Oh Ben, what have you done?  He broke the rules by coming back (according to Widmore) and he used the guise that he was coming back to be judged.  So Locke gave him the little *push* he needed to go to Old Smokey for the judgment but I think Ben ended up worse than he started.  Was he judged, yes he was.  But what he ended up with was instructions by the one person he loves the most telling him to do what he dreads the most – following Locke.  Can I get a “HA HA!”  Be careful what you wish for people because you may get more than you bargain for, just ask Ben.

1.  I don’t know how long Ben will follow Alex’s instructions and Smokey, or whatever entity appeared to him, may have known this.  Setting Ben up to fail?

2.  I love how Ben “Dr Phil’d” Frank by asking him how the plan of having a boat of commandos come to the island worked out for him.  Dr Phil always asks people who are making bad life choices how it’s working out for them.  But Frank does make a good point to Sun.

3.  I’m not loving the Mediveal Widmore look.
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4.  When Widmore questions Richard on why he saved Young Ben Richard says two items of interest.  First he says that Jacob wanted it done followed by “The Island chooses who the island chooses.”  I took this to mean that Jacob IS the island and therefore if Jacob chooses Ben to live then The Island chooses Ben to live.  What this means… Jacob somehow is a manifestation of the energy of the island?  The second item of note is that when Richard tells Widmore that Jacob wanted Ben saved Widmore doesn’t question this.  I assume that this means Widmore cannot talk to Jacob.  I don’t think everyone can talk to Jacob, only a few chosen few.  I still question whether Ben could really talk to Jacob and that is why he was so shocked that Locke could hear Jacob.  Only a special few can hear what Jacob says.

5. Are we really sure Locke was ever dead and didn’t just appear dead?  I know, I know… the episode is titled “Dead Is Dead.”  Which is true, but if he wasn’t DEAD then he is alive now.  In other words you have to be DEAD to be DEAD.  So if John was always alive then it explains how he’s back up and walking around the island.  To back me up, I believe and have read that when you have lost everything then those are the most brave and free people in the world because you are already at the bottom.  If Locke believes that he really was dead then there is nothing else that he can lose at this point thus freeing him to be this new and improved Locke we see on the island.  It’s a more believable explanation then that he has somehow been resurrected.  I guess only time will tell.

6.  I can’t wait to see what’s in the big silver crate.  Kind of reminds me of Season One when Kate was so desperate to find the silver suitcase that the Marshall had been carrying.  I’m still thinking there is some type of honing device that is going to help Widmore locate the island.  Ilana has some boys helping her too which makes me think she had some people on this plane with her even though they weren’t sitting up front with her.  It reminds me that Sayid had them taking the transceiver to the highest point they could in order to send a signal out to anyone trying to locate and save them.  If this equipment is going to send out signals they may have to move it for a similar reason.
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7.  I would have loved for the writers to have had Ben introduce himself as “Henry Gale” to Ceaser.

8.   The question is, why did Danielle tell Sayid that she never saw who took her baby but that she does hear them?  Watching the epi back, it looks like (per the screencap below) this is all she really sees of Ben in her tent.  I can’t see that she really ever gets a good look at him.  This would also explain why when she had Ben trapped in her net that she didn’t realize it was the same man from that fateful night.
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9.  The island must have wanted Alex and Danielle dead, for whatever reason.  First Robert tries to kill pregnant Danielle, then Widmore sends Ben to do the job but ultimately it’s Keemey’s group that finishes the job.  Maybe in the grander scheme of the chain of events Danielle and Alex don’t fit in and have somehow interfered so in order to course correct they must both die.  Really, Alex does later help the Losties live and escape so maybe she somehow changed the course of what was going to happen.

10.  The shoes!
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11. I know there is some chatter about those in the past changing the future.  I’m starting to think that there might be something to it.  When Ben first gets off the boat with John (after leaving the second island) he does have somewhat of a confused look on his face, almost as if he can already see that things have been changed.  Is it just me here thinking this?
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12. They’ve been off the island for three years.  I would assume by the state of Otherville, the Others that did leave for the Temple didn’t go back there.  But, the interior of Ben’s house is in such disarray it seems to point to the fact that more happened there after they left three years ago.  Why would the houses be such a mess (like books all over the floor)?  Unless the past was changed which made the future different which means we haven’t seen yet why the houses are in such disrepair.

13.  Ben does tells Locke earlier in the epi that all 6 (5 really) are back but he doesn’t know yet where they are.  So I believe it when Ben looks at the picture and seems surprised to see Kate and the others in the picture.
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14. I still want to know what Locke had to go do while Ben was down summoning Smokey.

15.  It’s still bizarre to me that Ben keeps Smokey contained by a water trap.  Is Smokey like the Wicked Witch and can be killed by a little water?  And how do they get Smokey back?  Does Ben have to go back to the cave and plug the hole back up or is it somehow self containing and the water fills back up and slowly draws Smokey back in?  Are there other places on the island that can also control the Monster?  Mysteries everywhere.
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16.  You know I love this show but seriously, they needed to do something better with Ben’s hair.  I’m sure there was somewhere in the budget that they could have made a better wig for him.  And Mandak you are right, he does look a little bit like Hitler.
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17.  Locke assures Sun that he’s the same man he’s always been…. because he was never dead!?

18.   Maybe it’s not such a mystery how Locke knows where to go and how Locke knows where Smokey is.  Remember that Locke spent a lot of the first few seasons wandering around in the jungle.  The island can’t be so big that he couldn’t have found his way around quite a bit.  And, Locke is an explorer, an adventurer, a tracker, so he knows a lot about keeping track of things in this kind of environment.

19.  Ben wants Sun to apologize to Desmond but for what?  Sure, trying to kill Penny was bad, but bad enough that Ben sends back an apology?  Yes, we saw Des beat the living daylights out of him but it doesn’t explain why his arm was in a sling and it surely doesn’t give Desmond a reason to come back to the island (which I think he will).  I think that there is more that Ben does that we haven’t seen yet.

20.  Seems like Ben and Sawyer have something in common.  Sawyer was ready to walk away with the couple’s money until the little boy walked out and saw him.  Then Sawyer leaves the money and walks away.  Ben is ready to shoot Penny then little Charlie comes walking out and he lowers his gun.  Would he have shot her anyway if Des had not come and stopped him?

21.  What lies in the shadow of the statue?  I’ll tell you what lies there… the well.  And what is in the well?  The donkey wheel!  I still think that this is a riddle that Ilana has been instructed to use to make contact with … whoever she is supposed to make contact with.  But, I also think it’s a real question and if she finds the Orchid Station and the wheel there could be terrible consequences.

22.This hieroglyph has already been discussed to death (no pun intended) in other places but feel free to add your comments or further discussion.  I think it speaks for itself with the image.
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23.  I’ve said it before, but the smoke scene with Ben is a) cheesy and b) way too similar to the scene where Dorothy is whirling around in the tornado.  Either there were too many budget restraints and this is the best they could do or they did it on purpose.  I really don’t want to believe that somewhere in a production room they were sitting there saying how great this scene looked.  I choose to believe it was done on purpose.
            

24.  I think that the difference between when Eko meets Yemi and Ben meets Alex is that Ben repented and Eko did not. The question is now, will Ben stick to his word or will his urge to control and run the island get the better of him?
25.   I’m so excited that Miles gets to do his thing next week.  Also, check out the upcoming episodes as it looks like the Season Finale is going to be fantastic!

