Charlotte: Her full name is Charlotte Staples Lewis - i.e., C. S. Lewis (who was, in fact, Clive Staples Lewis). This could be another clue to an alternative, simultaneously existing universe with its own time structure outside of ours.

great analysis! Someone on TWOP pointed out that Ben gives Charlott's full name as "Charlotte Staples Lewis"....CS Lewis! Narnia, religious overtones, etc etc!

Just wanted to give some appreciation for the CS Lewis reference last night: the character Charlotte Staples Lewis, instead of Clive Staples Lewis. Got a kick out of that one.

Maybe it's just me, but has the front of the plane traveled from the jungle to the water between the 1st season to last season? I seem to recall Jack, Kate and Charlie going to the check on the pilot for the receiver and a monster killed the pilot in the island and not in the water. Am I missing something?

Hands down my favorite line in 4 years.

Is it possible that the plane found in the water was planted by Oceanic? As Mr. Abaddon clearly told Naomi that there were no survivors from the Oceanic 815.

I will admit upfront that I'd had a couple of drinks at happy hour before going home to watch the show, but I could swear in one of those scenes, Locke's eyes were brown, not blue. Did anyone else see this or was I more impaired than I thought??

Ben's contact on the boat... Michael perhaps??

Here's a question. Would anyone care to take a guess as to how long the discovered body of 815's pilot had been underwater at the time of discovery? That would give some clue as to flashback/flash forward.

An interesting point that was not brought up: it appears Naomi was sent on to the island under the belief that no Oceanic survivors would actually be there.

However, the crew which she was put in charge of, knows all about them and must have expected to find them. They have memorized the passenger manifest, and show no surprise that the whole world thinks the flight crashed under water.

One other point: what about Penny? Does Desmond get off the island? If he didn't, wouldn't Penny be pushing the 6 survivors on whatever story they told people about the island? She clearly knows something about it, and talked to Charlie over the radio. The survivors would have to have a story that jibed with what she knows, unless Desmond made it back and hushed her up about the island. And on the subject, what story would the world possibly buy anyway, if they've all seen footage of the underwater wreckage?

Can't wait to see the answers to these questions.

also, btw re: Jin, Desmond, Sun, Rose, Bernard, I believe they are waiting on the beach with the others who went with jack and kate.

Walt's being on the boat would explain why he knows the freighties are bad and warns Locke.

I think the whole underwater plane is part of a cover-up. I don't know if it's Oceanic, Dharma, Hanso, or "someone else." I think Ben's "man on the boat" is Michael. My first thought with the drugs & money wasn't an Eko connection but a Charlie connection. The drugs in the baggie looked similar to the drugs Charlie had on the plane. I'm glad someone else hasn't forgotten that we want answers, but I'd rather have the actual answers than someone else asking my questions. My wife & I re-watched the 2-part pilot earlier this week and were very frustrated realizing we *STILL* don't have some very basic answers from the early, early beginning. I realize we'll probably never get *all* the answers (Cuse & Lindelof have said as much), but at least answer, say, 75% of them before asking 50 new questions.

Doesn't Faraday say "I am here to rescue you" similar to Luke introducing himself to Princess Leia?

I think that only the pilot memorized the passenger manifest, and it would make sense that he obsessed over the crash if he was supposed to be the one flying the plane.

Oh, re: Jin, Desmond, Sun, Rose, Bernard. They made their various choices. Rose stated she wouldn't go anywhere with Locke, so she's probably on the beach. Assuming they were going to be rescued and knowing she doesn't want to leave, she & Bernard would just stay with the beachies, say their goodbyes, then watch them leave. Jin & Sun and Desmond were probably just helping pack up or getting something to eat. Every person doesn't need to be in every shot. Then again, as I said to wifey last night, I take nothing on this show at face value.

Just want to say quickly that I never have minded the Lost analysis etc even though i don't follow the show - but does this mean an end to Friday Lists and other fluffy things that are important on Fridays?

I had two questions from last night:

1.) Harold Perrineau was listed as a cast member during opening credits. I got really excited that we'd see Michael during this epsiode...does this mean we'll see him sometime this season?
2.) The pilot Jack and Kate found in the cockpit in the 1st episode was clearly not the guy they showed on the news last night. I'm now definately buying the theory that someone planted that plane at the bottom of the ocean...

I think Charlotte Lewis, the anthropologist, might be there to study the people who left behind the four toed statue.
She knows something about the former inhabitants.

Another Locke as Jesus thought--Sawyer had a very "Doubting Thomas"-like moment when he wouldn't believe Locke was shot until Locke/Jesus showed him the actual wounds. Of course, in the Bible, this scene took place after Jesus had been resurrected. Which could be more fodder for the theory that Locke is dead, or was dead. And perhaps this will now make Sawyer more of a believer...

Are the newcomers (the freighter four) there on a revenge mission from Dharma? After all, Ben killed all (?) their people in the purge.

i don't know about the religious overtones, CS Lewis stuff. I mean, Lost is as much "mystery novel" as it is science-ficiton, fantasy and drama. so, the reference to Lewis could be a red herring, which is ultimately the fun part of reading mystery novels and watching Lost in the first place. i think lost is much more connected to reality than the traditional sci-fi, parallel universe explanations. they're not going to cop out in a Dallas-dream-sequence sort of solution (which is what saying it's parallel universe does). the series will try to figure out a resolution to the "man of science vs. man of faith" dilemma which became the guiding force of the show at the beginning of season 2. there won't be an entirely logical, reality-based explantion for the mysteries of the series, but the explanations won't be entirely sci-fi, fantasy either (we'll find out that both Locke and Jack were wrong).

i think the wreackage in the water is a plant (by the Hanso Foundation, by Oceanic itself (which could be a front for some other company/organization))--that's why Frank Lupitas (sp?) pointed out that the footage of the pilot (would they really ever show something like that on the news?) could not really be the pilot.

i, for one, am enjoying following the clues, especially when they lead to dead ends. if there's a dead end, that means the series isn't over.

Liz - Here's a possibility into Abbadon's comment regarding no survivors of 815 on the island. Both Frank and Farraday (maybe) were interested in looking for flight 815 and possible survivors. This was the hook to get them into the mission. So the comment was made to assure Naomi that the hook is just that, and not an actual possibility. Of course another possibility is that Abbadon is in part behind the staging of the fake crash, but he doesn't believe there are a major number of survivors. (yet - he may by the time he talked to Hurley)

*Speculation (as in this is my own thoughts and not based on any inside info) but of course if right, would be spoiler - so don't read if you aren't interest in bigger picture theories about the plotline*

OK here is my theory about the Oceanic 6 and what happens between island time and off the island time.... The new current four have separate motivations for trying to get to the island, so they aren't loyalists of Abbadon and what he represents. Abbadon does seem to have an interest in claiming/ reclaiming the island(Reclaiming in the sense that Dharma had recent control until the purge), and perhaps destroying anyone who could get in the way of that.

