I Am DB

AN OFFICER AND A GEN…WELL, MAYBE NOT SUCH A GENTLEMAN
When Sawyer was seated across from Hurley on Sideways-815 and overheard him talking about his lottery winnings, he advised him that people might try to take advantage of him for his money. And he looked like he might be one of those people. But in light of what we learn in this episode, Sawyer was probably just looking out for him. For after seeing him in familiar sleep-with-hot-broad-then-let-her-“accidentally”-see-a-suitcase-full-of-money mode (the pitch and drop, as she calls it), we learn that this time Sawyer is an undercover cop with the LAPD. And to boot, Miles is his partner. I smell a CHiPs update!

So in SidewaysLand, Sawyer is the mostly honorable Detective James Ford. I say mostly because he does have a bit of bloodlust – he’s still seeking the Sawyer who he blames for his parents’ deaths. I wonder if the Anthony Cooper he’s after is still Locke’s father. We know from Locke’s sideways-flash that he has a better relationship with his father now, so perhaps his father is not a con man in this reality. Maybe the Anthony Cooper sought by Sawyer is a different one.

Or maybe not. Either way, Sawyer hides the list when Miles returns to the desk. But Miles hears him say something about Anthony Cooper and inquires, so Sawyer makes something up to cover it. Miles senses something is off and tells Sawyer that as partners, they can talk about anything. He also reminds Sawyer about the blind date he set up for him that night. He describes the girl as a friend of his who works at the museum with his dad – which is a cool premise, since he and Charlotte – who turns out to be the girl in question – probably played together as kids on the island. Now they’re off (along with Dr. Chang) and still friends.

Sawyer meets Charlotte for dinner that night, and the date goes well enough that they wind up back at his place. I’m not gonna lie – it was kinda weird seeing Sawyer and Charlotte hooking up. I really wanted to see Faraday bust into the room all George McFly and say, “Hey you, get your damn hands off her!” But no such luck.

When Sawyer leaves the room and Charlotte pulls open a drawer to find a T-shirt, she accidentally finds a folder labeled “Sawyer.” A photo of young James and his parents falls out, and when she opens the folder to replace it, she finds a newspaper clipping with the same picture and a headline about a child surviving the death of his parents. There’s a lot of other material in there as well, and when Sawyer walks in and finds her looking at it, he flies off the handle and kicks her out of the apartment.

The next day, we’re treated to an unexpected sight at Sawyer’s police station: Charlie’s brother Liam is in the lobby. When Sawyer passes by, Liam stops him and asks about his brother, who was arrested at the airport on a drug charge. Sawyer says that’s not his department and moves on. He finds Miles, who brings him into the locker room and chews him out for lying about going to Palm Springs the previous weekend when he was actually in Australia – a fact Miles confirmed by running Sawyer’s credit card. Sawyer thinks Miles has crossed a line, saying the reason for his trip down under is none of his partner’s business. Miles reacts by ending the partnership. I’ve gotta side with Sawyer on this. I understand that police partners needs to trust each other, but does that mean opening up every detail of their private lives? Even a cop is allowed to have some personal secrets, right?

I find it hilarious, if not a bit easy, that what melts Sawyer’s cold exterior on this subject is an episode of Little House on the Prairie, which he watches that night alone in his apartment as he eats dinner. It’s also a nice reference to earlier events. In Season Three’s episode Tricia Tanaka Is Dead, Sawyer mentioned watching a lot of Little House when he was a kid, prompting Kate to tease him. So Michael Landon shows Sawyer the error of his ways, moving him to go to Charlotte’s apartment with a sunflower and a six-pack to apologize. She’s not having it, and you can’t blame her. Next he tries Miles, pulling up outside of their station. In the car, he hands Miles the Sawyer folder and tells him what happened to his family, admitting that he’s been tracking this guy ever since he left the academy (he was in Australia following a lead, which turned up the name Anthony Cooper) and that when he finds him, he intends to kill him. He says he kept it to himself because he knew Miles would try to talk him out of it, which Miles says is absolutely right. Sawyer responds, “Fair enough,” suggesting that maybe he’s prepared to let the vendetta go…but just then a car smashes into theirs. The driver, already being pursued by a black and white, flees on foot. Sawyer and Miles follow in their car and cut the runner off. Sawyer grabs them and pins them against a fence, pulling off a sweatshirt hood to reveal Kate. He recognizes her from the plane, and I think she knows him too. She’s itchin’ to run, but he’s got her. Where’s this gonna go?

