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So Ana-Lucia's a cop in her other life. Not a surprise. Her mother is her commanding officer. Mild surprise (would the force even allow that?). The biggest surprise is that Ana-Lucia is with the LAPD, and the only person she's accidentally shot was Shannon, and she only shot Shannon once, not twenty-seven times. And Ana-Lucia's trigger-happiness is also due to her having been shot by a thief who almost killed her and did kill her unborn baby. When the guy is eventually picked up, Ana-Lucia intentionally blows the ID so that she can blow him away herself later on. None of this is anything the Lostaways know, except for Sayid, whom she winds up tying to a tree so that he doesn't kill her to avenge Shannon. Ana-Lucia's band of followers have started to have had enough of being sneered at, and go their own way, essentially. Eko carries Sawyer back to camp so that Jack can fix him up (with the help of Kate, who practically wet-nurses Sawyer. Looks like Veronica's chosen Reggie). Jack wants to get a posse together when Michael tells him what happened to Shannon, but Eko's cooler head prevails. The final thirty minutes (I should probably check my VCR counter to confirm that) is a long, dialogue-free slow-motion montage with various reunions: Jack with Ana-Lucia, the drinking buddy he never got to drink with (in the air, anyway); Jin with Sun, which was pretty sweet; Bernard with Rose, which made things get kind of dusty in here; Sayid with special guest star Maggie Grace's corpse; and my favourite, Michael with Vincent. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
We open the show staring down the barrel of a gun. Oh, crap; are we supposed to be wearing 3D glasses for this episode? The gun fires several times, perforating a shooting target in a cluster in the head and neck. Ana-Lucia grimly lowers her smoking gun and removes her yellow protective goggles.Cut to a psychiatrist's office, where a shrink is trying to draw Ana-Lucia out. She cleans up nice. He asks how she's doing. "Well, the family with the screaming baby moved," she says. Did you shoot at them? The shrink says she must be thrilled, but she says it's actually too quiet now. Extra-special fidget-cam close-up of her fingers nervously drumming on the arm of her chair. The shrink takes notice, then asks if she and "Danny" are trying to work things out. She says there's nothing to work out, and that she's one of those people who's better off alone. Well, that's just safest, wouldn't you agree? Shrinky asks how the firing range went, and how it felt to hold a gun again, and it was "good" and "very good" respectively, and he says all these steps count: "You've come a long way since we met four months ago." Ana-Lucia doesn't say anything to let us know happened four months ago that prompted the shrink visits, but I imagine we'll find out before the hour is up.
Instead, Ana-Lucia asks if some unnamed "she" has said anything about when it would be okay for AL to come back to work, and there is some "Do you think you're ready?" and "what do you think?" jousting, before the shrink strolls over to a table and picks up a billfold-y thing, and hands it to her. "Welcome back to the force, Officer Cortez."
Back to Ana-Lucia getting the stink-eye from Sayid after she's shot Shannon. Sayid slowly stands up, and stomps towards Ana-Lucia, only to get intercepted by Eko, and they wrestle in the mud, with Sayid holding his own against the much larger Eko as they both fight for the gun. There is much shouting from the other castaways. Eventually, Ana-Lucia bops Sayid on the back of the head, knocking him out. Michael tries to intervene, and gets a face full of gun from Ana-Lucia. Michael, I'd be careful. She's LAPD. I'm just saying.
Back from the opening break, Ana-Lucia's still got the gun pointed at Michael and Jin while she asks Eko to check to see if Sayid has anything on him. Eko's all, "Whaaa?" and doesn't seem moved by Ana-Lucia snapping that Sayid just had a gun pointed at Eko's neck.
Michael tries to intervene, and Ana-Lucia fires a warning shot and manages not to kill anybody (THAT WE CAN SEE). For those of you confused about Sawyer's gun supposedly having only one bullet (that is now currently lodged in Shannon), she now has Sayid's gun. Everyone's a little frightened that Ana-Lucia is, even for her, losing her shit. She orders Eko to tie up Sayid, and he refuses. "He tried to kill you!" she says. He tried to kill you, Ana-Lucia, and Eko stopped him. Libby and Bernard watch in horror. Ana now tries pointing the gun at Libby and telling her to tie up Sayid, using the vines from the stretcher. Michael tries to protest that they won't be able to carry Sawyer, but Ana-Lucia tells him to shut up. But even Libby ain't havin' it: "Ana, Sawyer needs a doctor or he'll die." "I know what I'm doing," says Ana-Lucia. Isn't that what Sledge Hammer used to say?