For reasons unknown now, the new 4 bond with the Losties/Others and inform them of what will happen (maybe not in that order). At some point, the Losties/Others learn a new way to cloak the island from detection. (As was the case before Charlie turned off the switch in the looking glass.)This cloaking is the only way for those left on the island to survive. The Oceanic Six (and perhaps some "natives" and maybe an incognito lostie or two) leave with Frank, but the rest stay behind (perhaps by choice or neccesity). The cloaking is resumed.

The Oceanic Six want to find a way to help the remaining islanders (the ones who haven't remainded by choice), but 1) they don't know where the island is, and 2) they don't know who to trust.

Speaking of Richard and the other others...I wonder what they are doing. Their leader, Ben, is now Locke's pet on a leash. Some of them were blown up, run over and/or shot by the Losties. What are the rest doing? Busy with their book club?

it wouldn't surprise me if in the last episode of the show, we find out that all of this is just some strange, drug induced dream of someone in a mental institution -- Hurley. Howefver, I hope this is not the case.

One of those screencaps of the boy's room with the exorcism has a poster that appears to be a basketball schedule for the La Habra team. It appears to have the year 2004 on it. That suggests it was a flashback, not a fastforward (i.e., Miles did this before going to the island in late 2004). If the 2004 schedule was posted on the wall was current, then it would put the time of the flashback right before being recruited, and the news of the underwater discovery was a couple of months after the flight had crashed.

Of course it's possible the room hasn't been changed for several years and the news of the the crash discovery was actually years later.

Did anybody notice what currency the money was that Miles took from the hidey hole in the house? It didn't look American....

I thought Ben's perking up when Hurley corrected Locke on the cabin's location was surprise that someone else (besides himself and Locke) could see the cabin.

I'm really starting to think that the theme is Earth-as-Purgatory, with the Island being some kind of gate between Purgatory, Heaven and Hell (Paradise Lost).

i think they were still flash forwards. when frank was watching the news about the wreckage, his television went all wonky right before the line about the passangers all being dead. it's possible what we couldn't (purposefully) hear was something about "only the oceanic six have survived...all other passangers are dead". just a thought.

Who is playing George Minkowski (the guy on the other end of the phone)? Is that Fischer Stevens?

And who is playing Vincent? That dog really didn't look the same, for some reason!

Abandon

Abaddon

Seems a little odd that these two words are so close and sound so similar. Anyone else have a take on that?

As for when the flashbacks take place, on the newscast in the beginning of the episode I swear I heard them say that the plane had been missing for two months. Since the time for the castaways is I think around 90-100 days, that would put Daniel's breakfast scene about 4-5 weeks before he lands on the island.

Early on, Sawyer refers to Locke as "Colonel Kurtz." This is a reference to Marlon Brando's character in "Apocalypse Now" which was a riff on the Kurtz character in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness." Basically, a crazy guy in the jungle. Any meaning beyond that?

Wow. Excellent ep!

I think there's more to the exchange between Locke and Hurley re the cabin. Locke shoots Hurley a look of anger and disbelief that initially conveys he thinks Hurley can't possibly know about Jacob's cabin and if he does, he's a threat to Locke. Hurley plays dumb by saying it's another cabin, realizing he's in danger if he tells the truth. Can't believe Locke buys this, but he lets it drop.

Agree that Lapidus would be the only one of the rescue team to know the Oceanic 815 manifest. I think the other boat people believed only the Others were on the Island and learned of the Losties through contact with them via Naomi's satellite phone.

Ben's man on the freighter could most def be Michael. All signs point in this direction.

Still not convinced of the parallel universe/time fracture theory. Was swayed by the first scenes of the submerged plane, but Lapidus exposes it as a hoax. Looks to me there's still only one real Oceanic 815.

Re: Abbadon and Naomi's discussion of there being no survivors. I interpreted this as meaning they both knew there COULD be survivors, but he was emphasizing to her that no one must find out OR that they must all die, leaving no survivors.

There is a place in Tunisia called Tatahouine. I remember seeing it at the very end of the X-Files movie (1998). Tatahouine = Tatooine? Just sayin'.

First off, 43 minutes is not nearly long enough. The show needs to be twice that long!

Re: The pilot on the sea-cam not matching the pilot killed by the smoke monster - weren't there two guys in the cockpit when they first went in? It makes sense that the one with the missing wedding ring would be the other one...

As a diehard fan, I was frankly disappointed in this episode. It was all just an extended setup to introduce four new (and obnoxious) characters, none of whom I want to see hogging screen time at the expense of the ones we've come to know and love. Compared to last week, the plot moved forward at a snail's pace. Come on -- there's only six more episodes in the can!

As for the C.S. Lewis references, I know that the show's creators have said that this is not purgatory, but C.S. Lewis, in addition to the Narnia series, wrote several serious books exploring the nature of purgatory and heaven. In particular, the setting of "The Great Divorce" bears an uncanny resemblance to our island. Now that we know that at least some of the dead people in Lost still have a physical presence in the real world (Jack's dad and Charlie in particular), the purgatory theory is rearing its ugly head again...

Did anyone else think it suspicious how pristine the helicopter looked? Lapidus, the pilot, looked all tore up from the landing, but the chopper looks like it just went through a car wash. Something's fishy there.

I agree that the Oceanic flight 815 wreckage is a manufactured "duplicate" and one of the later scenes with the toy plane sinking through the aquarium water is intended to be a wink to the audience to alert us to that.

On a different topic, after Jack & all went to such trouble to get the phones & guns from the new arrivals I was quite disappointed when he gave the phone back to Miles, who is clearly the most adversarial of the newbies. Since he already knew that these people speak in codes, why would he trust Miles, of the 3, to talk to the freighter, especially since Miles didn't tell him anything after giving him the phone.

As to the "ghost" in the house that Miles visits in the flashback, I wonder if he might have been a victim of a shooting by Anna Lucia, somehow tying back in to her, as in the last episode her police partner was present.

remember how ben said if you thought about it you could bring anything you want to the island? maybe it works in reverse too. it seems that polar bear was definitely at the hydra station. the question is why did it leave? can the others leave in this manner too?

I was trying to figure out who the Oceanic Six would be last week, when it dawned on me that the only ones we know of so far for sure are Jack and Hurley. Kate is/was a fugitive, and murder charges just don't get forgotten, yet she was living on the outside of the pokey. So, maybe she left the island by some other means...

What I am driving at is that perhaps the Losties/Others/Boaties ultimately arrive at some sort of detente and six people who want to return to their previous lives agree to fabricate a story of survival to cover for those who remain. Clue 1: The cop who knew Ana Lucia had no inkling that people survived on an island. And sledgehammer clue 2: Hurley asked Jack if he was visiting him to see if he (Hurley ) was going to talk.

If this is the case, then I doubt Kate would have left the island with the Six, since, as people mentioned last week, someone would have identified her.

