NOT HELL!

When Richard first said this I was saying “NO! They promised this was NOT the answer!”  And true to their word, they are not in hell.

1.  Does Richard represent us, the viewer?  He was ready to give up after thinking he was duped into devoting his life to a purpose.  Now even I don’t devote my “life” to Lost but I have given a lot of hours to the show and would be very upset if I found out it all wasn’t happening for a reason.  We are the disciples of the show, going out and spreading the word if you will.  However, I don’t think that I could be a candidate to replace Darlton.  I know that “Gitsie Girl” isn’t etched on that list.  Perhaps your name is?

2.  Clever eye opening but we’ve seen this one before.

3.  Sun is the candidate.  I want to believe that is true and the definitive  answer but we’ve all watched this show long enough to know that she may “think” she’s the candidate but in reality it’s Jin, or them both, or their daughter!

4.  Richard will know what to do next.  Like Jacob said earlier, you can’t just give people answers.  Richard has to figure out what to do next.

5.  Best line of the night when Ben tells Jack, “If it’s any consolation, it’s not exactly Locke.”

6.  Richard’s bible was turned to Luke 4;37 but looks like he was reading starting at passage 25.  I’ll get a screenshot of this.

7.  Richard’s priest in prison is like Claire’s psychic.  They are both manipulating them.  The priest won’t forgive Richard because he can sell him as a slave instead.  When given the choice of the ship versus being hung of course he’s going to chose the ship.  Both Richard and Claire were conned.  I think they blindfolded Richard so he wouldn’t see that there wasn’t a noose prepared for him at all.

8.  Mr Whitfield bought Richard.  Very close to “Widmore.”  And Magnus HANSO funded the voyage to the new land.  Guess Hanso has known about this island a very, very long time.

9.  In order for the ship to hit the statue the island must have been flooded.  In fact, they hit the head of the statue and pushed the boat inland.  Remember in the beginning of this season the island was flooded.  Guess that means the island isn’t necessarily going to stay underwater for very long.

10.  Looks like the crew members on the Black Rock contracted the same “sickness” that got Danielle’s crew and Sayid.  The Captain kills the slaves just like Danielle was killing her crew.

11.  Was that THE coolest scene when Smokey shows up at the boat the first time?

12.  Richard was “judged” by Smokey.  I guess Jacob isn’t the only one looking for a candidate.

13.  Is that a moth that flies into the Black Rock when Richard is trying to free himself?  Then it rains, giving him drinking water.  Could that be a trick Jacob uses to check things out (shape shifting) just like Smokey (well, minus the killing part)?  Plus I say moth because it reminds me of Locke’s moth story from Season One to Charlie.

14.  Boars.  Sawyer had a boar chasing him for awhile.  But ew, they were eating the dead.

15.  I think that Smokey “read” the vision of Isabella from Richard’s mind.  Seems like Smokey can only take the shape of the dead bodies that aren’t buried.  Why else would she be in the outfit he last saw her in?  The MIB sure is a good liar though.  He found what Richard “really” wanted and used that to get him on his side.  Just like he promised Sayid that he would reunite him with Nadia even though she is dead too.

16.  MIB touched Richard first.  Jacob touches him later.  Seems significant.

17.  MIB tells Richard that he is a “friend.”  Probably what he told Claire too since she says he’s her friend. MIB also tells Richard the same thing about not letting Jacob talk first.  Makes you wonder if their voice has some type of “Matrix” power that messes with their mind and what they see and/or believe.

18. Familiar line, “It’s good to see you out of those chains.”  Same thing MIB said to Richard when he saw him for the first time in Not-Locke’s body.

19.  Jacob is a bad a*s this episode.  He’s beating on Richard then “baptizes” him in the ocean.  He is much more angry then we seem him in present time.

20.  Jacob is like a vampire or I guess it would be the opposite since no one can come in his house without being invited.

21.  Now we understand why Jacob wants to keep MIB on the island, to contain the darkness that would spread.  Why does this darkness spread to some people on the island but not others?  Or, will it eventually overtake them all since it’s our nature to sin?  But Jacob boils it down to our choice.  We have the choice to do the right thing.  He shouldn’t have to force people to make the right choice.  But I have to think there is more to it than just Jacob proving to MIB that people are good and will choose wisely.

22.  And Jacob can bring people back to life as we saw when he resuscitated Locke after falling out of the window.

23.  Hurley and Richard had a very “Ghost” moment.  With the kooky sidekick telling the heartbroken lover the messages from beyond.  But I was touched.  It was a nice moment.  Nestor Carbonell was spot on tonight with his acting.  Bravo!

24.  Oh and Hurley is a terrible liar.  Isabella didn’t tell him that MIB can’t leave the island.  I think Jacob told Hurley to say that.

25.  And it’s a good thing Hurley speaks Spanish – so he could understand Isabella.

26.  And where is Vincent?

Along with Jack, my faith is back.  This week was at the top of my favorite list for sure.  And the “new” Jack, loving him!  Man of faith indeed! Oh and that twist at the end, unreal!

