Initial Reaction to "The Last Recruit"

This episode was jam-packed with awesomeness and more confusion, as per the usual. It implies that it will focus on one person, a la "the last recruit," however it focused on all of the candidates, plus Claire and Desmundo, and only left me more puzzled than I was before. This episode also had me about as anxious as I've been this entire season, barring maybe the Season Premiere of LA X, Parts 1 & 2. For some reason, the entire episode had me thinking that for sure someone would die, but no one did, as far as we know right now. Although, the promos lied to us by showing a gunshot, and Desmond in the well. But, alas, we do not know Desmond's fate. Let's get into the episode...

From Lostpedia 

Here are some of my thoughts, questions, and theories on "The Last Recruit" (Some of which were written while viewing the episode.):

Questions:

• Did the Man in Black really appear as Christian Shephard?
• Did he appear as Christian Shephard both on and off-island? How? 
• How does Sun recognize John Locke? Is she remembering him as MIB from the island? 
• Does Sun remember the island? Does she remember Jin?
• Did Kate really commit murder in the flash sideways? Is she innocent?
• Will James and Miles recognize Sayid? 
• Does Desmond know what's really going on?
• Who the hell is David's mother? Will we ever find out?
• Where the hell is Margo Shephard?
• What will happen once everyone in the flash sideways comes together?
• Did Sayid kill Desmond? What did he do with him?
• Can Desmond die if he's so important?
• What would happen if someone in the flash sideways died?
• Why is Sawyer's deal with Widmore off?
• Did Jack die in the attack on the beach?
• Will Jack take MIB's place?
• Who is the last recruit?
  

From Lostpedia

Notes:

