Lost - "Recon"

Sorry for the late post today -- busy at work, and a bit of a sore throat slowing me down.  Anyway, tonight's episode of Lost is titled "Recon."  As I mentioned at the end of my recap for "Dr. Linus," this week's episode is Sawyer-centric.  What will Sawyer be doing?  Well, the title "Recon" offers two possibilities.  First, there is "recon" as in "reconnaissance."  I imagine that Smokey is going to send Sawyer out on some type of mission to find out what the Jacobins are doing over on the Beach.  Secondly, there is "recon" as in "re-con."  We know that Sawyer is a con artist, and a damn good one.  Is it possible that he is pulling some kind of con on Smokey?  Definitely.  But then how does the "re" apply?  Is there someone that he has conned at one point that he will con again?  How about when he conned Kate over Shannon's inhaler so he could get a kiss?  Or the whole group when he used Charlie as a distraction to get control of the guns?  We'll have to see.  The other question for this episode, as it regards Sawyer, is what happens to him in the Sideways timeline?  Is he still a con man?  Will he seek out Hurley to bilk him for his lottery fortune?  Is he still a father?  Does he know Clementine?  Is his name even Sawyer at all, or just James Ford?  Here are some of the other questions I'm asking tonight:

*Whose side is Widmore on?  He seems to be docking at the Hydra station, so is he meeting up with Smokey?  Or is he the person Jacob knew was coming to the Island?  (I'm still hoping Jacob's guy is Desmond.)

*Will we actually see all of the Lostaways in tonight's episode?  I venture probably not, but you never know.  I guess it depends on whether Sawyer actually makes it to the Beach.

*I predict that Jin and Sun will not see each other tonight, and yes, this is a reverse jinx.

*What is the nature of the darkness that has enveloped Sayid and Claire?  Is it different for the two of them as one, Sayid, has died, and the other, Claire, has not?  Can they be "saved?"  Do they want to be saved?

*How is Claire going to treat Kate, knowing that Kate raised Aaron for the last three years.  Methinks, not very well.  Can Kate convince Claire that Aaron is OK, and she just did what she had to, for the baby?  If she can, will Claire then want to leave Smokey?

*What is Jin's role in all this.  We haven't seen him in seemingly forever.  Has he truly joined Smokey's side, or is he playing along like Kate.  And has his leg healed even though the Hot Tub of Doom is no longer functioning properly (the assumption being that the Island no longer has it's mysterious healing powers)?

That's about it for me.  Past Sawyer episodes have been great, so I'm expecting a good time tonight as well.  It's weird, I've found these preview posts a little hard when it comes to what I'm expecting in the episode because I have resigned myself to the fact that I have no idea what's coming.  And I'm OK with that.  I'm along for the end of this six-season ride and am not really questioning Darlton's choices.  I really just want to sit back, relax, and enjoy what I see.  I mean, I'm not going to stop doing them, but perhaps this is why they seem a little less specific.  Anyway, as always, thanks for reading.  I'll be back this weekend with my thoughts on what will surely be a great episode.  Until then...

Enjoy.