The Return of the Mike.

Yes, yes. I'm really late.

Think of it as a mid-hiatus shot of Lost to help tide us over until April 24.

Michael's back and this time, he's a puppet on Ben's string.

Or is he?

Yeah, he is.

Last week's brief meeting with Sayid and Desmond notwithstanding, the last time we saw Michael Dawson, he and Walt were in a small boat, heading for what Ben promised would be rescue if they followed the correct bearing.

Speculation abounded for over a year about what might have happened to Michael once he left our sight. Every possibility was explored, but as is so often the case on Lost, all of the extreme possibilities turned out to be red herrings and the simplest (if not the most likely) thing happened. Michael got back to the real world, apparently just as Ben promised he would.

The episode opens in the barracks. Locke has called his splinter tribe together at his house for a town hall meeting. He brings Miles in to tell the group why the freighter group is on the island. Despite having spent an unknown amount of time doing isometric jaw exercises with a live grenade, Miles is able to tell them that his group is on the island to get Ben.

"Um...we kind of like, knew that forever ago."

Sawyer is in favour of turning Ben over as quickly as possible, but there's a hitch. Ben explains that once he's turned over to the freighter group, the rest of them are to be killed.

Remember when Ben told Locke that the video tape was his last bargaining chip? Surprise, surprise, Ben is not only not out of chips; Ben is a chip.

Claire pipes up to remind Locke that he's suggesting they protect a man that tried to kill him. Hurley further points out that Ben won't tell them who his man on the boat is.

"It's Michael."

"What?" Hurley, who lost his prospective blanket warmer at Michael's hands, is none too pleased.

"My spy on the freighter is Michael."

Sawyer hasn't said anything for a while, so he gets to ask the clarifying question.

"I'm sorry. You mean the same guy that killed two women in cold blood to set this little bastard free? And then sold all of us out so he could get off the Island? That Michael?"

"Yes James. That Michael."

On the freighter, Sayid and Desmond are asleep in their berth when an alarm sounds. They rush up on deck to see what's what. Michael is among a group gathered to watch Captain Gault mete out some high seas discipline. After beating the last man into submission, he addresses that gathered audience.

(*Similar sound sidenote: I didn't run a direct comparison, but I swear that alarm was the same sound as the one in the hatch.*)

"I'm not beating these men to scare you. I beat them to save your lives! Do you remember what happened to the last two men who took off in this boat? You remember what happened to Minkowski? As soon as we get the engines fixed, we're back in the hunt. In the meantime, everybody just hold on."

He then calls for "Johnson" to clean up the mess and stalks off. Is it just me or is there something to the fact that Michael's job on the ship seems to be that of blood-mopper-upper? Could it be some sort of symbolic penance for his murderous past? I also wonder if it's significant that he is ordered to clean up blood but we never actually see him doing so.

As Michael heads to the blood-cleaner-upper supply closet for his blood-cleaner-upper supplies, Sayid intercepts him and blocks his way.

"Hello, Michael."

"Not now, man."

Sayid keeps himself between Michael and the blood-cleaner-upper supplies. "Yes. Right now." As he climbs the stairs, the captain spares a glance for his newest passengers and his blood-cleaner-upper, but keeps on climbing. Sayid asks the obvious question. "Why are you on this boat?"

"I'm here to die." And mop up blood.

Back at the barracks, Sawyer follows Locke and Miles out of the meeting to confront Locke about the one secret that wasn't discussed. The three million and change that Miles is trying to extort from Ben in exchange for telling the freighter group that Linus is already dead.

"Yeah, Miles offered his loyalty in exchange for the money. But as I haven't seen a bank on the island, I didn't think it worth mentioning."

This gets a chuckle out of Miles.

"Something funny?"

"Linus will find a way to get it." Either that or the 3.2 million is actually a code for something and Miles needed to cover his reaction. Nah. I'm sticking to my "Lost will let us speculate until we are blue in the face and then do the most obvious thing" hypothesis from now on and betting that the 3.2 million is simply a real amount of real money that Miles really wants. No tricks, no codes, no subterfuge. Just cash.

"And how will he do that?"

"He wants to survive. And considering a week ago you had a gun to his head and tonight he's eating pound cake...I'd say he's a guy who gets what he wants."

Like I said. Real money.

Once again in his own house, if only as a guest, Ben watches his daughter and Karl get cosy. He asks Alex for a word. Rousseau tries to intervene, but Ben persists, taking a map from his pocket to show Alex the route to the temple.

"It's a sanctuary. It may be the last safe place on this island."

Karl asks why he and Alex didn't know about it.

"Well, it wouldn't be a sanctuary if I told everyone, would it? The rest of our people are already there. If you leave now, you can get there in a day and a half." Either that or poor old Karl isn't on Ben's good side...

Karl wonders why they don't take the whole mini-tribe with them to safety.

"Because the temple's not for them, Karl. It's only for us. These people that are coming...they know who I am, Alex. They're here to capture me. They'll kill anybody that gets in their way. If they knew who you were, that you were my daughter, they would use you to get to me. We don't have much time."

Karl and Rousseau are convinced, but Alex has a final question.

"These people... You said they're dangerous. More dangerous than you?"