1.  So I was looking back at the Last Supper promo pictures for this season and I think that they each represent a time line.  AND, Ilana is on Locke’s side in both pictures. Ben is on Jack’s side.  I’m growing very suspicious of Ilana which I hate because I was very touched when she told Ben “I’ll have you.”  Here is a situation where I hope I’m wrong.

2.  Elba.  What a nice parallel for what Ben is going through on the Lost island.  How will Ben fare on his “island of Elba?”

3.  Hilarious that Artz has “stuff” on his shirt, much like Hurley had “Artz” on his shirt.

4.  Locke, the substitue, tells Ben he should be in charge.  Then later Not-Locke wants to put him back in charge.

5.  Glad to see that Miles had a somewhat larger role this week.  We also got a clear picture of what his true talent is AND that he talked to Nikki and Paulo (and why didn’t anyone notice that he said they were BURIED ALIVE?).

6.  There were some really great throwback moments tonight to season one (arriving back at the beach, seeing Sawyer’s dirty magazines, Jack and Hurley coming up on camp).  Ben even talks of being nostalgic to Frank.

7.  This year we have reflections (in the past it was the eye opening).  Ben’s was in the microwave as he waited for his lunch to cook.  BTW, I didn’t know they made “organic” TV dinners.

8.  So how cool was it to see Ben’s dad.  Have they all resolved their daddy issues in the new time line?  After all, we found out that Roger was in the Dharma Initiative, was on the island and somehow chose to leave.  Oh, and I loved that he says “who knows how much better our lives would have been.”  Um, maybe not so much.  Frank also mentions how different his life would be if he had piloted the original flight but Ben makes a good point that the island still got him in the end.  So will new time line Ben end up on the island too?

9.  Alex wasn’t his daughter but he still had “fatherly” feelings for her.  And that he sacrificed what he wanted for her was really sweet.  AND it goes back to the question if the father’s have to sacrifice for their children.

10.  What the heck is Ilana building with her tools, wires and mechanics?  Is SHE the one building a beacon so that Widmore can find the island?  Jacob did say someone was coming so he must want him there.

11.  Cheese curds.  Man, Hurley gets the best lines!

12.  I like the picture of “The Black Rock” in the book Ben is reading with Alex.

13.  Sounds like Danielle is having quite a life – she’s working two jobs just to pay rent?

14.  Ben always has a plan doesn’t he?  New time line or old he’s always thinking.  Blackmailing the principal sounded like a good idea in theory.

15.  Jacob gave all of those he touched a gift (or as some would say, a curse) of longevity.  Guess it didn’t work for Locke.

16.  Ben sure digs a nicely shaped rectangle.  Did you notice how perfect the shape was?

17.  This new Jack is so great.  He’s so calm.  He has so much faith in what will happen.  And instead of an eye opening, he closes his eyes.

18.  Ilana had to hear Smokey coming in when he approached Ben.  Hard to believe that she didn’t but then again there are a lot of things that are hard to believe here.

19.  To step back, I found it amusing that Artz kept complaining about their “outdated” equipment.  I wouldn’t have been surprised to see one of the old island computers in his room.

20.  Since Ben doesn’t shoot Ilana and chooses to stay with the beach people, is Smokey going to be mad or is this what he expected?  We saw what Smokey did to the people at the temple when they didn’t come out and follow him.

21.  When Ben tells Ilana that he’s going to go to Locke my thoughts were that this was the first time I’ve heard Ben tell the flat out truth.  And it was also the first time I believed him and actually felt sorry for him.

22.  Are they ever going to reunite Jin and Sun?  The story line has drug on long enough.

23.  I did NOT expect that twist at the end.  WOW wow and WOW!  Widmore wants to take back over?  This is going to be one interesting new twist.

I understand that Sundown is when Smokey attacked the temple, but this week’s title seemed like it should have belonged to a Sun and Jin story.  I could probably skip the first 45 minutes of this episode and get to the meat of the story, but there are some larger themes to address (plus, seeing Keamy again was pretty cool).

1.  In the opening (Previously on Lost…) Ben’s dad shoots Sayid in retaliation for shooting his son.  Oh yeah, Sayid tried to kill Ben when he was a boy.  It would be the ultimate retribution to see Ben turn around and shoot evil Sayid.  Redemption?  And ironically Sayid seems to be the new Ben.

2.  I was also thinking back to the bracelet that Sayid was wearing.  I have a feeling that there will never be an explanation of this one.
click to enlarge

3.  Don’t forget that Jack still has the poison pill.  If there is some of the good Sayid left inside, he might just agree to take it somewhere along the line.

4.  Instead of a mirror reflection, Sayid has a distorted, half reflection.
click to enlarge

5.  Sayid says to Dogan, “You think you know me but you don’t.  I’m a good man.”  One of many indications that the “good” part of Sayid will come back around.

