My only issue with the episode (which was brilliant by the way) was Charlie's death. I don't understand why he shut the door from the inside when he had plenty of time to run out and slam it shut from the other side. It seemed like a pointless death.

But it was so much fun to watch Jack pummel Ben.

And was Walt a figment of John's imagination or was he really there?

Charlie accepted his destiny. It was his turn to keep Desmond alive.

I wanted to beat the crap out of Ben. I kept thinking "C'mon, Jack, just one more."

Walt's appearance was strange... I'll leave it at that.

But, regarding the "flash-forward": Is Jack's dad alive? He told the new chief of surgery to get his dad and if Jack was more drunk than him, the Chief could fire Jack. What's up with that?

And, who died that would turn Jack suicidal? Anyone freeze-frame the obit page to see if it's readable?

But, regarding the "flash-forward": Is Jack's dad alive? He told the new chief of surgery to get his dad and if Jack was more drunk than him, the Chief could fire Jack. What's up with that?

And, who died that would turn Jack suicidal? Anyone freeze-frame the obit page to see if it's readable?

I think Jack was already suicidal... the death just tipped the scale. As for Jack's dad, I think when he went into the pharmacy he was bluffing and that's why he freaked out when the pharmacist wanted to call his office. But later, when he mentioned the drinking to the other doctor, he had popped a LOT of pills and could barely stand. He probably is a little nuts and got confused.

I think Charlie shut himself in because he was afraid if he didn't then Desmonds vision would not come true and then the castaways wouldn't get rescued.

I think Charlie shut himself in because he was afraid if he didn't then Desmonds vision would not come true and then the castaways wouldn't get rescued.

I don't remember if you could dog the hatch closed from the other side.

Also, in the flash-forward -- I'm disappointed in Jack.

Ben getting the crap beaten out of him.

I think my favorite part of this episode was when he was tied to the tree and yelling at Jack not to use the phone, and Rousseau casually whacks him in the face to shut him up. LOLOL.

I have to say my favorite part was Sawyer plugging Tom.

"Dude, it was over, he surrendered."

"I didn't believe him."

Some of my favorite moments that most of you have identified...but they're too good not to mention again.

Hurley to the rescue in a VW minibus!
Sawyer 's comment..."I didn't believe him"
Jack punching Ben bloody.
A bloody Ben tied to the tree....getting smacked yet again!
Several "others" NOT obeying Ben's orders....it's his downfall.



Now for my questions.

Why did Charlie HAVE to die?
How did Penny know which channel to call the island on?
Is it Dharma people on the freighter?
Whose funeral did Jack go to?
If after they are rescued, why isn't Kate in prison?
Where did Walt come back from?


Now that they have been rescued I'll keep watching...just to fill in ALL of those gaps.

Now for my questions.

Why did Charlie HAVE to die?
How did Penny know which channel to call the island on?
Is it Dharma people on the freighter?
Whose funeral did Jack go to?
If after they are rescued, why isn't Kate in prison?
Where did Walt come back from?

I am still trying to decide if I think Charlie really died.

I was wondering the same thing about Penny. She obviously knows something (although how much is still not clear - seems not the location of the island though) - probably from her father.

I do think it's Dharma people on the freighter.

Another one I'd really like to know. I'm thinking either John or Ben.

Hadn't thought of that . . . maybe she was in prison but escaped already.

I don't think Walt was really Walt. I think in that Secrets of Lost show they actually say the island conjures up images or manifestations of people. At least that's how I recall them saying it. So Jack's father, Ben's mother, etc. were all images conjured up by the island.

---

Has anyone seen the picture floating around the web that shows a closeup of the newspaper clipping Jack had? It looks like the name of the person that died was Jo............antham. You can also make out these words: loud noises, beam, loft. If you can rely on that for anything. Oh and also the name of the funeral parlor was an anagram of "flash forward."

Great, great episode. Loved it.

Walt and Locke were very close. In hindsight, I'm not surprised that Locke manifested Walt to help and/or encourage him, though I certainly didn't expect to see Walt again this season. No one else on the Island (or who had been on the Island) is/was close to Locke. Walt fits the bill of comforting island manifestations seen by benighted individuals like Locke.

I clapped like a fool when Hurley drove that old VW bus through the campsite and mowed down those bad guys like cartoon bowling pins.

Did anyone else notice that in the flash forward (if indeed that's what it was) that Kate looked like she'd been Botoxed to within an inch of her life? And her lips looked like they’d been shot up with collagen injections.

Regarding the flash forward, I'm not sure exactly what that was. Yes, it seemed to indicate a possible life for Jack and Kate following their release from the Island. But is the future so certain? The past is done (unless we want to get into some deep philosophical discussions). The flashbacks we've seen have indicated solid experiences of the cast. But the future is mutable. Look at Desmond's "visions," sometimes they happen and sometimes they don't. I think we saw a version of the future that COULD happen for Jack, just like the Ghost of Christmas Future showed Scrooge a possible future for him if he didn't change his ways. I don't think any "future" we see on LOST is set in stone.

I also clapped and stomped like a madwoman when Jack gave Ben that much needed smack down. And, as Lisa said, when Rousseau casually but forcefully bitch-slapped the tied-to-a-tree Ben, I laughed out loud.

Is Charlie really dead? He looked like it. I had tears in my eyes, though I didn’t actually cry. But can we have a LOST without Charlie? He is such a pivotal character, I’m not sure he’ll stay dead. But, for now, I’d have to say that Charlie surely looked like he left this vale of tears.

Sawyer is deeply depressed and acting out like crazy. Killing bad guys, even after they surrender, is a wonderfully therapeutic way of acting out. He should continue it.

I’ve always thought Penny’s Dad was involved with Dharma, maybe even the owner of Dharma. I think the ship offshore is a Dharma ship, raised by Locke himself when he punched in “77” on the computer at the eye-patch guy’s house before he blew it up. How Penny just happened to be attempting to contact the Looking Glass hatch at the time Charlie and Desmond were there is stretching credibility to the extreme, but what the heck, this is LOST. That stuff seems to happen all the time.

Who was in the coffin? When it was finally revealed that we were seeing a flash forward, I thought it might be Sawyer, but I think Kate is with Sawyer, the guy she told Jack would “be wondering where” she was. Could the body in the coffin be Locke? Did Locke die lost and alone after he left his beloved Island? Nah, I don’t think Locke will ever leave the Island. Was it Ben? No to that, too. I think he’ll die on the Island by the end of the series. Jack came to the coffin, gently placed his hand on the top and looked as though he cared for whoever was in there. When the funeral director asked “friend or family,” Jack said “neither.” Who on the Island would Jack not consider a friend but about whom he’d care if he or she died? I tried to slow mo the part where Jack unfolds the obit, but I could not read it. I thought it looked like “lost American” as a heading, but that’s just a guess.

But who knows what’s going to happen over the next 2-3 years? Maybe the rescue force that comes to the Island from Naomi’s ship really is nasty, as Ben said, and, somehow, Ben becomes an ally with Jack against this new set of Others/Outsiders. Maybe it is Ben in the coffin…neither friend nor family.

The message of this episode is… do you really want to go home? Where is home? What is home? What’s waiting for all these wounded people if they do get home? Danielle, Ben, Locke, Rose…none of them wants to go home. Carl and Alex don’t know any other home. Kate faces an uncertain homecoming…jail or what? They’ve all seemed to come into their own on the Island. The Island’s brought out the best in them. Do they all really want to go home?

If after they are rescued, why isn't Kate in prison?

Quite possible that she's being painted in the same light Jack is, as a hero who helped everyone else survive. Might very well have been pardoned.