"Yes, but your Mother will protect you."

Sayid and Desmond find Michael in the engine room, fixing something. It's not working, but Michael claims that it ought to be. Sayid lies that the captain sent them to help and Michael gets the message. He sends his helper, Jeff, off in search of a pressure valve in the supply room. I gather the supply room is in Fiji, because it seems like Jeff's gone a LONG time...

Sayid waits until Jeff is out of the room and then grabs Michael and starts asking him why he's there.

"You won't understand it."

"I'll understand perfectly, Michael. You just start from the beginning and explain how you came to be on this boat."

In an apartment somewhere, Michael is writing a note. He looks at a picture of himself and baby Walt and then tears the note out of the notebook.

In his car, he turns over the engine, a Mama Cass song, It's Getting Better, coming over the radio. He turns the volume up, pins the note to his chest and peels out.

(*Painfully ironic sidenote: "It's Getting Better" is one of the most chipper, life is great, upbeat songs ever recorded. Just the thing for a snuff film soundtrack.)


Michael aims his car at a nice, solid shipping container, says "I'm sorry" and hits the gas. After the crash, Mama Cass is still belting out the happy...

(*One trick pony sidenote: Michael said "I'm sorry to Ana Lucia just before he ventilated her. Dude needs a writer.)

Michael wakes up in a hospital bed, and a familiar voice apologizes for waking him. He asks what happened and she tells him that he was in a car accident.

(*I don't hear it sidenote: I've read that at this point some folks hear the whispers, but to my ear it's just some scratchy sound effects. Then again, I have lousy hearing.)

When Michael looks up, he sees that the voice belongs to the late, recently perforated Libby. He reacts with an incoherent choked scream.

"It's a cold night. I brought you some extra blankets." Apparently, cleaner ghost Libby has a mean sense of humour.

Michael's choked scream rises until he wakes from the nightmare.

A different nurse turns on the lights and tries to get Michael to tell her his name, but he's not talking.

"You want me to call Walt?"

"What?"

"The note, pinned to your chest, it was addressed to 'Walt'. You want me to call him?"

"No."

It seems that Michael has Wolverine-esque healing factors, because when we see him next, he's walking fine and not wearing the whiplash brace. There's a Christmas tree in her window, so it's likely close to Christmas. This guy heals fast. He knocks on a door and his Mother answers. He asks to see Walt, but she won't allow it.

"I don't know what you said to that boy, but whatever it was, he doesn't want to see you."

Michael starts to protest, but she cuts him off.

"I thought you were dead. They said your plane crashed in the middle of the ocean, but you show up here fine and dandy, only I can't tell anybody about you or Walt, can't call you by your real names. He barely talks to me, but he does wake up screamin' in the middle of the night, and I'm the one that's got to tell him it's gonna be okay. So until you can explain to me where you were for over two months and what happened, you gave up your rights."

I love it when a character is given lines that could easily be taken from a conversation between Lost fans on the net...

As he leaves, Michael asks her to tell him he loves him. He turns back to share a look with his son who is looking out an upstairs window.

At a pawn shop, Michael sells the watch that Jin and he fought over back on the island, the one that Jin was supposed to deliver for Mr. Paik but wound up giving to Michael to cement their friendship. The pawn broker is suspicious of Michael's Korean heritage, but offers him three hundred bucks for the watch. Michael doesn't want money. He wants a gun. A gun with bullets.

He takes the gun, the gun with bullets into an alley. An alley with garbage.

As he tries desperately to load the gun. the gun with bullets, an old friend asks for the time.

It's Tom! Tom with irony.

Michael doesn't take kindly to having a face from the past interrupt his suicide and gets up pointing the gun at Tom. Tom effortlessly disarms him as the gun goes off, but Michael isn't done yet. He lands a couple of punches before Tom knocks him to the ground.

"Now are you ready to talk like adults?"

"Yeah."

Tom offers his hand, but Michael grabs a bottle from the garbage and cracks him upside the head. While Tom recovers, Michael smashes the bottle and puts it to Tom's throat. Tom responds by putting the gun in Michael's face.

"Enough."

Michael drops the bottle and tries to goad Tom into shooting him.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?"

After revealing that Ben's little group has been keeping tabs on Michael and that they now want his help, Tom figures out that Michael wants to kill himself because he told Walt about what happened to Ana and Libby and can't handle the way his son looks at him now that he knows he's a murderer.

As he walks away, he hands Michael back the gun and tells him that he won't be able to kill himself. The island won't let him.

"Give it a shot if you don't believe me. You got more work to do, Mike. When you figure that out, I'm in the penthouse at the Hotel Earle."

(*Metaphorical Hell sidenote: The Hotel Earle is the name of the hotel in the Coen Brothers movie "Barton Fink" which is a stand in for Hell in the movie.")

Back in his apartment, Michael is finally alone with the gun. The gun with bullets.

As he prepares to do the deed the tv is blaring a gameshow. The question is about Slaughterhouse Five. Somebody's been reading recaps on the 'net...

Sure enough, the gun won't fire.

Michael checks the gun to make sure that it's a gun with bullets. It is.

