Volcanic sand and rocks are black, too.

I was assuming that the rock was where the ship ran aground. Might explain the cable - it was slack enough at the shore for Sayid to pick up, so maybe it is/was a swimming guide.

Volcanic sand and rocks are black, too

Have we seen a volcano yet, then? Hills that might be of volcanic origin, I'd guess, but well covered in foliage, so probably hundreds of years since it was active. And the beach is white. Probably coral sand.

My wife just reminded me that I guessed a circus had crashed on the island back when the polar bear showed up.

Edited because I can, occasionally, properly decline a verb.

The Ethan guy (that Locke was hunting with) at first reminded me of the actor that played Holden the vampire in "Conversations With Dead People", and I got all excited. Then he didn't look like him at all, but those scenes were a bit dark and grainy on my tv. Did anyone else get that vibe, though?

Oh! I was going to make a screencap of the map! I'll try later.

I'm now thinking that what killed the pilot was an elephant. A ship with a zoo of creatures wrecked on the island and they're all running free.

Also, who says the others got sick? Maybe Danielle is the one who got sick. After all, she killed Robert, and at least implied that she killed everyone else (except Alex, who maybe escaped), and she didn't want them to be rescued--I got the impression because she didn't want the infection to spread. What if she just went crazy and killed everyone else because they didn't hear the voices or see things the way she did? Maybe she's the one who thwacked Sayid? He'd been gone 2 days, but who knows how long he'd been captive?

If this turns into another Monkey!Pox!Crazies plot, I will not be happy.

so what do y'all think the cable was that Sayid was following? i'm thinking it maybe led back to the crashed ship in the water.

I also noticed that Danielle didn't specify whether Alex was male or female. they didn't do that for no reason. heh.

Ah, this episode was great. I loved all the new characters, and I hope we continue to learn more about the other survivors. Hypochondriac guy SO has a case of the killer magical island disease rash! And whoever said that William Mapother (Ethan) was Poor Man's Nathan Fillion was spot-on. (Didn't see the resemblance to Holden/Knox/Tracy myself.) I was glad to see a reappearance of the monster(s)/bear(s)/whatever(s). And I loved the mention of the black rock--yay again for megan's translation!

I have to say, I was quite amused by the fact that everyone in the Republican Guard speaks English so fluently, not to mention the crazy French woman who'd been alone on the island for 16 years... Which reminds me that I think Liese's rant about actors playing across ethnic lines does actually apply to this episode, sadly. I mean, I knew that Naveen Andrews wasn't Iraqi--and his Arabic sounded kind of awkward--but it sure looked like the guy who played his superior officer was a white dude, which was both distracting and disappointing. I liked Nadia a lot, though.

And, okay, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have to say... Sawyer was pretty freaking cute in this episode. Despite how much I still hate the character, it seems that I have finally succumbed to the power of the dimples. sigh.

There were a couple of things in the script that made me think of Buffy, probably because I knew Fury was the writer. Like the tight shot on Jack and Michael looking all serious, and then (of course) we see that they're standing on the golf green discussing which club to use--that's the kind of thing the ME writers love (loved?) to do.

You didn't hear about the polar bear?

Still waiting to see the repercussions from all this secret-keeping...

Yep, definitely didn't specify whether it was a boy Alex or a girl Alex.

True. And Sayid had a line in which he referred to Alex as "he", and Danielle gave him a look that suddenly made me think "hey, Alex is going to turn out to be a girl, isn't she?"

Okay. Sayid said he was responsible for Nadia's death. But the last we saw her she was escaping. We need more backstory!

Hey, that's right! And then he was all "I just hope one day I'll find her again!" What's the deal?

I'm curios to see if more people start hearing the whispers that Sayid was hearing at the end. Or, if that's what Locke has already heard, and heeded.

Ooooooooooooooh.

I loved all the new characters, and I hope we continue to learn more about the other survivors.

Yeah, I was impressed with the extras who got lines and even names! Anyone else catch the woman in the final golf scene who says, "Yeah!"?

I have to say, I was quite amused by the fact that everyone in the Republican Guard speaks English so fluently, not to mention the crazy French woman who'd been alone on the island for 16 years...

My question is, if she knew English, WHY THE FUCK WAS THE TRANSMISSION IN FRENCH?

And I loved the mention of the black rock--yay again for megan's translation!

OMG seriously. That was one hell of a moment, when I realized the actual translation of the message was coming into play. Very, very impressive.

Like the tight shot on Jack and Michael looking all serious, and then (of course) we see that they're standing on the golf green discussing which club to use--that's the kind of thing the ME writers love (loved?) to do.

And, well, who didn't pick up that immediately? Granted, that was a rare instance where they didn't use that at the beginning of an episode, but I totally called it.

Oh, by the way, people saw the preview for the next episode, right? Let's all start getting afraid for Claire...now.