ONE BIG "PACKAGE"

And another exciting episode! The much-touted Sun & Jin reunion did not occur last night, much to the surprise of many. But they’ve been separated in the present timeline since the end of season four, and even earlier than that when you count season four’s flashforwards, so I suppose they can go a little longer without seeing each other. Not much, though, as it’s starting to feel sadistic on the part of the writers to deny them their reunion. But such is the stuff of good drama. Highlights:

- It was fun seeing Room 23 again, as well as the trippy brainwashing video that Karl was being Clockwork Orange-d with three seasons ago. Zoe mentioned that DHARMA was conducting experiments in subliminal messaging (on the polar bears?), which is not surprising considering their penchant for mindgames, though considering the “God loves you as he loved Jacob” message which flashes in the film, one is left to wonder whether this specific brainwashing movie was created by DHARMA or the Others. To be honest, though I’m sure this will spark some debate, I really don’t think the answer to that question matters. The Others used DHARMA’s old brainwashing room to rehabilitate their people when the offender has strayed from the path, as it were. Fun fact: the “Missing Pieces” mobisodes clarified that Room 23 is the room where Walt was being held by the Others, and that this is the room mentioned by Miss Klugh back in the second season.

- We learned that Zoe is a geophysicist. This makes a lot of sense, as a geophysicist would be best suited to explain the electromagnetic anomaly on the island, and we already know that the electromagnetism is the root of the island’s weirdness. (At least on a scientific level; the metaphysical happenings may or may not be so easily explained). I’d imagine Zoe will be a significant character when it comes to answering the island’s core mysteries.

- Totally cried when Jin finally, finally, finally saw Ji-Yeon. I know the writers didn’t forget about her, but it would be pretty upsetting if her existence was merely glossed over. Jin needed to know he had a daughter, and that she was okay. It’s amazing to think how much he doesn’t know about everything that’s happened with his wife. I hope Sun gets the chance to catch him up.

- Having Sun only be able to speak Korean was a great way to return to season one-style storytelling. Daniel Dae Kim and Yunjin Kim have been somewhat underused on the show, so it was great seeing them get a real chance to shine last night.

- Mikhail Bakunin lives! And then dies! Again! I’ve always been a fan of Andrew Divoff, so having him return as Mikhail was a great addition to the episode in my book. Also, what could be more evil and threatening than Keamy and Omar? Keamy, Omar and Mikhail! This made quite a bit of thematic sense, as seasons three and four mirrored each other, and Keamy was to the fourth season what Mikhail was to the third. Our favorite Russian crankypants lost his eye again, though I don’t think he’ll be alive enough to need an eyepatch this time. Awesome.

- Mr. Paik is a real friggin’ jerk. The impression I got was that Sun and Jin were having a clandestine affair, and that it didn’t begin until after Jin was working for Mr. Paik (meaning that Sun is not the reason Jin works for her father in this timeline). I could be wrong, though. I hope Sun will be okay, but that bullet wound did not look very reassuring. Anything can happen in this parallel story, so we’ll see.

- As about a billion people strongly suspected, Desmond was of course Widmore’s secret weapon. We all knew he’d be coming back to the island somehow, so this scenario made the most sense. Desmond waking up on the dock from his little narcotic coma, only to first see “Apocalypse Now”-style Sayid staring at him from under water? Priceless! Next week’s episode is called “Happily Ever After” and I’m pretty sure it’s Desmond-centric. It will probably be pretty significant, as Desmond episodes tend to be big game-changers: “Live Together, Die Alone,” “Flashes Before Your Eyes,” “The Constant” and “Jughead” all altered our perception of the show in a big way. My own guess for next week’s episode is that sideways Desmond will be having memories or flashes of the island timeline, and that the storylines will begin to merge more directly. We know that Desmond is a variable in this equation, and considering how he’s able to screw up time, he’s probably a major factor in the parallel universe.

- On the subject of Des, everybody’s favorite drunk Irishman lol, we still have yet to learn why he was in military prison, a question the series keeps almost but not quite getting around to answering. He seemed rather well-off in his brief appearance in the sideways universe during the season premiere. Maybe in this version of events he won the sailing race and is now part of the Widmore family. On the other hand, still doesn’t explain how he wound up in prison in any universe.

