Live-blogging the show tonight, after a tortuously long two week hiatus.

By the way, here's what Namaste means:

"Namaste", Namaskar or Namaskaram (Sanskrit: नमस्ते [nʌmʌsˈteː] from external sandhi between namaḥ and te) is a common spoken greeting or salutation in the Indian subcontinent. Taken literally, it means "I bow to you". The word is derived from Sanskrit (namas): to bow, obeisance, reverential salutation, and (te): "to you". Namaskar is considered a slightly more formal version than namaste but both express deep respect. It is commonly used in India and Nepal by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists, and many continue to use this outside the Indian subcontinent.

In other words, "hello!"

************* Major Spoilers below the fold *************

Previews: aboard Flight 316. The Oceanic Six are looking pensive.

In the cockpit. The copilot is telling Frank that he recognizes Hurley, one of the Oceanic Six.

Gutsy of Hurley to be flying again.

Frank: "Well, maybe he doesn't believe that lightning will strike twice in the same place".

Flash!

Crash!

Actually, no crash. Frank puts her down on what looks like a makeshift runway.

OK, maybe they do crash, at least a little bit. Frank's covered in blood, but it turns out it's the copilot's blood, who's been impaled by a tree. Ugh.

Update: I just noticed that after the O4 flash off the plane, the plane emerges over the island, and it's now daytime, rather than the nighttime when the plane crash started.

Sun is on the flight. So she didn't flash. Ben didn't either . . . Why?

Thirty Years Earlier. Let the Jack/Juliet/Sawyer/Kate love quadrangle begin. Can I be impaled by a tree instead?

Hurley gives Sawyer a huge bear-hug. Sawyer calls him "Kong". Awesome. Those two make such a great duo.

Kate and Sawyer hug. Awkward.

Sawyer asks where Locke is.

"John's dead," Jack replies.

When Sawyer asks how he died, Jack replies with the standard Lost answer: "It doesn't matter. He's gone". I wish someone would, for once, say "Wait, it DOES matter!" and insist on getting a straight story.

Hurley wants to know what's with the Dharma jumpsuits?

Sawyer: "It's 1977".

Hurley: . . . . . "uh . . . what?"

********** Commercial **********

Jack's trying to wrap his mind around all this.

Hurley to Jin: "Dude, your English is awesome!" Hurley, everything about you is awesome.

Jin's wondering what to do. That's when Jack breaks it to him that Sun was on the island. Jin freaks and drives off.

Kate asks who else is still here. Awk . . . ward. . .

Cut to Juliet and Miles in the observatory hatch, the name of which escapes me. Miles pulls up Sawyer on the TVs. Sawyer's driving up.

Back in Lostberry, R.F.D., Juliet asks James (I keep forgetting, he's not Sawyer anymore) what's going on. To his everlasting credit, he tells her the truth: "They're back." He must love Juliet, because he doesn't con her or lie to her.

He tells her he needs to figure out a way to bring them in before someone finds them.

Juliet: "There's a sub coming in this afternoon".

Switch to Jin, who bursts into a computer room guarded by a nerdy, 1970s computer guy. He's a sarcastic grouch, by the way, and he gives Jin some lip, and Jin slams him against the wall. Which is reason #18837829 why Jin rocks.

Jane asks him if he has seen a plane. Doctor NerdBeard asks Jin why the plane is so important.

"It just is."

Cut to Sun on the beach. She's fingering Jin's wedding ring. Her face has been beaten up some by the crash. I wonder, again, why she didn't get to flash.

Frank steps up to make a speech. He tells them that the radio is busted, but they should stick together and wait for a rescue. Caesar questions him: where are they?

The island isn't on Frank's charts. But Caesar has already cased the joint and found old buildings, animal cages, and another island. He wants to keep searching.

Ben takes off at this news, and Sun does as well, following him. If he hurts her, I'm kicking his behonkus.

Sun: "Where are you going?"

