* I cannot believe that there are people out there blaming the sub disaster on Jack. Yes, he let MiB pull the backpack switcheroo (which Jack himself pulled on Kate in "Exodus") on him which I missed the first time, but Jack was never fooled by him. Jack was never a fan of the leave the Island plan, he was furious about leaving his sister in either was Sawyer, but Sawyer couldn't get over his anger with Jack over Jughead.
In Sawyer's defense, he wasn't really fooled by the essence of MiB either, just conned into doing what he wanted. He was the one who made the major strategic mistake on the sub, because he couldn't put aside his anger at Jack over Jughead. Sure, what Jack was saying is crazy talk, but it in the messed up world of LOST it also happens to be the honest-to-goodness truth.
There's plenty of blame to go around. But there's no question the most responsible Lostaway is Sawyer. If you blame Jack first, that's a you problem.
Hopefully something good will come out of this whole mess and Sawyer and Jack will finally become friends. Their romantic rivalry over Kate has been pushed aside, and it's time for these two to reconcile once and for all. There's always been a mutual respect present despite all the blustering, and I've always loved the scene in "Three Minutes" in which Sawyer cops to his jungle romp with Ana Lucia. Jack asks why he's confiding this in him, and Sawyer says "Because you're the closes thing I have to a friend, Doc".
Sawyer's thanks after Jack came back for them was a start. The only obstacle may be Jack, and whether he can be a bigger man than Sawyer and not hold the deaths of Sayid, Jin, and Sun over him as Sawyer did with Juliet. I think the answer is yes, but then I've always believed in Jack.
* Another thing I overlooked in all of the chaos was Sayid telling Jack, "It's going to be you". Assuming this was with respect to Jack's candidacy, why should we believe that Sayid has any insight. Did being on death's door trigger some hidden knowledge within him? Farfetched. Did being claimed by MiB somehow give him some insight on the matter? Doesn't really make sense either.
So that leaves it being either Sayid's hunch or special insight gleaned from Desmond. It's not entirely clear how Des would know that, but with him you can never count anything out.
* I don't think that MiB has been manipulating Hurley through his visions of Jacob, Isabella, and Michael. I think those are either products of Jacob, or, in the case of Michael, not a vision at all, as Michael is really trapped on the Island with the other whisperers.
* Everyone is still speculating about the outrigger shootout. I've seen some people speculate that it will be Claire and MiB in the outrigger, but I don't see it. It's more likely to be Ben, Richard, and Miles, IMO.
In either case, it's a little murky as to why they would be shooting. Unless I'm completely forgetting the events of "The Little Prince", the shooting was initiated by the pursuers, not Charlotte, Faraday, Miles, Juliet, Locke, and Sawyer. So the people must be shooting at them for a reason. It's possible that Ben, Richard, and Miles will see Locke, mistake him for MiB, and open fire. But Miles should recognize the situation and not want to shoot at himself.
It would make even less sense for the MiB to shoot, unless he thinks he has a chance to take out a candidate in Sawyer.
In any event, I really hope we get to it before the finale, and hopefully if the more puzzling MiB situation comes to light, Claire won't be the one getting hit.
* Another popular theory is that the series will end Jack (as the new Jacob) facing off with his new rival (MiB trapped in Locke's body, or someone else like Sawyer). I disagree, as I tend to believe Jacob that it only ends once. That statement could be in reference to the current iteration of the Jacob/MiB, but that's stretching, I think.
Of course, Jacob could be full of it.
* I still like the idea of Island guardianship becoming a husband and wife job, with Jack and Kate, but that's just fanboyism.
* As we approach the end, most of the fans seem to be taking it in stride on the internet. The ones that aren't are generally the ones who have spun elaborate theories, displayed little humility about them, and now are seeing it all come crashing down around them.
