'Lost': Ji Yeon

A lot of people pretty much lost their minds while watching this episode, but not in a good way. They mostly felt betrayed by the "cheating" involved in the off-Island narrative. Personally, I felt misled, but then again, the show's SUPPOSED to mislead you. If you could see the end coming a mile away, it wouldn't be Lost, would it? If that bothers you, focus on the on-Island activities, which are Season 1-esque in their attention to character. That will get you through to a certain someone's big return to the show.

(Learn how many tears I shed the first time around here.)

Ji Yeon

4) In Summary

"Not gonna cry...not gonna cry...stay on target...."

8) Present Day

Lapidus is walking aboard the Kahana when he runs into Keamy. Keamy warns him not to be late to their meeting. Lapidus walks down below with a brown paper bag in his hand and comes across Regina, seen (I believe) for the first time. She's keeping watch over Sayid and Desmond, all while reading a book that's upside-down. A multi-tasker, that Regina.

Lapidus enters the room, with Sayid less than thrilled about their captive status. Well, looks like no one's happy, as the captain was less than thrilled the duo broke out of sick bay into the radio room. Sayid's confused, assuming Lapidus was the one that sprung them. Not so much, apparently. Lapidus drops the contents of the brown bag onto a bed: it contains cans of lima beans. Yum-tastic.

On the beach, Sun and Jin discuss the whereabouts of the freighter. Talk soon moves onto baby names, a topic Sun finds bad luck. Hey, just be happy you're getting lines this season, Sun. It's been a rough patch for you both. Jin wants to name their daughter Ji Yeon. Sun's amused by his certainty it will be a girl, but thinks the name is beautiful. However, she makes him promise to table all name discussion until they get off the Island. Oh great, it's already misty here.

Sun wakes up: Jack and Kate are back, and they are gonna save my reputation. Kate fills in Sun with everything that happened in "The Other Woman," which only fuels Sun's suspicions about any form of rescue.

Back on the Kahana, Sayid and Des are spooning in bed. OK, I made that up. They catch a note slipped through the vent in the door. They open it to read, "Don't Trust the Captain." That's good advice, up there with not fearing the reaper.

Sun introduces herself to Faraday, telling him about her pregnancy. When confronted with questions about rescue, Faraday admits it's not his call, and won't give up the name of the person in charge of said call. Sun leaves in a huff.

In the food tent, Jack is impressed with Jin's English skillz. Rosetta Stone ain't got nuttin' on Sun's School for English. Sun comes into the tent, and in Korean, tells Jin they need to pack for two days worth of food. Why? They're going to Locke's camp, that's why.

Juliet spies Sun in her tent, rooting through her stuff. Juliet sees right through Sun's lies, because that's what Juliet does. She recognizes that Sun wants extra vitamins for a long trip. When Sun confesses she's going to Locke's camp, Juliet expresses her worry about Sun's health should she stay. However, Sun views Juliet as the Doctor who Cried Other, thinking the stories of pregnant women dying are just another falsehood.

Kate draws a map to the Barrack for Jin and Sun. Kate promises to cover long enough to prevent Jack from catching up to her. Juliet comes up and lays down the law: she tells Jin that Sun has three weeks to live on the Island. "Where Sun go, I go," replies Jin, because he's the bestest. With that card not working, Juliet plays her trump one: she straight up tells Jin about Sun's affair. OH NO SHE DIDN'T. We get the first glimpse of Angry Eyes Sun, who shoots dagger, bullets, and bazookas through her eyes at Juliet. After she slaps Juliet, Jin walks away, crushed.

Sun follows Jin to the beach, trying to explain. Jin won't even so much as look at her while he packs to retreat to the one thing he knows: fishing. Bernard steps in, not realizing he's stepped into the middle of a fight. But Jin agrees to let Bernard come fishing with him. On the boat, the two discuss the women in their lives, in that they are the only two married men on the Island. Bernard tells Jin about Rose's cancer, and how the Island healed her. But staying with Jack was the "right" thing to do, even if it means the chance of her cancer coming back. He did so for "karma," and at that moment, Jin manages to catch a fish.

On the Kahana, Des and Sayid listen to a sound echo through the freighter, a sound Sayid thinks is man-made. The ship's doctor enters the room and says the captain wants to see them. He brings them up to the deck, where they notice the helicopter is missing. While Sayid discusses the location of the chopper, Des notices Regina almost sleepwalking, with heavy chains draped around her body. Des watches in horror as she jumps off the ship to her death. When the two men call for help, they notice the crew just standing around, doing nothing. Captain Gault finally appears, ordering the crew back to their posts, and introduces himself to the pair.

Gault explains that the crew's been suffering a case of heightened cabin fever, induced by proximity to the Island. Sounds like a "sickness" to me, people. He also tells the pair that someone onboard has damaged the engines, making them unable to move away to safer waters. He tells them that Charles Widmore is giving order to the ship. Reacting to Des' gaping mouth, Gault says, "That's right...you know him."

In his office, Gault pulls out a black box from his safe. He explains that Widmore procured it via his considerable resources, knowing that the wreckage was obviously staged. Gault shudders to think of the type of money, manpower, and will it would take to stage such an event, never mind where one would get 324 bodies to stage it. And that, people, is why they are there to capture Ben Linus. Pretty compelling story. Wonder if there's another, equally plausible one?

