Cons: A wasted Lapidus; Sun remembering how to speak english (her losing that ability was the weakest heart string pulling set up ever); Clair being inconsistent ("Thats not John, thats my friend." "That is not not John, Clair!").

Pros: Jack jumping off the boat; Alt verse starting to do something.

People should really think before jumping off boats. He didn't even check to see how far he was from land! (Actually, that could've been a funny "oh shit!" moment.)

We clearly know that this will be a battle between not-Locke and the other side (probably Jack). Sun and Jin's reunion was a bit anti climactic for me and ya, Lapidus was totally wasted in that episode. Claire is a character I've always liked but I can't really get a hold on her this season. She's so unstable that you think at the drop of a hat she'll kill everyone around her and then take their severed body parts into the woods to make a new "Aaron" doll.

Plus side...Desmond. Desmond knows what the hell is up and is going to bring it all together. Also, WTF is with last weeks preview showing Sayid actually shooting Desmond?! They put a muzzel flash on his gun at the last second making it seem that he will shoot Desmond, but that never happened. Beware the next episode preview, it may be a diversion.

Last night, I thought for sure we were gonna get 50 people max due to the Blazer game being on. Cort and I get offstage from introducing the episode and there's about 500 people sitting down.

(Side note: Most of the audience very happily jeered and snickered at Kate Gosselin crying after being kicked off Dancing With The Stars, which is on right before Lost starts)

Last night was a really good set-up episode. It took a little bit to get the pieces in place for the final rush to the finale, and once again, ABC is choking the shit out of the show with the commercials, but I liked the tension the show built up today. More than a few dread-filled moments. They didn't actually go anywhere this episode, though.

I honestly thought when Smokey set down Jack, he was gonna ask "Are you okay" and Jack was going to say "I can't feel my legs." I doubt they'd do that (The Island didn't leave Locke crippled, and cured Rose's cancer, I can't see it letting Jack hobble around w/ a spinal injury) but the parallel between Jack fixing Locke's legs in the Alt-verse and losing the use of his in front of Smokey would be kind of fun.

No check-in with Richard/Ben/Miles, which is convenient since Sayid basically betrayed Smokey to leave Desmond alive (that character does NOT die offscreen, no fuckin way) and Jack is now back on that island. Rescue mission on Richard's part to grab those two (or those 3, if Sayid doesn't die as a result of this) is probably how the next episode is going to break down, crosscut with 1) the alt-verse people all converging on the hospital and remembering the Island-verse due to all the near-death experiences dislodging those memories, and 2) Sawyer's gang struggling against/with Widmore's people.

Sun recognized Locke as Smokey in the Hospital. You think Jack is going to know of the Alt-Verse after his near-death experience with the mortar shell?

Smokey obviously can't kill Desmond. Otherwise he would have. He ordered Sayid to do it for him instead. This lends a little bit more credence to the idea that Desmond is like some weird little brother to whatever Smokey and Jacob are. Desmond is off-limits to Smoke, apparently. As are the candidates, now that Jacob is dead. He kills them now, he effectively traps himself, right?

Sawyer's brilliance: Tripping Sayid with a fuckin garden hose.
Sawyer's Folly: if he doesn't kick Jack off the boat, the candidates are all in the right place.

The ending was a little perfunctory - they have Sun and Jin race towards each other and she just sorta gets her english back. no real moment there. Hell, I kept waiting for blood to start pouring out of each others ears, since they were hugging right next to those sonic pylons. And then Lapidus gets that cornball line. Didn't stop the audience from cheering/d'awwwing for a little bit, though.

Humph, I don't think Jack gives a shit about danger anymore. He knows he was touched by Jacob. He isn't scared of dynamite so I don't he is afraid of drowning.