26.  I was also wondering if Ilana and the contents of the mystery box will somehow assist in bringing the 1977 Losties back to current time.

OK, it’s wrong how much I love this show.  I keep wondering how they are going to top themselves week after week but they just keep doing it.  I don’t think that another show will ever be as captivating to me.  I’m glad they won’t drag it on forever but dang it, I’ll miss it when it’s gone.

1.   I almost forgot about how much I hated Keemy.  Seeing him in the recap tonight reminded me just how evil he was.

2.   I thought it was kind of funny how Charles was riding the horse with his long, flowing hair.  Looked kind of Midevil.

3.  Jacob didn’t want Ben to live and neither did the island.  Richard forced that hand.  It seems like Ben was thrust into the leader role but he wasn’t really meant for it, Locke was.  So Ben didn’t really have a rivalry with Widmore, it’s more with Locke because Locke was born to be the leader.  But, Widmore and Ben both wanted the leadership role thus creating the rivalry.  And we’ve seen what Ben does to those who challenge or get in the way of what he wants (Juliet).

4.  OK, if you are loving the new Locke raise your hand.  He’s had a rebirth, literally.  I was loving all the straight talk and no “BS” John Locke.  This guy’s not the pushover softie anymore.

5.   Hm, what is in the big silver mystery crate on the beach that Ilana and gang are trying to open?  I think there are guns but they said it “needed moved” so maybe some homing devices so outsiders can find them?

6.  Interesting that Ben is trying to tell Cesar that Locke wasn’t on the plane but he’s not going for it.  Ben is switching roles now and he’s the survivor and Locke is the Other.

7.Remember that Jack’s tattoo says something along the lines of “He walks amongst us, but is not one of us.”  I was reminded of that when Widmore tells Young Ben that just because he lives with the DI doesn’t mean he’s one of them.
8.  Widmore ordered Ben to kill Danielle.  But how could they have not known that she had a child?  It’s interesting that Ben has such a soft spot for the children.  He also lowers his gun when he’s about to kill Penny and little Charlie comes out from the boat.  But the scene where Ben steals Alex was just horrible.  And we still don’t know what all the smoke signals were about when Danielle stole baby Aaron and tried to trade him for Alex.

9. Ben mentions that Danielle should run when she hears the whispers.  But I don’t necessarily think he controls them.  Need to stew on that one a bit.

10.  Locke calling Ben’s bluff about the smoke monster, just awesome.  What we’ve been waiting for for awhile.  Some straight talking.

11.  Ben knows about Ilana and Cesar not being “just” passengers.  I’m not convinced that Cesar and Ilana are necessarily working together though either.  So many new elements to consider.

12.  Why would Widmore think that Danielle was a threat to the island or was he just being a bully?

13.  Did Ben think that instead of killing Danielle he was doing her a favor by stealing Alex?  Seems pretty messed up.  Almost seems like Kate’s excuse for taking Aaron, to protect him, but in reality she wanted the baby.

14.  Ben doesn’t remember the rest of the O6 in DI, even though he was there.  Ben looks pretty shocked to hear that Sun has been talking to Christian.  We don’t know the connection yet with Ben and Christian.  Will be very interesting to see how this all fits.

15.   So cute when Ben was swinging Alex.  Almost made me forget that he’s a kidnapper.  But I do believe that she is the one person that he truly ever loved.

16. Has Ben been controlling when Smokey comes out to play?  Looks that way.  But before Ben was in control someone else had to be calling it’s moves.

17.  Ben’s wigs were really awful.  Too much in special effects and nothing left for hair pieces?

18.  I like how Ben tells Sun he can’t control what comes out of the woods and then John walks out.  Funny.  But what was our buddy Locke doing out in the woods?  And, he can’t control Locke anymore.
19.   Ben has killed many, many people.  The only one he thinks he must atone for is Alex.

20.   We assume that Ben doesn’t kill Penny but I don’t know that for sure.  The last we see Ben is in the water.  I only hope that it’s true.

21.  “What lies in the shadow of the statue?”  A riddle, like the snowman riddle Desmond has when they first go into the hatch.

22.  I loved this epi but the flashes of Alex in the smoke monster were a wee bit cheesy.  Again, seems like the budget must have been a little thin this week.  But the meaning was still there so I’ll forgive them.  It was all just so Wizard of Oz like when Dorothy is being swirled around in the tornado on her way to Oz.
23.  Alex comes to Ben like Yemi came to Eko.  Only Eko turned against him and was killed whereas Ben does not.

24.  Has the smoke monster given Ben back the innocence it took away from him as a child?  I can’t wait to see!

Should the Losties really be going back and course correcting?  What if their purpose is to go back and change something?  I appreciated that Jack refused to help Ben.  Sure, it violates the Hippocratic Oath, but I appreciate that he’s operating more on faith now and doesn’t have to control and fix everything.

1.  Are we so sure that Claire’s mom is on the up-and-up?  After all, she was meeting with Ben’s lawyer.  And, just a few short months ago was in a coma and now miraculously, and conveniently, she’s up, walking around and meeting with shady lawyers.   I’m going to hold judgment on her until we see a little more.  I still think that Aaron is going to show up on the island and maybe she’ll be the one to bring him.
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2.  Jin says that Sayid is headed North. Everybody heads north in this show.  When Michael went looking for Walt remember which way he went (North)?  Remember Eko’s stick… “Lift up your eyes and look North.”
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3.   I want to know if Hurley is still seeing his dead friends now that he’s back on the island?  Any more chess with Mr Eko?

4. Kate is using Cassidy as her confessional.  She tells her about the crash, the survivors and even that Aaron is not her son.  Is it fair that she puts all of this on Cassidy?  I don’t want to believe that this will come back to haunt her but on the show you never know what kinds of connections people have.  Heck, for all we know Cassidy is a Widmore.

5.   Listen to Jack, new man of faith, “Did you ever think that the island wants to fix things itself?”  Poignant moment or Jack making excuses?  I like to think that Jack is going to let whatever happened, happen.

6.  I don’t think that it’s such a far stretch that Juliet is now “doctoring” Ben and that none of the DI is questioning it.  According the conversation between Roger and Kate, when you get to the island you just get “stuck” in a job until they deem you worthy of a better position.  So Juliet was working on cars and they had a doctor so they really didn’t need her to step up until now.  If I was Roger and it was my kid who had been shot, I still would have been asking questions about her qualifications to be able to operate on my child.  I’d also be insisting that they pull the doctor out of the Looking Glass and get him up on land to help my kid.
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7. Hurley’s question to Miles about why Ben doesn’t remember getting shot by Sayid as a kid is answered by Richard.  His memory of the event will be gone.  Not all of his memory, just of that event.  However, I think that someone must tell Ben about it because Ben is convinced that Sayid is a cold blooded killer and I think that is because he knows that Sayid is capable of shooting even a kid for the greater good.

8. Yet another example of no one asking questions.  Why doesn’t Kate ask Juliet why she thinks that the Others can help Ben?  Wouldn’t you wonder if they had a surgeon or a doctor or what her thoughts were?  I guess you wouldn’t think to ask if it might be a mystical temple with healing powers, but you would want to know something.  It’s season five with only one season to go, I want answers!