• My first thought: I have a feeling that this is going to be a crazy episode.
• "You look just like him." Jack "Does it bother you?" MIB "No. What bothers me is I don't have any idea what the hell you are." Jack "Sure you do." MIB "Why John Locke?" Jack "Because he was stupid enough to believe that he'd been brought here for a reason. Because he pursued that belief until it got him killed. And because you were kind enough to bring his body back here in a nice wooden box." MIB "He had to be dead before you could look like him." Jack "That's right." MIB "Who else have you looked like?" Jack "Jack, what do you really want to ask me?" MIB "The third day we were here, I saw.. I chased my father through the jungle. My dead father. Was that you?" Jack "Yes, that was me." MIB "Why?" Jack "You needed to find water. This may be hard for you to believe, Jack, but all I've ever been interested in is helping you." MIB "To help me? To do what?" Jack "Leave. But, because Jacob chose you, you were trapped on this island, before you even got here. Now, Jacob's dead. We don't have to be trapped anymore. We can get on an airplane and fly away any time we want to." MIB "If we can just fly away whenever we want, why are you still here?" Jack "Because it has to be all of us... What?" MIB "John Locke was the only one of us that ever believed in this place. He did everything he could to keep us from leaving this island." Jack "John Locke was not a believer, Jack. He was a sucker." MIB
• That was kinda harsh, MIB.
• The one thing that I like about Jack right now is that he's taken on the persona of John Locke.
• So, we finally know for sure that MIB was Christian Shephard? Maybe. But, I'm not sure if I trust him.
• Also, I'm not sure if that's even possible. How could he have been Christian Shephard off the island? Are there two different Christians? Was Jack just hallucinating off-island?
• Uhh.. Hey, EMTs? If you saw the wheelchair, why are you not aware that John Locke is a paraplegic? Also, if I remember correctly, the wheelchair wasn't even "smashed to pieces" like you said.
• "Helen. Helen Norwood. I was gonna marry her..." John
• That reminds me of when Sarah was in a car accident and she told Jack that she still had to dance at her wedding. Too bad the dude she was marrying was a total douche.
• I love Benjamin Linus the teacher.
• Sun and John enter the hospital at the same time. The timing seems a bit off, but I'll go with it.
• Somehow, all of these people are going to end up at that hospital, St. Sebastian's. 
• Sun recognizes John Locke in the flash sideways. That was kinda freaky.
• "No... No. It's him! It's him!" Sun
• Claire is always lurking somewhere.
• "You know... I pretty much gave up hoping that you'd ever come back, and now that you're here... It's good to see you, Jack." Claire "Yeah, it's good to see you too." Jack
• "Actually, I haven't decided if I'm coming with you." Jack "Yeah, you have. You decided the moment you let him talk to you. Just like the rest of us. So, you know, whether you like it or not... You're with him now." Claire
• I totally thought that Claire was going to kill Jack. I have a feeling that bloody murder is on her mind and is going to happen very soon. She could strike at any moment.
• It is nice to see Claire and Jack reunite as siblings though.
• "Sayid ain't invited. He's gone over to the darkside." Sawyer "Yeah, but you can always bring people back from the darkside. I mean, Anakin..." Hurley "Who the hell's Anakin?" Sawyer
• I have a hard time believing that Sawyer has never seen Star Wars. Come on.
• "Hey, Claire. You look... great." Hurley
• Uhh.. Jack and MIB went into the jungle in the middle of the night and when they came out it was daytime. What the hell were they doing in there? 
• "It's so nice to have everyone back together again." MIB
• "Is there something you wanted?" Kate "You remember me? The Airport. We were on the same flight from Sydney." James "Yeah, I remember." Kate "Well, don't you think it's weird? You and me being on the same flight, having that little meet up in the elevator? Then a week later, boom. Out of all the cars in Los Angeles, you smash into mine. It looks like someone's trying to put us together." James
• Is there something he wanted, Kate? Seriously? You're the criminal. He's the cop.
• So, that's why James let Kate escape at LAX. Makes sense now.
• Alright. Enough with the shipper stuff. I don't need to see James and Kate doing cop/fugitive flirting in the flash sideways. Seriously, guys. Enough.
• "We caught a multiple homicide. At a restaurant. Victims were a low-life named Keamy and three goons on his payroll. Korean female GSW at the scene, and her boyfriend witnessed it, but he doesn't speak English." Miles "Any suspects?" James "Yeah, an ATM surveillance camera grabbed this jabroni fleeing the scene." Miles
• "He's different now." Kate "I guess we're all different now." Jack
• No shit, Sayid is different, Kate. 
• Where's the man in charge? Seriously? Can someone just ask him his name already?
• Holy shit. MIB didn't even flinch when that explosion happened. What a BAMF.