Flashback to Ana-Lucia in her uniform striding through her precinct, to her captain's office. Her captain is a strong-willed Hispanic woman. Just like Ana-Lucia! I'm sure that's just a coincidence, though. They smile at each other, and Captain Foxy hands over Ana-Lucia's assignment. She's chagrined to find out she's desk-bound, and says she wants to go on patrol. "I don't care what you want," says Captain Foxy. "Just put me in a car!" snaps Ana-Lucia. Not so good at taking orders, is she? "You were in an officer-involved shooting. No." Ana-Lucia switches to Spanish for this: "You're doing this because you're my captain? Or because you're my mother?" What a shock. Actually, I guess the shock is that in a city the size of Los Angeles, there ought to be plenty of precincts, enough so that Officer Cortez could work in one where her mother wouldn't have to make decisions that could put her in harm's way (or put someone else in harm's way instead of her daughter). Captain Foxy Mama takes a moment and says it's both. "I need to be back on the street. Please," says Ana-Lucia, but Captain Foxy Mama says if she does that, everyone will know that she pulled some strings: "You don't want me to treat you like my daughter? Don't ask for favours," she says. So Ana-Lucia asks for a transfer. Captain Foxy Mama says she won't transfer her, but she will put her back in a car, and signs the order. Wow, she came around quick. Like, instantly. For no reason that we're given. If I had to guess, it's because she'd rather that than have Ana-Lucia go somewhere where Captain Foxy Mama couldn't look out for her (but that's all the more reason why Ana-Lucia wouldn't be under her mother's command in the first place). Not to mention that the show needs to parallel Jack with Ana-Lucia, so she needs to live up to the expectations of her parent in the workplace, just like Jack does.
This annoying and ridiculous scene is interrupted by Detective Raggs popping in to tell Ana that there's an important call for her in the bullpen. She says she'll be right there. He leaves. "They got you a cake. Try and act surprised," says Captain Foxy Mama. I don't think Mama's a killjoy for blowing Ana-Lucia's surprise. After all, Shannon knows what happens when you surprise Ana-Lucia; I think Captain Foxy just didn't want to lose any officers in a welcome-back-party massacre.
Back on Craphole Island, Jack's filling a water bottle from a trough on the beach. Everybody's island mother, Rose, strolls up and tells him how nice it is to see him out of the hatch and that he needs more sunshine. "I'll take that under advisement," says Jack, wryly. She adds that some fruit wouldn't hurt him either. Good for the constitution, they say. "Well, if that's what they say," says Jack. Just shut up and have some mango, Jack. Or guava or pomegranate or WHATEVER. He stuffs his face with some and says it's really good and asks where she got it, and she upbraids him for speaking with his mouth full.
Then there's a splash in the trough. Jack reaches in the water and pulls out a golf ball. He rolls his eyes. Someone's using his good Titleists!
Down the beach, Hurley, Charlie, and Kate are having a little target practice, apparently. "Past the hanging tree, double or nothing," says Hurley. Kate asks if he's sure, and Hurley says she'll never hit it that far. Charlie warns that she's on steroids. I suppose Charlie is morally opposed to steroids? How does that work? Kate reminds Hurley that this shot is for $10,000. Charlie jokes that Hurley's worth $156 million, so he's good for it and will probably even build her her own course. Kate laughingly asks what he's talking about, so Hurley says this, which is the wisest thing ever said on television: "Ignore him, he's an idiot." Kate swings, and it's not pretty. I mean, she's pretty, but her backswing is as ugly as Snoop's from that commercial he did with Lee Iacocca. "Crap!" says Hurley!
