I was not expecting Sawyer to be a cop in the side-ways reality! Interesting thought, "I had to choose between being a criminal or a cop"--I guess this means he's made the "right choices", like Ben in the previous episode did? Also wasn't expecting the blind date to be Charlotte! That was kinda cool, although I don't want them together or anything.
Haha, totally thought Kate and Sawyer would end up meeting again in the side-ways world. Although, this makes me wonder. If Sawyer's a cop, then when he saw Kate in the elevator and knew she was being hunted, he did nothing to stop her. Why?

About the woman, "Zoe" who is working for Widmore--I'm proud to say that literally as soon as she started speaking to Sawyer I said "ha! I bet she killed them". Not exactly, but pretty much close!
I think Flocke killed the rest of the passengers...

Sawyer as a cop acted like Sawyer as "La Fleur" when he was in the Dharma village, somehow.

Flocke's story about his mother is interesting. Is it true? On a Lost forum someone had the theory that Flocke is actually Aaron, due to time-traveling. That's kinda cool/weird but when we saw MIB on the beach way back, he had dark hair...and Aaron's blond.

Another thought (that I read on a Lost forum)--that when Claire was holding hands with Kate it was like she was trying to "mark" her or something, Kate seemed uncomfortable with it, and she avoided grabbing Flocke's hand. Then, Claire hugs her. Is that enough to "do her in" if that's what it's doing??

This episode returns to the season 1 parallel for centric people (Sawyer was centric in 1.08 and 6.08). I certainly didn't expect him to be a cop, and figured that opening flash-sideways segment was just another con, especially when the briefcase full of money came open.

I knew Rebecca Mader (Charlotte) was returning soon but didn't expect her to be set up as a blind date for cop Sawyer. I was suspicious of her digging around in Sawyer's drawer, and she seemed immediately attracted to that Sawyer folder. While I'm not so sure we'll see more of her I wonder if there's more to this seemingly random encounter with alternate-Sawyer. I too like the parallel that there Sawyer, like Ben, makes the right decision.

"LaFleur" as a codeword - nice touch. I'm liking the way the sideways universe mixes familiar characters together in unexpected ways.

Zoe was just asking island-Sawyer too many questions; I figured she was up to no good. And the way Sawyer is playing Widmore and Flocke against each other is classic con man all the way.

Excellent question asked there, Valiant_Lucy: if alternate-Sawyer is a cop why didn't he stop Kate in the elevator in "LA X"? I believe he saw her handcuffs in that episode.

Regarding Flocke's mother I know more about her will be reviled in episode 15: Across the Sea which is a Jacob/Flocke episode, so I'm really looking forward to seein that episode, and Episode 11: Happily ever After, I think will also be a really great episode since we'll get to see Desmond again!

The Package. It is a Jin/Sun-centric episode.

I spotted a copy of Watership Down on cop-Sawyer's chest of drawers (as Charlotte begins her search). Not only have rabbits become iconic on this show, but he recommended this book (way back in season 1's "Confidence Man") to Kate - "It's about bunnies."

Another nice touch is Charlie's brother Liam asking about his arrest in the alternate universe.

Interesting connection between cop-Sawyer and original Sawyer: they're both trying to track down a man named Anthony Cooper in Australia - and both would kill (or have killed) him given a chance.

Alternate Charlotte is still an archaeologist. In the original timeline, she chose that line of work in an attempt to find a way to return to the island, which she left as a child (season 5). We know (from Roger Linus' comments last week and the undersea view of the island in "LA X") that the Dharma Initiative was on the island in the alternate-1970s. I wonder if Charlotte was there as a child in the alternate universe, and if she has that same desire to return?

And cop-Sawyer is watching an episode of the old TV series Little House on the Prairie. Michael Landon's lines seem appropriate: "That's what life is all about. Laughing and loving each other. And knowing that people aren't really gone when they die."

At first blush I wasn't sure this is a show that a hardened con man like Sawyer might watch, so this would be another alternate-universe difference. But apparently original-Sawyer was also a fan as a kid, as noted in season 3's "Tricia Tanaka is Dead."

