SO GOOD!!! 5 stars from me.
Again, Henry had me going back and forth. I was really convinced now that he wasn't an Other. He was alone in that armory and he looked genuinely scared. When the speakers start doing a weird static sound and countdown, he looks genuinely confused and scared. When the countdown beeping starts, he looks, again, genuinely confused and scared. He helped Locke and pushed the button and afterward, stayed. He took care of Locke. Ana Lucia, Sayid, and Charlie found the balloon and grave. I thought for sure, he was who he was claiming to be.
Then BLAM! Sayid lays it all out in the last minute that he still didn't believe and dug up the grave only to find there was a man buried in it and the ID with the body says Henry Gale. Dude!! The writers tricked me over and over again with Henry! But still, does that mean he's an Other? Or did he crash there like everyone else and has a reason for lying and saying he's Henry Gale?
Gah, Michael Emerson is so amazing. The character of Henry (I'll keep calling him that until we find out what his real name is) is such a brilliant character. He knows exactly how to get to people. Pushing Locke's button with the "why do you let him talk to you like that?" comment and then when the weird static starts, "Maybe you should get Jack". Locke wants to feel in control and like he can handle things on his own and Henry knows that. Locke does not like the idea of not being his own man or not being the leader of the island he so believes in.
You may have noticed in the last episode that Sun had a pregnancy test that said Widmore Labs. Eagle eyed hardcore viewers have noticed that we've been Widmore THREE times now. I created a separate thread on the Widmore Corporation because I felt it may warrant more discussion and because it's linked to more episodes than just this one.
I was SO happy in the first flashback when Helen was reading the obituaries and said Anthony Cooper was dead. GOOD! Unfortunately, I had to put away the noise makers and confetti because he faked his death. Geez, this man is completely ruining Locke's life and Locke is being an idiot by constantly letting Anthony into his life. He really had it made. He had moved on with his life, was happy, and was ready to propose to Helen. I can't even begin to tell you how much I hate Anthony! Helen was so very great when she smacked him and went off on him for what he did to John and for dragging him right back in when they'd finally gotten past him.
I was SO mad that John even went to that bar with Anthony. As soon as he saw Anthony roll down the window, he should have told him to go eff himself and walked away. Gah, not only did he meet with him, but he actually went to the bank to get that money and then went to meet him! Why John? Why?! I want to punch Anthony in his smug face and then smack John upside the head.
It was neat to see the Oceanic airplanes on their way to landing flying overhead at the motel!
Did you notice the big character connection on Locke's flashback? Nadia!! Looks like the feds weren't lying to Sayid when they said Nadia was living in Irvine, California. Locke was there to do a home inspection of the house she bought. It's funny that these characters have links in their pasts to each other and have no idea and may never know. Makes you wonder how often that happens in our lives? Much more than we realize, I bet. I hear people say "what a small world" quite a bit and there's always more than what you realize or will ever see.
You know what's funny? It just dawned on me that Michael is still missing. I almost forgot about him and Walt. The Losties have given in and realized that you can't stop people from doing what they want to do. Michael wanted to go out there, he did. The Losties don't have the experience or knowledge of their enemy or the island or what's going on to do anything about it. They tried and they were quickly shut down with major threats to the rest of their camp so what else can they do but continue living each day? When Jack was still riled up, he went to Ana Lucia with talk of training an army. Now that his anger has worn off and he's able to see things clearly again, I think he's come to his senses. Plus Sawyer took all the guns, so there's that.
Back to this weird static and countdown in the hatch. What was that all about? I know myself and others thought it had to do with the food drop. You could hear the voice say the words "please proceed" and "protocol". The lockdown happened as if trying to keep everyone inside so the food could be dropped and then after however much time, the blast doors go back up. But why the need to lock them in? Is it connected in any way to the food drop? Do the people dropping it off not want the people working in the hatch to know or see where the food is coming from? Why are there still food drops when it seems like the Dharma Initiative isn't really active anymore? I mean, the orientation film said it was a two-man job but there was only Desmond. Desmond wasn't supposed to be one of the men. He unfortunately shipwrecked on the island and Inman brought him in and explained what it is they were doing there.
The orientation film also mentioned the two-man crew would be there for only 540 days and then would be replaced with another pair and so on. That's roughly 1 1/2 years. Desmond was there for THREE years! Something went wrong somewhere which was why I assumed the Dharma Initiative was no more. And yet, they got a food drop. Is the food drop being done by a company the Hanso Foundation had paid to make the drops? If so, how does this company not know that the project ended, that is, if it has ended? Who is still paying for these drops to happen? Is it possible that even the Hanso Foundation doesn't know that their Dharma Initiative is having major issues? I mean, someone has to know something. Replacements are not being sent. Who the heck dropped the ball on that one?
This whole Dharma Initiative might also warrant its own thread for discussion. This food drop really threw a wrench into what I thought was going on!
So how about that really neat blast door secret blacklight map? Crazy and man, did we fans go nuts over that! That lead to weeks of discussions, zoomed in pics, translation (there's a lot of stuff written in Latin). Really interesting. Who drew it an why? Also, why did the person feel the need to make it secret with the whole special blacklight mix they used to write with?
The whole poker scene between Jack and Sawyer was hilarious! I really loved seeing Jack beat Sawyer at a game that involves bluffing and conning. So great! Sawyer really needed to be put in his place and yay, Jack got the meds back! I really enjoyed badass cardsharp Jack.
Favorite quotes and moments:Every poker scene
Helen: (to Locke about his father's death) Hey, maybe he left you his kidney.
Jack: Sawyer, you're busted. I got it all. It wouldn't really be fair for you to go pick more mangoes.
Sawyer: Oh, I've got a hell of lot more than mangoes. You want to play real stakes? Name 'em.
Jack: [laughing] It's a pile of fruit, man.
Sawyer: And I want it back.
Kate: Should I go and get a ruler?
Sawyer: Hey, when I asked you what you wanted for stakes -- why didn't you ask for the guns?
Jack: When I need the guns, I'll get the guns.
VERY GOOD INDEED! Especially the ending!!!