BABIES, BEARS AND BOATS
On the island, Sawyer and Jin are minding the store at Claire’s hut while Man in Locke runs his errand at The Temple. When Jin wakes up and learns that only he and Sawyer are there, he urgently says they have to leave. Sawyer surprises Jin by saying he’s with Locke. “That is not Locke,” Jin says, making me wish I knew what transpired after Man in Locke walked into Claire’s hut and Jin first saw him. What has Man in Locke told Jin?  Not an important question at all, just one I’d enjoy seeing an answer to. Jin says he has to find Sun, and Sawyer promises, “If she’s here, you got my word: we ain’t leavin’ without her.”

The Temple party arrives, but they aren’t staying long. Man in Locke says they have to keep moving, but that he’ll make himself available for questions soon. Cindy wants to know what happened to the people who stayed at The Temple. He says the Black Smoke killed them, which upsets the little boy Zack. He clutches his familiar teddy bear, and Man in Locke crouches down to reassure him that he’s safe and protected.

In Claire’s hut, Kate sees the freaky faux-baby and asks what it is. “It’s all I had,” Claire says coldly. She’s acting strange toward Kate – shooting furtive, scheming glances one minute and then smiling at her the next, even holding her hand when Locke talks about what the Smoke Monster did at The Temple. But Kate can see something is not right.

After some more walking, Man in Locke tells the group they’re going to make camp in a clearing and could be there for a few days. This doesn’t sit well with an antsy Sawyer. He questions Man in Locke, who takes him aside. When Sawyer asks him how he saved those people from the Smoke Monster, Locke admits that he is the Smoke Monster. Sawyer asks if he killed those people at The Temple…which is a fair question, though I might have first asked, “You wanna explain to me how it is that you transform into an enormous cloud of black smoke?” To each his own, I suppose. Locke tells Sawyer that he gave them all a chance to leave peacefully, but many refused “because they’re convinced that they’re protecting the island from me, when in fact all I want to do is leave. So it’s either kill or be killed. And I don’t want to be killed.”

He takes Sawyer to a nearby patch of beach with an outrigger canoe and says he wants him to go to Hydra Island and scope it out. He thinks some of other Ajira passengers intend to do them harm. He’s not worried about anything happening to Sawyer, who he calls “the best liar I ever met.” He tells Sawyer to make up whatever story he needs to in order to gain their trust and learn what he can, then to come report back. Turns out his plan is to get them all on the Ajira plane and leave the island. It seems sort of mundane that this guy who can turn into a giant billow of smoke needs a plane to get off the island, but I’ll let that alone. Eager to leave once and for all, Sawyer accepts the mission and sets off.

PROBLEM CHILD
Kate sits down on a log next to Sayid, who looks sad and distant. She asks if he believes Locke can get them off island (he says yes) and then asks if he’s alright (he says no). Claire suddenly grabs her from behind, throws her down, climbs on top of her and tries to stab her throat. Kate tries to fight her off and looks to Sayid for help, but he just sits there watching impassively. Man in Locke runs over and throws Claire off. She is freaking out, screaming that Kate took Aaron. “Claire you had disappeared,” Locke says. “Kate couldn’t find you; she did what she had to do.” Claire keeps struggling and screaming, and Locke slaps her hard across the face, stunning her…and Kate (but not Sayid, who shows no emotion or change in expression as he watches the scene with total detachment). “This is completely inappropriate,” Locke says. “Now go over there. I’ll deal with you in a minute.” Locke asks if Kate is alright. In tears, she says no. Locke goes to Claire and sits down next to her. Later, he finds Kate sitting alone against a tree.

