Lost - episode #20

The man behind the curtain

This episode was a jaw dropper! There were a few cultural references in this episode. The title refers to Wizard of Oz ( pay no attention to the man behind the curtain ). There were a couple of Alice in Wonderland references thrown in there too. Ben following the white rabbit past the sonic barrier into a world he does not know. Ben's mother across the fence was in the Alice blue dress and headband. And was it me, or did young Ben look like Harry Potter?

Now on to the scene with Jacob. First off, what was that trail of powder surrounding Jacob's house that Locke stopped to examine? Once in, Ben starts talking to a chair that appears to have no one sitting there and Locke concludes Ben is a fake and phony. As Locke is disgusted he turns to leave and hears a different voice that says, "Help me." The house began to shake, windows crashed, and Ben was thrown to the wall. For a split second Locke could see someone sitting in the chair (see image above). Now it seems that only the person Jacob is speaking to can hear him because Ben was very intent on finding out what Jacob said to Locke.

Here are my questions after this episode:

Do the "hostiles" not age? When young Ben ran into the jungle he came across Dr. Richard Alpert who seemed to be the same age as he is now.

Are people just seeing things or does the island conjure up people of the past (Ben's dead mother, Kate's horse, Eko's brother, Hurley's friend from the mental institute)?

Did Annie die in the "Purge", and does she end up being Rousseau, mother of Alex?

Why is Ben the leader of the hostiles if he is not one of them? Where do the hostiles originate from?

Oh yeah, one more thing. I still do not trust Juliet.