Television review: Lost #608: 'Recon'

608: 'Recon'

Wr: Jim Galasso & Elizabeth Sarnoff
Dr: Jack Bender

Synopsis: Locke trusts Sawyer with a mission.

Review: It's been four long, arduous weeks since last we spent some quality time with one Mr. James Ford and frankly, it's shown. For all 'Dr. Linus' and 'Sundown' prove to be strong, capable episodes in their own right, pushing the arc plot along nicely and unloading a whackload of tension on us to boot, there has been something missing from the scripts, a minor hole where Josh Holloway's furrowed, insult-spouting brow should be. It's something of an understatement to say that his episodes are generally some of the best that Lost has to offer; you only have to look at last season's superlative 'LaFleur' for evidence of that. The character is so inherently intriguing, so pleasingly rich and complex, that he's effectively overflowing with possibility. And of course, Holloway's portrayal is always perfectly pitched, expertly marrying ruthlessness with heart to create someone truly human. It should come as little surprise, then, that 'Recon' is an effortlessly solid episode, managing to maintain considerable momentum through the integration of a captivating flash-sideways with the ever-expanding on-Island soiree.

Thankfully, once again, our latest glimpse into life without the plane crash proves to be laden with contradictory tidbits and interesting dramatic decisions. For all the character beats essentially remain the same, as we Sawyer in the throes of trying desperately to locate that sorry SOB Anthony Cooper, 'Recon' manages to disguise its potential redundancy by turning the minutiae on their collective head. This is an altogether fresh approach to the Sawyer storyline, as we see Ford living a life, not of crime, but of law and order, working to bust those duplicitous con artists and protect those that might be hurt as a result of their activities. It's certainly a fascinating and entirely logical notion that James would essentially be faced with a choice, that the dark secrets of his past would pull him one way or the other. What's crucial, however, is that his father's homicide/suicide informs the very fibre of his being, that it transforms him into the person we see struggling to make up for the event, to do something about it, to make himself feel like he can, in some way, eke out his revenge. And for all it may seem like he is living a better life in this reality, that whatever changed the course of events has led him to a more law-abiding and therefore fulfilling existence, the script still makes a point of highlighting the melancholy of his plight. He may be living a more moral life, but it's certainly no less troubled. It's a parallel that may be central to every flash-sideways; in fact, it may be their central motif. Are Lindelof and Cuse trying to demonstrate that the Losties' lives are better together, better for the tragic nature of their collective encounter?

Whatever the allegory, there's no doubt that this is all particularly powerful stuff. Our opening flash-sideways sequence is an absolute treat, playing off beats that effectively form the backbone of this character's plot arc (the money falling out of the case, the 'you weren't supposed to see that', even the rebuke form guest star Jodi Lynn O'Keefe, a.k.a. Psycho Gretchen from Prison Break) and then side-swiping the viewer with that deliciously unexpected reveal. As we lapse so easily into the comfortability offered by these minutiae, the twist has an even greater impact, which, in turn, enriches the quality of the story. Then, we have the inclusion of Miles; by this point, I've learned to stop questioning the presence of all of these ancillary characters and simply embrace them for the serendipitous opportunities that they provide. Plus, these guys work so well together that it's a joy to see them given more screen time; their chemistry is so damn palpable, it's hard to know whether Straum is going to punch or kiss Sawyer when he throws him up against a wall. Of course, the latter would probably put something of a spanner in the works vis a vis the development of Sawyer's potential relationship with good ol' Charlotte - it's very nice to see Rebecca Mader again - who provides an interesting contrast to the other women in Ford's life and, refreshingly, rebukes him after his unwarranted outburst. You need to do a damn sight better than a crate of beer and a sunflower to impress this gal, mister. However this develops, the coupling is an intriguing one and works well, though how this will play with Farraday (who you know is just around the corner) is anybody's guess...

On-Island, dramatic developments continue apace as Sawyer becomes the first of our candidates to interact with the newly-arrived Widmore Sub Crew. Ford's visit to Hydra Island is a nice little nostalgia trip, allowing the production crew to linger lovingly on those bloody cages from season three, and that horrible dress that Kate was once forced to wear too. It seems the suggestion is being made that there may still be something between Austen and Sawyer, particularly given that they feature prominently at hour's end, with Holloway promising to set Smokey against Charles to allow the two of them to escape, and quite literally running into her on the mean streets of LA in his flash-sideways. Still, this isn't the most interesting aspect of this narrative component, oh no. That honour goes to the presence of Alan Dale, who manages to turn a scene in which he has a minimal amount of dialogue into one of the most meaningful sequences in the episode. This guy really is brilliant, knowing exactly when and where to pitch his most crucial emotional beats. The essential substance of all of this is fascinating too: is Widmore's purpose here to eradicate Smokey? Does he wish to control the Island in Jacob's absence? What, essentially, is his plan?

Undoubtedly, these are questions that will be answered in the weeks to come, along with the
all-important issue of unLocke's potential existence in the outside world and exactly what in the holy Hell is going on with Claire and Sayid. The former appears to be the dictionary definition of schizophrenic, holding Kate's hand one minute and attempting to stab her in the neck the next, while Jarrah's eerie calmness and reticence while Austen is under peril is just plain weird. Kudos to Naveen Andrews for successfully putting the proverbial willies (so to speak) up every single member of the viewing audience. Oh, and speaking of creepy, just what is up with the idea that Smokey has a mother? All this talk of deranged women is patently bizarre... are we going to be subjected to some sort of Black Smoke flashback/sideways/semi-circle at some point?

'Recon' is very much a transitionary episode, setting the wheels in motion for the implementation of a number of saliant narrative points: Widmore's return to the Island, Smokey's attempts to escape, Claire and Sayid's batshit craziness. All of this is wonderfully intriguing and pointedly structured so that, when coupled with a thematically familiar but intricately different 'what if...?' storyline, it creates a deliciously filling and rewarding whole. It also contains an absolute whackload of Josh Holloway which, frankly, can only be a bloody good thing. Another triumph. 9.0