LOST- Episode 41: Lockdown

  Previously on LOST: Locke got long conned by his dad, but then chose Helen in the end.  Also, Ana-Lucia and company went to find Henry Gale's balloon and Henry taunted Jack and Locke about that fact.

  Last season we had the opening eyeball.  This season it's all about the flashback, as once again, we begin in the past.  John Locke takes the engagement ring he bought out of his sock drawer and heads to the kitchen to make a picnic for his lady love.  He rolls the ring into a napkin without raising suspicion but his grand plans are foiled when Helen sits down to read the newspaper.  It seems that Locke's father has died.

  In the present, we pick up exactly where we left off in 'The Whole Truth'.  Jack demands that Henry redraw the map, but Henry insists that he was only making a bad joke.  Nevertheless, Jack is angry and orders Locke to put the prisoner back in his cell.  Henry questions why Locke lets the doctor talk to him like that, which is exactly the wrong thing to say.  As Henry hastily apologizes, an infuriated Locke grabs him by the shirt and throws him back into the armory.

  Out in the jungle, Sayid is ready to end the search for the balloon at the three hour mark, but Ana-Lucia is still not ready to give up.  Charlie calls them over and shows them that he has found a cross marking a gravesite.  Ana-Lucia then looks up and sees a balloon that has crashed into the trees.  Has Henry Gale just been vindicated?  Cue creepy LOST title screen.

  Back at the beach, Jack has decided to take a stroll down Underused Lane.  First he tells Hurley that there is no "loop" and Hurley is not out of it.  Then he assures Claire that baby Aaron is still fine.  Finally, he advises Libby to put some Neosporin on her sea urchin sting.  She reminds him that one of the more important characters- Sawyer- has control of the only medicine cabinet.

  Back in Station Three of the Dharma Initiative, Locke is feverishly working out on a stationary bike and listening to some music when he thinks he hears something unusual.  He shuts off the music and notices a little bit of voice and a whole lot of static and feedback coming from a speaker mounted on the wall, close to the ceiling.  As Locke fiddles with it and Henry wonders what's going on, Locke thinks back to his father's funeral.  Locke and Helen are justabout the only ones there, but Locke notices that there seem to be more people watching from a distance than actually in attendance.  Two shady looking guys watch from a nearby grave and as Locke gets up to say that he forgives his father, a car a few yards away drives off in a hurry.

  In the present, Locke yells for Henry to shut up so he can hear the speaker.  And what he hears is ominous.  A woman's voice is performing a countdown.  6...5...4...  When the count gets to zero, all hatch-hell breaks loose and the blast doors start coming down- even one over the window with the simulated sunlight.  Locke grabs a crowbar, dives to the floor and stops one of the doors from closing all the way.  It's not enough, however.  He and Henry are trapped.

  At the beach, Jack is watching Hurley get his butt kicked at poker by Sawyer and tries to lend some advice to the big guy.  Slightly impressed, but more intrigued by Jack's ability to read people, Sawyer invites the doctor to play.  Jack has to get back to "the hatch", but it doesn't take much macho prodding for him to sit down and be dealt in. 

   Back in Station Three, the lights are flickering and Henry's calls from the armory sound more nervous.  Locke's attempts to pry open the door have failed miserably, yet he still insists to his prisoner that nothing is wrong.  Locke then flashes back to his job as a home inspector.  After assuring Sayid's friend Nadia that nothing is wrong with the house she is buying, he notices the same car that was watching him at the funeral.  He walks over and gets a shock when the window rolls down.  His father is very much alive.

  Later, at a bar, Locke's father apologizes for the kidney scam and tells his son that he needs him again.  Dad explains that he pulled a retirement con on the wrong guys and had to fake his death before they handed him a real one.  He hands over a key to a safety deposit box and offers Locke a share of the money if he goes and retrieves it.  Locke just shakes his head in disbelief.  His dad may not have had good kidneys, but he's sure got balls.

  In the present, Locke finally has no choice but to tell Henry what is going on.  Locke thinks the two of them together might be able to lift the door, but Henry scoffs at helping his captor.  After some discussion, they make a deal that Henry will help if Locke promises to protect him from harm no matter what. 

  At the beach, things did not go as well as Sawyer had hoped as he has just lost his last bunch of papayas to the good doctor.  Jack excuses himself, but to save his pride, Sawyer insists on one more hand so he can win back his fruit.  Jack agrees, with the stakes being that Sawyer has to put all the stolen medicine on the line.

  Over in Station Three, Locke and Henry pry the blast door open enough to slide a weightlifting bar under the door.  Then they use the bar to pry the door open enough to slide a toolbox under.  Locke thinks this is enough space to slide under, and before Henry can stop him, he is on the floor and half way through.  Just then, the toolbox gives out a little and the door comes down right on Locke's legs.  Thank goodness he didn't do a headfirst crawl like most people would have done- Locke's marching to his own drummer saved him this time.  Henry props the door back up a little with some weights, but Locke is still stuck.  One of the spokes on the door has pierced his leg.  Henry suggests they wait for help because it's only a matter of time before someone comes.  Unfortunately, time is the one thing they don't have because it's almost time to push the button.