• Soooo.. That's what that stick was for. Smashing walkie-talkies.
• Could you be just a little less obvious there, Des?
• "Oh, by the way, you were right. It is a boy." Claire "I have a nose for these things." Desmond
• Claire and Desmond go to the 15th floor.
• Ilana is the lawyer that Desmond takes Claire to see. We find out that her last name is Verdansky. She doesn't really look like a Verdansky to me.
• How the hell does Ilana know who Claire is? That seems a little too convenient. What is she, the only Claire Littleton in Australia?
• Why the hell does MIB tell Sawyer to take people and get Desmond's sailboat? It just seems to fit a little too perfectly to Sawyer's plan. Then, all of a sudden, Kate knows about sailing. Seriously, how convenient could this possibly be?
• Jack is NOT going to stick with this plan, Sawyer. He can't help screwing things up.
• "What about Sayid and Claire?" Jack "Sayid's a zombie and Claire's nuts. She gave up her ticket when she tried to kill Kate." Sawyer
• "I need you to go out to where I've got Desmond." MIB "I thought you weren't going to give him back." Sayid "I'm not. You're gonna kill him. And that's not gonna be a problem, is it Sayid? You do still want what you asked me for, right?" MIB "Yes, I do." Sayid "Then, go do what I said." MIB
• "So, what did he offer ya? If you're gonna shoot me in cold blood, brotha, I think I have a right to know what you're getting in exchange for it." Desmond "He told me, I could get something back I lost." Sayid "And what did you lose?" Desmond "The woman I loved." Sayid "And where is she now?" Desmond "Dead." Sayid "And what makes you think Locke can bring her back?" Desmond "I died. And he brought me back." Sayid "So, what will you tell her?" Desmond "What do you mean?" Sayid "This woman. When she asks you what you did to be with her again... What will you tell her?" Desmond
• Desmond seems to know more than what he's letting on. He was working Sayid in that conversation.
• I think Nadia is one of my favorite flashback/forward/sideways characters.
• Nice trick with the hose there, Detective Ford. Somehow, I didn't think Sayid would be that stupid, but I guess flash sideways isn't as smooth as island-Sayid.
• So, that's where Ben hide Desmond's sailboat. I was wondering where it was.
• "We're gonna ditch Locke. You, me, Jack, Hurley, Sun and that Pilot that looks like he stepped off the set of a Burt Reynold's movie." Sawyer
• I HATE when people ask "When were you planning on telling me this?" I was planning on telling you right now, because that's when I just told you. Ugh. Thank for saying "Now." though, Sawyer.
• "The Claire you came back for is gone." Sawyer "I promised I would bring her back." Kate "That's before she started drinking Locke's Kool-Aid. She's dangerous. Do you really want her around Aaron?" Sawyer
• "How long have you been with Locke?" Jack "Ever since you left." Claire "So, you trust him?" Jack "Yeah." Claire "Why?" Jack "Because he's the only one that didn't abandon me." Claire
• Alright. That makes me feel bad for Claire.
• "Oh, the silent treatment?" MIB
• Hey, Lapidus! You might want to mention that Sun doesn't speak English now.
• Again, it seems a little too convenient for MIB to make sure that no one got left behind so Jack, Hurley, Sun and Lapidus can just leave. I get it. It's TV. But still. And who didn't know Claire was going to follow them? I told you. She's always lurking somewhere.
• "I just shot an unarmed man. I needed a moment." Sayid "Did you kill him, Sayid?" MIB "Of course I did. Go and check if you'd like." Sayid
• I'm going to be really upset if Desmond dies. But, I have a feeling that he's not dead so I'm not really sweating it right now. He seemed to be manipulating Sayid in some way. Plus, Sayid and Desmond were buddies on the freighter. Maybe Sayid does feel something. But, if he is dead... Why the hell do all my favorite characters have to die? Charlie Pace, John Locke, Daniel Faraday, Sayid Jarrah... Well, maybe Sayid is still there, but he did die and he's dead inside, so it counts. What's up with that, Darlton?
• "I hope you know where you're going, cause that's Smoke thing runs a hell of a lot faster than we do." Frank
• Frank Lapidus always gets the best lines. Only, I wish he was a little more involved.
• "For three years, the only way DHARMA-folk got on or off this island was by sub. So, that's what we're doing." Sawyer
• Actually, now that I think of it. Sawyer was pretty damn smart with the submarine idea. Not only would it be impossible to get that damn plane off the island, but he knows for a fact that the DHARMA Initiative took the submarine to and from the island on a regular basis.
• "I was there when he was born, and I never should have raised him. It should've been you. I came back to get you so that you could be with him again. It's the only reason I came back to the island, Claire. So, please come with us. Let's go home." Kate
• "He finds out where gone... He's gonna be mad." Claire
• I was so sure that Claire was going to kill Kate. Damn.
• Actually, I like that Kate stuck to her guns on the whole Claire thing. 
