Locke gathers Sayid, Claire & Kate from the ravaged temple

After the smoke monster wrecks the temple and kills the others who remained behind, Sayid, Claire and Kate make their way through the mess. Bodies are scattered through the courtyard and there are a few small fires. During the scene the slow motion scene, a creepy, symphonic version of "Catch a Falling Star" is playing, with Claire singing the haunting vocal over it.

Sayid and Claire both look pleased with themselves as they walk outside the temple to face Locke and a large group of defected others. Kate comes out and sees Locke and is stunned. Locke just cocks his head at her, then turns and leads his group away.

Jin and Sawyer are not currently with the group, so where are they hiding out at (it's possible that they're on Hydra island, since we later learn that's where Locke is heading)? Is Kate now a de-facto part of Locke's team now?

The smoke monster ravages the temple, Ilana helps some escape

It's sundown at the temple and the signature sounds of the smoke monster start to rumble the jungle outside the temple where two others with guns are standing guard. It uproots a tree and then makes it's way inside where everyone is in panic mode.

Smokey ravages the the temple, killing the others and causing damage. Kate and Miles make a break for it but split up. Kate goes to Claire and Miles heads deeper into the temple.

Miles holds up in a room until Ilana, Frank, Ben and Sun force their way in. Ben goes to find Sayid while the rest look for the secret exit.

Kate goes to Claire at the hole and begs her to come with her, but Claire says they'll be much safer there.  The smoke bursts into the room and flies over the hole as Kate hangs on to the ladder. It doesn't even bother them.

Ben finds Sayid by the spring, holding the bloody dagger he used to kill Lennon. He asks Sayid to come with him because there's still time and Sayid replies "Not for me" and flashes an evil smile. Ben, who is clearly creeped out, slow backs away and makes his way back towards Ilana and the rest.

Sun finds out from Miles that Jin was alive and recently left the temple. Ilana finds the same hieroglyphic that Hurley used to leave the temple and they escape seconds before the smoke monster barrels through the hall.

Sayid kills Dogen & Lennon clearing the way for Smokey

At the temple, many of the others are scrambling to gather their belongings to join Locke before sundown. Lennon tries to tell them that they're all safe as long as they stay at the temple, but even Cindy is not buying it.

Sayid goes inside to the spring, where Dogen is sitting on the steps holding the baseball. Sayid sits the dagger on the ground and Dogen says that Sayid let Locke talk to him (so, it would have actually worked if Locke hadn't spoken before being stabbed?).

Dogen tells Sayid that he was once a successful  business man in Osaka but after drinking to much at a celebration for a promotion, got into a wreck after picking his 12-year-old son up from baseball practice (that was likely his son we saw in the flash-sideways in "Lighthouse"). His son was badly hurt or possibly dead when Jacob approached him at the hospital and offered to heal his son, but in return, Dogen would have to come to the island and never see his son again (sounds a little like Juliet's story, minus the personal contact with Jacob).

Dogen then asks Sayid if he will stay or go and after Sayid seemingly sincerely says that he'll stay, he grabs Dogen and drowns him in the spring. Dogen releases the baseball in the water as he dies. Lennon then comes running in, berating Sayid for what he'd done. Lennon says that Dogen was the only thing keeping "him" (Locke) out. When Lennon is distracted by the warning sound of the smoke monster, Sayid slits his throat with the dagger and his body falls in the spring. Sayid has clearly gone dark.

So how exactly was Dogen the only thing keeping Locke out of the temple? Is he somehow responsible for the ash? If Locke's team really is the evil side, Sayid has very clearly joined it in a very dark way. He seems a bit like Michael in season 2. Sayid is willing to do anything, even murder, to get Nadia back.

Kate visit Claire in the hole, tells her about Aaron

Back at the temple, as Kate is trying to find Claire, she is stopped by Lennon who wants to know Sawyer and Jin are. He then takes her to "the hole" that Claire is in. Claire is singing the song "Catch a Falling Star," which was a big part of her and Aaron's childhood.