Unlike Steve, I'm thrilled with the new, quirky characters and the pace this season is moving at. The story lines seem to be converging and locking in toward resolution. I'm thinking at this rate, this arc with the freighters and the Jack and Locke camps will be wrapped up well before the series ends in 2010. That means there are still major elements and complexities to Lost that have yet to be revealed. I think the story will go beyond the Oceanic 6 and move us into other realms before the series ends.

Ben's "spy" on the boat is almost certainly Michael. Hence, Harold being listed in the credits and predicted reappearance during the season. One of the island's power seems to be dupliacting things like in the Orchid station video. That's what we've been seeing with the polar bear in the desert and with Christian and Walt. I wish you had done more analysis of Miles and his unique "gift" ...

"maybe it works in reverse too. it seems that polar bear was definitely at the hydra station. the question is why did it leave? can the others leave in this manner too?"

Keith, that would fit into the whole "Wizard of Oz" theme nicely. The power to leave the Island was in their possession all along. Just click your heels together!

Alright, I figure Charlotte is meant to get us thinking about CS Lewis and doors between worlds. I also think we saw all flashbacks on last night's episode, for the reason stated above that the fake wreckage was found two months after the crash and the current island time is three months after the crash. So what if the island is in some sense a door between two worlds, or even two timelines? That got me wondering is perhaps our four intrepid freighters are actually from another timeline and trying to find their way back, thus their interest in the island, the crash, time traveling polar bears, etc. In one reality (where the freighters have been trapped), flight 815 crashes with no survivors. In another, where the freighters and our Losties come from, the plane crashes on the island. Ben and the Others could also be from some other timeline (perhaps explaining why Richard ALbert never ages). Not sure how Abbadon fits into this, or why he wants Ben.

I don't think we can necessarily exclude Kate from the Oceanic 6 - there's a chance whatever charges against her were either dropped, or she was found guilty with no actual punishment, because of what she'd gone through on the island.

Two more things....

I'm not sure why everyone is convinced that Jack's father's body is on the island. Remember Jack pleading with the Oceanic Airline staffer to let him take his father home. We never find out how this is resolved.

Then when he finds the coffin by the cave, it looks pretty intact. In fact, when Jack opens it, its hard to tell what Jack's reaction means. Is he relieved to find it empty because his father's body is in Australia still, and he knows he was experiencing delusions when he thought he saw his pop?

And secondly, Terry O'Quinn is really channeling Marlon Brando's physical performance in Apocolypse Now. There are moments on screen where O'Quinn's facial expressions are dead ringers for Brando. Then, of course, as I am thinking this for about the tenth time (its always durinng those outside raining scenes where Locke looks to the heavens), Sawyer drops the Colonel Kurtz reference... Cuse and Lindeloff definitely need to get out of my head :)

Was the reference just a cute acknowledgment of the similarity, or was it a blunt way to suggest we all read Heart of Darkness?

"The series will try to figure out a resolution to the "man of science vs. man of faith" dilemma which became the guiding force of the show at the beginning of season 2."

That's from Steve, above, though he dismissed the C.S. Lewis angle. But while many folks know Lewis from the Narnia books, he wrote a sci-fi trilogy that revolved entirely around the faith-vs.-science question. I'm going to reread them and see if there are any other clues that could be applied to "Lost."

Pardon me if I'm asking a dumb question; I may have missed something somewhere along the way. But do we know who *all* the Oceanic Six are? I'm only aware of Jake, Kate and Hurley. Who are the other three? Did I miss seeing them?

Do we know why these three aren't telling the world "the truth" about what happened on the island?

When Kate met Jack at the airport, she said she had to get back to "him." Does this mean Sawyer? (Making him therefore the fourth O-6er?)

Thanks for another great analysis. I think the funniest line was Jack's: "I don't know, Miles, how stupid are you?". James' (is no-one going to call him Sawyer anymore?) referring to Ben as Yoda was a close second. It's good to see him back to his snarky self (a little darker perhaps). I think that Locke's look registered more shock that Hurley knew anything about "Hurly's Moving Cabin", as did Ben's look. I hate to sound silly but does Hurly have a kind of "power" too? Meanwhile, the Others are at "The Temple", when do we go there? A parallel universe?

They are going to need one heck of an explanation for Kate as one of the Oceanic 6, given her trouble with the law. But who knows.

One thing for sure, whoever is in the coffin is not one of the Oceanic 6. They're famous. A reporter or a photographer would have gone to the funeral if it was one of the Oceanic 6. But no one showed up.

I think Michael as Ben's man on the Freighter makes sense. I think he's in the coffin, too, based on the funeral notice in the newspaper and a few other clues.

I think an important reveal in the episode is that the Losties are not dead, as some had speculated, and this is not some sort of purgatory. The fake Oceanic 815 and the pilot with no wedding ring seems to put that theory to rest.

Minor point...but Naomi did arrive on the island with a picture of Penny & Desmond in a book and she lied about it being "Penny's Boat," so Naomi and Abaddon clearly know before their "covert op" that Desmond is there. How? And why doesnt Jack's team or Locke's team confront them about this lie?

Just thinking aloud, but perhaps Abaddon's intention in repeating the line "there are no survivors of flight 815" was a not-so-subtle communication to Naomi--who is clearly a highly trained mercenary of some sort--that she is to execute the flight's survivors or otherwise see to their elimination?

The writers clearly want Abaddon to be perceived as sinister, and perhaps the objectives of Naomi's mission are to 1. locate the island; and 2. eliminate the survivors. Maybe she's a "cleaner" like Jean Reno's character in La Femme Nikita, sent to "clean up" (read: kill anyone involved in) botched covert ops?

Of course, this raises the question of what Abaddon, or any other external player in the series, has to gain in staging a sunken Oceanic Flight 815 to convince the world the passengers are all dead. Maybe exclusive rights to the island? Maybe to prevent the world from finding out about the island?

If the flight's survivors were to be rescued, how could they explain where they have been for three-plus months without also describing the island and what happened there? How would their rescue explain the sunken plane? I'm guessing the big external players have a strong interest in preventing the world from finding out about that place.

For what it's worth, I happen to think that is precisely what has happened with the sunken plane; that is, it is a staged scene for the "research vessel" to conveniently find in order to allow some interested party (Abaddon, alone or as an agent of another group, perhaps?) to go on and search for the island without external attention? Remember, the writers love "The Watchmen," and elaborate tricks designed to fool the world into believing something--whether for its own good or not--played a big part of that story. . . Sorry if that's a spoiler for someone.

Maybe the "Oceanic Six" had to sell out their fellow passengers to get off the island, and the guilt over making such a selfish decision is what is plaguing Hurley and Jack in the "flash forwards." Charley is haunting Hurley to go back to the island--maybe to rescue the survivors or tell the world their story. Note that Kate, the criminal, showed no outward signs of remorse.

Figuring out Abaddon is key to understanding the competing forces/interests seeking to control the island. He is the "signal" from the writers that they are moving to answer some of the major questions out there surrounding the story before the show ends.

