This episode seems like a difficult one to discuss... major events happened, but it felt like there were only a few things to comment on specifically. Also zero easter eggs really (please correct me if there were - maybe on that landmine before it blew up?)Let's start with Locke - who is starting to wear a little thin with his whole "I was sent here to lead you" biz. What does he expect people to say to that? I guess it is the 1950's though, Milgram and all that... or was that the 70's... time is weird! (our new club motto). But I thought it was really interesting how he gives Richard the compass - which now explains what Richard was doing when he visited a young Locke last season - the objects didn't have some spiritual meaning, young Locke was supposed to pick the compass but didn't. What is weird though is the chronology of it - Richard in the... whenever... gives Locke a compass. Locke goes back in time to the 50's and gives it to Richard who has never seen it before you'd think by the look on his face. Two years later, Richard offers it to Locke who rejects it. Richard then keeps the compass and gives it to Locke at the Beechcraft. Do you get what I'm trying to say here? The compass technically came from nowhere... Weird...
Moving on to the Others themselves. This was perhaps the highlight of the episode - seeing how the Others were in the 50's, and how Richard just lives forever it seems. God knows what the deal is with him, but it seems like he is actually PART of the Island almost. I liked Ellie though - she bore a resemblance to Charlotte though... and she's now my frontrunner for the "who are Charlotte's parents if she was born on the Island" speculating. The Latin as well as a lot of fun - typically Juliet knows all these things and never mentions them. She also knows that Richard lives forever, and probably knows why, and yet won't tell anyone until they ask (which seems like never).
And Mr Charles Widmore - it's quite ironic that he is actually just a lacky - tends to reflect most big cheeses in life... they were always someone else's property once upon a time and have pent up issues. It was bizarre though that he was just an Other. We always got the impression that Widmore's ties in the Island go deeper - though then again, perhaps we'll soon see that they do.
Ending with Charlotte - is the fact that she may have been born on the Island the reason for her sickness following time travel? It seems likely. My theory is that the Island is on a separate space/time, so it allows the paradox of e.g. Locke being there before his birth. However, as Charlotte is FROM the Island space, she may be experiencing these side-effects as she effectively walks around the same age as her parents (thus making a paradox). It's a wacky theory, as usual, but it seems highly likely that her birth is the special factor. Looking forward to hearing other theories.
Let's end by sparing a thought for the beach camp. Only 10 or so others made it out? They're dropping like bombs!