Kate tells Claire that she took Aaron off of the island and says that she came back to rescue Claire so she could be reunited with him. Claire looks extremely pissed, but then shares a creepy smile and says "I'm not the one that needs to be rescued, Kate." Lennon and two others pull Kate away before she can speak anymore.

Was Claire referring to the pending carnage of the smoke monster/Locke with her ominous question, her plans to kill Kate or something else altogether? Either way, it was quite creepy.

Sayid tells the others they have until sundown to leave

Sayid makes it back to the temple and walks right past Dogen to give the others Locke/Smokey's message. He tells them that Jacob is dead and they don't have to stay at the temple anymore, they're free. He says the man is leaving the island forever and if they want to go with him, they should leave the temple and join him and they have until sundown to decide. Cindy, who is holding Zach and Emma, asks what happens if they stay. Sayid says "You die." Dogen looks concerned, but remains silent.

Claire delivers a message to Dogen + Dogen asks Sayid to kill Locke

Sayid prepares to leave the temple, when Miles approaches him to find out what's going on. Sayid tells him that he's been banished because he's apparently evil and would be better off dead. Miles tells him that he was dead for about two hours and the others didn't save his life. Someone or something else did.

Then, Claire walks into the temple courtyard with her hands above her head. She walks straight toward Dogen and tells him that "he" (Locke/Smokey) wants to see him. Dogen pretends not to know who she's talking about, then says that he should come in if he wants to see him. She says the Locke wants Dogen to come to him just outside the temple wall. Dogen says that if he goes outside, Locke will kill him and Claire suggests that Dogen send someone that Locke won't kill.

Claire starts to leave, but Dogen commands the others them to stop her. He tells Lennon to put her in the hole for now and asks for Jack and Hurley to be brought to him. Lennon informs him that no one can find them.

Dogen asks Sayid to come back inside because things have changed. In the office, where he pulls a box out from under some flowers. Dogen tells Sayid that Claire is a confused girl under the influence of an angry man who was trapped because of Jacob. He says now that Jacob is dead, Locke/Smokey will not rest until he kills everyone on the island, adding that he is "evil incarnate."

Dogen tells Sayid that the person will appear as someone Sayid knows who has died (which is Locke, but Dogen doesn't know this apparently). He says to plunge the dagger into his chest and if he even allows Locke to speak, it will be too late. Dogen says this is a chance for Sayid to show that there is still some good inside of him.

Locke can't cross the ash, sends Claire into the temple

Outside the temple, Locke and Claire are standing at the line of ash. Claire asks Locke why he can't send Sawyer or Jin inside or do it himself. Locke says that he would do it himself if he could. Claire makes him swear to her that she'll get what he promised her which is getting Aaron back. Locke says "I always do what I say" and that he's only going to hurt the people inside who don't listen.

Dogen doesn't kill Sayid, his baseball drops to floor

Sayid marches into Dogen's office at the temple and demands answers. He asks about the tests they performed on him and Dogen says that their is a scale of good to evil and the test showed that Sayid's scale was tipping towards evil. Dogen says it would be best if Sayid was dead.

Dogen then attacks Sayid and lengthy fight unfolds, culminating in Dogen holding a knife to Sayid's neck. Dogen's baseball falls to the floor though, which seems to cause Dogen's demeanor to suddenly change. He tells Sayid to leave to the temple and never come back. He lets Sayid go and picks up the baseball.

Hurley's follows Jacob's directions, tells Dogen he can do what he wants

Hurley makes his way through a temple hallway, following Jacob's directions which he wrote on his left forearm. We can see that Hurley is looking for a specific hieroglyphics symbol on the wall which he finds.

He is then approached by Dogen who tells him to go back to the courtyard. Jacob appears to Hurley telling him to tell Dogen that he is a candidate and he can do what he wants. Dogen is stunned, but folds, muttering some Japanese that translates to "You're lucky that I have to protect you. Otherwise I'd have cut your head off." After Dogen leave, Jacob tells he needs to bring Jack and when Hurley asks how he's supposed to convince Jack, Jacob smiles slyly.

