Where has this episode been all my life???
Perhaps three of the best scenes in the entire history of Lost happened in this episode:

BEST
-Jack getting put in his damn place when trying to chastise Sawyer. hahaha! when I saw this I was almost giddy! Finally Sawyer has a chance to turn the tables on Jack who was always always getting his way, pushing Sawyer around, never listening, etc.
When Sawyer told Jack his leadership style consisted of just reacting and not thinking, I was like ‘damn straight!’

2nd Best
-Jack getting relegated to the status of ‘workman’ based on his aptitude test. I figure he didn’t really take the test though, so was this just something Sawyer arranged as a little dig?

3rd Best
-Jack’s floored expression when he realizes that Sawyer and Juliette are a couple. Ha!
Juliette is really looking hot these days….

Also glad to see that a young Ben is there. Wonder if Sawyer et al. noticed him before? I suppose they have as Sawyer seemed to have already taken Hurley’s comments about them getting wiped out into consideration.

Wonder what happened to Faraday?

Genius, really.

I think with-holding the end-game, or even what it might be, is a definite Abrams trait. He may not be writing the show but he over-saw it’s conception, and it’s a very common thread in his shows and movies that you never really know what’s going on. Cloverfield you never know the why of what’s happening, MI:3 you don’t know what the rabbit’s foot is, Fringe is like LOSt in that you have no idea what’s going on or who the bad guys are. I presume Alias is the same too.

I think though we know the end-game in general terms- there’s going to be a war, presumably one which will end the world. And our heroes were brought to the island, by Christian Shepherd or whatever he represents, by him controlling the outer world in a series of chance and remote coincidences and ways. That’s all the crossover and numbers stuff of the first two seasons playing out in back stories.

And the war is in the past. I like that. And probably it will be the war against Ben.

OR- perhaps the Dharma initiative will turbo-charge, become like gods. Ben killed them to stop that from happening. Maybe our people need to HELP Ben. Probably, as others have said- jughead will blow up the whole place come the end.

Sawyer was excellent in this episode.He called Jack out directly. Right now he’s more stable and assured than Jack has ever been in his life- and he won’t let Jack come in and screw things up with his perpetually watery eyes. Also Jack looked skinny and weak next to Sawyer- a first.

Great stuff. Highlight of the week.