9.  There is just no way it’s a coincidence that the woman with Aaron looks just like Claire.  Ben probably has someone following Kate just looking for opportunities like this to mess with Kate and the others.
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10. So Cassidy sure is working hard to convince Kate that Sawyer is a bad guy.  Kate must not have told her everything because Sawyer didn’t necessarily break her heart, she left him.  Yes, he was a real jerk acting so excited when he found out she wasn’t pregnant, but he did want to be with her and he was upset when she left him in Otherville.  I remember Kate mockingly asking Sawyer if she was supposed to stay there and play house with him.  So Cassidy has her own motives and wants kate to hate him as much as she does.

11.  Uh oh, Claire’s mom is in a red shirt.  You know what that means…
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12.  Kate is done running.  As much as it hurt her, she stopped.  She did the right thing by giving Aaron to his grandmother.  She is even going back to the island to find Claire which had to be incredibly hard for her.  Now maybe we can move forward with the evolution of Kate from being “lost” to somewhere good and I hope that in the end it doesn’t mean Jack or Sawyer (sorry guys, I think this chick needs to move on from the island after she finds Claire).

13.  I think that part of her insistence to help young Ben also has to do with her feelings of protecting the children.  That she would do anything to protect them.

14.  If Richard doesn’t answer to Ellie and Widmore, then who does he answer to?

15.  The Temple, circa 1977.  Why does Ben and the Others in “current” time go there to hide from the Freigther gang?   Why does Smokey live there?  What are the healing powers?  Does any of it have to do with the “Dark Territory” that Danielle had mentioned?
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16.  I think that Locke’s welcome to Ben to the Land of the Living was meant to be an ironic statement and didn’t have anything more behind it.  And, might I add, I missed Locke!!!!
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17.  Ben’s judgment day is next week.  That could mean lots of things but one thing is for sure, it’s bound to be a great episode and hopefully full on answers.

18.  Hopefully we’ll get some Desmond next week too.

One of the things that I love about Lost is that you have to think.  I appreciate that the “powers that be” give us credit for being intelligent and give us information without full explanation.  For instance, at first blush I assumed that this week’s title came from Sawyer’s line to Sayid about Oldham.  But after watching the episode back several times (for this blog, not because I’m obsessed…. ok, yes I am obsessed) I started to realize the duplicity of it’s meaning.  Sayid is to the past what Ben is to the present in so far as he has to kill for what he believes is right for the greater good.

Initial thoughts and comments are here.

1. Isn’t it horrifying cute that Young Ben brings Sayid a chicken sandwich immediately after we see a scene of Sayid killing a chicken with his bare hands as a boy?

2.  I still can’t get over the fact that Ben was living among the DI and Sawyer didn’t mention anything or make a big deal about it.  When Jack showed up wouldn’t you totally be like, “You won’t believe who is here!  But you can’t say anything when you see him.”  I know that Sawyer says that he had no choice, but to not even mention it?
3.  Young Ben is already quite the little sneak.  He keeps coming to Sayid and just starts chatting about Richard.  And, Ben knows that the cameras only have pictures, no sound.  Ben also knows how to break out a prisoner.  So, as much as Sayid may be an influence on the killer in Ben, it seems like Young Ben was already well on his way to being the conniving man he becomes.  Plus, Ben was already working with the Hostiles when Sayid shows up so he’s not quite the innocent we may want to think he is as a young boy.

4.  I was thinking about the O6 and how they had to live a lie back home.  There was no freedom for them because they had to live with the weight of knowing they left all the others behind.  But, things weren’t so easy for those back on the island as they also had to live a lie.  They couldn’t tell the truth either and at least for Juliet, had settled into a life they thought was it for them. So I can understand why Sawyer wanted Sayid to lie and join the *Dharma Party* because their life really wasn’t all that bad for them there in 1977.  It seems a heck of a lot better there than it was for Sawyer back home but they weren’t totally free from guilt either.

5.   I really hate feeling this way, but I just cannot stand where they have taken Kate’s character.  Right now I wish they could have left her behind.  But, I am hoping that there is something positive to come for her and that she can stop crying and whining and go back to being strong and independent.  I know that next week is Kate-centric so here’s the chance.

6.  I’m sure it’s not there, but when Sayid first *senses* Ben behind him then he turns around, I swear you can hear the rattling noise that you hear sometimes when Smokey is sneaking around.  Go back and listen!  Watching this scene back also has new meaning now that I know Sayid shoots Young Ben.
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7. My first question is, how does Oldham get power out in the middle of the jungle?  He’s playing a record in this tent.  My second thought was that it looked a lot like the tent that Locke built when he was going on his magic carpet ride to find out what the island wanted from him.  Lastly, Oldham is not nearly the bad a$$ that Sayid is unless there is more to come from this guy.  A drug laced sugar cube, really?  That’s the best he’s got?
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8. I’m still curious to know what the side affects of the sugar cube are going to be for Sayid.  I know that Boone was chased by Smokey and saw Shannon die from his trip.  Wonder what Sayid might see?
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9.  Sayid is drinking McCutcheon Scotch (with his pinkie up I might add).  This is the same scotch that Desmond bottled, that Widmore said Des wasn’t good enough to drink, and the scotch that Charlie used to get Des drunk.
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10.  Why doe Amy want to kill Sayid so much?  I understand that she’d be mad at the Hostiles, but to just kill him?  Maybe there is more to her that we haven’t considered yet.

11.   Why does Radzinski want to call Ann Arbor?  The DeGroots are there but why would they have any say in this? In a psychology class I took, we learned about an experiment at Stanford University where they took groups of students and made some of them prisoners and some of them guards.  You can read the whole thing here but long story short, the students became so enmeshed in their roles that they had to end the experiment early.  Could that be what’s going on here?  They all could have started from the same place, just split them into two groups and see what happens – one group civil, the other living in the wild.

12.  Why do they have to kill Sayid?  Why can’t they just wait for Richard and send him back?  Maybe the DI isn’t as peaceful as they seem.

13.   New job for Jack!  Firefighter!
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14.  Ben has to know when he sees Sayid on the flight that Sayid is on his way *back* to shoot him.  Back to the island and back in time, I mean.  Ben is so insistent on all of them going back that each one has a chain of events that they each must set in motion.  I don’t think that they are going to save anyone.  For instance, Sayid shoots Ben, he’s not saving his life, he’s just there to keep the record playing on the right song, so to speak.  I’m very interested to see what the role of each of the others will be, including why Ben gets to or *has* to go back to the island.
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15.  When Ben is saved, which he will be, no one saw him in the jungle so it will be easy for him to say Sayid kidnapped then shot him to escape.  But, Ben has to hear the conversation between Sayid and Jin so he also knows that there is more going on here then just Sayid being a Hostile.  Will the other Losties know that Sayid shot him for the greater good?
16.   I hope next week that Sawyer is going to ask Kate if she did the favor him that he had asked her in the helicopter.  Sounds like his daughter will be appearing next week so I’m guessing he will.

17.   Who will end up saving Ben?  My money is on Juliet.  Although, Jack does end up feeling guilty and helping others and he took an oath as a doctor.  But, I could see it being Juliet and that is why Ben is so enamored with her as an adult.

18.   I also think that however the O6 end up returning to present time, that is going to be the big *incident* that has been referred to.  My guess is that Sayid is going to end up running into Daniel.  He will tell him the story.  Dan is going to figure out how to get them back to the present but it will involve something drastic.  But I do hope that we get to see how Radzinski ends up being quarantined down in the hatch and how the numbers came to be.