On tv, the contestant answers correctly that the author is Kurt Vonnegut.

Again, the gun won't fire.

As the contestant is about to go for "triple puzzle points" if she can remember who the novel's protagonist was, the station interrupts with breaking news.

The news bulletin is about the finding of the wreckage of Flight 815.

(*Um...what? sidenote: In what universe is the finding of airplane wreckage from a two or three month old crash bulletin worthy? Methinks the juxtaposition of the Billy Pilgrim question and the wreckage footage is something we're supposed to think is significant.)

The bulletin goes on to tell viewers that it's likely that the wreckage is so deeply sunk that no bodies or even the black box are likely to ever be recovered.

(*Widmore can hold his breath longer than anyone sidenote: Somehow, Widmore recovered the unrecoverable black box, if Captain Gault is to be believed.)

A knock on the door of the Penthouse at Hotel Earle and Tom answers. He's surprised that Michael showed up so quickly, but he welcomes him in. Tom doesn't introduce his boytoy to Michael, but we learn that his name is Arturo when Tom asks him to get some air while he and Michael discuss business. And just like that, the mystery of why Kate wasn't Tom's type way back in season three is solved. Once again, Lost opens a host of wild speculation and then goes for the simplest answer.

When Tom offers him a drink, Michael declines, preferring answers.

"What I want is for you to tell me what my plane is doing at the bottom of the ocean."

"That's not your plane. It's a phony. A man named Widmore put it down there, and he staged the whole wreck."

Michael is naturally disinclined to believe such a wild story and wants to know why anyone would go to such lengths.

"Because he doesn't want anyone else finding where the real plane ended up, except for him."

Tom hands Michael a dossier that supposedly explains it all.

"That's the cemetery in Thailand where Widmore dug up the 300-odd corpses he needed. And the purchase order for the old 777 he bought through a shell company, and the shipping logs for the freighter he used to drop the whole mess down a trench deep enough to guarantee that no remains are ever gonna be identified. Do you have any idea what it would cost to bring those bodies up?"

(*Key phrase sidenote: I am so NOT taking bets that the "freighter he used to drop the whole mess down a trench" is the same one that Michael is on now. The same freighter and crew would also explain why Naomi asked Abaddon such awkward questions about survivors of Flight 815.")

Michael wants to know what Ben's group wants with him.

"In a few days, a freighter is porting in Fiji. It's Widmore's boat. We have reason to believe he's finally found the coordinates of the Island, and he's heading right for it. So congratulations, Michael. Your shore leave is over. You just got a job on that boat. Meet Kevin Johnson."

Tom tosses him his new passport.

(*Sharper eyes than mine sidenote: Several net sources assure me that the passport numbers on Michael's fake "Kevin Johnson" passport and Ben's fake "Dean Moriarty" passport are identical. I don't think this is actually all that important, since it's probably not a stretch for a forger to use identical numbers on several products. Still a nice catch.*)

Tom gives him a solid reason for helping Ben's group. According to him, if Widmore gets to the island, everyone there will die. This is Michael's shot at redemption. Even that isn't enough to make him willing to go back to the island.

"I didn't say you were going back to the Island. You're not going on that boat so you can swab decks, Michael. You're going so you can kill everyone onboard."

On a wharf in Fiji, Michael checks in to his new digs and meets Minkowski. He checks in with Naomi, commenting on her Manchester accent. She's surprised he recognizes it, but wouldn't be if she knew that he'd recently spent two months with a Mankie Hobbit.

She points to a crate that was delivered for him and then offers to have it sent to his berth. As he boards, Miles calls out to him.

"Your name isn't Kevin. Don't worry. 80% of the people on this boat are lying about something."

As Miles offers him an orange, Michael's cellphone rings. He answers with a sigh. It's Tom, confirming that Michael got the crate they sent and instructing him to wait until he's at sea to open it. Tom senses some hesitation in his operative.

"Oh, you met some of 'em now. Got some names and faces, and you're gettin' cold feet, huh?"

"Yeah, actually, I am."

"Well, here are a few more names for you. Sun, Sawyer, Jack, Claire, her baby. And the only way you're gonna save their lives is if you man up and get on that boat. Or maybe you wanna come back and explain to your kid how you let all of them die, too. It's game time. Are you in or out?"

Michael hesitates for a long moment.

"I'm in."

"Good, then ditch your phone and go do your job."

Michael then executes the most uncasual phone ditch ever. Sayid should give lessons.

On the high seas, Kevin Johnson overhears an argument between Naomi and Frank, to the effect that Naomi is going to be the first one to go, not Lapidus. She puts her pretty foot down and Frank has little choice but to back off.

He introduces himself to Kevin, asking him what his story is.

"Um... Looking for a little adventure."

"Ah, adventure. Yeah. Well, how do you like this for adventure? You ever hear about Oceanic 815?"

"Yeah."

"What would you say if I told you the plane they found in that trench wasn't Oceanic 815?"

"Then what is it?"

"You know those nuts that think the moon landing was faked? Well, this is like that, only real. That's why I signed up for this trip, because the owner of this boat believes me. Charles Widmore. He believes that 815 is still out there somewhere. I mean, can you imagine what would happen if we found some of those people alive?"

