[Mugen910]

You'd Best Explain Why You You've Been Banging on my Door, Brotha!
A bunch of stuff happens here. First, Charlotte's nosebleed. This is an ominous indication that all this timeskipping might have bad repercussions later on. Maybe Charlotte's in need of a constant, but that doesn't make much sense because it seems that Faraday could easily fill that role. Her headaches and memory loss later in the 2nd episode are in indication that things are 'getting worse' - Daniel's exact words from last season during the card flipping scene.

Next, Daniel leaves his pack behind. This doesn't seem intentional, but it's important because it allows him an excuse to see Desmond alone. The fact that Saywer didn't meet Desmond at the door can be attributed to Daniel's statement of "If it didn't happen, it can't happen"... but it can also be chalked up to Desmond needing about 20 minutes to put his protective suit on. "Are you him?" Dammit, I thought we were gonna finally get an answer to the snowman riddle here.

At this point, Faraday tosses aside all previous assertions that time cannot be changed and suddenly tells Desmond that he's special. He alone is uniquely qualified to change time, and for some reason the rules don't apply to him. I've theorized in past seasons that this is true, and that it happened the moment Desmond turned the failsafe key. Being at the epicenter of that event launched Desmond on his first trip to what seemed to be an *alternate* timeline (not a past or future timeline) in Flashes Before Your Eyes. In that episode he was completely certain of the outcome of a soccer game, yet the game ended differently than he remembered it. This was the first indication that things could be changed.

Even as Ms. Hawking showed up to convince Desmond that they could not, he went on to keep Charlie from dying. Course correction might've killed him in the end, but not before Charlie (who was suspiciously the only person who could've done so) turned off the jamming device. This led to the freighter finding the island, and the Oceanic 6 being able to leave. It can be easily argued that Desmond caused all of this to happen, through his knowledge of future events. He can, and already has, changed the rules. Desmond is identified as the magic person who can 'make his own kind of music'. My overly long and analytical theory regarding the rest of this can be found at the end of the review.

And Stay Away from the Cops...
How funny was it to watch Ana Lucia (of all people) telling Hurley not to get arrested? One of Hurley's main character flaws is his self-doubt. He needs to establish a believe in himself. The apparent ghosts of Charlie, Eko, and Ana Lucia might be trying to guide him in the right direction, but he doubts them because of who he is, and where he's been - a wacky island and a mental institution. When he finally opens up to his mother, he spills everything out in one big rambling blur of seemingly impossible events. Yet his mother believes him. She admits she doesn't fully understand, but she's close enough to Hugo enough to know that he's telling the truth. A mom like that rocks. This helps Hurley get over 'the lie'. Unfortunately for the master plan, this further influences his decision to disobey Ben, defy Ana Lucia, and be arrested by the cops anyway.

woH emoC ehT srepsihW ereW semitemoS sdrawkcaB?
Because we can now guess that they came from a time in the future. Dripping Walt, Kate's nighttime phone call... considering that the islanders can skip forward as well as backward in time, this suddenly seems to make a hell of a lot more sense. How voices, messages, and images can be cast backward like that to arrive at their destinations is still a mystery - but maybe someday we'll learn something about the infamous 'remote viewing device'.

It Looks Like you Heart Them.
Hahahahaha!!! Because lucky for Hurley, every gas station stocks 3XL T-shirts. I hope that shirt lasts out the season and makes it all the way back to the island. We should start a pool on what Sawyer's first line would be.

Thank God for Flaming Arrows
Back on the beach it was a close race as to who was annoying me the most. Rose and Bernard were doing a good job whining at each other, but then Frogurt really took over and made a giant dick of himself. The flaming arrows were a welcome relief from the irritating dialogue and lame attempt at some sort of comedy. And once again the writers spent the lives of another batch of red shirts while the cool kids all got away.

Presumably these are more others toting the standard issue WWII rifles we've seen in seasons past. They've got zero tolerance for outsiders and Ethan's patience for explanation. Locke showing up to save Sawyer and Juliet was pretty cool, and his knife throwing skills are still solid. That they would've chopped Juliet's arm off wasn't even a question. But the fact that they didn't recognize Juliet indicated they must've jumped to a time period before she arrived on the island.