Thanks everyone for your excellent comments.  I’m writing my initial thoughts around 11:00 at night which is late for me since I have to get up early for work the next day (no, sadly my work does not revolve around Lost).  So thanks again to everyone for your thoughts, comments, and additions to my blog every week, especially the initial late night thoughts.

1.  We know from past dialog that there is going to be an “incident” that changes things on the island (like fertility presumably).  I originally thought that Jughead was going to start to leak, but I’m now wondering if the Losties have to do some crazy donkey wheel turning event to propel themselves back into the present time.  My guess is that it’s before the big DI purge as by leaving that will give the Losties a whole new sense of guilt for not staying to help.  I’m also guessing that Daniel is going to have to convince them that they can’t change the past and therefore the Losties cannot interfere with the purge.  I can see this being especially hard for Sawyer as he is their head of security and from the looks of things he really cares about these people (like begging Juliet to help Amy deliver the baby).

2.  I think that the O6 had to come back because each has a specific role that they will play and they must be there for the course of events to happen.  Course correction.  Do we know what that is yet?  I don’t think so.  In an interview awhile back Darlton said we wouldn’t find out until late Season 5 into Season 6 why they had to come back.  In the meantime, I’ll sit back and enjoy watching Sawyer’s evolution (go home Kate!  He’s doing great!)

3.  It must have been very strange for whoever found the rope just sticking out of the ground.  Could this have possibly been what lead someone to dig the well, find the cavern and eventually to digging the Orchid Station?
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4.  The giant statue is holding a giant Ankh.  Coincidence?  It’s the same symbol that was on Paul’s necklace
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5.  I’ll tell you why I think the turning of the donkey wheel caused the statue to crash.  After the flash Miles says that “that one was more like an earthquake.”  Unless anyone has a better explanation, I’m thinking that an earthquake would be a reasonable explanation for a statue going down.

6.   For any doubters, the spelling for this episode is “LaFleur.”  I’ve heard some chatter about this and maybe there are alternatives, but for us this is the correct spelling.
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7.  I’m curious how they buried the bodies of the hostiles so quickly.  They don’t have shovels.  The logistics of it doesn’t make sense.

8.  I think Mr Friendly may have been trying to call a truce with the Losties back in Season Two where they meet up with Locke and company out in the woods.  Mr Friendly says that it’s their island and they allow them to stay there (I remember thinking at the time that they should just let them go home then…).  Part of the problem with that truce is that the Losties refused to stay put and were always traipsing around the island.

9. OK so the “Internest” says that the mothers always give birth on the mainland.  The possibilities are that there have been problems giving birth or that these peace loving hippies have enough common sense to get their people proper health care.  Either way, it’s a good thing for Amy that Juliet was there.

10.  I wonder if who the baby is even matters.  But, if it does then I think it would have to be one of the male characters in his 30’s.  That would be Jack, Sawyer, Ben or Desmond.  It’s not Ben because we were witness to his birth.  My guess would be either Jack or more likely Desmond since we know he is “special.”  Plus, we really know nothing about Desmond’s parents.

11.  I can also see why Richard would specifically recruit Juliet back to the island as she may be the last person who delivered a baby on the island.

12.  Look how cute Sawyer looks when he’s all happy and stuff.  Yes!  I like this version!
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13.  OK, so Sawyer does say that they were looking for the Black Rock, not on it.  But has Horace really not heard of the boat?  He seems to know later on when he brings back the dynamite.

14.  How can the little girl Daniel sees be Charlotte?  They are in 1974 and it was said earlier on that she was born in 1979.  The only reason I can think of is that in her mother’s effort to cover their tracks and change her identity post-island was to also change her DOB so that no one would know that it was her.
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15.  I’m thinking that Sawyer’s revelations to Richard about who he was and talking about Locke is what turns Richard around and has him send for Locke (remember the “science camp” that they tried to recruit “high school Locke” to go to?).  If Locke “failed” the test when he was a young boy Richard may have been doubting that Locke was special.  Then along comes Sawyer and restores his faith in Locke.
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16. Looks like things have also changed for Juliet.  When we first met her she was burning muffins that she tried to make for the book club.  Now she’s making Sawyer a big meal.
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17.  Didn’t Patchy say that he was one of the last remaining DI?  He even still wore the jumper.  We haven’t seen him yet.  Will be curious if they bring him into the story.

18.   I wonder where Jin called Sawyer from?  He only had a walkie and no cell phones.
19.  I’m thinking that Sawyer will have to say that Jack and co. are his long lost ship mates.   Hurely might be hard to explain as he kind of sticks out.  And where the heck are Rose and Bernard… and Vincent!

I like marinating on the show for a few days and going back and watching the show again, especially after talking things over with other Lost fans.  Thanks to everyone out there who also comes on and leaves comments. I love hearing what other people are thinking as well.

1.  I have been going back through some of the first four seasons as I was trying to find where Jack’s dad mentioned the grandfather Ray.  See my previous post, but the only time he’s mentioned is in the mobisode.  Anyway, it has me looking at things and thinking how it all connects.  The opening scene this week with Jack back in the bamboo had me look back at right before he ended up on the bamboo the first time.  There have been questions since Season One about how Jack was thrown so far off from the wreckage with only minor injuries.  While on the plane Jack is drinking heavily.   Here’s what Jack first tells Kate about what he remembers of the accident:

JACK [off camera at first]: We must have been at about 40,000 feet when it happened. Hit an air pocket. Dropped, maybe, 200 feet. The turbulence was: I blacked out.

Also, the flight attendant *slips* him two extra bottles of booze.  So we could almost assume that someone wanted to make sure that he wasn’t hurt in the crash and perhaps doped him so he’d pass out?  I think Jack may have *flashed* to the island the first time much like he did this time.  He blacked out just like this time too.  Coincidence?  The first time he would not have been mentally accepting of the flash whereas this time he’s coming to be the Man of Faith and would be more open to the idea that he got there through some type of time travel versus just being another survivor of the airline crash.

Oh, and we were missing Vincent standing there looking at him.
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2.  Here we have a board figuring all the new numbers for us.  Will 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 ,42 be obsolete now?  If the flight coordinates that Mrs Hawking gives Jack indicate anything, they will be 1, 3, 14, 16, 18, 34.
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3. Almost 50 years ago to the day that The Military took this picture of the island (from the date of the original crash, I mean).  Coincidence?  As Mr Eko would have said, “Don’t mistake coincidence for fate.”
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4.  How could Ben have not known about The Lamp Post?  I’m not buying it.  Maybe he’s never been in it (judging from the look on Mrs Hawking’s face when she’s opening the door) but I would venture to guess he knew it existed.

