Did anyone else notice the guy surf fishing (with a long beach pole) in the background of one of the beach shots? I was really surprised the editors didn't catch that in production and CGI it out.

SanMan

Liz wrote:
---Another puzzling bit was the exchange between Kate and Rousseau in which Rousseau said she doesn't want to know any details about Alex because Alex probably doesn't even remember her or know she exists.---

I think Kate was onto something. I took Rousseau's response as a coverup. Rousseau went with them to get her daughter back yet has no questions about her daughter. That just doesn't square. She's therefore not with them to get her daughter back. She's with them for another reason.

Locke is looking more interesting, well, at least as interesting as he was at the beginning of the who Lost saga. I agree with what was said above, Locke must have learned something while playing the chess game. He lied about the C4 so he probably blew up the building or did not prevent it from blowing up. It leads me back to an old theory, that some losties, especially Locke, are programmed (brainwashed) in some way to perform certain acts when triggered. It also supports my idea of a war between the Others (good guys) and another group that wants the island and put the losties there to defeat the Others. So far the losties have destroyed two bunkers, Swan and Flame. I think only Locke was involved in both.

If Locke is some programmed assassin, I won't be surprised if he tries to destroy the Other's little suburbia they are about to enter. He certainly has that C4 to destroy something. Isn't there a transmitting tower in the map of suburbia? McPatchy noted that when the Swan station was destroyed the underwater beacon went off so the sub could not find the island. That points to the island somehow being hidden and requires a beacon to be followed to get to it. That explains how Rousseau got to the island but not Desmond. Desmond...hmmm...

---Did anyone else notice the guy surf fishing (with a long beach pole) in the background of one of the beach shots? I was really surprised the editors didn't catch that in production and CGI it out.---

That's funny ... when Claire came down to the bird trap with the fish for Sun to cut up I wondered how she was able to just go and get fresh fish (not refrigerators you know). I didn't notice the guy fishing but that would have helped me believe she had ready access to fresh fish.

Episode was better than usual.

I think its time to stop with the flashbacks, I just dont care anymore.

It's Australia! They have universal health care, Claire wouldn't have to worry about paying for her mother's care. The USA is the only developed country in the world where Claire's mother would be a financial burden on her family.

In your analysis, you say we already knew that Claire was Jack's half-sister. How did we know that? I don't read spoilers, so maybe its just something you had read before...for me, I didn't know it was coming until I saw Jack's father there (at which point, that was the obvious shocker they would go for...)

I agree with Jen's point about the show being involving on a cerebral level rather than an emotional one. The reverse was true the first season -- the original flashback of Locke was one of the best episodes of TV ever, but now we've gotten so used to the flashbacks and have expected so much of them that we're generally disappointed now. The show has become like a Rubik's cube -- each week the parts move around in different directions, but they aren't going to all line up until we get to the end.

I thought this episode wasn't too bad. True the flashbacks were all filler, but they were short. Locke is rather predictable and i think Sayid and Kate are letting him run the show for now because they don't know what locke is capable of or his final intentions. Clearly he doesn't have a problem killing anybody.

Also, i like the the 2 congruent story lines. One following the expedition and the other back at base camp. I thought there was a good balance last night of these two. And what is with Jack and Tom being best friends?!?!?1

I'm actually really enjoying this second half of the season, but I agree that the flashbacks are not working the way they used to. They used to advance the plot as much as the current stuff, but in a more subtle way; they added both depth and intrigue simultaneously. Now they seem to mostly fill out things we already knew or didn't need to know.
Juliet's was excellent, because it gave us insight into her character, her situation, and everyone's situation. Jack's flashback, on the other hand, really was a waste of time. I can justify most of them, but not that one.

The problem with the flashbacks now is that they're simply reiterating things we already know about the Losties, not adding new information. The Cheech episode didn't really add anything new to our knowledge of Hurley. The Jack on the Beach in Thailand episode was more annoying than revealing. We knew Sayid felt guilty about torturing people. Next week's episode, if it shows why Locke was in a wheelchair, will pretty much complete our knowledge about the core cast. After that all the flashbacks will pretty much be filler unless they pull some turnabout like making Locke an Other, which I would consider a cheat.

