"God loves you as he loved Jacob"

Okay this is just a theory that I edited together from other theories. I think that it's very interesting.

The theory is that the people on lost are there for a reason. There are many different theories about how they got there, but the point is that they are there to correct the mistakes thy made in the past and make the right decision and make up for where they went wrong. After they acheive this the island gets rid of them.

• Mr. Ecko was on the island because he had problems with his brother, shortly after he made peace with his brother he was killed by the island.
• Desmond was willing to give up his life for everyone else by turning the key in the hatch. Therefore he was taken off the island and put back in real life in the past. He made the wrong choice by not marrying his girlfriend so the island took him back. After waking up on the island desmond says something along the lines "take me back i'll marry her this time" as if he had married her he wouldn't be back on the island.
• Charlie finally got rid of his heroin addiction and is ready to make something of himself therefore he is ready to leave the island, but desmond is trying to keep that from happening.
• Shannon didn't believe in herself and neither did any of the people that she was really close to. She finally found someone who loved her and believed in her (Sayid) and in turn that makes her believe in and love herself. Shortly after she realized this she was killed.

As far as I know this works with all of the lost characters. It is my opinion that when they die they don't really die they just return to the regular world and are given a chance to correct their mistakes . . . .

As far as "God loves you as he loved Jacob", Jacob messed up many times and God kept giving him a second chance. So are they portraying that the island will give them as many chances as it takes for them to get it right?

Observations: Episode 3.08-Flashes Before Your Eyes

The response to last night's episode seems to be mixed. More positive than negative, from what I've read, but people either hated it or they loved it. As for myself, I loved it. If this is the kind of story and flashback that every character will have this season, I think it will be the best overall. The first six episodes (the fall pod) were good but they weren't up to LOST standards. But these last two (last week's and this week's) were great, in my opinion. Action and weirdness in last week's, storytelling and deep weirdness in this week's. Anyways, let's get to the observations...

**edit 6:20PM: after watching the episode again, I added two observations and more screenshots

1) One of the big questions: Is Desmond seeing the future or re-living the past? How does it work? Is real time paused when he re-lives the past? Is he really just delaying fate's course by saving Charlie or is he changing Charlie's destiny? Some deep theories abound but I don't think it's time to figure that out yet.

2) Another big question: Is Charlie doomed to die? I think that would be too easy and expected. Usually the deaths are more unexpected (unless they're spoiled as I've read Shannon's death was last season). Perhaps this is a test for Desmond. Maybe he can really amount to something great by saving lives instead of just postponing death.

3) Didn't notice this but one commenter on USA Today found that Charlie's lyrics outside of the Widmore building were "I said maybe / You're gonna be the one that saves me..". While I think it's just an Easter egg, I thought it was interesting.

4) In the flashback, Penny asks "Where are you?". In the context of the flashback, this meant "What are you thinking? How are you?" but perhaps, Penny has lived the moment before and was asking the location of the island. Unlikely, yes, but possible.

5) Is Desmond's flashback to re-living the past tied to his experience in the hatch. "They" (whoever) told Desmond to push the button, save the world. It's all you'll ever be good for. Don't try to change the future, that's futile because "we" say so. Is this a big Dharma experiment?

6) What does Desmond walking past the military recruitment office mean? In a previous flashback (season 2 finale), he was in the military and was dishonorably discharged. Does his walking by mean that in the "new" past, he doesn't join the service?

7) Has Desmond possibly gone back to the past and told Penny that he was on an island with a large electromagnetic anomaly? How else would she know to look for electromagnetic anomalies?

8) The lady in the flashback (who knew the future too, perhaps Desmond's sub-conscious?) pointed out the red shoes. Perhaps this is another reference to the Wizard of Oz (like Ben's fake name: Henry Gale). In the Wizard of Oz, it was all a dream. Perhaps Desmond's post-hatch flashbacks is all a dream too.

9) Did you notice the painting in Mr. Widmore's office? The screenshot is to the left (click for full resolution). Notice the letters at the top reversed spell "Namaste", the greeting used by the Dharma Initiative in their hatch orientation. There's a polar bear, a skeleton, and mountains. Reminds me of the episode earlier this season where Locke is in the cave trying to find Mr. Eko. Any significance? (Click here for more screenshots, including the close-up shot of the painting)

10) After the photo was taken in the flashback, when Desmond is breaking up with Penny, she says "don't try to rewrite the future". I don't know how I missed it yesterday but perhaps, she has seen the future and is re-living the past too?

