[mcan]

1. All of the dead people we have seen, all the ghosts, the black horse kate saw, etc. etc. etc. The man on the beach with Jacob, John Locke, Christian Shepard (on the island) have ALL BEEN THE BLACK SMOKE!

Certainly, Smokey is and has been a lot of the "ghosts". And now we see this sinister man also stealing identities, so it stands to reason that they might be the same entity. But I still think that "smokey" might be separate. I'm starting to think that this is a God/Satan parallel. Smokey is a "beast" who renders judgment and destruction on those who are unworthy. But the two characters we saw tonight are higher on the food chain, with similar powers.

2. The "loop hole" is that the non-living (THE SMOKE MONSTER) cannot KILL Jacob. It had to find a loop hole. The loop hole being a living person. The smoke monster had to manipulate a living person into killing Jacob, and it finally did in the person of Benjamin Linus.

I think the "loophole" will probably have more to do with a treaty of some sort. The same kind of reason why Ben can't kill Whidmore when he's off the island. It's against the "rules."

3. While Jacob lived in the cabin, he surrounded the cabin with that circle of black ash (perhaps some PERSON'S ashes) which apparently repelled the smoke monster. Remember back when Locke/Hurley and crew found the cabin earlier, they made sure to note the break in the circle. This allowed the smoke monster to get through and pose as Christian Shepard inside the cabin.

I think that the black circle is definitely some kind of protection circle and probably protection from Jacob's enemy. But I don't think he is smokey.

4. This whole thing has been Jacob vs. the Smoke Monster....THE WHOLE THING! We got in on the ground floor tonight when the guy on the beach said he was going to kill him. They've spent all this time in a back and forth struggle. Widmore just complicates things. He wants the island for his own personal reasons.

Why the dude wants to kill Jacob so badly, I have no idea. It could be anything at this point. I think they're trying to set up a religious parallel, like I said... Ties in with the theme of destiny and fate and all that. Also, there is the notion of good vs evil (backgammon, white vs black, etc...) and some of the arguments that the philosophers like Locke and Rousseau had about the nature of humans. Are we basically good people that get corrupted? Or are we basically corrupt people that do good things for selfish reasons? Jacob and his enemy are arguing about that at the top of the episode.

5. Rose and Bernard are the skeletons in the cave. When the bomb goes off, they seek shelter in the cave, and die there.

Could be, but if you remember, they went out of their way to say that whomever Adam and Eve are, they were PLACED in those graves by somebody. They may have been living there, but someone survived them and buried them in there.

6. Desmond and Hurley are on a different level and still factor into this. I can't put my finger on it, but I know they do.

No doubt in my mind. I think they BOTH will play a part in the return of Charlie, who (being a religious person) will probably play a part in the ultimate WHATEVER that this show has planned.

7. Remember, when the Black Rock was off in the distance at the beginning, that had the ancestors of Alvar Hanso on it. Alvar wasn't at all interested in science. The Hanso Foundation/Dharma Initiative all a sham to cover up Hanso/Widmore's search for and protection of the island. The DeGroots did get a little free research out of it...lol. It will be interesting to see the actual story behind the Black Rock's arrival. I'm sure it was just another group that Jacob rounded up to bring to the island, but since he couldn't bring them by plane (obviously), he brought them by ship.

Interesting. I've been wondering how Hanso ties into this... But that ship is a SLAVE ship. When they get the dynamite out of the Black Rock WAY later, there are skeletons of dead slaves still chained to the walls. Also, how the hell does the ship end up in the middle of the island? I assumed before that this was a "wrong place, wrong time" kinda accident from when the island was moved a long time ago. But now we see that the Black Rock (if that's indeed the same ship) came to the island by sea... Hmmm...

8. The statue is Taweret, the Egyptian God of Childbirth.

Very cool.

9. The smoke monster, in the form of Christian Shepard told Locke he had to die. Not to get back to the island to "save everybody," but to eliminate him so it (the smoke monster) could take his (John Locke's) form and manipulate Ben into killing Jacob.

Could be. I tend to think that Christian is benevolent though... Maybe it's wishful thinking, and Christian almost DID get Jack killed in season one (by making him fall off a cliff). Hmm... Actually, we KNOW that it was actually the IMPOSTER Locke that tells Richard Alpert to tell the real Locke that "he has to die" when he gives him the compass. So, you might be onto something here.

