LOST: This Place is Death [Recap - SPOILERS!]

The Oceanic Six

The gang is still at the marina, after Kate learns Ben is the one behind trying to split up her and Aaron.  Sun talks to Ji Yeon on the phone, then bails out of the car, gun pointed at Ben.  He tells her about Jin, and that he can prove he's still alive.

He tells them about "someone" in LA who can help them get back to the island.  Kate and Sayid bail at this point.  Sayid threatens the lot to leave him alone, and Kate takes off with Aaron.  Sun agrees to hear Ben out, and her, Jack, and Ben jump in a van to see "her."

On the way, Jack makes a covert threat towards Ben, if he's wrong about all of this.  Ben slams on the brakes, "You all should be thanking me, if you knew what I've been doing."

They arrive at a church, most likely -the- church from few episodes back.  (The writing on the van shows to be Canton-Rainier cleaning service, relevance?) Ben gives Sun Jin's ring, claiming John gave it to him.  Sun and Jack both think its strange that Locke didn't give it to her when she talked to him.  Ben says they are running out of time, and they all agree to go in.

A familiar face comes around the corner of the building, it's Desmond.  "What are you doing here?" "I assume the same thing you are." "You're looking for Faraday's mother, too?"  Ben gets a puzzled look on his face, clearly he wasn't aware of this connection.  Interesting, that finally there's something he -doesn't- know!

"Hello, Eloise" Ben says as they enter the building.  Desmond recognizes the name as one of Faraday's lab rats.  She's lighting a rack of candles.  "Hello, Benjamin."  She's wearing a different brooch than before (and I couldn't make it out, not the oroborus anyhow...)  "I thought I said all of them." "It'll have to do for now." "Let's get started."

Smokey's Revenge

Back to Jin on the island,  having just been brought ashore with the rest of the Frenchies.  He learns it's 1988, and the numbers station is still playing on the guy's handheld.  They are trying to find the source of the transmission, and Jin agrees to help them find it, and then they'll go to his camp (which of course wouldn't be there.)

They start their journey and realize one of them, Nadine, has fallen behind.  Just then Jin hears a familiar noise.  "Monster! We must go!" Of course none of them know what's going on, and they turn back for Nadine.  They find her pack (by -the- tree...) and just then she falls out of the sky.  The sky starts to subtley change hues.

One of the others is dragged off into the jungle.  Smokey's taken on a strange chain-like mechanical sound now, as he drags the Frenchman into a crack in the rock.  The rest grab his arm, and that's all they are going to get of him, as Smokey pulls him down, leaving the arm behind (ew!)

They can hear him below calmly asking for help, but you'd think after that he'd be a little more panicked.  They follow him down, but Jin and Danielle stay behind.  Then it happens again, FLASH!

Jin finds himself alone now, with a slightly more decomposed arm.  The viewpoint changes so that we can see the crack is part of a larger stone structure covered in Egyptian heiroglyphics.  He climbs to the top and takes in the view.  A pillar of smoke can be seen in the distance, and he heads towards it.

He finds the Frenchies camp, a musical jewelry box (clue?) and a pair of bodies, shot a few times each.  He hears some arguing and goes to investigate.  He finds Danielle and "Robert" (her significant other) arguing.  He seems to somehow know about Smokey being "a security system" guarding "the temple" and talks Danielle down.  As she lowers her rifle he raises his and fires. CLICK. (oops!) She shoots him as Jin comes out of hiding.  Then starts to fire at him.  He runs, falls, and there it is again. FLASH.

Reunion

Jin gets up, and hears a gun cock behind him.  He turns around slowly to find.... Sawyer!  After a bit of a reunion he asks, "Where is Sun?"

Sawyer explains the current situation, and he turns to Charlotte and rattles off some Korean.  Much to everyone's surprise she translates it.

Locke explains about the Orchid, and she translates it to him.  "Why would you bring her back?" "She never should have left."

On the way, Jin makes Locke promise not to bring Sun back.  Charlotte is feeling bad again, as Daniel comments about bringing them back requires him to "leave the science behind."  Doh, Flash time again.  This time she passes out, Juliet starts bleeding again, and this time Sawyer starts.  Charlotte comes around, starts panicking and going on in Korean.  "Don't let them bring her back! This place is death!"

She gets worse, starting to revert to her childhood and getting all delusional (ala Teresa?) They flash again.  Locke says they need to move.  "What if the Orchid isn't there?" "Look for the well, you'll find it there." Charlotte says before going loopy again.

The Well

They do indeed find the Orchid, or what's left of it.  "What are the odds we'd end up at the same time as this thing?" Juliet quips.  FLASH.  It's gone.  "You just had to say something, didn't you?"

Locke turns around and finds an old and very deep well.  "How did Charlotte knew it was here?"

"I've been here before," Charlotte mumbles in a moment of clarity.  "I grew up here."  She recounts her memory of her and her family as part of the the DHARMA group, and remembers her and her mother leaving, but she never saw her dad again.  Her mom denied the entire thing for the rest of her life.

She also remembers a "crazy man" when she was little who told her they had to leave and never come back, if she did she would die.  "I think that man was you, Daniel."  He doesn't seem to know anything about it.

Down the Rabbit Hole

Locke starts to head down the well, "Goodbye, James, see you when I get back."  Jin grabs the rope and threatens to cut it.  He doesn't want Locke to bring Sun back.  Locke promises but wonders what to do if Sun finds him.  Jin hands him his wedding ring, "tell her I'm dead."

John starts his descent, and the sky starts to change again.  The same light comes up from below him.  FLASH!

He falls to the bottom, breaking his leg badly in the process (again with the legs!)  On the surface, Sawyer is trying to hang onto the rope, but realizes there isn't much point.  The well has vanished, leaving only the rope stuck in the ground.

Back with Charlotte and Daniel, he tells her about finding Desmond at the hatch, and that his mother will help them.  She starts babbling on again like a child, and then dies.

The Lantern

Locke calls out for help at the bottom of the well.  The extent of his injury is revealed.  He hears someone approaching.

"Hello, John."  It's Christian Shepard, holding the lantern we've seen before.  "What are you doing down here?" Locke asks him.

"I'm here to help you the rest of the way.  You came to me in the cabin, I told you-you- had to move it."

"Ben said he knew how, that I needed to stay here and lead his people..."

"Since when did listening to him get you anything worth a damn.  The good news is, you're here now.  Are you ready?"

He tells Locke about the woman in LA, Eloise Hawking, who will tell him how to save everyone, that he has to get all of them back.

"What if I can't get all of them?" "I believe in you, John. You can do this."  "Richard said I'm going to die."  "I suppose that's why they call it sacrifice."

Locke contemplates that for a moment.  "I'm ready."  "Good."

Christian instructs him on what he must do next.  That he'll find the wheel, and its been knocked off its axis, and he just needs to give it a little push.

"Can you help me?" "No, sorry, I can't.  Good luck, John."

Locke manages to get to the wheel, which is flashing and rocking back and forth erratically.  He pushes it back and the light starts to change to green.

"Say hello to my son." "Who's your son?" And the island flashes again.

BONK.  OK, so the bonk was actually when Hawking said "Lets get started," but it should have gone there....

Oh, man.  I'm going to go write the analysis post.... stand by for the real fun!