Was that Laura Dern as one of the women who walked into the washroom after Kate knocks out agent Mars?

I have read every comment here and have come to some conclusions.

1) It is very interesting that MIB has constantly inhabited a man called 'Christian', very interesting indeed.
2) "I am very disappointed in all of you". He is constantly doing things to liberate these people, but they constantly allow themselves to be tricked into coming back by Jacob.

Basically, Jacob represents the plight of humanity and our obsession with order and higher power and free will. This is very endemic of this shows commentary about religion. (Cf All the various borrowed religious symbols) Remember, all the characters are named after mathematicians, philosophers and scientists. I believe that the show is a social commentary about the evils of established ecclisiology. This is evidenced by the awful acts the others have committed for the 'greater good'. Ben represents the blind leader who is willing to blindly follow the orders of his 'god'.

I cant say anything else for sure as i dont think we've been given enough detail yet. MIB represents the fate argument. Him and Jacob have been having an eternal discussion about the nature of man.

The whole point of this show is that it is an exploration of right and wrong, good and bad and ultimately free will and fate. Jacob believes that people have the capacity to be good all we need to do is to be directed to make the right choices. MIB disagrees, he believes once differing societies clash we ultimately show ourselves to be evil. HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF.

Alpert is the messenger ignorant of who is instructing him. As such MIB and Jacob instruct him in a manor that keeps their disparate identity secret.

EVERYONE IS A PAWN. They take it in turns to influence the actions of the LOST people. I emphasize this word because the only people who they bring to the island are people who arent set in their ways.

As such they experiment and make a wager. A slave ship filled with LOST souls is brought to the island. Jacob (wearing white) takes the first turn. What will men given their freedom do, and religion do? I cannot say whether he liberates the slaves or not, but ultimately Alpert does something which acts to prove Jacobs point about man and he is rewarded. Jacob wins round one. As such as part of the wager he can do as he sees fit without interference from MIB and he establishes the temple society we see who are all rewarded with eternal life. MIBs turn (after all white moves before black). This takes place quite a considerable time late. The Dharma scientists arrive and as it is not Jacobs turn he cannot interfere. Lets see what the established society will do when they are met by their polar opposites. Subsequently Ben is enticed into the others camp by the whispers (MIB) and he kills of the entire Dharma crew and subsequently rousseaus team. MIB wins this round. Jacobs punishment is his imprisonment in the cabin. (Notice how he only starts to appear when the line is broken).

As with when it was Jacobs go, MIB is now allowed a period of time to influence the people. They form a hardline religious sect of people who are the others we know today.

Final round. Are science and religion reconcilable?

You will notice that all the things that happened in Jacobs turn were firmly routed in mysticism and religion (Smoke judgment monster, baptism pool that heals, immortality in eden). All the things that happen in MIBs turn are more science fiction (the ability to move the island, time travel etc). This goes back to my earlier point about scientific and religious discussion about free will and destiny.

Final round. Are science and religion reconcilable?

Its winner takes all this time. I am not sure at this point if they take turns anymore. They draw various people to the island who all have very different outlooks on the world. Particularly interesting is the juxtaposition of Locke, the naturist, and Jack, the scientist. They are fate and free will personified.

The game of chess is about to come to its conclusion. This obviously is not representative of the entire show there are loads of things i havent even touched on, but i believe this is close to the general themes of the show and the motives of Jacob and MIB. Neither are good or bad, they just have different outlooks on life.

Let me know if you think at the very least what ive said is interesting or if its complete nonsense!

I think Sayid comes back to life as Sayid. There's a short season 6 preview video circulating that shows the new Japanese character appearing to be torturing Sayid and Sayid, strapped to a table, or whatever, asking "why are you doing this to me?"

Charlie wasn't the only one who looked different... Jack has enough hair to part on the side on the plane that landed, which is way more than he had when the plan crashed. Sawyer's hair is also much longer than it was in the pilot episodes. Not that it matters... like others have said, something in the past changed their paths and that could easily include keeping people from getting hair cuts if it can keep people (Shannon) from even getting on the plane.