Ah, poor Frank. So close and yet, so far.

A quick cut shows Michael contemplating the key to the crate that Tom sent.

Kevin Johnson is swabbing the deck...er, scrubbing the walls, when he hears the sound of a gun. A gun with bullets.

He goes up on deck and asks the dumbest of dumb questions.

"What are you guys doing?"

And gets the obvious answer.

"What's it look like we're doing? We're shooting things." Keamy calls for another clay pigeon to shoot.

"I, uh, thought we were going on a rescue mission."

Keamy's dismissive attitude tells Michael that this ain't no rescue mission. He makes his decision.

He retrieves a case from the crate that Tom sent and finds a likely spot. He opens the case, removes the false bottom, revealing a bomb. A bomb with buttons.

After entering the code 71776 he sets his finger over the "Execute" button. As he's just about to press it, he hears that Mama Cass tune and is startled by it. He turns around but no one is there.

(*More maybe whispers sidenote: I still only hear a scratchy sound effect, but some folks swear it's more whispers in this scene.*)

Turning around frantically, Michael finally does see someone. It's cleaner ghost Libby.

"Don't do it Michael."

When he turns again, she's gone. He hesitates for a moment and then presses the button. A fifteen second countdown starts.

"I love you Walt."

At the end of fifteen seconds, instead of a blinding, deadly explosion, a tiny flag pops up with a little piece of paper wrapped around it. It reads simply, "NOT YET."

Lying on his bunk, Michael is bouncing a ball off the bulkhead when Minkowski opens the door.

"What, are you going Nicholson on us?"

"What?"

"You know, Jack Nicholson in The Shining, when he's bouncing that ball against the wall? Next thing you know, you're gonna go after your wife with an ax."

Michael doesn't play along, simply saying that he's not married. Minkowski realizes that this Kevin Johnson person has zero sense of humour and relays the message he came to tell him.

It seems that Kevin Johnson has a call from the mainland, despite the fact that no one knows he's aboard.

"Well, you're the only Kevin Johnson onboard, so somebody knows you're here. Said he really needs to talk to you. His name's Walt."

Minkowski show's Kevin how to work the radio and then leaves him to his personal call.

"Walt?"

"I'm so sorry, Michael, but he's still in New York." It's Ben. "So I'm afraid you're stuck with me. Michael? Are you still there?"

"You put me on this boat, talked me into blowing it up, and when I push the damn button, a flag pops up."

A flag. A flag with paper.

Ben is surprised that Michael has already tried to activate the bomb.

"It's not a bomb! It's a...It's a joke."

"There are people on your boat who are innocent. They have no idea that the man they work for is a monster, a killer without conscience or a greater purpose. I had to show you the difference between him and me. When I'm at war, I'll do what I need to do to win, but I will not kill innocent people."

Considering that two seconds earlier Ben was stunned that Michael had activated the bomb, this statement shows a remarkable ability to think on the fly.

"Ana Lucia and Libby. They were innocent."

"You killed them, Michael. No one asked you to. I don't blame you, Michael. We did have your boy. And what wouldn't a man do for his son?"

Michael is well and truly wrapped around Ben's manipulative little finger now. He asks what Ben wants him to do.

"I want you to compile a list of names. Every person on your boat. When I call again, you'll give me that list. Then you will disable the radio room you're sitting in. When the crew is disoriented by their lack of communication, you'll take out the engines, too. That way, the boat can never get to this island, and your friends will be safe. Will you do that for me, Michael?"

"Yeah."

"Then consider yourself one of the good guys."

Sayid is incredulous.

"So you're telling me, that you're working for Benjamin Linus?'

"Yeah. Yeah, that's what I'm telling you."

Sayid moves toward Michael, his body language saying "You poor man! You are in need of a manly hug." When he's close enough, he grabs Michael's arm and puts him into a painful armlock and frog marches him right into the captain's quarters.

"This man is not who you think he is. He was a passenger on Oceanic Flight Eight One Five. I spent two months with him on the Island, before he betrayed us. This is the man who sabotaged your radio room. He destroyed the ship's engine, and his name isn't Kevin Johnson. It's Michael Dawson, and he's a traitor."

On the island, Alex, Rousseau and Karl are trekking toward the temple when they stop to rest a moment.

While Rousseau consults the map, Karl looks around the jungle, prompting Alex to ask him what's wrong.

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about this. What if your dad is playing us?"

"Look, I don't like taking orders from my dad any more than you do. But I know he doesn't want me to get hurt."

How right you are Alex. Your dad doesn't want you to get hurt.

A familiar air-gun sound catches Alex's attention, but hits nothing. A second shot hits his water bottle, then a third explodes through his chest. Karl is killed instantly.

Alex tries to rouse him, but he's gone. Rousseau pulls her away from his body to cover behind a tree while more air-gun shots sound all around them. She gets Alex calm enough to understand that Karl is dead and they need to save themselves.

"I need you to take my hand. On the count of three, we're going to run. Can you do that with me? I love you. I love you very much, Alexandra."

After a tender Mother/Daughter moment, the two get set to run on a three count.

