As we've seen, the opening scene of every season premiere is always a fake-out: we think we're seeing one thing, but we're really seeing something else (Desmond in the Hatch, Juliet at the Barracks, Chang in 1977, Hurley's car chase, etc.). So how will this pattern repeat in Season 6?
I believe we'll open with a shot of people on a plane---but we won't see their faces. We'll see a brunette in handcuffs, a man in a suit, an African-American man with his son, etc. We'll be led to believe we're seeing Flight 815 and a timeline reset but, as with other season premieres, it's a fake-out---this is not Flight 815. It's actually 2028ish, and the woman in handcuffs is Clementine (Sawyer's daughter is following in her daddy's less-than-reputable ways,) the man in the suit is Aaron, the man with his son is grown-up Walt, etc. All our Losties' children/nieces/nephews are on this plane, and we'll see it crash on the Island, in a wonderful callback to the opening of the Pilot, except with the 'kids' playing the Losties' roles this time around.
And who do we see among the survivors of the new plane crash, pretending to be one of them---but Sawyer? He's our infiltrator, our new Ethan Rom, just as we saw in Lafleur. At that point, the scene ends, the LOST title card flashes, and we then pick up the story where we left off. We then backtrack, as we did in Season 5, and we spend the season learning how the Losties got back to 2007, how they screwed with the timeline, the war with the Man in Black, and how the Losties won the battle and took over the Island, leading up to the newest plane crash.
Why does everyone want possession of the Island? Why doesn't Richard age? I think the two questions are interconnected. Jacob has power over life (birth, healing) and the Man in Black has power over death (which is why 'Dead is Dead'---Jacob can't raise the dead because they've passed beyond his 'domain' and the MIB can't stand living people on the Island). Jacob can't raise the dead, but he can fix things so that you just don't die---essentially, he can grant eternal life, as he's done for Richard.
Richard is not the aberration: everyone else is. Richard seems like the most peaceful Other---the other OThers/Hostiles were pretty bloodthirsty/arrogant. Technically, everyone on the Island can/should live forever---that is, if they work together, live together. If they do that, then Jacob grants them eternal life; the thing is, only Richard has ever been worthy of this---that is, until Flight 815 crashed.
The Losties took in Desmond from the Hatch, did their best to bring in Danielle, welcomed Juliet when she defected (eventually), and brought Daniel/Charlotte/Miles/Frank into the 'group' even though they'd come with the Freighter commandos. Heck, Ben is practically an honorary Lostie. Our guys are extremely loyal to one another (3 years in Dharmaville weren't enough to break Sawyer/Juliet/Miles/Daniel/Jin off from the Lostie group) and extremely welcoming to newcomers. Therefore, Jacob has stopped their aging, just as he did for Richard (they just haven't figured it out yet cause it isn't noticeable yet).
This is where the whole 'the children must leave the Island' thing comes from. Aaron/Jia Yeon/Walt would have stopped aging had they remained, and so to grow up (shades of Peter Pan?) they needed to spend time in the 'real world.'
The other Others will die in the battle with the MIB, and our Losties will take over, becoming the new, semi-immortal Others (and finally giving poor Richard some decent friends). Decades will pass, and when the time is right, the Losties' kids are brought to the Island to be tested (to see whether they're worthy of immortality). This is what we're seeing in the opening scene.
I believe we'll open with a shot of people on a plane---but we won't see their faces. We'll see a brunette in handcuffs, a man in a suit, an African-American man with his son, etc. We'll be led to believe we're seeing Flight 815 and a timeline reset but, as with other season premieres, it's a fake-out---this is not Flight 815. It's actually 2028ish, and the woman in handcuffs is Clementine (Sawyer's daughter is following in her daddy's less-than-reputable ways,) the man in the suit is Aaron, the man with his son is grown-up Walt, etc. All our Losties' children/nieces/nephews are on this plane, and we'll see it crash on the Island, in a wonderful callback to the opening of the Pilot, except with the 'kids' playing the Losties' roles this time around.
And who do we see among the survivors of the new plane crash, pretending to be one of them---but Sawyer? He's our infiltrator, our new Ethan Rom, just as we saw in Lafleur. At that point, the scene ends, the LOST title card flashes, and we then pick up the story where we left off. We then backtrack, as we did in Season 5, and we spend the season learning how the Losties got back to 2007, how they screwed with the timeline, the war with the Man in Black, and how the Losties won the battle and took over the Island, leading up to the newest plane crash.
Why does everyone want possession of the Island? Why doesn't Richard age? I think the two questions are interconnected. Jacob has power over life (birth, healing) and the Man in Black has power over death (which is why 'Dead is Dead'---Jacob can't raise the dead because they've passed beyond his 'domain' and the MIB can't stand living people on the Island). Jacob can't raise the dead, but he can fix things so that you just don't die---essentially, he can grant eternal life, as he's done for Richard.
Richard is not the aberration: everyone else is. Richard seems like the most peaceful Other---the other OThers/Hostiles were pretty bloodthirsty/arrogant. Technically, everyone on the Island can/should live forever---that is, if they work together, live together. If they do that, then Jacob grants them eternal life; the thing is, only Richard has ever been worthy of this---that is, until Flight 815 crashed.
The Losties took in Desmond from the Hatch, did their best to bring in Danielle, welcomed Juliet when she defected (eventually), and brought Daniel/Charlotte/Miles/Frank into the 'group' even though they'd come with the Freighter commandos. Heck, Ben is practically an honorary Lostie. Our guys are extremely loyal to one another (3 years in Dharmaville weren't enough to break Sawyer/Juliet/Miles/Daniel/Jin off from the Lostie group) and extremely welcoming to newcomers. Therefore, Jacob has stopped their aging, just as he did for Richard (they just haven't figured it out yet cause it isn't noticeable yet).
This is where the whole 'the children must leave the Island' thing comes from. Aaron/Jia Yeon/Walt would have stopped aging had they remained, and so to grow up (shades of Peter Pan?) they needed to spend time in the 'real world.'
The other Others will die in the battle with the MIB, and our Losties will take over, becoming the new, semi-immortal Others (and finally giving poor Richard some decent friends). Decades will pass, and when the time is right, the Losties' kids are brought to the Island to be tested (to see whether they're worthy of immortality). This is what we're seeing in the opening scene.