Dogen gives Jack tea, tells him Sayid is claimed like Claire

At the temple, Dogen gives Jack some tea after he attempted to swallow the poison pill. He explains that Sayid has been "claimed" and if the infection reaches his heart, everything about him will no longer exist. Dogen then tells Jack that the same thing happened to his sister, Claire.

Dogen spins a baseball + Jack takes poison pill

Back in Dogen's office, he is spinning a baseball and concentrating on it. It seems likely that he is using it to think about thinks, much like Sawyer says he reads books to do the same in season 5. On the table, there are some written pages and the top one is slightly visible, but at a bad angle. If anyone can translate the Japanese, leave a comment.

Jack comes in and says that Dogen speaks good English for someone who needs and translator. Dogen tells him that he doesn't need one and he does it to remain separate from the people he's in charge of because it makes it easier when they don't like the decisions he makes for them.

Dogen tells Jack that he was brought to the island like everyone else. When Jack questions what that means, Dogen says that Jack knows exactly what he means. This seems to spook Jack.

Jack once again questions what is in the pill and Dogen says that he can't explain. Dogen says that Jack needs to trust him and Jack says that he doesn't trust himself. Jack then tries to swallow the pill and Dogen quickly springs into action, hitting Jack in the chest and performing the heimlich maneuver until the pills comes out. Dogen then admits that it's poison.

So why exactly do they want to poison Sayid? What exactly did their previous "test" tell them?

Sayid is tested/tortured by Dogen with ash, electric shock & hot poker

In Dogen's office area, Sayid is strapped to a table. Dogen proceeds with his testing.

First, he throws what appears to be the same ash used to guard against the smoke monster on Sayid. Dogen watches closely as the ash falls onto Sayid's body.

Next Dogen attaches electrodes to Sayid, then turns a crank which and then a dial which sends electricity through Sayid's body. Dogen looks at Sayid and then looks back at the machine.

Last, Dogen takes a hot metal poker and lays it on Sayid's skin, causing him to scream in agony. Dogen leans over and looks very closely at Sayid's face while he burns him.

Lennon comes over to let Sayid out and apologizes for having to put him through that. He says it was a test that he passed. Once Sayid is gone Lennon says "I just lied to him, didn't I?" Dogen confirms that.

So what exactly were these tests supposed to prove and what about Sayid's reactions to them leads Dogen to believe that he failed?

An interesting, multi-headed sculpture in the temple

At the temple, Jack, Kate and Jin seem to be in a different room now and there's an interesting, multi-headed sculpture behind them. If any one knows it's origin or meaning, drop a comment and let me know.

Sayid's bullet wound heals over + Sawyer makes a break for it + Aldo returns

At the temple, Lennon runs to tell Dogen, who is slowly tapping away at a typewriter, that Sayid is alive.  Dogen looks worried, and grasps the charm (or whatever it is) that's attached to his necklace (I'll have a better shot of it later).

Outside, Jack looks at Sayid's bullet wound, which has almost completely healed over. Dogen and Lennon come to take Sayid away for questioning, and that's when Sawyer launches his escape. He tells them, specifically Kate, not to come after him.

After Sawyer's gone, we see Lennon desperately trying to find a way to get him back. That's when we see the other Aldo for the first time since the season 3 episode "Not In Portland" (which was his only other appearance). He's wielding a gun, telling everyone to "calm down." Kate offers to track Sawyer and bring him back and Jin offers to go with her. During this time, Sayid is taken away.

Sayid comes back to life at the temple

At the temple, Lennon comes and asks Jack to come with them to talk. As Jack struggles with two of the others, Sayid slowly sits up, leaving everyone looking shocked. Sayid asks "What happened?"

And that's the question we'd like an answer to. I'll cover this a bit more in the upcoming posts from the episode "What Kate Does."