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Episode Title: "Dr. Linus"

Written By: Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz

Story: Following the events of "Sundown," Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson) rejoins his fellow survivors but finds that he's not welcome thanks to a discovery made by Miles (Ken Leung). Elsewhere, Jack (Matthew Fox) and Hurley (Jorge Garcia) join Richard Alpert (Nestor Carbonell) as he heads to a place on the Island that he hasn't visited in a very long time — a place where he intends to die.

In the sideways reality, Benjamin is a high school history teacher — a doctor, if you will — but his Island ambitions aren't far behind when he makes a power play for a leadership role at the school. Ben is forced to question his plans once he learns that his promotion would require the sacrifice of one of his students, none other than Alex Rousseau (Tania Raymonde).

Sideways Shenanigans: In "Dr. Linus," redemption continues to be a theme of the sideways reality — while Ben sacrificed Alex's life on the Island, he saved her future by sacrificing his own plans for high school leadership. Getting second chances seems to be the alternate world's main thrust.

But there's still some Island connectivity, as even in the sideways, Ben and his father Roger (John Gries) were members of the DHARMA Initiative once upon a time. They left the Island for unknown reasons, but Roger insinuates that they could have stayed if they wished, casting further doubt on the widely perceived notion that the detonation of the bomb caused the Island to sink and reality to fracture. I'm less convinced now, but no matter the cause, it's nice to know that the Island isn't forgotten in the sideways world.

He Wasn't Wrong: According to Miles, Jacob (Mark Pellegrino) hoped he was wrong about Ben right up until the moment that he died. Apparently, he was — Ben just needed a little more time to figure himself out, even though it was ultimately at Jacob's expense. It seems that everybody's favorite little liar is starting to grow into a team player as Ben just wants someone to accept him. I must admit that I kind of like the new Ben, even though I miss his mischievous side.

But is Ben's darkness gone for good? If we're still to believe that he was irrevocably changed by the Smoke Monster when Richard brought him to the temple in last season's "Whatever Happened, Happened," then Smocke (Terry O'Quinn) still holds some serious sway over Ben. The fact that the false John Locke appeared before Ben and offered him Jacob's job in this episode is very telling of Smocke — he doesn't play by Jacob's rules, for better or worse. Whether or not Ben ultimately takes up Smocke's offer remains to be seen, and if he doesn't, who knows how the dark entity will react.

Three's Company: The threesome of Jack, Hurley and Richard is one of the best trios I've ever seen on "Lost." It's just such an unlikely combination. The conversation between Jack and Richard was very telling for both characters, as the seemingly eternal man revealed that he can't die unless someone does the deed for him — something that he desperately wants Jack to do. But the erstwhile spinal surgeon apparently didn't take the whole "Lighthouse" incident as hard as we thought. He got Jacob's message loud and clear; though the purpose isn't known yet, Jack is meant to do something on the Island, which means he can't die, certainly not in an arbitrary way like blowing up at the Black Rock.

Indeed, Jack and Richard have a lot more to say to one another. And now that they're at the beach camp with Sun (Yunjin Kim) and the other survivors, you can bet that they'll have more than a few meaningful words to exchange about the definitions of science, faith and destiny — and maybe Hurley will get a word in edgewise about the meaning of cyborgs.

Six Is A Crowd: Interestingly enough, not even Ilana (Zuleikha Robinson) knows which Kwon is a candidate, but she does know that only six of them remain and she must protect them. By the way, if you're worried that "Lost" won't reveal the importance of the candidates, don't. The writing staff isn't going to answer every single question, but these types of questions — what do the characters mean, what is their overall significance to the Island and the mythology that we've been thrown into — will be answered. The candidates and their supporting players like Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Claire (Emilie de Ravin) are at the core of these crucial mysteries.

Most Valuable Player: Rather than breaking into tears at the sight of Jack and Hurley, Sun-Hwa Kwon instead offers a hilariously understandable "what the heck happened" look, a rather appropriate expression given the fact that her friends disappeared into a white light while Sun herself stayed firmly in her seat on Ajira Flight 316. Sun gets a major hat tip for having one of the most normal knee-jerk reactions I've ever seen to a mystery on "Lost," one that perfectly reflects the "I have no clue what's happening on this show" attitude of the audience.

Best Quote: "I devoted my life longer than you can possibly imagine in service of a man that told me everything was happening for a reason — that he had a plan that I was a part of, and when the time was right, he'd share it with me. Now, that man is gone. So why do I want to die? Because I just found out my whole life was without a purpose." — Richard Alpert on his reasons for attempting suicide.

Second Best Quote: "Want to try another stick?" — Jack after Richard's suicide-by-dynamite attempt fails.

Where We Stand: The cast is split in two groups. In one corner we have Jack, Hurley, Richard, Ilana, Miles, Ben, Sun and Lapidus (Jeff Fahey) at the beach camp trying to figure out their next step. Smocke is leading Claire, Kate, Jin (Daniel Dae Kim), Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Sayid (Naveen Andrews) and the surviving Temple Others to the Hydra Island, presumably to reconstitute the damaged Ajira plane and get the heck out of Dodge, better known as the Island.

Meanwhile, Charles Widmore (Alan Dale) has managed to find the Island after several decades spent trying to return. Is it safe to say that he's part of the "they" that's coming to the island, according to Jacob? And if so, who wants to bet that Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick), Penny (Sonya Walger) and Eloise Hawking (Fionnula Flanagan) are along for the ride?

The Shape of Things to Come: In the next episode, titled "Recon," Sawyer makes his first appearance in three episodes. He also tells somebody: "You and me are getting the hell off this island."

Tell us what you thought of this week's "Lost" in the comments and on Twitter!