Island - I feel Illana and the gang have been largely abandoned for much of the series so far, so it was great to see more of them. They learn the Temple has been compromised, so they head for the beach camp (is nowhere safe?)

LA X - Ben Linus, as the high-school European History teacher writes the word 'ELBA' on the blackboard. Apparently it has to do with something Napoleon Bonaparte-related but the first thing that came to my mind was that spelt backwards, ELBA spells ABLE. An anagram from ABLE is ABEL, as in Cain and Abel from the book of Genesis. Interesting.
Ben has an opposition in Principal Reynolds. He has to supervise detention at lunch times, while he wants to do extra History classes with willing students. We see more of Artz! Yay. Isn't it interesting that we're seeing more of him now than we did in the Island timeline? Ben talks with Artz about wanting to become the new principal to help the students. Locke overhears the conversation and says he'd vouch for Ben as principal. Is this the real Locke or Smokey? It could be either but Smokey has the motivation to prod Ben along on his path.

Island - Illana gives Miles Jacob's ashes and asks him to find out what happened. Miles tells the group that Ben killed Jacob. Illana is furious because Jacob was like a father to her. More daddy issues? Or possibly a positive influence?

LA X - Ben looks after his aging dad, who is alive in this timeline. We discover that they visited the Island and joined the Dharma Initiative, but we don't know how long they stayed. Not long by all accounts. I found the parallels very interesting in this episode. Ben gases his dad with oxygen to keep him alive, while in the Island timeline, Ben gassed his dad in Season 3, to kill him.
Wow. Alex Rousseau isn't Ben's 'daughter' but Ben's favourite student?

Island - Kwon is a candidate to replace Jacob. We still don't know whether it is to be Sun, Jin or Ji Yeon. I'm voting for their daughter, Ji Yeon. There are six candidates remaining. Ben finds a book at the beach camp - The Chosen (I haven't read it). Frank Lapidus was meant to be flying the Oceanic 815 but he overslept. The Island still got him in the end. Illana gets Ben to dig his own grave - cruel but strangely apt.

LA X - Ben tests Alex on her History knowledge in the library. He reads from a book with the words - 'East Indianan Training Company'. Below, is a picture of an old ship, alluding to the Black Rock ship. Alex tells Ben that she heard Principal Reynolds having inappropriate 'relations' with the school nurse. I think Ben will use this knowledge to blackmail Reynolds for the position of principal.

Island - Great stuff. It took almost three years but we finally have a minor storyline tied up when Miles mentions that he knows of two people, Niki and Paulo who have been buried with $8 million dollars worth of diamonds. Miles talks to Ben and mentions that Jacob hoped he was wrong about Ben, just before he was stabbed. This implies to me, that Ben will possibly have a change of heart, seeing that Jacob didn't deceive him but that he cared for him - a true Judas and Jesus moment.
Richard leads Hurley and Jack to the Black Rock ship. He tells them he wants to die. This new Richard is scaring me. This season he's really unravelled and when you have someone as balanced and collected as Richard used to be, it's unnerving.
Does he want to die because Jacob is dead and he was his everything? Possibly.

LA X - I knew it! We still have the power-hungry Ben. He plots with Artz to blackmail Principal Reynolds. Artz calls Ben, 'a real killer'. Ha, ha! If only he knew how true that was in the other timeline.

