I dislike episodes with c-stories (like Desmond's, here) which are too spread out. I think there were just three scenes to his story, each very brief and about 15-20 minutes apart. And then I'm not sure I even understand what happened at the end.

Good episode overall though.

Odd that they would tell Sawyer he's free before checking out the story.

Also odd that he would set up the account for his daughter without knowing for sure she exists. I mean, that woman telling him about his daughter would be a conceivable (no pun intended) revenge plot for someone who's been conned, whether successfully or almost.

If you enjoy seeing Sawyer getting beat up, this is your episode!

Nice referency by Kate to the season 2 closer, she said, "Live together, die alone."

"referency"? I guess that's the study of references!

Very good episode.

I had a couple of problems with the pacemaker and the ending concepts.

First, having a pacemaker installed—or any sort of open heart surgery, for that matter—is a major operation. That sort of operation would take hours, require a lot of preparation, produce blood, ruin Sawyer’s shirt, and most of all—leave a heft scar. Yet the Others just slap a small bandage on Sawyer’s chest, and he buys it? Even after he removes the bandage, and there’s no scar, why does he continue to believe them? Even someone with zero medical knowledge should know this.

Also, Ben tells him that his resting heartbeat should be about 70, and his active heartbeat should be about 140. But Sawyer’s heartbeat gets up to 125 just watching Kate getting undressed, and with her back to him?

Then the ending. The Others are on a different island? Why isn’t it visible to the Lostaways? Or is this deliberate? Also, didn’t The Glass Ballerina seem to indicate that they’re all on the same island? Sayid found the Others’ dock. He never said he found “another island”. And when the Others came for them, they were lured not to Sayid’s signal fire, but to the Elizabeth. But how could they go onto the beach, out on the dock, and board the Elizabeth, without having a boat of their own? It seemed as if they came from within the same island that Sayid, Sun, and Jin were on. They mentioned a submarine in this episode. Did they use it in that raid? If so, why didn’t we see it? Wouldn’t it have stayed on the surface until the Elizabeth was secured? Why submerge before then?

Also, why does Ben reveal the truth about the “pacemaker” to Sawyer? He just got this guy to restrain himself, so much so that he allowed Pickett to beat him senseless, and Ben just throws away the best set of restraints he’s probably ever imposed on a prisoner? Now he does say that Sawyer is restrained more by Ben’s threat of Kate, but he only threatened Kate if Sawyer told her about the pacemaker, and the threat was that he’d install one in Kate, which he can’t do, because their only doctor is a fertility doctor, and not a surgeon. Kate, after all, demonstrated her ability to climb out of her cage, and without the pacemaker, what’s to make Sawyer not agree to escape with her? Granted, Ben is monitoring them, but Kate and Sawyer don’t know this.

And why has Kate never told Sawyer she could do this until now?

What was the whole thing with Desmond and the lightning rod?

Given that Jack told Juliet that the spinal X-rays belonged to someone about 40 years of age, I thought I understood who it was, based on other information in the episode, but the preview for next week’s episode have him addressing someone else and indicating that it’s that someone else who has the tumor. I’m not sure I like the idea of the previews giving this away, since it’s the sort of thing that I would’ve considered a spoiler, and something to be revealed only in watching that episode. Or was this more misdirection by the creators? Perhaps the scene had him talking with someone else, and the commercials were edited to make it look he was talking with the character in question? And maybe Jack only concludes it’s him, but he’s wrong?

And I just thought of something not apropos of this episode: Do any comic fans here see any parallels between Sawyer and Wolverine? Consider:

----They’re both antagonistic loners who don’t work that well in groups (at least ideally, especially historically for Wolverine).

----They both turn out to have far more knowledge or smarts than you’d think from their initial appearance.

----They both have perpetual facial hair—beard stubble for Sawyer, sideburn/mutton chops for Wolvie.

----They both seem to be able to take a lot of punishment—Sawyer was tortured without breaking, and shrugs off serious beatings, and Wolverine’s healing factor lets him recover quickly from injuries.

----And here’s the one that just occurred to me: Both go by other names—Sawyer calls himself “Sawyer”, and Wolvie goes by “Logan”, but in actuality, they’re real first names are………….James!

Since we know Lost co-creator Damon Lindeloff is a comic book fan, I wonder if Sawyer was at all inspired by Wolverine.

I’m not sure I like the idea of the previews giving this away, since it’s the sort of thing that I would’ve considered a spoiler, and something to be revealed only in watching that episode.

Grrrrrrr...

But Sawyer�s heartbeat gets up to 125 just watching Kate getting undressed, and with her back to him?

Kate is Just That Hot^OMT.

