Yay! What a good eppy! We learned lots of stuff and got a couple of answers. In my opinion, this was one of the best episodes so far this season!

And without further ado...

ON THE BEACH:

Des, Charlie, Jin, and Hurley have returned from their trip and have brought the parachutist (Naomi) with them, but they are keeping her secret. Charlie goes to the "kitchen" to gather some food for her and Jack approaches him to ask where they were and when they got back. Charlie tells Jack they were camping/exploring/male bonding and Jack tells him that, next time they do that, to invite him along.

Charlie goes back to the tent where they're keeping Naomi and suggests that they tell Jack about her. But the others aren't liking that idea - Jack was with the Others for 10 days and doesn't have a scratch on him. Plus, he's all BFF with Juliet now. How can they trust him? So they find someone else they can trust instead.

Sayid is doing some kind of manual labor (and looking HAWT) when Hurley approaches him and asks if he can keep a secret. He follows Hurley back to the tent and meets Naomi, who tells him some interesting tidbits:

1. She is part of a search and rescue team put together by Penelope Widmore, to search for Desmond. Penelope had given them coordinates which they believed were in the middle of the ocean. Naomi had taken off in her 'copter from a ship 80 miles from the island and was about to turn back when the clouds cleared and she found land. But then her helicopter started to break down so she bailed.

2. The "wreckage" of Flight 815 was found in an ocean trench 4 miles deep. The wreckage was investigated by submarine robots (cool!) and all the bodies were in there. Huh.

Sayid asks Desmond if he saw the helicopter. Des didn't. Sayid doesn't buy Naomi's story but then she shows him her satellite phone and says something kind of b*tchy to him.

Later on, Sayid and Hurley are examining the phone (and not having any luck getting a signal) when Kate catches them. Hurley makes up a lame-ass lie that they found the radio in the luggage, but Sayid tells her the truth and asks her to keep it a secret.

Instead of doing so, she marches right over to where Jack and Juliet are BFF on the beach and asks to speak to Jack in private. Jack says that whatever Kate has to say to Jack can be said in front of Jules. Kate tells Jack about Naomi and tells him that nobody trusts him because of Juliet, which is why they didn't tell Jack. Jack insists on knowing how Naomi was supposed to contact the boat she took off from. Kate tells him about the satellite phone. Juliet says to Jack "We should tell her", but Jack says "not yet" and rushes off to find Naomi.

Huh. Whatcha got up your sleeves, Jack and Jules?

FLASHBACK:

This is an on-island flashback, beginning 8 days ago, one of the last times we saw Locke. He's just seen his father all tied up and asks Ben what the hell is going on. Ben tells him that Locke brought his father here himself. Locke takes the gag off of Cooper and Cooper bites his hand. Cooper says he's figured out where they are. They re-gag Cooper and Ben invites Locke to come along to a "new place," which is actually an "old place." Locke agrees to come along. Ben suggests that Locke say goodbye to Kate.

3 days ago, in a big field, Locke is pitching a tent for Cindy the flight attendant (not THAT way, get your mind out of the gutter) and she tells him that they are all very excited for him to be there, because they've all been waiting for him. Tom comes and asks Locke to come with him to Ben's tent.

In his tent, Ben is listening to the tape that Juliet left him at the Staff Station. He tells Locke that Juliet's infiltrated the beach camp to determine if any of the women are pregnant, and the Others are going to go in and take them if they are. He assures Locke that nobody will get hurt. He stands up, using a cane, and credits his quick recovery to Locke's presence.

Ben says that he can't wait to show Locke what the island can do but first Locke needs to prove that he's ready - he needs to kill his father to release the hold he has on him.

That night, Locke is sleeping under the stars when Ben wakes him up, takes him to Cooper (who is tied to some big post-thingy) and hands Locke a knife. He tells him to kill Cooper. The other Others wake up and all gather around (this was pretty creepy), but Locke can't do it and backs off. Ben knocks Cooper out with his cane and tells the other Others that Locke's not the man they thought he was.

The next day, 2 days ago, Locke is sitting on a hill when the impeccably dressed and clean shaven Richard Alpert (seriously, why did he look so dapper when everyone else is filthy?) approaches to tell him that Ben knew he wouldn't kill his father and wanted to embarrass him. Ben was worried because the Others were starting to think Locke might be very special and be distracted from the things like fertility issues and other things Ben uses to distract them. Richard wants Locke to find his purpose and says that Cooper must die to for Locke to do so. He says that if Locke won't kill Cooper, he knows somebody who might, and he hands him a file on Sawyer. When Locke asks why Sawyer would kill his father, Alpert tells him to keep reading.