Jack strolls up. "You hooked it. Try keeping your left arm straight," he says. Didn't she hit it where she was aiming? Wasn't that why Hurley said, "Crap"? Did I miss something? Oh, wait, Jack's just being a know-it-all. Should have known. "You're giving me tips?" says Kate, all incredulous, like maybe I missed the episode where Kate's backstory is that she's Annika Sorenstam or something. Kate, he's a doctor. "Kate, I'm a doctor," he says. She asks if he thinks he could do better, and Jack laughs his silly-woman laugh. He says that anyone can hit a ball, but that's not golf. "Golf is accuracy," he says. It's a real pompous-athon tonight, isn't it? Kate suggests playing a few holes and seeing who's more accurate. And she's flirting with him. So I guess the Kate love train is back on the Jack track. Of course, the writers are only doing this because Sawyer's coming back to the camp this episode. Jack looks over at Charlie and Hurley and grins, and the two of them are over to the side hooting like Statler and Waldorf. Jack thinks she's kidding, but she ain't: "Three holes, no handicap, we play for bragging rights." And hey, what are they waiting for? They stroll off. Charlie looks like he's enjoying this, Hurley looks somewhat nonplussed that his game is over.
The Tailaways are trying to get a still-unconscious Sawyer to drink some water. Libby says they should just continue to the camp, and the Lostaways will understand it was an accident. Sayid's now tied to a tree. So who tied him? "They'll understand? I killed one of them," says Ana-Lucia. Sayid comes to, and seems disoriented for a moment. Ana gestures to Michael and Jin and tells Libby that if those two move, to shout.
She then stomps over to Sayid, who calmly tells her to untie him. She says she won't, so he yells it at her. Ana-Lucia looks mildly surprised that Sayid is upset with her after she shot his girlfriend, knocked him out, and tied him to a tree. And things just keep falling apart; Eko puts Sawyer over his shoulders and starts walking. She asks what he's doing. "I'm taking him back to his camp," he says. She asks him not to go, and says that if things were reversed, Sawyer would leave Eko to die. I don't imagine Sawyer could move Eko, let alone carry him, but I guess that's not the point. "I'm not doing it for him. I'm doing it for me," says Eko, and leaves.
Ana's back on patrol with her partner, a guy who could have been in Super Troopers. ["He just got super-killed on Prison Break a few weeks ago." -- Sars] They get some welcome-back banter out of the way, which you'd think they might have done back at the station instead of later out in the car, but whatever. "Heard about you and Danny," says Super Trooper. "Want me to go kick his ass for you?" She says nah. "It's better this way," she says. Did she shoot him? Until I hear otherwise, I'm going to assume she shot him. Then she takes notice of their surroundings and asks what they're doing in Westwood. "Thought a change of scenery would be nice. Nice, safe neighbourhood for your first day back," he says. She gives him a medium-strength glare. "This was her idea, wasn't it?" she says. "She is the captain," points out Super Trooper.
The radio crackles with a nearby domestic disturbance call, and Ana picks up the radio (the car's number is 8A16, in case you're keeping track) to respond, even though Super Trooper points out that it's not their call. She ignores him. "We're just three blocks away," she says into the radio.
Then we get this hilarious near-parody of an episode of Cops, only the people are better-looking, have all of their teeth, and aren't being bleeped every few seconds. A dude named Travis is holding a television, which he is apparently taking with him, because he bought it with his money (Rob Corddry might add: that he earned! Working at a job!). And the woman, Shawna, is naturally holding a crying baby. So Ana-Lucia and Super Trooper show up, and the Bickersons start yelling even more, and the baby's crying, and Ana stares at it while Super Trooper tries to get the Bickersons to calm down. And Ana-Lucia just finally whips out her gun (had to know that was coming) and orders Travis to get on the ground. He drops the television and hits the deck, and Shawna's freaking out, and Super Trooper angrily orders Ana-Lucia to holster her weapon, which she eventually does. Good call, Captain Foxy Mama. Nice one.
Back on Craphole Island, Ana-Lucia seems to be turning into a complete basket case. Libby says she should let Sayid go, but she won't: "I killed someone he loves," she says, so I guess Sayid's been talking about his love life. Michael and Jin watch. Michael shakes his head and stands up, and ignores Ana's order to sit down. "I'm bringing him water. You gonna shoot me? Shoot me," he says, and walks over to Sayid. "Don't even think of untying him," she says, as tough as she can muster, which is getting harder since no one's even listening to her anymore.
