Well now, that episode ought to silence all the naysayers who cry, “nothing ever happens on this show.“ Not only did we get some intriguing development on the Henry Gale front – we also do the time warp back to last season’s unsolved abduction of Claire – leading to a whole new spin on the true nature of the Others.

1. The A-story focuses on Claire and her battle to recall what happened when Ethan kidnapped her. These flashbacks – a first for the series in that they are all contained on the island – spell out quite a bit of information.

2. Ethan actually comes off as somewhat conflicted over his role as abductor. In the flashbacks, we see Ethan caring for Claire – as the Dharma initiative makes plans for her impending birth. One telling scene has Ethan telling Claire that he is going to ‘miss her’. Granted this is the same guy who said he let Charlie head back to the beach – when in fact, he lynched him – so ya’ know – he’s kinda’ hard to get a handle on.

3. What happened to that Dharma medical bunker to place it in such a state of disrepair? In the show’s chronology, it’s only been about a month since Claire was held there – yet, the facility looked picked clean.

4. Big revelation on Weird Beard (a.k.a. Creepy Clause – or Mr. Friendly – as IMDB lists him). Kate’s discovery of a cache of discoveries (including seabilly garb, fake beard and Dharma brand spirit gum) - coupled with a shot of a clean shaven Mr. Friendly in Claire’s flashback revealed a Village-esque plot to make people believe ‘the Others’ are more antiquated than they actually are.

5. Sawyer’s nicknames continue to impress. In this ep, he brands the sidearm seeking Kate… Thelma. As with the literary references, you have to be quick with Sawyer’s off-the-cuff comments. Blink and ya’ miss ‘em.

6. Regarding Henry Gale, no question – he’s an Other. “Other what?”, as Gale himself inquired, I have no idea – but there is something sinister about him. Gazing upon his broken countenance – courtesy of Sayid’s interrogation – I haven’t a shred of compassion. Something about this guy just seems way off. Mr. Ecko picks up on it – arranging a clandestine meeting in which he seeks absolution for the ‘sins’ of killing two ‘Others’ who had attempted to carry him off into the jungle. That little scene is just another hint towards Gale’s true nature – as Ecko, who has never met the man and knows next to nothing about him – decided that he needs to receive forgiveness from someone close to his victims. Thus, the meeting with Gale.

7. Interestingly – Gale and Claire’s plots do intersect – albeit in a very subtle fashion. While Claire’s tale focused on her quest to rid Aaron of infection – which proves to be less dire than initial appearances suggested – it’s in the final Gale shots that we intuit a more sinister infection. The final scenes depict Locke sharing some idle chatter with Gale. We get the feeling that Locke feels bad for the predicament Gale is in. Then in one off-the-cuff moment, as Locke is exiting Gale’s cell, Gale mumbles “I don’t know why you let the doctor call all the shots.” Locke’s visage appears shaken but he quickly deflects that Jack’s not the boss – that the two of them share this leadership in tandem. We cut to Locke getting ready to wash the dishes when suddenly rage sweeps over him and he sends glasses and plates crashing to the floor. (We’ve seen this pent up aggression before in Locke – most notably following the revelation that his long lost father conned him of a kidney.) Inside the cell, as Locke’s tantrum rages outside, we see Gale raise his head – a sly smile playing at his lips – having successfully ‘infected’ Locke.

8. I’ll end with a prediction. Henry Gale is the “him” referenced by Mr. Friendly to Ethan. As in “Was I not clear? You were supposed to compile the list and then get the girl. What are we gonna’ tell him?”