Ooh, and the episodes just keep getting better.

"N, I'll always be with you. R.G." Huh. So N is Naomi, but who is RG? We haven't met anyone with those initials yet, right? Interesting looking bracelet, though, and I'm really quite curious as to why Elsa had one, too. Same elusive boss? I wanted to know if there was an inscription on the inside of Elsa's. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I'm so surprised that Sayid is one of the Oceanic 6! I thought for sure he would die on the island. Die helping or saving someone. I figured he'd have an important, noble death. Much better than Charlie's. Much more spectacular. But no, he lives! And he lives with straight hair! He looks so different without his curls. I, for one, like it. Naveen, you're adorable. And again, I'm very confused by his new "job". Working for Ben as a hitman? Seriously? He's rich out of his mind, obviously, because of the Oceanic settlement, so Ben must be blackmailing him like crazy over the lives of those who stayed on the island. But how is Ben able to promise protection? And when did Ben become a doctor? ...Again, I'm getting ahead of myself.

So for now, my only questions regarding Sayid and the initial flashforward scene will remain, "Who was the guy he shot on the golf course, and why? What did that guy do to be on Sayid's list?"

I like Elsa. She was immediately obviously Sayid's next mark, but that's okay because we still have no clue as to why he's offing these seemingly random people. Knowing what I do now after seeing the whole episode, looking back on Elsa and Sayid's first conversation, I can't help but wonder if they both immediately knew who the other was, or if Elsa only figured things out later.

Another problem I was having was brought up again in this episode, and I'm grateful for it. Naomi landed with a picture of Desmond and Penny. Charlie's death brought out that the boat had nothing to do with Penny. Did he just misunderstand her? Penny said she's not on a boat. She could still be the one who paid for the trip and hired Lawyer Dude (Matthew Abaddon) to put the mission together, but she just isn't physically on the boat. And in the end of the episode, Frank is so poker-faced unwilling to tell Desmond one way or the other whether he knows Penny... It's plausible she's behind the whole thing. She could be running her daddy's company at this point, and who knows, her daddy's company might be The Dharma Initiative. I'm sure Dharma is crazy-ready to get back at Ben for sabotaging their entire operation on that island and killing all of their people all those years ago.

The cabin not being where Locke thought it would be was something I saw coming. Jacob was not going to allow himself to be seen with all those unspecial people there. If it had been night and Locke had only gone with Hurley and Ben, maybe, but why in the world was Locke so arrogant as to think he could just barge in on Jacob with a group of Joe Shmoe's?

I do have to admit, though, I was sure Elsa's boss was the real mark. When Sayid offered to carry her beeper for her, I was completely convinced. And might I add, what a smoothie! I mean, sure, at this point Elsa is playing into his hands as part of her act, but Sayid's got game.

I love the odd little "experiment" Daniel does with the beacon and the payload while they wait at the chopper. Now, since we've almost confirmed that island time moves slower than outside-real-world time, this is starting to fill in a lot of gaps we've had. Like how Walt left and came back older. But for those of us who have lived in Hawaii, we could've told you from the beginning that Island Time moves slower. It's one of the things I love about Hawaii.

Did Sayid really get played by Locke et al., or did he mean for them all to get captured so he could more easily trade Miles for Charlotte? I also thought this whole scene was interesting in that Sawyer corners Kate and motions for her silence, and yet she immediately yells for Sayid. She doesn't trust him at all at this point. She didn't consider even for a second that he was trying to protect her, save her, or join their group and head back with them. This relationship needs some major repairs.

Hurley in the closet: I fell for it, I thought Locke's posse had dumped him somewhere where they knew Jack's group would find him and take him with them. I just didn't peg Hurley as one who would be on board for this kind of deception. The next question that follows on from this is that now Kate is with Locke's group. Is she there because Sawyer's little speech about handcuffs changed her mind? Did she stay as a spy, to keep an eye on The Crazy Faction? Because in Hurley's flashforward, he said he should never have gone with Locke. Now Kate is also with Locke. Will she regret staying with Locke in the future, too?

I feel bad for Sayid... We've seen from the beginning that he's a torturer with a heart of gold, but the fact that he's sent to kill a girl and then falls in love with her over the course of his mission? Poor guy! So...as I understand it, he was trying to get her boss's name out of her before he killed her, and she was trying to do the same with him? Anybody care to clear things up or correct me?

As I was saying at the beginning of the review, when did Ben become a doctor? And with such a distinctive voice, were we really expected to not guess the voice was Ben? Is that really Ben? Does Ben have a twin out in the real world? What did Ben mean by "Need I remind you what they did the last time you thought with your heart instead of your gun?" What happened? And what did he mean by "You want to protect your friends or not, Sayid?" The friends back on the island? Those who didn't leave? And why was Sayid so broken up about this? He's always been so held together, and it seems quite unlike him to weep in front of someone, especially Ben. What happens in the gap we haven't seen? And why does Ben think it's "good" that "they" know Sayid is targeting them now?

Wheew. This was an episode that answered so many questions, and my mind is reeling from all the new information, but at the same time this new info just posed a zillion more questions! Huh.

Bits and Pieces:

* Great little exchange: "This guy Sayid, where's he from?" "Iraq." "So he's just going to go and work everything out? What was he, a diplomat?" "No. No, he was a torturer."
* Another funny line: "Sure I'm affected. She was hot and I dug her accent."
* Another funny line: "Oh, great, the ship sent us another Sawyer." Seriously, I can't wait til Miles and Sawyer get together. That should be some funny scene-age.
* Funny, funny, funny: "I'm not going to hurt you, Hurley." "Yeah, I saw you snap that guys neck with that breakdancing thing you do with your legs. I think I'll hang back here."
* I love how sneaky Sayid was with letting Miles come along as a trade. Smooth.

This review was edited for what some might consider spoilers (my thoughts on what this episode means in terms of the future of the show), so to read the full thing and more of my reviews, visit my website!

GG