Sayid gulps thirstily at the water Michael gives him. "Who is that woman?" he asks. Michael explains about Ana-Lucia, managing not to use the word "psycho." "Where's Walt?" asks Sayid. Michael gives him the point-form version, which seems to hit Sayid pretty hard. He starts struggling with his bindings, and Michael tells him he'll get out of this.
If they do, it'll interrupt the golf grudge match Kate and Jack have going on. Charlie and Hurley have wisely elected not to watch, likely figuring that all the talk of strokes and shafts and balls and holes would be too much for Kate and Jack to withstand. Kate's got first shot, and Jack makes an ill-advised crack about the ladies' tees being ten feet closer, earning him a jolly "Shut up, Jack" from Kate, who tees up and drops her shot about two feet from the pin. Jack's looking like, I didn't know chicks could do that. "Nice," is all he says, and a pleased Kate tells him he's up. Jack steps up, swings, and judging from his grimace and the way Kate and Jack's heads are swiveling to follow the path of the ball, he didn't hit it so well. In fact, it goes into the trees. "Wow," says Kate, unable to contain her glee. "You really put it in there." Oh, here we go with the double entendres.
So it turns out Jack is one of those annoying golfers who wastes everyone's time by refusing to take a drop and insisting on searching for a long-gone ball that, even if they find it, will be likely unhittable. But apparently Jack has found his ball and he plans on hitting it, soon as Kate gets out of the way. But Kate suddenly can't move, and looks terrified, staring at something behind Jack. Jack turns around, and Eko is upon him, with Sawyer still over his shoulders. Jack raises the golf club in defence, but Eko asks where the doctor is.
Down in the hatch, Locke is working on a crossword puzzle; the clue is "Enkidu's friend," and the answer is "Gilgamesh." The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the world's oldest works of literature, if not the oldest, and was (maybe still is) the first work taught at my alma mater's incomparable Foundation Year Program. Enkidu was created by the sky-god Anu as a rival to Gilgamesh. The Epic may prove the foundation for what we know today as the buddy-cop movie, since Enkidu and Gilgamesh eventually team up. What does all this mean for Locke? Well, he's going to meet Eko in a moment.
Locke's crossword puzzle is interrupted as Kate opens the door and Jack comes in, carrying Sawyer with him, saying he's burning up and has to get into the shower. Kate wants to know what she can do, but when Jack describes what she can do (he needs some medicine that I can't spell, and for her to make sure there's clean sheets on the bed. Clean sheets? Kind of presumptuous, Jack. Don't -- oh, they're for Sawyer), she just stands there staring at Sawyer until Jack snaps her out of her reverie. As the hatch's familiar beeping starts, Locke strolls in and asks what happened. Jack doesn't say anything for a moment, then just says, "John. The button." So I guess Jack's fully on board with that now. Locke takes his sweet time to go. Jack turns on the water, and he and Sawyer are finally getting their shower scene together.
Elsewhere, Eko is examining the Dharma swan logo, and the beeping stops. He's looking around, undoubtedly realizing the Tailaways completely got the short end of the hatch stick, when Locke strolls in. They size each other up. "Hello," says Locke. Eko does the same. They look at each other some more.
Bernard approaches Ana-Lucia. "What are we doing here, Ana?" he whispers. "I mean, their camp has gotta be close. I just want to get back to my wife." She asks him how long she's kept him alive (inflated sense of self-worth?) and when he doesn't answer, she's all, "That's right. So CUT ME SOME SLACK." But here comes Libby, who says they just want to know what the plan is. "She has no plan," calls Sayid from his tree. "She only has her guilt. And a gun." Ana's all, you want a plan? Here's your plan! She stomps over to Michael and asks if there's any more ammo for the gun back at the camp. He says there is. She says she wants at least half of it, plus a pack with a blanket, some medicine, and some clothes. "You bring all of that stuff back to me, and I'll let your friend go." Michael says he won't leave Sayid, since they "stick together," but Libby says he should, and then Jin tells Michael to go to, clearly trying to communicate that he'll look after Sayid. So Michael tells Sayid he'll be back, and leaves.
Libby doesn't like this "plan," such as it is, and tells Ana-Lucia that she can't live out here alone. "I'm already alone," she says, and maybe that has more to do with her propensity for getting people killed than she's willing to admit. Sayid watches the disintegration of Ana-Lucia with interest.