The writers are running out of paths and are turning down blind alleys.

"Also, because you're a big fan of the producers' oft-dropped literary references, I'm sure you noted Sawyer's reading material last night: Ayn Rand's "Fountainhead," which to me was an interesting choice since the book centers on one man's struggle not to give in to popular opinion. Maybe Lindelof needs to read it again."

Or maybe it was a reference to the growing legions of Lost fans who now endlessly complain about the show's direction?

Liz and Jen - Quit complaining. If the show "no longer works" for you then go watch Dancing with Stars. Go nitpick that or Wicked Wicked Games or something.

I thought that it was interesting that Mikail tells Locke "thank you" after pushing him past the sonic security fence and killing him. Could it be that he had been on the island so long that this was the only way that he was able to die and leave the island.

Locke : Could he be in with the Others? He did what patchy wanted, and/or he did not want Patchy talking about his previous condition.

Danielle: Who is she realy? Are we to believe that she has wondered the island for 16 years and never saw the Otherville camp??? She never mentioned anything about a Dharma/Others war. And, when Patchy first saw her last week, he gave her a half stare of recognition.

Jake playing footbal: I think this is a set up. We will see how he got to that moment, and I expect it is just a moment - unless he was drugged or an other himself!

Locke: I don't think he's an Other. I think he doesn't want to be discovered, and doesn't want off the island. He likes walking, doesn't want anyone else finding out the wheelchair was his. He likes being a warrior. He has always been unhinged, and has always followed his faith in the island blindly, and not explained his actions to anyone: witness the plane and hatch in season 1, the computer in season 2. Blowing up the Flame is totally in character. Killing Mikhail makes sense since he was about to say that Locke was paralyzed.

Rousseau: I think there's still a lot to learn about her. Sixteen years is a long time not to have found these places. I don't remember what was on her map in season one. She is one character who still has a lot of backstory and motivation to explore.

Jack: I think he has been brainwashed - just like the flight attendant. I look forward to finding out what's going on there.

Those annoying little pixies dancing across the screen to reveal the ABC logo really ruined the show for me.

As w/ the Desmond black/white comment I made a few weeks ago -- that the producers were explicit in Season One interviews about the importance of those colors in the scheme of things, and that Desmond was clearly shaded in those colors when telling Charlie about his impending death a few weeks ago -- I can't help but think Claire's black hair has something to do with something. And what about the seer who was so adamant way-back-when that she have this baby? (Or don't have it -- see, it was so long ago, I can't even remember.)What about that thread? ... On a related note, I love Cosmo's anology to a Rubik's cube and everyhting lining up at the end. Very apt. (And, let's hope, accurate.)

Liz,
I don't watch Lost, but for some reason I find your commentaries really interesting, and often funny.

Maybe the writers should engage you and Jen to write the show...

Back to the guy in the background fishing.... I should have explained this a little more.
I was thinking the fisherman in the background was just some local Hawaiian guy fishing down the beach from the set, and that the LOST editors forgot to remove him from the scene (like they do with all of the other stuff in the background, I assume). We visited the beach set about a month ago while on our honeymoon and we surprised by the number of people that use that beach, fishing being one of the more popular activities. Besides, how in the world would Jin (or someone else) get a 12 foot+ long fishing pole on the island??

True, the Claire flashback was awful but it did have a purpose. Claire's guilt about causing her mother's coma (and probable death) was reflected back on her when she heard about (and presumably believed) Charlie's impending doom. I suspect now that Charlie can do no wrong in her eyes. Maybe he'll even get some?

Locke is certainly a liability now. I can't understand why Sayid tolerates him. I dont believe, like others here, that he is concerned about people finding out he was paralyzed. What would that change? But I do agree that he is not interested in leaving the island. Would he force all the Losties to stay just for that reason? Time will tell.

Help!!! How did you know Claire and Jack were related? I didn't know that until last night....Help! I need to know!!!!

I think Locke believes this is his mission to be on this island.

