Lost: The Package

Desmond! It is about time he showed back up! According to Daniel Farday, the rules of the island do not apply to Desmond, therefore he is Widmore's secret weapon. Is Desmond the one man that can kill Smokey? If he cannot kill Smokey, what is Widmore expecting him to do? Is Desmond "special" because he is the one person on the island that was not brought to the island by Jacob?

Why is it that only Benjamin Linus can actually kill Keamy? Does surviving Sayid's gunshot quality him for contention in the the Mikhal super survivor of near death experiences award? It is fairly interesting that in this version of events Mikhal and Keamy play for the same team. In a character first, Martin Keamy seemed almost likable for a minute. It was the minute after he finished tying up Jin, which was also the minute before he started making eggs, that ultimately led to his not quite mortal wound.

Jin and Sun are secret lovers in the flash sideways. While they are drawn to each other in both versions of reality, it is only through Jacob's interventions that they can be publicly married. Call me crazy, but theirs is the first case that seems to show the flash sideways versions of their lives as less desirable than the 815 crash versions.

On island, Sayid has become a catatonic psychopath with a penchant for night swimming. We were teased again with people and guns on the outrigger; who shot at our time traveling LaFluer led crew? Sawyer hilariously commented on the ridiculousness of the rules Smokey must follow within minutes of Sun bumping her head and forgetting English.

Why did I love every minute of this episode? Upon reflecting the plot seems like something out of a sixth graders off topic standardized test essay yet I believed every scene and cannot wait until the next episode.

Charles Widmore is actually fighting the good fight. Ben was wrong when he led his "others" coup d'etat and was even more wrong in believing that Widmore wanted to kill every living thing on the island. Unless in an effort to keep Smokey corked up Widmore thought the most efficient course of action would be to kill everyone. Smokey does seem to need the candidates and I think the "rules" that did not allow him to kill Jacob apply to them as well. That or he really does need the to let him off the island.

Widmore believes that a real world with Smokey in it would mean death for Penelope and many others. What is UnLocke? Whatever he is, I do not think he is the devil as explained in the bible. The ruins on the island lead me to believe he is much older than that.

Jack is on his path. He does not know exactly where it is going at this point, but he has surrounded himself with a good group of people who may shepherd him along.

On a side note, Frank and Miles' argument over which was more crazy, Sun's inability to speak English or Miles' ability to speak to the dead was a great moment.

Did anyone else get a kick out of Zoe scolding Widmore about expecting her, a geophysicist, to do a mercenaries job? Why is Widmore interested in pockets of energy on the island? How will they play into his end game?

Caprica: End of the Line

How come I was not aware that this was a season finale? Was that not advertised or did I somehow miss it?

A tremendous amount happened in this episode. Joseph found Tamara, Amanda attempted suicide, Zoe killed Philomon and possibly herself, and even Lacy became a full fledged terrorist. Loss was the key to this episode, so that is a good place to start.

Daniel may have been the person that lost the most, but he also had the most to lose. Daniel sold the Caprica Buccaneers to Virgis in a culmination of a multi-episode arch. While this has been a well told story and certainly ranks as an important event, it pales in comparison to all the other story lines in this episode. Amanda lost touch with reality and made a choice to end it all. This descision was nicely telegraphed in the early scene where Amanda was watching a video about the bridge she eventually jumped from. The loss of the Cylon that in Daniel's mind may still be his daughter will be another crushing blow to his spirit.

Zoe lost her innocence in this episode. When she killed Philomon she committed the first act sentient robot murder. While this was an act of manslaughter, she certainly did not intend to kill him, Philomon is dead and the next time she kills it will be easier for her.

Joseph the junky finally caught up to his daughter Tamara. In a painful and heart wrenching scene Tamara told him to stop cashing after her, then shot and killed his New Cap City avatar. Tamara did this because Joseph's secretary/law partner (still not sure about that relationship) explained how far Joseph had fallen out of the real world. I called that the law partner was Joseph's guide in "V" world. Sadly that may be the first prediction I have accurately made in the year since I have started writing on the blog!

Lacy made a choice to kill Clarice in this episode, except that it was not a choice at all. Barnebas had a gun to her head and then pointed the same gun at her boyfriend. I will admit that I loved Clarice taking her "family" to Barnebas' warehouse to send a message. I was almost relieved that Amanda Greystone's suicide attempt saved Clarice from blowing up.

