Season 4 Episode 8 "Meet Kevin Johnson" Reaction

This episode did not advance the time line very much and didn't answer a lot of questions. However, it did scratch a very old itch, with what happened to Michael and Walt. I am going to explain this episode with my own observations in the same order as it appeared during the show.

Locke's Compound
The episode started out at Locke's Compound with what seemed like a neighborhood watch meeting complete with Ben, Rousseau, her daughter Alex, Carl, and the other "Losties". Locke brought in Miles (I guess he didn't blow up). Miles says he is here for Ben. Ben says that once they get him they will kill everyone on the island and Ben reveals to everyone that Michael is the spy. Sawyer recounts the obvious sinful past of Michael (I guess they do that to help us make the connection).

On the Boat
An alarm sounds as Sayid and Desmond are awakened. They go to the deck only to find the captain beating the stuffing out of one of the sailors that was trying to escape. Sayid approaches Kevin (Michael) and asks him "Why are you here?" Michael's responds "I am here to die".

Locke's Compound
We go back to Locke's compound where Sawyer confronts Locke and Miles about not telling him about the 3.2 million offer that Miles made to Ben for his loyalty. Locke tells him that he did not think that it was important since Ben couldn't get the money. Miles laughs, obviously he thinks everyone is underestimating Ben. He points out that Ben is now free and that Ben gets what he wants. Which is true. I don't understand it, but Ben does get what he wants. He is a ruthless cold blooded killed that should not be trusted, yet Locke still trust him. Also at the compound, Ben tells Alex, Carl, and Rousseau to go to the "Temple" which appears to be another station. This is the station where Richard and the "others" were going. At this point, I am excited because I think that we are going to see this station tonight. I am sadly mistaken.

On the Boat
We go back to the boat and Sayid confronts Michael and wants to know how he got on the boat.

Flashback
We then go into one long flashback. I kind of enjoyed it for a change, not going back and forth all the time. We find that Michael is very troubled by his past sins (killing Ana-Lucia and Libby). He wants to kill himself. He tries to crash his car and kill himself, he pins a note to Walt on his jacket. We assume this is his first time to commit suicide, but as find out later it is very difficult for former inhabitants of the island to kill themselves so Michael could have tried it before. Further proof that he is haunted, he dreams that Libby brings him a blanket in the hospital.

We find out that Walt is not with him, he is living with Michael's mother. We also find out that Michael and Walt have come back and are not telling anyone what happened. They are using fake names. Walt is not talking to Michael because he told him something (We find out later that Michael confided in Walt about the women he killed). I know that it has been a couple of years since the first season, so they can not show Walt a lot because he has grown up (he looked really old in the episode where Ben shot Locke and Walt appeared to him in a vision). In fact I think they used a different boy for the short time we saw him tonight. I believe that is why they left in the first place, because he was growing up and only a few months time was supposed to have passed. I think that the writers could have woven it in better now that we know about this time travel stuff, couldn't Walt have just grown old very fast as an Island side-effect. Oh, well they chose to phase him out. I am glad that they brought back Michael he was always one of my favorites.

Michael then take the watch that Jin gave him and pawns it for gun and tries to kill himself. Mr. Friendly (Tom) shows up and interrupts him and then kicks Michael's butt. Mr. Friendly then explains that the Island won't let him die. He tells Michael that he can find him in the Penthouse at the Hotel Earle (I don't know if this is important yet). Michael goes home to try to kill himself one more time, but the gun jams twice. He then sees a news report about how Oceanic 815 was found at the bottom of the ocean. He goes to see Friendly.

We discover that Friendly is gay. I could have done without that. I would say more, but I am afraid that he would kick my butt. Friendly tells Michael that the Oceanic 815 crash he saw on the news was staged by Charles Whidmore. Interesting, because we were led to believe that Ben staged that crash. I think we are gearing up for a colossal battle between Benjamin Linus and Charles Whidmore. Friendly tells him that Whidmore doesn't want anyone to find out what happened to the real Oceanic 815 and about the Island. Michael wants proof, so Friendly shows him a picture of empty graves in Thailand and receipts for the plane and freighter rental. This really doesn't prove anything to us, but for Michael it is important. Friendly tells us that a boat is leaving to find the island and Michael's mission is to go on the boat undercover and kill everyone on the boat. Michael is to do this to redeem himself, somehow pay for his past sins.

Michael arrives at the dock and I first notices the name of the boat was scratched out (KAHA-----). I don't know if this is important. Michael gets a package from Friendly before he leaves. Friendly also calls him and tells him to wait a few days and use the package to kill everyone. On a side note, it was interesting that Miles knew that Michael was lying about his name. Miles must have a "sixth sense". Out at sea Frank, the helicopter pilot, confirms a couple of things. He confirms that the boat is in fact owned by Whidmore and that he and Whidmore agreed that the Oceanic 815 in the ocean was staged. Later on the "Boat People" are out on the deck of the boat shooting clay pigeons with automatic weapons. Michael asked if they were on a rescue mission and the guys tell him to go clean something. Michael then goes to blow up the boat only to find that the bomb is a trick that gives a note that says "Not Yet". Very cruel, Ben. He then gets a call from Walt, which turns out to be Ben. Ben tells Michael to give him a list of everyone on the boat then to take out the communications and them to take out the engines.

On the Boat
When we come out of the flash back Sayid asked Michael "So, you mean to tell you are working for Benjamin Linus?" Which is ironic, because Sayid goes to work for Ben later on. Sayid them attacks Michael and takes him to Captain Gault. Sayid tells the captain everything. He tells him that Michael is a traitor and that he was on Oceanic 815 and that he sabotaged the boat. I don't understand why Sayid did this. This seems a little rash for him, you would think that Sayid would want to think out his next move, unless he has a plan.

On the Island
Rousseau, Carl, and Alex are making their way to the "Temple Station". When they stop for a drink, Rousseau and Carl are shot. Alex comes out and yells that she is Ben's daughter. I don't know who is shooting, but I assume it is the "others" who have orders to kill them. So did Ben intentionally lead them to their deaths?

Questions and Next Week
As I mentioned this episode didn't deliver like I thought it would. From last weeks promo I thought the time line would be advanced more, but it did give us some good insight into Michael.
1. What is the temple station (Ben referred to it as a sanctuary, it seems only some know about it)
2. What is going on with the "Losties" on the beach, we did see them this episode.
3. Who killed Rousseau and Carl?
4. Is Ben going to pay Miles?

Well it looks like we have to wait a month for an new episode (Darn you, writers strike). But it seems like a battle is going to happen. And from the promo, I learned that they are counting Aaron as one of the six. You probably knew that, but it surprised me. Oh, well see you next month.