Here are just a few notes and questions that came to mind when I watched this week's episode:

1. Elloise intrigues me. She is, without a doubt, little Ellie that we saw on the island during the flashing around. Faraday mentioned that she looked familiar. There are so many little subtle things about her that I love. First, she seems extremely familiar with Ben. In that I mean, she knows a lot about his personality, not just from a brief meeting or two, but as if she's known him over a long period of time. For example, when Jack asked her if Ben was telling the truth, she said "probably not" becuase she KNOWS that he lies all the time. Also, a hint of their relationship is shown when Ben makes a comment to Jack on the plane......Jack asked what is going to happen next and Ben said, "I don't know...you tell me, Jack. You're the one who got to stay after school with Miss Hawking." I know he was being sarcastic, but it made me wonder.....since Elloise was on the island long ago, she may have still been there when Ben got there. We know that's how he met Widmore...maybe Elloise was a teacher to him when he was a young boy with the Dharma Initiative. Or maybe it was after he killed them all and joined the others, since she wasn't exactly with the DI...she was with Richard and the Others. I just feel like she may have been an "elder" to him at some point in his life where he may have looked to her for knowledge and advice. It seems he goes to her whenever he needs to find a way to get back, but that may have been the first time she actually SHOWED him the Lamp Post.

2. During the scene in the Lamp Post, Elloise says that the DI had gathered proof that the island existed, but couldn't find it. How did they even know there WAS an island if they had never been there before? Unless, someone FROM the island came and told someone about it. We know that Elloise, Widmore and Richard were on the island BEFORE the DI came and were startled by soldiers and other people coming to "their" island. The relationship between the originators of the island and the FIRST people in the Dharma Initiative is very interesting. It's like the chicken and the egg.....which came first. Ben claims that it is "his" island, but he didn't go there until his dad took him with the DI. I look forward to seeing how the mysteries between these two groups unfolds. How did the Others get on the island to begin with? And, as I said, how did the DI find out about it.

3. Elloise mentions that a "very smart young man" invented the pendulum as well as the theory that the island is always moving through time. I have a feeling, once this man is revealed to us, it will be a shocker. Farraday is the only one we know who has done extensive research in time travel, but I know it doesn't really make sense that it would be him, becuase he wouldn't even have been born yet. However, he seems to have known that his Mom knew about the Lamp Post and would be able to send people, or go herself, to save him. Hmmm....I think once we have this piece of information about the man who invented these things for the DI, it will all be a lot clearer.

4. Question...once you leave the island, you only have a certain window to go back? We know it has been about 3 years since they left the island, and Elloise told Jack his window to get back would close in 36 hours. So is that the 3 year mark? Once you leave the island, do you have to go back within 3 years or else you can never get back? Just curious. I know that one of the others (I can't remember his name right now) had left the island to recruit Michael (last season I believe). Michael was surprised to see him and said, "so you guys CAN leave the island?" His answer was, "we don't get 'shore leave' very often," so he likes to enjoy it while he can. When he said that he was eating some extravagant meal. I just thought that was interesting.....he knew he would only have a certain amount of time on the "mainland" before he would have to go back to the island. So he, I'm sure, knew about his time window too.

5. Just a funny comment. When Kate was asking Jack about his dad's shoes, she said, "those don't seem appropriate for the island....maybe hiking boots would be better!" That made me think....yeah...if they KNOW they're going back to the island, why didn't ALL of them wear hiking boots, and comfortable, sturdy clothes and pack bags with bug spray and sun screen. ha ha! Instead, Jack wore a suit!! What was he thinking!

6. A not-as-funny comment about the shoes is something I thought of when Kate made the comment, "why hold on to something that makes you feel sad?" Is Kate thinking about Aaron when she says this? We still don't know what she has done with him. I don't think she would let anything happen to him.....she had shown such protection over him in the last few episodes. If anything, I think she is hiding him somewhere. He could be with someone we know......but Kate doesn't want to tell anyone. She knows that if she says a word....if Ben or anyone else even thought they knew where Aaron was, he would no longer be safe. Soooo....it'll just be her little secret for the time being....

7. I loved all the similarities on the plane too. Sayid was in handcuffs, as Kate had been the first time. Hurley was reading a comic book and carrying a guitar case, like Walt an Charlie. Etc. Etc. ..we could go on for qutie some time with these similarities.

