Things have been heavy for quite some time, and it’s nothing compared to the run of episodes ahead (three days until I cry like a baby at Juliet’s fall!). This one is purportedly the breather episode, and in spite of a funny subplot and a self contained emotional arc, the story continues to move toward a cataclysmic ending.

Even so, things aren’t too out of control yet. So now is as good a time as any to flesh out Miles a little bit. Sure, for the duration of Season 6, he and Frank Lapidus continue to spend their time competing for the spot of Detached Comic Relief, but it’s nice to know there’s a three dimensional guy under all of that. 2.5 dimensional at the very least. He’s can be a charlatan, he’s greedy, and God knows he’s sarcastic, but underneath he has the same father issues as everyone else on the show. These particular issues are unique enough not to feel like a retread, and everyone feels for him at that moment in which he sees Pierre Chang reading to Miles as a baby.

Hurley gets some focus too after spending most of the season out of the spotlight (he gets plenty to do in Seasons 4 and 6, so NBD). He’s serving the role of comic relief like in Season 1, and I found it hilarious that he was so intent on burrowing into Miles’ personal life. And is there anyone who doesn’t love his take on The Empire Strikes Back or his disparaging remarks about the Ewok race?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy5M7AgD1F4

Hank Schrader is in the flashback! He shows up for a seemingly redundant scene in which Miles plays him for money and pretends to give him closure on his dead son, only to chastise him later for not saying goodbye when he had the chance. Little mysteries surrounding his character and the Season 4 expedition are tied up when Naomi appears and leads him into a creepy restaurant kitchen with a dead body in back (I’d go with her too). And surprisingly, there’s time to show us this group that, as far as I can tell, does nothing but ask bemused people cryptic questions about statues and then react violently when they can’t answer. What a bunch of jackasses.

Something funny I noticed this time around, although I remember some derisively referred to the whole Miles story as filler, it was directly responsible for shattering everyone’s life in Dharma. Juliet somehow fails to come up with a plausible excuse when Ben Linus disappears from his hospital bed. Kate tries to comfort Roger Linus, but he’s all drunk and suspicious and things get even worse. Jack foolishly reveals the connection between himself and Kate, but still manages to put off Roger for at least a little while. And then, because Miles never got a chance to destroy an incriminating tape, Sawyer and Juliet’s happy lives are over. At least that obnoxious Phil guy gets punched in the face.

Loose Ends:
Just a slight one, Miles seems onboard with the idea that life ends with death and he’s only sensing the “residue” of people when they die. But in Confirmed Dead, he told a spirit that it “could go now,” for no ones benefit. But not a huge inconsistency like some others, something could have changed his views on the afterlife over the three years.

Well, that was pretty good. And with Daniel Faraday arriving back on the scene, they’re about to get even better.

Rating: 8/10
Ranked 8th out of 13 episodes.
Average: 8.38/10