Like another famous castaway, I write to you one-handed, having just had a wisdom tooth extracted with nary a coconut or sentient volleyball around to comfort me during my recovery. Halfway through what should have been a very routine extraction, the oral surgeon offered me the bravery prize. When they start cracking wise like that, you know things aren’t going 100% according to plan.

Anyway, I made it through without a tear shed, knowing I had a night of ice cream and “Lost” in my future. And as we hit Episode 6, just two episodes away from the hump, it feels like the pieces are falling into place. The game board seems set and Lindelof & Cuse have everything in place as we rush head-on towards the end of this rare event – a densely mythological, heavily serialized show that’s being allowed to lower the curtains on its own terms – at the best possible time.

Before we run through my medicated thoughts on last night’s episode, I wanted to drop two quick tidbits.

First, Entertainment Weekly reviewed Season 6 in its latest issue, giving it an “A” and keying in on something we talked about a few weeks ago, namely that Terry O’Quinn is teaching a master class in acting this season. I agree wholeheartedly, and I sincerely hope the Emmys finally notice this guy’s awesome body of work.

Secondly, at a recent “Lost” promo gig in L.A., Michael Emerson (Ben) let slip that he and O’Quinn (Locke) are being shopped around in tandem for a new mystery series for the fall. I’d follow both guys anywhere their walkabout leads. During the same event, Nestor Carbonell (Richard) brought the house down when he voiced complaints that the worst thing about the Hawaiian rainy season is that it plays havoc with a dude’s guyliner.

All right. On that note, let’s get “Lost.”

As MiB Locke continues his recruitment drive, we come to Sayid, who becomes the focus of this episode. And once again, the episode number matches the order of Season 1 flashbacks.

Off island, in that alternate universe, we see that Nadia is still alive and well. She has made it to LA and at some point has married Sayid’s brother. The two share domestic bliss in a quaint little stretch of suburban utopia (reminiscent of Othersville), where Sayid comes a-callin’ with some freshly picked flowers. Quickly defusing an awkward moment with his bro, who correctly intuits that Sayid harbors feelings for Nadia, the two settle down to a nice dinner pregnant with ill portents. While this off-world Sayid is not the stone-cold assassin that his stint on the island would drag out of him, his Iraqi torturer past is still in the cards, a fact that his bro tries to use to his advantage when he needs someone to get him out of a sticky bind involving a local loan shark.