So now we're flashing forward in time to the characters being back stateside? What was up with this meeting between a suicidal, drug dazed Jack, and Kate, who obviously wanted nothing to do with him. How far in the future is this? Makes me wonder if the end of the series is coming up sooner than we think. As far as who's in the coffin, my best guess is Juliette.

Not only are we having flashbacks ,but now flash forwards to post-rescue life? What was with this stateside meeting between a drug dazed Jack and Kate? Why did she not want to meet him, and who was in that coffin. My best guess is that it's Juliette.

Jacob might be the black smoke.
I think Locke is going to sabotage any rescue attempts by messing around with the controls that kept the island hidden.
And what about the fact that the parachute girl (Naomi?) said that the plane was found and that there were no survivors?

Something that really puzzles me is the men in the "ice hut". I've looked at it over and over and still believe the man that makes the call to Penny is played by Matthew Fox (Jack). It definitely looks like him with the beard. You can see the scene in the Answers episode that aired before the 2 hour finale. If it wasn't going to have any significance they could have hired any no-name actor to play the part not someone who looked like Jack. I'd love to hear your comments.

Man, not friend or family, he thought kate would go to the funeral, begins with J


.... who on the island's name was JAMES?

^^ it's actually a news of a body found in downtown Los Angeles. That someone's name starts with a "J" and it is a man as indicated in the newspaper clipping.

What obituary was Jack reading on the plane

I think it's entirely possible Locke could be one of the deaths this season. People on this island seem to die after they have resolved some issue and if Anthony Cooper dies (which seems likely to be one of the other 5 deaths) then Locke's biggest life issue would be resolved. I think it's also highly likely Rousseau could be another casualty since they haven't bothered to give her any flashbacks thus far and it would be a highly emotional moment for her to die just as she's reunited with Alex. I'm really hoping the whole "Charlie's gonna die" thing is a smokescreen and he lives long enough to finally have a real relationship with Claire.

Could the skeleton couple in the cave be Desmond and Penny? I have no idea how that would come to be but I don't understand much that goes on on the island so it makes as much sense as anything!

I've been catching up on old episodes and realized a couple interesting things:

1) Walt seems to maybe have a similar power to Desmond. He touches Locke's arm and warns him about the hatch. He tells his dad they have to take the raft, etc. Also, on the topic of Desmond, when he first meets Jack in the arena Jack tells him he was wrong about his future wife. Suddenly, and assuredly, Desmond says 'what if you did fix her?'. Did he see this? Now, humor me. What if, since Desmond usually only sees deaths, he saw her death far in the future and therefore knew she didn't die from the surgery (or at least was up walking around). Could that mean we'd see Mrs. Shepard again? Probably not, but a fun tangent.

2) wouldn't it be sweet victory for both Locke and Sawyer if Locke contracts Sawyer to kill Anthony Cooper and he (Cooper) turns out to be the original Sawyer? What are the changes of this?

Here's my biggest question: what's the deal with the crystals that Jack found in season 1 on the bodies of the couple in the caves and the appearance of those same crystals on Desmond's desk in a flashback to his and Penny's apartment? The official Lost Podcast pointed out that those crystals might prove to fans they've known how they were ending the show from the beginning.

Charlie is going to die