On three, they burst from cover and almost instantly Rousseau goes down with a bullet to the chest. Alex looks around in panic as Rousseau struggles to breathe. She sees that someone is close and there's no cover close enough to reach. She does the only thing she can. She surrenders.

"Wait! Wait! Don't! I'm Ben's daughter! I'm his daughter!"

Post-Partum Regression

Big twist this week. No, not how late the recap is...

Instead of a flash forward or flash back scenario, Lost fans were given both in the same episode.

There were some clues (five by my count) that might have tipped off observant viewers as to this little bit of temporal-trickery, but most of us were taken in by the ruse.

So...if the Lost writers pulled us in with the time twisting, does that make us all a bunch of clock suckers?

This week's episode was all about Sun's child and her pregnancy. Before we delve into that, I want to restate my conviction that the baby is NOT Jin's and that Sun is well aware of that. Juliet tells her that the baby is about 8 weeks along and therefore conceived "On Island". Tracking back from that day, 8 weeks before, Sun and Jin were barely on speaking terms, let alone baby making terms. If my Lost calculations are correct, the supposed date of conception would be only a few days before Sun reveals her English skills to the group, a time when she and Jin were isolated from the group when Jin was still a controlling bastard. It's possible they had sex at that time, but it seems unlikely under the circumstances of communal living with Jin being so concerned with his wife's propriety. Juliet would have no way of knowing that and it is my theory that she is using Sun's pregnancy (a conception which I believe occurred "Off Island" and therefore poses no threat to Sun) as a card in a game she's playing against Ben.

This week's episode starts with an odd exchange between Lapidus and Keamy. Apparently, they have some sort of appointment, one for which Lapidus is not to be late. Before the meeting though, Lapidus has to deliver some food to their guests.

Outside of the cabin he's heading for, he finds Regina sitting, reading a book. Oddly, Regina's book is upside down. A fact she corrects without comment.

(*Lost Bookclub Sidenote: Regina is reading "Survivors of the Challenger" by Jules Verne. The book details the fate of a group of people on a ship that catches fire and runs aground on a reef, among other misfortunes. A raft is constructed as the re-floated ship slowly sinks and the survivors float aimlessly in the sea, dying by ones and twos. All sorts of fun stuff happens, including a character going mad and killing himself, and folks getting eaten by sharks...and each other. Lots and lots of possible Lost parallels, making at least a trip to the wiki, if not finding a copy of the book, worth the effort.*)

(*Upside Down Sidenote: In literature and theatre, if an object or symbol is pointedly show upside down, there is usually a good reason. Often an upside down object is meant to indicate that the obviously important placement of it is actually a red herring and means nothing. Equally likely is the possibility that the object is meant to be interpreted in an inverted way, such as a mirror image of one of the characters or plot lines in a book. Beyond indicating that Regina is distracted, it could be that placing the book upside down is meant to point out that it is indeed a red herring. It is also possible that the writers intended the audience to be aware of the book and plan to use an inversion of the plot or one of the characters in some way.*)

In the cabin, Lapidus asks after Desmond's health as he delivers the food. When Sayid asks why the two of them are being held as captives, Lapidus explains that the captain is angry because they broke out of the sickbay and into the comm room.

Sayid protests that they didn't "bust out" since the door was left open, presumably by Lapidus.

"Why the hell would I do that?"

Sayid changes tacks and asks if the freighter folk have had any luck contacting their people on the beach, but apparently not. Lapidus dumps some lima beans out of the bag he was carrying and makes to leave.

(*Yuck Sidenote: Lima beans? Wasn't he supposed to bring food?*)

It seems that the problems on the ship extend to the galley as well as the comm room.

(*Landlubber Sidenote: Only a flyboy like Lapidus would call the ship's galley a "Kitchen".*)

"I still want to talk to the captain."

"No, you don't."

Back on the beach, Sun expresses her concern to Jin about how long Sayid and Desmond have been gone. Jin casually dismisses the delay and changes the subject to baby names. She doesn't want to jinx the baby by naming her too early but Jin insists and tells her that he thinks the baby is a girl and he wants to name her "Ji Yeon". Sun asks that they leave off naming the baby until they get off the island, which Jin agrees to.

In apartment or hotel, Sun packs a small bag with a toothbrush. Coming out of the bathroom, we see the television showing a Korean dubbed version of Nikki's old show, Expose. Apparently, Expose has the same effect on Sun as it did on me because shortly after seeing it, she is in enough pain to warrant a call to emergency services. At last, a solution to the island pregnancy problem! Don't expose the women to Expose!

On a Korean street, Jin (Clue #1 - I'll explain later) locates a toy store and runs in, desperately searching for a panda, which he is unable to find. Finally a clerk helps him find it. In ringing it up, Mr. Nosey Clerk asks if Jin is heading to the maternity ward with the panda, which he is. Our man Jin doesn't yet know if the baby in question is a boy or a girl.

Just then, Jin's enormous cell phone (Clue #2) rings. He's on his way!

On the beach, Sun wakes Jin to the news that Kate and Jack are back. When Jin asks what happened, Kate asks him if she means before or after Charlotte knocked her unconscious. Kate explains that Charlotte may not have wanted to explain why she was on her way to a poison gas factory.