Sorry for the lengthy post . . . Your beloved Uncle, Screwtape.

"But do we know who *all* the Oceanic Six are? I'm only aware of Jake, Kate and Hurley. Who are the other three? Did I miss seeing them?"

No, that's all we know. We know Jack and Hurley are two of the Oceanic 6. They haven't said so explicitly as to Kate, but she is back, so either she is one of the Oceanic 6 and they have some explanation for the charges cleared against her, or she is not one of the Oceanic 6 and she came back secretly.

"Do we know why these three aren't telling the world "the truth" about what happened on the island?"

No. Probably some sort of bargain though in exchange for their return, or perhaps a promise to those who wanted to stay. Unclear.

"When Kate met Jack at the airport, she said she had to get back to "him." Does this mean Sawyer? (Making him therefore the fourth O-6er?)"

Maybe. We don't know yet. That's one of the big unanswered questions.

From eprice29:

"Alright, I figure Charlotte is meant to get us thinking about CS Lewis and doors between worlds....So what if the island is in some sense a door between two worlds, or even two timelines?"

Although I know others have discussed this in other fora, this brings me back to the mythology in Stephen King's Dark Tower series and other related novels of his, like The Talisman.

In King's novels characters have "twinners" who exist in the other worlds and who are similar to them, but not the same. Some people are capable of moving between the two worlds and even, on occasion, have observed their twinners in action.

And, of course, in at least one epiosode of Lost a character (Juliette) was holding a Stephen King book.

Are you two really questioning the realism of someone surviving a bullet when this same character already was able to miraculously walk again after a plane crash? Whatever happened to the island's healing properties?

I think Locke's explanation can be taken at face value. Not having a kidney kept the bullet from shutting his system down, and while he might have lost a lot of blood, the island healed him up good. Infection? John Locke laughs at your petty little worries of gangrene.

Locke is alive and well, but I think you're right about him not being part of the Oceanic 6.

Could Charlotte possibly be Ben's insider? I mean why was she wearing a bullet proof vest? By Ben "apparently" trying to kill her it would absolve her of all suspicion of being associated with Ben.

I read on EW that they felt Charlotte had been to the island previously. Could she possibly be Annie?

Thanks, Cliff. In other words, I didn't miss anything -- I'm just as clueless as the rest of you.

Re: Jen's final comment about Charlotte being the key:

In the first National Treasure movie, Charlotte is a ship. Throughout the movie, characters say "the secret lies with Charlotte." Just saying...

I just had a brainstorm: what if the someone Kate had to get back to is Abbadon or someone like him: someone the Six had to make a deal with in order to get off the island? In that case, perhaps Kate isn't one of the six because the "Rescuer" wants to keep her--she's essentially the sacrifice that allows the others to be free. This would explain why she wouldn't want to take Jack's call (not supposed to be in contact with him?) and why she was anxious to get back to "him" (to avoid detection for breaking the rules).

Question: what is Miles' connection to Oceanic 815? For the other 3, we see in the flashbacks either an unexplained emotional response to the discovery (Faraday), an obsession with the discovery (Lewis), or actual connection/knowledge of the flight (Pilot). I don't recall the crash coming up during the Miles flashback... did I miss it?

:::I hate to sound silly but does Hurly have a kind of "power" too?:::

I don't think that sounds silly... I think it sounds very probable! In fact, my husband and I rewatched all of Season Three before last's weeks season premier and I can't remember exactly why but we started talking about whether anyone else might be able to see Jacob besides Ben and Locke. I said, for some reason, I felt Hurley would be the most likely to be able to see him, too. And sure enough, who stumbles upon the cabin? I think that Hurley is highly sensitive to the unexplained, given his past with the mental stuff (though I never felt like Hurley is actually crazy... I think that he feels safer in the institution, because the "crazy person" label sort of shields him from all the weird, unexplainable and unbelievable things that keep happening to him). So I was not surprised that Hurley could see the cabin.
Re: the looks from Ben and Locke when Hurley points out they are headed the wrong way to get to the cabin. I agree with the others who think that both Locke and Ben are shocked that someone else can see the cabin and therefore, probably be able to communicate with Jacob, and they both feel threatened.

At the end of last night's episode, they said that another member of the Oceanic 6 would be revealed next week. That would bring the known members of the group to 4.

Just another thought on the Stephen King angle--the character of Daniel Farraday used to be named "Russel Farraday" (in old scripts, I guess?). Russel Farraday is the alias taken on by Randal Flagg at the end of The Stand. Could be intentional, could just be b/c JJ Abrams is going to be taking on the Dark Tower series. But, if anyone reads, SK, you would know that everything's connected (or...eventual)

Wasn't there a theory a while back that the Island would treat people differently if they had killed somebody before? I wonder if you can only see the cabin if you've killed. That's why Ben couldn't take Locke there until his father was dead (although his experience may be messed up because he didn't do the killing himself). Anyway, Locke would be stunned if Hurley can see the cabin because he doesn't know Hurley drove over those guys with the bus.

Curmudgeon and Cliff-

On some other blogs people have been claiming that next week's preview actually reveals another one of the 6 ... someone posted that if you pay attention to Kate you can tell. I went back and watched the preview but don't have a clue! Just putting it out there.

Indiana Jane? The whole Tunesia trip conjured up more of Indiana Jones (another Lucas shout-out, true) than Star Wars. And Charlotte is certainly acting as a fine anthropological counterpoint to Indiana Jones's archeologist.

Has anyone commented on how Ben might be a good guy and how he might end up being one of the six? Would seem appropriate being that he continues to get beat up in every episode. Maybe he is looking out for everyone's best interest in the end. Maybe he is in the coffin?

One other random thought about the Oceanic 6. In last week's episode when Jack is drunk at the hospital, he challenges the chief of surgery to "go get my father and if I'm drunker than he is you can fire me" or words to that effect. Does that mean that Christian somehow has reappeared, perhaps as one of the 6?

Coloniel Kurtz didn't just go crazy in the Jungle but also thought of himself as a God and convinced others to worship him and carry out his commands. Sound familiar?

A few thoughts:

-Michael might be the mole on the freighter, after all Ben told him to head his boat in a certain direction and he would be rescued. That would put Walt on the boat too, which would explain both Ben and Locke knowing the freighter means them no good.

-I'm very sure Charlotte is Annie and a possible other mole on the freighter. She was the only one who seemed happy to be on the island, and the only one prepared (bulletproof vest). She was also actively investigating Dharma while the other three were just living seemingly normal lives.

-The money Miles found behind the dresser did not look American. The drugs and the polar bear in Africa points toward some sort of connection with Eko, who could also see dead people. Miles and Eko are connected.

-If a twin engine plane could get half way around the world with Eko's brother and crash on the island, the polar bear could have made it to Africa.

-I'm bringing back my Bangui magnetic anomoly theory, which is a real place near Nigeria with a very large magnetic field. Eko's brother's plane would have flown near it. Its also on the opposite side of the earth from the supposed position of the island, making two unusual magnetic poles. The "numbers" point to this if they are used as a latitude/longitudinal measure.

