A ton of good, old-fashioned religion in tonight’s episode, but I’m going to try something new. I’m going to break down the bullets into “tropes” (covering things we’ve seen or heard previously; recurring themes) and “questions”.

I hope it works.

Tropes:

• Numbers

316 isn’t just a biblical reference, it also includes “16″ from the Valenzetti equation, a theorem that Ms. Hawking name-checks.

Jack sits in seat 8C on the Ajira Airways flight. He sat in row 23 on Oceanic 815, so I need to go back and see who sat First Class last time. Shannon maybe?

Lostpedia doesn’t say, so maybe it’s just numerology.

• Biblical references

Apart from the obvious John 3:16 reference linked above there’s also Ben’s discussion of Thomas the Apostle with Jack. Read your Wikipedia, but the basics of Ben’s story are legit.

There’s also, obviously, a ton of foreshadowing about life, death and eventual resurrection. The van from last week – Canton-Rainier – and the fact that the previous inhabitant of a coffin now roams the island (Christian) is a pretty good indicator. That and the promos for next week.

• Wizard of Oz

The removal of Locke’s old shoes and the placement of Christian’s shoes.

• Comics

Y: The Last Man, which Hurley is reading before boarding the plane was created by current Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan. That story is about the last man alive on earth who survives a plague that wipes out all the men on the planet.

• UPDATE: Eyes Opening

I had this one in my notes from last night, but Annie’s comment reminded me I’d forgotten to bullet it.

This is like the umpteenth time an episode or segment has begun with someone opening their eyes. It’s at least the second time just for Jack.

I’ll find a good link that list them all.

Questions:

• People playing others’ roles

On the return flight here’s my scorecard:

Sayid (fugitive) as Kate
Hurley (rockstar with guitar) as Charlie
Jack as himself
John Locke as Christian Shephard
Frank Lapidus as our original pilot/Matt from Heroes

Ben might be Locke and Sun might be herself, I’m not sure, but the interconnectedness is creepy/cool.

My questions spawned from this:

Who beat up Ben?
Who caught Sayid and why would they be extraditing him to Guam?
Who informed Hurley of the flight?
Who is the dude who gave his condolences to Jack and who sat across from Hurley?

My initial thought was that Sayid beat up Ben for telling Hurley about the flight but that seems off. Hurley’s reaction to Ben was pretty spooked and Sayid would have killed Ben. Thoughts?

Also, who has the kids?
Is Aaron staying with one of Ben’s people?
Is Ji Yeon with Papa Paik?

• What time is it?

No plane crash?
A fully functional VW van?
Jin as the driver?

When are we, again?

• Coordinated Crashing

If the Dharma Initiative built the Focault’s Pendulum (read the novel too) as Ms. Hawking explains, how and why are people chosen to crash?

Who arranged the passengers of Oceanic 815 and those on Ajira 316?

Big questions, to be sure.

Finally, here are some fun links to pass the time between episodes.

As always, leave a comment, question or concern and one of our representatives will get to you shortly.

Links:

• I hope the return of the polar bears is like this photo
• A Lost bingo game
• A Lost drinking game (courtesy of The Onion)
• Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes) bakes something special for the 100th episode [via Jorge Garcia's blog]

Good night!

Until next week!

Related posts:

1. Lost: Because You Left & The Lie
2. Lost: There’s No Place Like Home, Part 2
3. Lost: The Little Prince
4. Lost: The Shape Of Things To Come
5. Lost: There’s No Place Like Home