11) What exactly did the hatch do? I think it was Locke who said it imploded but how do things get out of the hatch if it imploded (it would have to explode)? Maybe it exploded then imploded within seconds? How did the door get blown onto the beach in last season's finale if it just imploded?

You can see more screenshots I took on Flickr, click here

If you missed last night's episode or want to see it again, you can watch it for free at ABC.com or you can buy it to watch anytime on your computer or iPod on iTunes.

For MSNBC's "Revelations", click here.

Got something to say? Comment below.

LIVE Posting: Episode 3.08-Flashes Before Your Eyes

Welcome to the live post for Episode 3.08 titled "Flashes Before Your Eyes". This episode airs at 10/9c on ABC. If you missed it, you can watch it for free tomorrow on ABC.com. Come back later tomorrow for observations and thoughts from myself and others all over the internet.

8:37PM-I like this encore showing of last week's episode ("Not In Portland"). Just got out of Room 23. You can read some information about that room and other observations from last week's episode below. Waiting for the new episode...

9:07PM-First segment is good. I had already seen the main parts in clips released over the hiatus and the preview from last week so it lost the stunning effect it might have had. So how does Desmond know? I hope it's not supernatural psychic powers, hopefully it's something more tangible. But how can he see the future without it being supernatural? Possibly we'll find out soon...

9:18PM-I like the flashback to the hatch and that crazy sequence of flashing pictures on the screen. I'll try to get screenshots of that if it's relevant. Perhaps Desmond's odd behavior began before the hatch imploded...It's good to see Penny again. I hope that we'll see her in the present time working to get to the island. Anyways, I like Desmond and I'm glad to see his flashbacks. And to be back on the island with the beach survivors. Back to the episode...

9:28PM-Wow, great flashbacks. They spent the entire sequence in Desmond's flashback and I'm not complaining. Who has that beep on their microwave? That would be sweet. And I noticed the painting in Mr. Widmore's office had a polar bear on it so I'll have to check that. I think I remember a skeleton too. Perhaps the cave on the island where Eko was? Is Desmond living in the past or is this still visions of the future? Certainly is interesting that he had this thing before the island. So that's good. Doesn't appear to be hatch supernatural.

9:40PM-Oh wow!!! That was amazing. Goodness. So is he living in the past? How's that possible? The producers said in the Official LOST Podcast that last week's anagram would be important (Mittelos, the company trying to hire Juliet, is an anagram for "lost time"). Even though nothing has really happened on the island in this episode, I believe it is the best thus far. Wow. This episode will certainly have those theorists going. In disappointing news, my local affiliate failed to flip the switch back to HD from the commercials. That was frustrating. But the episode segment itself was amazing. Hopefully they'll get it in HD this time...

9:51PM-Another good segment. Especially the beginning. This is all very interesting. Is he re-living everything? Is it a dream? I don't think it could be a dream, seems to be a cop-out that would anger fans. Anyways, we've been in flashbacks since seven minutes into the episode. I never thought I would like an episode that is almost solely flashbacks but 'tis a good one. I wonder if there will be an amazing end segment...

10:00PM-Wow, what a deep episode. I don't know where to begin, how it all works, how it's all together. How many times will Desmond re-live his life? Is it selected "scenes" of his life or a whole, complete segment? Is Charlie doomed to die? So did the hatch trigger this re-living? How did that lady know? Is she going through the same thing? What does this all mean? Does Desmond know how they get off the island (or don't)? Where does Desmond's story go from here?

This episode was great, in my opinion. For the fans wanting character development, a lot of time was spent on Desmond. For the fans wanting mystery and mythology, there is certainly plenty to be discussed. If this is the kind of episode we'll be seeing this season, we're in for a great ride to the finale.

"Only fools are enslaved by time and space"

In the brainwashing scene of Episode 3.07 Not In Portland there is a hidden message. When you play the scene backwards you can faintly hear a womens voice saying "Only fools are enslaved by time and space." You can look it up on youtube or something and record the sound and play it backwards if you want.

Click Here for a link to a page where you can listen to the scene in reverse or watch it in reverse. This person has isolated the frequency that voice is in so it is easier to here.

On another note last week's episode, Not in Portland, will be showing again at 8pm on Wednesday right before the new episode.