10. I have another theory. The other Ajira passengers are either VERY OLD or are decendents of those from the very early days of the island. And they apparently had the job of finding a "candidate" to take Jacob's place once he's dead. Hence the reason, Jacob met with Alana in the hospital. They were aware of the ramifications of the break in the ash ring at the cabin. Also during this scene, we see another clearer picture of Taweret on the piece of carpet/tapestry taken from the cabin.

I find it VERY interesting that Alana is the only one of that group that can cross the circle! That is, until she comes back and tells the rest of the crew that "he's not here." I think there is a supernatural element to the rest of the crew... Archangels?

11. If you have it taped, go back and watch the non-bomb scenes. The scenes with Locke/Smokey and the opening scene are monumental in this series' history. The opening scene laid out the ground work that would become the future of the island. It was good (Jacob in his white shirt) meeting evil (Smokey, in his dark shirt). The scenes with Locke/Smokey, Richard, Ben etc. give away bigtime tidbits of info. At one point, Ben explains that his dead daughter (the smoke monster in Alex form) threatened to destroy him if he didn't do everything Locke said. Locke then stops him and says "wait when did this happen." Ben replies, "when we went to see the monster." Locke, "so...you're willing to do whatever I say no matter what it is?" Ben..."yes." It's at that point that Locke/Smokey knows he has his loop hole. Jacob has been doing all the could throughout the history of the island to prevent Smokey from finding the loophole. Even going as far as saving Locke when he was thrown out of the building. He didn't make it in time to stop Ben from REALLY killing him though.

Two possibilities here... Either you're right and the dialogue in this scene is just expository, because it's two people talking about stuff that, if your theory is correct, they both already know. OR: The impostor Locke really has no idea what Smokey has done or said. That makes his next line "well good, then I won't have to convince you" make a lot more sense.

12. Another big scene is where they come up to the old Oceanic Camp. Locke/smokey tells them all to rest because they're "going to need it for what he has planned for them." Insert sinister laugh.

And we see yet another bit of foreshadowing the return of Charlie with the DriveShaft ring. Why else did Hurley bring back the guitar???? Is he supposed to leave it on the side of the mountain for Charlie to find when he's struggling with the heroin? Or is it foreshadowing the return of a buddy? I'm rooting for the latter.

13. John Locke/Smokey tricked them all. They all bought it, hook, line, and sinker....even Richard Alpert. He knew how it worked. ONLY THE LEADER could request an audience with Jacob. Locke/smokey manipulated him though by accusing him of making the rules as he went and Richard fell for it, thus planting the final piece allowing the loop hole mentioned way back in the 1800's in the first scene to happen.

I love the anger in Impostor Locke's voice in that scene. We really should have seen all this coming... Locke has been SOOOOO patient for the majority of the show, and ever since coming back to life has been VERY hasty... "I want to go NOW!" "I'm tired of waiting" etc... This guy has been waiting for hundreds of years to kick Jacob into the fire.

14. When Richard answered the question of what lies in the shadow of the statue and Alana showed him Locke's body, he knew that he'd been duped. This ENTIRE EPISODE was basically a race to see who could get to the finish first. Could Jacob's assembled group of people get the bomb detonated before Smokey could get the "loop hole" (Ben) to kill Jacob. THAT'S WHAT WE WILL FIND OUT NEXT SEASON!!!! DID THE BOMB GO OFF BEFORE BEN KILLED JACOB???

After some digging (as I don't speak latin) the answer to that phrase is "HE WHO WILL SAVE US ALL." Jacob being the savior! More religious allegory.

15. With his dying breath, Jacob said, "they're coming." Meaning the Ajira crew were coming with a candidate to take his place. That's why Locke shoved him in the fire so hastily. He has to stop them from instating a new "Jacob" or else he'll have to find a loop hole all over again.

Could be. We'll have to wait till 2010 to find out who "they" are. If Faraday was right, then the Ajira crew never comes to the island at all! Something is off though. Because Alpert says he saw Jack and Hurley and all those guys DIE back in the 70s. But he's not around for the explosion! Something has to give here. If the plan doesn't work then everybody is dead anyway. Holy hell, I can't wait for 2010.