My buddy is convinced that Ben teleports to Tunisia immediately after going into his closet when Alex is killed. I don't think so because of the wound he has, but who knows.

I'm really mostly speechless after this episode, it was up there with The Constant and had pretty much everything a geek like me could dream of in 48 minutes of television. The fact that Widmore tells Ben that he can't find Penny adds some merit to my theory that she is on the island. I think it is through her that the 6 get off. She probably heads directly for the coordinates of the freighter after getting cut off from Desmond.

@manzy704 - I believe you're right that Ben appears in Tunisia after some later event (one that obviously involves him getting the wound). I'm hesitant to say teleported just yet, because you never know how they're going to explain this whole thing, but I do agree that it's after a later event.

I think that what happened to Desmond on the helicopter ride to the boat may have some bearing on recent events. We've seen that it's possible for Desmond's past "consciousness" to travel back and forth into his current body. Is it then possible that Ben's present (or future) "consciousness" could travel back into his past self? Or even more, that his present "consciousness" could travel forward into his future self?

I have a feeling that Widmore and Ben have replayed this scenario more than a few times, each time leading to the same inevitable conclusion. Now, it appears that Widmore is reaching out in his desperation and "changing the rules". I think that when Ben went into that secret room, he sent himself into his past self and changed the past just enough so that the smoke monster just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Or maybe he sent himself forward to see what happens and devise a plan to escape, only to find out that Smoky was on his way and he had nothing to worry about.

Or maybe it has nothing to do with traveling, and Ben just has a way to call Smokey... y'never know.

As for Penny, I definitely think she's coming for Desmond. How she accomplishes that or what happens afterwards I can't say, but she is supposed to play a major part in the seasons to come. I don't think she stays on the island however, because then Ben would know and the "you'll never find her" quote from Widmore wouldn't make sense.

I thought the mid season break was 6 weeks...has it been 6 weeks... oh lawd where did the time go. What an awesome episode to have magically appear down the intertubes..... however, one had to laugh at sawyer's new bullet dodge ability (the mercs one shotted like 5 people then can't land one out of eleventy billion rounds) and claire's new RPG dodge ability, seriously....WTF is with that. I even thought Widmore's aussie accent was another 'oversight' but that's why I come here. To turn my addled brain into one of coherent theories made from win. Good to have lost back, great write up pete, and look forward to the coming weeks!

Tron,

Think of how Michael can't kill himself. Sawyer might not be able to die yet because the island needs him to fulfill some purpose. I dunno though. I've been rewatching the final scene with Widmore and Ben and it's hard for me to pick up Charles' accent. To me it just sounds like he has a scratchy throat or is talking quietly. I don't doubt that you guys both hear the accent though, I'm just frustrated that I didn't notice it!

I actually think that the whole "the island won't let you die" thing fits right in with Ben and Widmore being locked in some sort of time-battle (wow, that sounds waaaay geekier than I intended it to).

It would stand to reason that maybe these people keep avoiding death because they aren't able to change their destiny in the timeline. For instance, if Jack was supposed to die from dystentery after going back to the island, the timeline would "course correct" itself to make sure that nothing happened to Jack before that moment came.

Or - for the sake of argument - if Charlie wasn't supposed to die until he hit that button and restored communication - the timeline would set events into motion that would keep him alive until that he did that (like say, an accident that gives Desmond psychic Charlie-death-prevention powers).

But, even though Ben thought that Alex would be safe - that the island wouldn't allow her to die until her time was up - Widmore somehow "changed the rules" and brought about her death prematurely.

Just a thought...