L: I’m sorry Kate.
K: Excuse me?
L: I have to take responsibility for Claire’s behavior. I was the one who told her that the Others had her baby.
K: Why would you tell her that?
L: Have you ever had an enemy? Someone that you needed to hate? Very powerful, isn’t it? Claire was devastated without Aaron. She needed something to…something to keep her going, so I gave her something to hate. And then when you told her the truth, all those feelings, all that anger that she’d been holding onto for so long, it had to go somewhere.
K: That’s very insightful. Coming from a dead man.
L: Well nobody’s perfect. I’m sorry that this happened. And I’m sure if you give her time, everything will be alright. I promised before that I would keep everyone safe. And that means you too, Kate.
K: Where did Sawyer go?

In answer to her question, he brings her to the beach from earlier…

This Man in Locke fellow is a real enigma. What are we to make of him? He told Claire that The Others had Aaron in order to give her an enemy to hate, but isn’t he also responsible for separating Claire and Aaron in the first place? When Locke went into Jacob’s cabin and found Christian Shephard and Claire, he asked her where the baby was. Christian said Aaron was “where he’s supposed to be, and that’s not here.” (He also told Locke it would be best if he didn’t tell anyone that he saw Claire.) So the whole situation was orchestrated by the Man in Black, right? Was it because he needed Claire for some reason? Or was it that he needed Aaron to not be there? Does Aaron pose some threat? We recently saw Locke promise to reunite Claire with her son, but after expressing his “crazy mother” concerns to Kate, what are his intentions for the Littletons?

Furthering the Man in Locke puzzle is that he seems…he seems pretty decent and compassionate, by and large. Sure, there’s the occasional slap across the face of a hysterical woman or black smoke rampage through enemy territory, but when it comes to his people, he seems genuinely concerned. He offered friendly reassurance to Zack, he appears sympathetic to Kate, he admits to Sawyer that he smokes, he seems up front and open about his plans….is it all just a grand performance?  Remember that when he spoke to Ben in the statue, telling him about what the real Locke was thinking when Ben killed him, he says that Locke was the only one of the Flight 815 castaways “who realized how pitiful the life he left behind actually was.” That doesn’t sound like someone who has much regard for people who are trying to get back to those pitiful lives. So if we are to believe Jacob’s followers that the Man in Black is an enemy who wants to destroy everyone on the island, then what is he playing at with his followers?

And what of this story he tells Kate about his mother? Is all of that made up? It seems awfully modern-day-therapy for a dude who’s been on the island for probably 100+ years. Yet as he talks, he does seem to be touching some raw nerves. The way he says “problems that could have been avoided had things been different” sounds heavy with meaning and feeling. Is he really the product of a difficult childhood? And if so, how has that shaped his agenda and actions?

As Kate heads back to the camp after her talk with Man in Locke, Claire approaches her and apologizes, saying she knows Kate only did what she did because she cares about her. She thanks her for taking care of Aaron and breaks down crying, throwing her arms around Kate, who tentatively returns the embrace. I was afraid Claire might grab for the rifle slung over Kate’s shoulder or try something else, but this outpouring of emotion was what it was. What happens to Claire now? Will she stay loyal to Man in Locke when shit starts to go down? What will happen when she finds out about her connection to Jack?

SPY GAME
Sawyer arrives on Hydra Island and takes a nostalgic walk around the cages where he and Kate had been held prisoner. He finds the plane, which looks intact if not a bit bruised. You gotta hand it to Lapidus – the guy is good. Sawyer continues to look around, but all is eerily quiet. He finally comes upon a circular pile of fresh dead bodies, and then sees someone running away nearby. He gives chase, tackling his quarry and pulling his gun on what turns out to be a scared woman who tells him she’s the only one left. But her story is vague. She says they were waiting after the crash to be rescued, and while she was out gathering firewood, she heard screaming and came back to find them all dead.

