Episode Recap: Follow The Leader

Well, once again, not a TON happened tonight. At least I don't think so.

Let's start in the past...

Jack/Hawking/a reluctant Alpert/and an even more reluctant Kate go to find the Jughead. Sayid shows up and apparently agrees with Jack and joins him. Sayid has had Jack's back on quite a few of the major series decisions (the lie, the Michael plan, the freighter, etc.) Kate? Not so much. She seems pretty hurt that Jack is ready to throw away their relationship to save a few dozen lives. Hmmm... or she could just be pissed that she'd be going back to jail. I guess the fact that Claire (the reason she came back to the island, remember Kate?) would be found and alive, didn't factor into her decision. (Might be fun to do a giant list of whose lives are better off if the flight doesn't crash and whose are significantly better.... maybe some posts? Or is that too much to ask?)

Anyway, they get through the video game level water tunnel and underground tunnels and find the bomb. Let's see what happens. (By the way... didn't Faraday say to bury it in concrete? Guess they only SORT OF listened to the disappearing sketchy guy. And how'd they get it down there? Guess we'll find out.) How's this bomb supposed to kill the energy anyway? Eh... formality.

So Kate bails and ends up on the sub with an exiled Sawyer and Juliette, ruining their happy little future together. (I wouldn't get too used to the sub, as all of you were seen in the season finale previews back on the island anyway). Juliette and Sawyer were on the sub because...

Dr. Chang caught up with Miles/Hurley/Jin and found out the truth, and called for the evacuation. But you knew that. Sorry.

That's about that for the past... but a few things bother me about all this interaction with a young Widmore and Eloise... I guess they just have really good poker faces to not ever let on that they know anything about the Oceanic 6 or anything like that. And Richard...

Well he's a nice transition to the Present...

Same questions as above and these: So Richard apparently didn't know about the flashes and time skipping? That seemed weird to me. Also, why didn't he seek Locke out like he did when he was younger? It had been three years. He just hung out?

Think he was building a model Black Rock at the beginning?

Think Richard really saw everyone die? Or do you think he saw... the incident? And they disappeared so he thought they were dead? AAAANNNND if he thought they were dead, why wasn't he surprised to learn about their arrival on the island 30 years later when a plane crashed.

Anyway...

Locke saves himself by running that errand, and know we know how Richard found Locke. Locke learned about it from the island and sent them there. The island told him.

Locke seems noble for most of the episode, until he admits to Ben that he lied to Sun and ZERO intention of reuniting his people (Oceanic 6 and friends) and really he's just going to kill Jacob. The island must have told him to do that too. Jacob asks for Locke's help and this is the thanks he gets? What a jerk. Or maybe he wants to die. Jacob that is.

Just one more to go this season... I'm excited... I'm nervous... I'm worried. If any of you have heard anything about the finale and you try and tell me I will introduce you to the Rude Dude. The Rude Dude is a mini bat I use to fend off would be intruders. So, yeah.