Yeah, Claire's flashbacks were a total snooze, but the show has got me back in the game with those closing scenes. At last, a real cliffhanger! We haven't had one of those in a looong time. It means we can look forward to some solid answers next week now that the Others' compound has been breached. They can't pull punches here, the confrontation has got to be too volatile to water down with flashbacks and teases. Keep hope alive!

And I must say, Claire, aka Emilie de Ravin, has the most flawless skin I've ever seen in High-Def!

Its funny that on an island with so few blacks, the producers seem intent on getting rid of them all? America frowns on killing children so they let Michael and the kid sail away. Most of the other blacks got killed real good. The only one left is Rose.

In AnnaLucia's flashback of driving around Austrialia with Jack's dad drunk...he had her stop at a house where he wants to come in and see someone and there is a blond woman yelling at him to go away. I think everyone just assumed (correctly) that it was Claire's house and he was talking to her mother.

POSSIBLE CONTINUITY ERROR - didn't Jack's father fly to Austrailia and get into a fight with Claire's mom a few days before the flight that crashed on the island? It was when Ana-Lucia was guarding him. I dont remember all the details but I recall him saying something like "she's my daughter too". If he was talking to the aunt and the mother was already dead, he would not have needed the "too". That scene implied he had no contact with Claire before then. Can somebody check the DVDs?

re: Claire and Jack

when Ana Lucia was chauferring Christian Shepard around the island, he had her drive him to someone's house, it was Claire's.

" I think everyone just assumed (correctly) that it was Claire's house and he was talking to her mother."

well you're incorrect about the mother part, since it was a few days before the plane took off, and her mother was still in a coma presumably. it was Claire that he was talking to.

What was the deal with the birds? Are these folks really that dumb/desperate that they think a piece of paper tied to a gull's leg is gonna lead to their rescue? As soon as the bird stops for lunch and takes a dip in water to catch a fish, the ink on the paper will run and the paper itself will eventually disintegrate. Is there some symbolism here I'm missing?

BrothaMan, we have discussed this, and everyone's probably tired of hearing it, but I agree with you - I think the Dharma group is going to turn out to have Klan connections at this rate...
Dark-hair Claire: totally looked like Catherine Zeta-Jones. What a doll!
Desmond & Charlie: So, Desmond is Charlie's guardian angel now? I thought he told him so he could quit trying to save him and let fate take it's course, but he hasn't. Maybe Desmond's just screwing with him! Har har! Good one!

How did McPatchy know everyone's last name? And why weren't they freaked out by that? I would not have moved an inch until he explained that one!

Why did Desmond shoot his rifle to scare away the Seagull? If they had caught one with the net, then Charlie wouldn't have had to try to get the other one on the rocks and fall in the water...

"How did McPatchy know everyone's last name? And why weren't they freaked out by that? I would not have moved an inch until he explained that one!"
The lack of ability to stop and ask a direct and obvious question is the fatal flaw that sent all these people to island purgatory.

Although the Celebritology analysis is usually spot on, I have to disagree with this week. I think last night's show was one of the better ones.

First, although the whole Jack/Claire sibling thing was set up last season, the show still needs to connect the dots on occasion. It did this pretty clearly last night. I suspect that at some time in the future, this plot point will be developed. So no complaints there.

Second, the show moved forward. I really did enjoy the Hurley and Cheech episode, but it didn't really show forward progress. It was a self-contained episode. Last night, however, not only did we get the Jack/Claire connection, er, clarified, but we also had the rescue party actually make some progress, reach the destination, and watch Jack play a little catch with M.C. Gainey.

And maybe nothing will come of the birds, but at least is showed some proactivity from the gang...no ping-pong this week. These guys deserve some props for actually trying to get off the island.

Not a bad episode, all things considered.

They're not in purgatory:

This theory was expressly debunked by head writer Damon Lindelof in a New York Times interview published on May 25, 2006. Noting the fact that the finale of Season 2 shows the outside world in the present (as opposed to a flashback) for the first time, Lindelof added: "People who believe that they're in purgatory or that they're subjects of an experiment are going to start reassessing those theories based on the fact that we are literally showing you the outside world."