5.  What if Mrs Hawking is actually working with Widmore?  What if she stole all of Daniel’s work in order to find the island?  After all, Dan thought she was at Oxford, not in LA.  Maybe in some crazy attempt to use his work to get back she and Widmore were really responsible for frying Teresa’s brain and not Daniel?  Maybe they want him to think it was his fault to play him into their hands and further Widmore’s attempts to find the island.  Maybe they have some way to track the O6 and follow them back to the island.  It’s pretty obvious that it’s Dan’s work that is all over the chalkboards and we know he was headed to LA after he left Teresa.  Widmore and Hawking would have also known that he was leaving on the expedition to find the island so they can easily go to where Dan’s work was in LA and find the next window to get to the island.  They could use the O6 as their own guinea pigs to see if the theory of the Lamp Post station really works or if it fries their minds and they have to find another way back.
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6.  Desmond makes a good point.  Daniel tells him that his mother can help them, not Jack, Sun or Ben.  They are using them but unfortunately I think Desmond’s piece isn’t over yet.  Actually, I’m glad because every Desmond-centered episode so far have been my favorites.
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7.  They don’t recreate the circumstances of the original flight because Aaron is not there.  I don’t think that the six that did go (six because Ben went otherwise there would have been seven) end up in the same time and place because of this.  Somehow they are going to have manipulate time on the island to reunite.  Mrs Hawking said that the results would be unpredictable if they didn’t all go.  I guess we’ll see but I do say that little Aaron is going to end up there on the island at some point.
8.   Ah Ben.  Always hanging around in the most opportune times.  I really doubt he’s praying here as much as he’s planning his next move.  Including the lovely story he tells Jack about Thomas.
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9. The bunny at the magic show reminded me of some of the other bunnies we’ve seen so far.  Click here to watch the orientation video for The Orchid station.  Apparently #15 somehow makes it back but they can’t get them near each other.  Assuming this was some type of foreshadowing for if the Losties would come across themselves in another time.  And who could forget #8, the bunny that supposedly had the pace maker installed that killed it when it’s heart rate went too high (to scare Sawyer from escaping)?
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10.  OK, seriously, it just so *happens* that Ray has packed a pair of Christian’s shoes?  The guy only had a couple of shirts and pants and the shoes he picks to take aren’t even his?  Either Jack is the most naive person ever, or the writers have taken a serious short cut here.  It just so *happens* that Jack needs something of his father’s to put on Locke and it just so *happens* that Jack has a sentimental story about his father’s shoes?  This Ray guy better show up later for this scene not to be pure laziness on the writer’s part.
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11.  What did Kate do this time?  There are multiple things that she could have done with Aaron and Jack really should have found out what happened.  Back in Season One he said he didn’t want to know what she did in order to be arrested then later changed his mind.  It created a rift between them for awhile.  I think the same thing is going to happen as I’m sure that the Losties on the island are going to ask where Aaron is.

The most likely choice is that she left him with Claire’s mum.  She could have also left him with whoever Sun has watching Ji Yeon or with Clementine (Sawyer’s baby’s momma).  The bigger question is why?  Did Sun somehow manipulate her into going back to the island to atone for *killing* Jin?  Did her guilt over knowing she promised not to bring him back get the better of her?  Or was it something to do with Widmore?  I’m sure we’ll eventually find out.

But, I think Aaron is going to show up on the island anyway.  They ALL had to go back and Aaron was one of the Six.  It can’t be a coincidence that Claire’s mom has the same attorney as Ben and that he conveniently led them to her.  So Kate knew where she was and knew that she’d take care of Aaron.  But, in the end if Claire’s mom does have him I think she’ll show up on the island with him.  No matter how, the kid is coming back.  He has to.

12. So Cesear (Saïd Taghmaoui) is also listed in the cast for next week.  Assuming this means that he was purposely placed on the plane with the O6.  Maybe he’s in charge of tracking them and helping Widmore to find the island – maybe somehow transmit back to land their location?
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13.  If Cesear does travel to the island with the O6 then he must be a proxy for someone on the original flight, right?  Who would that be?  Was there a mole on the original flight?
14.  Here’s a thought … if the Losties have been shifting time and we assume that Rose and Bernard have as well, then where ever Claire is (if she’s still alive) then she should be shifting also, right?

15. I understand why Sun left behind her baby and went back to the island.  I don’t think that Sun believes that she’s going back forever, like Jack does.  I’m sure Sun has worked out something where she thinks that she can get back once she finds Jin.  There is no way she’d leave her baby behind.

16.Somebody turned in Sayid to get him on that flight.  I’m sure it’s whoever also talked Hurley into going back and I’m sure we’ll find out who that someone was very soon.
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17.  Here’s another thought, wouldn’t someone at Ajira Airlines notice that five of the survivors from 815 were boarding the same plane?  They are boarding in LA so you’d think that as big as a story as it was someone might find it odd that the survivors of that crash just happened to be getting on a plane together.  I know if I saw them I’d be asking to get on a different flight.  And Kate must be using a fake name because she agreed not to leave the area as part of her plea bargain.

18. It’s sweet that Hurley bought all the extra seats that he could in order to keep people from getting on the plane knowing it’s fate.  78 tickets, wow!

19.  If all the passengers end up on the island, then we know it’s more than just those in first class.  You can see a lot of people back in coach.  Maybe it’s just those in first class.  See, you shouldn’t fly first class.
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20.Whatever Ben had in the mystery box (remember, he had it hidden in the vent?) he must have in his carry on bag here.  Will be interested to see what it is.
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21.Yeah Frank!  I can’t wait to see him interacting with Sawyer.  The guy had to fly this plane considering he was supposed to be the original pilot.  I hope the smoke monster doesn’t get him like the first pilot.
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22.  By the way, Ben’s mother could not have taught him to read because she died in childbirth.  Remember, Ben’s dad says he can’t celebrate his birthday because he can’t celebrate the day he killed his mother.  Not important to the story, just thought I’d point it out.

23.  Ben says that he didn’t know Locke killed himself… probably because Locke didn’t kill himself.  We see in next week’s preview that Ben is there when Locke is about to hang himself.  I’m guessing that Locke finds something out right before he goes through with it and changes his mind only for Ben to give him a little *help* hanging himself.  Ben talks in technicalities so really, he’s not lying to Jack.  And, it really wasn’t Jack’s fault because it was Ben’s fault!
24.  Is it a coincidence that right as Jack reads the letter they flash to the island?
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25.   Jin in a Dharma van.  In reading the descriptions of the next couple of weeks and seeing the promo pictures (don’t read on if you don’t want to know…)…

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… it appears that when Locke turned the wheel he froze them in that time, which happened to be back when DI was still in full force.  The Losties on the island have somehow assimilated themselves with the DI.  Somehow Jack, Kate, and Hurley have landed in this time with them.

26.  As far as where Sayid, Sun and Ben are that is still up in the air.  They may be in the current time or they may just be somewhere else on the island.  If they are with Ben my guess is they can go whenever and where ever they want since  Ben seems to be able to manipulate his way around pretty well here.

27.  The Losties being back in time opens a whole realm of possibilities regarding course correction.  Also, we might be closing in on who is Adam and Eve back in the cave.  Right now, my money is on Rose and Bernard.

28.  And is Kate preggers – the proxy for Claire?  Does she find out while on the island and panics knowing she has to get the hell off the island or she’ll die?

I want to thank the writers of Lost.  This season has been so good, dare I say on par with Season One?  I hope they have as much fun writing this stuff as I have watching it.

1.  So I watched some of the pop ups from last week’s episode.   It’s safe to say Christian is not Jacob.  The specifically said that Christian claims to be able to speak “on behalf” of Jacob. And they flat out cofirmed that Mrs Hawkin is Dan’s mom.