Luigi Novi: The Others are on a different island? Why isn’t it visible to the Lostaways?

I've had the impression that the island is pretty big. If the Lostaways, or tailies for that matter, haven't ventured to whichever side that island sits, then they wouldn't know its existence. Then again, you have to wonder if Rousseau knows about it, or why the raft didn't spot it. Pala Ferry had to go somewhere though, right?

Luigi Novi: Also, didn’t The Glass Ballerina seem to indicate that they’re all on the same island? Sayid found the Others’ dock. He never said he found “another island”. And when the Others came for them, they were lured not to Sayid’s signal fire, but to the Elizabeth. But how could they go onto the beach, out on the dock, and board the Elizabeth, without having a boat of their own? It seemed as if they came from within the same island that Sayid, Sun, and Jin were on. They mentioned a submarine in this episode. Did they use it in that raid? If so, why didn’t we see it? Wouldn’t it have stayed on the surface until the Elizabeth was secured? Why submerge before then?

First of all, assuming they have a sub, they probably don't want the Lostaways to know about it, so whether they leave it submerged or not, they'll leave it out of sight. So, yes, I believe the implication is that they used the sub to get past Sayid and Jin and to take Elizabeth.

Luigi Novi: Also, why does Ben reveal the truth about the “pacemaker” to Sawyer? He just got this guy to restrain himself, so much so that he allowed Pickett to beat him senseless, and Ben just throws away the best set of restraints he’s probably ever imposed on a prisoner?

Ben, and the rest of the Others in general, strike me as being a bit arrogant. Besides, as he said, what better way to earn a con man's respect than to con him?

Luigi Novi: Now he does say that Sawyer is restrained more by Ben’s threat of Kate, but he only threatened Kate if Sawyer told her about the pacemaker

And if he told her that they were watching them.

Luigi Novi: and the threat was that he’d install one in Kate, which he can’t do, because their only doctor is a fertility doctor, and not a surgeon. Kate, after all, demonstrated her ability to climb out of her cage, and without the pacemaker, what’s to make Sawyer not agree to escape with her?
He doesn't know that they only have a fertility doctor. And he knows that the Others are capable of doing things even without pacemakers. Just because they won't do that specific threat doesn't mean they won't do something. Plus, we really don't know where the conversation went from the point at the end of the episode.

Luigi Novi: And why has Kate never told Sawyer she could do this until now?

Didn't she realize in this episode that the bars up top were wider?

Luigi Novi: What was the whole thing with Desmond and the lightning rod?

I believe it's more hinting at Desmond's new precognitive abilities.

Luigi Novi: I’m not sure I like the idea of the previews giving this away, since it’s the sort of thing that I would’ve considered a spoiler, and something to be revealed only in watching that episode.
I thought that you didn't watch the previews? Anyway, PAS. And PAL. Which is why Influx never watches them.

Thanks, Josh. When Ben showed Sawyer the Lostaways island, I formed the impression, for some reason, that they were facing their camp. But there was nothing in the scene to explicitly indicate this. I think maybe it was Sawyer's reaction, because why else could he recognize the island if it was a part he'd never seen?

Yeah, I guess Ben's arrogance is the only explanation.

I must've missed the bit about Kate realizing that in this episode.

Okay, combined in context with his earlier warning to Claire, and his reference to something said before it was said (Charlie, was it?), now it makes sense. Thanks.

I didn't watch Voyager and Enterprise previews because they were so awful in giving things away, and misrepresenting what the ep was about. I've never been this way with the Lost previews, which can give quite a bit of info about the upcoming ep, without spoiling it.

Luigi, did you record this episode? Because there is most definately a scar. After your previous comment (and the fact that no one else contradicted you) I thought maybe I was mistaken, but I just watched it again and it's definately there.

I guess I must've missed it somehow. Thanks.

Does raising an organism's heartbeat cause a sedative to reactive more quickly? Perhaps by increasing its circulation, and causing it to be absorbed by its nervous system more quickly? I ask, because I'm wondering how Ben rendering the rabbit unconscious merely by agitating it. Even if it worked via the method I just described, could Ben have really known that it would work as quickly as it did?

Ben's assertion to Sawyer that he's a good con artist, but that the Others better was really erie. Specifically, the way he suddenly expressed knowledge of Of Mice and Men after initially indicating complete ignorance of it was really spooky and well-done. It really made Ben come off as scary and ominous.

For a group claiming to be 'the good guys', they're really not doing themselves any favours are they. Ben really is an arrogant SOB. Juliet seems to be about the only sympathetic main Other, and perhaps Alex.

I like the Wolverine-Sawyer connection! Thanks for pointing it out.