What if Greystone is not the father of the Cylon? What if Virgis really is the man behind the human holocaust? It is Virgis' chip and Virgis seems to be the better businessman.

Supernatural: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

I enjoyed this episode. Death made his presence felt but did not actually make an appearance. The zombies raised by Death were a fresh twist on an old horror movie cliche. The risen dead got five days worth of good times before becoming flesh eating killing machines.

Bobby's wife has been mentioned in the past and if I remember correctly her ghostly form may have been in a previous episode. I have not re-watched any Supernatural recently so my grasp on the canon is not as strong as it should be. That said I do remember Bobby talking about how he killed his wife in past episodes so I do have a grasp of the material, however tenuous.

I must say I miss the old, pre-wheels, Bobby. Bobby the father figure who always had a plan and a knack for exposition was the best non-Sam/Dean character in this series. Unfortunately, Bobby plus wheels is a sad and bitter man. I had not realized how much I missed the old Bobby until we got to see him relatively happy again when his wife was back. Aimless, unmotivated, angry Bobby is just not that much fun to watch.

Both War and Famine have been dispatched by Sam and Dean already. Now that Death is in the picture I am fairly certain the the fourth horseman of the Supernatural apocalypse is Conquest and not Pestilence. Disease has already been done on this show twice with the Croatoan virus and I think the writers of this series could go down an intriguing dramatic path with Conquest.

FlashForward: Blowback

I cannot decide which is worse, the fact that I was so bored with this episode that I attempted to come up with pithy insults to hurl at it in my future blogpost, or the fact that I could not come up with one good zinger. After last episode was almost exclusively Simon centric we barely got a cursory appearance this time around. Also, Janice did not think it was strange at all that Simon's uncle died of a heart attack? In fact, the Uncle's death was so run of the mill that it was not even worth mentioning to the FBI.

Aaron must be related to Chuck Norris or at the very least Steven Segal. He managed to incapacitate an armed, much younger man recently released from active military duty without a weapon. Then he used his ninja utility company skills to infiltrate the home of the most powerful military contractor in the entire world to simply inform the man that they were at war.

While he threatened this man he also managed to tap his phone line. Amazingly the evil Cerberus leader then made a phone call confessed to his crimes and ordered a minion to kill Aaron seconds after Aaron set up his surveillance equipment! To prove how serious he was Aaron then hung the solider he captured upside down on the porch of the Cerberus guy in a thereby delivering an extremely creepy birthday card.

All the while Mark is too busy playing house with his wife's future lover to pick up the phone for his buddy in need.

Mark and Lloyd had a terrible scene in the Benford household. Lloyd refused to give up the identity of D. Gibbons because, actually there was no reason he refused to tell Mark about D. Gibbons. Lloyd's refusal was simply plot device to get him and Mark into an awkward conversation. The only good to come out of that scene was when Lloyd finally told Mark that he needs to interrogate his daughter. Unfortunately, based off Mark's demonstrated competence in interrogation he is going to have to water board Charlie if he has any hope of getting information out of her.

Zoe and Demetri actually seemed like a real couple in this episode. That said their storyline was silly. Did the writers of this show think anyone would be surprised when the gun was missing out of the evidence locker?

Lost: Ab Aeterno

During the last commercial break I turned to my wife and noted that the camp fire scene at the beginning of the hour was there only to give some of the main cast a chance to show up in an episode. I was not upset I was simply impressed. How amazing must a show be for it to focus an entire episode of the final season on a periphery player and manage to deliver on character development and mythology progression?

Richard has always been an enigma on the island. What made him eternal? Why was he Jacob's right hand? How did he get to the island? All questions answered tonight. Richard does not age because he asked Jacob to make it so he would never die. Richard was important to Jacob because he convinced Jacob that someone needed to act as a balance to the "Man in Black". Richard got to the island because Jacob brought him there on the "Black Rock".

The Smoke Monster/Man in Black/Un-Locke/My Friend/Man-in-Locke is evil according to Jacob. While Jacob is evil according to Smokey. Smokey told Richard that Jacob is the devil (which is true if you watch Supernatural) and sent him on a mission to slay Lucifer. I am fairly certain that the knife Smokey gave to Richard was the same knife that Sayid used on My Friend and later Dogan's interpreter.