-Best line from last night: Jack asking Miles "How stupid are you"?

-Hurley is crazy again when back in civilization. That might make him want to be back on the island.

-Overall feeling so far about this story: The island is real as the migrating birds of last season prove. The question is whether the rest of the world is real. I'm starting to wonder if there is some Matrix type thing going on where the island is projecting something, either making the reality you and I enjoy possible or is somehow forcing reality in directions it would otherwise go, dooming us all. Remember, the consistent message is that the island exists to save the world and extreme measures to protect that seem ok with those who know the secret. Also, MIles and Dan were impressed with the sunlight and sky, as through they were seeing the real thing for the first time.

Or not.

I wonder if the writers will explain the appearance of a miraculously-grown Walt as a visit by the "future" Walt. He might already know the course of the future, and returns to the island to try and warn the Losties. Considering the time-traveling/continuum issue, and the fact that Walt seemed to develop special powers on the island, this could be a plausible explanation.

A little googling reveals that Abbadon or Abaddon (Hebrew אבדון Avaddon, means "destruction"). In Biblical poetry (Job 26:6; Proverbs 15:11), it comes to mean "place of destruction", or the realm of the dead, and is associated with Sheol. Abaddon is also one of the compartments of Gehenna.[1] By extension, it can mean an underworld abode of lost souls, or hell.

In Revelation 9:11, it is personified as Abaddon, "Angel of the Abyss",[1] rendered in Greek as Apollyon; and he is described as king of the locusts which rose at the sounding of the fifth trumpet. In like manner, in Rev. vi. 8, Hades is personified following after death to conquer the fourth part of the earth.

Abaddon is one of the infernal names used in LaVeyan Satanism, and is first in the list--only as it comes first alphabetically--and means "the destroyer." He is sometimes recognized as the anti-Christ.

This raises more questions than it answers, I'm afraid.

Love the comments guys. Lots of fodder that I didn't think about.

Jen--Anakin was actually also from Tatooine--but I thought it was cool that they found the polar bear in Tunisia! The Yoda comment made me smile too.

Nice analysis Liz and Jen! Loved the ep.

In "Apocalypse Now," Martin Sheen was sent to assassinate Col. Kurtz; does this parallel the attempt to "get" Ben? Sheen was dispatched by Harrison Ford (more Indy Jones/Star Wars shout-outs?) and was a CIA agent. The girl Abbadon sent was an agent, not a "benign" anthropologist, rescuer, or whatever--pretty much an assassin, in other words, as was Sheen. Sheen's journey upriver began in company with a handful of people on a boat (cargo ship and then helicopter), who gradually get knocked off along the way. (Does the black guy in the chopper parallell the Lawrence Fishburne character?) Was Kurtz a CIA op (as well as Special Forces type) who went "rogue" as Ben may have gone "rogue"?

Re: Rowkod's question: Ben will *never* be a "good guy"; whatever else he is, he's a cold-blooded, ruthless mass murderer. Not even the "Lost" writers can reconcile that.

In addition to "Star Wars" I also felt this episode had a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" feel to it, as well. The location titles in the flashbacks and especially the Tunisian scenes.

And for the "Planet of the Apes" poster last week: I see and hear what you mean. The scene leading up to finding Miles--straight out of the film, soundtrack and all!

If Kate were presumed dead, her charges would have been dropped so when she returned to the US, she would have been free, due to the double jeopardy clause of the Constitution. It certainly seems like she is one of the Oceanic Six, from the flash forward in the first new episode.

I agree with Lindytx: if there's a connection between the ghost that Miles spoke to and any of castaways - and don't you think there just might be??? - it'd probably be Ana Lucia. Cause of the southern Cal. connection, and the cops-and-criminals thing. I think the idea of any direct connection between the ghost kid and Mr. Eko is unlikely, but sure they could've been part of the same global drug distribution set-up. Actually, that'd be relating real-life economic globalization - albeit in its illicit form - to the connectedness the show's characters already have so much of; kind of neat.

I totally agree with Shawn...are you forgetting about Locke's enhanced healing powers on the island? This explains why the bullet didn't kill him and thus he is not dead.

Also, I think Charlie coming back to tell Hurley that "they" need him is a clue that Claire and perhaps Aaron do not make it off the island. I know Desmond had a vision of them getting onto a helicopter, but perhaps they will get on one, but not actually be able to get off the island.
When you think about Charlie as a character, the only people he seems to REALLY care about are Claire, Aaron and Hurley. So I don't see Charlie coming back from the "Dead" or whatever he is to plead with Hurley to return for anyone other than those he cares the most about -- Claire and Aaron.

When Kate and Jack are at the airport, Jack talks about the "golden ticket" that "they" (Oceanic) gave us to fly anywhere. That makes me think that Kate is one of the 6. She has to be. I assume whatever deal they made, that resulted in her getting all charges dropped. Or the Federal Agent that was looking for her was rogue, or she is no longer wanted because she was declared dead....

Another Star Wars connection:

Had Abbadon is a world with six moons that is inhabited by humans named after the Jewish demon Abaddon.

During production for Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Had Abbadon was the planned capital of the Galactic Empire and was to appear on-screen. However, the planet was removed, but its forest moon of Endor remained. The capital of the Galactic Empire became known as Coruscant.

Personally, I don't think the submerged plane is a plant. I think the producers and writers are into a divergent timeline idea, as per the Charlie jumps in the pool/Charlie doesn't jump in the pool idea, and the Flight 815 that was dicovered at the bottom of the ocean was another version of the castaways' plane, one that went down under different circumstances and which was piloted by the Jimmy Buffet-guy. In which case he was looking at his own submerged corpse on TV, and maybe that's why he had such a strong feeling that wasn't the guy the newscasters thought it was? Because I gotta admit, I had the same reservations about the wedding-ring clue as the guy on the other end of the phone.

Re: Locke's reaction to Hurley knowing about the cabin - I think he (Locke) was surprised, but also pleased and a little charmed. Locke likes Hugo, and isn't as jealous and petty a servant of the island as Ben, not by a long shot.

Whatever happened to the theory that Rousseau was Annie, which would explain Ben's continued declaration of Alex being his daughter (and showing great affinity towards her at times, and this is a man who is callous enough to watch his father die, even if his father was a jerk)? There has to be a deeper connection between Rousseau and Ben, obviously. She said she was pregnant when she landed on the island... how did Alex come to be considered Ben's kid? All the rest of the children seemed to go into just being part of the group...

regarding Desmond's vision of claire and aaron making it off the island if charlie died: does anyone else find it strange that we never actually saw this vision, when all Des's other visions were shown to us? I wonder whether he really DID see Claire and Aaron getting rescued, or whether there was another outcome he saw and wanted that depended on Charlie's death.

Why is everyone so into the assumption that Michael is the one on the ship? Why in the world would Michael help Ben? Last we knew, didn't he already get what he wanted (as in the boat to get him off the island)? What am I missing here?

