Happy 100 Episodes, Lost

I'm about a week late on writing this recap, so I'm going to cut right to the chase: why did we lose another freighter member so soon after Charlotte? With only peripheral characters Miles and Lapidus left standing, are the Freighter Folk going to become the new Tailies - important for one season before disappearing without leaving any impact on the series?

Well no, because as this episode made even clearer, Faraday was and will continue to be a central figure within the Lost mythology. After all, his parents are Charles and Eloise, those former Hostile leaders who still presently control everything from off-island. Flashbacks not only expanded scenes we had already seen (witnessing the fake Oceanic 815, meeting Dr. Chang), but also tied up all his loose ends. We got confirmation Widmore's his dad, found out why he went to the island, and even saw him give Little Charlotte the message she would remember on her deathbed.

As for his death, it was certainly dramatic. Not only was Faraday killed by his mother, but he realized in his final moments that she always knew she would kill him. Crazy stuff. And it sets Jack up to take over Faraday's mission to change the past, which is important since Jack has nothing better to do. But something about the scene still seemed a bit rushed. Maybe I was bothered by Faraday's insistence on waving around a gun, which seemed designed solely to get him killed. Or maybe I just don't like losing a good character so early.

As a final note: welcome back Desmond. We'd like to see you more often.