Jack's dad was probably getting hollered at by the ever-so-shrill Aunt Lindsey

I think there was some significance to the birds last night that has yet to be discussed: doesn't it suggest that a) they're not in purgatory; b) the island is not a black hole; c) they're not in some althernate dimension; and d) they're not in some wrinkle in space-time. I mean, if it were any of those things, how would birds---tagged by "earthly" scientists---make it over the island? I think the birds suggest that the island is just a normal place on earth.

MAPA
What happened at the finale of Season 2 that was the outside world in the present? I don't remember anything like that??

Yes, MAPA, I know; you seem to have missed my humor, as so many people miss the humor of this show...
Speaking of which, sad to see Sawyer stifled in his nicknaming this week...I miss Sawyer...

Add me to the group that had no clue Jack & Claire were related until last night. That admission from her dad made me drop my jaw. Also agree w/some previous posts that Locke is up to something- something quite sinister. I can't wait to see next week's ep. And lastly re: the last scence where we see Jack playing a friendly game of ball with the Others, I dont' think he is brainwashed at all. I think he was resolute about becoming an Other when he last spoke with Kate, urging her never to return for him. Now why would he do this- to infiltrate and destroy the Others? Or maybe he really likes their "suburban" and comfortable lifestyle and doesn't want to continue eking out an existance with the Losties on the beach...

the outside world bit was when the people in the artic station looking for Desmond monitored the disturbance from the hatch explosion, and called Penny to tell her about it.

Thanks Pat!!

I agree that this was definitely one of the better shows. Stuff happened! Projects and explorations were begun and-God Forbid!-finished in the SAME EPISODE!!! The shock! The scout team didn't take half a season to reach a destination, intrique was built around McPatchy and Locke, the Locke/Sayid tension grew (you know that'll be a biggie eventually), Desmond came clean with Claire, the net thing was begun and FINISHED-again, ALL IN A SINGLE EPISODE! Lots going on, on several fronts, all at the same time. Haven't seen that since what-season 1?

I did, however, almost throw something at the TV when my favorite annoyance (Charlie) went weird A G A I N, and Claire got pissed A G A I N, they had a spat and 'broke up'A G A I N. That they got together-A G A I N-in the same episode was good, but I swear if they play that same old card one more time I'LL shoot the whiny dweeb myself! I SURE wish someone would. It would be a perfect twist to all the hope they're building when Desmond saves him repeatedly.

And like others, I never got the Claire/Jack's Dad connection. Face it-there are so many miniscule details with profound significance that it's impossible to catch them all, much less understand them all.

Very satisfying show on the whole. Can't wait for next week. I think waiting for almost three complete seasons to tell us what happened to Locke is unconscionable. It's a bloody bout time!

I'm sure this has already been said, but I'll repeat it just to increase the odds that you two will read it: THIS IS NOT PURGATORY. This idea has been dismissed by the producers since day one, repeatedly. Stop bringing it up, you lose all credibility when you do.

While not spectacular, I thought it was a pretty good episode. Average for Lost is still miles above everything else on TV (BSG excepted, perhaps)

>Besides, how in the world would Jin (or someone else) get a 12 foot+ long fishing pole on the island??

While it's possible--indeed likely--that the fisher's inclusion was accidental, a 12' fishing pole could be fashioned from natural materials quite easily. Bamboo is readily available, and could be used for the rod and probably even the line, too.

I think the best explanation for Rousseau's inconsistentcies is that she is simply more together mentally now that she interacts with other human beings on a semi-regular basis... when she tried to exchange Clair's baby for Alex in Season 1 she was still probably conceptualizing her as a baby, or much younger. This is the only real explanation... after all, remember she once tortured Sayid to get answers about Alex, so she probably would jump on the chance to get real answers from Kate.

In general, she seems to act more like she is mentally all there then she used to, so I think the show's depiction of her is consistent with this explanation

"I think there was some significance to the birds last night that has yet to be discussed: doesn't it suggest that a) they're not in purgatory; b) the island is not a black hole; c) they're not in some althernate dimension; and d) they're not in some wrinkle in space-time. I mean, if it were any of those things, how would birds---tagged by "earthly" scientists---make it over the island? I think the birds suggest that the island is just a normal place on earth."

