Season 3 Episode 4 "Every Man For Himself"

So a very mixed reaction from last night's episode...some loved it and some hated it. We certainly encounter more questions (get used to it) and not a lot of answers, but in my opinion, that's what makes the show fun. Well, let's get to it...

In short, Sawyer get's his ass conned a number of times. So much in fact, that we don't even know what's a con and what's real at this point. (For example, how do we even know that he really has a daughter? That seemed like an obvious con that the woman pulled on him in the flashback -- and now he's lost his "commission" to some fake baby in Albuquerque...but that's neither here nor there -- at least we know Sawyer's a softie under it all). I thought the pacemaker con was pretty obvious (and hilariously brilliant), and of course we end with the mysterious "other Island." What the hell is going on there?

I'll break it down in a couple different camps:

The other Island is a con, it is simply another empty island

This struck me as the most realistic answer. But why even bother showing this other island to Sawyer in the first place? They already had him scared she*tless that his heart was going to explode every time Kate shot a look his way (or took her shirt off), so he really wasn't posing all that much of a problem anymore. Furthermore, his shown restraint affected Kate's overall behavior (not escaping) - which is like an added bonus for Ben and the Others. Bottom line, Sawyer doesn't know what to think at this point. Which may be exactly what Ben wants.

Ben is telling the truth

So if Ben is telling the truth, the Hydra station is located on a smaller satellite island (twice the size of Alcatraz), and is/was used to monitor all other Dharma stations as well as possibly house a zoo full of Dharma circus sideshow acts. In pieces this makes sense. First we learn that the others have a submarine when Ben admits that the "sub is back and we have a problem." This is obviously how Colleen and co. were able to climb aboard the sailboat undetected. (By the way, the sub's name is 'Galaga' ... don't ask me how I know this, it's incredibly geeky). Secondly, it's conceivable that the Hydra station has underground tunnels that connect to the main Island. And remember the mystery cable that was found coming out of the water in Season 1? Yeah, that probably heads out to Othertraz. Finally, Rouseau's map that Sayid now has shows smaller islands drawn around the main one.

But how, you may ask, have resident badasses Sayid and Locke NOT seen this land mass? Well, one somewhat far fetched theory is that maybe the main island has been under some sort of invisibility cloak, and that the electromagnetic pulse release has lifted said cloak. Remember when Ben, while captive, told Locke that "no one can see this island, not even God?" And remember when that arctic crew (that has since been untouched) presumably "found" the island and phoned Desmond's lover to say so? Well, that happened right after the pulse was released. So go figure.

Either that, or Sayid and Locke just never got around to the back part of the Island to see Othertraz. Whatever you're more comfortable with.

Speaking of the pulse but switching topics...it was easy to miss the quick lines that Zeke muttered right as Sawyer was waking up on the O.R. table: "It's been 2 days since the sky turned purple, we've been blind, our coms are all down..." Sounds as if the pulse release was as unexpected to them as it was to the losties. Food for thought.

Quick notes: Jack is learning why he has been brought to the Hydra upon seeing that tumor.. --the question is, whose is it? Probably Ben's, but that seems too obvious for some reason. ... We see a little more of newbie Paulo, and learn that he's got a pretty ugly golf swing. ... Juliette is a fertility doctor, interesting. ... And that bunny scene was probably one of the coolest/creepiest of the season so far.

And FINALLY, what the hell is up with Desmond? Well, I'll tell you what's up, it seems like he can definitely see into the future in some capacity. He asked Claire if she would move to the beach for the night so that he could fix her roof. Well, he didn't want to fix it, he just didn't want her to be there when a violent bolt of lighting crashed down upon her, most likely killing her and Charlie (although I doubt he cared too much about Charlie). When she refused, he constructed a lightning rod to divert the deadly bolt. Well done, sir.

Some screencaps:

A visitor pass from Sawyer's prison...he was in Florida.

Hydra Uniform

Spinal Xray...but of who?

And what's this? In last week's Hallucination, we see Sawyer holding on to a "Gannon Car Rental" form! This form actually also appears in TWO other episodes (in which I have pics to, but for some reason can't post right now). Obviously the writers have taken notice to this here fledgling blog. (ed. note: my last name is Gannon).

OK, so that's it for this week. We have two more weeks of mystery and then a loooong break (till Feb!), so eat it up, folks. If you saw the preview for next week, you know a big one is on the way... till then.