Paulo Lies

Last night's Lost was unusual in a lot of ways, but luckily it continued the recent trend of greatness. As I told someone today, it's a sign of how good it was that I didn't even mind that last week's shocker of a final scene wasn't followed up on this week. Some examples of the uniqueness of "Expose" included:

- it was a "done-in-one" episode, meaning that it started a storyline, played it out, and finished it, all in a single hour (no lingering mysteries, and nothing that you needed to know as background)

- old friends Shannon, Boone and Arzt were brought back as a special treat for the fans

- all of the regulars were fit into the episode, albeit via flashbacks in some cases, but interesting nonetheless in this season of split plotlines

- it gave us all the clues we needed to solve its mystery, and I know this because I solved it about 15 minutes in (once Arzt showed Nikki the spider I was sure, but I suspected it was paralysis once Hurley provided his interpretation of what Nikki's last words were)

- it made us consider some past scenes in a new light, including something as mundane as Paulo coming out of a bathroom in the Pearl

- it ended with a gut-wrenching final shot of a simple mount of dirt that meant so much more than it ever should have considering who was buried there

- we got a very specific timeline for how long the group's been on the island and when certain events occurred on the line

- Charlie actually did something right, and noble, for a change!