I think I'd rather have an actual answer to EVERYTHING. Doubt that would happen though... I do want there to be some kind of answer that explains the entire show and makes sense, not just like "so-and-so woke up from a dream" but also not just "Well the island is Magic so that explains everything."

No, no. I understand where you're coming from. They won't have 'character wakes up and finds it was all a dream'. That theory was debunked in episode 18 - Dave (2nd Season).
I don't mean that the writers shouldn't answer questions about The Island. What I mean is they've said they won't answer the finer details of why it's so special. And that's a good thing. The writers said that they won't cut to black without providing a conclusive, satisfactory ending.

I'm sure they'll answer things like:
- What the smoke monster is
- What the whispers are
- Why there are ancient statues
- Etc.

So I wouldn't worry too much.

Sorry I was unclear about the Numbers; I'm also satisfied with that explanation. It was just another example cited by the creators.

Yes, I'm glad they eliminated the prospect of a "St Elsewhere ending" in "Dave" - not to mention the "everyone's dead" explanation (mentioned in season 3's "The Brig").

It's going to be a tough task, finding the right balance between mystery and revelation, that will please most of the fans.

Incidentally, the season 5 DVD set has some fun extras, not to mention a few Easter eggs.

Finished watching "The Little Prince":

Seems like Kate

"This Place is Death" :

Spoiler

I wasn't terribly attached to Charlotte, but I was sad to see her go. And was that a Narnia reference in her last scene? A character with the initials C. S. Lewis telling someone about an adult telling them a place they spent their childhood in was imaginary seems like a pretty obvious Narnia reference to me.

They didn't spend nearly enough time with the French people. A bit confused as to why Rousseau didn't recognize Jin in the present. Or maybe she did and I'm just forgetful. Anyway, I was frustrated by yet more references to the temple and still not getting to see it. I'm thinking that the Smoke Monster must have killed all of those men down in that underground area and then took their place. Can I nominate the SM for creepiest monster ever?

I really like what they've done with Sun this season. It's interesting to look back over her character progression from the timid woman who hid her knowledge of English from everyone.

Faraday's Mom/Eloise: Despite the fact that she's working with Ben, I can't really think she's evil. She's Dan's mom after all. If she were evil, he'd never send Desmond to her. And now that they've revealed her first name, I'm really certain she's Ellie.

General Smoke Monster/Jacob/Christian/Island speculation:
The more I think about it, the more the situation with the SM reminds me of the Egyptian mythology surrounding the afterlife. According to their myths, when you die, you are taken to be judged. Your heart is weighed against the feather of truth. Those who fail the test are thrown to this weird bloated monster to be devoured. Those who pass go into the afterlife. Given the fact that the writers have indicated that only those who've redeemed themselves die on the Island, I find it interesting that the three main characters killed directly or indirectly by the SM were all people who seemingly failed to be redeemed. When asked to repent, Mr. Eko refused. Nikki and Paolo certainly didn't seem very repentful either, with all their scheming and diamond-hunting. They certainly didn't do anything to redeem themselves either. So my theory is the SM can only kill the wicked/unrepentant and must spare the repentent/redeemed. It ties into the whole devoured/not devoured aspect of the Egyptian myth and we've certainly seen enough hieroglyphics to think there must be some Egyptian connection to the Island.

I think Jacob is probably either God or a god. I do not think Christian truly represents him, whatever he may claim. Nothing on Lost is ever straightforward and I find it hard to believe that Christian is an exception. I think instead he may represent some sort of opposite power/devil figure or may even be that opposing force personified in the dead body of Jack's father. Richard I suspect is some sort of angelic being or a similar divinely appointed servant put in charge of protecting the Island. It seems the Others only reason for being on the Island is to protect it and Richard seems to be the driving force behind that effort. And then there's the whole non-aging thing. There's a bonus dark/light duality thing with Christian. Think about it, we mostly see Christian in light colors on the Island and Richard always seems to be wearing dark colors. Then you have their hair colors and skin tones. They're messing with our perceptions of good=light and evil=dark.

