L.A. Reality: Sayid reunites with Nadia... and her husband (Sayid's brother, Omer, not Omar) and children. He brings the children a boomerang from Australia. What an apt gift on this show. Anyhow, Omer's on the hook to some bad guys (Keamy!). He borrowed the start-up cash for his second dry cleaning shop, and although he's paid them back, he can't keep up with the protection payments. Omer wants Sayid to take care of them, but Sayid says, "I'm sorry. I'm not that man, anymore." But when Keamy roughs up Omer, Sayid (who passes Jack in the hospital corridor) refrains from retaliating, largely at Nadia's request. Alone at her house, Nadia asks Sayid why he pushed her toward Omer years ago, when clearly he loves her. Sayid says he's spent the past dozen years trying to cleanse himself of his wrong doing. He cannot be with her, because he doesn't deserve her. And when Keamy's two minions (including Omar, not Omer) grab Sayid and bring him to their boss, Sayid takes out the three of them in about 30 seconds. He's so badass. Are they in the same restaurant or whatever in which Naomi delivered Widmore's proposition to Miles? I'll check on that for the recap, but if you know, shoot me an e-mail or twit at me. Anyhow, as a reward, Sayid gets L.A. Reality Jin Soo "No English" Kwon, who was tied up in a walk-in. I love how the new reality crew keeps crossing paths.
Island Reality: Sayid goes to Yoko for answers, so he gets them. "I think it would be best if you were dead." Sayid's all, You don't know my life! And then they fight. Yoko is about to do in Sayid, but when his baseball falls from his desk, he has a change of heart. He tells Sayid: "Go, leave this place and never come back." Sayid updates Miles on the way out the door, and laughs bitterly at the fact that the people who saved his life are the ones who have now branded (literally) him evil and are banishing him from the Temple. Miles gives up some answers. Although the Templars tried to save Sayid, they failed. Sayid was stone cold dead for two hours. "Whatever brought you back -- it wasn't them."
Meanwhile, Claire enters the Temple grounds on Faucke's behalf with his promise that he'll give her back her son, which is ironic, considering he's the one (I mean presumably and in the guise of Christian Shephard's ghost) who led her away from Aaron in the first place. She tells Dogen "he" wants to see him. Dogen knows if he steps outside "he" will kill him, so Claire suggests sending someone "he" won't kill. Dogen reverses Sayid's banishment and gives him a dagger and the assignment to find and kill "him." "He" will come to Sayid as someone he knows -- someone who has died. Dogen also gives us some answers. For years, Smokey has been trapped, but now that Jacob is gone, he is free and will not stop until he's destroyed all life on the island. "He is evil incarnate." Dogen gives Sayid a final pep talk. "You said there is still good in your soul. Prove it."
Kate runs into Sayid not far from the Temple. He tells her to ask Miles what she missed. At the Temple, she does just that, and learns Claire is there. Meanwhile, Sayid and his dagger run into Faucke. Sayid stabs him, but Faucke won't die. Is there no good left in Sayid at all? Faucke promises Sayid his heart's desire, provided he delivers a message to the Temple for him. Once he returns, Sayid gathers the Templars around and tells them about the man in the jungle. "He wants you to know that Jacob is dead, and because he is gone, none of you have to stay here, any longer. You're free. The man that I met is leaving the island forever. Those of you who want to go with him should leave the Temple and join him. You have until sundown to decide." Cindy is standing off to the side with the children. "What happens at sundown, if we stay?" Sayid says, "You die." Meanwhile, with Lennon's reluctant help, Kate finds Claire down in some deep pit inside the temple. She's singing "Catch a Falling Star." It's both creepy and heartbreaking. They only have a couple of minutes to talk, so Kate explains that the Templars don't have Aaron. She says that when the Losties couldn't find Claire, she took him and "raised" him. She adds that she came back to rescue Claire so that she could be reunited with her boy. As the Templars drag Kate away from the pit, Claire says she's not the one who needs rescuing. "He's coming... and you can't stop him."
Sayid gives Dogen back his dagger and notes that's the second time he's had someone else try to kill him. He asks why he didn't do it himself. Dogen gives him his brief biography. He was a successful banker. When his son was 12, Dogen got promoted, and in celebration, had a bit too much to drink before he picked up his son from baseball. Dogen survived the accident. But his son... At the hospital, Jacob came to him and promised to save his son's life, if Dogen would come to the island and never see his boy again. Sayid says Jacob drives a hard bargain. Dogen stares at the baseball in his hand and then at Sayid. "I take it the man outside offered you a similar bargain." You bet your sweet bippy he did. Dogen observes, "It is sundown, will you choose to stay, or go?" Sayid says he'd like to stay. Dogen is surprised by this, but he's even more surprised when Sayid tosses him in the Murky Mikvah and drowns him. Some samurai. Lennon happens upon the scene, rushes into the mikvah and educates Sayid. "Do you realize what you just did? He was the only thing keeping it out. Idiot! You just let it in." Sayid cuts Lennon's throat. He falls, lifeless, into the mikvah. Sayid stares down at his day's work. "I know." Goodbye, Plastic Ono Band. We hardly knew ye.
Outside, the familiar ticka ticka rattle clank starts up. Kate grabs Miles and tells him they have to go, now. Original recipe Smokey pours into the Temple and slays the faithful remnant. Miles and Kate are on the run, but they separate when Kate goes off to find Claire. While hiding from Smokey, Miles is found by Ilana, Frank, Ben and Sun. Ben, who has had better ideas, runs off to get Sayid, thinking he's rescuing him. Ilana tries to stop him to no avail. Kate jumps down in Claire's pit, just before the angel of death Smokey passes over. Ben finds Sayid and sees what he's done, but tells him he knows a way out of there. "There's still time." Sayid smiles like a man possessed. "Not for me." Ilana leads Frank, Miles and Sun into Hurley and Jacob's secret passageway, even though she doesn't have any instructions written on her arm. As soon as they're out of the hallway, Smokey rushes through it.
Sayid walks through the Court of the Gentiles in chilling slow-mo. He observes the the carnage, and flames. Is that a flaming cross I see? An eery, echo-y version (Claire's rendition?) of "Catch a Falling Star" plays as Claire and Kate, also in slow-mo, follow in his wake. Kate snags a rifle from the fallen faithful. Outside, they meet Faucke and his now much larger Band of Buggered. Faucke smiles and nods at Sayid, and Claire. He nods at Kate too, but eyes her suspiciously. Faucke leads his captives followers into the dark. Kate's face jumps right through my screen and yells, "WTF?!?!?!? I'm following focking Faucke?" Dun. Bad Robot.
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" --Isaiah 14:12 (KJV)
"I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." --Luke 14:18
"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket. Never let it fade away. Catch a falling star and put in your pocket. Save it for a rainy day." --Perry Como.
I'm starting the full recap now, so until then, please join us in the forums, where I hope someone is working on Terry O'Quinn and Naveen Andrews' Emmy reels.