I watched "Man Behind the Curtain" again last night and then watched the episode "Dead is Dead". One thing that struck me as odd was that when Ben first meets Richard in "mbtc", Alpert has the appearance of a hermit.( long hair, tattered clothes, etc) But when you see Richard throughout the episodes where they flash in and out of different times Alpert is dressed in his normal attire with his hair well kept.("Jughead, etc) Also, Richard has the same clean cut appearance when Ben is taken to him after being shot by Sayid. That is what really confused me because Ben appears to be close to the same age as he was when he met Alpert in "mbtc". This is not an oversight, I think there is a reason for the difference in his appearance. The only logical explanation is that we have been watching two timelines all along. Sorry if this is not exactly a theory more than it is a rant from a confused fan. Have a good day.
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