The Package

Well, Sun finally gets to actually do more than complain about finding Jin this week. Although, when you think about it, that's pretty much all she did in the 2007 time line in this episode. Mostly in Korean. However, in 2004, she's a hot tamale!

In case you haven't heard, there's been a wedding amongst our Lost actors - Yunjin Kim married her long time boyfriend over the weekend. They won't go on honeymoon though until after they finish filming Lost.

Well, enough celebrity gossip. Let's get on with the show!

Sun in 2004

It turns out that Sun and Jin are not married in our sideways timeline. Thus, she and Jin have different rooms. But when Jin comes over to tell her he's going to Keamy's restaurant, Sun takes control, using her feminine wiles to seduce him. It turns out, Jin asked her to button her sweater on the plane not to control her, but to maintain the illusion that they aren't lovers. For that is clearly what they are. The next morning, she tries to talk Jin into running off with her (in the original timeline, she was going to run away from him), stating she has something to tell him. But they're interrupted by Keamy, who wants to know where his money is.

Sun has a plan - she'll get it from her super-secret account! With Mikhail Bakunin (!) as her translator, she goes to the bank, only to find her father's closed her account. Back at the restaurant, they find what Sayid left, but Jin has escaped, and after Bakunin shoots off two rounds, Jin shoots him dead. But not before Sun is shot in the stomach. She reveals what we already figured out - she's pregnant!

Did you notice Sun looking at herself in the mirror before letting Keamy in? She looked a little confused, like she didn't recognize herself...

Jin in 2004

Jin has apparently put his life in his hands by having an affair with the boss's daughter. He should be relieved customs took his money - he never asked what it was for, but we learned it was Keamy's fee for killing Jin! Apparently, no one's allowed to sleep with Sun.

Jin is far more nervous about the missing money than Sun, and doesn't jump at her offer to run off with her. He might have been talked into it, however, had Keamy not interrupted their idyll. He begs Keamy to not tell the boss that Jin and Sun are having an affair, and goes to the restaurant with Keamy and Omar. He's in the refrigerator tied up when Sayid shoots the kitchen up. Sayid gives Jin the tools he needs to escape, and he shoots Bakunin dead. Sadly, Sun is shot as well. It's then he learns he's going to be a father.

Sayid in 2004

So, is Sayid just as dead in the sideways timeline as he appears to be in 2007? The helpful man on the plane who kicked the bathroom door down to rescue Charlie from his drug overdose wouldn't set Jin free. Of course, in Sayid's defense, it probably would have been foolish to release a stranger who doesn't speak any language he knows right after killing Keamy et al. But there was something cold in how Sayid notes, "I don't know why you're here and I don't care." At least he gives Jin the box cutter.

Martin Keamy in 2004

No surprise to find out that Keamy works for Mr. Paik. Is he a contractor or is their relationship more permanent? Does he act as a loan shark for Mr. Paik too? He's still a heartless killer who doesn't care about the lives he disrupts. I was a little surprised that Sayid's bullets didn't kill him, but I'm going to guess (hope?) that he's dead now.

Mikhail Bakunin in 2004

How fun to see him again! Apparently, Mikhail is a friend of a friend of Keamy's. And he's a genius with languages, apparently knowing Korean. Sadly for him, he's doomed to lose that eye in any timeline, including this one.

Sun in 2007

Sun is clearly tired of all the stalling and all the talk about destiny and candidates. She just wants to find her husband. She retreats to a place where she's retreated before - the garden she grew so lovingly all those years ago. Okay, just 3, but still.

She's alone at the garden when she's approached by notLocke. And she's clearly uncomfortable, if not frightened. He promises to provide her with what she's been wanting - to be reunited with Jin - but when he stretches his hand out to her, she does what (so far) no one else has done - she runs away from him. Sadly, she doesn't look where she's going and runs into a tree, sustaining brain trauma.

The brain trauma induces a weird form of aphasia, in which she can only speak Korean but can understand English. Remember the first season when she pretended she didn't understand English? Further, we see that when Richard returns with a plan, Sun is the only one who doesn't fall in line. Instead, she goes off, in Korean, basically telling Richard that she will do nothing that will destroy their only way home.

We then get what would have been one of the best scenes in the night if ABC hadn't put a "V" tag on the corner, hiding what Sun was writing. Sun is staring out into the ocean when Jack joins her. He's figured out that just because she can't speak English doesn't mean she can't write it (I do believe that speech and writing are controlled by different parts of the brain). She didn't follow notLocke because she didn't trust him, but she does trust Jack. He promises to find Jin, if she goes him to the Hydra Island. She takes his hand.

