This review may contain spoilers.

In its final season, with so many interesting possibilities, its a bit disappointing that there is apparently enough time on the schedule for a filler episode, which is exactly what Lost viewers were served this week. Still, an average episode of Lost is more thought-provoking than most everything else on television.

In the alternate timeline, we discover that Sawyer (Josh Holloway) is a cop, albeit one with questionable ethics and Sawyers gift of lying convincingly still a part of his arsenal. He is still quite the ladies man, and two sex scenes are tossed in just to prove this. In this reality, Detective Ford still has to deal with the fact that a grifter named Sawyer was responsible for the death of his parents. Eventually, Sawyer encounters Kate (Evangeline Lily), whom he helped evade the police at the airport.

Back on the island, Sawyer is sent on a mission from the Locke Monster (Terry OQuinn) to revisit the island in which he was previously held captive. Ultimately, he meets up with Charles Widmore (Alan Dale) and he promises to bring Locke to him so Widmore can kill him. But on his return, he tells Locke about the confrontation. Regardless of what happens, Sawyer has set himself up to betray someone. The betrayer is a popular archetype and since the story needs one, it might was well be Sawyer.

Quite honestly, I didnt get much more out of this episode. While it was good (I believe most episodes these days are at least good), it simply wasnt great. The previous two episodes contained plenty of action and/or major character evolution to make viewers ponder the changes long after the episode was finished. Not so with this one.

Again, this was not a bad episode, but it did pale in comparison to the previous two efforts. Perhaps it is asking too much to expect action, important plot revelations, and meaningful character development in every episode. With so many stories yet to tell, and only about eight episodes to tell them, I expect a little more than we got this week.

What Worked

In the alternate timeline, Sawyer is a cop. This tied in nicely with Juliets death scene in which she said something about a policeman. Better yet, he was partnered with Miles (Ken Leung).
I enjoyed seeing the copy of the book Watership Down among Sawyers things. I seem to recall a scene in a prior episode where Sawyer was telling Kate (Evangaline Lily) about the book and said, Hell of a book. Its about bunnies. Of course the book is about much more than that and if you havent read it by now, you really should.

One of the best scenes of the episode occurred when Claire (Emilie de Ravin) attacked Kate and tried to kill her with a knife, and Sayid just sat there and watched. It was effectively disturbing on several levels.

What Didnt Work

The pairing of Sawyer with Charlotte (Rebecca Mader) fell quite flat. It would have been much more meaningful if it was Juliet. This just seemed like a contrived way to sneak a character who is already dead back into series. The strategy isnt bad, and I think Ms. Mader is a fine young actress; the pairing just didnt work and made little sense.

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

Lost stars Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Terry OQuinn, Josh Holloway, Jorge Garcia, and Michael Emerson. Recon was written by Jim Galasso and was directed by Jack Bender.

"Lost airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.