Island - Inside the Black Rock there are markings etched into the sides of the wooden hull - most likely used by the slaves to record days or weeks spent on the ship. Richard explains that he hasn't returned to the ship since he first arrived on the Island. I wonder why he took so long? Surely curiosity would've got the better of him in that time? He finds some sticks of dynamite and tells them that he wants them to kill him. He can't kill himself because he was touched by Jacob and this grants him a certain level of immortality. Richards calls the power a curse, not a gift. He is distraught. In the intense dark shadows of the ship (lit very much like some religious Renaissance paintings), he tells them that he is in doubt because Jacob is dead and he is what supposedly gave his life meaning. Everything happens for a reason, and yet, it doesn't. He feels that he now lives a life without purpose. This scene is very much like the doubt one can feel when challenged by God or circumstance.
Jacks agrees to help Richard kill himself. He lights the fuse to a stick of dynamite and sits down to talk, while it burns away. He believes that because his name was written down in the Lighthouse, that he is a possible candidate and won't die. Wow. This is a new Jack. This Jack is a real Man of Faith! The fuse burns out before the dynamite can explode. Was the dynamite faulty or was an unseen party involved? Perhaps Christian Shepard or Jacob?
Ben digs his own grave while Illana patrols the area. Hidden from view, Smokey talks Ben into leaving his grave to join him and rule the Island when he and his team have left. Smokey releases Ben from his 'chains' with a Force-like movement. This is possibly the first time we've seen anything explicitly like magic, on the show. He tells Ben to meet them on Hydra Island. Ben bolts for freedom, Illana gives chase.

LA X - Principal Reynolds is very much Ben's foil - an LA X version of Charles Widmore if you will. Ben blackmails Reynolds to become the new principal but Reynolds turns the tables and threatens to ruin Alex and her future. High stakes! Will Ben choose power or Alex?

Island - Ben is chased by Illana, grabs a rifle that was lying there for him, but stops and confesses his sins. He admits that he chased the power of the Island above even his own 'daughter' but that Alex was the only one who mattered, and he pretty much killed her. This is great contrast to earlier, where all he cared about was power. He asks Illana to let him go and join Smokey, because Locke is the only one who will have him. So sad and twisted but rather true given the circumstance. Illana is touched by his confession and forgives him. She tells him that their group will have him. Ben follows in disbelief. I found this scene immensely powerful. It's brilliant to see Ben confess and receive redemption. The power of forgiveness, eh?

LA X - Ben turns down the blackmailing deal in favour of helping Alex have a bright and healthy future. This nicely contrasts with his inability to save Alex on the Island.

Island - Ben returns to camp looking worse for wear and a bit stunned. Miles unearths the diamonds. Hurley, Jack and Richard return to beach camp, where they're greeted Season 2-style. Very nostalgic. Finally a periscope breaks the surface of the water. Below, Charles Widmore sits in a submarine. He has returned to the Island. He watches the group for sometime and then decides to head for Hydra Island. I'm really loving the idea that Widmore is finally returning to the Island. It probably means that Desmond and Penny aren't far behind (or at least that we'll see more of them). Jacob's death may have been what prevented him from returning earlier. Will we finally see Ben and Charles face off each other? Ben on Jacob's side and Charles on the MIB's?

Elba is the island Napoleon was sent to for his first exile after being stripped of his power. Makes me wonder if perhaps something similar happened to the Man in Black, or even Jacob?

just because I loved the Sawyer (or rather Jim)/Miles cop relationship. I see it's already been mentioned - but why if, Sawyer was a cop, did he let Kate go in the Airport? Well, it's seems apparent from his . . . dedication, shall we say, to the uncover role that he ain't no ordinary cop .

I was really pleased when Miles turned out to be his partner (In case you haven't noticed, I'm a big Miles fan ), it's nice to see their little double act in Dharmaville recognised. Speaking of Miles, do you think he still has his powers? Perhaps that's how he knew Sawyer was lying, like he knew Michael was lying about his name back in Season 4.

I did not understand how Charlotte and Sawyer hit it off so quickly, she seemed rather different from her 'on-island' self. And why was she routing through his draws? There was definite rout-age going on, not accidental.

Also, is Anthony Cooper a bad guy then? Locke still seems to hang with him? Questions, questions.

How dare they even slightly reignite the Sawyer/Kate thing! It's only been, what, three/four days since Juliet died? Grieving is an area this show has no time for. The smoke-monster-crazy-mum thing was interesting, no doubt many-a 'Aaron is the smoke monster' theories have been re-imagined. Also . . . Mr Widmore, for why are you here? Whos side are you on? Are there even sides at all? One final thing - was Mr Smoke Monster leading Ben into a trap when he told him to go straight to Hydra Island? If so . . . what a mean old smoke monster he is.