Sawyer tells her he’s with a group of people on the other island. She asks a lot of questions, and Sawyer knows something is up. When he holds her at gunpoint again and tells her he knows she’s lying, she whistles and some not-very-tough-looking guys with rifles pop up out of the brush. Sawyer puts his gun down and lowers to his knees. “Take me to your leader,” he says, unfazed.

The woman – Zoe – and her armed companions escort Sawyer to a docked submarine. On their way, he sees people setting up smaller versions of the pylons that surrounded New Otherton, protecting them from the Smoke Monster and other unfriendly forces. Zoe leads Sawyer onto the sub and down a hall where he notices a padlocked door. She knocks on a door and presents Sawyer to the Bossman.

When Sawyer tells Widmore he can kill Locke, Widmore smiles but doesn’t confirm that that’s even what he wants to do. I interpreted it as the smile of a man who’s amused because he’s dealing with someone who thinks he knows what he’s doing but doesn’t. What if Widmore is there to help the Man in Black get off the island? If Widmore is the ferryman come to help Man in Black escape, Sawyer might be the mark in a con bigger than he’s ever been involved in before and possibly beyond his ability to navigate.

A SIMPLE PLAN
Sawyer arrives back on the main island, and Man in Locke eagerly helps him pull the canoe ashore.

L: How did it go?
S: You didn’t really send me over there to find passengers from that plane, did you?
L: No.
S: Well in case you’re interested, they’re all dead.
L: Well that’s terrible. What happened?
S: I don’t know.
L: Well what do you know, James?
S: I know there’s a man over there on that island that ain’t gonna let us get on that plane without a fight. Came over on a sub. Name’s Widmore.
L: Charles Widmore?
S: Well I guess y’all know each other. He ain’t alone. Counted at least six armed compadres with him, not to mention whatever crew’s on that sub. There’s a locked room on there, somethin’ they’re hidin.’ And they’re settin’ up pylons, like the ones in New Otherton. You know…the ones that keep out that smoke thing?
L: And what did you tell them about me?
S: I told ‘em I’d tell you the coast was clear and bring you back with me, walk you right into their trap. That way they can kill you. Which means they’ll be caught with their pants down when we change our plan of attack.
L: I appreciate your loyalty, James.
S: You said you were gonna get me off this island. Deal’s a deal.

Man in Locke (or should I blame Terry O’Quinn?) is maddeningly inscrutable; it is impossible to interpret his reaction when he hears that Widmore is there. He seems surprised by it, but who knows?  When Sawyer talks about changing their plan of attack, Man in Locke smiles. Just like Widmore did. Again, I see it as a smile indicating he could barely hide how amused he was by Sawyer’s interpretation of what’s really happening. Also, why was Sawyer so suspicious about the sub’s locked door? I haven’t been on many submarines in my day – I think the last one was the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride at DisneyWorld in 1987 – but I would think it’s not uncommon to have locked doors. Hell, I’ve got a padlocked storage unit in the carport at my apartment, and I can assure you there is nothing dangerous or illegal in there.

Seriously. There is absolutely nothing dangerous or illegal in my locked storage unit. Nothing.

Anyway, let me go over this, just to keep it straight in my head. Man in Locke said to Richard at the end of last season, when their group was on the way to see Jacob, that after that visit they were “gonna need to deal with the rest of the passengers on the Ajira flight that brought me here.” When Richard asked what he meant by “deal with them,” Locke replied, “You know what I mean.” The sinister implication there supports the notion that Man in Locke thinks there are people on the flight who mean him harm. And so sending Sawyer to Hydra Island for recon makes sense. But upon Sawyer’s return, he admits that he didn’t really send him there to seek out Ajira passengers. So why did he send him there? If Widmore is indeed there to help him, could the mission have been to find out if Widmore was in place yet? Why not just tell Sawyer that? Given all the activity around the sub, my guess is that even if Widmore is there to help get them off the island, he’s there for more than just that. If Man in Locke is going to betray his followers, then perhaps Widmore and Company are going to help him with that as well, in which case Locke would keep Sawyer in the dark.