Neither Smokey or Jacob is the devil. That settled, Jacob was The Man in Black's jailer and with him dead the Smoke Monster may soon be free to roam about the world. Which would be disastrous considering how many people would bow down and pray to an eternal being made of smoke. Think of how many pyramids My Friend would have built in his honor. At the very least he would have ton of followers on Twitter.

I guess this episode proved that Richard does not belong in the real world. Richard had no flash sideways because Richard does not exist without the island.

Illana was told Richard would have the answers and I hope for the sake of everyone on the island that he finds them soon. I am fairly certain that Hurley was told by Jacob and not Isabella that Richard was to stop the Man in Black from leaving the island but that does not make the request any less important or valuable.

It would seem as the though the candidates, Richard, Illana, Frank, and Ben should meet up with Widmore on Hydra Island. Though based off what we learned in this episode the Smoke Monster is truly eternal and cannot be killed.

The captain of the Black Rock was Magnus Hanso and you can bet that he is related to Alvar Hanso who happened to be the financial backer of the Dharma Initiative. Why did Richard allow for the complete genocide of the Dharma Initiative? Why did Richard call for the murder of the US soldiers in the 1950's? Jacob is a hands off deity but if Richard thought he was going to hell for one murder he should have at least had a second thought or two about killing dozens.

Who created the rules of the island? Why is it that the Man in Black could not kill Jacob? If the island is a prison for Smokey, I doubt it has any real power to create rules. Therefore, who is Jacob's boss?

Caprica: Ghosts in the Machine

Another strong episode, though I would be happier if we got more Sam Adama. As it stands the scene with Sam was a solid piece of drama as per usual. Sam gave his brother the information he needed to become a killer in the game world. The ironic thing is that Joseph really is playing a game, with tremendous ramifications, while Sam is actually ending human lives.

Joseph's guide in the game world is someone we know. Why else would she make the point that her avatar was not an exact replica of her actual body? My money is on his colleague/secretary. She is obviously in love with him and was the only other person who would have bothered to follow the trail he has left. Plus I do not remember Joseph ever letting on that he was a Turon or a lawyer and she seemed to know both of those things right off the bat.

Loved all the interactions at "Mysteries". The "stage performer" has an interesting place but I think he has no idea about the actual secrets of New Cap City. Tamara is tagging the game, I wonder when she is going to realize that she has the power to make New Cap City whatever she wants it to be?

Joseph's in game drug habit will eventually take a huge toll on his relationships in the real world. I am starting to see how this mostly good man was viewed as such a lousy father by Bill Adama.

I thought the dog was dead and I respected the creative staff of Caprica for having the courage to kill such a cute dog on TV. I will admit, however, that I was more than happy to see the dog was not dead, dead dogs bum me out.

Daniel is a bit sadistic. No wonder Zoe hates and mistrusts him. He could have showered U-87 with love in an attempt to coax out his daughter but instead he chose fear and intimidation. He could have apologized to U-87 for making it rip its arm off but opted to set it on fire instead. At first I was frustrated with Zoe's decision to hide her existence from her father but now I completely agree with it.

Amanda and Clarice did not have to much to do in this episode which was fine with me. I am interested in where they are going with her dead brother story line. I thought Amanda's scene with Virgis was terrific. Virgis hit a dead end on the Caprica Buccaneers so now he is going to attack Daniel's marriage. Bold move and one that should pay off. Amanda and Daniel are in a bad place right now and the idea that Daniel may be responsible for two murders will eat away at their fragile relationship.

FlashForward: Revelation Zero

After an extremely long hiatus FlashForward is finally back with a two episode spring premier. I wish I was more excited. This was a show I did not miss at all and I did not even give a single thought to since the episode named after the serial number of Marks gun until I realized my DVR was recording this episode.

I still hate Mark and Olivia's feelings towards Lloyd are still non-sensible. But overall I cannot say that I hated this episode. I might have even liked it if ABC did not force feed me two hours of FlashForward in a single sitting. Unfortunately, as aired the second hour seemed to make the entire first hour seem irrelevant when it was actually building decent drama.

