>> Jack has no one with him...

I’ve never watched Survivor, but I agree that Jack is good at keeping quiet when he needs to.

Agree 100% that Ben keeps Locke close by, because Ben sees him as a threat. (Later in Season 5 we learn that some of Richard’s fostering of Locke has to do with the time-travel.)

>>I theorize that the plan to go to the beach is actually Juliet’s idea ... Ben was convinced that there was a solution to this problem of pregnant women on the Island, so Juliet could take advantage of this hubris and offer a new idea.

>>Juliet just has facts on him, but does she know what makes him tick...?

>>when Juliet and Kate were handcuffed together in Left Behind, and how Juliet asked her what she knew about Jack.

>>finally, Season 6, where he actually does get it right (although I suppose we might have a debate about that, given that he could have gone home with Kate and Claire and company in a different scenario).

>> you asked about Jack knowing if Ben killed Locke... Maybe Ben told him in a private moment at the beach, but by then, there were much bigger stakes. 

Re: Manifest & characters “popping:”

>>Jack ... feels like he owes Juliet for helping Kate and Sawyer escape...

I’m sorry I didn’t answer this sooner; there’s a lot here to unpack.

>>And Sawyer has that look that he knows no matter what he does, Kate will always go back to Jack in the end.

I love that idea of Kate being Hugo’s majordomo, instead of Ben. Not because Kate is bad-ass (she is!) but because Kate has already shown herself to have a deep affiliation with and affinity for the Island, exemplified by her black horse.

Interesting idea, that Locke also became “unstuck in time,” although not as much as Desmond.

Agree 100% about Hugo being able to “defuse” Jack; point him in the right direction.

On “Live Together, Die Alone:”

Re: Ben & “cheating:”

Re: Hugo’s Oceanic Nightmare:

>>Wow, we’ve really dug deep into this, haven’t we? ;-)

>>Did you ever watch the “What’s your story?” deleted scene from the DVD? Libby is featured probably more than anyone in all of the deleted scenes, and we learn she was married two other times besides David, among other things.