It did look empty.

Also, not very big.

Also, one of the Others is a young woman named Alex who seems overly interested in Aaron.

Wasn't Alex the one who set Claire free from the med hatch? That could explain some of the interest. Also was there was some strange exchange between Alex and the guy about smacking Michael on the head in the "13 days ago" flashback (when they let Kate go)?

There was a lot in this ep that had surface continuity but when I thought about it made me go huh? And the sail boat did indeed look empty. Or at least there was no one steering.

Yeah, it seemed like she didn't want to hit Michael on the head.

Do you think she knows that her mother is on the island?

Wasn't Alex the one who set Claire free from the med hatch?

Yep. I loved that she asked about her.

Vincent rules. "Here, Charlie! I found some heroin! Come on, Charlie!!"

I havren't been able to keep track of Charlie's heroin. I thought he had a stash in the jungle, still. It was good to see him throwing the statues out to sea, though I can't help thinking that right after someone else needed narcotics is a bad time to clean house.

I liked that the one line about Michael not knowing much about Walt echoed what the lawyer said to him during the custody hearing. Adds to the messing with Michael's head theory.

It really bugs me that they are digging these shallow looking graves in the sand. Funny what will snap my disbelief suspension.

Vincent rules

My daughter and I both shouted "VINCENT" when we saw him.

though I can't help thinking that right after someone else needed narcotics is a bad time to clean house

Exactly what I said to my daughter. Also that Locke saw him doing it. Good call back to the "The Moth".

Do you think she knows that her mother is on the island?

I don't even remember how old Danielle said Alex was when the others took her. She may not --- but since Not!Henry knew about "that woman" I'm betting that Alex knows something about her but maybe not that she's her mother.

We had to slo-mo through the flash cuts in the preveiw to look at the closeup of the key that was being turned to see if it had the Dharma logo on it and it does. I swear, the Hanso Foundation "logo'd" everything!

Didn't Rousseau catch "Henry" in one of her nets? I assumed that "that woman" was a reference to that.

Alex could be interesting. Anyone who apologizes before knocking you out I want to know more about.

Does the Hanso website www.letyourcompassguideyou.com do anything? I just get the compass needle swinging about, but I often have browser related difficulties with sites not behaving correctly.

I don't think taking the blood was a head game. If they're trying to make Michael believe that they're poorly armed and living in huts, why would they expose the fact that they have a blood lab?

This is part and parcel of the head game. They're poor, and living in tents, but have zip lock bags, and needles, and full names of a handful of Michael's cast-aways, and they don't want Walt to say anything, but they let him talk. Head games.

I'm not sure I understand your definition or the point of your "head games". Is it still a head game if they really wanted to test Michael's blood? Given Walt's special abilities, testing the dad's blood makes sense.

I'm not sure Walt has special abilities. There's a mechanasmokeasaurus and polar bears on that island. I think it's all head games, and by that, I'd say I meant 'psychological experiment' except I think that's too respectable a term.