Anyone care to fill me in on who the last recruit is? As far as the episode is concerned, I would guess Jack, Claire, Desmond, or David. Pardon my ignorance with it, but there is a lot to absorb. “The Last Recruit” had a sense of kicking thing up a notch, like a season finale, because it featured most of the cast in both reality and the flash sideways. A couple of special moments felt rushed because of the overcrowding, but the reunions between Jin and Sun--after nearly two solid years of real time--and Claire hookig back up with Jack were great.Did anyone else suspect that when Jin and Sun were running towards each other with the sonic fence in the middle, one was going to get fatally zapped in front of the other? I could have seen the episode ending with that. It would have been morbidly hilarious. But I am cruel that way.
Lapidas got three whole lines, too! That brings him up to, what? Twelve for the season? He may wind up with a baker’s dozen before the finale is over.
2007
Jack decides to take point just like in the old days. Hurley defers, as usual. We learn during the conversation between Jack and DarkLocke that old Smokey can only assume the form of the dead. So anytime we have seen a dead person again, it has been Old Smokey? I have doubts, since I do not think Hurley’s buddy Dave was dead, but perhaps he was. DarkLocke only confirmed he has been Christian every time he has appeared. DarkLocke claims he appears as one of the dead in order to guide the living. In the case of Jack, he was leading him to fresh water.
For that matter, Christian has appeared to Jack off island. So has Libby to Michael. I think DarkLocke is not telling the entire truth there.
Zoe shows up demanding to be given Desmond back, though she conveniently does not mention him by name. Only DarkLocke and Sayid know anything about him, so his presence on the island is secret. DarkLocke refuses to even acknowledge what Zoe is talking about. He decides they all need to ditch camp and go on the offensive. But first, he sends Sayid to make sure Desmond is dead.
I did not want Desmond to be dead, but I thought it was a serious rip off for the well to be as shallow as it was. Desmond had no problem surviving the nine to twelve feet plunge ito the water. Am I really mistaken in thinking the well looked nearly bottomless last week?. It is not entirely clear, but I assume Desmond talked Sayid out of killing him by appealing to the idea that if Nadia returns from the dead, how will he possibly explain he murdered a man in order to bring her back?
Sawyer decides now is a good time for his crowd to split and honor his agreement with Widmore. Kate is not fond of the idea of leaving Crazy Gun Totin’ Claire behind, Kate eventually convinces her to come along, even though she is still a little batty in the belfry. Jack winds up being the one with second thoughts. If DarkLocke is afraid for them to stay on the island, then he thinks that is what they ought to do. Sawyer kicks him off the boat for that crazy talk. Weird, since just about everyone but Sawyer appears to be crazy at this point. Jack makes it back to DarkLocke just in time for Widmore’s people to capture Team Sawyer and attack Team DarkLocke.
2004
The Losties are beginning to gather together. At the very least, they are pairing up with a strong hint it is a matter of fate. There is also an air of familiarity between certain Losties. Sawyer and Kate are drawn together. Jack does not freak out nearly as much as one would assume at meeting Claire. Sun recognizes Locke, but seemingly as DarkLocke. It is as though they are aware, at least subconsciously, of events in the real timeline.
Three points: First, Desmond is the catalyst for Claire and jack meeting at Ilana’s law office, so getting them together is a key point of whatever Desmond is trying to do. Second, Jack is about to operate on Locke. Did Desmond mean for that to happen? He would have had to had some inside knowledge Jack would have been called in for Locke. It is a tough sell to think he left that up to chance. Either way, that is two times Jack’s fate has been manipulated by Desmond in the flash sideways. Finally, Sun is fie and so is her baby.
I have noticed parallels developing between reality and 2004. The first was last week when DarkLocke tried to kill Desmond in 2007, then Desmond committed the hit and run in 2004. In this episode:
Jack and Claire were reunited I both timelines.
Presumably, Sayid did not kill Desmond, therefore he is going to lose Nadia in reality. He was arrested for murder in 2004, thereby losing Nadia there, too.
Jin and Sun are reunited in reality. She and the baby are all right in 2004.
Locke saves Jack from the rocket attack in reality. Jack is apparently going to save Locke in 2004.
The character actions are either paralleling in both timelines or favors are being returned. Does that end to or take away from the idea the two timelines are bleeding into each other?
We are going to have to wait at least two weeks to find ot. There is no new Lost next week so ABC can cram as many episodes into May sweeps as possible. It would have been nice to have ended the episode on a more exciting cliffhanger to make the waiit tenser, but this was a good episode otherwise. They usually are when so much of the cast is involved.
Rating: *** (out of 5)