Ultimately, I think the Losties are just cogs in some sort of vast cosmic battle. Obviously the Island has miraculous properties. Time travel, teleportation, healing. It also seems to function as some sort of weak point or portal between this world and the afterlife. As the seasons have gone by, we've seen there's a struggle between the Others acting upon Jacob's orders and Widmore, etc., to control the fate of the Island. So maybe there's a Big Bad out there, something worse than Ben and Widmore, most likely supernatural in nature and serving as Jacob's opposite, whatever Jacob ultimately is.

I'm really enjoying your comments and questions, Bookwyrm! They're very thoughtful and I'm reminded of some of the things that went through my mind when I saw those episodes for the first time. Rest assured that at least some of your questions will be answered by season's end!

A few comments, while trying to avoid season-spoiling for you:

I too was

Spoiler

saddened by Charlotte's demise. She was grumpy much of the time - but she was named after Jack! And yes, her words were a Narnia reference that, if memory serves, will be explored a little more later on.

Eloise

Spoiler

- whose last name is a nod to physicist Stephen Hawking, whose book A Brief History of Time has already been seen in the series - has been described in a commentary as a sort of "temporal policeman" whose job it is to make sure that those who are supposed to get to the island, get there. The Lamp Post Station (another Narnia reference ) appears to be just one of her tools for fulfilling that role.

The Smoke Monster and judgment:

Unstuck in time effects:

Keep watching!

Bookwyrm, the main writers of LOST, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (yes, not J.J. Abrams) have said they're big fans of C.S Lewis' books. I have many similar theories to yours. I hope you enjoy the rest of Season 5 (but it will soon get mighty confusing - in a good way).

LOST fans:
An interesting side note. In a dream John Locke sees a blood-stained Boon chanting, "Theresa falls up the stairs. Theresa falls down the stairs. Theresa falls up the stairs. Theresa falls down the stairs. Theresa falls up the stairs. Theresa falls down the stairs. Theresa falls up the stairs".
Later, Boon tells Locke that when he was 6 years old he had a nanny called Theresa who died falling down stairs (Deus Ex Machina - Season 1, episode 19).
Here's a funny little video (staged as if leaked to the public) about the identity of 'Adam' and 'Eve' in the cave - Season 1.
http://darkufo.blogspot.com/2010/01/los ... e-fun.html
Enjoy

Booky, about the whole what about

Nice speculation "Theresa" Warrior! I never got that. I actually don't remember Theresa Spencer at all.

P.S."Brooklyn!"

Nice catch, W4J. I'd completely forgotten about that bit with Boone. Maybe it's something they'll get into in the 6th season.

Ryan-

A month ago I had just gotten into the show 'Lost'.
I love it! My Aunt aka my Godmother as well whom I visit a lot has the DVD collection and every Sunday night we watch a few episodes and I'm now in the second season and still loving it.

It's ze best

Glad you're enjoying it, DamselJillPole! I liked most of season 2. In my opinion the first few episodes of season 3 are sub-par, but it picks up again after that.

Regarding your spoilered comments, Bookwyrm:

Last night Fox aired the first two hours of season 8 of 24. A few thoughts:

24 was awesome last night. And I'm really looking forward to 'part 2' this evening.
Two words: Jack is back!!! It's gonna be a good season.
But I'm not sure what to think of the blonde at CTU. And Hastings is vexing!

LOST Press Release with Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse (main writers):
http://spoilerslost.blogspot.com/2010/0 ... z0d2TJZYZf

Highlights of the press release:
Executive producers and writers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse have said that viewers desperate for answers will definitely get them when the series concludes. Lindelof explained: “I think there are people who have certainly figured out significant pieces, but they don't have enough information yet. We withheld key evidence. Starting with the season premiere this year, the remaining clues necessary to figure out where we're going to end the show are going to begin to fall into place.” Cuse teased: “We're doing something different narratively in this season, which doesn't require either a deep investment or in-depth knowledge about the series.”

I think we've heard all of that before, at various times, except the quote in bold. I'm not liking what it suggests.