2.  Love, love, love the opening that was just like the opening of Season One.  Well, except for Jack holding the piece of Jack’s Locke’s note.  Which the note was a total set up, by the way.  I mean, it was so obvious this week that every way Jack turned he was being set up.  But I wasn’t mad at him for being so naive, instead, I felt that Jack wants so bad to go back that he doesn’t care if it’s a set up.  He’ll do what it takes to go back.  Remember, he can’t leave anyone behind (must go back for them) and has a nasty habit of wanting to fix everything.

3.  I think we are getting new numbers this time.  Flight 316, 46 hours earlier, 78 passengers.  Lots of new numbers.

4.  I wonder if Hurley somehow got a hold of one of Charlie’s guitars and brought it with him?  Ben did tell Jack to take anything of sentiment with him because he’d never return.

5.  I also hope that Hurley packed TONS of batteries this time for his headphones.

6.   So when they are back on the island, do the Losties become the new Others?  Will they have to kill off the original Others (like Ben wiping out the DI to take over)?  Where will Richard fit in all of this?

7.   We see the picture in the Lamp Post of the island,government top secret photo.  Guess we know why the government sent troops there.

8.  Mrs. Hawking explains about a gentleman who solved the mysteries of the island.  I’m sure it’s safe to assume that gentleman is Dan.  But the whole Desmond meeting her on behalf of Dan was very anticlimactic.  I don’t think she’s done with Desmond.  I think she finds him once the O6 are gone and convinces them to go back.  She does tell him that the island isn’t done with him either.

9.   Wow, all the counters in the Lamp Post hatch! and I love that when Jack asks Hawking if Ben is telling the truth, she says, “probably not.”  But Jack just keeps on believing him…

10.   Why is Mrs Hawking so dressed up?  It bothered me that she’s wearing heels.  Must be a quirky family trait to wear odd clothing (like Dan and his tie).

11.   Did you see the statue behind Mrs Hawking in her office?  Looked like the statue that had the heroin in it.

12.  We will find out for sure next week, but I really don’t think Locke kills himself.  I think that he’s ready to but then at the last minute he figures out something or Ben tells him something and fights it.  The doorman hears a struggle so something goes on.

13.   Ok, it’s just sick and weird that Locke is supposed to be the proxy for Jack’s dad.  And wouldn’t Jack be wondering why they couldn’t use another body, any body?  Why does it have to be Locke?  Why can’t Locke just go back?  Why does he need to be wearing something from Jack’s dad?  And hello, ironic that Jack visit’s his grandad and he just happens to have “nice shoes” from his father?

14.  The mystery of the white tennis shoes is answered.  Jack just stuck some old, dirty shoes on his dad.  Remember we see the white tennis shoes on Christian when he’s in Jacob’s shack?

15.   Interesting story about Thomas and Jesus and the ressurection.  Again, ironic timing, huh?

16.   I’m thinking the “old friend” that Ben has made a promise to is Widmore.  I HOPE I am wrong, but Ben goes to kill Penny.  Ben knows Desmond is there and knows he’s with Penny.  Ben thinks he has to take his revenge on Widmore for killing Alex, that was his promise.  I could see what Ben has to haul ass to get on the plane and get out of there.  Widmore will be out for BLOOD if Ben kills her.  Desmond will be out for BLOOD if Ben kills her.  And… it will explain how Des is talked into returning to the island.  He will want to find Ben and kill him.

17.   Rabbit in the magic trick reminded me of the rabbits we’ve seen back on the island.

18.  I think Grandpa Ray is going to show up on the island.

19.   What has Kate done with Aaron?  She must think it’s terrible for her to be so upset.  And, I thought ALL the O6 have to go back, which includes Aaron.  And Desmond’s vision was Claire and Aaron getting on a helicopter out of there.  Me thinks little Aaron will show up on the island and freak out Kate.

20.   OK, who wants to buy meat in a shop that has been storing a dead body.  Gross!

21.   I like that Jack is turning into the Man Of Faith now.
22.   WE were set up by ABC to watch Life On Mars to see the Lost Untangled.  I’m TiVo’ing now so I can just watch the Lost stuff.  Am interested to see what it’s about.
23.   Kate is a (fill in the blank).  Sleeping with Jack and Sawyer when she’s emotionally a wreck.  And, she looked very island-esque at his place right before they take off.  No more fancy dresses and makeup.  I like this Kate better.

24.   Kate is also acting very much like she’s hiding from something.  Who did tell Hugo to show up?  Who does he trust enough to go?  And was it me, or did some of the scenes resemble the first itme they boarded flight 815?  Hugo almost didn’t make that flight either.

25.  Nice of Jill to give Jack five minutes to pull the van up.  Enough time for Jack to do what he has to do.

26.   Ben really is a bastard.  He doesn’t care what happens to the other people on the flight?  Will they show up on the island too?  I’m thinking its’ a nice way to bring in new characters.  Not like we need any though.

27.   I KNEW it would be Frank flying that plane!  He was supposed to be the pilot of 815.  I’m excited he’s back. I love his character.

28.   Back to The Langoliers…. here is another parallel to that book.  They fly through a time rip and only some of the passengers travel (in that book, it’s those that are asleep).  Reminds me how only our O6 (and Ben) seem to make it back to the island.  And we do hear the noise (like the time travel noise) so it’s probably just them.

29.   This looks like the pond from Season One where they find Kate’s suitcase with the guns.

30.  So Jin.  What the heck??? The Dharma van looks new and I doubt there’s paint laying around.  And he’s wearing a Dharma suit.  And if he’s traveling in time, why would he be driving the van around and why would the road still be open?  If it’s the past…. then why would Jin recognize them?  This is so good!

31.  If that flight was full, why were there so many empty seats?

32.  Did Hurley turn in Sayid so he’d be on the plane?
33.  I’m excited to go back and watch this one again!  Talk to you in a few days!

I really wanted a two hour episode tonight.  It was so good.  This season has been spectacular so far.  Can you imagine if we had to put up with re-runs while they are building this momentum?  I, for one, am willing to wait the extra time if we don’t have to suffer through re-runs.

1.  Opening on Sun’s eyes.  We haven’t seen the opening on an eye yet this season.

2.  Is Sun planning on kidnapping Aaron?  Why would she tell Ji Yeon she met a new friend for her in America unless she was planning on them meeting soon?

3.  You can hear the numbers on the walkie talkie that Robert has.  I’m wondering if it was Lenny talking… before he left the island.

4.  Cute, the (blonde, jerky crew member ) says, “Next you’ll be talking about submarines…”

5.  Jin seems moved watching how Robert treats pregnant Danielle.  His heart must be breaking knowing that his wife left preggers.

6.   Finally, we get to see a little bit of The Temple…. and Smokey lives there!  Did you catch the hieroglyphs on the side, just like what was on the counter in the hatch right before it blew up?  I wanted to see what was there, darn time shifts.  I can’t wait to screencap Smokey this week.  And Robert wants to go down the hole to help since they don’t leave anyone behind.  Sounds like another hero we know, Jack.

7.  Next Jin comes across Danielle and her crew, mostly dead.  And Robert wants to kill Danielle!  Almost like he was dead and Smokey took over his body.  Like Yemi when he meets Eko way back when.  I’m not so sure now that it was the time travel sickness that takes over Danielle’s crew.  Robert wasn’t acting like he was brain fried, he seemed possessed.  Danielle seems to think that he was “infected” when he chased Smokey down the hole.

8.  Jin finds Danielle by following the smoke.  Remember that Danielle was following the smoke when she kidnapped Claire’s baby and was taking him to the Others?  There *has* to be a connection.

