Remember how, almost two months ago, John Locke ran into his conniving father on the island on ABC’s ‘Lost’? And then we heard almost nothing from him? Well, he’s back in the spotlight tonight.
First, a quick refresher: last time Locke was the main character, we found out that he got in his wheelchair because his father, Anthony Cooper, pushed him out of a high-rise building, and somehow, the Others had Locke’s dad. The new episode starts at night, as Locke sits at a fire, reading over a red file, and tells someone (we don’t see who) to shut up, since no one can hear them. We then flash back eight days, to when the last Locke-centered episode ended, with him seeing his father. Locke goes near his father, but Ben warns him not to get too close. Locke doesn’t listen, and his dad bites him in the hand, and then asks him if he knows where “they are.” Unfortunately, it’s time to go, and Ben asks Locke if he’d like to go somewhere old with them. Locke agrees, and Ben tells him that Kate’s holed up in that lounge, and he can say goodbye to her. Interesting, another episode that’s only island flashbacks.
In the present, on the main island, Sawyer and Kate are sleeping together, and Kate goes over to her tent, out of old habits. She and Sawyer flirt and kiss a bit, making all you Skate shippers go crazy. Kate leaves, and Sawyer gets up, holstering his gun. When he walks out, he sees Hurley and Jin setting up a tent, nervously. It’s obvious that the parachutist (whose name is Naomi, according to ABC, and it’s easier to write, so there you go) is holed up with them, and they’re keeping it secret. Sawyer goes out to the bushes, and runs into Locke, of all people. Cue those creepy titles.
We come back to Sawyer holding his gun at Locke, who says he’s been looking for James. Sawyer wants to know why Locke stayed with the Others; Locke says he’s been undercover and as proof, he’s kidnapped Ben. In fact, he wants Sawyer to kill Ben. Sawyer wants to know why he should do it, since he’s no murderer. Locke says that the Others have files on all of them, and that Sawyer did kill a man in Sydney. Sawyer denies this, and Locke’s about to leave, but then Sawyer decides to come with him.
Six days earlier, Locke’s in the middle of an open camp, setting a fire for Cindy, the stewardess from the tail end of the plane. She says that people are excited, having waited for him for a while. Tom (the dude who had the fake beard) tells Locke that Ben wants to see him. Locke walks in on Ben listening to some tape recordings that Juliet made. He reveals that the Others are going to take some of the castaways, as they’ve done in the past. Ben promises that no one will get hurt. Because his promises are worth keeping. Anyway, Ben says that he’s been getting better since Locke arrived, and he wants to show him what the island is capable of. However, he needs Locke to kill his father to prove that he’s ready, that he’s a new man.
On the main island, Charlie’s in the kitchen, when Jack walks over, questioning him about their trip into the jungle. Nothing much of consequence happens, and Charlie walks back to the tent where Hurley, Jin and Desmond are holding Naomi. Charlie wants to tell Jack about Naomi, but Desmond doesn’t trust Jack, since his friendship with Juliet went public. Desmond believes that keeping Naomi secret and safe is a way off the island. He says that, since Jack’s not trusted, someone who is trusted should be told.
Elsewhere, Sawyer and Locke are walking in the jungle. Sawyer wants to know what else is in the file. Locke says that both his parents are dead, but there’s no info on why his dad shot his mom, and then committed suicide. Well, that’s uncomfortable stuff to get into. As Locke continues going over Sawyer’s file, Sawyer knocks him over the head with his gun, thinking that it’s a con. Sawyer wants to know why Locke can’t do it, and Locke says that he just can’t, that he’s not able to, but Sawyer can. Sawyer says that when they get there, they’ll bring Ben back to the camp, since he’s not killing anyone. Locke says that he’ll change his mind when he hears what Ben has to say. Mysterious…I wonder if it’s the “surprise” that Locke and Sawyer have been conned by the same guy. Or am I the only one who figured that one out a while back?
Sayid (remember him?) is digging a hole in the jungle when Hurley walks up. He asks if Sayid can keep a secret. Next thing we know, Sayid’s at the tent, questioning Charlie about Naomi and who else knows. He goes inside, and Desmond seems pleased at who’s finding out about her. Sayid finds out her name and where she took off (a ship 18 miles west of the island). She says the entire plane was found off the coast of Bali, and the bodies were all there. He says that they’re obviously not dead, and finds out that Naomi was looking for Desmond; her company was hired by Penelope Widmore. She explains that the coordinates given weren’t for an island, but she somehow was able to find it. Sayid doubts that she’s telling the truth, and after fiddling with her phone, she says she won’t be rescuing him. Um…OK. Bit rude of her.
Sawyer and Locke are still making their way through the jungle when they stop at a stream. Sawyer wants to know what exactly he should expect from Ben, but Locke’s not talking. Sawyer explains why he killed that man, that it was a mistake, but won’t tell who.