Here's a great little satire video about LOST fans:
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/f ... romises_to

I'm looking forward to 24 Season 8, when it comes to Australia.

That Onion parody is humorous indeed, Warrior. Thanks! (The 'new' items in the crawl below are also rather amusing). I'm reminded of the time before I began watching Lost - several friends at work would talk about the previous night's episode at length and I'd be...well, lost.

In about 2 weeks we'll have a lot better idea of what they intend to do this year.

Jack is indeed back with this season's rousing start to 24. A few remarks:

edit: This week's episode of Castle had a lot going for it:

Spoilers for those of you who haven't watched LOST beyond ep. 19, Season 3

LOST - Jacob's Cabin Theory

First the situation:
LOST - The Man Behind the Curtain, Season 3, episode 20.

Benjamin Linus takes John Locke to be meet Jacob. They come to a Jacob's cabin. Inside the cabin Ben seems to be having a conversation with someone in an old wooden rocking chair, whom Locke can't see. Naturally he thinks Ben is playing him for a fool or mentally unstable. Disgusted by Ben's deception, he turns to leave the cabin but hears a moaning voice saying, 'Help me!' He confronts Ben but then objects start flying violently around the room and the rocking chair begins to rock back and forth. Locke plays his torch around the room, trying to find the trickster. There are none to be found. In the kerfuffle, an oil lamp is knocked over and ignites the floor. Ben tries to calm the force but is thrown against the wall. For the less than a split-second we see a man in the chair, his full identity hidden by the shadows (he looks like Jack's dad, Christian Shepard). Locke runs out of the cabin and the shaking and noises stop. Ben follows suite.

This scene reminded me of a moment in a sci-fi miniseries called The Lost Room. The basic premise that something epic happened in 1969, in Room 10, at the Sunshine Hotel (think along the lines of The Overlook Mansion from Stephen King's The Shining or an episode of The Twilight Zone, but different). Whatever happened caused ordinary objects in the room to have special properties and to be indestructible. There are a dangerous group of collectors after the objects. Finally, the hero's daughter is lost within the room and he has to try and find and recover her.

First the situation:
The Lost Room - The Box, episode 4.

The hero, Joe Miller, along with unintended adventurer, Jennifer Bloom, investigate the objects and try to find Joe's daughter. At one point they enter the Sunshine Hotel, Room 9 (the Hotel has been long abandoned). Once they close the door, the room begins to shake violently, objects fly around the room and there and a high-pitched screeching noise is heard. A ghostly figure appears for a moment, then vanishes. As they search around town they find that there was a young woman, called Arlene who disappeared some time ago. Upon re-entering the room with several of the objects from the Lost Room, they find she reacts adversely to a wooden box and that the comb slows time for several seconds. It seems that she is trapped within the room and has been travelling rapidly through time and space and can't escape. Her soul is tied to an object (acts like a curse or something). The comb slows time for a moment and the comb-ee and Arlene act in real-time, while the world around them stops. For a brief moment she is given respite.

LOST

I'm not sure how credible the theory is, nor if it's already been addressed (everything has been already I guess, and then some). I'm not sure I've even been coherent but I hope so. Take of it what you will.

That's a very nice bit of reasoning, Warrior! I've seen some speculation that

I'm wrapping up my season 5 rewatch as season 6 approaches. Today I watched "The Variable" and "Follow the Leader" (the last 2 episodes before the season finale). A few random thoughts:

Spoiler

At times I found the time jumps a bit confusing to keep track of, with the various characters doing things in different times and influencing future events - and I've seen it before! But it's great stuff.

Incidentally, early in "The Variable" is another illustration of Eloise's role as 'temporal cop' - she tells a young Daniel it's her job to keep him on the right path.

Now that we know who the "live" Locke is, I got a lot more out of watching his manipulation of others to set everything up for his eventual exploitation of 'the loophole' - getting Richard to tell the 'original' Locke (who had been shot by Ethan) that he had to get everyone to come back, and would have to die in the process; or the way he plays Ben and Richard against each other.

In "The Variable" Faraday