Personally I think Ben's mole is Mikhail Bakunin AKA "Patchy" for multiple reasons. 1. He has already died (?) and come back to life more than once. Remember the electric fence? And the spear gun to the heart? I am sure a little hand grenade wouldn't slow him down.
2. He is already in the ocean and probably has a boat.
3. He was the one who gathered all the info on the losties for Ben when they first crashed.

All in all, I LOVE this show!

The above comment about Michael possibly being in the coffin got me thinking. When Jack pulled up outside the wake it seemed to be in an african-american section of town. Another thing, Michael left the island some time ago and all of the news outlets are reporting no survivors. Has Michael not reached civilization or even a ship with a radio yet? Was Michael's boat intercepted by the freighter, which Ben alerted? Why would Michael want to help Ben after being forced to murder two people just to get off the island?

The problem with the Miles/Ana Lucia connection is that Miles ups the ghost busting price because he learned the woman's grandson was MURDERED, not shot by a cop. That said, I agree there has to be some prior connection for Miles with the Island, as it is with the rest of the rescue team.

Holly,
Good point. I asked the wife last night why at the end of season 3 Rousseau gets all offended when Ben says that "Alex is my daughter", yet when he says last night "Alex don't you want to see your daddy die (or something like that" nobody batted an eyelash?

" ... the man hasn't even bothered to paste a Band-Aid over the wound. How gauze."

From above
"-Michael might be the mole on the freighter, after all Ben told him to head his boat in a certain direction and he would be rescued. That would put Walt on the boat too, which would explain both Ben and Locke knowing the freighter means them no good."

But if Ben knew that Michael and Walt would be rescued by the freighter, then he had to have had "a man on the boat" already.

in response to Curmudgeon:
I still think its possible that Ben is trying to protect the people on the island. If Abaddon is a demon trying to get to the island and its possible that he is part of Dharma, wouldn't it also be possible that Ben killed all the Dharma people because he knew that they were up to no good. The island protects its inhabitants, but if the Dharma people were to be able to get back on the island... That's why Ben shot Charlotte last night, he was trying to protect the island from Dharma.

If you remember, Locke met the monster and was "spared", maybe the monster isn't bad, but a protector, that is why Locke seemed so enlightened after his experience with it. Isn't it entirely possible that the monster is the islands way of protecting itself and that is why the evil Dharma people had to put up the protective barrier.

Ben knows that if anyone gets off the island, Dharma can use them to find the island. I have no idea what Dharma wants with the island or why woman can't have babies... All I know is that it would make a powerful weapon if they can figure out how it works.

I don't know if anyone raised this question in prior years...but I'm confused about the pregnancy/fertility problem on the island. Rouseeua was pregnant when she arrived, as was Claire, and both successfully delivered babies without a hint of problems. But wasn't there great concern about Sun also arriving pregnant? (Didn't they want to kidnap her to study her?) How was any of this different from the fertility problem Juliet Burke was brought to the island to work on?

Sun did not arrive on the island pregnant. As Juliet discovered, Sun became pregnant on the island.

Did I mishear this, or did Daniel Farraday's wife call him "Jim" when he got upset watching tv?

When did Hurley go from Hurley to Hugo? I know Hugo is his real name.

Is it possible that Kate is referring to a child that she has to get back to? I thought there was a chance she was pregnant.

At long last, my husband and son have started watching Lost, and they are just going with the flow & catching up as they can.

Rosslyn... double jeopardy applies to being "tried" twice for the same crime. Kate was never tried. Charges can be dropped and reinstituted any number of times for the same crime. Being declared dead isn't the same as being found not guilty of a crime.

"If Kate were presumed dead, her charges would have been dropped so when she returned to the US, she would have been free, due to the double jeopardy clause of the Constitution."

Actually, double jeopardy only attaches once a jury has been impaneled and a judgment (e.g., not guilty) has been entered. Dropping the charges before a trial doesn't implicate the double jeopardy clause.

Enjoyed the comments, everyone. Can't wait for next week.

I'm thinking Miles is the son of the Hanso guy in the film and videotape the losties found in the hatches.

one short comment -

Charlotte pointedly asked Claire as to whether she gave birth on the island and was fascinated to learn she had. This seemed to indicate she knew about the difficulties of giving birth on the island. (But maybe it was just fasicnation about giving birth in a desolated place)

However if it is fascination about the difficulties of giving birth, there seems to be a problem in that this wasn't a primary dharma concern (which seems to be her informational quest) but an Others concern (hence the need to obtain Juliet). Seems to be a continuity disconnect in that case, but am I missing something?

what was Kate's crime? Didn't she kill her mom's abusive boyfriend or something? Maybe her mother finally admitted Kate did it to defend her and the charges were dropped.

OR it IS a parallel dimension and Kate isn't "wanted", Jack's dad never died, Hurley never won the lottery...

RE: Kate's Criminal Ways

People, you need evidence to convict someone of a crime. Likely, the agent that had Kate on custody in the plane was carrying some or all of the evidence with him. This means it would have been destroyed in the plane crash. It is very possible that the DA lacked the political will and/or evidence to put her away. See: OJ Simpson.

I saw Grindhouse's Zoe Bell listed as a guest star in the opening credits, but as far as I could tell, she wasn't in the ep. Did I miss something, or is this more credits mind games (like listing Harold Perrineau twice now with no Michael in sight)?

I think there were a combination of "flash forwards", "flash backs" and "present" scenes. When Daniel is crying at the TV news of the found sunken Oceanic flight - he has already been to the island and knows that something terrible (like there were really survivors - oh but we killed them all but 6 who escaped). The anthropologist/psychic/pilot could either be "present" time (a/k/a suddenly finding sunk plane) or flashback (to establish their professions). Either way - Abbadon's organization has staged the sunken plane with other cadavers. He tells Naomi there aren't any survivors - as a kind of code for "there will NOT be any survivors" - hence they take gas masks with them for the "fumigation operation". Thus his organization must be the one who did the first island "fumigation" when Ben escaped. They KNOW Ben escaped, and have come back for him to eliminate anyone who knows anything about the magical island. It is interesting that they psychic may "see" dead people - but we don't when we see him doing his thing [other than Naomi's actual corpse]. When we see "dead" people - we, like, Hurley, can't be sure they are "dead" or "hallucinations" or whatever. Locke may be a dead man walking - not sure. Ben's "man" on the freighter might be McPatchy - who is probably a Dead Man Walking and keeps popping up everywhere critical. Intersting that lightning brought the helicopter and its passengers down. The last big electromagnetic whatsit brought Oceanic 815 down. That's when people seem to pass through the dimensions or whatever they are doing to be magically transported to the Island. The fact that the sunken plane is found near Bali is interesting because "The New Atlantis", a utopian novel by Francis Bacon (which plot I find very similar to "Lost" is clearly set somewhere in the Pacific. Of course, the flight originated in Australia - so naturally it's near the Pacific/Indian Ocean - but . . . I really like the parallels with "The New Atlantis" - and that just might connect with the 4 toed statue!

