Three years without a fire

Lil’ Ben is seemingly dead. Let's contemplate that, shall we?
Point: Sayid is a stone-cold killer, if there’s one thing he knows how to do it’s gun down a kid.
Counterpoint: the past cannot be changed, according to the rules of this show
True: yet the past already has been changed by the fact people from the future have gone there
Counterpoint: the island has healing powers, as we;ve seen numerous times in the past
Point: yet it doesn’t seem to have healing properties yet in 1977, or else one would think that wouldve come up in Dharma orientation or something. Perhaps the healing is a byproduct of the Incident, whatever that is.
Counterpoint: if lil’ Ben is dead, then the Oceanic group almost instantly wouldve disappeared from 1977 because then their past was changed and they never would’ve ended up on the island again. Kinda like that whole 'Butterfly Effect' idea, if you saw that Ashton Kutcher movie.
Counterpoint: so if Big Ben had been shot 30 years earlier when he was a kid, you’d think adult Ben never wouldve worked with adult Sayid.
Point: maybe the act of shooting Lil' Ben caused a split in time, with now our Losties being in an alternate reality, as every action we do creates branches and offshoots.
Counterpoint: this show already deals with time travel and smoke monsters and giant statues from ancient Egypt. If we start delving into alternate realities too, then this show may be jumping the shark big time. This isn't 'Sliders,' for pete's sake.
THe counterpionts seem to have it.
But let us praise Ben. The master manipulator tricked Sayid into thinking that killiing off Widmore folks was Sayid’s idea, a way of protecting the islanders. And I’m pretty convinced Ben hired the bounty hunter that brought Sayid back.
Meanwhile what is the deal with the Swan hatch? It was built underground, seemingly to hide it. ANd now the Dharmites seem willing to kill in part to keep it secret. It seems far more important than just for the study of electromagnetic radiation, yknow?
Random thoughts:
- It's been awhile since we had a flashback episode. Interesting return to form.
- William Sanderson! For us fans of 'Newhart' and 'Blade Runner,' it's always good to see that creepy-ass guy finding work. Here's hoping we see more of Larry, and perhaps his brother Darryl and his other brother Darryl.