I had forgotten how close these two had been in the first season. It was nice to see again, especially after all the animostiy Sun felt toward Jack after Jin "died" in the freighter explosion.

Jin in 2007

Well, Sun may not be able to speak English, but Jin sure can! Almost like a mirror to the first season!

Jin's having nothing to do with notLocke, and once notLocke leaves the camp, he gathers his stuff. When Sawyer tries to talk him out of it, Jin makes it clear that he wants to leave "before that thing comes back." However, it's taken out of his hands when Zoe and Frederick - I mean Seamus - shoot them all with darts. It turns out that Jin's the guy.

Jin wakes up in, of all places, Room 23. We've seen that place before! Jin finds the subliminal experiment video, which he quickly turns off. It turns out that Jin is "the guy" because during his time in the DHARMA Initiative, he worked on a map that showed the electromagnetic pockets on the Island. But Jin holds his ground - he'll only talk with Charles Widmore.

Widmore did one of the nicest things for anyone I've ever seen him do - he shows Jin the pictures of his daughter on Sun's camera. Jin knew he had a daughter, but he's never met her and never seen pictures of her. Did you cry when watching? I wanted to. He's so proud. I hope that we get to see him meet her.

For reasons not clear to us, Widmore decides that Jin needs to see Widmore's "package", which is not a what, but a who.

Ben in 2007

Like Sun, Ben is restless to move, and isn't confident that Richard will actually help them out. While out gathering fruit, he finds Sun unconscious. After bringing her back to Ilana's camp, he finds Ilana staring at him.

Ben: What? Oh, for the fourth time, I was gathering mangoes and she was already unconscious when I found her. Why won't you believe me?
Ilana: Because you're talking.

I found that to be extremely hilarious. You may be allowed in the fold, Ben, but they still don't trust you.

Claire in 2007

I am going to take a stand and declare that Claire hasn't really forgiven Kate for taking and raising Aaron. She's curious - is her name on the cave? No. Kate's? Not anymore. She comments that she is a stranger to her own son and that Kate's his mother now. But that's okay. Once notLocke is finished with Kate, Claire can do whatever she wants to her. I don't think that bodes well for Kate.

Desmond in 2007

Well, big surprise that Desmond was locked in that room in the submarine. I know it was supposed to be a big reveal, but it really wasn't. Instead, it was the eye contact between the drugged Desmond and the numbed Sayid that really hit home. These two once worked together. No longer.

Jack in 2007

Jack's back! He's like the leader we had in Season 1. Only, he's different. Because now he believes in that which cannot be seen. He trusts in Richard and Jacob. He tries to talk to Sun about the business of candidacy but backs off when it's clear she wants to hear none of it. But after her confrontation with notLocke, he approaches her again, giving her a tomato that he'd found in her garden. He makes a deal with her - come with them and he'll help her find Jin.

I kind of have to wonder - why does she have to come with him? Couldn't he help her find Jin whether she joins him or not?

Ilana in 2007

Ilana is only second to Jack in her devotion to Jacob, holding faith that Richard will return, and that he will have the answers for them. An extremely patient woman, she finally has a chance to change clothes. But she also lets us know that she still thinks Ben is a big liar.

Kate in 2007

Kate has an extremely minor role this week. Sawyer spends a lot of time talking with her. Claire glares at her.

Miles in 2007

There's only one reason to bring up Miles from this episode. As Ilana expressed faith that Hurley would find Richard and bring him back, Miles snarks, "Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I'm not sure Hurley's tracking anything." Oh, Miles.

notLocke in 2007

notLocke was a little out of control this week. Jin doesn't trust him, Sawyer continues to confront him publicly, Sun runs away from him, and Widmore's people shoot darts at his people while he's gone.

We learned a little bit about why he's gathering candidates - he needs them all to leave the Island. And the fact that he didn't take Sun with him after she was knocked unconscious indicates that they really do have to follow him of their own free will.

notLocke is not very comforting with the man he makes his second in command. It's okay that you're numb, Sayid, because it will help you get through what's coming. What's coming? And how does notLocke know about it?

notLocke clearly doesn't like Kate very much. He lies to Claire about whether Kate's name was in the cave and whether Claire's name was. No matter what Claire feels about Kate, and she clearly doesn't mean Kate well, notLocke needs Kate to help him get the other three candidates on the plane. Once that's done, "Whatever happens, happens."

notLocke is justifiably angry that his camp was attacked and Jin taken. Not that Jin would have stayed in his camp. So he takes Sayid and goes to the Hydra Island. And confronts Widmore. Widmore stays behind the safety of the pylons. When asked, Widmore denies taking Jin. Whether he lied or didn't know we just don't know. Either way, notLocke gives one of the great lines of the night, "A wise man once said that war was coming to this Island. I think it just got here."