But what do we make of the pylons? Do those suggest that Widmore and his people are trying to protect themselves from the Man in Locke? Or are they meant to protect others from getting to them? The New Otherton pylons have a high-pitch frequency that can be fatal, so they aren’t just protection from Smokey. Maybe they’re there to keep the sub safe from Team Jacob. And what about Widmore’s claim that he didn’t kill the people Sawyer found piled up outside, who I assume are the Ajira passengers? Do we believe him? If Widmore isn’t there to help the Man in Black, does that mean he’s on Jacob’s side? Does that make him a good guy after all? Something doesn’t add up.

Actually, many things don’t add up, but I can’t even comprehend them all. My head aches.

Sawyer sits with Kate and tells her about Widmore and the armed team setting up camp on other island. She doesn’t react to hearing Widmore’s name, but she certainly knows who he is and that the freighter was his, having been on Penny’s rescue boat when the Oceanic Six constructed the lie. Sawyer tells her that Widmore is there for Locke, but no one has confirmed that. It’s all Sawyer’s assumptions and suspicions.

K: So what are you gonna do?
S: I’m gonna let them fight it out. And while they got their hands full with each other, you and me are gettin’ the hell off this island.
K: Even if we could get on that plane, who’s gonna fly it?
S: We ain’t takin’ the plane, Freckles. We’re takin’ the sub.

This wouldn’t be the first time Sawyer pitted two power players against each other. He got his hands on all the guns from the hatch after duping both Locke and Jack. Can he do it again? And more importantly, are the two power players in this game even on opposite teams?

LOOSE ENDS/FOOD FOR THOUGHT
-It didn’t occur to me, but I’ve read some comments online questioning why Sawyer let Kate escape from the airport security guards in the season premiere if he’s a cop. Did his desire to help out a pretty woman temporarily disable his moral compass?

-After this episode, I was thinking about some of the significant choices that characters have made in the sideways reality and how they align with or differ from the kinds of choices we’ve known them to make in the past. Sawyer tells Charlotte that he got to a point where he was going to become a criminal or a cop, and he chose cop…but he still wants to kill the real Sawyer. Ben shows the capability for blackmail when he tries to oust his principal, but ultimately chooses to abandon his plan in favor of assisting Alex with her future goals. Kate takes the time to go back and help Claire, but she’s still trying to elude capture by the law. Sayid initially chooses to respect Nadia’s request not to go after those responsible for attacking his brother, but when they come for him, he kills them rather than showing mercy. Not sure what I’m getting at, other than most of them seem to make better choices in SidewaysLand than they did before, even though they come right up to the line between right and wrong. I really can’t wait to see how SidewaysLand reconciles with the island timeline and what all of these alternadventures mean.

-Reader David Z. reminded me that at one point last season, while the island was still flashing through time, Locke, Sawyer, Juliet, Charlotte, Faraday and Miles took one of the outrigger canoes and tried to get around the island to The Orchid station, but while en route they came under gunfire from another outrigger in the distance. As they fired back, another flash came and saved them… placing them in the middle of a raging storm that forced them back to shore. We never found out who those people were that fired on them. Seeing Widmore’s camp on Hydra Island made David – and now me – wonder if we might find out the answer to that mystery this season.

-I’m sure no one cares about this or even noticed but me, but there were some really odd visual touches to this episode. There were a handful of shots – mainly of Sawyer – that were in really soft focus and poorly lit. They looked like they’d come from a bad pan-and-scan version of an 80’s action B-movie. Anyone else notice this? I checked the credits, and the episode was directed and photographed by two Lost regulars, so I don’t know what to make of it. But it really stood out to me.

-Amazon has the complete series DVD set available for pre-order, and I thought this picture was pretty cool even though I’m sure it’s not he final cover art. But I like the image of the island hidden under a sheet with a Dharma insignia.

LINE OF THE NIGHT
Alas, no standouts in this episode – kind of surprising for a Sawyer-centric outing.

Tonight’s Episode: Ab Aeterno