I'm in the UK so haven't seen this week's episode, so apologies if any of this is already redundant...
POLAR BEAR
If the polar bear was sent off the Island to 'the exit' in the Tunisian desert by using the Orchid, was it sent backwards through time? If it was sent to the location in the same timeframe or to a future time, then would it have had enough time to die and completely decompose by the time Charlotte found it in 2004? Should we assume that the polar bear was sent using the FDW itself, or is it more likely that the Orchid pod was used? Could the polar bear be a key factor in a WHH timeline, as the remains proved to Charlotte that the Island did exist, motivating her to return (joining Widmore’s freighter team which ultimately allowed the Oceanic 6 to escape, and some to return but in the Island’s past) and meet Faraday who fell in love with her. Did Faraday himself send the polar bear in his Dharma role!?
TEMPLE/HOSTILES
Given that Ben told Locke that the Temple wall was built so outsiders wouldn't see/find the Temple, and that the Temple itself is half a mile away from the wall, do we actually have any information about what the Temple looks like? It is easy to assume it is ancient, and in keeping with the chambers we saw 'under the Temple' where Ben was judged. However, the map that Ben gave Rousseau and daughter showed the Temple with a Dharma symbol. Given that Ben's home was built near/on the Smoke Monster 'phone booth', and the Orchid was built near/on the FDW chamber, isn't it more likely that the Temple is actually a Dharma construction on top of an ancient site? Also, given that Ben's map shows the Temple near the location of the statue (not very close, granted, but fairly close), could it be the Temple itself (more precisely, the chambers under the Temple) that is in 'the shadow of the statue'? Could a big reveal be that we have actually seen the Temple already without knowing it?
Why did Ben instruct the Others to dress up in raggedy costumes (e.g. Tom in a fake beard) if he knew that some of the Oceanics would end up in his past? In other words, to dress up in raggedy costumes would imply they were trying to hide the fact that they were actually civilised. But Ben must know that at least some of the Oceanics will find this out as they end up in his past, and the only way he knows of this happening is to use the Orchid/FDW? Even if the TT (time-travelling) Oceanics had changed the past of the original timeline (where there were no TT Oceanics in Ben’s past), given that Ben was part of that timeline, then he should not remember the original timeline and so should only remember the timeline where there are TT Oceanics in his past. To go back to the BTTF analogy, Marty went into the past and ultimately changed the future, but it is only he ('the narrator') that doesn’t remember events leading up to 'new' 1985 (as he hasn’t experienced that timelin! e - he remembers events leading up to 'old' 1985, hence him being able to tell that things had changed when he ended up in 'new' 1985). The Doc remembers Marty in his past and must have memories of events leading up to 'new' 1985 (if he didn’t, then there is no reason why everyone else would have only memories leading up to 'old' 1985, and thus would know something had happened to change the present 1985 – we don’t see this). He has the note as proof of Marty being in his past, much like Ben must have had the Dharma 'staff photos'.
Are the raggedy Others one and the same as the civilised (Othersville) Others? Why would the civilised Others walk children barefoot through the jungle? If the raggedy Others are not the civilised Others, but in fact something else (Hostiles?), then Tom becomes a very important character as he appears in both groups? Or it is more likely that the civilised Others dressed up as raggedy Others to cover up the existence of the real raggedy Others (confusing, yes)? Is it more than a coincidence that the fake beard etc were found in the Staff, which isn’t that far away from the Temple?
Could the Temple be the home of these raggedy Others? Could it perhaps also be the location of the TT Oceanics in the present (if they survived the Purge), given that they are forbidden by WHH from meeting themselves in the present?
POLAR BEAR
If the polar bear was sent off the Island to 'the exit' in the Tunisian desert by using the Orchid, was it sent backwards through time? If it was sent to the location in the same timeframe or to a future time, then would it have had enough time to die and completely decompose by the time Charlotte found it in 2004? Should we assume that the polar bear was sent using the FDW itself, or is it more likely that the Orchid pod was used? Could the polar bear be a key factor in a WHH timeline, as the remains proved to Charlotte that the Island did exist, motivating her to return (joining Widmore’s freighter team which ultimately allowed the Oceanic 6 to escape, and some to return but in the Island’s past) and meet Faraday who fell in love with her. Did Faraday himself send the polar bear in his Dharma role!?
TEMPLE/HOSTILES
Given that Ben told Locke that the Temple wall was built so outsiders wouldn't see/find the Temple, and that the Temple itself is half a mile away from the wall, do we actually have any information about what the Temple looks like? It is easy to assume it is ancient, and in keeping with the chambers we saw 'under the Temple' where Ben was judged. However, the map that Ben gave Rousseau and daughter showed the Temple with a Dharma symbol. Given that Ben's home was built near/on the Smoke Monster 'phone booth', and the Orchid was built near/on the FDW chamber, isn't it more likely that the Temple is actually a Dharma construction on top of an ancient site? Also, given that Ben's map shows the Temple near the location of the statue (not very close, granted, but fairly close), could it be the Temple itself (more precisely, the chambers under the Temple) that is in 'the shadow of the statue'? Could a big reveal be that we have actually seen the Temple already without knowing it?
Why did Ben instruct the Others to dress up in raggedy costumes (e.g. Tom in a fake beard) if he knew that some of the Oceanics would end up in his past? In other words, to dress up in raggedy costumes would imply they were trying to hide the fact that they were actually civilised. But Ben must know that at least some of the Oceanics will find this out as they end up in his past, and the only way he knows of this happening is to use the Orchid/FDW? Even if the TT (time-travelling) Oceanics had changed the past of the original timeline (where there were no TT Oceanics in Ben’s past), given that Ben was part of that timeline, then he should not remember the original timeline and so should only remember the timeline where there are TT Oceanics in his past. To go back to the BTTF analogy, Marty went into the past and ultimately changed the future, but it is only he ('the narrator') that doesn’t remember events leading up to 'new' 1985 (as he hasn’t experienced that timelin! e - he remembers events leading up to 'old' 1985, hence him being able to tell that things had changed when he ended up in 'new' 1985). The Doc remembers Marty in his past and must have memories of events leading up to 'new' 1985 (if he didn’t, then there is no reason why everyone else would have only memories leading up to 'old' 1985, and thus would know something had happened to change the present 1985 – we don’t see this). He has the note as proof of Marty being in his past, much like Ben must have had the Dharma 'staff photos'.
Are the raggedy Others one and the same as the civilised (Othersville) Others? Why would the civilised Others walk children barefoot through the jungle? If the raggedy Others are not the civilised Others, but in fact something else (Hostiles?), then Tom becomes a very important character as he appears in both groups? Or it is more likely that the civilised Others dressed up as raggedy Others to cover up the existence of the real raggedy Others (confusing, yes)? Is it more than a coincidence that the fake beard etc were found in the Staff, which isn’t that far away from the Temple?
Could the Temple be the home of these raggedy Others? Could it perhaps also be the location of the TT Oceanics in the present (if they survived the Purge), given that they are forbidden by WHH from meeting themselves in the present?