6.  I really want an explanation as to why the ash line kept out Smokey… until Dogan died and then it was a free for all!
click to enlarge

7.  Jacob told Hurley that he couldn’t go back to the Temple because someone bad was going there.  Jacob didn’t mean Claire at all.  He knew that Smokey would come and kill all of those that were there and therefore knew Dogan was going to die.

8.  I still think that this could be the box that Ben was hiding in Jack’s hotel room.  Since we’ll never get the answer on the show I’m sticking with my theory. I’m sure that this knife was an artifact that needed carefully guarded.
click to enlarge

9.  Whoops, guess Sayid let Not-Locke have the first word.

10.  I wonder if the same magic box that brought Locke’s Dad to the island would be used to reunite Sayid with Nadia (Not-Locke’s promise).  Even though the promise to have whatever he wants is enticing, there must be a price.  Maybe he has to go to the sideways world to reunite with her and would have to forget everything he knows from this world.

11.  Yeah, I’d say Claire and Kate are going to have a Kung-Foo fight out in the jungle.  From the look on Claire’s face, I wouldn’t mess with her.
click to enlarge

12.  “I make good eggs.”
click to enlarge

13.  Dead is dead.  Keamy was destined to die.  Course correction.  I’m assuming the same fate will find all of the characters we’ve met and they died.  Can’t wait to see Mikail’s return!

14.  What is Jin doing in the freezer?  He did have an enormous amount of cash on him at the airport and we know that Keamy makes loans.  Jin also had a watch to deliver to someone very important.
click to enlarge

15.  In the current world everyone has daddy issues, even Dogan.  Dogan is the daddy in his story.

16.  I hope that they use Miles for more than a few silly one liners this season.

17.  I couldn’t find any definitive images in Smokey.  I’m attaching one that looks like something there, but couldn’t find  anything very defined.  It’s very creepy that you can hear a scream as this goes by.
click to enlarge

18.  Ilana must know about the “candidates.”  Have you noticed that she calls them all by their last name?

19.  I just can’t believe that the Temple people went to Not-Locke’s side so easily.  I know this is some of them because the little boy (the one that wasn’t on the plane but was at the Temple) is standing there with Not-Locke.  So much for being faithful.
click to enlarge

20.  Not-Locke/Smokey was taking what appeared to be pictures of Kate and Juliet a few seasons ago (remember that?).  I don’t think that he expected to see her and I think that he’s suspicious of her being there.  But knowing that Jack is going to be on team Jacob it’s hard to imagine that she’ll stay with Not-Locke.  I know Saywer is on that side but he’s going to be pining over Juliet.

21.  In the previews for next week it looks like Ben is digging up Locke’s body.  I wonder if he’ll try to take it to the Temple to be resurrected.

Didn’t Jill tell Jack last season that Locke was a proxy, a “substitute?”  I assumed at the time that she meant that the body was a substitute for Christian’s body, but now I’m rethinking the intentions of the Others back on land.  There have also been other substitutes.  We saw Locke in a flashback speaking to a “substitute” Helen (remember the phone girl?).  Locke used Sawyer as a substitute when he had him kill his real dad for him.  Kate is the substitute mom for Aaron.  Ben used Juliet to manipulate Jack as she was a substitute for Sara.  Frank had a substitute pilot on flight 815.  Others?

1.  This scene of Locke laying the sprinklers smiling reminds me of season one where it starts to rain and while everyone else is running for cover Locke just sits there and smiles.
click either image to enlarge

2.  Locke may have to choose between two color swatches but they still gave him a black and white cup to drink from.  Have to keep that theme going!  I also like that the cup is both black and white.  Symbolic.
click to enlarge

3.  Is it just me or is it incredibly creepy that Not-Locke is keeping  Richard wrapped up like a spider would keep it’s prey until it was ready to eat it?  And Not-Locke cuts him loose just to let him run away?  So creepy assuming Not-Locke is going to hunt him down again.
click to enlarge

4.  What is even creepier is that this looks like my workplace… and I’m pretty sure Randy works there.
click to enlarge

5.  Locke hasn’t completely changed in the new timeline.  Randy calls Locke “Colonel” which is the same mockery he gave him back in season one over Locke’s pretend “war games” he was playing.

6.  This new time line Locke has really become a lost soul in the sense that he’s lost his manhood.  I would assume that whenever he became paralyzed he lost that part of himself.  I would even venture a guess that Locke’s dad is again associated with however he loses his ability to walk even if we see they are still on speaking terms.  Like Sawyer said in season one, “a tiger doesn’t change it’s stripes.”

7.  Interesting picture of Locke and his dad at his desk.  Looks old from how Locke looks in the picture.
click to enlarge

8.  Would Jacob not have told Richard about the “candidates” because Richard would have been jealous and not have helped find them?  Or does Jacob have another use for the candidates beyond what Not-Locke has told us?  Why would Richard have followed Jacob and helped him for all those years and presumably never asked why he was doing all of it?  Again with more questions and only 14 episodes left.  I’m hoping that the Richard questions will be somewhat answered in his upcoming episode.