Simon's "Uncle" was either poorly acted or written or both. I did not buy him as middle or upper management in an evil plot to conduct a science experiment. The "interrogation" scene with Lloyd was downright moronic sounding. "How many kilowatt hours did you produce in your particle acceleration track?", does not exactly make for engaging dialogue. When he said, "I'm the bad guy" I actually cringed. He may have said something about being evil but I'm not going to spend the time re-watching that horrible scene.

On the positive side, I was genuinely shocked when the two masked men showed up behind Janice! Maybe it was because I find her to be the most engaging character on this show and was worried they would kill her off. I was frustrated with the way Simon escaped her custody time after time, but was placated by how easily she was able to apprehend him again.

I thought that the opening scene with the window washer would have made a much better opening scene of the series than the junk that aired in the first episode. I did, however, hate the character of the window washing preacher, two steps forward, one back.

I was not blown away by the revelation that Simon was in fact suspect zero. I am hoping that this allows him to become the extremely villainous character he is capable of becoming. He has killed at least three people and is obviously morally ambiguous enough to be consumed by the promise of the type of power his organization is able to wield.

If I was Lloyd and I was being interrogated by Mark about why I did not share all the information in my FlashForward I would have said, "I had to keep it a secret because the writers did not come up with that bit of story line until they had to tweak the series over the hiatus". Of course I'm not Lloyd.

It's a good thing I'm not Mark either because I was ready to kick in the eight ball door the second I saw it. Actually I would have called the FBI, then kicked in the door. Mark had to drive 10 minutes down the road before he made the connection that my dog Benji was able to make instantaneously.

Lost: Recon

James Ford is a cop, a really good one, and Miles is his sympathetic yet appropriately masculine partner. I'd watch that movie. Anthony Cooper still caused the death of James' family but he was able to turn that horrible tragedy into a force for good in his own life. Unfortunately, James Ford has not completely eradicated the being that is inner Sawyer. However, I think this version will be strong enough not to kill Anthony Cooper and I doubt he murdered Meredith Grey's (my wife makes me watch Grey's Anatomy... you now know my secret shame) father in Australia.

It was pleasant to see Charlotte Staples Lewis again though I was seriously hoping to see Juliet in a coffee shop when Miles wanted to set James up on a date. Give credit to the writers for cluing us in again that the island existed in the flash sideways time line at some point pre-1977. Miles told Sawyer that Charlotte was a family friend and we all know that they were both young children on the island in 1977.

I have got to believe that this incarnation of James Ford is the happiest version possible. His life is not perfect, but he is not a petty criminal. More importantly, he is not repeating the sins of the beast he is hunting in order to hunt it. James Ford is a productive member of society that happens to be permanently scarred by the events of his youth, but not defined by them. Of course, both James Ford and Sawyer both have a thing for the name LaFluer and love wasting time watching "Little House".

On the island Smokey the Nemesis confided in Kate and Sawyer. He told Sawyer that he was the smoke and sent him on a mission to Hydra Island. Smokey then saved Kate's life from Claire and had a moment where I thought he over shared quite a bit. His mother was crazy and that led to a lot of problems that he still deals with today. Are Smokey and Jacob brothers? Was Smokey ignored while Jacob was the golden child?

I guess it is time to see what Charles Widmore is truly made of in this series. Is he nothing more than the man Ben was able to con off the island? If that is the case he is in for a world of trouble when he faces Smokey who has reduced Ben from leader of the island to Illana's follower. Is Widmore someone that Jacob kicked off the island? If that is the case Sawyer is in for a world of trouble when Smokey and Widmore join forces. Is Widmore an independent wealthy power with with a vested interest in the island? If so I'm guessing he will play Ross Perot to Jacob's Bill Clinton and Smokey's George H.W. Bush.

Caprica: The Imperfections of Memory

Amanda got some layers and became a more interesting character. That said, I'm still not a fan of her character so this episode felt a bit like it was lacking something. Along with Amanda, Clarice became a bit more three dimensional herself. I am curious though as to why in the first few episodes it seemed like Clarice was a lone agent using the group marriage as her STO cover. Now everyone in the home is seemingly in on the conspiracy.

Daniel may have something to be concerned about when it comes to his wife and the "woman of the cloth". The scene with Clarice and Amanda smoking out of hookah's seemed highly inappropriate for a married woman. Well... inappropriate for the married woman with one husband. Flirting with a woman in a hookah bar might just be an average Friday night for a Caprican woman with multiple husbands and wives.

