Mario Perez/ABCFor the love of Vincent, people, if you haven't seen last night's episode of Lost, do not read this Redux, because sweet Jesus, did some big stuff happen! And you will be spoiled. As for the happenings, let's discuss:
Okay, maybe I'm a bit delirious from lack of sleep last night, but the lack of sleep was courtesy of that mind-blowingly good episode of Lost. And I have to say, it was just about the best episode ever in the history of the series, was it not?! We got answers. We got action. We got lots of Locke and Ben and Sawyer, and big stuff happened. It was as if someone hit fast-forward on the storyline and ohhh it was good.
Between the writing, which ranged from hilarious to tragic ("I have to pee anyway," "My name's Sawyer, too."), and the performances (Michael Emerson, Terry O'Quinn, Josh Holloway, Josh Holloway, Josh Holloway), this one is going down in Lost history as a major classic. (And should stir up a few Emmy noms if there is any justice.)
OMFG! It's hard to even breathe or punctuate when talking about everything that happened because holy crap Locke's dad is the original Sawyer who had sex with James Ford's mom in Jasper, Alabama, back in 1976 and took his dad's money all away, but now the original Sawyer is on the island and tied to a big-ol' ancient temple thing and Locke knows the whole sad story and our Sawyer gives his letter to Mr. Sawyer and strangles him to death because Locke just wants his daddy but now Locke has to do murder because Ben is making him so James does it and has to take the karmic hit not that he wouldn't want to do it anyway and OMFG never let it be said stuff doesn't happen on Lost!
"He Had It Coming": So, Inigo Montoya finally got his six-fingered man. Is it gonna help? James is presumably never going to be sweetness and light, and he has thirty-ish years of toxicity to eliminate from his bloodstream, but what I like about James killing Sawyer is that his character can now graduate to bigger and better problems than his "revenge kick." That said, detox is a bitch, and I think James may have some more Trainspotting-quality freakouts on the way.
No, This Is Hell: The fourth circle of hell in Dante's Inferno is reserved for greedy, evil bastards. I choose to believe that's where Cooper is toasting his tootsies at this moment.
Hide 'Em in Plain Sight: This episode makes it clear—well, clear for Lost at least—that Benry can bring people to the island on a whim. We've seen him send at least two people away, however. If he acquires people by "killing" them in a car accident and doping 'em with happy juice and delivering 'em to the island, what happens when he sends 'em away, like he did with Michael and Walt at the end of season two? My theory of the moment is that Santa Rosa Mental Health Institute is what happens. If you don't remember it off the top of your head, Santa Rosa is the loony bin that has been home to our own Hurley; Lenny, who gave Hurley 4 8 15 16 23 42 in the first place; Libby, who was there at the same time as Hurley while blasted out of her head on something; and, oh yeah, Locke's birth mother (back in the day). I think one of the Hanso operatives wipes out your old life, and then drops you off at Santa Rosa with a new identity intact. You can explain till your face turns blue about the plane crash, the island, the monster and the hatch in the ground, but really, isn't that the craziest fever dream you ever heard?
Hot Chicks from Heaven: Is it wrong that I like parachutist Naomi and want her to make out with Sayid? Plus, a big hells yeah to Penny and her piles of cash for trying to find her man and perhaps accidentally rescuing the 815ers as well. Not that it seems like Jacket (Jack + Juliet) are gonna let that happen. Oh, Mira Furlan and Terry O'Quinn eyeing each other warily over a case of dy-no-mite is television gold. More please! This was actually an all-star episode.
Nerd Alert! A Star Wars fan friend emailed me to dish that when Princess Leia was being kept as a slave girl, she used her chains to strangle her captor, Jabba the Hut, just like Sawyer used chains to strangle Cooper to death. I'm guessing the parallel is plenty intentional (given the multiple and massive Star Wars posters I've seen in Damon Lindelof's office), and I love the irony of slaves strangling their masters with the chains that once bound them.
What Lies Ahead: This week's episode was the kick in the pants that jump-starts even bigger action, bigger shockers and bigger reveals in the final three episodes. I know you don't believe me ('cause it doesn't seem possible), but it's true! So, stack up on some adult diapers and hyperventilatory goods (paper bags? inhaler?), 'cause everyone will be talking about the final few episodes—including next week's Benry flashback (we get to see young Ben with long hair!), the following week's Charlie-centric ep (we get to find out if he dies) and the season finale, with a game-changer everyone will be talking about.
So, what did you all think? Am I overexcited? Assuredly. But you have to admit it was good, right? Right? Post away below.
—Additional reporting by Jennifer Godwin