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.