Poppa, can you hear me?

Don't know about you, but I'm getting a little tired of how predictable Lost is becoming. I mean, since season 1 and the speculation about how Locke ended up in a wheelchair, the most obvious answer has been 'he got pushed out an eight-story window by his con artist father who previously stole a kidney.' Well, duh.
Yet another episode loaded with 'holy cow' moments. Let's discuss them, shall we?

- So now the island is completely isolated. No communication, no way off, at least as far as we know. And Ben's fine with that, interestingly. Yet my assumtion is that at some future point, Dharma would have to check on the island when they dont hear anything for weeks, dont get any food drop requests. But who knows how that will work out, since Dharma seems to still be under the assumption it's running the island, when the Others have been running the show at least the last few years. (Side speculation - did Locke actually blow up the sub? He was dripping wet when he got captured. No need to go into the water, however, if he just got on the sub, planted C4, and got off. Maybe he blew up something else, moved the sub?)

- So there's a box that gives you whatever you want? This is either a fascinating turn of events or one of the stupidest deus ex machinas I've ever heard of. Though I loved the sight of bug-eyed evil con man bound and trussed up. Wondering now if other off-island characters could make appearances in the future. Wondering now if it in fact is Locke's dad or a manifestation of the smoke monster the same way Kate saw that black horse, etc. Either way, I want to see him get his ass kicked and then have Sayid go all Torture Man on him. Locke dad is pure eeeeevil.
Now consider this - there is no box at all, that's just a manipulative story by Ben, and when Locke's dad disappeared to Mexico, he really disappeared to this island. Why? Dunno.
But consider this - there've been so many instances of discovery that defy logic, like Eko finding his brother's plane. Maybe there is some kind of wish fulfillment power going on here, that this 'box' idea is true. Am beginning to think that this notion of the island having healing ability might be true, but in the sense that it gives people what they want (Locke his legs, Rose becomes cancer free).
The island also seems to have some kind of consciousness, based on that Ben/Locke exchange, with the idea Locke has a better link to/idea about the island. That adds to the idea the Black Smoke is some kind of manifestation of the island's consciousness.
And consider this bit of dialogue from last night: Ben: "What if I told you there was a box and when you opened it, whatever you wanted was inside?" Locke: "First, I'd cut a hole in the box. Then I'd put my junk in the box." Significant? I think so.

- So Locke has gone through a fascinating evolution in this show - he crashed, he was this uber-he-man hunter, then he emerged as this too trusting doofus, and now it turns out he's both incredibly scheming and selfish and so damaged and sympathetic. That scene when he was put in the wheelchair and started crying? Doesn't excuse what he's done - kill Patchy, blow up the sub - but I at least understand why.

- So daddy issues continue to be an ongoing substory. Jack, Kate, Locke, Hurley, so many people have estrangement or abandonment in their background. The significance? I don't know. But Deadpassenger and I both think it seems likely that Locke's dad is also the "Sawyer" Sawyer has sworn to kill.

- So Ben is continually fascinating. He's seemingly far more concerned with maintaining his control over the Others than anything else. Merely power mad? Or is there something else? His insistence that no one be allowed to leave - to the point he considered killing Jack - is really interesting. Meanwhile, the guy was even born on the island and he seemingly lacks some kind of connection to it that Locke has. Really curious.

- Speaking of Jack, if Locke and Piano Man didn't hate each other before, they sure ain't gonna be sharing warm Dharma beer now.

- New character alert! The Man from Talahassee (which sounds like a Merle Haggard song). I assume that's the guy who was with Ben when they uncuffed Locke, some kind of assistant/heavy of Ben's who seems to have a different level of knowledge than the other Others. Or maybe it was Locke's dad. Could Locke's dad have been on Oceania 815 without anyone noticing?

So so many questions. What do you think?