LAST EDITED ON 05-10-07 AT 05:18 PM (EST)

Great episode! I think Richard is very interesting. He doesn't age, leading to the conclusion that the original inhabitants of the island are trapped in another dimension than ours. They do not age and they do not have babies, not because they are infertile but because babies can't grow.

Richard was surprised that Ben could see and hear his mother. That could mean that the Others hear the voices in the jungle but cannot understand the words or see anyone. That's why they took Ben in, hoping he could see and talk to not only his mother but Jacob also. Ben can see and hear Jacob but he doesn't seem to understand the words. They are not on the same dimensional plane or out-of-phase or something like that.

Ben still took over. The Others look for children, not because they need to populate the island but because children can hear sounds adults can't. They are looking for someone "Special." Ben, with his own questions about his birth, may have tried to find a way for the Others to make their own babies, thus bringing in Juliette. Richard said it was a pointless quest or something like that.

With the Losties, the Others saw that other people could be "Special". They were hoping that John could be a better conduit than Ben so that's why they let John give orders to Ben.

Ben was surprised at hearing about the arrival of Naomie. It could be an indication that the whole island had been caught in another dimension, maybe after the "Incident" the Dharma initiation talked about. The implosion of the hatch ended that and now the island is visible.

ETA: The white rabbit, I think, is a reference to Alice in Wonderland.