8. I REALLY LOVED that Ben was reading Ulysses on the plane. I have a quote from author James Joyce about his own book. I remembered it from one of my classes and looked it up....Joyce once said that he'd put in "so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant" in order to attain "immortality." That's EXACTLY like this darned show. There are so many literary and biblical references, mysteries, similarities, and CLUES, that even long after the show is over, I'm SURE we'll be arguing about it. ha ha!

9. As Julie mentioned, I do think that Ben went to kill Penny. He said "I made a promise to an old friend of mine...just a loose end to tie up." He had promised Widmore that he was going to kill his daughter. He also knows that 1) he is about to go back to his island and doesn't know when he will return and that 2) Desmond is in town. He knows that Desmond would not have come alone, and that he and Penny had been in hiding. She would be easy to find, as Desmond just left the church and he could go to the docks and find them. I don't have a clue, however, as to what happened that he was all bloody. Maybe Desmond was there already and fought him off. Maybe Penny put up a fight. Either way, we don't know. If he DID in fact succeed in killing Penny, that would be an excellent reason for Desmond to go back to the island. Elloise did say that the island was not finished with him. Hmmm.....

10. This note concerns Kate, Hurley, and Sayid, the three who absolutely did NOT want to have anything to do with going back to the island. We know Kate did something with Aaron. But, it is entirely possible that someone went to her in the night to convince her to go back and offer to help her with Aaron. All we know is that SOMETHING or SOMEONE changed her mind about everything. We also know that Hurley had his mind changed by someone or something that may have happened. The third person, Sayid, was not changed...he was merely arrested and forced to be on the plane. He was genuinely surprised to see everyone there, especially Ben. He couldn't say anything becuase of the cop escorting him, but he obviously was not there on purpose. So who went to Kate and Hurley. As I mentioned, in #1, Elloise intrigues me. She was extremely upset at the beginning when Ben brought only a couple of people with him. She said to Ben, "I thought I said ALL of them. Well, it'll do for now...let's get started." What did she mean, FOR NOW? Did she go to one, or both, of them that night to try to convince them? I have a feeling she is an awful lot more than what she seems. (Remember, she was in the flashes back and forward in time, when Desmon tried to change his future. How on EARTH did she do that? I mean, I know people can travel through time in their own bodies, but how did she travel with him? weird....) Also, Hurly may have been visited yet again by Charlie. He seemed at peace with the idea of going back and even bought all the plane tickets so he didn't drag any extra people down with him. The only thing that finally upset HIM was when he saw Ben get on the plane. Maybe Charlie said it had to ONLY be them....maybe he thought Ben would make things go all wrong. I can't to find out what changed their minds.

11. As for HOW they got back onto the island. I dont' think Ben had anything to do with it....but I do think that he KNEW Jack needed to read that letter. That's why he kept asking about it. He also gave that little speech about believing. Ben, himself, has left the island and gone back at least a few times that we know of. He must be familiar with HOW to get back. However, it seems that Jack needed to recreate his emotional connection with his dead father on the first plane ride in order to get back. When his father died, Jack DID blame himself. Remember, he was the one who ratted his father out for drinking on the job. His Dad went to Australia and got himself killed while he was there. Jack always blamed himself. In this case, he was unsure of whether Locke's death was his fault. It seems that the note assured him that it WAS his fault. It read, "Jack, I wish you had believed me" or something like that. So maybe if Jack had believed him the first time, and not waited until he was dead, Locke would never have had to kill himself. As soon as Jack got into that, "it's my fault he's dead" mindset, the light began to flash and they were back on the island. That was his way of recreating the experience. I'm still curious what Christian's role on the island is. Did he exist there before Jack got there? Is he Jacob? I thought maybe Jacob just took on different appearances for different people....however, he told Locke, "say hello to my son" so obviously he is still himself and not just a face on Jacob. That part is all very strange. Then that also brings Claire into the picture. The last time we see her, she follows Christian into the woods and then we see with him in the cabin. Is she dead? Is she still on the island? Hmm.....

Okay, I think that's all for this episode. Is that enough for you Julie. You asked me to blog, so TAKE THAT!!! I'll bet your eyes are crossing while you're reading all this. :-D