9.  I still think that this looks like part of the bomb sitting by Sawyer’s sink.
click to enlarge

10.  “I don’t give a damn if you’re dead… or time traveling or the ghost of Christmas past.  All I care about is this whiskey, so bottoms up.”  I hate seeing him in misery but he’s so damn good when he is!
click to enlarge

11.  Check out the polar bear in Locke’s stuff from his desk.  I really don’t think it means anything, it’s like the PTB insert little hidden items for us to find.
click eo enlarge

12.  I love that Hurley is all cleaned up and happy.  Next we’ll see that he’s married to Libby!  Wouldn’t that be crazy?!
click to enlarge

13.  Interesting that Sawyer can see the little boy  but Richard couldn’t.  I don’t recall that anyone besides Jack could see his dead father running around the island.

14.  My guess is that we haven’t seen this little boy before.  But, we have several choices regarding who he tells Locke he can’t kill.  It’s not Jacob.  It must be either Sawyer or Richard that he’s referring to. I am thinking that the kid is some sort of “middle man” between Jacob and Not-Locke, someone who would be at the very top of the pyramid, if you will.

15.  Not-Locke yells to the boy “Don’t tell me what I cannot do!”  We all know this is a classic Locke line.  Is there some of our Locke’s psyche still lingering inside of his body?

16.  The weird temp agency lady was also the card reader that Hurley went to see back in season three (Tricia Tanaka Is Dead).  Guess she found a new career path in this time line.

click either image to enlarge

17.  I swear that Locke’s corpse looks like it’s smiling.  We assumed before that Smokey could inhabit bodies that weren’t buried.  It’s very unusual then that he can stay in Locke’s form then.  Ilana says he’s now “stuck” this way.  Guess our willing suspension of disbelief is going to come in handy here.
click either image to enlarge

18.  Locke’s alarm clock sounded just like the buzzer that was in the hatch right before “lock down.”

19.  Some people have pointed out that out of the three new time line stories we’ve seen, Locke is the first one who hasn’t looked at himself in the mirror (Jack and Kate did) thus perhaps signifying he’s the only one who doesn’t have a living counterpart in the original time line?
click to enlarge

20.  Red flowers.
click to enlarge

21.  It sounds like Locke has seen doctor’s before trying to regain his ability to walk.  He asks Helen if she needs him to see “more” doctors and have “more” consults.

22.  Now that the one ladder broke, how on earth are they getting back up the ledge?

23.  The white and black rocks.  We’ve seen this symbolism before with Locke (backgammon and when Claire sees him in her dream).  I think that Not-Locke is being a little too enthusiastic about throwing that white rock out.  He has to know that Jacob isn’t really dead.
click to enlarge

24.  Man of faith now teaching science – the human reproductive system.  Cute touch.  And, knowing that women on the island have problems carrying babies full term, even more meaningful.

25.  Sawyer has started another long con with Not-Locke.  He will not leave behind his friends.

26.  I’m not convinced that this is Jacob’s list.  Why scrawl these names across a cave ceiling?  And the symbolism of Not-Locke crossing out Locke’s name didn’t escape me either.  And the numbers do mean something and I don’t believe that the island doesn’t need protected.

27.  Here are a bunch of screen caps of the names.  Here is also a list I found out on the internet of the names that could be read.
4 – Locke (John)
8 – Reyes (Hurley)
10 – Mattingley – Other
15 – Ford (James)
16 – Jarrah (Sayid)
23 – Shephard (Jack)
31 – Rutherford (Shannon)
42 – Kwon (Jin or Sun)
56 – Burke – (Juliet)
64 – Goodspeed (Ethan Horace Olivia or Amy)
70 – Faraday (Daniel)
73 – Costa – ?
90 – Troupe – ?
115 – Bargas – ?
117 – Linus (Ben, Roger)
119 – Almeida – ?
142 – Lewis (Charlotte)
171 – Straume (Miles)
195 – Pace (Charlie)
222 – O’Toole – U.S. Military
233 – Jones – U.S. Military
291 – Domingo – U.S. Military
313 – Littleton (Claire or Aaron)
317 – Cunningham – U.S. Military
337 – Martin (Karl) – Other
346 – Grant – U.S. Military
Partial
20 – Rous (Possibly Rousseau)
25 – ___
30 – ___
33 – ___
49 – Cha (Possibly Chang)
62 – ___
251 – ___
260 – ___
272 – ___
285 – Jen (Possibly Jenkins)
__ – Reynolds
__ – Sullivan
__ – Lacombe

Pop ups are evil.  I mean, if you don’t know about Jack’s dad and the coffin then you need to turn off your set and go back and rent Season One.  Then they tell us right after the fireworks go off that “Richard knows what the signal means.”  Really?  No kidding?  It’s a good thing they told us or I would have thought that Richard was confused and thought it was the Fourth of July.  Duh!  We have loyally put in 5, going on 6, years of time and thought into Lost so how could anyone possibly know what we know by watching 42 minutes of pop ups?

