I agree, whether it's a writer's issue or not, Miles has been saying "Jaboni".

Nice work, time to dive into the debate!

I think that was Walt and his powers. One of the questions asked about him has to do with whether or not he ever appears in places he's not supposed to. Walt is "special" after all.

I agree. Lost definitely makes us question a lot of things, but sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

I think it's partly a lie. He might be lying about appearing as Christian in that instance, but I think that it was him who appeared to Claire. Methinks that moment with Jack and the off island Christian appearances might be Jacob's doing.

I had that same thought about Desmond, but I don't think that it will end up that way. He needs Penny, pure and simple. Jack is the one who felt something missing after he left, Desmond seemed like he couldn't care less. It's like the Godfather with that guy, just after he gets out, they pull him back in.

Random Episode Favorites
There were a lot of big things that happened in this episode that I'll leave to Noel and some of the better theorizers on the board. In the meantime, I'd like to point out some of the smaller things in the episode that made me smile.

Zoe radios in for them to turn off the fence shortly after her team arrives on the beach.

Is it possible that both Jacob AND Smokey have taken the form of Christian in order to serve their own purposes?

That totally made me laugh. Sawyer was trained in policing by Charlie Chaplin, apparently.

I assume the missiles are being fired from launchers on Hydra Island, and that they were packed on the sub same as the portable sonic fence. Widmore sure brought some hardware with him.

Swim, Jack, Swim!
So it's no secret that I am a hardcore Jack apologist. He's consistently been my favorite character for the bulk of the series (on occasion being overtaken by Ben, Faraday, and Eko) , even during the periods of time when other fans found him particularly annoying.

They were damned if they weren't going to get one more use of the Black Rock set/CGI. Had to send it off with a bang.

Yeah, I knew I was pretty late to the party as far as Willy Wonka parallels, the odd music choice just made it hard to resist.

Anybody else think about this in regards to Willy Wonka?
Maybe it was an elaborate parallel. I mean, doesn't Willy Wonka also feature a cast of candidates chosen by a mysterious figure to enter a fantastical world that involves a series of moral tests that determine their worthiness to serve as a successor and…

I agree. He could be totally phoning in a deadpan zombie performance. Instead he seems conscious that he's some kind of abomination, but his lack of the capability to feel emotions makes him pretty much powerless to do anything about it.

The explanation itself didn't bother me, more the way it was handled. I thought they had hinted enough at their source to necessitate a blatant spelling out like that. Hell, we hear the whispers, see Hurley say he thinks he knows what is going on, and then go looking for Michael. I felt that was clear enough. …

I completely agree concerning The Whispers.

Heaven is Your Own Beautiful White Woman
So, in the flash-sideways continuum:

My question is, why was Jacob so easily taken out by a couple of stab wounds from Ben, but a stab wound (as well as bullets) had no discernible effect on the Man in Black. Does the MIB have the same curse as Richard, that of eternal life?