Lost: The Con is On

My reaction to this episode was pretty much the same reaction Sayid had watching Claire try to drive a knife through Kate — shocking indifference.

It’s a shame too because I was excited to see the Island’s pre-eminent grifter take center stage in “Recon” (he puts the “con” in “Recon”) after having him sit out the last couple of episodes.

Instead, the hour sort of peaked before the signature “Lost” logo spookily floated toward us. (At least for me.)

We caught up with Sideways Sawyer in pretty much the same predicament we originally met Flashback Sawyer – in bed with a woman and about to execute a con by having a suitcase full of money “accidentally” fall open. Of course, the twist in Sideways world was that James Ford was a cop heading a sting, but I still thought the writers managed to bring off a decent amount of tension before the reveal. (Maybe I’m just gullible, but I thought there was a decent chance he could’ve been lying.)

Now the clever thing about this particular Sideways story was the fact that, whether he’s a cop or a criminal, James Ford is still haunted by a family tragedy (daddy killed his mom, then himself) and hungry for revenge. (It’s gonna take him a long time to get through every “Anthony Cooper.”)

At least he has Miles Straume as his partner to dote on him. I really like the fact that the writers have firmly established that James and Miles are friends thanks to their three years spent in the Dharma Initiative – just because we didn’t see those three years doesn’t mean they didn’t happen. (I believe I’d watch a buddy-cop show with those two.)

Miles even cared enough about his boy to set him up on a blind date with Charlotte Lewis, who was never, EVER this smokin’. (Right?) Charlotte may not be allowed to have chocolate before dinner, but she can certainly have Jim Ford in the restroom if she wants to.

I thought the chemistry between Rebecca Mader and Josh Holloway was surprisingly strong (Holloway appears to have chemistry with every character he shares the screen with), yet not quite right (which I believe was done on purpose). That’s probably because we (or maybe just I) were hungry for a Juliet cameo in his Sideways story or any sort of indication they’d end up together. Maybe as a consolation prize we’ll see a bit more of Charlie down the line, since his brother Liam came to L.A. looking for him.

Another interesting bit in the Sideways story was the idea that James – the best liar Anti-Locke has ever seen – could not lie to save his life in Sideways world. Charlotte saw through his BS (the two eventually fell through when he blew up at her for going through his “Sawyer” file), and Miles eventually discovered he was lying about going to Australia. James confided in him about his “Sawyer” file and seemed relieved to get that weight off his shoulder (I read the scene was James letting it go since Miles would never let him kill Anthony Cooper.)

That tender moment was broken up by Kate (literally) crashing back into James’ life. Maybe he’ll explain why, as a cop, he pretty much helped the fugitive escape in “LA X.”

So, you see – there were certainly some interesting ideas going on in Sideways world. (I’m especially intrigued by the idea of the main characters – Ben and Locke, Sayid and Jin, Kate and Sawyer – starting to pair up.)

I wish I could be as enthusiastic about the Island story. I understand that not every episode can be an action-packed extravaganza, but the Island portion of “Recon” seemed to say, “There’s going to be some really good stuff happening – later.”

Or maybe I’m just annoyed that I have a new group of people to get to know. (It seems a bit late in the game for that, no?) Yes, I realize Charles Widmore’s squad, led by Zoe, aka Bizarro Liz Lemon, likely won’t be major players, but I still couldn’t suppress an eye roll when they popped up out of the jungle.

After his Temple massacre, Anti-Locke and his new followers picked up Sawyer and Jin at Claire’s Krazy Hut (goodbye Statue-looking skeleton baby) and set out on a trek. Sawyer boorishly asked how Anti-Locke planned to get them off the Island, so Anti-Locke pulled him aside and gave him a mission – paddle over to Hydra Island and get information on the people who came on the plane, which they would use to fly off the Island.

Instead, Sawyer found a stack of dead bodies and Charles Widmore inside his submarine. The scene between the two men was interesting for a variety of reasons. I was surprised by Widmore lamenting “how little” Sawyer knows when Sawyer identified him as the man who sent a freighter full of folks ready to kill everyone on the Island. I also thought Sawyer’s straightforward approach (he used it on Anti-Locke too) probably threw Widmore (and later Anti-Locke) for a bit of a loop. Mostly though, I found it fascinating that, for a guy who’s spent decades trying to locate the Island, Widmore is still holed up in his sub. Sure, it’s possible that he’s walked around the Island, but I thought showing him not actually set foot on the Island was an interesting choice.

So it turns out Sawyer’s plan is to play Widmore and Anti-Locke against each other and use the sub to escape with Kate (and Jin and Sun, I’m assuming). I wonder how Jack and Co. figure into those plans. I realize Sawyer is still probably peeved at Jack over Juliet’s death, but Sawyer seems to have turned a corner in terms of his grief. Earlier this season, he was in a truly dark place, but right now he looks like he’s back in hero mode.

This comes none too soon since Anti-Locke seems to have his sights set on Kate. I’m convinced Anti-Locke knew full well that Claire would go after Kate, so he positioned himself as Kate’s savior to gain her trust. I even thought that, by trying to convince Kate that Claire is an unfit mother, Anti-Locke was trying to get Kate to eventually kill Claire. I wouldn’t put it past him, but I really don’t see why he’d bother with killing Claire, unless there’s some way she can subvert him. (The way he slapped her to calm her down was startling.) I know a way she can subvert him – she can tell us his name!

Maybe we’ll find out next week during the upcoming Richard-centric episode. I mean, after watching “Recon” it seems like even the writers were looking ahead to that one.

So what’d you think of this episode? Who do you think killed all those people on Hydra Island? (I’m guessing it was Anti-Locke.) Who does Sawyer expect to actually pilot the sub for his getaway plan? What (or who) is in the locked room inside Widmore’s submarine? (Desmond?) Why did Anti-Locke have so much trouble speaking during his conversation with Kate about his crazy mother? (Maybe Sayid stabbing him with Dogen’s knife did something after all.)