S4E7 - Ji Yeon

$5 to everyone that called Michael as the mole. Unfortunately, that’s a lot of money to hand out. Don’t get me wrong, I think having Michael back in the picture is an interesting twist, but it’s a little of a let down at how predictable it was. If I were one of the writers, I would have had him in the episode, but it would have been as Sun’s new husband. Who could forget the pseudo-chemistry they had in Season 1? Anyway, the real interest in having Michael back is to see everyone’s reaction to him after what he did. I guess we’ll get to see a bit of that even though he’s on the freighter and not truly off the island. I’m still interested to see his backstory as I’m sure we’ll get a flashback to what the “real” deal between him and Ben was and what got him from then to now. I just wonder if “Tall Walt” is hanging out on the boat or if he’s safe and sound somewhere else. To me, the biggest revelation on the freighter was the Captain’s comment about the staged wreckage. We all knew it was staged, but I for one, thought the Dharma initiative or Widmore or whatever/whoever you want to call the outside forces, were responsible, wanting the island all to themselves. However, if we are to believe him, the Captain indicated that Ben was the one responsible. It makes sense after I thought about it. Ben certainly has the resources to pull it off and the motivation to remain undiscovered.

Anyway, though Michael was a fairly easy call, the episode did not disappoint on other twists. I had a suspicion that all was not as it appeared with the flash forward. At first I thought I was wrong about counting Aaron as one of the Oceanic Six since Sun AND Jin would make it seven. But then, when I started thinking of everyone else’s flash forwards, I thought how everyone so far (except Kate who managed to escape her fate, but I’m not counting her out) has a really crappy life post-rescue, so I was thinking Sun and Jin were divorced. What really happened was even more surprising/confusing. Once I realized Jin and Sun were not “together” I thought maybe Jin was working for Ben post-island just like Sayid. This ties in perfectly with his reconciliatory comment to Sun when he said, “I will do anything I can to protect my wife and child,” or some such thing like that. It also makes sense that with Ben’s apparent resources, he could get Jin off the island without anyone knowing. However, if all that is true, then why was he so smiley about being newly married? When Jin and Hurley went to visit his grave, I thought maybe she was just faking it to save face, but it was pretty obvious that she truly believed he was dead. This brings up an interesting possibility, that other folks may make it off the island, but fly under the radar somehow for some reason and are not counted as part of the Oceanic Six.

So, in true LOST-fashion, by the end of the episode we are left with new questions.

Is/Was Jin part of the Oceanic Six?
Why did he fake his death?
Is he working for Ben like Sayid?
When Hurley found out no one else (I’m assuming of the survivors) were coming to see Sun’s baby, he said, “Good.” Why?
Did anyone else make it off the island incognito without being counted as one of the “six”?
What was up with that Regina lady? Just a bad case of “cabin fever” or something else?
What was up with the cut/bite mark(?) on the doctor’s face?
Where’s Walt? Will he be six foot three and sporting a beard the next time we see him?
And, in case you caught the preview, who will die in the next episode?

My money is on Michael to kick the bucket, but only because I think the episode will center on him and he’ll probably do something heroic or resolve some issues he has from the past, which of course on this show means he’s toast.

***UPDATE***

Okay, so someone brought to my attention that in actuality all of Sun’s flashes were forward and all of Jin’s were backward to when he and Sun were newly married…?

Am I the only one that didn’t get that?

I suppose that makes a lot of sense because I couldn’t fathom how/why Jin would get off the island undercover and why he would fake his death. Was Paik Automotive the company that Sun’s father owned? I don’t remember that being the name of it, but I guess it’s true. We just tagged along while he ran an errand for his “new” father-in-law in the past while his “widow” in the future birthed his child.

If that’s the case, then we know at some point Jin for-real-dies, either on the island or off if they’re counting him as part of the Oceanic Six or not. Maybe he’s the one that dies next week, though it seems too soon to reveal that he WILL die and then BAM he kicks it in the next episode.

Whatever, at this point, I’m too confused to think any more.

How awesome would it be, though, if my original assumption was true? Makes you wonder what kind of shenanigans will occur in the future for him to have such a falling out with Sun that he fakes his own death and remarries. But alas, he’s just plain (soon-to-be) dead.

If one more cooky or confusing thing with “time” happens this season, I may be liable to hunt down J.J. Abrams and punch him in the face.