Literally everything. It can't be. Maybe Jacob does have something to do with this. I just don't know how I feel about Ben. Sometimes he's relatable and even slightly likable and then sometimes he kills John Locke- which I think he partly had to do, but still.

I guess I'm just still confused as to how this show is working. Maybe I'm just not paying enough attention.

Obviously, before time shifts occurred, everything that happened in the past affected the future, as it clearly does in a non-Lost world. But... is the present time affected by what happens in the 70s now? For example, will the grown-up Ben just disappear because he was killed in the 70s? And what would happen then? Let's suppose, for the sake of argument, that Ben, when looking beat up at the pier, had just come from killing Penny. If Ben's killed in the 70s, would Penny reappear in the present time?

I'm still wondering what Faraday's "rules" are about all this. I'm guessing he told Sawyer something about how all of this is supposed to work.

And if things are completely changed in the past, I wonder if the Dharma Initiative will continue to operate and they won't all be killed off, as the passengers of the Oceanic flight are expecting.

If Sayid planted about 5 or 10 slugs to the head I would feel comfortable about this but naaaaaaaaaaah...one shot and he runs off in the forest.

I want Ben to be dead, but I highly doubt he is

My guess is that Jin wakes up, sees a shot Ben, and drives him off to get help.

Who set the VW Bus on fire, though?

Little terrorist Ben....

Remember, Ben has killed Locke twice now......

I'm watching the episode now. Ben is a nice kid. He just brought Sayid a chicken salad sandwich. Maybe he grows up to be an asshole because as a kid, he was shot by someone he tried to befriend. From then on, he looked out for number 1. That's my theory now. I'll let you know if it changes by the time I finish the episode...

ETA: it looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

I stick to my story. I don't think anything has changed. All of these events led to Ben being who he is.

^^^ I think so too.

If Ben is 'supposed' to live then he will. Either Jin will save him or The Island will save him just as it did John Locke when Ben shot him and left him in the pit of dead bodies. Did the writers intend for us to start feeling sorry for Ben with this episode? Because while Little Ben is cute and everything but I still can't feel bad that he was shot because he grows up to be such a manipulative liar, murderer, and all around evil guy....I think. At this moment. Till TPTB prove otherwise. AHHHH my brain aches just thinking about it all!:D

Some random LOST thoughts...

You know, the creators have said that the original title of the series was The Circle. I'm wondering if everyone we've met has been caught in an eternal time-loop. Adam and Eve, whom we met in Season 1, could very well be Bernard & Rose, or Jack & Kate, or Sawyer & Juliette, or Horus & Amy, etc...

Someone on the Fuselage said that they think Jacob is JACOB (Just Another Con of Ben's). Even if it turns out to be way off-base, I love the acronym!

If Ben is wounded (not dead), maybe his wounding is enough to trigger the Hostiles to wage the purge on the Dharma, therefore wiping everyone out? The result is the same - Ben lives and Dharma dies.

PS What has become of Bernard & Rose? Did they just disappear? Were they lost in that flaming arrows attack?

Maybe the omniscient Richard shows up out of nowhere (like he always seems to do at critical moments) and cures Ben. He seems to have eternal life/youth, after all. Maybe he uses his/the Island's magical powers to cure the gunshot wound and bring Ben into the fold of the Hostiles, and become his mentor. He clearly already knows about Richard b/c he asked Sayid if he sent him.

I, too, am annoyed that there are so many loose ends that have seemingly been forgotten. And I don't mean like loose ends like things we can't figure out. I mean the stuff that they'll likely never come back to.

ETA: I also loved the part where the crunchy psychedelic 70s-style Sayid-analogue "torturer" gives Sayid truth serum, thinks it isn't working, and Sayid laughs knowingly/hysterically "IT WAS THE PERFECT AMOUNT!" So amazing.

One more question (we're going back a few seasons now).

Remember how Desmond was asking "Are you him?" (I think it was when he was in the hatch and he was all jittery and paranoid). Who was the "him"?
Walt? John Locke? Ben? Richard? Jacob?

Oh, and back when they kidnapped Walt, why did the Hostiles/Others want Walt to begin with? (sorry..I know this is back to Season #2 or #3). What were Walt's powers other than he could make birds fly into glass windows and stuff like that?

I always thought that when Desmond asked "Are you him?" he was asking if he (was he speaking to Locke in that scene--I can't remember) was the person who was going to replace him as the person who types in the numbers.

The Others seem to target people they want to come join their little society--Juliet to help with fertility, for example. They also targeted Locke all through his life prior to coming to the Island, although I'm not sure if that's because he told them he was their future leader when he was zapped back into the 50s or for some other reason/skill. So, maybe Walt's powers have some other purpose we don't know about yet that makes him attractive to the Others. Or, the fact that women can't concieve on the Island would make him more attractive too, since he was still a child when the series started.

I'm really hoping we haven't seen the last of Walt. I would hate for that story line to go unfinished.