(S03E06) Wow... where to begin. That was certainly an episode worthy of being called a mid-season finale. Good doesn't even begin to describe it. Definitely gives us plenty to talk about while we wait for the show to return in February for it's uninterrupted run though.

This episode focused on Kate's flashbacks and those have always been sort of 50-50 for me, but this one was great I thought. Even better than when she blew up her father. Of course I'm slightly biased because these flashbacks featured Nathan Fillion and the idea of having Mal Reynolds on Lost... it's making my head hurt. Fillion played Kate's husband (she was married!) Kevin. So I suppose rather than "what Kate did" you could call these flashbacks "who Kate did."

So yeah, Kate tied the knot. Kevin was a local cop. They lived in Miami (it was on Kevin's police cruiser and he had a Heat shirt on) and Kate made tacos once a week. That is until she had a conversation with good ol' Federal Marshal Morris. He told her what she knew anyway. Kate can't settle down. So she apologized to her hubby, but not before she drugged him. Then she took the Oceanic Airlines tickets Kevin had bought for their Costa Rican honeymoon and Kate traded them in for a one-way to Australia. I think that's one of my favorite things in this show: finding out the circumstances that landed each character in Australia in the first place. So that was the gist of the flashbacks. It was nothing mind-blowing, but I still liked them a lot.

Back to the island. First off, let's talk about the romance between Kate and Sawyer. I've always been a "Jack and Kate" man myself. When I saw the previews for this episode, I wasn't pleased. But now that Kate and Sawyer have done the dance (he tapped her on the fish biscuit machine!), I'm OK with it. In fact, I was really satisfied with the whole scene and I think it worked. Part of it was certainly the tension that existed. Would they have been ripping each others clothes off if Sawyer's life wasn't on the line? I doubt it.

I found it odd that Ben let the sex slide though... at first. But if you think about the chain of events, it was all one big manipulation. When Juliet first brought in Kate to try and convince Jack to perform the surgery, Kate broke down when she told Jack that Sawyer would be killed if he didn't operate. Ben saw all this. He had that smart-ass smirk and it was clear to him that Kate loved Sawyer and that Jack loved Kate. So he used it to his advantage. He let the sexual encounter go on with no resistance and he made damn sure that Jack saw it on those monitors. Seeing the girl you want with another man is reason to get off an island and the key for Jack to get out? The operation. Too bad Ben's little plan backfired after he was already knocked out on the table.

Jack started the spinal surgery like normal, but once he had the opportunity, he sliced open Ben's kidney sac. Jack gives Pickett and Tom an ultimatum. Ben will die in one hour unless Kate is given the opportunity to run. Two things aren't factored in to this plan for Jack though. One? She ain't going to leave without Sawyer and Mr. Ford is temporarily out of commission since Pickett has a gun held at his head. Two? Kate now knows what Sawyer knows -- they're on a different island. There is no where to run.

So Jack's plan is a teensy bit flawed, but he doesn't know that. I loved what he asked of Kate though. Once she's free, contact him in an hour with Pickett's walkie-talkie. Jack wants to hear the story he told Kate on the very first day after the plane crash, while she stitched up the wound on his back. If he hears that story, he'll know she's safe. Remember that story? Jack talked about his first solo surgery. It was a spinal surgery on a teenage girl and right at the end of the op, Jack accidentally nicked her spinal sac. Nerve endings came pouring out and the fear washed over Jack -- but he only let it affect him for five seconds and then he fixed his mistake.

This was a pretty relevant story here I think. At this point, Jack has no fear - that's why he did what he did. If Ben dies then so be it. The question that we won't get until February is whether or not Kate takes Jack's advice in that story because the last shot of her face had Kate looking 100% terrified. With good reason I suppose. The man she loves is being held at gunpoint.

So that's big question number one: will Ben live and how will Jack, Kate, and Sawyer make out as a result of Jack's plan? But there are a few other questions. A ton of commenters have had the right idea about Eko's prayer stick and they were absolutely right. Locke found the sign he was looking for when he read this off of Eko's stick during the late priest's burial: "Lift up your eyes and look north." So what the heck is Locke going to find? Any ideas?

Can't forget Alex either. She was back with her slingshot again, trying to free Sawyer and Kate. But she was blabbering about wanting to see Ben and how her boyfriend was killed. Have we heard anything about a deceased boyfriend before? What's the deal with that? Is it someone we've met before in a flashback maybe? Plus Ben asked about her before he went under the knife and Juliet said they merely brought Alex home following the incident. Home?!? Where's Alex's home?

Too many questions but we've got all the time in the world to ponder them. Lost returns on February 7.