was from.

    Now that we know of his connection to the Black Rock, many are assuming that Richard was a slave. I am not 100% on this, but I don’t think there were too many Caucasian slaves being traded during the time of the Black Rock. I think most slaves during that period (1650-to-1850-ish) were from Africa. That would make Richard part of the crew, or even possible the captain of the Black Rock.

    Here is my tin-foil-hat theory: What if Richard’s association with Jacob goes back farther than the Black Rock, as far back as Egyptian times, possibly. Richard could be thousands of years old. His sole purpose is to act as Jacob’s agent on the Outside, helping to bring Others to the Island. Thus, while he was on the Black Rock, and from what he infers about the voyage, it wasn’t pleasant, it wasn’t what brought him to the Island and Jacob for the FIRST time. He was on the ship, bringing it and whoever was on it to the Island FOR Jacob as part of whatever little game Jacob is playing with the MIB.

  41. ShutUpTim says:

    My big question is when will we get Niki and Paulo’s Flash Sideways in which we see how they were in the background of everyone else’s Flash Sideways. Love the podcast. thanks!

  42. Gretchen says:

    I liked it. I loved that Miles and Sawyer were partners. I liked Claire going after Kate….OK – I LOVED Claire going after Kate. I like the “softer side” of Smokey. I like that he talked about having a crazy mom, setting us up for things to come.

    I think we learned a little more about Widmore’s deal. That was cool. And I was extremely relieved to learn that there weren’t Other Other Others!

    And I’m totally in the “shirtless Sawyer good – shirtless Sawyer having sex with stupid Charlotte bad” camp.

    Ryan and Jen….HURRY UP!!! WE NEED YOUR INSIGHT!

  43. John says:

    Connie, I think your theory makes a lot of sense, although it is hard to know until next week whether or not his immortality predates the Black Rock. He could have picked up good English from his trips off Island. We know he does go off island.

    He has a certain Egyptian look to him with the dark hair and good tan and there have been a lot of Egyptian themes. It wouldn’t surprise me to discover that MIB was born to his abusive mom back in ancient Egypt and they picked up Richard along the way.

  44. Montreal LAFLEUR says:

    Richard might not have been a slave on the Black Rock. I think more likely he was a prisonner being brought back.
    Also, in «Recon», am i the only one who thought of the cage scene when Sawyer slammed Kate in the grilled fence at the very end of the episode?
    Maybe I am just a pervert! 🙂

  45. Connie in Oregon says:

    While I would never condone violence against women in any form (I AM one, after all) I think Flocke’s treatment of Claire with that slap is the TV/Film standard for dealing with someone who is about to become hysterical. I didn’t see it as male violence against a female, but more like someone who had to diffuse a situation in a hurry before it got out of hand. Lots of things happen on TV/Film, especially violent acts, that if seen in the “real world” would rightfully cause alarm and outrage.

  46. Bronco says:

    Miles seems to be overly perceptive in the flash sideways timeline. He seems to ‘sense’ that James is lying. Could this be some sort of alternative timeline psychic ability?
    Maybe he can do his ‘I hear dead people’ trick with live people now…

    I also think that because both Jack and Sawyer have asserted themselves this season and assumed a more proactive leadership role it sets up well for some sort of conflict between the two again before the series end. The problem is that it’s hard to say it translates to a Jacob vs MIB conflict because I truly believe Sawyer when he says ‘I’m not with anybody’.

    My theory about all the mirror sequences in the FSW is that they are trying to tell us that we shouldn’t be looking at 2007 on Island as the main timeline but think of the two timelines as mirror images. So instead of timeline 1 and timeline 2 they are timeline 1a and timeline 1b. I’m not sure where that goes when the inevitable reconciliation occurs.

  47. Josh says:

    Season 6 for me thus far seems to be nothing but setup. I really hope future episodes get more interesting. “Recon” just seemed too predictable. I look forward to next weeks episode. I hope that it will not be a let down, but one of the best in the season.

  48. Jerry says:

    Lies, lies, lies! This episode, “Recon” — referring to Sawyer, “a con in both realities” — was packed with examples of lies that were used for “good” purposes. Given the title, I feel that this was the main theme of the episode.

    Off the top of my head:

    – Alt-Sawyer conning a woman as part of police work.
    – Pa from Little House on the Prairie telling the big lie of the afterlife to Laura, so she won’t feel so bad about death.
    – MiB lying to Claire about her baby to give her a purpose, a reason to continue.
    – Sawyer lying to Miles about his trip to Australia to hide his pursuit of justice.
    – Sawyer lying to both Whidmore and MiB to get himself and Kate off the island.

    (I just watched “The Invention of Lying” the other night, which gives many scenarios where lying can be good or bad, depending on circumstances.)

    Anyhow, it drives towards the central theme of the duality of human nature — that lying, typically seen as a bad thing, can be a good thing if used correctly. I wonder if Jacob and MiB will end up working together by the end of the series?

    One other thing: It was funny to see the mirror image scene of Alt-Sawyer calling in the cops on his con target vs. the scene of Evil Tina Fey (yes, that’s her new name) calling in the troops on Sawyer. Both of them were lying about their identities, and when they were busted, they called in the cavalry! Actually, I didn’t recognize the woman alt-Sawyer cons in the beginning of the episode — was that possibly alternate-reality Evil Tina Fey?

  49. Bonita in Atlanta says:

    @ Russell – Maybe Widmore brought scientist types to exploit the Island’s powers.

    @ Matio – Your take on Richard makes sense to me.

    @ PainterGirl – Could be that the FSW daddy of Locke isn’t “The” Anthony Cooper as you suggested but how cool if he “IS” and the death of Ford’s Parents is what ended is conning career and allowed a relationship to grow with his dad?

    @ LucyDog – I think you called it – Locke wanting to work on Kate was the real reason for Sawyer’s “mission”.

    @ Montreal – you’re not a pervert, I’m sure Ford collaring Kate was intended to be a reflection of the Cage Match.

  50. Yann From France says:

    I have the proof that Sawyer can “read” people. When he ask Locke why he did not saved the Temple people look at John’s face… he knows he can’t lie to him! That’s why he says “it was them or me”.

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