The fact that Amanda has seen the ghost of her dead brother leads me to believe that "God" has a plan for her. I miss Gaius Baltar.

I wanted Amanda to storm out of the bar when Clarice started preaching about "God" to her. Either Amanda was too stoned to know she was asking the wrong question "Which god?" or she faked naivety because she did not want to deal with the thought that her only friend might be a member of the STO.

Joseph Adama entering New Cap City was fun, but not as much fun as I was expecting. If he is going to play in this extremely dangerous game with "real world" rules he should get help from Sam who is the one person he can trust that has real world experience in New Cap like activities. Maybe I just feel like an episode of Caprica is incomplete without Uncle Sam.

I was hoping to get to know Barnebas a bit better this episode but I guess that will have to wait for now.

Zoe does have feelings for Philomon. Philo might be a bit quirky and definitely a gigantic nerd but he is a major step up from her last boyfriend the train bomber. It is interesting that people can build skills into their avatars in V world just like characters could in "The Matrix". Part of me really hopes that Tamara renames herself Trinity.

I wonder if Daniel was accusing the Cylon of being Zoe to see how it would react or if he truly knew that Zoe is inhabiting the robot. Either way it was a terrific ending!

Lost: Dr. Linus

In a world where Sayid is irredeemably evil Benjamin Linus is not. While this may have been the slowest episode of the final season season thus far, "Dr. Linus" gave us important tidbits of information. Additionally this episode seemed to continue to build the case for my psychic therapy theory discussed at length in a previous post.

Dr. Linus seemed miserable on the surface and Roger Linus actually verbalized that Ben's life was not the one he had planned for his son but Dr. Linus is a much better person than Benjamin. Dr. Linus is an educator that believes in his students (well most of them), a loving son, and a man willing to put his own needs behind the needs of the people he cares about.

Roger let it slip that he and Ben did in fact get to the island. This means that the island existed at least until 1977 when the bomb went off. How Ben got back to his father after Sayid shot him is still a mystery. Why the island was underwater when Flight 815 flew over it is another one we have to chalk up in the question category for now as well.

I love that Artz is still a recurring character in season six even though he died in season one. I love that Ben reminded Miles that he could still get him 3.2 million dollars. I love that Miles was able to be in the cemetery and realize that Nikki and Palo had eight million dollars worth of diamonds buried on their bodies, rendering Ben's bribe worthless.

I did not believe that Illana was going to kill Ben. She seems to be Jacob's perfect disciple and killing Ben in cold blood is not what Jacob was about. That being said, making Ben dig his own grave only to ask him to rejoin team Jacob in the end, was exactly what Jacob was about. Jacob is the good guy right?

Richard made it to the temple later than everyone else, which saved his life, though he wanted it to end. Jack restored, at least temporarily, Richard's faith in Jacob. Jacob from beyond the grave still managed to play Jack like a fiddle. After destroying the lighthouse, Jack has truly come to terms with the idea that he is special. The stick of dynamite with the lit fuse reminded me of Michael with the suitcase bomb on the freighter.

It would seem that Jacob never wanted to see Charles Widmore lose control of the island. Widmore is back and possibly Jacob's returning champion. Unless of course he's there to support Smokey the Nemesis. Any chance Desmond is on that submarine as well?

Lost: A Theory

I think I have cracked the mystery of the flash sideways. I know this will sound odd, but do not read this if you have not seen the show "Angel". In fact, if you have not seen "Angel" stop surfing the internet entirely and go watch that.

Angel's son Connor was kidnapped by a madman when he was a baby. Connor was raised in a hell dimension and eventually clawed his way out and into the real world of the Buffyverse. Connor was messed up beyond belief, had an oedipal moment, and eventually attempted to bring about the end of the world with his daughter who also happened to be a god. Then he killed his daughter effectively ending world peace. After killing his daughter Connor attempted to kill a sports store full of people and then off himself.

Angel made a deal with the devil to wipe Connor of his past and reprogram him with the personality of a stable young adult. Connor was transplanted into a family whose memories where reprogrammed as well and had been given the perfect life. The cost of this arrangement was tremendous. Connor no longer knew Angel existed and the only person in the world that remembered the existence of Connor was Angel himself.

Eventually an event happened that broke the barrier holding Connors actual memories prisoner. His real past merged with his fake one and he became a sane, non-homicidal person with the skills he had earned in his real life.

