lost - the candidate

As always with LOST, I begin the episode wondering how my mind will be fucked today. There was a break between this week's episode and last week's, so I knew something major was going to happen. The last episode left our Losties in such peril that, following the nature of the show, something even worse was bound to happen. I'll admit that I was frightened.

The episode began in the alternative reality, which still felt like an entirely independent show worthy of its own forty-four minutes. If only. Jack attempted to pressure Locke into being what I presume to be a guinea pig; he was certain that a new procedure could give Locke back the use of his legs. Locke wasn't having it. Jack, being the overbearing maniac that he is, goes to Locke's dentist to get information on how Locke came to be in a wheelchair. Inquiring minds also wanted to know. Luckily, Bernard Nadler just happened to be Locke's dentist. What are the chances? They both realize that they were on the same plane together, as was Locke. This is reason enough for Bernard to break protocol and give Jack the name of a man who should know what happened to Locke - Anthony Cooper.

Anthony Cooper is Locke's father. In the original reality, he shoved Locke through a high-rise window and watched him fall to his presumed death. He survived, but he was paralyzed. In this reality, Locke tells Jack that he survived a plane crash, which put him in a wheelchair and put his father in a state of nonbeing. As always, Terry O'Quinn and Matthew Fox played incredibly well off of one another. This duo always seems like they know an Emmy is on the line when the camera starts rolling.

The original storyline was awesomely fast-paced. The captured Losties were thrown into the Hydra polar bear cages that first appeared in season three. Across the island, Locke and Sayid saved Jack from Widmore's attack and brought him to Hydra Island so that he would convince his fellow castaways to leave the island. Jack refused to leave the island and only agreed to help Locke after he gave Jack this chilly query: If he wanted them all dead, he would have killed them already, so why is he helping them?

This could be seen as noble, but this is LOST, and this man isn't John Locke. He's...the smoke monster. He doesn't even have a name. He places four bricks of C4 in a bookbag and gives it to Jack after the Losties are all reunited. It is unknown whether Locke was going to actually board the submarine with the survivors because, before he could even garner a superior response, Jack shoved him off the pier and into the ocean. A shootout breaks out. Kate is shot in the chest. Everyone heads for the sub and Sawyer closes the door, once again leaving Claire behind. It's a far cry from the end of the fourth season, when he rescued her from a smoldering house. The sub dives. It isn't until our Losties are well enough under the sea that Jack opens up his bookbag and finds the ticking bomb, counting down slowly.

Sayid tells them how to disarm the bomb but before he can rally off the risks, Sawyer performs the task and the countdown speeds up, surprisingly. Sawyer looks stupid at this point.

And then everyone about this episode went from awesome and amazing to utterly depressing. Sayid tells Jack where to find Desmond and tells him that he is the candidate, and in a span of perhaps five seconds he is gone, taking the bomb as far away as he can. It detonates in the center of the sub, killing Sayid instantly. Frank is hit by a door and left for dead. Water begins to blast in. Hurley takes an unconscious Kate and exits the sub. Jack and Sawyer attempt to help Jin free Sun but she is trapped. Sawyer bumps his head, knocks himself out, and Jack is left to take him to the ocean surface, demanded to so by Jin.

If I could cry, I imagine I would be in tears now. Alas, I cannot. Sun begs Jin to leave her behind, but he promises to never leave her again, and the two drown holding hands.

THEY JUST FOUND EACH OTHER AGAIN! How ridiculous.

The remaining Losties (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley) all make it back to the beach, and when Jack breaks the news that Jin and Sun are gone, they all let their emotions seep. Sad day. The episode ends as Locke senses thatt he sub sank and that everyone isn't dead. He leaves Claire on the dock.

NEXT WEEK: Epic, timeless, awesome episode that I shouldn't know anything about but I do and I can't wait. Allison Janney. Jacob. Man In Black. For one hour.