Here's your well-reasoned, non-fanatical discussion for Episode 3.12: Par Avion.

These Weeks' Contributors: Ally, Claire, Laila, and Starr

Find a New Squeeze, Charlie

Laila and Claire have brought this up to me, and I think I'm pretty much on board with it: Charlie is putting himself in danger by being around Claire. Every single one of the accidents that Desmond foresees happens while Charlie is doing something for Claire. He gets electrocuted while with her in her tent. He drowns trying to save her. He slips and falls on a rock while trying to find her bird.

There's also the time that Ethan hung Charlie while he was chasing after Claire. So, is Charlie doomed because he's trying to help Claire? It's kind of a frustrating thing to consider because, through Claire, Charlie has reformed himself in a lot of ways. Why should he be punished for his noble deeds?

Infiltration

There is a ton to unravel here, so let's start at the beginning. The rescue party is marching onward with Mikhail and they interrogate him as to why the Others choose to stay on the Island. He says that they are not capable of understanding because they are not on "the list" that was written by a "great man." I am assuming that he is referring to Jacob's List, but we really don't know much more about what that is. Sayid scoffs at Mikhail, and Mikhail responds by rattling off their first and last names. He then gets cut off, about to mention Locke's paralysis. So are we to believe that the Others are a bunch of psychics or something? Maybe Dionne Warwick is "Jacob".

I noticed one thing about the implications of Mikhail's remarks (if we are to believe him). He said that Locke is not on the list. However, when Ben was captured by the survivors, Ben told Locke that he had come for him. Now, we know that Ben was completely lying in the hatch to get out of there, and so far we seem to be able to believe Mikhail. So, it seems clear that Ben was playing on Locke's need for acceptance (see below).

Anyhow, the party soon after finds the death pillars that surround the Barracks. Mikhail claims that they are an alarm system and do not work because the power went out after the purple light flashed (the hatch implosion). So, Locke pushes Mikhail through the pillars and Mikhail gets toasted. Locke is then faulted for Mikhail's death, but I don't think that he should have been. Mikhail clearly wanted to die if he told them it was safe, and he thanked them for pushing him through.

There is some question as to why Mikhail said "thank you" when Locke pushed him between the death pillars. I think that it's simply along the same lines as the last episode when Mikhail had to shoot and kill Klugh. It seems like it's just protocol for capture, plain and simple.

The part that really threw Sayid and Kate was the fact that Locke had C4 is his backpack, making it possible that Locke knew full well that the Flame was rigged with explosives. There is a ton of talk now about who is an Other that we've not known about. Locke's motives for coming on the rescue are strongly questioned. Some speculate that Locke wants to be an Other. All his life he has sought acceptance from people, and maybe he is looking for that same acceptance from the Others. This one instance of impropriety doesn't warrant a Locke-is-an-Other theory. Well, I don't think so anyway. Why he's not being truthful to Kate and Sayid does allude me. Locke's always been pretty upfront about things, even when he and Jack were fighting for a long time. But, Locke always seems to have reasons for what he does, however crazy they sometimes seem. I'd say wait and see.

On the other hand, the episode ended with the group spying Jack playing a friendly game of catch with Tom. Starr is a somewhat huge proponent of the Jack-is-really-an-Other theory; he's been pumping it for a couple of weeks now. As of now I'm not willing to bite on that argument either. The Others probably just showed Jack that he can either get along in the confines of the little village, or get zapped if he tries to escape. Why be difficult with your captors if they are willing to be decent to you? Besides, Tom probably just wanted to check out Jack's athleticism on the field because Tom probably has a huge crush on him.

Other Stuff

Claire referred to her mother in the past tense. Did that mean that she died between the time Claire told her she was pregnant and the time she got on the flight to LA?

Alright, that's all I've got for this week. Tonight it's the Locke backstory that we've been waiting for.