The next day, yesterday, Locke wakes up and sees that the Others are packing up. Ben tells him that he cannot come along, buy that they'll leave a trail that he can track. But he tells Locke not to bother tracking them unless he's got the body of his dead father on his back.

PRESENT DAY

In the darkness, Locke reads a red folder. We hear a muffled voice trying to speak heard but Locke tells the man to save his breath because no one will hear him. He throws the folder into the fire.

Sawyer and Kate are in his tent, holding each other after she's used him for sex again. She tells him she wants to sleep in her own tent and leaves. Sawyer tucks the gun into his waistband, gets up to drain the lizard and Locke approaches him. Sawyer is pissed that Locke blew up their only chance to get off the island and for joining the Others, but Locke says he's infiltrated them and says that he's kidnapped Ben. He asks Sawyer to come with him to kill Ben. Sawyer says that he's not a killer but Locke says that he's read the file that the Others have on him and that he knows Sawyer killed a man the night before he got on the plane. Locke starts to leave, but a barefoot Sawyer follows him.

In the jungle, Sawyer asks Locke about his file. Locke says that it said that his parents died when Sawyer was very young but it didn't say WHY his father shot his mother and then killed himself. It also contained high school transcripts and a police record of cons he was arrested for. Suddenly Sawyer tackles Locke to the ground and holds him at knifepoint. He accuses Locke of trying to con him, but Locke just says that he can't kill Ben himself. Sawyer says that he'll go with Locke, but he won't kill Ben but bring him back to the beach camp. Locke says that he'll change his mind.

Later, Sawyer tells Locke that he didn't mean to kill the man in Sydney. He thought he was someone else. Locke asked who he thought he was, but Sawyer doesn't answer.

Finally, they get to the Black Rock. Sawyer enters the brig of the ship and sees a prisoner with a bag over his head. Locke locks Sawyer inside. Sawyer takes the bag off the prisoner's head, and of course, it's not Ben, but Cooper, who Sawyer doesn't recognize.

Meanwhile, Rousseau comes to the ship. She tells Locke she's there for some dynamite, takes it, and leaves.

Sawyer bangs on the door, demanding Locke let him out, and then threatens to shoot the door open. Locke says he knows that Sawyer's gun isn't loaded, because if it was, then why did he hold Locke at knifepoint earlier? Cooper says that he didn't raise a dummy, and explains that he is Locke's father (stupid comment if you ask me. He didn't raise Locke AT ALL). Sawyer asks Cooper how he got there. Cooper says he was rear-ended on a highway in Tallahassee, crashed into a divider, and the last thing he remembered was being loaded into an ambulance and one of the EMT's smiling at him. He woke up bound and gagged on the island, looking at the dead son who he'd pushed out a window. Sawyer asks if he means that Locke died on his fall out the window, and Cooper says no, he survived the fall but was paralyzed. Permanently. No, Locke died in the plane crash, Cooper says, and they found the wreckage in the middle of the Pacific. Sawyer says that HE was on the plane, that Locke isn't crippled, and that the plane landed here, on the island. This isn't an island, says Cooper. This is hell.

Sawyer asks Cooper why he threw Locke out of a window. Cooper says Locke became a nuisance after he conned him out of a kidney. Sawyer is surprised by the term "con" and asks Cooper if he used any fake names. Cooper proudly lists his fake names, including "Tom Sawyer."

Sawyer asks Cooper if he's ever been to Jasper, Alabama, and Cooper has. Sawyer realizes that Cooper is the original Sawyer who caused his parents' deaths.
(ed. note: Was ANYONE surprised to find this out, really? I'd basically figured this out during Locke's last flashback episode) He takes the letter he wrote as a child out of his pocket and tells Cooper to read it. Cooper starts to read, but ridicules Sawyer. Sawyer tells Cooper his mother's name and Cooper remembers her saying that she BEGGED him to take her money and rescue her from her sorry life. Sawyer tells him to finish reading the letter and Cooper rips it up. Sawyer wraps Cooper's chain around his neck, strangling him to death (nerdy boyfriend said that he was "pulling a Jabba the Hut.")

Outside the ship, Sawyer barfs. He asks why Locke did it and Locke said that Cooper had ruined both of their lives and deserved it. He tells Sawyer that Juliet is a mole and that the Others are planning to raid the beach camp in three days to take all the pregnant women. He gives Sawyer Ben's tape recorder as proof. He says he was never under cover, but he's on his own journey now, so he won't come back with Sawyer. Sawyer asks if Locke really was a cripple, and Locke says "not anymore." He puts his dead father's body on his back and goes to find the Others.

Things to think about:

1. What did Juliet want Jack to tell Kate?
2. What did Rousseau need the dynamite for?
3. Why do the Others think Locke is so special?