As "Lost" super fans, I think Jen and Liz might be interested in knowing about the latest craze on myspace.com. It's these two guys, musicians in New York who write and record songs that recap the latest episodes of "Lost". The genre has been dubbed "recap rock" by bloggers, and is for the extremest of the extreme "Lost" fans. Enjoy: www.myspace.com/previouslyonlostmusic

My head hurts. But in a good way. I can't even begin to form theories anymore, just enjoy the ride. I'm hoping that if the WGA/AMPMP thing finishes up this week they extend production on this so we'll have a full season.

My husband lost the Lost faith last year in the doldrums of the first half of the season. If he watched it, it was more to hang out on the couch with me than anything else.

However, after last night's episode, he's rehooked. I just had to remind him that any epic tale has ups and downs, good parts and bad parts. I think we're ramping up for a good part....

I think the picture on the wall of the grandmother's house was indeed Echo as a boy. Echo could have been rescued from the rebel fighters by a missionary who may have been the grandmother's son or daughter. Echo was then adopted, and raised in America. That could explain how Echo was able to easily travel from London, Africa, and Australia as an adult. The only hole to this theory is that the grandson is dead. However, the picture on wall may not be the grandson but Echo who was a friend or adopted sibling of the grandson.

One more quick thing - about who the newcomers are. When they found the downed helicopter - didn't someone say to Miles "Sorry about your SISTER" or "We'll come back for your SISTER" or some such thing? And doesn's Miles look Asian American (someone else suggested maybe he's the Hanso guy's son) - so then how is Naomi exactly his "sister" (since she doesn't look East Asian American)? Or were they both "island children" like Ben, Alex, etc. - who end up being raised by surrogates? Are the people who run Abbadon's organization former "victims" of the Dharma Initiative dedicated to bringing it - and all its remnants - down? But I don't think Charlotte could be Annie because the actress looks too young - much younger than Ben - and they were supposed to have been peers.

Wasn't the female translator who was with Charlotte in Tunisia Sayid's girlfriend?

'Did I mishear this, or did Daniel Farraday's wife call him "Jim" when he got upset watching tv?

When did Hurley go from Hurley to Hugo? I know Hugo is his real name.??

I thought I heard her call him Sam.

If I remember correctly Locke has been calling Hurley Hugo since Season 1. Keep in mind he's also been calling Sawyer James longer than anyone else.

Good point about the ages of Ben and Charlotte. I think last season Ben was pegged at about 40 years old. Charlotte looks a 20-something. Ben and Annie should be the same age, which does point to Rousseau. Funny, anyone know Rousseau's first name?

But as I'm starting to think about this more something is bothering me. Naomi seems to have been hired by Abbadon but the other four seem to have contacted Oceanic about the crash. The helicopter pilot was sure the dead captain of the flight was not who they were saying it was. Dan for some reason was crying when he saw the plane underwater. Charlotte seems to know about Dharma, maybe through her archeological work. Miles I'm not sure about, maybe him finding African drug money, but I'm wondering if they were all put on the island to shut them up. That was my theory for how Desmond got there, Penny's father wanted Desmond out of the way. Who knows... but I love getting Lost!

How about this? The island as the biblical Eden. Humans were banished and the Island hidden, but people have managed, through a mix of accident and technology to "find" it again. Obviously there would be various factions driving to harness its unique powers, preserve it's hidden nature, or destroy it as an unacceptable challenge to human free will.

Maybe the reason Locke's walking around with a bullet wound is the same reason he's WALKING around to begin with?

"I wasn't sure if Locke was mad at Hurley for saying that or just thought he was nuts."

He was trying to figure out how Hurley knew about the cabin at all. As far as Locke knew, he and Ben were the only ones there who'd been to the cabin. Then Hurley indicated he'd been there, and weakly tried to cover it up.

Did anybody else notice last night that whenever a prime answer was about to be given (especially by the "boaties") something comes up and distracts them.

i.e.: Dan is about to tell Jack and Kate his team's "primary objective" when the sat phone picks up another GPS signal (Miles) and at the end of the episode when they find out Julliette is not one of the Oceanic survivors, Miles says we're here for Ben Linus but then the sceene cuts back to Locke's camp before we find out why.

Damn this show is good!

rousseau's first name is danielle

Wastan -

Of all the crackpot theories for the overarching explanation of 'Lost' (they're all dead, they're in a parallel universe, they're stuck in a time loop, etc., etc.), yours is the first one that seems actually plausible to me.

Excellent episode. I kept using the DVR function to rewatch scenes throughout the entire show. Here are some of my thoughts on the episode: (1) Michael is the mole on the freightor -that explains his name on the credit plus the myriad of interviews indicating that he is returning to the show; (2) Charlotte is Annie - bulletproof vest; hunting for Dharma relics; familiarity with the island; lack of fear when falling into the pool of water after releasing herself from the tree (is this the same pool where Kate and Sawyer swam in the first season) because she'd swam there as a child?; (3) The pilot who was killed by the smoke monster in the show's pilot was actually the co-pilot; we don't know what happened to the pilot but he is presumably dead (the actor who played the co-pilot was a regular on Alias and is now on Heroes and he is a friend of JJ Abrams) (4) I thought the boys room at the Grandmother's house showed pictures of Walt. Remember, Walt's mom died and who knows what happened (or will happen)to Michael, his father. Walt is truly dead and Miles finally released his spirit. Can't wait for next week.

Re: Kate being one of The 6:

Previous comment #1: "When Kate and Jack are at the airport, Jack talks about the "golden ticket" that "they" (Oceanic) gave us to fly anywhere. That makes me think that Kate is one of the 6. She has to be."

OK, let's assume Kate is *not* one of the 6. How would Jack describe the Golden Ticket? He would still say "that they gave us," with "us" meaning "the 6 people who were publically identified as the Oceanic 6." This does not automatically mean that he is including Kate in the word "us."

Previous comment #2:"People, you need evidence to convict someone of a crime. Likely, the agent that had Kate on custody in the plane was carrying some or all of the evidence with him. This means it would have been destroyed in the plane crash."

Uh, there is absolutely no way the federal marshal would be carrying evidence around with him. Any evidence would be locked up in a police evidence locker.

I'm not saying Kate *isn't* one of the 6. But we don't know for sure she is.

Great comments, everyone!
About Hurley, it seemed to me that both Locke and Ben were surprised to hear him even mention the cabin, yet Locke ended up with a little twinkle in his eye when Hurley obviously lied about what he meant.

And what do you all think about Hurley closing his eyes and saying "you're not there" to both Charlie and the cabin. Does that mean both are in his mind? Or does he have momentary glimpses into another reality?

And one more thing, didn't anyone notice that the Kate at the airport looked very different from Kate on the island? No freckles, for one thing. She had freckles in flashbacks, so where'd they go?

Locke was, of course, healed from the bullet wound by the island's powers. Duh.