Ah, the "Sun stares plaintively into the ocean" shot. Juliet comes to apologize, stating it was the only way to help her leave the Island. Juliet lays down the specifics of exactly how Sun will die, in a brutal week-by-week breakdown of what will happen. And since she views Sun as her patient, she wants to do everything possible to keep her alive. Great, great scene.

The doctor leads Des and Sayid to their new room, which is covered in blood and cockroaches. So, it's a Motel 6, got it. The doctor says at least it's on the quiet part of the ship. When Des notes the boat isn't moving, the doctor replies, "Whatever you say." He orders a nearby deckhand, a man named Johnson, to come clean up the room. Johnson's hesistant to come, and when he finally approaches, we see why: Johnson is in fact good ol' WAAAAALT'ing Michael. And the worst-kept Season 4 secret is finally revealed.

Jin brings Sun some fish to their tent, to her great surprise. He says he knows why she did it, that the man he was before this Island wasn't worthy of her. And that man is not the man he is today. What she did, she did to that man. He forgives her, and tells her he'll follow her to Locke's camp. However, in typical wife fashion, she's already changed her mind. Jin promises to do whatever he can to keep the baby safe. He only has one question: is the baby his? The question absolutely wrecks her, not because it isn't his, but it stands as a reminder of what she'd done to him in her past and her fear about their future. He promises to never leave her. Lord, this is a gorgeous, wrenching scene.

15) Off The Island

Sun is packing a travel bag while an episode of Exposé plays on the television. RAZZLE DAZZLE! As she applies lipstick, a wave of pain washes through her body. She calls 911, and reveals that she's pregnant and that something might be wrong with the baby. So, flash forward then. Got it.

Elsewhere, Jin is on a mission for a panda bear. He doesn't want it wrapped, as he has to go directly to the hospital. He gets a call asking him to come right away, then leaves.

In the hospital, the nurses recognize Sun as one of the Oceanic 6. Sun freaks out when they try to take her wedding ring off, due to the swelling. When her doctor comes in to check on her, he tells her the baby is in distress. When she tells him to get Jin there, the nurse leaves the room as the doctor promises to get in touch.

Jin receives a phone call while entering a cab. However, someone bumps into him, which prompts his phone to get summarily crushed by an oncoming car and the taxi to take off with another passenger AND the panda. Jin's having a bad day, and some anger issues. He goes back into the toy store to get another one, but the only remaining panda is on hold. Jin pays an exorbitant amount for it. Must be all those Oceanic 6 windfall dollars, right? Right?

Sun is in labor, crying out in pain and for Jin. She sees someone in the hallway she thinks is his, but she's mistaken. Eventually, she gives birth to a healthy baby girl. Sun cries in a way that reminds this recapper of the way she cried in "D.O.C."

Jin finally arrives at the hospital, panda in tow. But something's....off. And when he starts asking for the Ambassador, things start to dawn on us. Oh, hell. Turns out Jin is bringing the panda on behalf of Mr. Paik, and this isn't the future, it's the past. As he leaves he hospital, we collectively scream at the screen.

Sun is applying lipstick (again) when her doorbell rings. At the door? Hurley. He asks if anyone else is coming. When Sun tells him no, Hurley says, "Good." Um, OK. That's not odd. He asks to see the baby, and notes she looks just like Jin.  He then suggests they go visit him. And here come the waterworks, as the "Life/Death" theme kicks in slowly and we know exactly where we're going: to Jin's grave. His date of death is listed as the day of the Oceanic 815 crash. It seems this is the first time she's visited the grave since the birth of their daughter: Ji Yeon. I'll be in the corner, crying my eyes out. Be back in time to break down the mythology in a second.

16) The Mythology

Not a lot in this ep, really, aside from the Oceanic 6 stuff which has already been answered. It's focused on character, and making sure we all cry like something that sounds like ditches when we learn about Jin at the end. The fact that we're all pretty sure as viewers that Daniel Dae Kim will grace our screen in Season 5 doesn't take anything away from the emotion of that final scene, because Sun has absolutely NO HOPE that he's alive. And that's what really matters here.

There's the whole "who staged the wreck debate" started here, but since we don't get the other half of the argument until the next episode, let's table it for now.

23) The Moment

I wanna know why Hurley says, "Good." Badly. Especially now that I know the scene doesn't devolve into something seen on late-night cable.

42) In Retrospect

This episode reinforces just how much Juliet's redemption is tied into Sun's pregnancy. It's not as if she was 100% pro-Ben after the faux gassing in "Left Behind," but I do get the sense that the events inside the Staff with Sun in Season 3 solidified her moral compass from that point on. In a weird way, telling Jin about the affair was one of the most heroic things she's ever done on the show.

108) In Summary

I'm a Des-Penny guy, by trade. But Lord have mercy, this ep put Sun-Jin within a hair's breath. Watching this a second time through, you're almost paralyzed watching the off-Island scenes take place: the disconnect only reinforces how their time on the Island not only strengthened their relationship but also caused it to be completely ripped apart. While many cried foul at being tricked by the first use of a flashbacks coupled with flashforwards, I think "Through the Looking Glass" gave notice enough that seeing is not always understanding.

Next up: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALT is back! Sorta kinda.

Leave your thoughts about this episode below!

Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude, then peruses Zap2It's Guide to Lost Facebook group. He also encourages you to join the all-new Zap2It's Guide to Lost Twitter feed. Pretty soon he'll have as many platforms as the Year of the Dragon has panda bears.