1.  When Lennon tells them that if they don’t save Sayid they would be in “trouble” I don’t think that he means kindergarten trouble but more like “we are screwed” trouble.  But if the darkness takes over they really are in trouble!

2.  Does anyone ever come out of that water not taken over by darkness?  Was Claire dead and baptized there?

3.  Darlton said we’d get the numbers in a “big” way.  Ne numbers, or old numbers?  There were a lot of numbers this week.  Will have to go slowly and get them all.

4.  Kate reallllly looks like she knows Jack when she sees him outside of the airport.  And not a look like she saw him on the plane.  Dejavu again?

5.  We are getting answers. I think they showed us Lennon walking around without shoes so we have no doubt that these are the Others that we saw “way back” walking through the jungle.  They are the Others that took the kids.  Seems like they really do want to protect them.  Explains why they took the kids.  Protect them from this “darkness.”

6.  OK, it’s Season Six and NOW Jack starts asking all the questions?  Glad to see it but wow, it took long enough.

7.  Sawyer said back in Season One “every man for himself” and he’s doing it again.

8.  At some point Kate needs to stop going back for people.  It doesn’t seem to work out very well for her.  She went back to Otherton to get Jack, in the sub to get Sawyer and back to Claire and who knows where she’ll end up.

9.  Did you hear Kate call Sawyer “James?”  She has never called him James.

10.  The test for Sayid is Ash (keeps out smokey), electricity (also kept smokey out of Otherton) but I didn’t understand the branding.

11.  They also tortured Sayid in a similar way that Danielle did when she first caught him.

12.   Death by fire (Jacob), life through water (Sayid).

13.  Why “would” Claire come to the States to adopt out the baby?  It didn’t seem like she was all that surprised that they didn’t pick her up or that the lady’s husband had left.  Maybe the fortune teller told her that she had to.

14.  So I thought that when Danielle talked about “the sickness” it was something to do with Smokey taking over.  But from the sounds of what Dogan says, the sickness is more then that.  Remember when Ethan was giving Claire the vaccination?  Desmond took it in the hatch.  Seems there is more there then I thought.

15.  Nice Zombie shout out.  Darlton jokes that they are putting in a Zombie.

16.  So Claire is now putting traps out like Danielle used to.  The new Other guy started to talk about it but the little guy stopped him.

17.  I guess we can see that Kate is meant to be with Aaron.  Just how much we are yet to see.

18.  Love it, Ethan!  I thought it would be Juliet but I guess he was very obsessed with Claire back on the island so it makes sense that he’d be there.  Then to say that he doesn’t like to use needles – oh the irony.

19. Ethan was “Rom” in Season One.  Now he’s Ethan Goodspeed.  Not sure I still trust that guy.  Seems suspicious.  And a OBGYN or Pediatrician.  Hmmmm.

20.  Ethan tells her that Aaron is going to be a “handful.”  I guess we’ll see.

21.  Live together or die alone.  Sawyer says some of us are meant to be alone.  Not sure I believe that is his fate.  I’m sure Hurley can relate to what he’s feeling.

22.  I didn’t get the symbolism of the baseball Dogan had.  Jack and his dad talked baseball.  I think Eko played as a kid with his brother.  Others you can think of?

23.  Dogan was “brought there.”  Hm, seems there is a clue there to Jack that he was “brought there” as well.  I keep seeing in commercials that Jack is somewhere with Dogan and asks how his name is on something.

24.  It really sounds like Kate gave her name to the hospital as “Joan of Arc.”  I think it was Joan Hart but that is not what it sounded like.

25.  Does something happen where Claire dies and Kate is mistaken for her because she uses the credit card Claire gave her?  Somehow they find her, thinking she’s Claire, and give her that baby.  Could be a car accident or Ethan’s people try to take the baby and hurt her in the process.  She was not meant to raise that baby, according to the card reader in Season One.

26.  Why do the new Others want to protect these guys so much?  Is it something to do with Mrs. Hawkings theory that they all have to be there?  Or does Smokey just kill everybody and they care about their safety? Or the “darkness” takes over anyone unprotected?

27.  Claire is looking rough.  Finally, she took the makeup off!

28.  And, to end on a note and go to bed…. I think that we may see Mrs Hawkings back in the new time line trying to get the course of events back on track.

You must watch this YouTube video.  This guy is amazing with his “Lost” software how he explains the two parallel time lines exist.  Then there is this “deleted scene” from Season Five where Faraday also explains the split in time.

So, we can see how the island is underwater in the “new” 2004 airplane scene.  How?  In 1977 Juliet detonated the bomb.  The whole thing was gone and sunk the island (no, I don’t know how but come on, Locke turns into smoke so it’s possible here).  Butterfly affect comes into play.  Widmore has no reason to want to get back to the island (it’s underwater and everyone there is dead).  Desmond never sets sail on his around the world trip and lands on the island.  Ben and the Others back on the island never travel back and forth doing who knows what back on land.  Juliet never goes to the island.  Leonard would have never been chanting the numbers in the asylum for Hurley to use (yes, I know Hurley still won the lottery so it goes along with the theory that what must happen will happen).