Re: Charlotte being Annie, wasn't Annie roughly the same age as Ben? Does anybody really think Ben is 25 years old (Charlotte's birthday is mentioned as 1979, making her 25 in the show year of 2004)? Didn't Ben and his father show up on the island in the 70's.

if the plane leaves from sydney bound for los angeles, how does it end up southwest of papua new guinea?

I've been through enough of them to say definitively, Ben is standing next to an xray machine (at an airport security check?) in the picture. Hmmm.

::And what do you all think about Hurley closing his eyes and saying "you're not there" to both Charlie and the cabin. Does that mean both are in his mind? Or does he have momentary glimpses into another reality?::

I think that is one of Hurley's coping mechanisms for dealing with the unexplained. He may have used that method at home or when he was originally in the mental institution for imaginary things so he thinks it will help when he's seeing things again. So when he does that to get rid of the cabin or Charlie and then reopens his eyes to find them gone, it makes him feel better. But I still think what he saw was real! Some say seeing is believing and Hurley does not want to believe what he CAN see so he imagines it away so he doesn't have to deal with it. It's easier to just go along with people thinking you are crazy than trying to prove you are not crazy, imho.

::And one more thing, didn't anyone notice that the Kate at the airport looked very different from Kate on the island? No freckles, for one thing. She had freckles in flashbacks, so where'd they go?::

Kate had on a LOT of makeup in the scene with Jack at the airport but didn't wear makeup on the island so I think that is why her freckles seemed to disappear. Also, lots of exposure to the sun can bring out the freckles so maybe she stays in the shade more once she returns to the real world?

I think Nadia (Sayid's girlfriend) was the translator! Anyone got a pic to confirm?

Thanks for the shout-out, Liz!

People here are suggesting that Michael is the man on the boat, but I don't see how that could be. The last time he saw Ben, Ben promised him he could escape with Walt. Since Michael is returning this season, that apparently didn't work out. So why would he still be working for Ben? He should be mightily pissed at him, especially if he's been separated from Walt again (which he would have to be if Malcolm David Kelley isn't returning). Ben no longer has anything to use against Michael, so why would he work for him?

Mike and others, the translator is definitely *not* Nadia.

Here's the translator:
http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1368-374.html

Here's Nadia:
http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Nadia

More questions, and comments, namely, thanks to Locke for asking Ben about the Smoke Monster, this is my favorite aspect of the show

If the Smoke Monster is a positive force, why did it batter Eko to death after not harming him the first time he looked into it?

Miles being related to the Hanso spokesman makes sense

We learned that there are actually two islands, what relationship does the other island have to the one where everyones gathered?

Rousseau is clearly the toughest of the islands occupants, she's survived the smoke monster on her own, without being part of either the Oceanic survivors or the Dharma occupants

Ben ain't no good guy, anyone who would chemically nuke a whole compound of people is hard to portray sympathetically

Agreed about the best line of last night's episode, "I don't know Miles, how stupid are you?"

I also liked Jack's line to Kate, after she asked why no one told her about the impending rescue by Sayid et al,"didn't you notice the eye thing" or "blink" or something to that effect. Nice wry sense of humor there.

Have been following the show and loving it, but am disappointed with all the recent gratuitous violence.

Knife in the back, shot in the chest -- these people are very violent, and unrealistically so, as far as I'm concerned.

It is causing my enthusiasm to wane. Does anyone else feel this way?

Excellent question about how the plane supposedly ended up where it did. Sydney to Bali is a Northwesterly flight and Sydney to Los Angeles is a Northeasterly flight. It's at least 2,500 miles off course (similar to a flight from Miami to London being found off the coast of Seattle).

During the newscast about the discovery of the wreck in the ocean, it was said to have been found in the Indian Ocean.

"During the newscast about the discovery of the wreck in the ocean, it was said to have been found in the Indian Ocean. "

That's right -- it was shown in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Indonesia (near Bali).

To see just how far off course that is go to this website and enter a course from SYD-DPS-LAX (airport identifiers for Sydney, Bali and Los Angeles).

http://gc.kls2.com/

Before he was killed by the 'monster', the co-pilot of the airplane informed Kate and Jack that he had diverted course because they had problems with their radio. He estimated they were over 1000 miles off course when the plane went down.

Note the power shift towards Hurley; when Locke is telling Sawyer not to execute Ben, Sawyer and Hurley exchange a look and Hurley clearly nods to Sawyer, effectively saying let it go.

To see how far they might be off course see the distance calculator:

http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-distance-calculator.htm

Maybe O815 was one of those 'ghost flights' in which the plane suffers a loss of cabin pressure. Everyone is dead but the aircraft continues to fly. In the case of land vs water? ????

No new theories here, but LOVE the phrases caught in the screencap of Miles' room here: http://bp2.blogger.com/_RrObyQ3XzcY/R6wqJMBE6sI/AAAAAAAATbE/bm4neaFeFkk/s1600-h/4x02-cap-217.jpg
"Resurrection"
"Unleash the Beast"
"Battle Royale"
Could be me grasping at straws, but they all seem pretty relevant. Especially battle royale, which is easily a sports reference like much of the other stuff in the room, a reference to the movie where 42 students are trapped on an island and forced to kill each other off until only one is left, or "a fight involving three or more combatants which is fought until only one fighter remains standing."
Awesome.

If it's not a parallel universe then how do you explain the polar bear excavation...the effects of global warming in the future? Thus, the rescue team is from the future.

Q: remember Locke said that he wanted to go to Jacob's and Hurley was like, "Wrong way, dude." I wasn't sure if Locke was mad at Hurley for saying that or just thought he was nuts.

A: I think both Locke and Ben had a look of real surprise that Hurley knew about the cabin, and possibly could see Jacob. As Ben demonstrated when he mocked John when he at first couldn't see or communicate with Jacob, only "the chosen" get to see Jacob... probably goes for the cabin, too.

Q: Maybe it's just me, but has the front of the plane traveled from the jungle to the water between the 1st Season to last season? I seem to recall Jack, Kate and Charlie going to the check on the pilot for the receiver and a monster killed the pilot in the island and not in the water. Am I missing something?

A: You're missing something. There are two planes - one on the island and one under the water. We don't know yet if the plane at the bottom of the ocean is a cover up plane (planted by Oceanic or someone else), planted there knowing that the research being done in the area would uncover it, or if there is some time split going on and the Losties ARE the same people buried under the sea just in an alternate reality or doppelgangers of themselves. The answer is still to be revealed. I'm leaning towards the cover up explanation. It would explain the missing ring - the cover up wasn't as carefully detailed as it might have been.

Q: Here's a question. Would anyone care to take a guess as to how long the discovered body of 815's pilot had been underwater at the time of discovery? That would give some clue as to flashback/flash forward.

A. Two months, give or take, but definitely before the Freighter Four arrive on the island. I think all the flashbacks we saw were indeed flashbacks. The only one I think we don't know for sure is Miles since the