I think Smokie has always been the man in black. When Ben went back to the main island to be judged, he summoned Smokie then went outside to wait for it. He told Sun to go inside because what was about to come out of the jungle was something he couldn't control, then Fake Locke walked out and the monster never showed. When Ben was being judged, Fake Locke left to get rope/vines. Just like in the foot... Fake Locke disappeared then Smokie showed up and killed Jacob's bodyguards. After Ben was judged, Smokie disappeared, then his daughter showed up telling him to do as "Locke" says... it wasn't his daughter, it was Fake Locke pretending to be his daughter essentially telling him he had to kill Jacob, since that's what Fake Locke's intentions were to begin with. It'd be easy to get Ben to kill Jacob if his daughter told him to do as Locke tells him.

When Sun and Lupitas got to the main island, Smokie was rattling the trees, then Christian appeared in Ben's old house. Christian confirmed what Richard told John, that he was going to have to die to get his people to come back. Now we know that it was Fake Locke that told Richard to tell Locke that when he was taking the bullet out of his leg. And, since fake Locke needed Real Locke to die in order to take over his "body", it seems to me that Christian is the man in black or the man in black has been appearing to be Christian, rather.

I'm also starting to think that they're misleading us into thinking Jacob is the good guy and Smokie is bad. Smokie didn't like the fact that people came there fighting, corrupting, etc. That sounds like someone who wants peace and tranquility. The others (Jacob's people), don't forget, were going to cut Claire's baby out of her, which is why Alex made her leave...dragged her into the woods. Jacob's people, the Others, are friggin' awful people. If Smokie has been appearing as Christian, then he saved the survivors by leading Jack to the cave where there was fresh water. He/it attacked the mercenaries who were there to kill everyone and take Ben. Then Lupitas said "in my experience, the people who say they're the good guys are usually the bad guys. Then he said to Sun that "they say they're the good guys... I ain't buying it either" referring to Jacob's bodyguards. Oh, I forgot how the Others, Jacob's people, purged every man, woman and child still living in Dharmaville.

I think Smokie is the "good" "guy" and that he wants his temple back... his home.

We'll see, I guess... I hope.

I assure you, when it's over, The Oceanic 815 crew are going to take the places the doomed crew of the Black Rock (i.e., The Others) who have been stranded on the island since their boat wrecked. In the end, they will realize the only way to go home is to strand some other "crew" on the island--like when Desmond was stranded on the island by the former hatch inhabitant.

The only questions left are which characters from 815 take the places of the "Others"?

All I have to say is that this better not be like Pirates of the Caribbean 3, which had the stupidest ending of all time. All of the buildup was destroyed by total incompetence. If all they (the writers of LOST) know how to do is create drama and suspense without the ability to end it with and equally good and satisfactory ending, then it will all be for naught. I am appealing to the writers to PLEASE END THIS SEASON WITH A COMPETENT, INTERESTING AND SATISFACTORY ENDING! Don't keep us hanging on for something that peeters out in the end. Don't make it like the LAME 2nd season! Don't be like Pirates 3! PLEASE!

I have the answers you all are looking for.
LA X. There is a space between the LA and the X for a reason.
X is a greek letter that means Christ (or something like that I read, which is why we say Xmas).
LA is for Los Angles...but REALLY means LOST ANGELS.
The Losties are Angels, maybe the twelve disciples?...Jacob is Jesus, obviously...he LET BEN KILL HIM just as Jesus let the Jews kill him (well, knew it would happen and didn't try to "save himself")
The guy in Black, who IS nameless, is evil incarnate...or the devil. Charles Whitmore is the Anti-Christ, and the battle at the end is Armageddon.
This is all quite intriguing, but also, makes so much sense now, I don't know why I didn't see it before.
This whole show is about JJ Abrahms vision of how the Battle of Armageddon comes to be. I mean, think about it...Locke is able to walk...Jesus' miracles included getting the lame to walk...as well as bringing them back to life.