Many possibilities: they happened upon the island like the plane, but, like the Lost crew found, any effort to leave just leads you in a circle back to the island; they were tagged by scientists on the island, who at one point were abundant (if they're not still); etc. I definitely think they will be significant, but it's hard to know how. Maybe that bird will show up 6 months from now (so in six more seasons) and drop the note, which will dislodge a rock that will fall on Charlie's head, a scene that it interlaced with scenes of Desmond hauling ass back to camp to try to save him.

Anyway, more poignantly, has anyone else noticed that every time Desmond saves Charlie, Claire's involved? The lightening struck the tent where Charlie would've been with Claire; Charlie was going to try to save Claire in the water; Charlie was gonna go get a bird to show Claire he loves her; etc.

---the outside world bit was when the people in the artic station looking for Desmond monitored the disturbance from the hatch explosion, and called Penny to tell her about it.---

Oooh yea! That's why Penny had those guys listening for a signal! Remember, an antenna is (or was) putting out a beacon that Rousseau says lead her to the island. Patchy said the destruction of the Swan station knocked out the underwater beacon the sub needed to get to the island. Why all these beacons and, once they are shut off, no one can get to the island in that mode? I'm starting to think the island is hidden somehow and Penny had the guys listening so she could find it. I wonder what is taking Penny so long to get there. Of course, as Charlie pointed out when he wrote his note for the bird, the Losties have only been there 80 days. Seems like a few years to me :^)

Locke takes the cake. He helps blow up the Swan, the Flame, kills path, what's next? He basically says, "I'm sorry, I was wrong." Classic.

Don't forget, his vision did see Jack in trouble, so he likely is not an Other, but he wants to be. Remember his quality time with Ben in the hatch?

Maybe Jack and Juliet are a thing...he's happy, let's play ball!

Still a lot of mystery left to answer and will keep us tuned in. However, the pace was excelent last night, 3 threads, it moved and resolved some ends.

Jack: Difficult to believe that he has been brainwashed or experiencing Stockholm syndrome within just a few days. More likely that he is laying low while plotting a new strategy.

The List: It seems that killing someone is the quickest route to not being added to the list. Jack still qualifies, but Kate and Sayid do not.

Locke: Could he be an Other? He understands that the island has healing/restorative powers which keep him out of his wheelchair. This may be reason why he seeks to destroy the sub in next week's episode.

Claire & Jack's Dad: Not a surprising reveal, but hard to see how they pull this together and why it is important for Jack and Claire to be related.

It seems pretty clear that the island is hidden by some sort of cloaking device which allows you to leave with ease, but returning is another story without a guidance beacon. This would explain how Walt & Michael were able to leave on the boat and the Others were not concerned that they would find their way back.

Thanks for the tipoff about Locke and the sub, Lester!

Anyway:

"It seems pretty clear that the island is hidden by some sort of cloaking device which allows you to leave with ease..."

You mean how unless you travel in precisely the right direction you end up right back at the island? And how compasses don't point North?

I think the "cloaking device" is a natural phenomenon. There spots on the earth's surface--called "vile" vortices--where magnetic fields overlap and compasses don't point north, among other oddities. It just so happens that one of these vortices is located 1,000 miles off the coast of Fiji.

Coming from that angle, I think the beacon probably just gave incoming traffic a solid point of navigational reference that overcame the otherwise unreliable magnetic properties of a vortex.

Oh, it seems that the page reads faux html and hides it. The beginning of that last post shoulda been:

Thanks for the tipoff about Locke and the sub, Lester!

But without the spaces.

Dammit!

It hid that, too.

The comment about the tipoff was sarcastic.

Nagging questions,

Why did Desmond "turn the key" at the end of season 2?

Was he trying to PREVENT the implosion and was too late? However, it did implode when he turned it.

If he wanted the hatch to self-destruct, why not just leave the hatch?

What was the key really suppose to do? What if he had turned it before the 108 count ended?

Someone please clarify.