- So what is going on with Sayid? I didn’t want to believe this so-called infection had poisoned his soul, but I’m finding no evidence to the contrary. His exchange with Locke, where he says he can no longer feel emotion and Locke then considers it a plus, was positively chilling.

- Speaking of Locke/Man in Black, I’m amazed to find myself trusting him less and less every week. He is so brashly manipulative that I actually find it hilarious, as if he were some demonspawn version of Ben. The way he dismisses Claire as a crazy wench who he subsequently beats down, only to appeal to Squirrel Nutcase Claire two days later and indicate that she’ll get her chance to murder Kate . . . so wrong. He tells people what they want to hear. I don’t necessarily trust Jacob either—he’s got something up his sleeve and he’s manipulative as well, just in a more passive way—but the way the Man in Black seduces people, disguises himself as others and has no problem like, I dunno, killing everyone, it all makes me highly suspicious. I worry that he doesn’t care at all about people, and that he is just using everyone and testing them, and when they all prove themselves to be the monsters he believes them to be, that will seal their fate. I also don’t think he cares about reuniting Sun and Jin; last season he promised to find Jin and then flat out told Ben he didn’t really care about that. So, not trusting the guy so much.

- I know some people are confused about Locke saying he can’t travel to Hydra island in his smoke form, but I think it made sense. The actual black smoke cannot leave the main island, as it seems to be invisibly tethered or leashed to something underneath the ground, but the projections or incarnations it creates can leave. We already saw it appear as Christian in Los Angeles (assuming that really was the monster, of course), so the idea that it can send projections of itself isn’t that strange. It reminds me of the Crimson King in Stephen King’s DARK TOWER series: in the related book BLACK HOUSE, it’s revealed that the Crimson King is imprisoned in a room, but he can send a less powerful projection of himself out into the universe. Freeing him from his prison would cause existence to unravel. (This actually winds up not being true in the TOWER story proper, but whatever). I wonder if there is something similar going on here.

- Sawyer’s little “that would be ridiculous” comment is one of his best quips in the whole series, perhaps rivaling his “Captain Falafel” and “Aw look, there’s my favorite leaf!” asides.

- I enjoyed Locke’s exchange with Widmore. It seems as if, although Charles Widmore used to be out for himself and seemingly didn’t care about Jacob, he’s since changed his allegiance, put aside his conflict with Ben and is now simply trying to stop the Man in Black. This is probably related to the nightmares he began having in season four. (Drink more MacCutcheon, CW!)

- The night vision stuff was cool, but I kept thinking “Where’s the goat?”

- So which Kwon is the real candidate? I think there’s still really no way of knowing. As has been an issue since season one, in actual Korean culture wives don’t take the last names of their husbands, but I’m pretty sure this is a moot point. Also, Jacob did touch both of them, which I more or less take to mean he summoned both of them to the island. What’s funny is that it’s actually possible that the name Kwon may refer to both Sun and Jin . . . who are we to assume Jacob thinks of them separately? Though I doubt they’ll become king and queen of the island, I think it’s still too early to tell who the name refers to. (And to the best of my knowledge we did not see the name “Paik” in either Jacob’s Awesome Name Cave or the Magical Mystery Lighthouse).

- The whole V countdown thing was annoying during the scene where Sun was writing the messages to Jack (who was awesome in this episode, by the way. Go Zen-Jack!). Otherwise, I didn’t really notice it after a while. Besides, I’m sure plenty of other shows get ruined with annoying LOST promotion. Plus, I like giant lizards. So, you know.

- Last night I also watched “I Sell The Dead,” starring none other than Dominic Monaghan and featuring cameos by the great Ron Perlman and Angus Scrimm. An old-fashioned gothic horror movie with a lot of black comedy, it manages to feature grave-robbing, zombies, vampires, an alien, a guy with dog teeth and a crazy chick who looks like a cross between the Phantom of the Opera and Lady Gaga, all in under 90 minutes. Awesome, funny, ridiculous and well worth checking out.