"Juliet told Jack that it was a power station."

"Why would Juliet lie about that?"

"Force of habit?"

Sun wonders why the two newbies were headed to a poison gas factory. Kate explains that they deactivated it, possibly hoping to earn some brownie points with the group.

(*Um...what? Sidenote: How does sneaking off without telling anyone in ANY way indicate that the newbies were looking to score points with the group? If anything, it seems they were trying to keep the whole thing secret. I think Charlotte hit Kate harder than she thought.*)

Sun asks Kate if she thinks that the freighter group is going to rescue them.

"In all the time they've been here they've talked about a lot of things, and none involved rescuing us."

In their little guest cabin, Desmond awakes to see Sayid eating out of one of the lima bean cans.

"I hope they resolve their kitchen issues."

(*Galley Sidenote: Obviously, Sayid was never in the Iraqi Navy! It's a galley for cryin' out loud!*)

As he puts the beans aside, a note slips through a vent in the door. Sayid retrieves it and shows it to Desmond.

DON'T TRUST THE CAPTAIN

They're on a boat.
There are two of them in the room.
Water is wet.
Lima beans are disgusting.

Oops, I'm sorry. I thought "DON'T TRUST THE CAPTAIN" was the first round in a game of "State the patently obvious."

Considering that they're locked up without cause and being fed only lima beans, this warning seems to go pretty much without saying. I won't bother guessing the identity of their "friend" on the boat. I will state with reasonable certainty that he or she is a complete idiot.

On the beach, Sun takes a refreshingly direct approach. She walks up to Daniel, introduces herself, tells him she's pregnant and then asks him point blank if his group is going to rescue them. When he hesitates, she presses.

"It's a simple question."

"The thing is... um, it's not really my call, Sun."

"Then whose call is it?"

When he doesn't answer, she has her answer. She thanks him and walks away.

Jin and Jack are discussing Jin's improving English over breakfast when Sun runs up. Jack asks after her health and reminds her to ask if she needs him. He moves on.

In Korean Sun tells Jin to do as she says and not ask questions. Naturally, the first thing he does is ask a question.

"What's the matter?"

"You need to find food for two days. Meet me at the tent in twenty minutes."

"Why? What's happened?" Um...Jin? That's two more questions, buddy.

"We're going to Locke's camp."

In the camp's makeshift infirmary, Sun is rooting through the medical supplies when Juliet finds her there. Juliet asks her what she's doing and after an uncomfortable interrogation about why Sun suddenly needs more pre-natal vitamins when she should have plenty left, Sun finally tells Juliet that she and Jin are going to Locke's camp because they don't trust the two from the freighter. Juliet warns her that staying on the island in her condition is a death sentence, but Sun has the evidence of her eyes that Claire's baby and Claire are fine and she feels fine so far. All she has is Juliet's word that something will happen if she stays on the island.

"I'm going to do what's best for me and for my baby, because, no, I don't trust you."

Sun takes the vitamins from Juliet and storms off.

As Sun is wheeled into a hospital, her status as one of the Oceanic Six is mentioned by one of the nurses. Shortly thereafter, a nurse tries to take her wedding ring off, a standard practice with all jewelry due to the swelling that Sun is bound to experience. She's not very happy about it and fights as best she can. Just then, a doctor arrives and reassures her that everything will be alright. Her regular Doctor is away at a conference, but he's ready to pinch hit. She asks if something is wrong with her baby and he tells her that it is in distress. As the injected pain medication takes hold, she asks after Jin and the Doctor gives instructions for the nurse to try to reach him.

(*Suspicious Sidenote: Veteran Lost fans were paying just a little more attention to this exchange, since we've come to be suspicious of ANYONE who is out of the ordinary. With Sun's regular Doctor being away, poor old Dr. Bae is immediately under the microscope. In fact, I think that the substitution was done by the writers, not the powers behind the plot. By putting her regular Doctor out of the picture, no uncomfortable silences need to happen when Sun brings up her husband, AND by making us take suspicious note of the new Doc, we're forced to pay attention a little closer to a conversation that ONLY makes sense if Sun has it with someone who doesn't know her.*)

Panda (Black and White LOST Symbology anyone?) in hand, Jin hails a cab. He pours the giant stuffed toy into the cab, but stops short of climbing in himself when his cellphone rings again. As he answers, someone bumps him, knocking the phone from his hand. Before he can pick it up, a motorscooter runs over it. Bending to retrieve it, Jin fails to notice that someone is climbing into his cab, panda and all. Before he can stop it, the cab is gone. He screams death threats at the rapidly receding cab thief. (Clue #3)

Jin returns to the toy store to buy another bear, but they're all out. Except for the one already on hold behind the clerk. The helpful clerk tries to offer a substitution, a stuffed dragon which brings good luck in the year of the dragon. (Clue #4)

Jin finally convinces the guy to sell him the bear, despite the fact that it's already paid for, with a combination of cash and some "I will make you eat that fucking dragon if you don't sell me that fucking panda right fucking now" eye-speak. Jin can be convincing when he needs to be. (Clue #5)

On the island, Kate draws Sun and Jin a map to guide them to Locke's camp. She promises to give them a nice long head start before telling Jack they've gone. Juliet walks up and interrupts the orienteering session, telling Sun again that it's a bad idea. When Sun doesn't seem interested in what she has to say, Juliet turns to Jin and tries to tell him how dangerous it is for Sun to leave now.

