TUIW Conversation: Lost – “Recon”

Each week, after taking a couple days to digest the episode and read what the blogs are says, we’re going to have a TUIW Conversation about Lost to try and unpack the episode, bounce theories off each other, and see if we can’t figure out what’s going on with our favorite group of TV castaways (sorry Gilligan!)

Michael: So Jonah, the previous two weeks of Lost we had “Sundown” and “Dr. Linus,” two episodes that saw two of our favorite Losties choose sides in the coming war between Jacob and Smokey. After watching “Recon” though, it appears we have a few wild cards. First, there’s Charles Widmore, who we’ve previously known as evil, but he’s arrived on the Island to apparently kill Smokey, yet, it’s still ambiguous as to if he’s on Team Jacob. Then there’s our favorite nicknaming machine, Sawyer, who had previously seemed to join up with Team Smokey, only to reveal in the closing moments of “Recon” that he plans to just let the fight between Widmore and Smokey go on while he slips away and steals Widmore’s sub with Kate (since, ya know, he has his submarine license). I assume we’ll get to Crazy Claire, Smokey’s Nutty Mom, and the crime solving duo of AlternaJames and AlternaMiles, but I’ll start with asking you, are Sawyer and Kate really our wild cards here, or will they end up on one of the already established sides?

Jonah: I was pleased to see that Sawyer hadn’t entirely drank the Smokey Kool-Aid. I think it’s interesting that whatever Smokey’s manipulative abilities are, they didn’t extend to Sawyer or Kate, the same way he’s been able to control Sayid and Claire (does it have something to do with the sickness?). I also think its interesting that, once again, the season is going to swing on Sawyer attempting to take a craft off the island (the poor guy has tried to leave by raft, helicopter, and sub already). But is Smokey buying it? He is a very dangerous adversary and I’m worried that Sawyer is meddling with powers he doesn’t quite comprehend (a point that Widmore underlined to him). For me, the most intriguing parts of the episode were the little glimpses into Widmore’s operation: the pylons, the small army of bodyguards, and the particularly Lostish locked door with something behind it. I stand corrected on my fears (probably fueled mainly by that epic Giacchino musical sting at the end of last week’s episode) that they were simplifying who Widmore is and what he stands for. So allow me to offer a theory: Ben did indeed force Widmore out and upset the natural balance of the island in doing so, but he convinced himself that he was doing it for the island. That’s why Jacob won’t talk to him, that’s why pregnant women who concieve on the island die, and that’s why both Widmore and Ben say they’re the good guys. After all, its important to have an enemy. What did you make of the brief glimpses of Widmore we saw? And, to throw out one more totally nutty theory, is there any chance that the thing on the other side of that door isn’t a thing at all…but a certain time-skipping Scotsman?

M: I like the idea of Desmond being behind the door, just because we haven’t seen him in too long. I like that theory about Widmore’s forced departure from the Island messing everything up, and I’m hoping he’s on Team Jacob, but I think he may be working for himself too. He believes in Jacob, but I think Widmore believes more in Widmore. So we’ll see how that goes. Shifting gears a bit, what do you make of the whole thing with Smokey talking about his mom? I don’t really know where to go with that. It can’t just be a random muttering by Smokey, but it didn’t seem to make much sense. And speaking of crazy moms, do you think that Claire is “savable?” She still seems under the spell of Smokey, but she’s desperate for Aaron and she doesn’t seem to be in as much of a trance as Sayid. At this point, I don’t think Claire is as important to Smokey, and he sees she’s kind of lost it too. So, will he give her up? Will Claire get to see Aaron again?

J: I hope so, because I want to believe that Claire (and Sayid) are saveable, but it certainly seemed like Smokey gave up on her. Terry O’Quinn was especially on this week, and the way his performance took Smokey’s leadership/paternal qualities and mixed them with a truly frightening sense of violence reminded me of his awesome performance in The Stepfather. But, more to the point, how about that crazy mom? That scene was just so fascinating because I couldn’t quite get a handle on what Smokey was doing. Was he lying to Kate, drawing on Locke’s real past? Confiding in her to gain her trust? And it sure did seem like he was offering Kate (like Sawyer, Claire, and Sayid) a devil’s bargain for something she lost, but this one had an especially dark undertone. Between hinting at Kate that Aaron might turn into a (smoke) monster w/his crazy mom and the really violent smack, I think Smokey may be kind of done with Claire. But, we’ve come this far without talking about the alternate universe. While there wasn’t a ton of action this week, I really enjoyed seeing AlternaSawyer and AlternaMiles busting crime (and, with police procedural now off the list, it seems like Lost has touched on every style of mainstream television drama) and its always good to have Rebecca Mader back. What did you make of the bit about Miles’ Dad? What does that mean for nuke? And where do AlternaKate and AlternaJim go from here? And can we please add Cop Miles and Cop Sawyer to the O’Quinn/Emerson spin-off series? Hurley can be their criminal informant and Juliet can be the ADA that Sawyer has sexual tension with!

M: I’d watch that show probably more ardently than Lost! As for the Alternate Timeline, we know two things based on the last two weeks: the Dharma Initiative was in fact on the Island, but Pierre Chang left, which means he (presumably) wasn’t at the Swan when the bomb was set off. I hate to sound like a broken record, but it’s still too early to tell where this timeline came from. I did notice something in the Alternate Timeline that I am curious about, which relates back to my theory last week that the pivotal decisions the characters make off the Island and on it mirror one another. In AlternaLA, Sayid goes bad when Island Sayid goes bad, and AlternaBen does the right thing when Island Ben joins team Jacob. Meanwhile, You have AlternaKate claiming her innocence to Claire, but still on the run, and AlternaSawyer still searching for the Real Sawyer, but as a cop, not a hitman. What do you make of that? is it a coincidence, something going crazy in my head, or might there be something to the way the Alternate and Island characters are working?

J: I think the best flashsideways have been the ones that mirror what’s going on with the characters on the island, so I totally agree with you. It was interesting to see that AlternaSawyer is still hunting Anthony Cooper, since it seems Cooper is much closer with AlternaLocke. One of the things about Sawyer is that he seems so much more mutable than the other characters: he’s been a hateable conman, a charming scoundrel, a leader, a follower, and even a somewhat respectable citizen of the Dharma Initiative. But he’s on very narrow ground, even for him. Remember that Smokey seems to be able to read people’s souls and intentions and Widmore is not to be trifled with. As long as he’s helping both of them get what they want, I’m sure they’ll tolerate his smaller-scale machinations, but when he becomes too much of a fly in the ointment, I’m worried he’ll end up like those unfortunate Ajira 316 redshirts.