Richard Alpert in 2007

The other Man in Black returns to Ilana's camp, and he's the man we've known through the years. Decisive and determined, he makes his plans to prevent notLocke's escape from the Island. Perhaps fortunately for him, he doesn't understand Korean. His ears would have burned.

His plan to prevent notLocke's escape? Blow up the airplane on the Hydra Island.

Sawyer in 2007

Sawyer is disturbed that Jin is planning on leaving notLocke's camp. I'm not sure why. He definitely takes offense when Jin questions Sawyer's willingness to listen to notLocke. They don't get a chance to finish the argument, thanks to Zoe and Frederick - I mean Seamus.

Sawyer confronts notLocke when he announces that he and Sayid are going to the Hydra Island on an outrigger. He wants to know why notLocke doesn't just smoke on over to the Hydra. notLocke responds: "Do you think, if I could do that, I would still be on this Island?" Sawyer responds, "No, because that would be ridiculous." He has a point.

When notLocke returns from the Hydra Island without Jin or Sayid, Sawyer asks about them. It's good to know that he still cares about his friends. I don't know what kind of relationship Jin and Sawyer had during the three years of their time together in the DHARMA Initiative, as it doesn't appear to have made them close like Sawyer and Miles. But Sawyer's still looking out for him.

Sayid in 2007

Sayid is the logical one to choose as a second-in-command. I would. But when promoted, Sayid says, "I don't feel anything. Anger, happiness, pain. I don't feel it anymore." He doesn't feel enough to even be terribly bothered by this numbness. But he is slightly bothered by it. At least, enough to comment on it.

Sayid can swim, and he takes on the mission of finding out what is in Widmore's locked room. As he comes out of the water, all Apocalypse Now, he comes eye-to-eye with an equally numbed Desmond. But they did recognize each other.

Widmore in 2007

I noted Widmore's kindness to Jin earlier. It's not the first time we've seen him be kind. I'm thinking of his conversation with a 12-year-old Ben in Dead is Dead. But I also felt that he was manipulating Jin. Big surprise, hunh? As Jin looks at his daughter's pictures, Widmore states:

I know what it's like to be kept apart...I understand the one thing you want is to be reunited with your wife and daughter. But it would be short-lived if that thing masquerading as John Locke ever left this Island...Everyone we know and loved would simply cease to be.

Like notLocke, Widmore has lost a little control over his own camp. Zoe bags and tags Jin too soon, because Jin was about to leave notLocke's camp. I assume that his verbal confrontation with notLocke was too soon for his own taste.

Widmore's still a mixed bag, however, as evidenced by his decision to drug his own son-in-law and bring him back to the Island. Also, knowing the time frame, I think it is safe to say that Desmond is probably still recovering from the gunshot wound he sustained from Ben. Maybe the Island will heal him quickly. However, Desmond's presence as the Package does not bode well for Widmore's relationship with Penny.

Zoe in 2007

Zoe barely warrants a mention, except that she apparently bagged and tagged Jin too early for Widmore's plan. She points out that he perhaps should have found a mercenary to do the job instead of a geophysicist. I guess she doesn't know what a disaster the mercenary Widmore hired made of things.

Well, now that we've got that done: Questions:

Whose Side is Widmore On, Anyway?

For a long time, we thought of Widmore as the "big-bad" of the Island, the one willing to do anything to return to it, seemingly to engage in evil-doing. When Miles was "kidnapped" by Bram after being hired by Widmore to return to the Island, Bram told Miles that he was on the wrong side of the war coming up.

Yet it now seems that Widmore and Ilana have the same goal - preventing notLocke from leaving the Island. Will they join forces? Or are their methods for achieving this goal so far opposed to each other that they can never work together?

What's the Connection Between the Sideways Timeline and the 2007 Timeline?

There has to be a connection. We just don't know what it is. Until recently, it appeared that the lives of our characters were better in the sideways time than they had been. Jack resolved some of his father issues and improved his relationship with his son. John Locke confronted his own feelings of helplessness and deepened his relationship with Helen, whom he plans to marry. Kate escaped, at least for a little while. Ben's a high school teacher.

But, while Nadia lives, she is not Sayid's lover, despite their obvious love for each other. Sawyer's life is still overshadowed by what happened to his parents. Kate was caught. And Sun was shot in the stomach.

So, what is this timeline? Is it the result of Juliet blowing up Jughead? Or is it what would happen if notLocke escapes? Is it the beginning of the end, the ceasing of what all knew and loved as predicted by Widmore?

There's so much more, but I'm exhausted. What did you think?