In Season One people’s paths were crossing and it was fun to spot them but in Season Six their crossing paths now has a whole new significance.

If we believe the time line of Vaughn (the first video I linked) then the the two (or more) time lines will never cross.  But if we listen to Faraday he doesn’t say they will cross either but he does reiterate that whatever happened, happened.  On a side note, he says that he spent the 3 years back home recreating his all of his work back in Ann Arbor (if you recall that is where the DeGroots  founded the Dharma Initiative) so in this alternative time line they have access to all of Faraday’s work.  I can’t imagine what they might do with it in this alternative time line.

And let’s agree that Not-Locke was correct when he called their lives “pathetic” back home.  As we can see from this first episode, they are no better off with the plane not crashing.  Kate was better the original way because she didn’t have to go to prison and could stop running.

1.  Remember right after Faraday talks to Desmond about finding his mother Desmond wakes up with Penny and suddenly “remembers” the conversation?  When we first see Jack on the new plane he looks for a minute like he’s disoriented. I wonder if something similar happened to Jack in that we see him only moments in time after Juliet detonates the bomb.  Hopefully you understand what I meant here.  Not that she changed Jack’s present but it’s happening on two different plains of time simultaneously.

2.  I don’t know if they were serious, but Darlton were recently on Jimmy Kimmel and indicated that the fact that the stewardess only gave Jack one drink instead of two was significant.  But they joke a lot.  Time will be the judge.

3.  Darlton also told Kimmel that Rose being the confident flier while Jack was frightened has significance.  I think it’s cute that Rose tells Bernard she missed him while he was in the bathroom.  Or is there more to this as well.

4.  How is it that Jack doesn’t remember cutting himself?  And I love the scene here of Jack looking at himself in the mirror.  Symbolic of the time lines.

5.  If my theory is right then Jack would have never met Desmond in the stadium because Des would not have been preparing for his big sailing trip.  Ever had dejavu?  Jack is having it right here. Makes me wonder what my dejavu means.  Hm…

6.  Underwater shots.  Here you go!  Dharma security, Dharma houses, the swing set and even the Dharma shark!

7.  One thing has stayed the same, opening the scene with an eye.  But I have a hard time believing Kate could get her hands on false eyelashes.  Maybe she took them out of Claire’s bag.  Remember how Claire always had makeup on?

8.  If Artz is asking Hurley to site lines from his Clucky commercial, then these teasers this summer really meant something; Clucky Commercial, Kate on America’s Most Wanted.

9. I still want to know how the Dharma van traveled with them through time.

10.  Shouldn’t Rose and Bernard be in the current time with Jack and everyone?  And are we going to see Vincent again soon?

11.  Michael Emerson must be as excited at Terry O’Quinn for this season.  Ben is now tied with Not-Locke and way far away from being any kind of leader.  So his role and Not-Locke’s roll are going to reverse.  I can’t wait to see how these two guys embrace these characters.  You can see already the desperation in Ben’s face.  But he always has a plan, right?  Maybe Ben will be the one that saves them all.  That would be ironic.

12.  On a side note, are we going to find out anything about the “real” Henry Gale?

13.  Here’s the shot of Not-Locke sitting in the old rocking chair.  Looks like the chair from the cabin.

14.  Wow, Not-Locke can repel bullets too.

15.  Ash ring repels Smokey.  This makes me wonder who exactly was in the cabin.  We saw in the pilot episode (Season One) that the trees were being parted and the sounds of Smokey.  But I also thought for awhile that Jacob had Smokey trapped in the cabin.  Now I think that it really was Jacob in the cabin as it was surrounded by Ash.  I think it was Locke who ended up breaking that ring and that is when Jacob retreated to the foot.

16.  Locke had to die so that Smokey could take over his body.  But there is more to Locke then just a vessel.  Smokey also took over Eko’s brother, Christian and Ana Lucia so if that’s is all he needed then he could have killed Jacob before.  He needed a true believer, like Locke.  I wonder if Jacob also had Locke in mind for his own use?  Remember how Richard came to him as boy with his “test” that Locke failed?  They came to him again in high school.

17.  I think we are going to hear the Juliet- coffee line again with Sawyer.  I’ve said previously that I think she’s “mind” traveling between the time lines and that is how she knows the plan worked.  Elizabeth Mitchell did say that she has more then one scene in Season Six.  How the survivors will come to believe it is the next question.  Maybe Juliet will somehow retain her memory from the island in the new time line.  Maybe that is how Mrs. Hawkings knew to tell Desmond that he “had” to go to the island – she remembered or “mind traveled.”

18.  Yeah Charlie!  I really hope they bring him back more for this season.  Charlie and Hurley were good friends so I can hope.

