LOST: Episode 5.08

LaFleur

There's a new sheriff in town, and his name is Jim LaFleur.

What a thoroughly enjoyable hour that was. There were no big WTF moments - except for the statue (!), but more on that later - instead this was an engaging and moving character study. Mostly it's about Sawyer becoming the leader he always had the potential to be, but it was almost as much about Juliet. Who knew she was good with cars?

All action takes place on the Island this week and centers on what happened to Sawyer, Juliet, Miles, Jin and Daniel after John fell down the well, with time flashing back and forth across a 3 year period (between 1974 and 1977).

1974

We pick things up right where they left off, immediately after a time flash that left Sawyer tugging on a rope that went nowhere but into the ground. The well has disappeared, in fact it hasn't even been dug yet. They wonder "when" they are, and then they see something that hadn't been there before: the statue! The one with the 4 toes! They didn't forget about it!



(click on the image for a larger version)

Before they can investigate further, time flashes again, but this time it feels different, almost like an earthquake. And their headaches and nosebleeds are gone. John must have "fixed" the problem. The well is back, but now it's filled in. Sawyer insists that they stay and wait for John for as long as it takes.

1977

A Steve Zahn-looking guy in a Dharma jumpsuit and a very groovy chick put on the reel-to-reel - Tony Orlando & Dawn, of course! - and dance and eat hash brownies in the Pearl Station. They get in trouble when Steve Zahn's partner shows up. Then they spy someone on the Pearl security cameras, blowing up trees with dynamite out near the sonic barrier. They reluctantly wake their boss, LaFleur, afraid of what his reaction will be if they disturb him. Well, they oughta be nervous because LaFleur is actually Sawyer!

Sawyer and Miles (who has an awful lot of grey hair suddenly - or is it just me?) drive out to the site of the tree bombing and find a drunk and passed out Horace. What's with Horace and trees, anyway? Wasn't he chopping down a tree in that dream Locke had? Anyway, Sawyer brings Horace back home to his wife Amy, who is extremely pregnant. So pregnant, in fact, that she goes into labor while Sawyer is there and Horace is very much unconscious.

1974

The group seeks out Daniel, who we last saw grieving over Charlotte's dead body. He's still grieving, but she's not there anymore. Daniel is heartbroken - well, he's just plain broken, I think - and keeps muttering, "Not gonna tell her. Won't do it." Over and over. Poor Daniel. Sawyer takes the lead and decides they should all return to the beach, and if the camp's not there, then rebuild it and wait for everyone to return. When Miles questions this plan, Juliet backs Sawyer up.

However, even lame plans go awry, and this one is no exception: On the way to the beach they hear gunshots and find a Dharma couple (Amy and Paul) who have been attacked by two Others. Paul is killed. Before the Others can kidnap Amy, Sawyer and Juliet each shoot one of them, killing both. They agree to bring Amy and Paul back to the Dharma village, but on the way, she tricks them into walking into the sonic barrier. They all lose consciousness.

1977

Amy is in serious labor and the baby's breech, and there's no one on the island qualified to do a c-section, so it's time to bring in the big gun. Sawyer seeks out Juliet, who is now a mechanic in the motor pool.



Love it! Reluctant at first, she reminds Sawyer of all of the women who lost their babies under her care in the past (which is actually the future - ha!). He tells her she can do it and she agrees to, but she tells Sawyer that this wasn't a part of their deal. Everything goes fine, Amy has a boy and Sawyer and Juliet share a very sweet scene.

1974

Sawyer wakes up in the game room and Horace questions him. He tells Horace that his name is Jim LaFleur and that they were on a salvage ship that wrecked on a reef near the Island, and they are looking for the rest of their people and would like to be let go so they can continue to do so. Horace says no one but Dharma is allowed on the Island, so they have to leave on the sub in the morning. At the same time, Juliet, Jin, Miles and Daniel are sitting together outside, talking about their situation, when Daniel sees a young Charlotte run by and wave at him, and his heart breaks a little bit more.

Just then an alarm sounds and everyone is rushed inside buildings. Richard Alpert has come to town, upset that two of his people have been killed, which, when you think about it, is really a clear violation of a truce that has been set up between Dharma and The Others (Hostiles?). In a High-Noon-esque confrontation, Sawyer goes out to tell Richard that he was the one who killed his men (in self defense), so no truce was broken. He also tells Richard the truth (!), asking him if they buried the Jughead bomb, and telling him he knows about John Locke. Richard agrees to not cause any trouble for Dharma, on one condition: They give him Paul's body. Um, OK. Amy agrees to this, but removes an Ankh necklace from around his neck first. Happy that he was able to diffuse the situation with Richard, Horace tells Sawyer that he and his people can stay for another 2 weeks to look for the rest of their peeps. Juliet wants to leave in the morning, but Sawyer asks her to stay for another 2 weeks, because who else would have his back? She agrees. Another sweet scene.

1977

And the sweet scenes just keep on coming...Sawyer picks a flower on the way home (from work? I don't know). When he gets home, he gives it to Juliet, who thanks him for believing in her earlier that day. They exchange "I love yous" and they look extremely happy.

Sawyer brings Horace the news of the birth of his son, and asks Horace what the fight was about that he had with Amy that drove him to get drunk and blow up trees. It was about Paul. Horace asks Sawyer if 3 years is long enough to get over someone. In response, Sawyer tells him about a girl he once knew, who he thought he would never get over, but whose face he can now barely remember.

Sawyer and Juliet are in bed the next morning when the phone rings. Sawyer answers it and tells Juliet it's just Jin and he has to go meet him somewhere. He drives out to a remote location where Jin's blue Dharma van sits. First Jack, and then Hurley exit the van. Finally, Kate appears and Sawyer realizes he never forgot a thing about her face and I'm going to kill this show if Sawyer breaks Juliet's heart. Over freaking KATE.

Thoughts:

• I really, really like Sawyer and Juliet together.  Really.  And I have a really bad feeling about where it's all heading now that Kate is back.
• So remind me why the O6 had to return.  It was to save the lives of the people left on the Island, right?  So whose life is in danger?
• Lostpedia has this to say about the statue: They look up and see the back of a gigantic statue that appears to be an Egyptian god such as Anubis or Horus. It appears to be holding an ankh, which is the Egyptian symbol for eternal life seen later on Paul's necklace. Interestingly, Wikipedia describes Anubis as "the god to protect the dead and bring them to the afterlife."
• So if Sawyer and everybody ended up being in Dharma, does that mean that they were always in Dharma?  If they are all (Sawyer, Juliet, Jin, Miles, Daniel, Jack, Hurley and Kate) in 1977, how are they going to get back to the present?  Or will they remain in that timeline?  And where are Rose, Bernard and Vincent?  And what about John and Ben?  And Sun and Frank?  I can't WAIT to see how they're going to tie all of this together!

Finally, we've been without Desmond screencap opportunities for a couple of episodes now, but I really can't complain.  Sawyer is always a perfectly acceptable substitute: