TV Review: LOST + shirtless Sawyer = happy women

This week on LOST... We get to see a lot of Sawyer without a shirt in the first five minutes, which surely made all of my female friends happy. In Bizarro LAX, he is now working as a cop with Miles, and they are kind of buddy-buddy. It is a weird but welcome development for me, since I've always liked Miles.

To add to the oddness, Miles sets up Sawyer on a date with Charlotte in Bizarro LAX, who we last saw on the Island making sweet with Daniel Farraday. Their date goes really well seemingly, as Sawyer (James, in this timeline) admits that there was a fine line between becoming a cop and becoming a criminal in his past life. However, he freaks out and throws Charlotte out of his place when she stumbles upon the folder detailing his childhood, which has apparently not changed. Later, Sawyer covers up his trip to Australia, causing Miles to ask for a different partner.

Also in Bizarro LAX, Charlie's brother is haunting around the police station, asking where he is. Sawyer tries to make amends with Charlotte, but she rejects him despite this. However, this spurs him into talking to Miles about his past. In this timeline, Sawyer doesn't find Anthony Cooper in Australia. Then, in a jarring moment, a car smashes into Sawyer and Miles as they're sitting and chatting – It is, of course, Kate on the run. Sawyer catches her.

Back on the Island, Fake Locke sends Sawyer on a recognizance mission to the Hydra station. There, he finds the sole survivor of the second plane crash, a woman in glasses named Zoe. Of course, she's not actually alone, and eventually springs a trap on Sawyer when she calls his bluff. This new group is apparently financed by Widmore, since she brings Sawyer to his submarine. Sawyer proposes double-crossing Fake Locke with Widmore. They shake on this, but with Sawyer and Widmore, who the heck knows if either is being honest? For what its worth, Sawyer seems to double-cross Widmore, telling Fake Locke about his plan with Widmore. He then tells Kate that he and her should escape on the submarine as Widmore and Fake Locke fight it out.

In other Island business, Claire attacks Kate for the whole Aaron thing. Sayid just sits and watches it go down, which lends credence to the idea that he and Claire are “evil” and controlled by Fake Locke. He tells Kate that he gave Claire something to hate – The Others – in order to keep her alive. He reveals that like everyone else, he had a Mother, who he had some problems with. He talks to Claire, who laters apologizes to Kate and hugs her.

All in all, this was another strong episode of LOST. “The Lighthouse” still remains my favorite of the season, probably because of its heavy reliance on Jack, but this is among the better episodes so far.

Grade: A-