Gotta spread the wealth from other forums...

Jughead is the cause of the fertility problems.

The opening scene all but confirmed that Alpert arrived on Black Rock.

How do you mean? Him building the ship in the bottle? Wasn't he there before black rock? or am I getting confused on what black rock was.(I kept getting confused with the craziness of Rouseau)

Jughead is the leaky hydrogen bomb that's been kept under the barracks.

Duh! Of course! Radiation leakage would cause birth defects and reproductive problems. I suppose the meds given to Claire and the other pregnant woman would be something like Ethyol......a healthy cell protectant used for people getting radiation therapy.

Ooooh, it makes perfect sense that the bomb could cause fertility problems. But the bomb was put there in the 50s and up through the 70's babies were born there without problem, Miles, for instance, and probably Charlotte.

I think that the birthing issues are related to either the explosion of the H bomb, if indeed that actually happens, or the THE INCIDENT, you know the explosion of the electromagnetic material that is under The Swan (aka The Hatch). I bet that stuff could totally mess up reproductive systems. But it has had a lasting effect, from the 70's through the present. The Incident changed life on the Island forever.

As for Richard Alpert, I think he's been around longer than the Black Rock. I have a suspicion he may have been on the Island from the time of the Egyptians. I originally thought he came to the Island on the Black Rock, but I'm not so sure about that anymore.

I think the volcano will come into play next season, not this one. I think it will be part of a very grand finale.

I'm not a fan of Eloise. From the beginning she's been a self-important little twit, toting her rifle and looking all grim. I like Eloise-as-young-mom best of all, but even then, she never really showed Daniel much warmth. However, Eloise as a white-haired utterly fierce older woman is interesting and I love the actress who plays her. No matter what era, Eloise doesn't seem to have much in the way of fuzzy feelings for anyone.

FINALLY! I hate being behind! I finally got to watch the past 2 episodes and get all caught up and read the pages and pages of comments here. I was floored when Daniel was killed by his mother. Wow! Those were 2 of the best episodes I've seen in a long time.

It bothers me that Eloise kills her son. Does the time line of the island have to be so rigid? Couldn't she have written something in Daniel's log to warn him not to have his back exposed? Didn't Daniel mention something to this effect? The human factor as variables to change the course of events, I believe.

I just realized that the episode this week is the LAST episode for the season! It's 2 hours long! God, the cliffhanger you know they'll have will drive me crazy! I am not missing this one!

I just realized that the episode this week is the LAST episode for the season! It's 2 hours long! God, the cliffhanger you know they'll have will drive me crazy! I am not missing this one!

It's been frustrating me enough that they didn't even give the slitest clue in the previews for this weeks episode. Being two hours you know it will be good.

Here's a link to win the first four seasons on DVD! Its on my local news website. Its'a trivia contest and its really hard. I looked at the first 3 and gave up. Ends tomorrow but here's the link:
http://blogs.chron.com/tubular/archives/...son_2.html

Bettcha Maggers would ace it!

I was thinking the same thing!