The constant CAN be a person, but doesn't have to be. For Ben, it could be anything, even the Island itself. However, the concept seems so important to the show as to not potentially effect other characters.

Couldn't "the last time he followed his heart" just be how he searched for Nadia for all those years, and as a result of him finding her she was killed?

I got a lot of Return of the Jedi Vader/Luke discussion on the Death Star discussion vibe with Ben/Widmore....or maybe the Blade Runner Tyrell discussion.

In true Lost fashion, this one opened a whole slew of new questions while vaguely answering others.

Just an outstanding ep from start to finish.

Iraq is beautiful this time of year, hoss.

Good call.

Interesting website: http://www.antipodemap.com/

Interactive antipode map using Google Earth.

Using this map, the antipode of any location in Tunisia is somewhere south-east of Fiji and within easy sailing distance of the island. As we know from both Desmond and Ben (last night) the island is close to Fiji.

Also, did anyone catch the exchange between Jack and Faraday after the doctor washed ashore? Faraday says that the doc was fine the last time he saw him. Jack asks when was that? Faraday replies that "when" is a relative term. As some of you may know, my theory is that the island is travelling at relativistic speeds which is causing the time-shift between the island and our world. So, on island time, the doc is dead. But on ship time (our time) the doc hasn't died yet. Thus, the island is located in some future time relative to us. That's my theory anyway.

This whole teleportation thing is quite interesting. I really doubt it's telelportation but maybe they have a second wormhole going from the island through the center of the Earth. This would explain how Ben was able to get to Tunisia. It would also explain how the Polar Bears got from the island to a North African desert.

Funny you say that, because I was coming here to post that I thought that if my theory were true, then Widmore would be his constant. That may explain why he couldn't kill him, he needs him.

He didn't travel by boat, we saw him wake up in the middle of the desert.

For some reason, I don't think it's teleport, although the throwing up certainly shows something.

I think I've said it before; the "what" and the "how" of the Island is pretty tertiary to the point and the show rises and falls on the characters. The mystery is just a frame to hang all these histories and conflicts on.

Also, looks like Jack is having time shifts. That's what he is taking medication for, and that's probably what's driving him crazy in the S3 finale.

And, yes, funky island stuff related to the same time displacement probably explains Walt, Ben's omniscience, and the disappearing cabin. He is clearly able to do more with it than Desmond was, and he may have used it to bring Locke's father to the Island.

"You changed the rules" is important.

I just think his appendix burst or is rupturing. If he was having time shifts, he's be acting alot differently.

EDIT: Looks like DVD Josh got to it before me.

Didn't Faraday have Desmond as a constant? If so, maybe it's like a chain effect. And if Ben kills her it sets forth a string of events in motion. Penny-Desmond-Faraday-? I'm wondering if the crossed paths of the survivors in the past, somehow makes them their constant for the future. Henceforth why the Oceanic six have to go back, to find their constant. Just brainstorming here.

Anyone else notice that the third dude that got shot was actually wearing a red shirt? That gave me a chuckle.

While this is definitely possible, I thought when Faraday said "when" was a relative term it was more in regard to the fact that since he is experiencing the same time shifts as Desmond, he doesn't really have a good grasp of how much time has passed.

If the island is currently in the future relative to the freighter, why did the helicopter take longer to get to the freighter then? Assuming there is a time differential between the island and the rest of the world, could the time differential be constantly changing?

I somewhat agree with you, but this show will be ultimately judged on how they answer the mysteries. And it seems to me that last season's finale signaled a shift in the storytelling, not only time-wise but also character-wise. The flash-forwards this season have really just been about the plot, and not really about developing the characters. They've presented mysteries about what is going to happen on the island. They've also provided some answers as well. I suspect next season will have a mix of flash-forwards and flash-backs. At the pace they're going right now, the Oceanic six would be off the island early next season.

What? only 5 pages (for me) thread? I was expecting seeing 10+ pages.

I'm just going to start reading from page 1, but I would like to say I loved this episode. Ben Linus is one of the best characters in the history of TV!

I do believe Ben can time jump like Desmond but believe last night was teleportation for a couple of reasons. Desmond jumps to a previous version of himself. If Ben were doing this it would mean his former self was just there laying in the desert when he jumped in. Kinda odd. Second by the laws of time travel the producers have set up, you can't change the past/future. This would have clearly been the case when he "affected" Sayid which in turn led to a murder. Just my thoughts.

I liked the scene between Ben and Widmore. I liked how they showed their faces half in dark half in light. Both Ben's and Widmore's faces were that way the whole scene. For me that means both of them are good and bad at the same time.

My main question right now is why can't Ben kill Widmore?

- Sawyer scene was funny, yeah.
- I thought it was too easy the way Ben convinced Sayid to work for him. I know he loves Nadia, blah, blah, but it was too easy for me. Specially the part where Sayid begged to work for him.
- Did someone else thought Ben time traveled when he went into that room?

I don't think Faraday is experiencing the same time shifts as Desmond. Remember that episode where we see his notebook and he's written that Desmond is his constant? If he has a constant, I think that means he's already put the time-loop phenomenon behind him.

I think there are two components of the helicopter's time shift: 1. It experiences a time dilation due to its traversal of the wormhole (time moves slower on the island); and 2. The difference in the two time-frames. Thus the total elapsed time for the helicopter to get to the island (relative to the freighter) would be dilated flight time plus the time shift into the future.

And yes, the time differential is constantly changing because time is moving slower on the island due to relativistic effects.

I hope I explained this sensibly.

Looked like there were about 6 or 7 Mercenaries.. That is two trips in the copter at least...

Explain how they made at least two trips so fast.

For the record, I rarely get to watch previews because my DVR always cuts them off so it was a guess.

I want to address the Desmond "time-jump" thing. I see that many people here think this as an ongoing ability. But I think this is wrong. IMO, this is a one-time thing in which the individual who is affected (by traversing the wormhole) needs to find a "constant" in order to break out of his time travel loop. Once he does, that's it. Looping back and forth in time ends as does the possibility of his dying from said looping.

I disagree. I think that it is an ability that some people have a better control of than others. I think Ben has mastered this ability and it explains the way he is always in control of any situation he is in.

I also think that the death of Alex was an anomally that he did not foresee. That is why, for the first time, he seemed shocked at something that occured.

I also think that Miles has this ability. He thinks he is communicating with the dead. But actually he is communicating with dead people before they died. That explains the change of picture frames in that epsidoe where he talked to the dead kid. When he communicates with a dead person, he might inadvertantly change events in the past.

Desmond could only leap his conscious. Meaning he could only "time travel" where his body naturally was. Ben appeared to leap into the middle of the desert and be disoriented as to the year. He did expect it to be 10/21/2005, from what I recall.

So either he knew he would be there at that time or he's doing something slightly different than Desmond was. Possibly he's a Level 5 Teleporter and Des was merely a Level 1.

1. Ben checks the current date when he is in Tunisia. It is some date in Oct. 2005. Where does this date fall in the Lost timeline?

2. What is that weapon that Ben was hiding in his hand? Is it a gun?

3. Ben and Widmore must have got in a competition as to who gets to control the island. They started this competition with a pre-determined rules such as they cannot harm each other or their family. Hence Ben says the rules have changed when Alex gets shot. Also Ben says to Widmore that he knows he cannot shoot him. But since Widmore broke the rule by shooting Alex, Ben thinks it is okay to go after Penelope.