I like the point about the Monster being developed by Widmore, thus Ben not knowing what it is. Great post!

The only problem with claiming Ben knows nothing about the smoke monster is that Juliet knows all about it via 'Left Behind' when she activated the security system to keep it from attacking her and Kate.

I think Juliet only knows how to keep it out.

Interesting theory about the Widmore's. I think Charles Widmore is trying to locate something that was on the black rock. And now Ben has it, which i turn is why the freighter crew are looking for Ben. I also think this explains why Miles wanst 3.2 mil from Ben..... However I dont think its cash he is talking about. Its code for something else - Diamonds, gold, etc. But Miles knows Ben has it and can get to it on the island, which is why he is giving him a week to get it. Honestly, how can a tied up man get access to a that kind of cash..... especially on an island in the middle of nowhere. The look that Miles gave Ben sort of hinted that he needed to code what was being said in front of Kate.

Clearly the freighter is operated by Charles Widmore (also, they have strict instructions to not answer a phone that penny keeps calling.... hmm instructed by Charles Widmore... definitely) I think Charles Widmore is giving his daughter only bits of info - maybe he made a promise to her to send a team/freighter out to find Desmond, but really has other intentions (black rock, Ben).

There must be something worth a lot on the Black Rock, and now Ben has it.....

I hope this makes sense!
I have so many thoughts about lost this season.

I am hoping someone out there can make sense of this website that i found. I was researching what the Kazimir effect. This is in a trailer describing the Orchid Station. Here is the website http://www.biomedtehno.kiev.ua/english/other/akimov_eng.html

The page descibes both gravitational and magnetic energy. The Kazimir effect is talked about 3/4 of the page down. If any one can please read this info and comment please

Alternate Realities!!!
In the trailer that shows the japanese scientist describing the Orchid Station he talks of the Kazimir effect. He is also holding a Rabbit with the number 15. During the presentation another 15 Rabbit appears and he is obviously upset and does not want the two rabbits near each other. He states "when did you set the shift" assistant replies -20. he asks how long she replies 9 mins but we're still...
Could this be experiments in alternating universes and wormholes. Could this be switching of characters to different realities. This may explain how Jack still talks about his supposed dead father in the jump forward scene in the finale of season 3.

quick question.... Why would Penny's father give the 1996 Desmond her address if he doesn't want him near his daughter?
This was, by far, the best episode I have seen. Desmond has become my favorite character.

nice theory, the only thing i disagree with is the smoke thing.. somethings up with it and i dont think the solution is gona simply be a scientific weapon. Its prolly gona answer every question about the islands origins. aalso i think the miles 3.2 is insignificant and miles is just an idiot. haha. normally i would look at it closely but from now on i think the valenzetti numbers are put in everything to mess with us 4 8 15 16 (23) 42

This episode gave us a lot of information to digest. Specifically, I think a lot of loose ends now tie together, albeit faintly.

As this article points out, the Widmore business is a bit clearer now. He's interested in the island. Some have suggested that Widmore is the Economist. Curiously, Penny seems to know about the island and told Desmond she's been "researching" it. How does she know about it? Is she spying on her father? Or (plot twist alert) is she spying *for* her father? That would change my opinion of her real quick, though it's possible she doesn't know his evil plans.

Come to think of it, neither do we.

The time unsticking is also fascinating in terms of the loose ends it *might* tie up for us. Some people have suggested that the "sickness" on the Island is actually just the time anomaly, and that because people who don't come to or leave the island on the proper heading (305? 325?) can potentially go nuts, this may have happened to characters we've been aware of for some time. Rousseau's crewmates might have suffered from this sixteen years ago, leading her to have to kill them. And perhaps Jacob is unstuck in time in his own way, which is why he needs help.

I'm not convinced Daniel is unstuck. Certainly he made a note to make Desmond his Constant, just in case it happened. And if it hasn't, I think it probably will. Maybe, just maybe, being unstuck explains why he was crying when we first saw him in Confirmed Dead. Perhaps for a brief moment Future Daniel came back and saw the plane coverage on the news, and recognized something that affected him emotionally. Here's a thought: if Frank Lapidus becomes unstuck in time, will he be able to pilot the plane in 2004 and crash it in the ocean instead of on the island? Would that act, which would prevent the plane from ever having crashed on the Island in the first place, somehow save the world, at the cost of Frank's own life? Is that selfless act something Daniel is "remembering" from the future while watching TV?

Aaargh!!!!! Brain ... spinning ... too ... fast. I'm going to get a nosebleed if this keeps up.

One last thing: what's with the 22nd of the month? The Black Rock set sail on March 22nd, 1845. The plane crashed on September 22nd, 2004. And we learned about all this time business on the freighter, where the calendar says it's December 22nd, 2004? 22 is not one of the numbers, but it's clearly one that the writers like.

This was a very thoughtful post. Thank you. I think the writers are giving us a very big clue with the 'constant' theory. Perhaps all of the figures we've see in past episodes, like the priest that was significant in having Desmond and Penny meet one another, etc.

I think we're dealing with multiple metaphysical things here. One is the 'consciousness time jump' -- the other has to do with teleportation of somekind. I'm thinking of Locke's dad and Sawyer and that whole drama. Also ... HOW CAN LOCKE FALL OUT AN 8 STORY WINDOW AND LIVE???? SOMETHING HELPED TO BREAK HIS FALL ... I THINK A 'TIME JUMPER' WAS DEFINITELY INVOLVED.

