Lost Cause: A Preview of “Recon” – To Con Again

I won't be able to file a recap/analysis of tonight's "Recon" episode in a timely manner because I am attending the SyFy Channel's Spring Preview at the Museum of Modern Art this evening. I thought I would put together a preview of sorts with lots of spoilers so if you don't want to know what tonight's story line will be or who will be the guest stars, then please wait.

The title of today's "Lost Cause" comes straight from writer/producer Damon Lindelof's Twitter feed: to recon as in to "con again." I suspect it signifies its military reference as well — to go on a reconnaissance mission, gathering first hand information. In tonight's episode, Sawyer is sent on a recon mission by Schlocke. With whatever shenanigans the island's best bestower of sobriquets is up to, we will see Sawyer's sideways life as well.

A few things to think about during tonight's episode:

Charlotte is going to make an appearance. Is she going to have a chance to set things right? Or is the better question, is the island going to have a chance to do right by her? And will we then have some closure with the great Daniel Faraday, whom I sense will not stay dead? Not if Mommy Eloise and Daddy Widmore (who is arriving at the island any minute now) have their way.

Liam Pace, Charlie's brother, will also make an appearance tonight. This is especially intriguing. We know that Charlie will come back sometime before the series finale. What is the significance of his brother? Unlike all the other Oceanic 815 survivors, and even Charlotte, Charlie had no daddy issues. What did he get for his happy home life? Death. Charlie's brother Liam is one of the rare characters in Lost that has had his redemption already. We saw him, in the three episodes devoted to Charlie's back story, fall into a heroin addiction and then climb back to a recovery, on his own. What is the implication of this? And why do the words Charlie's mother said to him on Christmas morning, when she gave him his piano, "You're special Charlie. You're going to get us out of here. All of us," still ring in my ear?

Last question, and now you'll know that I'm truly lost, look for the number three. In re-watching "The Moth" from season one, I kept seeing images of a trinity. Sayid sets up a triangular antennae. John Locke insists that Charlie asks for his drugs three times before he'll give them back. Perhaps in looking too closely at the duality of the Man in Black and Jacob, we are missing something. A third. I've played with a theory for some time now, that we were seeing manifestations of id, ego and superego in the power struggles on the island. I haven't quite given up on that yet. The dove that appears over the top of Claire as the Virgin Mary in Charlie's hallucination during "Fire and Water" does nothing to keep me from obsessing on this trinity idea.

Lots of questions, here's hoping for some answers (but not too many because then what would we Lostees talk about?) I look forward to tonight's episode and hearing what you think of it and my crazy ideas. Namaste.