Here's the main reason I liked this episode a lot more than the last - it was characterized so much better. If they had written Kate/Sayid/Locke like they did this week, last week, it would have been a much better episode. Kate gets to be crafty and resourceful, Locke isn't just a total nutbar, and Sayid... well, okay. Sayid, but not the flashbacks, was the only decent thing about last weeks episode.
That said, the entire first scene with the "away team" needed to be in last week's episode. It works in this episode, but it would have bookmarked the last episode better. Start the episode with them all together, albeit warily, and end with them all fighting. That's the power of the Others, to divide and conquer. Contrast that with the survivors' mantra - live together, die alone. I do wish this would be played up a bit. Also, finding the fence would have been a great teaser, I think.
Last week, Locke was just a loon. This week, Locke actually has
reasons, and that goes a long way towards ameliorating his nutbar status. I found myself agreeing with both Locke and Sayid, and having trouble choosing one side over the other (no pun intended

). Again, that's something that was lacking in the last episode, moral ambiguity. Of course, Locke just goes and does his own thing anyway - which is totally in character. Only this time it had a point.
Recap - Kate is there because she's guilty over choosing Sawyer. Locke is there for an unknown reason, but I'm guessing it has to do with getting to talk to Ben. Danielle is there for Alex. That leaves Sayid as the only one there to really rescue Jack? Or is he just playing babysitter?
So, there's more evidence that the reason Charlie keeps dying is because of Claire. I'd really love it if the simplest way for Desmond to save Charlie is to keep him away from her. I do like Desmond and Charlie interacting, they have a great chemistry. One of the biggest problems I've had with Charlie is that they kept trying to force the Locke and Eko interactions and they always rang false. I buy Charlie/Desmond and Charlie/Sawyer, and even Charlie/Sayid a lot more. I think it has to do with the snark.
I do want to say that I'm beginning to feel the flashback format is starting to get tired, especially with certain characters. Claire is not one of them, because we don't have a whole lot of background on her - she's had two before this one, and one of those was on-island. So it was welcome. However, some characters' flashbacks just feel forced now, because we've got all the important parts to understand them. Among those is Locke... which is why I'm not looking forward to next week's eppy.