"Wherever Sun go, I go."

After a final ineffective plea to Sun, Juliet plays her trump.

"Jin, Your wife had an affair."

"What?"

"Sun was with another man. She thought the baby was his."

Sun, the very picture of outrage, strides up to Juliet and slaps her across the face. Considering the bruises that the fight with Charlotte left, that had to hurt.

Sun turns to Jin, but understandably, he's in no mood to talk at that moment. He stalks off.

On the beach, Sun catches up to Jin and tries to get him to talk to her. He's in silent mode and not ready to speak. As she continues to try, Bernard walks up, notes Jin's fishing gear and asks if he can tag along on Jin's fishing trip. After several awkward seconds, Bernard clues in and tries to excuse himself from the awkward situation, but Jin stops him from leaving.

"No, come."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, come."

The two men are in the outrigger, fishing. The scene is reminiscent of Jin's reunion with his father, also surrounded by fishing equipment. After reminding Jin that they are the only two married men on the island, Bernard confides the news of Rose's cancer to Jin and the revelation that the island seems to have put it into remission.

"But when the camp split up, I was sure that she'd want to go with Locke. Why would she want to leave the island and risk getting sick again?"

"Then why do you stay with Jack?"

"Because it was the right thing to do. Locke...he's a murderer. See, it's all about karma, Jin. Do you know karma?"

Jin nods that he does, indeed, know karma.

"You make bad choices, bad things happen to you. But you make good choices, and then good..."

Just then, Jin hooks a fish. They get it safely into the boat.

"Wow, look at that! See? Now, that's karma. We must be the good guys, huh?"

Much like Rose, Bernard shows up just when someone's conscience needs a little kick in the right direction. They're like a black and white Jiminy Cricket. (Black and White LOST Symbology anyone?)

On the freighter, Desmond comments on the banging sound that's been going on for a while.

"Can't they just fix whatever the bloody hell's causing that?"

"That sound is not mechanical."

"What, you think somebody's doing that? Somebody's just banging those pipes again and again?"

"That's exactly what I think."

Just then, Ray enters to tell them that the captain is ready to see them. He takes them up on deck, where Sayid notices that the helicopter is gone. Apparently, Lapidus is running an errand.

"Did he go to the island?"

"You know anywhere else he could land?"

As Sayid continues the pointless interrogation of Sgt. Schultz...er, Ray, Desmond notices something decidedly out of the ordinary. It's Regina, doing her best Jacob Marley impression, draped in heavy chains. Despite his best efforts, Desmond cannot reach her or even warn anyone closer in time to stop her from jumping over the side and sinking out of sight.

Sayid and Desmond frantically try to rally the deckhands to get a rope to try to save her, but no one seems the least bit interested in saving her. Finally, a new figure appears and orders everyone to stop.

"It's over! She's gone. Everybody get back to your posts. That was an order."

The new arrival walks up to Sayid and Desmond and introduces himself.

"I'm Captain Gault. I suppose you two have a few questions."

(*Yet Another Interesting Name Sidenote: Captain Gault is the name of a morally ambiguous mercenary sea captain in the novel Captain Gault, Being the Exceedingly Private Log of a Sea-Captain written in 1917 by William Hope Hodgson. It is also the name of a character in Atlas Shrugged, a novel by Ayn Rand in which the elite of society decide to create a separate utopian "Village" for themselves that is undetectable by the rest of the world. Nothing familiar there...*)

Captain Gault asks what he can do for them.

"Let's just start with why a woman jumped over the side of your ship, and you did nothing to stop it."

"I didn't jump in or order my crew to jump in, because I didn't want to lose any more people."

Desmond asks him to tell them what exactly is going on.

"Some of my crew has been dealing with...what might best be described as a heightened case of cabin fever. I think it's got something to do with the close proximity of the island."

"Why don't you turn around then?"

"I've tried, but we have a saboteur on board, and he's done one hell of a job on my engines. I've got my crew working around the clock to repair them."

"Then you'll take our people home?"

"Then we move to safer waters... Those are my orders."

Sayid snidely asks if Gault would be willing to tell them who gave the orders, assuming that he won't get a straight answer, but Gault seems unconcerned with keeping his employer's identity secret.

It seems that Ben was telling the truth when he told Locke that the freighter was sent by Charles Widmore.

Gault leads Desmond and Sayid into his cabin and pulls a metal box out of a cabinet. It's the black box from an airliner. From an Oceanic airliner, specifically.

Flight 815. Recovered from a deep ocean trench where they found the wreckage and all 324 passengers who perished with the flight. Sayid seems surprised to learn that all 324 passengers are dead.

"That's not the complete story, as you are well aware, Mr. Jarrah, given the fact that you're standing here, breathing. The wreckage was obviously staged. Now can you imagine what kind of resources and manpower go into pulling off a feat of that magnitude? Faking the recovery of a plane crash? Putting 324 families through a grieving process based on a lie? But what's even more disturbing...where exactly does one come across 324 dead bodies? And that, Mr. Jarrah, Mr. Hume, is just one of the many reasons we want Benjamin Linus."