Not sure anyone can answer any of that definitively, but I think the key released a mounting electro-magnetic charge that was released in minuscule amounts when the button was pushed every 108 minutes.

So, basically, I thought of the hatch as kind of an electro-magnetic dam, and every 108 minutes you had to open the flood gates a bit to make sure the charge didn't "spill over" and cause a "flood."

When Locke didn't push the button, the charge started to get too powerful for the structure containing it, and that's why things started flying around the room. The explosion was the electromagnetic equivalent of suddenly fully opening a dam.

Liz has a Bernese Mountain Dog! She just said so! I've had five over the years (down to just two now, but have had three at a time mostly of the time) Liz, be careful. They're like potato chips.

i just reread your chat and missed the chance to post during it, but wanted to point out in regards to this

"if one of Jack's tattoos was from Thailand, did Claire maybe do the other one?"

that Claire was a piercer in the tattoo shop, not a tattoo artist. (and she was using a cheesy piercing-pagoda-esque piercer, not something a professional pierce would use)

hahaha re: Don Ho and Vincent Price. They're both dead though...or are they.

Yes, since I have Aussie citizenship I thought the same about Claire and the universal health care issue. However, that nice room later on was definitely a private hospital, and that still takes a fair bit of dosh to cover.

After Charlie gets knocked off, who will Desmond have visions about next?

>After Charlie gets knocked off, who will Desmond have visions about next?

The viewing audience?

One big problem, given the 80 days on the island, and even less time than that since the birth of Claire's baby is how huge the baby is! At most the baby should be 2 months old, but the baby actor they are using has to be at least 6-9 months old.

Also, as to the birds, I am not sure there is a lot of guarantee they are escaping the island; at the end the shot of the birds flying away followed them, or showed similar birds, flying over the encampment of the Others.

Also, Claire's note was not as direct a plea for help as could have been done. Why not also mention the Dharma drops of food, and ask someone to investigate? Not sure the word Help, or SOS or anything similar was used.

Note the book reference to ayn rand? maybe this ties into who the others are - a group of super people who are above everyone else - along the lines of a leader like John Roark from Fountainhead? maybe the island is their sanctuary.

>After Charlie gets knocked off, who will Desmond have visions about next?

Hopefully, me

FYI: Rose knows that Locke was paralyzed. But I can still get with the theory of him wanting to stay on the island. It makes sense. Everyone has such interesting comments about the show and last night's ep! LOL I think the flashbacks are okay sometimes. Last night just confirmed that Jack and Claire are siblings. The one with Sayid, I think it showed his growth as a person. Think about it. The woman whom he tortured only wanted acknowledgement. When he acknowledged what he did to her and apologized, she forgave him. And she was responsible for his life being spared. He learned from that forgiveness and it showed when he spared Mikhail's life. Even when the man said he would kill them if he had the chance.

To speculate on the "who does Desmond protect after Charlie dies question" I gets back to the most interesting thing going on in the show right now--set up by the Desomnd (best) episode of the season which is the Desmond episode.(And not just because the flashback was not just another stupid pointless flashback).

At some point, Desmond is heading back to the hatch to turn that key again. He has to, Hawking demands it. And when he does, Charlie's course will be "corrected".

My theory is that Charlie actually died in the hatch explosion the first time. The second time, Desmond (knowing Charlie would die) told him to run (which is what we saw at the end of season two). Charlie survived that time. Then he died another time and another. Desmond will only remember up to the last time Charlie dies before he is sent back. Then Charlie is corrected.

But when and how does Desmond head back? And can he make it stop (by stopping Locke) this time? Penny will have something to do with it.

Keep in mind that when Penny answers the phone at the end of season two, the picture of her and Desmond is sitting in a frame by the phone.

Meanwhile or whenever, Desmond has the photo on the island. At what point does he give it to her and is there maybe something written on the back?

For me, that's good stuff.

First of all, I think last night was one of the best episodes of the 3rd season. Even based solely on the ending scene - with Jack running as though he's running to meet Kate & Sayid hidden in the bushes and then we see he was simply playing a backyard game of football with The Others. Just great, surprised me, hit me in the gut, made me think.