Back at Police HQ, Super Trooper and Ana-Lucia are finishing up their shift. Super Trooper frostily says he'll sign them out, and Ana-Lucia sarcastically notes that he's talking to her again. She defends herself by saying she told the guy twice to stop. "So does that mean every time we run into some yo-yo with a TV in his hands you're going to draw down?" They're interrupted by Raggs, who's there to tell Ana-Lucia: "Your guy? We got 'im." Ana-Lucia looks stunned, then brushes past Super Trooper.
Some skell (police lingo I picked up from NYPD Blue) is sitting by himself in an interrogation room, while Captain Foxy Mama fills in Ana-Lucia on the other side of a one-way mirror: "His name is Jason McCormack. We picked him up on an assault on an elderly woman in Echo Park. His fingerprints match the partial from your crime scene. We questioned him, and he confessed. The DA's ready to file charges. All he needs is for you to ID him." Ana-Lucia barely glances at the guy before saying, "It's not him." He confessed, points out Captain Foxy Mama. Ana-Lucia says she doesn't know the guy. Captain Foxy kicks everyone else out of the room, probably since she'd prefer not to discipline her daughter in public.
As everyone leaves, Ana-Lucia looks everywhere in the room except straight into her mom's eyes. "Why are you doing this?" asks Mama, and Ana-Lucia repeats that it isn't him. She's clearly lying. "He put four bullets into you. Hollow-points through your vest [side note: I'm told hollow-points wouldn't be able to do that. I'm somewhat concerned when people volunteer information on certain types of bullets]. He tried to kill you." Mama ask if Ana wants to put the guy back out on the street. Ana-Lucia just repeats that it isn't him, and leaves the room. I presume they cut the part where Mama said, "I'm not done with you yet, young lady!" (And then Ana-Lucia shot her.)
Back on Craphole Island, Ana-Lucia examines the body of special guest star Maggie Grace, who didn't have to learn any lines for this episode. Ana-Lucia appears regretful and overwhelmed, if that's worth anything. …Thought not.
Back in the hatch, Eko's examining the rack of heavy assault weapons, when Locke asks him what happened out there. "There was an accident," understates Eko. He explains that a girl was shot and killed. "What did she look like?" asks Locke. Eko describes her as tall and blonde, and it's when Eko mentions the Arab man that Locke says it was Shannon. He looks grim. So Ana-Lucia just finished what you started, Locke. So much for the Carlyle-Rutherfords.
Locke asks about Eko saying there were five of them from the tail section, which Eko corrects to four (already writing Cindy off, I guess). Locke asks why the rest of them didn't come, as well as Michael and Jin. "They cannot come back right now," says Eko. He says it all whisper-spooky. Locke asks if Eko can take him to them. Eko glances at the Rambo wall before saying no.
Kate's helping Jack tend to a shirtless Sawyer, who's been moved to one of the bunks. Jack gets Kate to hold him up while Jack tries to get some pills down his throat, but even unconscious, Sawyer has to be a pain in the ass and refuse. Kate takes the pills, over Jack's objections, and then clutches Sawyer to her chest and talks to him like you'd talk to a dying loved one. Jack looks embarrassed to be there, although he's probably still agonizing over his errant tee shot. Kate whispers to Sawyer that the only way he's going to get better is if he takes the pill. "So you just swallow it, okay?" she says, and she's practically making out with his forehead. It seems to work, as Sawyer takes the pill, and Kate gives him some water. "Nice job," says Jack, still a little chagrined. "We never learned the whole whisper-in-the-ear thing in med school." He half-smiles, as does Kate, who clearly would like Jack to leave, so she can continue to nuzzle Sawyer and stroke his hair. Jack gets up and leaves as nonchalantly as he can muster.
Back at the Ana-Lucia camp, Bernard's had enough and has decided to bail, despite her vociferous protests. "I don't want to be a part of this," he says. "I know everything you've done for us. And I know I wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for you. But I'm going." Really, what did she do besides kill Goodwin? That's her entire survival-leader résumé? What have you done for me lately? Bernard takes his sack and a walking stick.