The creative forces of Lost have said on record that the flash sideways are not an alternate reality. Therefore they must be something else. What if these flashes are the Island's or Jacob's way of fixing our Losties?

Jack needs to understand what it means to be a father in order for him to forgive his own. Sayid needs to realize that he does not belong with Nadia and even in a perfect world he is a killer, always has been. Hurley easily would get over fear of his curse if in his alternate memories he is the luckiest man in the world. Kate is still a criminal but she may actually be on the run for a crime she did not commit in the flash sideways.

Locke is the only problem with this theory. While his flash sideways is certainly a happy place, he would not need to have reprogramming therapy if he is dead. Unless, when Smokey the Nemesis is eventually defeated Locke gets to take control of his body once more.

Caprica: Know Thy Enemy

This episode was not the strongest of the series thus far, but it was not a disappointment either. The STO should have charismatic leadership considering they easily are turning privileged Caprican youths into suicide bombers. Barnebas seemed as though he could be the inspiring if evil leader but I'm certainly not on his fanwagon just yet, even if he is played by James Marsters. Sister Clarice is not my favorite character on this show and "Know Thy Enemy" featured her prominently.

The only thing they could have done to make Clarice less interesting would be to put her in a room with Amanda Greystone and that is exactly what they did in this episode. The best part about the Amanda, Clarice interaction was the cameo appearance by the BSG drink of choice "Ambrosia". I guess it did further the plot considerably, the STO now has access to all of Daniel's government intel, or they may actually have stolen it off his computer, as opposed to simply copying it, I was 100% clear on that.

It has been a long time since we have heard Zoe speak and this week she finally made contact with someone in the real world other than Lacy. Fortunately for her, she has found a way to contact human's without scaring the pee out of them in sentient killer robot form. Philomon is walking on the edge of a knife and he does not even know it.

I find it interesting that some people in V World make their avatars look like celebrities or otherwise famous people often enough forPhilomon to buy Zoe's lie about her true identity. At this point I cannot decide if Zoe is trying to use Phil towards a greater goal or if she simply finds him interesting enough to pass the time with.

Joseph got the information he needed about the boy that can lead him to Tamara. I hope that means we will get significantly more of New Cap City! The white washed version of V World that comes packaged with the Holoband is not nearly as interesting as the hacked worlds. It was fun to see Daniel Greystone as a computer program informing Joseph he could get fined for attempting to visit the unauthorized programs.

The highlight of this episode, however, has got to be the introduction of Virgis. Daniel crossed a line when stole the chip from Virgis Corporation and he is going to pay for his transgression. There is something so primitive and admirable about the way the Turon's tell their life story in ink on their bodies. It truly make these people seem larger than life. When Virgis had his elbow in Greystone's face I thought he was going to knock Daniel out cold. Then I realized that displaying the tatoo itself was enough of a threat and Virgis sent his message loud and clear.

What else does Daniel love? Virgis hit it on the head with the Caprica Buccaneers, but we have already seen Amanda in serious danger so I doubt the show will take us in that route again. In any event, whatever Virgis decides Daniel loves is truly in for some trouble.

Lost: Sundown

At this end of this episode my wife turned to me and simply stated, "Well, lines have been drawn". Indeed they have, though some characters might find themselves on the wrong side, at least temporarily, most are exactly where they belong.

"Sundown" was the culmination of a character regression that has been developing since the opening episode of this series. Sayid has been the tortured torturer since we first knew him, always attempting to atone for his past sins. Unfortunately he could never pull away from them and for every two steps forward he took one back. In the present, flashback, flash forwards, and now flash sideways Sayid killed and tortured his way throughout these past six seasons.

But somehow he was always redeemed in the eyes of the audience because each murder/torture session obviously was a burden to his psyche. When he killed Dogan and the hippie interpretor, however, he was happy. He reveled in the carnage, there is no peace for Sayid, only death. He was right, he does not deserve Nadia.

Claire has managed to avoid killing Kate for at least a couple of minutes so that's good. That noted, I do wonder how long she will wait before taking her first shot. What happened to Claire to make her fail Dogan's "Goodness Test"? Obviously she is where she belongs at present, considering the good guys usually tend not to kill bound hostages with axes, but when did she make that turn?