9.  And why does the Temple need a security system?

10.   It was cool to see that Sawyer was so happy to see Jin.  Genuine happiness out of Sawyer!  Thank goodness someone gets to explain to Jin what is going on.

11.  Finally, someone seems confused why Locke would want to bring someone back.  Jin doesn’t want Sun back there.

12.  Ben tells Sun that he just needs 30 minutes and he can prove Jin is alive.  How is Eloise going to prove it to her?  I doubt the ring alone will convince her.  Why would she just take Ben’s word for it?  And if Locke wakes up he’ll tell her that Jin is dead since that was his promise and we know that Locke is a man of his word!

13. Charlotte was talking and acting like Teresa (the woman back in England who’s brain was fried by Daniel first).  She was popping in and out of time and different ages.  I like that we know that she was there before and why she was so adamant about getting back.  But I was really surprised they killed her off.  I think we know that Dan must travel back and tell her not to come back.  But he’s breaking one of the “rules” by doing this.  Love sure has a funny way of making you do crazy things.

14. Seems Charlotte is a fan of the Jeronimo Jackson.

15.  Dan says that as far as bringing the O6 back that is where they leave science behind.  Meaning?  Meaning that they don’t have to bring them back?

16.  NO! Sawyer has a nosebleed!

17.  Charlotte also knows that the well is by The Orchid station.  Maybe when she was a kid she spent some time there.

18.  Shouldn’t they have left Dan with some type of protection, like a gun?  They’ve seen how the Hostiles can be so they really should have given his something.  And where are Rose, Bernard and Vincent?

19.  Locke descending down the well was interesting imagery.  At first I was thinking of when they were lowering Kate down the hatch but my sister pointed out it was like a birth canal.  Maybe also like death… you see the light at the end of the tunnel.

20.   Juliet thanks Locke “if whatever you’re attempting to do works.”  We have been too trusting of her.  She knows stuff.  She was an Other.  I think we’ll be seeing more of what little miss Juliet knows in the coming epis.

21.  If they don’t bury Charlotte will Smokey be able to move her around like the other dead people from the island?

22.  I think we see now that whatever they are holding they take with them when they travel.  Sawyer is still holding the rope when Locke is going down the well and the time changes.

23.   I don’t think Christian is Jacob.  I think Jacob somehow embodies him or can take over any dead body that isn’t buried on the island.  But he does know about Jack when he tells Locke to tell his son he said hello.  Christian/Jacob can’t help Locke up so I assume that’s because he’s not physically there, but not sure yet how that works.  Projecting somehow perhaps?
24.  Why does Locke have to die to turn the wheel and why is he always hurting his legs?  Ben didn’t die when he turned it.  And Christian/Jacob seemed pretty perturbed that it wasn’t Locke that turned the wheel.  Locke does take shortcuts though, like when he let Sawyer kill his dad for him.  But, if Christian/Jacob wanted Locke to turn the wheel, I think somehow Ben knew this but did it himself for another reason.  Remember, Ben always has a plan!

25.   Ben actually looks surprised when Desmond shows up and says he’s looking for Dan’s mom.  I don’t think he knew!  Or, he never thought anyone would else would figure that piece out.

26.  I don’t think Eloise is really OK with just the two of the O6 there.  She probably will send her other people to help round them up.

27.  Wouldn’t Desmond just be absolutely freaked out seeing Elosie?  He HAS to remember that she’s the one that sent him to the island and taught him about course correction.

28.  I saw Jack jumping in the water in next week’s epi so we know at least he is there.

Most of what I wanted to say, I said initially. I had to go back on Wednesday and watch again even though I was dead tired at work the next day. Probably in my top 10 favorite episodes.

1. The title “Jughead.” We know that the bomb was called “Jughead” but there has to be more significance. I still think that the leaking radiation has something to do with why women can’t carry babies to term. Maybe Dan, Charlotte and Miles are the last babies conceived on the island so they are special. Since we know that the island has healing qualities, we have wondered how Ben got a tumor on his spine. He was probably working too close to Jughead and was exposed to small quantities of the radiation. If Dan hadn’t have shown up and told them what to do with it, what would they have done with the bomb? Maybe all of this has happened before and Jughead represents a serious problem that could not have been fixed without Dan so all of the events must happen this way. And unless all of the events (starting with the plane crash) happened then the island may not have been been there.
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2. The American government is coming in 1954 to the island. Why do they want to kill the “Hostiles?” Couldn’t they have just rounded them up and put them in a prison camp? Are we sure it’s the government or perhaps ex military? Keemy and the gang looked to be military also but weren’t working for the government. Maybe it’s a “Hatfield and McCoy” scuffle that has been going on for hundreds of years and not just Ben Vs. Widmore.
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3. So it’s Oxford University and in the 10 – 20 years in between when Des met Dan on campus and now they haven’t cleaned up the office for other use? Or, did Dan *just* abandon the office right before he left for the island and it hasn’t been long enough to get it cleaned out? If that’s the case, there must have been an incredible offer to just leave all of his time travel research like that. Maybe *someone* convinced him to leave (like, say, Widmore)? From the state of the office I’d say he left in a big hurry.
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4. Dan tells Miles and Charlotte that they just have to hang tight until everything disappears but can’t predict when. What if it’s every 108 minutes that they travel? I’m thinking that the numbers might come in play here as to how the time shift works.

5. Watching back, Juliet doesn’t know how far in the past they are so how does she know to ask if Richard is at the camp? I just don’t want to believe that he’s really, truthfully “very” old but how else would she know he’d be there?
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6. Locke can’t shoot “Jones” because he’s one of his people. Remember that Juliet was branded for killing Pickett (the guy who was going to kill Sawyer and Kate) so it must be against their rules to kill one of your own. Keemy also broke the rules when he killed Alex.

7. It does look like Teresa is the same girl that is in the picture, but the picture is old (check out Dan’s mullet). Dan doesn’t seem the type to leave someone behind that he cared for so again, something must have happened to make him just take off and then Widmore to take care of Teresa in his absence.
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8. I can’t make up my mind about Ellie. Dan is walking with her and she tells him to quit looking at her to which he apologizes and tells her she looks just like someone he used to know. She does look like Teresa (see picture above) but it also could be because he realizes he’s talking to his mom.
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9. Widmore was on the island as a young man (at least probably about age 18 if not younger). He probably thinks as well as he knows the island that he’s the one that’s going to take over as the leader. Then along comes Ben. Ben is groomed to be the leader. I’m guessing somewhere along the way Widmore is exiled from the island. Now he holds a grudge against Ben for that and because Widmore is obviously a hot head (breaking the neck of his colleague who tells Juliet where the camp is). But he hasn’t been to the island in at least 20 years so I wonder if at some point he had come back after his younger days as a solider. Perhaps he stayed for quite a while. Maybe Ellie was the love of Ben and Widmore and that had something to do with it (we know how Ben falls madly in love with women and wants them all to himself). I think this all speaks to where the rivalry between Ben and Widmore started for the island.