  Perhaps to take his mind off the pain, Locke flashes back to the bank where he opened up Deposit Box #1516 and marveld at all the cash inside.  When he returns home, his good mood is spoiled by the presence of the shady looking guys from the funeral.  They ask if Locke has seen his father since he died, but they are not spiritual men- they are the ones who have been conned and they believe that Dad might have been faking.  After Locke denies this truth and lets them look through his bag to find nothing, they have no choice but to leave.  Helen asks for the truth herself, but Locke doesn't give it to her either.

  Back in the now, Locke has just finished explaining the computer and the numbers and the countdown to an incredulous Henry.  Locke tells him to climb through the grate in the pantry, enter the dome and save the world.  Unfortunately, Henry is not much of a world saver.  As he climbs the pantry shelves, he falls and knocks himself out.

  Meanwhile at the beach, Jack goes all in and wins the hand with a pair of 9's.  An angry and frustrated Sawyer asks him why he didn't play for the guns.  Jack answers cockily, "When I need the guns, I'll get the guns."

  The computer's beeping has begun in Station Three, but luckily, Henry has started to stir.  Before he can even shake it off, Locke is shouting at him to get moving.  Henry makes it up into the vent this time, but we stay with Locke.  The computer beeping turns into the alarm sounding.  Locke screams for Henry but he is apparently out of earshot. 

  As Locke lays there to ponder what will happen if Henry fails, he flashes back to an airport motel- the place where Dad asked to meet him with the money.  Dad is grateful and offers Locke his share, but Locke says he didn't do it for the money.  When Locke doesn't answer why he did it, Dad says good-bye and leaves his son's share on the table.  When he opens the door, he comes face to face with Helen.  I don't know how long they've been together, but you would think Locke would know by now that his girl often tails him when she thinks he's up to something.  Helen is angry about being lied to and storms back to her car.  Instead of shouting "Surprise!" or something else that requires quick wits, Locke simply stumbles through an apology, professes his love and need for her and then makes an awkward proposal with the ring he never got around to presenting before.  Helen flat out turns him down, saying that he will always need his father's love more than hers.  As both lover and Dad drive away, Locke is left sad and alone once again.  It's all phone sex operators and paralysis from here, but that's a story for another day.

  Present day Locke is still pinned under a blast door and getting more panicked as the alarm gets louder and more threatening.  But then it stops and he hears the regular flapping of the counter resetting.  All is not well just yet, though, as the lights go out completely.  As Locke calls for Henry, a blue light fills the room and reveals a light show on the blast door.  I'll let the obsessed nerds scrutinize it, but it looked to me like the Dharma symbols forming a circle with a question mark in the middle.  After a moment, the lights return to normal, the picture disappears and all the blast doors raise back up.  Locke crawls his way to the computer and collapses just as he sees that Henry has not used this opportunity to escape.  As Henry helps him up, Locke pats him on the shoulder and thanks him for not leaving him.  Poor Locke and his abandonment issues.  Can we get a collective AWWWW?

  That night, Jack is finally heading back when Kate catches up and requests a shower.  Jack bumbles through some lame excuse about the pipes and tells her to head back.  When she says that she is glad that he beat Sawyer, Jack changes his mind and decides to walk her back himself.  Before he can take Ana-Lucia's advice and "hit that", they both see a blinking white light a few yards away.  They head over and find a parachute attached to a Dharma Initiative supply drop.  Before they can look through all the food, they are startled by Sayid, Ana-Lucia and Charlie returning from their mission.  Jack alters his catchphrase to "What did you find?" and  Sayid nods, which is not really an answer.

  Down in Station Three, Henry is playing nurse and helping Locke onto the couch.  Locke asks him what happened with the computer and Henry insists that he only did what he was told.  Nothing unusual happened.  A moment later, Jack, Sayid and the others are storming in and they look angry.  Sayid points his gun at Henry while Jack presses the prisoner against the wall.  Locke tries to explain that Henry was helping and he's really a good guy, but no one listens.  For you see, Sayid has a bombshell to drop.  Yes, there was a balloon and yes, there was a grave, but when they dug it up, there was not a wife down there.  There was a black man.  And that black man had a driver's license.  And that driver's license reads:

Henry Gale- 815 Walnut Ridge Rd. Wayzata, MN 55391

  "Henry Gale" can only stare at his captors- completely busted.

  Next time: The extras are coming...to fight over the new rations.  Plus, Hurley attacks Sawyer when he calls him crazy, then falls off a cliff.  I'm betting all my mangos that that last part is a dream.