Nicely done, El Zilcho.

Stupid Oprah. The Secret is one thing, but this is just plain irresponsible.

That came on around my bedtime (or maybe my parents changed my bedtime the night the Increditble Hulk was on), and I remember it started before I left the living room, and I was too afraid to walk down the dark hall by myself. My dad yelled at me, which scared me even more, because I thought he was going to turn into…

That intro was scary! What channel was that on? The only episode I remember is one when a young woman is taken in by a nice old couple. They take care of her, let her use the hot tub … and then they start cutting vegetables into the hot tub and cook her to death. That's when I learned a very important lesson about…

Wow, I don't remember the rapist episode, but I do remember the one in the article. I was pretty little when it aired, but it didn't scare me. All I could think was how was it these pioneer folk had mannequins in the first place - totally deflated the tension.

I liked her reaction - like she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Yet, at the core of it, Richard took Ben. What reason did he have for doing it?

Actually, I do think Richard can communicate with Jacob without Jacob being around. But the economy of these recent episodes is messing with my mind. Ben telling Sun that he can't control what comes out of the jungle, then out pops Locke. Richard saying Jacob wants Ben to live, although we only saw Sawyer and Kate…

@mbs - There was a part in Coraline that reminded me of Alice. It was a scene when she's in the alternate universe, and the two old ladies are performing for her and an audience of Scotties. Something about textural detail of the dogs' wagging tails, and the dark uncertainty of the mood.

Good call on Pan's Labyrinth. This film is terrifying. That frog's tongue was the stuff of nightmares.

I agree, Logoboros. The first time I saw this (college film festival, on the big screen), I kept thinking how American child actors would never be subjected to the things Alice did in this Eastern European version. The decrepitude of her surroundings, her frustrations, the basic survivalism portrayed in the scenes…

@ Beautiful - absolutely possible. The Others do not inspire fluffy bunny feelings, and there is a lot of moral ambiguity to the characters. Eko was a bad dude trying to get back on a righteous path - he wasn't afraid of Smokey. The clues are clouded in mystery. I keep thinking that this is a single 6-season arc,…

I agree that it's not standard good and evil, but I do think the island is striving to maintain a balance. There has been too much evil - selfish, manipulative, petty garbage that the island is trying to offset. Maybe that's been parenthetical to the mission statement of going back to the island to help their…

Does Richard taking Ben in '77 happen in conjunction with Ben being judged by Smokey? Is that why Richard says that Jacob wants him to live?

Jacob wanted Ben to live
In the '77 scene when Richard is calming down Widmore about bringing Ben into their camp, he says that Jacob wanted Ben to live. From what I recall, there wasn't anything that happened off-screen to indicate that Richard consulted Jacob. Is Sawyer Jacob? Is that his next identity? He was…

You do make an excellent point, Pilot. Smokey let Ben live, and the entire scene did play out as though he was being judged. Since I don't think anything Ben says can be taken at face value, I was waiting for some sort of double-cross once he got in the temple. I still have a hard time believing that Ben is good,…

Smokey being the water is interesting. So, is Ben holding it prisoner in his closet? Is that why Jacob asked Locke to help him - Ben is trying to control things that he shouldn't?

Ben lies in the shadow of the statue. But then he lies everywhere.

Widmore rigged the freighter with explosives, and sent a commando team in to shoot at will and get Ben. Ben shoots at will, period. They are both BIG BAD VILLIANS.

Maybe Illana and the others somehow trigger the Incident, and get the timelines to converge. There is something in that box. She knew about Sayid, and presumably Ben. I think she's with Widmore, or she's with a faction that goes back further. Ms. Hawking was keeping her cards close to the vest earlier this season.…