I agree the flashbacks are increasing less interesting. However, I personally dug seeing blond Claire in that black punk look. She really had that all-black punk look down pat.

When Jack's father commented on not keeping Claire's mother alive when she wasn't really living, I think he was reflecting on his own life, rapidly spiraling downhill - remember that he eventually drank himself to death in a drinking binge.

I too am so tired of Claire and Charlie's spats. Frankly, and this may sound sexist but so be it -- Claire is so hot looking, it is amazing that every Lostie male (and perhaps a female or two) haven't been trying to hit on her, and pushing Charlie aside. How Charlie's been able to sort of play house with her is a mystery to me. He's a nice enough fellow, but she is the kind of girl that would not stay lonely for long - I betcha any guy on the island would be willing to babysit her baby and rescue her from peril as part of romancing her. Charlie really should have had more competition by now.

To the commentator who revealed something that's gonna happen in the next episode, please refrain from doing that! Spoilers about last night's episode are one thing ... but those of us who read these posts are NOT expecting spoilers from the following week's show!!

---One big problem, given the 80 days on the island, and even less time than that since the birth of Claire's baby is how huge the baby is! At most the baby should be 2 months old, but the baby actor they are using has to be at least 6-9 months old.---

Just wait until we see Walt again, and I'm sure we will. He'll be a foot taller and maybe a little stubble on his face.

Move it along Lost-directors! The movement of this show is about one episode representing one day or two on the island. Good thing we're not watching Gilligan's island! I'd like to be alive when Lost comes to an end, hopefully explaining everything so I'll want to buy the DVDs and watch it all again.

I agree with Zizzy - my emotional envolvement was burst like a baloon everytime those damn dancing pixies twirled across the scene. Other than that I really enjoyed the episode. I think the flashback did reveal a lot about why Claire acts the way she does and her phobia about raising her baby from Season 1. If you go back and look at her almost hysterical outbursts and fears about her ability to raise her baby, along with her going back and forth "keep him - give him away - keep him - give hime away, etc" the flashbacks really explained a lot about her motivations and inner demons. Plus, let's face it, next to Shannon, Claire has been a pretty ignored.
Regarding Rousseau - I would LOVE to see her flashback! Some of the more bothersome Willing Suspension Of Disbelief items revolve around Rousseau: Why no one has ventured to find the radio tower message is transmitting on and why no one has gone to her to ask the skinny on everything, like what did she mean by security system and why the hell did she write the lyrics to "Beside the Sea" over and over. You know, important stuff.
I want to go out on a limb and say that I don't think they're getting ready to kill off Charlie. It's just way too obvious.
Lastly, where the hell is Rose and Bernard?

Why was the button pushing at 108 minutes not automated at some point? Or was it? When and how did Desmond end up with this job? Who did he take over from? Did he take over from someone or something?

Locke: He's just a guy that's trying his hardest to do the right thing. Deep down he knows there's a better way. Just like his namesake, he's a humanist, and an enlightened, though flawed, thinker, and the opposite of someone that believes everything is preordained.

We know Jack. There's no way he'd be smiling if something seriously different hadn't changed him. He's playing catch with the guy he had complete disdain and arrogance towards. Nope, something big has happened. Maybe he's become the Others new leader?

I'm hazarding a guess that Locke wants the submarine because he wants to be a hero and actually be the one to save everyone. I don't think he wants to be an other, and I think he'd be willing to leave the Island if he could do so as a hero. We'll see, but that's my guess ...

I'm a little late with this post, but anyway..
Regarding Jack's father - does anyone remember the episode when Jack was following the ghost of his father and found the cave and his father's casket, and after breaking it with an axe (that shows that the casket was not damaged), his father's body was not there? I keep thinking that Dr.Sheppard sr. will show up...

Do Ho is alive.

I've posted this before and I'll post it again: not every episode has to have a huge reveal. This should have been apparent from Season One, which frankly, had far more "filler" and unanswered questions than this season. Remember that the writers want the series to run for 5-6 seasons--if they answered a major question every episode, then there wouldn't be a series left after this one.