Ben: "Back to our island." And, he adds, in the incredibly creepy way that only Ben can, "You wanna come"

As we fade to commercial, I wonder where Sayid is. He obviously flashed (I forgot to mention that earlier, but he flashed in the flash/crash sequence earlier).

********** Commercial **********

Juliet comes upon Amy in a hammock. She needs the sub manifest. Amy looks pretty good for someone who just had a C-section. Obviously, this is several weeks later.

THE BABY IS ETHAN!!!! I'd heard this rumor/theory before. But I'm still freaking out. Someone elsewhere has pointed out that Ethan recruited Juliet to the island, and Juliet ends up saving Ethan's life at his birth. Time-loop!

Back to Jack/Kate/Sawyer.

Kate: "So the woman who told you how to come back. Did she mention it would be thirty years ago?"

Jack is more cordial to her than I would be, after a question like that.

Sawyer drives back to Hurley, Jack and Kate. He wants them to say that they came in on the sub. I think he's going to turn them into Dharma Initiative recruits. It's either that or camp in the jungle for six months.

"I vote for not camping". Heh, Hurley.

Sawyer is a leader. The leader. And I'm completely cool with that.

Grid 325 - there's a hostile inside the perimeter. Jin grabs a gun and takes off. He might be thinking it's Sun.

I'll bet this is Sayid.

Yep.

Sayid looks genuinely happy to see Jin, and Jin asks where Sun is. When GrouchyNerd shows up, Jin has to switch back to being a Dharma Initiative bad-dude holding a gun on a "hostile". Sayid seems a bit surprised as he's ordered to his knees, but I think he's snapping to the game Jin is having to play.

********** Commercial **********

Back to the van. Sawyer, Hurley and Jack are all wearing 1970s clothes.

"You do realize all those dudes got wiped out," Hurley observes, about the Dharma initiative.

"Shouldn't we warn them?" Good ol' Hurley! Sawyer says he's not here to play Nostradamus.

Also, evidently Faraday is no longer with them. Which explains why we've not been seeing him. No explanation as to what happened, though.

Ride, Captain Ride, Upon Your Mystery Ship Heh.

Sawyer and Juliet have already gotten everything set up for Hurley, Jack and Kate. They are joining Dharma

Miles drives up and let's Sawyer know that they found a hostile.

On the walkie to Jin, Sawyer gets the news. It's Sayid.

Cut to 2007 (I think), and Ben and Sun are tramping through the jungle. Ben's being a complete jerk to her. He's talking about getting an "outrigger" and is acting all coy, like he doesn't care if she comes with him or not.

Update: I just noticed this in my traditional re-watch (because live-blogging means I don't really get to "watch" it the first time): Ben takes off his sling and his arm appears to be fine.

Frank comes looking for Sun. Ben knows where there's a boat (that's what an "outrigger" is, right? I know nothing of these things), so Sun can go back to the main island.

"You don't think you can really trust this man, do you?" Frank, you speak wise words. Sun, please listen.

She doesn't listen. And they find the boats.

Frank reminds them that he came here on a freighter full of commandos whose only job was to get Ben.

"How'd that work out for everyone?" Ben, retorts. Actually, that's pretty funny.

Sun sneaks up on Ben while he's jawing with Frank and cold-cocks him with an oar.

Frank asks "I thought you trusted this guy?"

"I lied." GangstaSun!!!

********** Commercial **********

We're back viewing a Marvin Candle orientation video. Jack's name gets called by the nervous hatch security guard from last week. Marvin Candle welcomes Jack. "Namaste". He asks who Jack's shuttle driver was. To Jack's credit, he remembers. "LaFleur"

And, evidently, Amy had her baby last night. I stand corrected. Do C-sectioned women lounge around on hammocks less than a day after their surgery? I know nothing of these things. So Marvin apologizes for the lack of organization, because Amy normally checks people in.

Funny, Sawyer has gotten Jack assigned to doing janitorial work. He's a "Workman", just like Roger!

Phil wonders why Kate's not on the list, and he's beginning to take on a sinister hue. Ominous music starts playing, but Juliet walks in and saves the day. She has a new list. Kate and Juliet "meet" for the first time. Seeing them next to each other reminds me of the trillion ways that Juliet is way better than Kate.

