how'd you get to the island, jim?

**updated at the bottom**

It's 10:30 and I'm just now sitting down to watch LOST. I have a good excuse though - I was wedding dress shopping with my friend Ashley. The good news is, she found one, and it's beautiful and it's perfect for her. Yay! The bad news is, it's late and Mike watched without me. So I'm afraid I'll forget things if I watch by myself and crash into bed and then try to remember everything in the morning. So I'm going to do this as I watch. These observations will be in order as we progress through the show.

STATUE!!! But only for a minute, and then they were gone from that time! Is that all we get to know about the statue?? It's HUGE!

Did the simple act of Locke leaving the island make the time changes stop? I thought at first that it was different because it was the flash from the plane but then it said Three Years Later. So! Three years DID pass on the island. In the 70s. With our Losties being Dharma people. Fascinating. This is obviously before the purge since there are so many Dharma people around and since Horace is still alive.

Jim?! Since when is Sawyer called Jim? Jim LeFleur?

Poor Faraday lost his Charlotte. I still am not convinced she's dead, though. And he said it doesn't matter what they do because whatever happened will happen with them there or not. But how can that be true if Sawyer just shot those guys?

This Amy person's husband was killed three years earlier. And now she's having Horace's kid?

OMG the killer fence! She attacked them with it!

Juliet is going to have to deliver this baby. She's working on cars because she's afraid of killing women & babies? Did this Amy person get pregnant on the island? So women used to be able to conceive and deliver babies there? But then why would they normally have the babies on the mainland?

Jin's & Sawyer's Dharma jumpsuits say Jin, Security and LaFleur, Head of Security. What codes are they talking about to search for the people from the plane? What is Jin working on?

Successful baby delivery! So Juliet isn't to blame for any of the previous deaths/complications (not that I really thought she was).

The Black Rock!! Did they make up those details about where it came from or do they actually know that's the history of it?

Ahhh!! Little baby Charlotte!! She remembered Daniel telling her not to come back to the island! Maybe in the new version of history she will remember that and not come back?

There's Richard Alpert, of the alleged hostiles, looking exactly the same age as per usual. Assumedly he will recognize the Losties when he runs into them?

Uh-oh, Sawyer broke the truce for Dharma. But ain't no sonic fence can keep out Richard Alpert. Ah, that's the Sawyer I know and love. Taking control no matter what other people want him to do. It seems Richard Alpert doesn't recognize him. No problem, let Sawyer just tell him what's up. That's right, Richard Alpert, Sawyer is just as badass as you.

No, Juliet, I don't think you are going to leave on that submarine. There's nothing in the 70s for you on the mainland. Listen to Sawyer's sappy little speech to keep her there. Aww. See, she gave him two weeks. No way she was leaving. And here we are 3 years later again. Mr. LaFleur is picking a fleur. For Juliet. Surprise. And he's all sweet and supportive and it's weird. Not very Sawyer-ish at all. More Jim-ish. He found wuv, twue wuv, and it will fowow him foweva.

Ahem. Moving on.

Horace was passed out for the birth of his son. I feel like this kid is going to be somebody we know. Karl, perhaps? Or is this too early for Karl to be born? I can't remember how old he was supposed to be. And I guess we're not entirely sure what year(s) this is.

Poor Sawyer. Trying to figure out if three years is long enough to get over somebody. He can't remember Kate anymore and thinks he's over her because she's gone and never coming back. You just wait til she shows up, Sawyer, and see how you feel then.

Telly. It's Jin. Is Jin arriving with Kate, Hurley and Jack?? Prepare to be disappointed, Juliet. Ahh there they are! Reunion? Aaaand, end of the episode. Of course.

I have only one thing to say about the previews for next week: DO NOT EFFING KILL SAYID, SAWYER. Or you will be ON MY LIST.

Ok so I know this was not filled with much in the way of theories or continuity of any kind. But at least it sums up the most important stuff and we can regroup tomorrow if you all want to talk about things I missed or possible theories. Talk to me in the comments and tell me what else we need to discuss.

***
Now that it's Thursday morning and I'm fully awake and conscious, a few theories. If I had been paying attention I would have realized the 3 years on the island is 1974-1977. Faraday is present and accounted for in 74 but not in 77. Did he take Charlotte off the island in the submarine to try and save her? Three years passed on the island and on mainland but were they simultaneous? And where did 3 years of Locke's life disappear to? He left the island in 2004 and arrived in Tunisia in 2007. Unless the island time-traveled to 2007 and that's where it was when he left. But he still lost 3 years of his life somehow.

The statue might be Horus, because Egyptian god of sun (keeping in mind light/dark good/evil theme we've seen every season) and because hello, Horace! I think Horace is to Ben as Richard Alpert is to Locke. Horace was there when Ben was born and when Ben and his dad came to the island. Also the statue was holding the ankh, Egyptian fertility symbol. All this plus the fact that the island's exit is in Tunisia (2 countries over from Egypt) points to the fact that the island's origins could have been off the coast of northern Africa.

I googled "LaFleur philosopher" knowing this show's penchant for naming characters after philosophers. He came up on Amazon as an author who has written many books about Descartes. The baby born to Horace and Amy -- could be Ethan or Desmond? My money's on Ethan though, partly because Ethan's name isn't even a real name, it's an anagram for Other Man. Could it have been the purge that stopped women from being able to conceive and have babies on the island? It was Ben's fault so it was Ben's guilt that made him seek out Juliet to try and fix the problem.