It seems that my journal has recently been short on non-LOST content. I hope to remedy that soon, but in the meantime:

- The people behind LOST are masters at turning the screw. By this, I mean that they will have you thinking that you know one thing about a character for an entire episode, only to have another character say or do something (turn the screw) at the end of the episode to wipe all of that away.

In last night's LOST, they really had you thinking that Juliet was a great character who was being completely legit with what she was saying and doing, only to have Sayid come in at the end and throw everything you just saw for a loop by questioning whether or not Juliet, one of the Others, should be allowed to come back to the LOSTies camp.

I thought it was a brilliant piece of writing and really showcased one of the built-in strengths of the show; that since there are so many characters who come from so many different backgrounds, it would make total sense for Sayid to question her loyalty, for Jack to want her to come back to camp, for Kate to be jealous of Juliet, and for Juliet's motives to be thrown for a loop.

- All of the Kate/Juliet stuff was great, but I really dug the hell out of Hurley's con on Sawyer. I thought it was great to see a con man getting conned into doing nice things for people.

Sawyer and Hurley's story was yet another example of the LOST writers and producers addressing fan concerns that we never really get to see how the LOSTies survive from day to day.

But beyond that, I think it's great that we're finally starting to get a glimpse into the good person that Sawyer really is. Hurley was exactly right to say that the LOSTies would view Sawyer as their leader in the absence of Sayid, Jack, Locke, and Kate, but he was even more right by saying that Sawyer has enough potential to be the leader the LOSTies always needed and wanted in the first place. As leaders, Jack is always so wound up, Locke always so mind numbingly mystical, Sayid too technical, Kate always on the run, that it was kinda cool to see Sawyer be the kind of laid back leader that they all need. I hope they work on this a little more, but since Jack returns to the camp next week, this may be one of those storypoints that never really goes anywhere...for now.

- I LOVED all the smoke monster bits. I bet that there are all kinds of hidden clues from last night's episode. I can't wait to see what fans are able to pull out of what was on screen. I particularly liked that moment where the moster surrounded Kate and Juliet and started flashing something to Juliet. Can't wait to see what that was.

I also loved the perimeter fence scene. That was neat. Although it was small, it did provide an answer about the Others using that fence to keep away "smokey."

- Kate's backstory was great. Of all of her flashbacks, this was probably my favorite. I liked that Kate and Sawyer's ex crossed paths. I'm sure this is going to play out in future episodes, so I can't wait to see what happens.

I also liked how the Sawyer/Kate/Jack love triangle just got a lot more complex by the addition of Juliet. Can't wait to see where this goes.

I don't really have any complaints about last night's episode. Well, I guess it's a little out of character for Locke to leave with the Others, but I think this will be explained at some point in the coming weeks. Can't wait to see.

my two cents for this Thursday