19.  Looks like it’s still 2004 according to Sayid’s passport.

20.  Guess we might find out why this watch was so vitally important to Jin.  But all the money they find in his luggage makes me think that perhaps Jin was the one thinking of leaving Sun in this alternative world.

21.  I don’t think that we discuss enough what a great job Josh Holloway does with his role as Sawyer either.  We know what a great looking buy he is and to come onscreen with matted hair and all covered in dirt and blood, well he still looks good.  But I think he’s really brought something extra to Sawyer last season and so far this season.  I can’t wait to see how much he does this season too with the grief that Sawyer is going to be carrying.

22.  I’m thinking that although the island is underwater in the new time line, someone (whether it be Jacob or Not-Locke) needed that body and that is where Christian is.  I’m sure he’ll be popping up this season.

23.  Nice of Kate to walk away with the torch right as Jin and Jack are going around the huge, gaping hole.  But then she hears the whispers.  I know that it appears that it’s the new Others but I’m not 100% sure of this.  I could believe that they are talking in the cavern and the whispers echo, but it doesn’t explain how they traveled out in the jungle when the survivors heard them back in Season One.  I’m hoping there is a little more clarity coming.  Maybe all of the new Others at the Temple are dead or something like what Richard is?  Afterall, they do have a ragtag group of people – ranging from a hippie to a Japanese Samurai dude.

24. More red flowers!

25.  Here is the description of the new guy “Lennon” when they were looking to cast him.  “According to the casting breakdown, Lennon is the scruffy, edgy and charismatic spokesperson and translator for the president of a foreign corporation who is far more powerful than it seems from his position.”  Is the samurai guy president of a company back home?  Did they change their minds about his role?

26.  Jack didn’t care to know what the “risks” of putting Sayid in the water were because he’s not 100% a man of faith yet.  Jack just thinks Sayid is all but dead anyway.

27.  Non-Locke says he wants the one thing that Locke didn’t – to go home.  Why does that have to mean off of the island?  I think that the reason that the Temple Others got so upset knowing Jacob was dead was because the Temple is his “home.”  And I would guess that he can do very bad things from “home” especially considering that they have the magic water at the Temple.

28.  Jack tells Locke that nothing is irreversible.  What if Locke does go to Jack and have his back fixed?  Could Locke being fixed in this time line explain and carry over to another time line?  Could it explain how Locke suddenly has the ability to walk once he’s on the island?  I’m sure there is a subtle meaning to the line also but thought maybe there was a literal meaning as well.

29.  Here’s a shot of Jack’s card, in case it means something later.

30.  Right after Not-Locke knocks out Richard he says “I’m very disappointed in all of you.”  Huh, why?  the he slings Richard over his shoulder like an old boar.  Maybe he’s going to hold him ransom to get inside the Temple?

31.  I originally thought that Sayid was taken over by Jacob.  But when asked, Darlton would only say that “something” is inhabiting Sayid.  What are the possibilities?  We may not know yet.  After all, who could have ever dreamed that there would be a freighter appear or that only 6 would get home then come back.  But I would still prefer that it’s Jacob.

Faraday said that they could not change fate.  Charlie is supposed to die.  Mrs Hawkins explained course correction.  Their destiny called from the island.  Their destiny will still have it’s way.  Kate will keep running.  Sawyer keeps conning.  But Not-Locke put it best when he said to Ben that the survivors don’t even realize how pitiful their lives are back home.  Guess we are seeing that.  Will like to see how this destiny fixes itself.

I think we are dealing with two time lines running parallel to each other.  Jack did change history but I think that the two time lines are going to intersect at some point.  Thus proving Faraday’s theory that you cannot change your destiny.

1.  You could see right away that the plane ride was different.  The stewardess only handed Jack one bottle of vodka and in the original she handed him two.  Boone was without Shannon.  Claire must have changed her mind about adopting Aaron.  Charlie didn’t run past Jack to the bathroom. The cops didn’t take Kate, they took Charlie.  (and btw, YEAH CHARLIE!!!).  But these things would not have been different because Jack / Juliet set the bomb off.  And the island was underwater which Jack could not have changed with the bomb.

2.  Desmond.  Where are thou Desmond?  What was that all about? But omg he looked good!

3.  I need to screen cap but I swear that was a Dharma shark.  Graphics were pretty bad though.  And the foot was there so history wasn’t completely changed.

4.  Kate’s eye opens.  And she’s in a tree.  Cool!

5.  So at first I was pretty upset that they just didn’t leave Juliet where we last saw her.  Then I remembered an interview with Elizabeth Mitchell where she stated she came back as Juliet because her role was pivotal to the season.  She tells Miles that “it worked.”  Of course no one will think to question him further on this but this is a huge clue to what is going on with the alter-universe of their lives that we are seeing.  She also talks to Sawyer about going for coffee, dutch.  Was she traveling to the other time line?  Is she in some state like Faraday had Eloise (the rat)?  Traveling back and forth in her mind?

6.  So back on the plane Hurley tells Sawyer that “nothing bad” ever happens to him.  Back with the original Hurley only bad things happened.  He thought he was cursed!

