LAST EDITED ON 05-03-07 AT 11:44 AM (EST)

First, I'd like to agree with ZombieBaby. Pffft to all those who gave up (family and close friends of mine who I've argued with for MONTHS now, included). This show IS getting better and better. Keep it coming! I have a feeling I'm going to be sad once the season is over and have to wait 7 months for season 4.

Now to the episode...

Josh Holloway was AMAZING last night. That's Emmy material right there. Cooper may be the only truly black/white recurring character the show has introduced. What a total bastard.

1. The Ben/Locke chess match continues: God I love this storyline. 10x better than the Jack/Locke science/faith battle, the chosen/not chosen conflict just gets better and better. It appears to me that Ben has been trying his whole life to get the island to accept him, and I don't think it has. Then here comes John Locke, a loser in life, a guy who has been a schmoe, and the island chooses HIM? Ben *had* to try to embarrass him. However, I'm wondering if Locke really stole the tape recorder, or if Ben set that up. I'm undecided on that, but I have a feeling Locke's big moment is just around the corner (not to jinx it or anything).

2. The Box, my new theory: It just occurred to me this morning that maybe the Box isn't some metaphysical/spiritual island manifestation, but rather is technological in nature...like some sort of super computer. Follow me on this. We know the Others have these enormous, seemingly all-encompassing dossiers on the Losties. Where did they come from? How are they able to get such detailed skeleton-in-the-closet information, exposing the soft underbellies of each person? Perhaps from The Box.

Ben told Locke that Cooper "came out of it". We know that he was really kidnapped, much the same way that Juliet's ex-husband was run over by a bus. He wasn't teleported there. He was *brought* there, by Ben, Jacob, whoever. How did they know to who Cooper was and where to find him? The Box. It's like Google on steroids. Anything they want, they just plug it into the computer...and there it is.

3. Ben, continuing on the new theory: So if The Box is technological and not spiritual, then that furthers the idea that Ben is drifting further and further afield from the special intrinsic nature of the island. There is clearly a division amongst the Others. Locke hit the nail on the head when he said that if he really understood the island he wouldn't have chicken in his refrigerator. Ben is hung up on Dharma and its "toys". I think next week we may get to the root of that, or at least an introduction to it.

4. Juliet's "secret": I'm thinking this is about Kate. She surely thinks Kate is preggers...and may know it, if she was somehow able to get Austen's "sample". I don't think this is the case, though. I *think* that Juliet will use Sun to get Kate to be tested. Kate, thinking she might be in the same boat as Sun, agrees. I still think, though, that Juliet lied to Sun. The real target in all of this was Kate, all along. Sun is a means to an end. And Jack is totally being played.

5. Jack, being played: There was like a 3 or 4 episode window this season when I was really liking Jack. Now he's being a total tool, and more importantly, he's being a total FOOL. I can't wait for Sawyer to come back to camp and expose Juliet...and Jack. This will put him back in the position of reluctant leader, set up a few episodes back when Hurley conned him.

Two camps divided. LOVE it!

ETA...
6. Flight 815: I'm now convinced it was a coverup. They found the whole plane at the bottom of the sea, where only specialized underwater crafts could get to it and take pictures? Hmmm...any bets on whether those crafts were Widmore? AND, if it is Widmore, could that be the setup for season 4? We keep expanding outward each season. Season 1 was just the beach. Season 2 introduced us to the Hatch and Hanso/Dharma. Season 3 was about the Others and the history of the island as a whole. Season 4 could be about the island and the outside world. Just a thought...