No Country for Old Ben
Sometime during his jaunts to the real world, Ben took in a movie or two. He hides his mystery bag in the air vent, No Country for Old Men-style, either to keep it from enemies or to keep it from Jack. When telling Jack to go home for a few hours, he reminds him: 'If there's anything in this life you want, pack it in there because you're never coming back'. Does this mean once Jack goes back to the island he's staying there forever? Not necessarily. We've heard references to 'another life' so many times, it's hard to brush over Ben's interesting use of the phrase 'this life'. I'm more inclined to think that once they've gone back, the timeline they're currently in might completely cease to exist (which would be extremely convenient for Hurley the serial-killer). If Jack ever gets off the island again after that, it'll be in an entirely different (another) life. Does that sound kooky? Let me remind you we're traveling through time now... so not many things should sound kooky at this point.

It was also cool to see just how many contacts Ben still maintains in the outside world, if there even is an outside world (hmmm... did I just say that?) Not only was Jill sitting there waiting for Ben, she knew exactly what he had in the van and why he had it. I also thought it pretty rad how Ben pointedly defended Jack when Jill made snide remarks toward his addiction to pills. Although everyone's always been a pawn in Ben's giant chessgame, he realizes they've been through a lot of crap together. Maybe he's got a heart after all.

My Big Long Chunky Theory About Ben, Hawking, and Desmond
Okay, since we know a hell of a lot more now than we ever did before, let's put some things in perspective. Widmore sent Desmond to the island. This seems to indicate he knew in advance that Desmond would be the game-changer. Perhaps powerless at the time of the boat race, maybe Widmore knew Desmond's abilities would come with the turning of the failsafe key. He alone would be instrumental in allowing the island to be found again. Desmond was the monkey wrench in the machinery of the island, tossed there by Widmore.

On the flip side, Ben is the person currently protecting and hiding the island. Desmond arrives on the beach, and before his clothes are even dry he is squirreled away to the Swan Hatch and kept there by threats of disease and impending world destruction. Pressing a button every 108 minutes, Desmond's going nowhere soon. Ben writes him off as harmless until the 815'ers show up to change Desmond's situation. Ben counted on the timer expiring, and the resulting Swan Hatch implosion... but Ben did NOT count on the turning of the failsafe key. Desmond wakes up buck naked in the jungle - the only character we've ever seen this happen to. He goes through a special type of island baptism or rebirth, and it looks like this is where he's imparted with the unique power to change things.

After the hatch implosion, Desmond is also catapulted though time to another point in his life. Pushing the button sucked, so he happily decides to change things, buy a ring, and stay with Penny. That's when Ms. Hawking shows up, vehemently urging Desmond to dump Penny and head to the Swan Hatch anyway, almost as if it were a given that he would do so. When he's hesitant, she seems worried and annoyed. According to her own course-correction theory, she shouldn't have to be worried... no matter what choice Desmond makes, the button would eventually get pushed by someone. Yet Hawking definitely *was* worried - a violation of her own conjecture. She knew Desmond could, and would, change things - unless he was thoroughly convinced that he could not.

So now you've got Ben and Hawking on one side, trying to keep things status quo. They're the keepers of the island's time loop, which has gone on and on... explaining how they know just about everything before it happens. Widmore and company have been trying to change things in order to find the island and perhaps get to the end game. You've got Richard and the Others acting under the order of Jacob (I'm no longer convinced Ben is, or even ever was, acting in Jacob's interests), and right now Jacob's agenda is still up in the air. And finally you've got Locke, rising to his fulfill his destiny as the once and future leader of the Others. Which I suppose puts his mission in line with whatever Jacob is planning. Somewhere in there is the smoke monster, a leftover remnant from the four-toed era, chewing on people from both sides.

If anyone disagrees with me, I'm open to other interpretations. I love this ****.

Ms. Hawkings, a Pendulum, and Some Very Serious High-Level Mathematics
It appears that disrupting the historic course of the island has sent things spinning toward an impending, disastrous end. As Hawking tells Ben in the big revealing scene: "Seventy hours is what you've got". If we assume this season ends with the O6 returning to the island, then the entire story arc of our season will fit into less than three days. Three off-island days, that is. Who knows how much time that translates to in Sawyer/Juliet/Locke hours. But if Jack's group fails to get back in time, Hawkings 'Every single one of us will be dead' prophecy seems like it will be fulfilled. Doesn't this finally put Ben on the good guy team? If not I'm not sure what does.

The Last Two Seasons
This opener paves the way for what should be the coolest two seasons ever. The story has evolved so that Eko, Charlie, Libby, Shannon, Boone... even Joanna the drowned girl can show up at any time. I look forward to these fun moments, like when Ana Lucia bent down to peer into Hurley's car. And like the rest of you guys, I look forward to LOST finally unraveling many of its best and oldest mysteries.