RECON

And let this be the very first image I see in every episode henceforth!

Okay, I was going to do this long drawn out recap, but since we've all watched Recon at least three times (I'm on my 8th viewing), I'm just going to tell you what I think. Let's start with the side time, as always.

So, James is still bent on revenge against the man who caused his father to commit murder-suicide. Only in this time he is a cop and his partner, oddly enough, is Miles! And James is going out on blind dates with Charlotte, but assumes she's snooping when she opens the wrong drawer looking for a t-shirt. So far, the only difference in this man from the Sawyer we know is his chosen profession. He even still watches "Little House"

Eventually, like in the original time, he trusts Miles enough to confess his deep dark secret and his quest for revenge against the man who changed his life forever. In doing so, I think his need diminishes and he is able to move forward in his life.

When LOST first started, I viewed Sayer as a angst riddled teenager with a "rebel" complex and unable, or unwilling, to grow past that fifteen year old who opposed all symbols of authority. As LOST has progressed so has James' ability to move past his stunted past and grow into a man with a heart of gold, empathy and the ability to open himself to the love he deserves. I feared for him after he lost Juliet, but now know that he had to lose her to know that the love they had was something that transcended both times and both planes of existence.

And how interesting is it that Miles' father sets James up for a blind date?

At first I thought Recon meant a reconnaissance mission. You know, the kind where someone goes ahead and then reports back to the boss what obstacles lay ahead. Then I realized the secondary meaning. The first Sawyer centric episode we ever say was "Confidence Man", and since I'm still hoping that Season Six is mirroring Season One (or as close as you can get at this point), I remember just what Sawyer was really, really good at...conning people.

Sawyer started out on his own, leaving his friends behind at the temple and claiming that none of them were his friends. But I also knew that, after all is said and done, the James Ford of today would not abandon people like Miles and Jin and Kate. At some point, he will come back around and realize that they need him as much as he needs them, and we see this beginning to happen when he tells Kate his plan.

Right now we see three different camps. There's Smocke's group of people. I think they number about 23 or 24, and likely are the largest number wise. Many of them are with Smocke out of fear more than any sort of loyalty. Emma and Zach really have no choice since Cindy, duty bound I guess to keep them as safe as possible, made a decision for the three of them. We know that Smocke has lied to Claire about Aaron's where abouts and perhaps he did it to drive her crazy, I'm not sure.

Speaking of crazy, it is no coincidence that Smocke claims to have had a crazy mother, has taken the form of a man who also had a crazy mother and is now telling Kate that Aaron has a crazy mother. Not sure where Crazy Danielle comes in, but there's an awful lot of crazies on this island! I'm wondering how Claire will come out of this one or if it's already too late. Her brain cells have been bumping into each other for so long that they've caused irreparable damage. You could just see Kate thinking" "I am so NOT giving Aaron back to that nutzoid!"

Maybe even Sayid has gone crazy, since he sat there like a lump and watched Claire try to kill Kate. I am not liking him very much and have stopped feeling sorry for him. He has embraced his evil overlord a little too easily after fighting to find some good within for so very long. Disappointed, I am.

Sawyer's plan became pretty clear as he spoke to Chuckie in the sub. Or so I thought. He assumed that Widmore wants to kill Smocke because of the sonic fencing Widmore's men were erecting and Widmore was happy to let him think as much. And he may be right, but I'm not feeling it. And that Sawyer then went back to the main island and informed Smocke about his deal with Chuckie did not surprise me. Sawyer stated very clearly early in the episode that he was aligning himself with no one. The plan? Pit Smocke and Chuckie against each other and while they're busy, he takes off in the sub. Do you really think this plan is going to work smoothly? Me neither.
Have you ever hear the phrase, "The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing"?

This is where Jack and the others at the beach camp may come in. Since they have no idea of Widmore's presence as of yet, these seven people could be the deciding factor as to who wins the upcoming clash of the LOSTaway Titans. Think about this for a moment. We have Smocke and his terrified band of not-so-merry men, women and two children. He has yet to tell them what is happening (hmmm, shades of Jacob?). We have James planning to pit Smocke and Widmore against each other. I seriously doubt any of the people in either Smocke's or Widmore's camp are a "candidate."

So, who do we have left?

Sun

Hurley

Jack

As soon as the "candidate" realizes there's a certain job to do, I think his or her actions will end the war. The island will either self destruct or return to it's former existence. Or maybe it will do both (remember it WAS submerged in the side time). Of course, I could be wrong (as is usually the case).

DID YOU NOTICE?:

There was no "Previously On LOST" at the beginning of this episode.

Recon aired on 3/16, referencing Ajira 316, and it's the first time we see that plane since Namaste.

Sawyer is back to using nicknames. He called Kate "Freckles" and Widmore "Chief"

Ava, the woman he was in bed with in the side time, called him "Dimples"

The first words Sawyer speaks in the side time and the last words he speaks in the original time are "Son of a bitch"

The code for his back up that he was in danger was "LaFleur"

The three books on James' dresser in the side time were Watership Down, A Wrinkle In Time and Lancelot, all of which he has been seen reading on the island.

QUESTIONS:

What is inside the locked room on the sub?

Who, or what, killed the Ajira 316 survivors?

Why didn't Sayid help Kate?

Does Widmore really want to kill Smocke?

Why did cop-James allow fugitive-Kate to escape at the airport in LA X?

Who is Miles dating?

Who is in the picture taped to the inside of James' locker?

QUOTABLE QUOTES:

Ava: You're a cop?

James: Surprise.

Kate: So, you're with Locke now?

Sawyer: I ain't with anybody, Kate.

Sawyer: I'm sorry, I forgot my manners.

Smocke: I forgive you.

Sawyer: You got a whip?

Charlotte: Maybe

Kate: Sayid, are you alright?

Sayid: No

Sawyer: You didn't really send me over there to find passengers from that plane, did you?

Smocke: No.

Sawyer: Well in case you're interested, they're all dead.

Smocke: Well that's terrible. What happened?

Sawyer: I don't know.

Smocke: Well what do you know, James?

So there you have it. Do you think Sawyer's plan will work and he and Kate will be able to leave the island? What about Jack and his group? Where do they fit in to this scenario? With Ben in their camp we can pretty well be sure that Chuckie isn't going to be visiting anytime soon.

When do you think we'll see Chuckie in the side time? What do you think he's been up to?