Three days earlier (or nights), Locke’s sleeping near a tent, when Ben comes over and tells him to get up. They start walking away from the camp, to where Anthony is being held on a big stone column. Ben hands him a knife, but Anthony scoffs at Locke being able to kill him. Ben reminds him that Anthony stole his kidney, paralyzed him, etc., but Anthony taunts him to the point where Locke’s gotten the attention of everyone in the camp. Locke’s unable to do it, but Ben knocks him good with his cane. He then turns around to his people and says that Locke’s not who they thought he was. Locke walks back through the camp, as everyone watches him sadly.
In the present, Sawyer and Locke have made it to where Ben’s being held: the Black Rock, the ship from the first season. Ben’s in the brig (hence the episode’s title), and they go inside to see him. Locke begins to open up the brig, and Sawyer once again says he’s not killing Ben. They open it up, to see someone tied up, with a bag over their head. Sawyer goes inside, and Locke closes the door. Sawyer, after trying to get out, pulls off the bag to reveal…Anthony. Hey, that’s not Ben! Sawyer is very confused, not knowing who he is, as we go to commercial.
Sayid and Hurley are working on the phone/radio that Naomi was fooling around with, and Hurley wants to know what they’re going to do about the whole “Flight 815 was found and everyone was dead” part, but Sayid wants to focus on the radio. Kate walks up, and wants to know what’s going on. Sayid is wary to tell her, but starts to.
In the Black Rock, Sawyer is still pounding on the door of the brig, as Locke gets a visitor: Rousseau. She’s there for dynamite, and seems interested in who Locke’s locked up. She takes the dynamite, but Locke warns her that it’s unstable.
Two days ago, at the camp, Locke’s watching over the tents, when Mr. Alpert, from the Juliet episodes, comes up and introduces himself as Richard. Richard tells him that Ben wanted to embarrass Locke the night before. Richard tells him that the reason everyone got interested is because Locke’s earlier condition being fixed made him very special, but Ben doesn’t want that. Richard wants Locke to find his purpose, and that Anthony must go to do so; he hands him a red file, and of course, it’s Sawyer’s.
In the brig, Sawyer continues to shout and pound, threatening to shoot his gun through the door of the brig. Locke knows he won’t, since there are no bullets. Anthony reveals, at this, that he’s Locke’s dad. Sawyer’s supremely surprised about this, and asks him how he got to the island. Anthony laughs, but explains that he was in Tallahassee when he got into a car accident. One of the paramedics in the ambulance smiled at him as he pumped him full of something, and the next thing he knew, he was tied up staring at Locke, his “dead son.” Anthony says his son is dead because of the plane crash, but Sawyer says they crashed on the island. Anthony says it’s no island, and that it’s hell, and they’re all dead. Did Kevin Tighe, the actor playing Anthony, always have a mild English accent, or is it me? Sawyer pries into Anthony’s history with Locke, and finds out he’s a con man. This gets Sawyer thinking, and he asks his name. Anthony says that, as a con man, he goes by many names, like Anthony Cooper, Ted McLaren and even Tom Sawyer. Sawyer hears this and, shocked, says that Sawyer is his name, too. Well, I did not know that about him.
Yesterday, Locke wakes up to see that the camp he’s at is being packed up. He asks Ben what the deal is, and Ben says they’re moving, but Locke’s going to stay back with Anthony. Ben says that thinking Locke was special was a mistake, and he shouldn’t follow them unless he’s got his dad’s body on his back. Man, I guess Ben’s not that good. Shocker.
Locke is sitting in front of the brig, in the present, silent. Sawyer is still staring down Anthony, asking if he’s been to a small town in Alabama. Anthony has, so Sawyer tells him he killed his father. Sawyer pulls out that infamous letter he wrote as a child and shows it to Anthony, telling him to read it. He does so, and seriously, now it’s really Southern, Kevin Tighe’s accent. Was it always this way? Anthony could care less, but realizes that Sawyer took his fake name on a revenge idea. He taunts Sawyer a bit, and that really pisses him off. Anthony then makes a big mistake: he rips up the letter. Sawyer goes ballistic, and takes a chain, wraps it around his neck and kills Anthony. Yikes. Intense stuff, that. Locke opens the door up and sees his dead father’s body, and thanks Sawyer.
Jack and Juliet are eating together on the island, all happy and so forth, when Kate comes up, asking to talk to him in private. Jack ends up being a bitch about it, making it so Kate tells them both about Naomi. She says no one told him because he’s no longer trusted. For whatever reason, he doesn’t care that his friends don’t trust him. Juliet wants to tell him…something, but Jack doesn’t want to. Am I supposed to know what this something is?
Outside the Black Rock, Sawyer is gagging. Locke tells him he can go back. Sawyer wants to know why the whole debacle happened, and Locke says it’s because Anthony ruined their lives, and that he deserved it. Locke then tells Sawyer about Juliet being a mole, and there being a raid on the beach to take some of the women in three days. He gives Sawyer the tape recorder with Juliet’s info, saying the castaways will believe him. Locke says he’s on his own journey now, and won’t come back. Sawyer wants to know if the whole paralyzed-Locke story is true, and Locke says that it’s not true anymore. Then, he walks away, picks up his backpack and takes the bagged-up body of Anthony, off to meet up with the rest of his journey, I guess. Good stuff tonight. Next week will be interesting with the flashbacks, too: Ben’s up.