Ana-Lucia turns to Libby and asks how she feels. "I just don't think you're the best judge of character. I was with you when you put Nathan in the pit," she says, conveniently forgetting that before Nathan was put in that pit, she herself was whining to Ana about how Nathan was creeping her out. Libby's such a bandwagon-jumper, she makes me sick. Ana-Lucia doesn't even call her on her bullshit, just says if she wants to go, she should go. She tells Jin to go as well. Jin looks at Sayid, who nods, and then Ana-Lucia tells the lot of them to go, which they pretty much were doing anyway. And now it's just her and Sayid.
Michael runs through the jungle. While I am still mildly annoyed at the lack of Creedence, I should note how good the score on this usually is. Quite cinematic. Maybe they could meet me halfway and do an orchestral version of "Run Through The Jungle"?
Michael bursts in on Sun's garden, where she is merrily weeding or whatever, and she's quite surprised to see him. He needs a moment to catch his breath, and when he can talk, he tells her that Jin is okay, and he will explain, but right this minute he needs to find Jack.
Jack is in the hatch, questioning Eko, and trying to be as tough as he can possibly pretend to be, ordering Eko to take him out there, that sort of thing. I mean, if you're Eko, who the hell are you afraid of? Locke is already Eko's lawyer, telling Jack that this guy isn't the reason Shannon's dead, that he's the one who brought Sawyer back. "Half-dead with a bullet in his shoulder, John!" yells Jack, who turns back to Eko. "You gonna talk to me or are you just going to sit there?" Eko calmly looks at him: "Anything I say will just make you angry," he says. That's kind of like how Charlie is for me. Jack waits, and Eko continues: "So yes. I will sit here." Whatcha gonna do about it, Jack?
Fortunately for Jack, Michael comes running in, and he and Jack share the most awkward hug I've ever seen in my life. If you hated a particular person, but had to hug them anyway, you would look a lot like Jack and Michael here. "We got a problem, man," says Michael, but before asking what's going on, Jack has to turn around and swagger around and look at Eko, because he won. I guess.
So Jack's grabbing guns and asking Michael if he remembers how to get out there. Michael says he does. Locke thinks they should think about this, and Jack reminds him that Shannon's dead and Sayid's being held at gunpoint. "You want to sit here and hope that situation resolves itself, you be my guest." He gives a rifle to Michael, and they're heading out when Eko yells for them to stop. Surprised, they do. He asks what they want: "Peace? Revenge? Justice? And you are going out with all these guns. What do you want?" Jack yells that he wants to rock, and he strums an air guitar, and Eko goes flying backwards through the wall. And here comes Twisted Sister! Or maybe Eko says, "Ana-Lucia made a mistake," and Jack recognizes the name and is shocked to find out that the fellow drunk he flirted with in the airport bar is now on the island. You'd think he'd be happy, given that Kate looks like she plans to walk Sawyer's way. Locke and Kate both silently note Jack's recognition of Ana-Lucia's name.
Eko says he'll take Jack to Ana-Lucia. "But only you. And no guns." Jack gives his gun to Locke and nods.
Back at Ana-Lucia's Mobile Armed Sayid Hostage unit, Ana-Lucia's asking Sayid where he's from. Sayid has already discovered, as so many do, that ignoring her is far preferable to actually talking to her. But she persists, and he tells her he's from Iraq. She asks if he has any children, and he asks why she wants to know. She says she's just curious, so he tells her he doesn't -- and then he asks her the same question, so she can look uncomfortable and pause and choke on the word "no." Sayid asks if she's going to kill him: "That's what you're thinking about, isn't it?" Ana-Lucia asks if she should kill him. The answer, Sayid, is "no," but instead he starts talking about how about forty days ago on this island he tortured a man just as he's tortured many men before him, men whose voices he still hears at night. "Should you kill me? Maybe you should. Maybe you were meant to." He stares a hole into her, and she can't hold his gaze. So she stands up, and starts fidgeting around like she has to go to the bathroom.
