As for how the Hostiles still receive drops (and have a presence on the mainland – as evidenced by their various fronts including Mittelos Aviation) – I think that has yet to be revealed. I think we are supposed to be questioning how that is happening and have a feeling that we’ll learn more in the coming seasons.

Remember, the Dharma Initiative was backed by Alvar Hanso, a billionaire, and Widemore Labs (Penny’s father’s company). For all we know, Richard and his merry band of hostiles could have been a splinter group of Dharma who broke off from them. I think they may have been products of Dharma experiments. Anyway, Ben said he was ‘one’ of the smart ones – which makes me believe Mikhail was also part of Dharma. As the comm specialist, he may have kept up the good front on behalf of the Hostiles.

There was a key piece of dialogue where Richard encounters young Ben. Ben calls him a hostile and Richard says – “Do you even know what that word means?” The dictionary defines hostile as one against the true nature of something. Therefore, Richard is implying that it is actually Dharma that are the hostiles to the island and that he and his group are actually in tune with the island. If Hanso was looking to get at the heart of the island (for whatever reason) Ben may have been the one to bridge the gap and continue the financing.

Ahhh – who knows. All in good time. All I know is this show beats a CSI any day of the week. Please – a Miniature Killer?!?!?

My other thought is maybe Jacob and Smoke monster are one in the same. If Jacob can be an invisble presence (unless you catch that one frame as Ed did) and also take shape of a man as Ed showed. He could morph into a horse, a cat, Eko’s brother as well as take shape of the black smoke.

No, seriously, I don’t really have any thoughts of my own about what exactly Jacob is, whether he be spirit or trapped in another dimension/time or whatever. Your theory seems plausible to me and maybe Locke is the true Ghost Whisperer and Ben is the phony. However, I’d think Ben has at least seen or talked to Jacob before, if only because he knew he was sitting in that chair.

I am with you on Alex giving Locke the gun as protection from Jacob as she, and the others (no pun intended), believe he has killed others (again…) while it was really Ben.

I think whatever they believe is tied to not only talking to Jacob and/or the island, but also in the chosen one killing their father. Another parallel between Locke and Ben with Ben believing he’d never do it since he wasn’t a method of escaping the island.

I wonder if the Hostiles weren’t also a part of the Dharma Initiative. That they are part of the whatever is going on there and the culling of the compound wasn’t part of the grand plan. Mikhail’s boast that he was the last surviving member of DI is proven false via the flashbacks since we see Ben as also a part of it. Anyway, I throw that out there without much thought on it.

Finally, my guesses on the finale are either the Hostiles/Others kill all the Oceanic survivors or they are actually rescued by Naomi’s ship. We’ll see soon.

And for Charlie… right now!

Otherwise I did like this episode, but I was expecting a little more. I am more looking forward to “catching up with Jack and Julia”.

I regret to inform that my double-bill of ‘A Million Little Pieces’ and ‘The Corrections’ has been cancelled indefinitely.

I wonder if it was a Comcast problem…

Will I be led me off the beaten path to a pit containing the carcasses of doomed television shows (those my DVR elected to ‘Delete Regardless of My Decision to Save Until I Delete’) where upon you will reveal your true motives and subsequently ‘cancel my programming.’

And I am of the mind that it’s neither sick nor evil if Charlie gets killed…never liked the little hobbit much…