Oh, she just got her bell rung.
The Good
Nice to see everyone again! I got all excited at the sight of the beach and even Kate!
The board game scene reminded me of Locke’s lunchtime game break from Walkabout. Sawyer and Hurley aren’t so good at playing world domination for real but they were heroic none the less.
A Charlie shout out from Claire of all people!
No Desmond but at least he was referred to as Sayid’s “friend” and the Elizabeth was remembered. Presumably there is a lot more to Ben’s escape from the island than stealing Des’s boat. I almost thought when he disappeared into the Bat Cave he was going to end up in the Tunisia desert almost a year later. I guess we have to wait for something to happen to his arm before he disappears.
It was interesting to see more of how Sayid was driven to work with Ben. From Ben’s little smile, it appears he made Sayid want to help him so who’s to believe anything he said about Nadia’s death. I wouldn't put it passed him to be behind it. Sayid has the best sad eyes, like a basset hound who can turn into a pit bull when the need arises.
Poor sick Jack. I kept expecting him to vomit every time they showed him. Get out of the way Juliet and Kate, Sawyer’s coming back just in time to nurse him to health! Does this illness get Jack a seat off the island which he wouldn’t have taken otherwise?
I was surprised to find out that Daniel knew all along there would be no rescue. That adds an edge to his otherwise squishy character. Also, Bernard rules, as always.
The Bad
I am decidedly meh about the Smoke Monster ever since I can’t figure out why it spared and then killed Mr. Eko. Hopefully it took care of Keamy.
Okay, so the island was Mr. Widmore’s? And he can’t be killed, why? Because he is more a more important character than Karl, Rousseau, Alex and Nadia put together.
The Ugly
I can’t believe they executed Alex in such a brutal way. It was bad enough that Rousseau was similarly dismissed but Alex too? That pretty much ruined an otherwise interesting episode. I get why they did it for Ben’s character but it’s such a shame they could not think of any other way to motivate him beyond killing Alex. It’s lazy storytelling to keep sacrificing characters for shock purposes, especially those whose story’s are not yet over.
As soon as Alex died, I actually yelled at my TV, “Oh no, he’s going to go after Penny!” Later when Ben actually makes this threat, my husband’s arm bore the brunt of my anger. I hope Ben doesn’t take Penny’s advice about “enough money” and “determination” when it comes to finding someone. I predict she will end up on the island before anyone and stay there to be safe.
Sadly, Alex’s death overshadowed the other blow for this episode. Poor Nadia who survived so much and seemingly found happiness only to have it taken away. Why are female characters so disposable on this show? It riles me to no ends that their deaths (Shannon, Libby, Alex) are used to generate the male character’s angst.
Sorry, I did not mean to turn this into an essay!