7.  Like Ben, I also want to know why Jacob didn’t fight back?  Unless he knows that like the survivors back on the plane, you cannot change your destiny so he gives in to it.  Plus, can he possibly take over Sayid’s body?  Is that why he wanted Sayid at the temple so badly?  Is Sayid now Jacob?  Oooo, Locke versus Sayid?  Show down!

8.  I wasn’t sure if it was on purpose, but I remember in the Pilot Boone really wants to get a pen to help save Rose.  When Jack is trying to save Charlie on the plane he asks for a pen.  I found it amusing.

9.  So with Rose back home is she now going to die of cancer?

10.  Why did the Dharma van travel forward in time but nothing else tangible did?

11.  Wow, Jack is really going to be screwed up in his head with all these people dying on his watch.  We’ll have angry Sawyer, depressed Jack and not-Locke.  What a trio!

12.  Now we know why Locke was the only one old Smokey didn’t kill.  He looked inside and what Smokey saw was what he wanted.  He needed to keep Locke alive to take over his body.

13.  Did you notice Not-Locke sitting in the old rocking chair?  Just like the old rocking chair in the cabin.

14.  So where did Desmond disappear to on the plane?

15.  Sayid told us not to mistake coincidence for fate.  It’s no coincidence that Christian Shepherd’s body isn’t on that plane.

16.  Remember last season when Hurley told Sayid that he was going to have a time that he needed help and that he wouldn’t help him?  Guess he changed his mind because twice Hurley literally saved his life.

17.  And was Hurley hilarious tonight or what?

18.  Kate heard the whispers in the temple.  Then we see the Others in the temple.  Not sure I know what the significance of the whispers in the jungle were if it’s just these people.  I’m hoping there is more explanation to come.

19.  I’m worried about Hurley running around in that red shirt.  There was a problem in the past with people wearing red and then dying.

20.  I like how they “baptized” Sayid in the temple.  I think the Japanese guy knew exactly what they were doing in the water.  He knew that Sayid wasn’t going to die.  And we know from the past that bodies left out and not buried seem to be resurrected.

21.  Another question – who is this Japanese dude?  Will be interested to hear his story.

22.  Locke broke the circle of ash around Jacob’s shack last season.  Guess he must have let Not-Locke in at that moment.  I will have to come back o the significance of the ash.  Also, the guy in the temple was OK until he stepped out of the ash.

23.  Claire either was on the plane or lives in LA.  She was in the cab with Kate.

24.  Jack also had a pivitol line to Locke, “nothing’s irreversable.”  Interesting.

25.  Why didn’t Richard want them to shoot Locke?    Looks like Richard knows Not-Locke from way back.  I’m thinking Black Rock history?

26.  Is Terry O’Quinn the best actor ever?  He really gets to exercise his acting chops this season!  I love it!

27.  Where is Vincent?

28.  The bullet hit Non-Locke but seemed to bend (didn’t go straight through him).  What exactly is this guy?

29.  My hope is that this is the last of the Saywer and Kate love affair (with his grief over Juliet).

30.  On a limb here – MAYBE the plane didn’t crash because the circumstances weren’t right.  Last season they had to recreate the flight as close to the original in order to crash on the island again.  If Jack’s dad’s body wasn’t on the plane then maybe they couldn’t crash?

I have to go back and watch again.  Come back in a few days for more thoughts and screencaps!  Welcome back, looks like we’ve hit the ground running.

More fun stuff from Kristen:

“For a good five seasons now, Benjamin Linus (Michael Emerson) has been one of the most spine-tingling, blood-curling “bad guys” on television and certainly the most creeptastic Other on ABC’s Lost.

But that’s about to change in the upcoming final season, starting Feb. 2, because there’s a new baddie on Lost who will make Ben Linus look more like the wimpy Peanuts character with whom he shares a name.

So who is this terrifying and awesome new Big Bad? What has he done and how will you see him?

As our 12 Days of Lost-mas—in which we stuff your stockings with spoilery goodies—continues, here are four true things I can tell you about the New Big Bad.

He:

* Killed **h*.
* Killed ***o*.
* Is *** **o** *****e*.
* Wants to “g* ****.”

Again, this time, all four of these things are true. Your job is to decifer the missing letters…

Maybe Santa will buy you a vowel for Christmas? ”

Click here to see the guesses.

I’m glad to see that ABC is having some fun with this last season of Lost.  Check out the two promo pictures below.  Any guesses what the subtle changes mean?

While the positions of most of the characters remain the same, there are some minor differences.  Miles and Claire switch sides which moves Hurley one seat in, then Ben and Sun swap places.

Is there something special about these five characters who move while the others remain in the same places?  Why does Sun move away from her husband in the second photo?  Are these legitimate questions or are the producers throwing us another red herring?

YES!  Emmy for Best Supporting Actor! Well deserved.  *APPLAUSE*

My only complaint is that I wanted a longer speech.  But he looked genuinely nervous.  Yeah for Lost!