Is Kate where she needs to be? Does she belong with Smokey the Nemesis or is she currently playing for the wrong team. She has killed, is responsible for the death of her best friend, lies like a rug, and is generally known for making terrible decisions in the relationship department. All that said I hope she gets traded! Maybe Smokey will use her and Jin to trade for Ben.

Smokey decimating the temple was one of the most intense scenes in this entire series. It was simply brutal. Illana, Frank, Sun, and Ben stormed the temple as Smokey destroyed it to save, Miles? I like Miles as much as anyone, his description of Claire was terrific, but plot wise he should have been cannon fodder at this point so why is he still alive?

Ben seemed so earnest when he approached Sayid and said he could still save him. Was he lying again? Simply waiting for his opportunity to join with Smokey? Or does he truly regret his actions? Too bad about Sayid giving in to his dark side.

It seems as though Illana is leading the anti-Nemesis forces. I wonder if she will capitulate leadership to Hurley since he is the only one with a direct line to Jacob. How did Illana become so important?

Dogan knew he was a goner when Sayid sat next to him. He confessed his sins to his soon to be killer in a moment of honesty that was heartbreaking. Then he allowed Sayid to drown him in the murky water. Dogan's interpreter, however, did not see that coming.

I immediately recognized the man that picked Sayid up at his brothers house, I just could not place him in the vast universe that is "Lost". When it turned out Martin Keamy was the man Omar owed money to I was simply floored. Sayid cemented his evil nature in all of his existences by killing Keamy in cold blood (even though he deserved it).

Widmore, Desmond, and Penny need to show up and have a major role in the finale of this series. Ben and Widmore had rules against killing each other just like Smokey the Nemesis and Jacob had. The rules need to be explained and the Widmore/Hume story arch is just the one to explain them.

Chuck: Chuck Verses the Fake Name

While I have not written regularly about Chuck since I sped through the first season on DVD I decided this episode was worth discussing. Since the beginning of season three Chuck has slowly been sliding farther away from himself and becoming a true spy. In this hour, Chuck finally came to terms with his fate and actively accpetted it by breaking up with Hannah. Which is a shame because Hannah is great for Chuck, and cold considering he broke up with her after he showed up late to dinner with her parents.

As I noted, we have seen Chuck become a super-spy over the course this season. We know this because we have watched as Chuck made some tough decisions that bordered on offending the viewer. He chose the life of a spy over the love of Sarah, he imprisoned the intersect 1.5 maker simply because the poor guy could make an intersect, and now he's broken the heart of the one girl that's truly made him happy since we have known him.

We also know that Chuck is becoming an uber-spy and losing his true personality because Sarah has been harping on it every chance she gets. Sarah does not need to mention her disapproval of Chuck's career choice every time she's alone with Chuck, Shaw, or Casey. Fedak and Schwartz (the Chuck show runners) do not need to have Sarah beat us over the head with her verbal disapproval to clue the audience in to the fact that something is truly wrong with Chuck. Sometimes a knowing look is all the audience needs!

As the episode opened it seemed that Sarah and Shaw were done for while Chuck and Hannah were hot and heavy. It's a shame that the episode ended by reversing the couples fortunes because I like Chuck and Hannah a lot more than Shaw and Sarah. We all know that Hannah and Shaw are both simply place holders for the inevitable Chuck and Sarah reunion but that does not mean I cannot root for the underdog pairings!

Sarah opened up to Shaw, who she has barely known for a few weeks more than she opened up to Chuck in three years. Turns out Sarah is actually Sam! I always thought she was a Bernadette myself (mostly kidding). I wonder if Chuck will start calling her that immediately or if he will save it for special occasions? It is funny that the "Fake Name" in the title of the episode was not the alias (I miss Alias) that Chuck took on for his mission but Sarah's.

We did not get any Morgan in this episode. Usually I find him fairly endearing, but I did not miss him at all in this particular episode.

On a serious side note, I can vouch for the Crock Pot they were selling at the Buy More! I have one of that exact model and that thing can cook! Also, I'm glad that the Buy More employee's are noticing that Chuck is not the loser the show had him pegged for in the beginning. Chuck's dated some beautiful women over the course of this series and it's time the show acknowledge that he is not Morgan when it comes to the ladies. Plus Lester admitting that he's lonely was the episode's comedic highlight... Maybe I did miss Morgan this episode.