Top 10 Reasons We Loved the 'Lost' Sawyer-Centric Episode

Last night's Lost was kick-ass for many reasons, not the least of which was it centered around the Island's resident smokin' hottie: Sawyer. Even the guys have gotta admit that Sawyer is easy on the eyes. But beyond that, nobody delivers a sarcastic line better than he does, and watching his transformation from cold-hearted con-man to hottie-with-a- heart has been one of the high points of the series. Not to mention a great follow-up to the Ben-centric episode Annie Scott cooly recapped for y'all last week. What else rocked about last night's episode? Read on to find out. And as always, **GIGUNDA SPOILER ALERTS** ahead:

1. In flash-sideways world, Sawyer is a cop!

Throughout the season, we've been treated to glimpses of what the characters lives would be like if Oceanic 815 never crashed on that island. It's essentially a looking-glass world, where the characters do and act the opposite of what we expect. Case in point? In this alterna-world Sawyer is a detective with the LAPD!!! Here, Sawyer literally shelves that moniker in favor of his real name, James Ford, to fight off the real con men and criminals. Why? As he explained, "I guess I got to a point in my life where I was either going to become a criminal or a cop. So I chose cop." Cool!

2. Not only is Sawyer a cop, but Miles is his partner!

I am a big fan of Miles. Introduced in a later season, he's the only other character who can even come close to Sawyer in the sarcasm department, and it was awesome to see that in off-island alterna-world these two were partners! Not only that, Miles proved he's as loyal and dedicated as they come.

3. Hello Again, Charlotte

In another off-island connection, Miles fixes Sawyer up with his pal Charlotte, who is rather hot herself and still an archeologist in this parallel universe. Long story short, the two hook up but it all goes bad when she discovers his "Sawyer" file in a drawer, with clips about his father shooting his mother and then, himself. When Sawyer catches her taking a peek, he freaks out and proves that even off-island he's yet to come to terms with his daddy issues.

4. Island Sawyer sees through Zoe's BS

Back on the island, Fake Locke, AKA The Smoke Monster, sends Sawyer on a solo errand to see what he can find on the nearby Hydra island, where the Ajira flight landed. Once there, he discovers "Zoe," who says she is the sole survivor. Sawyer seems to believe her story, but when she hesitates after he asks her a question, he pulls a gun on her and his suspicions prove true. It turns out she got here on Charles Widmore's submarine, and her pals literally appear from behind the bushes and aim their rifles Sawyer's way.

5. Island Sawyer Proves He's on Team Sawyer

Zoe takes him onto the sub to meet Widmore, and Sawyer makes a deal to lead Fake Locke to him, promising he won't spill the beans about Widmore's arrival on the island. But once Sawyer returns to Fake Locke, he immediately reports what he saw, Widmore and all. Sawyer doesn't take sides by pretending to take both sides, a smart yet potentially dangerous strategy.

6. Claire and Her Creepy Fake Baby

So far this season, there are few things more disturbing than Claire 2.0 — AKA Crazy Claire — particularly when it comes to that incredibly creepy fake baby she mothers in her crudely-made hut. This epi, Kate catches Claire tending to the swamp thing, and when she asks Claire about it, her answer is sad rather than scary: "It's all I had."

7. Claire Opens a Can Of Whoop-Ass

Kate and Claire are all following Fake Locke at the moment, in part because he promises to keep them safe and in part because, well, they don't have many other options. But Claire wasn't exactly feeling the warm fuzzies toward Kate when she learned Kate took her son Aaron off the island. She was so pissed, in fact, that she tackled Kate, held a knife to her throat and appeared ready to kill Kate until Fake Locke intervened.

8. Poor Sayid Seems Sick After All

A few episodes back, we learned from the temple folks that Sayid is "sick." Sick how? We don't know exactly, except that we're told he jumped on the same crazy train as Claire. Sayid never really seemed sick before, but last night he certainly did not seem like his bad-ass self. On the contrary, he seemed to assist Claire in baiting Kate, and when Claire held the knife to Kate's throat he made no attempt to stop her. That's definitely not the Sayid we know and love.

9. Fake Locke: Benevolent or Beastly?

Before last night, Fake Locke/Smokey basically seemed evil. He's the black smoke monster who killed people without hesitation and seemed to be represented as black and evil in every depiction. But last night he muddied the waters a bit. He saved Kate from Claire, and then gave her a whole odd talk about his crazy mom and how much she affected him, and how he worries about Aaron because now he has a crazy mom too. Is Smokey les evil than we first thought? Not exactly sure.

10. The Preview for Next Episode

Last night's episode was great, but one of the best moments was the preview for next episode, which promises to solve the Richard mystery! You know Richard, that lushly-lashed Jacob servant who never seems to age. He is arguably the most intriguing character on the show, and to finally figure out his deal is seriously awesome.

In other words, we can hardly wait until next week.