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There are many casual viewers of "LOST" out there who think the last Nikki and Paulo-centric installment was an awful stand-alone "filler" episode of the series that the writers should not have even bothered with. That is what happens when you're too busy making a sandwich or browsing a magazine while watching an absolutely brilliant television drama.

I couldn't possibly explain how regretful I am for not trusting the genius minds of executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse who had been promising all along that the introduction of the two characters that initially seemed so rude, forced, messy and out of place in early season three would go on to make perfect sense by episode #14.

What an entertaining clever well-made treat of an episode that revisited a number of classic LOST moments from previous seasons and proved that the writers do indeed know where they are headed with their intricate web of storylines.

Sawyer often said "Who the hell are they?" generating our laughter and voicing our concerns as we wondered who on Earth were those two beautiful people and why we were being asked to care about them.

Well, it turns out Nikki and Paulo were living in their own universe all along searching for an 8 million dollar diamond loot, caught up in a game of deception and, in a shocking twist at the end of the episode, paying the ultimate price for their greed.

Since the opening 'Charlie's Angels'-inspired flashback (a shout-out to Rodrigo Santoro who played homicidal surfer in the movie) the hour unfolded like an Alfred Hitchcock style mystery including another reference to Rodrigo Santoro ("Paulo is the Wolfgang Puck of Brazil"), a clever spider metaphor, a delicate blink-and-you'll-miss-it outing of Boone, LOST's first gay character, and many other exceptional moments.

Given the gullible producer's line at the beginning of the episode ("We can always bring you back from the dead") as well as Locke's piece of advice ("Nothing stays buried long on this island") I have a feeling we have not seen the last of Nikki and Paulo and having seen the brilliant "Expose" episode I would now be genuinely happy to see them back.

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Labels: Lost, Lost Recaps, Rodrigo Santoro

Actor Rodrigo Santoro who swept Nicole Kidman off her feet in Chanel No. 5 ads, attempted to murder Cameron Diaz in "Charlie's Angels", romanced Laura Linney in "Love Actually" and washed up on the shores of ABC's hit drama "LOST", underwent dramatic transformation in his new movie "300" as evil Persian King Xerxes.

Below you can find images of his enviable physique in "Charlie's Angels", candids taken at the premiere of "300" in Los Angeles on Monday night, as well as Just Jared's video of his today's appearance on ABC's Good Morning America and the afore-mentioned classic Chanel No. 5 advertisement.

Rodrigo Santoro who joined ABC's "Lost" this season was not welcomed by long-time "LOST" fans who generally perceive the addition of his character Paulo an error on the part of the LOST writing team. The producers are hoping an upcoming Paulo flashback in episode #14 will change that.