I think what we're witnessing is a 'war' with operatives, etc. trying to out smart one another.

Black Rock is key. and I agree ... Ben has something ... that Widmore wants. I think he tricked Desmond and wanted him to find Penny so that they will make contact in 2004. So he and his crew can raid the island. But it's more than just find the island. He wants Ben.

Also ... WHO IS ANNIE?

Great fun this show!

Not only is Bad Twin not canon, but in the book, the Widmores are an old-money family from Long Island, New York, USA (think the characters in the Great Gatsby). They have NO connection or relevance to the Widmores featured on the show. Therefore the connections in Bad Twin should not be referenced for any meaning whatsoever.

McKay,
Brilliant post. I have been thinking along the same lines for a while now and it seems that last week's episode has given us some proof. At my site, www.therecshow.com I have been posting about Lost and came to many of the same conclusions.

Annie could be Ben's spy on the ship. Maybe he shot her, knowing she was wearing the vest. It would be like him to do that...Who sent her to get the polar bear collar and who would sabotage the ships communication and how does the captain not know about it. The captain would be made aware immediately of someone on board destroying ship communications unless the captain couldn't be communicated to, maybe off the boat.

Any ideas on who the guy who hired Naomi works for? That would answer alot of questions.

Also the blast door map referenced the Black Rock as the known final resting place of Magnus Hanso. We know Magnus was the Black Rocks'captain but who was the first mate?

Also remember Bens' little girlfriend who gave him the doll for his birthday...

I liked this post as well. Charles Widmore is def someone of interest. The bathroom scene where Des was asking Charles for Penny's address, Charles gave him the address willing. I thought what was strange about it, was that Charles left the water on after washing his hands. I feel he left the water on was because Charles knew what was taking place with Des and his symptoms, even if it was only 1996. As Des starred at the water he flashed back onto the freighter.

I think it seems pretty obvious that this "metaphorical box" is why ben can have 3.2 mil to give to miles. Which is why Miles said something along the lines of knowning what Ben can do. I beleive Ben has the ability to manipulate reality like a master of space and time. Afterall, only fools are enslaved by time and space. What do you think?

I think Penny is bad!!!

Thanks for the kind words about this post everyone. I think there are some great points from all of you here. In regards to ThePieHole's comment about the Bad Twin not being canon to the show, I agree that there is not a direct relationship to the show, however, these additional sources have been created for dedicated Lost fans who want something extra from the show, or who want to take it 1 step further. These additional sources (find815, the Lost Experience, Bad Twin) *could* absolutely provide additional clues related to the show without being a direct tie-in. For example, the Lost producers provided a list of elements that could be incorporated into the Bad Twin novel, and although the producers were not happy with the end result, this does not mean that certain concepts or elements should automatically be dismissed.

good post, some interesting points.

a couple of thoughts ive had on some questions that have been asked:

i think the spy on the freighter is going to be Michael. I think Ben let him go with the boat and sent him there to be his spy.

I think that the freighter folk are probably contracted by Darmha. Darmha want Ben Linus for his involvement in the mass murder of all their operatives. They haven't been able to get back to the island since the incident.

Also this wasn't mentioned at all, but i think Daniels got his memory problems (hinted at by the card memory game, and him not remembering desmond) from not wearing anything on his head whilst experimenting.

Okay my freaking biggest question is this ---back in season 3---How did Locke's dad just show up on the island that loop is still unexplained. I'm thinking that will come up why the polar bears are sitting in the desert.

Okay my freaking biggest question is this ---back in season 3---How did Locke's dad just show up on the island that loop is still unexplained. I'm thinking that will come up why the polar bears are sitting in the desert.

Posted By Orionfire

Richard Alpert brought him as Ben says to him " go get the man from tallahassee" in the episode the man from tallahassee

I think time travel and the freighter people and possibly charles widmore trying to get to the island and get Ben ties into the Jacob story. i always asked myself the question why Richard Alpert just started letting Ben call the shots on the island. as we know he has supernatural abilities(he never ages) i think he has some power pertaining to the time travel. I think he knew these people would come(possibly dharma people)and knew they would seek the leader of the hostiles to get what they wanted. I think he created this other character named jacob( really just richard) and Ben seemed to be unique in his ability to communicate with him and grew to be the leader. in this way Richard could safely call the shots from the shadows and appear to be just a background character. if anyone has noticed when Ben changes plans with capturing the pregant women and none of the others protest yet Richard gets flustered, angry even thats plans are changing.

Maybe a dumb question but I have not seen it addressed yet: If the Black Rock is shipwrecked on the island, how did the Black Rock journal get off the Black Rock to be auctioned off? Wouldn't the journal still be on ship? Wouldn't someone have had to take it off the Black Rock and taken it back to "civilization" in order to be auctioned off? If so, who? Ben? Why? If not Ben who and why?

it says in that episode that it was found with a survivor in madagascar i believe.

Some of my theories...

Charles Whidmore was on the Black Rock and is most likely the former 1st mate. Somehow he left the island and Ben took it from him and has hidden the island from him. My theory is the island allows Whitmore to not age or age at a very slow rate. He needs to return to it before he ages too far and dies. Ben is Whidmores constant and Whidmore is Bens constant....that's why neither can kill the other. This is in the same way that Penelope is Desomnds constant. It's a proven fact that the "others" and Ben can time travel....both forward and backwards. For some reason there must be a limit on how far they can go in any direction though. The other key characters seems to be Jack and Claire's dad and Walt. Still have other thoughts but am brain dead right now...