Lost S05E05

The time skipping is accelerating and the smoke monster is back!

I'm still confused as to what is really causing the time skipping. I've assumed that Ben's attempts to get everyone back to the island is to stop the time skipping, but now I'm beginning to doubt that. For a start Jack's dead dad, who somehow is in a cave underground in the past(!), commented about trusting what Ben says. Which implies that their aims aren't actually aligned. And then Locke fixed the wheel of time. Was that all that was needed?

I liked the explanation of what happened to Rousseau and the French team, although of course there is some doubt left to the exact nature of what happened. When we first met Rousseau and she talked about her team becoming infected and ill I assumed it was a contagious disease, probably because of the association to Desmond's bio-hazard suit. At the time I thought it was a bit strange that no one else was infected. Now we realise that actually they were taken by the smoke monster and changed somehow. Maybe. Or maybe Danielle had just freaked out and gone mad? I don't ever seem to remember seeing that temple before either, which is where the smoke monster lives. All of these time travel peeks into the past are revealing that there was a much older civilisation on the island, maybe the original others?

I was surprised that Charlotte grew up on the island and I felt sorry for Daniel at her death, even though Charlotte was annoying. It's quite cool that Daniel tries to go back and change what happens, telling her to not go back to The Island. Despite Daniel saying that you can't change anything. The Island obviously has a very strong pull on everyone who has been there.

Sun gave in a little too easily to Ben I thought, surely producing Jin's ring didn't prove anything? Unusual because usually the characters actions are believable (in the context of what they have been through).

Is the weird Eloise woman really Daniel's mother? If so then that explains his fascination with time travel.

Lots to think about and still highly entertaining despite the episode being a bit of a downer (death, dying and broken legs ARGGGHH!).