10.  I found this arrow theory from Doc Jensen very intriguing and something I had not caught:
My “Arrow” Theory. Adam mentioned this in his recap. Have you noticed the recurring arrow symbolism this season? Episode 1: Pierre Chang produces the orientation film for a Dharma station called “The Arrow.” Episode 2: The Left Behinders are attacked by flaming arrows. And now, Episode 3: Arrows everywhere, in the text (see: the Others’ archery brigade) and the subtext. A leaking or missing hydrogen bomb is known as a “Broken Arrow” event in military parlance.  In physics, the “Arrow of Time” is the name of a body of theories pertaining to the nature of time; the term “broken arrow” is used to characterize an idea like time loops. Google “broken arrow” and you’ll get any number of movies, TV shows and songs about Native Americans… and wouldn’t you know, “Jughead” was a peek into the past of the Island’s indigenous peeps, the Others. But the coolest arrow connection comes via the Other cutie with the shot gun, British accent, and terse line readings: Ellie. Short for Eleanor, which is French for “the Other.” (Or so wikipedia tells me; I don’t speak it. Me stupid American.) On a whim, I combined “Ellie” and “Eleanor” and “Arrow,” and came back with an awesome connection: Ellie Arroway, the heroine of Carl Sagan’s novel Contact, which was adapted into the Jodie Foster film of the same name. I’m going to leave it to you to explore the significance, but Sagan’s story certainly resonates with Lost themes, and perhaps functions as a clue to wormhole theory. Link to the whole article here

OMG!!!! Tonight was AMAZINGLY FANTASTIC!!!
A couple of thoughts from last week. Hurley and Kate *just* miss each other at the gas station. This goes along with the idea of the show that everyone is connected somehow, like six degrees of separation. Or I saw a movie once and the whole time it followed an item as it got passed from person to person. I think it was Madonna’s pap smear but don’t quote me. Anyway, how we are all connected somehow.

I don’t really like the pop ups. Maybe I’m missing stuff, you tell me if you watch them. But it’s like ABC’s attempt to get new viewers up to speed. To me, I feel cheated somehow that newbs are getting catch ups and we’ve had to do four years of hard work. But, if it brings new viewers and ratings then that’s a good thing.

Ben helped Jack overcome his Oxy habit. Locke helped Charlie kick his heroin habit. I think Ben actually cares somewhat for Jack. Yes, I know he has other reasons for him to be sober, but coupled with his defense of Jack to Jill, I think he cares. Some.

1. Let’s just start but talking about how freaking cute Desmond’s son is. Wow!

2. Desmond talking to his son about the island, Great Britain, like it was “the” island was interesting. There are mountains and glens and monsters… And is he foreshadowing saying he’ll be there again?

3. They sure are killing a bunch of the extras off. Economy is bad, must save money somewhere I guess.

4. Was it just me, or were the colors weird in tonight’s episode? I’m hoping it’s just because of the film they used and not supposed to resemble something with time.

5. Here is my sister’s theory (and some embellishments by me). Penny has the baby, Charlie. Could this be our Charlie? When Des is on the island “seeing” Charlie die, it’s not because he sees the future but because he’s lived it already. Charlie could have been raised by the parents we saw initially because they had to “hide” him from Ben or maybe Widmore Sr. wanted to get his hands on him.

6. Or, they just named him after our Charlie.

7. Penny sure is a downer. “Also where he broke her (Penny) heart.” and “You forgot to tell him about his grandfather.”

8. Why are there government soldiers invading the island? Somehow, Richard’s people manage to eliminate them. Then they figure out how to “move” the island so that they can’t get back.

9. Jughead. The bomb. Must be buried in the hatch (what used to be the hatch). Remember that Sayid talks about the concrete wall down in the hatch and how thick it was. And that it was magnetic.

10. So the blonde woman that has Dan under the gun and takes him to the bomb is the same as “Teresa Spencer” the woman in the “coma” back in London. She must be the “poor woman” that the guy who finds Des in Dan’s old office is referring to.

11. Does Penny know more than she let’s on? Why does she make him promise never to go back to the island? I understand that she had a terrible time finding him, but as long as they are together why would she be so dead set against it? Maybe she knows things about the island in her research to find Des.

12. And, the government was trying to bomb the island? Why? What do they know?

13. I love that Juliet calls the soldiers “Others.” Like the writers are saying “Yes, we know you call them that,” and that is how they get the point across to us who they are.

14. Apparently these are also the “Others” that kill off the Dharma Initiative.

15. “Four” US soldiers. There is one of our numbers.

16. Juliet says, “Richard has always been here,” assuming she means the camp. But the camp looks like where they end up building “Otherville.”

17. Interesting that they took Dan out of the system showing he was a professor.

18. What I don’t understand is that if Dan’s work was to be kept secret, why did they leave all of his equipment (beside the fact that Des has to find it in the storyline). And what’s up with the mystery “janitor” that happens in and gives Des a little bit of information. And why is the janitor dressed so old fashioned? Does anyone besides Brad Pitt wear those hats these days? And who else was poking around for Dan’s work?

19. Looks like “Ellie,” the girl that has Dan at gunpoint, is the girl who is in the “coma” back at Oxford. oops, I already said that. Must be tired.

20. Dan knows the bomb is unstable because it was probably what was behind the wall when Marvin Candle’s group was drilling there.

21. Glad Sawyer got some good lines this week. “Well, maybe I should have said it in my secret language.”

22. So Locke owns this island my friends. The Losties are his people and The Others are his people. All your base belongs to…. Locke!

23. Teresa is traveling big time. It reminds me of the Matrix when they have them in the pods, feeding them, and their minds live in the “world.” I’m sure Mr Widmore was so kind to pay for Teresa’s care so no one found out about her. If she’s seeing her dead dad then she’s definitely traveling around.

24. Widmore has to be Dan’s dad. Could be Richard but more than likely Widmore. Explains why he funded his research (beyond interest in the topic). Age is appropriate.

25. Yeah, some “sodding” old man knows the island better than you Jones!

26. Richard is “old” but by what standard? I watched Aeon Flux this past weekend and it got me thinking. In the movie, the women can’t have children so until they figure out the problem, they clone children from their own DNA. Then the “leaders” teach the cloned child of themselves all about their lives and give them their memories. So in essence it seems like they have years and years of memories. Maybe Richard is a clone. Does it make more sense that he doesn’t age? Or is he just an aberration created by the smoke monster (like Yemmi or Christian)?

27. So if the blonde holding Dan at gunpoint isn’t Teresa, could she be Mrs Hawkins? Still thinking she’s his mother, too. She knows the island. She must be smart is some capacity to be chosen to be on the island. Why she wants to get back to the island. How she knows about the island.

28. Desmond, Desmond. What are you thinking going to Widmore? Like the guy was just going to tell him what he wanted to know with no strings. Widmore is so good that I wanted to believe that he was genuinely pooping himself when he saw Des but he probably already knew he was off the island and left him alone so as to not lead Ben to Penny. I do believe that Widmore wants Des to hide because Penny won’t leave him and Ben really would like to retaliate and kill Widmore’s daughter.

29. And I love Locke just marching into the camp. And how *did* Richard know when he would see Locke again unless Richard already has the memories when he meets up with Locke so he knows the next time we’ll see him.

30. I think that Widmore came to see Penny on the boat. That’s how she knows that Desmond is lying. Plus she just seems to be hiding something.

31. Now we know why Richard went and saw Locke in the hospital.

32. Maybe I’m tired but it looks like the coloring goes back to normal after they leave the “past.”

33. KATE visits the island next week! Ben must show her how to “travel” like Walt did back to the island. Man, ANOTHER good week to come!

34. And it sounds like Claire is screaming.