Who's with me here? Email me at markjwillis@comcast.net

I think Jacob's greater plan is still unfolding and being killed by Ben was part of it from the beginning -which might actually be a very long time ago: "It only ends once. Everything that happens before that is just progress."

Telling Hurley to take Sayids body to the temple so he can enter his body after Sayid drowns makes good sense and was well prepped by equipping Hurley with the guitar case and the ankh list and all. Perhaps Jacob's and MIB's physical forms have always been taken from passing characters throughout the centuries and their real form is some sort of dusty energy (smokey, the darkened water). Although I believe Jacob and MIB (if they have similar powers) can do both, takeover dead bodies and mimic the forms of dead people (Alex, John, Christian). And in that form they apparently can't be hurt.

It would need an explanation though, how Jacob managed to get into the temple spring after (satisfactory to MIB) being killed inside the statue. Wouldn't MIB know if there was a stay-alive backdoor?

It might as well still be the actual Sayid who gets to play a greater role in Jacob's mise-en-scène as himself. But from what it looked like, the powers of the water were gone (not healing the leader's hand).

I wonder if the new timeline is also part of Jacob's plan and I wonder how it will interact with the real timeline. I remember a conversation between Jack (?) and Eloise Hawkings "What if we don't get everyone back on the island?" "Then God help us all." Was one of the purposes for them to get back on the island to create the additional timeline?

What does Eloise know and did everyone from 1977 (and their offspring) cease to exist after the explosion? Did the explosion really sink the island (while leaving the village intact) or was there an event in the new timeline (after 1977) that lead to sinking the island - which would allow Dharma and the Others to appear in the new timeline?

In the new timeline there is definitely something strange going on with Jack. The unreasonable bleeding, the missing pen "I had a pen in my jacket but it's gone", vanishing Desmond (apparently only to him), the lost coffin. Not sure what to make of that.

Logic says when they entered the plane, all parameters were similar to the original timeline and when they passed the location of the island the timeline would divide. But since there are characters missing on the plane, I'd say the explosion has taken more effect on their individual lives which would lead to the assumption that everyone on the island died in 1977 and could not have influenced their lives before (i.e. Jacob visiting Kate). Then Widmore had died too on the island and Desmond would not have trained for the ocean race in the stadium and he and Jack had never met. But so he says.

I have the feeling Jack has a foot in both timelines and that events are changing in real time - due to events elsewhere. Maybe the new timeline is adjusting itself towards a mutual future of both timelines? What will be done, will be done? K, I guess I am far off here. But maybe there are still constants and variables involved.

Where is a Faraday when you need one?

"It's good to see you out of those chains". I wonder if perhaps Richard Alpert was slave/prisoner on the ship Black Rock and therefore the guy in dark-blue shirt recognised him. Anyone else think so? And also I wonder if the smokemonsters "chain"-sound has something to do with that. But that doesnt explain why he then would be at the beach with Jacob watchig a ship, which might be the black rock, approaching the island...

Did anyone notice "new" flight 815 was a different aircraft than the original, which was a 747 ?

I think that the bomb went off and created two parallel universes. The bomb went off in 1977 and the result was that the island sank. When it went off, Kate, Jack, Sawyer, et al., were also sent forward to the year 2007, reuniting them with the survivors of Ajira 316. In this universe/timeline the bomb never went off. The hatch was destroyed by Desmond.

Now we have this other storyline. The bomb goes off in 1977 and sinks the island. But it is only 1977. Oceanic 815 will not take off until 2004. But in this universe the island is underwater so the plane can't crash. Desmond can be on the plane because he, in this universe, never crashes on the island.

What I find interesting is that they, or maybe just Jack, assumed that detonating the bomb would have no other side effects-- the island sinking, Hurly having good luck, Jin getting in trouble for having too much cash, Shannon not being on the plane, to name a few. What I think we will see in the parallel universe of the plane landing are the consequences of trying to change your past/future.

Just a few thoughts. I hope this all makes sense.