Kate and Juliet look at each other. Daggers fly from their eyes.

Now we're back to where Sayid is being held by Radzinsky, which is GrouchGlasses real name. He suggests that Sayid is a spy and that he should be shot.

"I appreciate your input there, quickdraw." Heh, Sawyer.

Sawyer and Jin "interrogate" Sayid.

"The terms of the truce say you have to identify yourself as a hostile, or we shoot you."

Sayid is street-wise. He plays along and says he's a hostile. So Sawyer decides to take him in, over Dr. R's protests.

Cut to Sun and Frank, thirty years later. They are at the sub dock on the main island. It looks terrible. And I think Smokey is loose. There's a disturbance in the bushes. They continue walking forward toward the "animal noise", which I think is both brave and crazy.

Is it killing anyone else besides me that Jin and Sun are separated by thirty years? Otherville looks terrible, by the way.

A light comes on in one of the buildings. And someone very creepily opens a door. It's . . . It's . . .

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD!!!

Sun says she's looking for Jin, and asks Christian if he knows where he is.

"Follow me".

********** Commercial **********

Christian takes them into a trashed-up Dharma hall, and shows her a picture from 1977 of Hurley and the other recruits in Dharma get-up. He tells her Jin is with her friends.

"I'm sorry, but you have a bit of a journey ahead of you."

Back to recruiting day. Phil welcomes the new recruits. Sawyer calls in, he's coming in with "14J".

Sayid's holding it together very well, I think, as they march him in and he sees the others (not the Other Others, I'm referring to Hurley, Jack and Kate here) in Dharma jumpsuits. My head would be exploding at this point.

"I guess we found Sayid," Hurley says, to no one in particular.

Sawyer locks Sayid in a cage. "Bring the man some d-mn food, we're not savages," he growls at the guard, as he finally gets a chance to give Sayid a reassuring look. His eye-signals to Sayid speak volumes.

Nighttime, outside - Jack asks Phil where "James LeFleur" lives. Phil points out Sawyer's house, but also tells him that LeFleur hates being called James (except, I note, when Juliet calls him that. Because they're in love. Right James?)

Juliet answers the door. Jack double-takes. They hug. Awk. Ward.

"I'm looking for Sawyer, I guess I came to the wrong house."

"No you didn't." Bam!

"Evenin' Doc"

Jack asks about Sayid. And I hope he doesn't get snappy with Sawyer, because Sawyer has saved all of their various bacons today.

Jack observes that Sawyer is reading a book, and observes that it doesn't look like he's too busy thinking about how to get them out of this.

"Winston Churchill read a book every night, even during the blitz. He said it made him think better. That's how I like to run things. I think. Back when you were calling the shots, you pretty much just reacted. And as I recall, a lot of people ended up dead."

Jack: "I got us off the island" [um, no you didn't. You got you off the island]

Sawyer: "But here you are, right back to where you started. So I'm going to go back to reading my book, and I'm going to think. Because that's how I saved your -ss today, and that's how I'm going to save Sayid's tomorrow."

BOOOOOOOOOOO0-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!!!!!!!

That's the best scene all season. That might be the best scene of all time.

Sawyer sends Jack on his way, and then waves to Kate, who's stalking around outside. I will go back in time and murder her if she steals James away from Juliet. Or maybe I'll murder him for being dumb. [I'm just kidding, I won't murder anyone. But I may throw things]

In the cell again, some kid walks over to deliver a sandwich to Sayid. Hmmmm, I wonder who that could be?

"Are you a hostile?"

"Do you think I am?"

"What's your name?"

"Sayid. What's yours?"

"I'm Ben."

Sayid holds it together. I don't know how. "It's nice to meet you, Ben."

Bam!

Great episode. What a great season!

********** BAD WOBOT! **********

Previews: Sayid: "you're all going to die, you know."

Next week looks pretty bad. They fight. They burn things. They shoot guns.

Kate says snarky things to Juliet.

End.