Is it just me, or is Gault using a Ben-ism here? Basically, he's ignoring Sayid's questions by dangling a different set of questions in front of him. I don't think Sayid and Desmond care why the freighter is there, just why it isn't helping them. By putting the tantalizing mystery of the faked plane crash in front of them, Gault is distracting them from the fact that he's not offering to help them.

On the beach, Juliet tries to make peace with Sun, explaining just how she and her baby will die if she doesn't get off the island. It's not a pretty picture.

In the hospital, the Doctor is telling Sun that they will have to perform a C-section, since "The medication makes a natural birth difficult."

I have to wonder, what medication? Is there some special drug that Sun needs to take for some reason or is he just talking about the pain drugs they gave her earlier?

Suddenly, despite his protests and despite her trying to hold back the birth until Jin arrives, the baby decides to break the stalemate and crown. In typical Hollywood fashion, labour for Sun is a process shorter than the process that put the bun in the oven in the first place. And little Ji Yeon arrives into the world, with no trouble at all.

On the ship, Ray escorts Desmond and Sayid to their new quarters. The cabin has a big old "I blew my brains out right here" stain on the wall. Ray calls down the hall to a guy with a mop to come and clean it up. He's reluctant, but Ray isn't taking no for an answer.

As he comes close, Sayid and Desmond see a familiar face.

Michael.

Ray introduces the two men to "Kevin Johnson" and they all shake hands, sharing just a little "WTF" eye-speak, but not enough to tip Ray off.

Least surprising reveal of a returning cast member since Bo and Luke came back to Hazzard after discovering that nobody wanted to hire crappy actors with goofy accents for shows that didn't have stunt cars and moonshine in 'em.

Sitting in her tent, Sun is surprised when Jin arrives bearing dinner. She tries to get him to let her explain her actions, but he stops her.

"I know why you did it. I know the man.. I used to be. Before this island, I withheld my affections. And I know...that whatever you did...you did to that man. His actions caused this. So I forgive you."

Karma, indeed. I wonder if it'll work?

When Jin offers to come with her to Locke's camp, she tells him that she's changed her mind. Juliet has convinced her to stick with the only obvious way off the island that they have at the moment, the helicopter. Jin pledges to protect her and the baby, no matter what.

Finally, he asks the question.

"Is the baby...mine?"

"Yes, Jin. I swear the baby is yours. It's yours. I love you so much. I thought I had lost you."

"I love you too. And you will never lose me."

In the hospital, Jin arrives with the panda. It turns out that he's there as a representative of Sun's father, Mr. Paik of Paik Automotive, to deliver the panda to the Chinese Ambassador who has just become a grandfather.

"Mr. Ambassador. This panda is a symbol of Mr. Paik's eagerness to do business in the great country of China. Please accept his congratulations."

"Thank Mr. Paik for me. Tell him I'll call."

As Jin leaves, a nurse tries to flirt with him, asking why he's leaving so soon.

"It wasn't my baby."

"Well, maybe someday..."

"Don't rush me. I've only been married two months."

So to recap those clues I mentioned:

(Clue #1) - There is something "off" about Jin's hair. Sure, it could be that he changed the style in the future, but it's distinct and quite noticeable and I think an obvious pointer to what's really going on.)

(Clue #2) - Jin's cellphone is massive by today's standards. I used to be in the cellphone trade and Asia is always months, if not years, ahead of North America in terms of cellular technology. It's possible, but very unlikely, that a young man of Jin's age might still carry a phone like that in 2005, but it would be the approximate cellular equivalent of him driving a huge station wagon with wood paneling.

(Clue #3) - The "new" Jin seems unlikely to scream "I will hunt you down and rip your head off" to a total stranger over a stuffed animal.

(Clue #4) - The year of the dragon happens between February 2000 and January 2001, and again in 2012 to 2013. Assuming that Mr. Helpful Clerk guy would know this and not try to sell Jin a stuffed animal for the wrong zodiac year, it seems obvious that we are not seeing a future Jin.

(Clue #5) - "New" Jin might overpay for the panda, but the "I will make you eat that fucking dragon if you don't sell me that fucking panda right fucking now" eye-speak would be out of character.

Back in her apartment, Sun is returning her ring to it's proper place and putting on lipstick when the doorbell rings. It's Hurley!

"I can't believe you came all this way!"

"Are you kidding? Is anyone else coming?"

"No."

"Good."

Ok, was it just me or did Hurley's "Good" just seem really, really strange? Like "oooh, that means we can play naked twister all weekend" strange?

Sun introduces him to her daughter.

"She looks just like Jin."

"Yes, she does."

The two then like, go see him.

He's buried in a pleasant looking cemetery, with a grave marker that dates his death as September 22, 2004, the day Flight 815 crashed.

"Jin... You were right. It's a girl. The delivery was hard on me... The doctor said I was calling out for you... I wish you could've been there. Jin... She's beautiful. Ji Yeon. I named her just like you wanted. I miss you so much. I miss you so much.