I don’t even know where to begin.

“They’re on the island, they’re off the island, who can keep up with that shit?”

Well…

well. Uhh….

That was like…it was like a big, juicy steak that Darlton have been seasoning and making just right for the last 8 months. Better yet a meal. And it was so juicy and fulfilling that I could barely finish it.

First: Hats off to Josh Holloway. He took me there. That was some pretty gut wrenching stuff. Speaking of Sawyer….what a dark place he is in. Is he going to run off and be seduced by Flocke? Yeah. I think so.

Next up: Desmond disappeared off the plane. In the true spirit of Desmond, they’re going to do more with less of him again. Watch for it.

The bomb: Did it explode? On a show like this, with reality being so incredibly suspended, yeah I guess it did. But it sent them forward in time in the process. “The last time I heard of this much concrete being poured over anything was chernobyl” <—- It was there since season 2. Sayid freaking called it, right? The last episode was called “The Incident.” It was easier than we made it. Whatever Happened, Happened. Etc.

The ash…the effing ash was to keep smokey IN.

Jacob committed suicide. He was no more murdered than Albus Dumbledore was. He totally meant to die, and gave that little speech to Ben, who has become a pawn, to make it happen.

It was a giant Ankh in the guitar case? With a hidden message inside? Pretty sure no one guessed that. It seems Jacob made one final list before he died, and the O6 were on it.

So is the line as clearly drawn in the sand as it seems right now? Is this really coming down to a good versus evil, Team MIB vs Team Jacob FTW party? Is that what it’s always been about? Feuding Gods? I think we have enough information, but it’s hard to say.

And finally the meat of the discussion: (or so I predict) The ALT timeline.

The ALT timeline is the flashback/flashforward narrative device of the season.

It will take on any of the following 3 forms:

1. It is strictly a “what if” look at what would have happened if the bomb had done what Jack thought it would. (What did Miles mean “It Worked”???). Personally, if they waste 30% of every episode with a “what if” that has no bearing on the bulk of the action, then I will be supremely disappointed.

2. It is an alternate reality/universe that will somehow throughout the course of the season come to impact things in the primary time line. Use your imagination.

3. It is the end game. It is, in essence, a flash forward. At the end of the series, they will in fact change things so the plane lands, and they’re showing us the (not-so) happily ever after ahead of time.

Personally I hope it’s option #2.

People are going to dwell on the underwater island. Which had barracks on it and a broken statue, meaning it…err…“sunk” after the barracks were built. I think it’s existence lends itself to options 1 and 2 above. I’m prepared to not dwell on it unless we get more info.

There are 23 other discussion points, but I need to sleep. Can’t wait to watch it again.

I am confused.

The implication seems to be that Jacob was living in the cabin, but then had to leave.

He was living in the foot in the 1800s. He was living in the foot in 2007. So….what is the deal with the cabin and the ash?

Which means I’m still totally lost.

- It definitely seems that the bomb created two timelines/realities. But why/how? And will the two converge? Perhaps the new ‘sideways’ reality is what happens when the characters still on the island die, they snap back into their non-island selves. This might explain why Juliet said ‘it worked’…she might’ve seen her and Sawyer together in a new life as she was fading out of life.
- As for the plane: I think Desmond might be fading in and out of the reality, because that’s the only way I can think of explaining how he disappeared off the plane. And where were the Tailies? Will we see any of them?
- SO THAT’S WHAT CINDY, ZACK AND EMMA HAVE BEEN DOING THIS WHOLE FREAKING TIME.
- The ash thing caused great confusion at the Lost party I was at last night. Suppose the ash was meant to keep Esau IN the cabin. That would certainly explain Christian as a manifestation as the monster, as we all thought. But how does it explain Claire’s strange appearance in the Cabin, and her disappearance? If we assume she is dead, then we must also assume that Esau can take form of two people at once. And that’s just TOO crazy. So then if she isn’t dead, then WTF was going on with her?!?!? But if the ash was to keep smokey in, then how was he roaming around the whole time?? Ugh.
- You can pretty much kill my ‘Vincent is Jacob’ theory.
- If Smokey Locke said he wants to go ‘home’, then obviously the Island is not where he wants to be, meaning….the battle coming up won’t be over the island. Perhaps it will be over the afterlife?
- I think we finally got our explanation for the island’s healing properties…..when Dogen Samurai Master dipped his hand in the spring, I think that tells us that the very water on the island itself has healing powers.
All I know is, this is going to be an epic season, and a weird one at that.