• There's just one caveat to that, though. First off, Kate will go to jail because she violated her parole. Second, how the hell is Claire going to explain how she's not dead?
• The building that Claire, Desmond, Jack and David go into looks very similar to the one that Desmond went to in Flashes Before Your Eyes when he had a meeting with Charles Widmore.
• So, all of a sudden Jack and David are like best buddies?
• Where'd Desmond disappear to in the flash sideways? Oh, that's right. Probably not the greatest idea to stick around when you just ran over a dude in a wheelchair on purpose.
• "I've got a surprise for you. Do you believe in fate?" Ilana
• Uhh.. I'm pretty sure that finding out that you had a secret step-sister isn't exactly a good surprise.
• "He was my father too." Claire
• "I know I'm a little late to the party, Captain, but you mind filling us in on what your game-plan is?" Frank "The plan, Chesty, is to land on Hydra Island, get ourselves nice and cuddly with Widmore, then get a chance to jump on that sub, and then I'm gonna put a gun in someone's face and make them take us home." Sawyer "I like that idea." Frank
• "Didn't think you'd show up, Doc." Sawyer "Sorry?" Jack "Taking orders ain't your strong suit. Nice to see you finally came around." Sawyer "It doesn't feel right." Jack "What doesn't feel right?" Sawyer "Leaving the island." Jack "Wanna tell me why not?" Sawyer "Because I remember how I felt the last time I left. Like a part of me was missing." Jack "They got pills for that, Doc." Sawyer "We were brought here because we're supposed to do something, James. And if Locke, that thing, wants us to leave... Maybe it's afraid of what happens if we stay." Jack "Get off my damn boat." Sawyer "What?" Jack "You got a decision to make and you make it now. Either you're with us, you keep that damn crazy talk to yourself, or you're going in the damn water." Sawyer "James, this is a mistake. And I know there's a part of you that feels that. The island is not done with us yet." Jack "Yeah, well I'm done with this island. So, you wanna take a leap of faith, Jack? Take it. Get off my damn boat." Sawyer "I'm sorry that I got Juliet killed." Jack
• Jack is so damn inconsistent. He JUST promised Sun that he was going to do everything he could to get her off the island and then he just abandons her.
• "We have to go back and get him." Kate "We're done going back, Kate." Sawyer
• You're damn straight, you're done going back, Sawyer. He's the only one thinking straight right now.
• Of course Sun is okay and the baby is fine.
• "So, all these years, you had no idea your dad had another kid?" David "Nope. None." Jack "Wow. I can't believe he never even mentioned it." David "Yeah, well. Your grandfather kept a lot of things to himself." Jack "Is that where you get it from?" David "Yeah, probably." Jack
• Sooo.. Jack. You're just going to leave a teenager waiting there while you do spinal surgery for like 12 hours? Again.. Father of the Year.
• "But, here's the kicker. The victim was already in a wheelchair. Pre-existing spinal condition." Nurse "Dural Sac's obliterated." Jack
• What is the only medical term that the writers on LOST know is Dural Sac?
• "I think I know this guy." Jack
• Who else is with them, Zoe? Ummm.. they just came out of the water and you have pylons on the beach? Where could anyone be hiding?
• During the Sun and Jin reunion scene, I was literally yelling at my television "DO NOT RUN TOWARD EACHOTHER!" I really thought they were both going to get zapped at the last minute, right when they met eachother at the pylons. I totally didn't hear Zoe tell someone to turn them off. I was freaking out. Upon second viewing, I felt like an idiot because you can clearly hear Zoe say "Turn the fences off." I guess I was just caught up in the moment.
• "I love you. I never stopped looking for you." Sun "We'll never be apart again. I promise you." Jin
• Sun and Jin's reunion reminded me of Desmond and Penny. 
• Who didn't know that Sun would suddenly speak English again when she saw Jin?
• It was great to finally see Sun and Jin reunite. I can still hear Sun's screams when the freighter blew up.
• And of course, two seconds later, they're all face-down on the beach, with guns pointed at them. That's so Widmore.
• Now even Widmore's people are calling MIB Locke. This is getting weird.
• "You're with me now." MIB
• I've considered the fact that Jack might've died in the blast on the beach.
• I'm pretty sure that I've thought just about everyone was going to die in this episode. I'm not sure why. This episode had a deathy feel to it.
• I'm still not sure that no one died in this episode.

I still don't know who the hell the last recruit is. I think that I'm beginning to feel a bit antsy for the first time this season, as it is coming down to the wire. We only have three new episodes left before the SERIES FINALE. I can't believe that I just said that. It seems like just yesterday I was watching The Pilot, Parts 1 & 2 for the tenth time after their original airing. The end is nigh and it's really starting to hit me.