"I'm a cop. Well, I was a cop." Oh, here comes the diatribe. She launches into this story about her and her partner responding to a burglary call, and how they split up to go in the front and the back. A kid comes out the front, where Ana-Lucia is, and she tells him to put his hands up. The kid says she's making a mistake, that he's a student, and he wants to show her his ID. "I believed him. I just…I let him reach. All I remember was a pop. By the time I hit the ground I thought I was dead." Fortunately, being able to think that you're dead is a pretty clear sign that you're not. Sayid just watches her. "I feel dead," she says. Sayid asks what happened to the man who shot her. Let's go to the instant replay.
Ana-Lucia's in a bar. Try to contain your surprise. The dude who shot her is over by the pool tables saying goodbye to a buddy before slinging his jacket over his shoulder and leaving the bar. Ana follows him (naturally, she finishes her drink first).
Out in the parking lot, McCormack heads to his car. Ana-Lucia calls to him, and he turns around. "I know you?" he asks. Close-up on Ana-Lucia, but the motion of her shoulder and arm suggests she's just drawn a gun. "I was pregnant," is all she says, and she fires three times. Jason didn't appear to have even noticed or reacted to her gun at all. I can see how he got the drop on her last time. He drops like a sack of mangos and Ana-Lucia approaches his body and pops three more shots into him.
Back on Craphole Island, Sayid says, "What happened to him?" Did he miss the flashback? Ana-Lucia says McCormack was never found. She gets up and picks up the makeshift machete stuck in the ground. As the music builds, she walks up to Sayid. OH MY GOD SHE'S TOTALLY GOING TO KILL HIM. She swings the machete and…cuts the rope holding him to the tree. Maybe Michael gave her tips on freeing someone in the riskiest and scariest way possible. Then she drops the knife and the gun in front of Sayid. "Go ahead," she says, telling him to pick up the gun. "I deserve it." He grabs the gun and scrambles to his feet. "What good would it be to kill you, if we're both already dead?" Oh look, here comes my lunch back up. I sincerely hope this is a fantasy sequence involving Sayid and Ana-Lucia on Hokey Dialogue Island. No? It's the real deal? He walks over to Shannon's body (he no longer has the gun in his hands), gathers her into his arms, and starts sobbing. Ana-Lucia turns away.
Sawyer's on his bunk, struggling and convulsing, while Kate looks over him. "Hey, can you hear me? You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be all right," she says, stroking his face. "You're home." Sawyer mutters something about the other guys laughing at him for not making People's sexy list. "Even Dominic made it," he whispers, and rolls over.
And now: I will NEVER get tired of this. I hope someday a network produces a show called Extended Dialogue-Free Slow-Motion Musical Montage, and I will step over my own grandmother to recap that show.
Michael strolls up the beach. Vincent sees him and runs over, tongue flapping the breeze. That response right there is why people love their dogs, you know; I can have the shittiest day at the office, and all it takes to make me smile is my dog wagging her tail when she sees me. Of course, there's a huge difference between "shitty day at the office" and "my son got kidnapped by scruffy pirates," so maybe there are some things a dog can't fix. Still, Michael pats Vincent, who either has a secret stash of boar somewhere or just needs to lay off the kibble.
Charlie's got his guitar and is strumming away, presumably working on the Driveshaft album, when he sees Jin come out of the woods, followed by Bernard and Libby. He runs over. We see Rose notice the commotion. We see Sun doing laundry. Jin and Charlie hug, and they're soon surrounded by other Lostaways all thrilled to see him. And there's Bernard making his way through the crush of people and he sees Rose, her face breaking into a smile that, I have to admit, is giving me a twinge in the ol' tear ducts. She's touching his ring, still on a chain around her neck, and they hug, and they really need to cut away soon before I completely lose it. Hey, guys, Sayid has this totally swingin' pad that he's not going to be needing anymore…
Jin pulls away from the crowd and looks down the beach to where Sun has apparently not noticed the mob scene going on. She finally looks up, and looks stunned. Jin runs across the beach to her and swings her around in his arms.
In the jungle, Eko and Jack stroll through the brush. Jack's face falls when he sees a distraught Sayid holding Shannon's body. Sayid says nothing, just walks past him. Then Jack sees Ana-Lucia. They look at each other, Jack looking disappointed (?) and Ana-Lucia looking embarrassed. You know, I think we need a little more than a flirty drink in an airport bar before we're supposed to be all enthralled with the two of them seeing each other again.