Claire was eerily calm like she had just had everything explained to her and now has no fear of what's to come. I think sylvestk is onto something with the suggestion that Claire was killed in the rocket blast! She walked away without a scratch, so either the Island protected her or she's a ghost!

As for Alpert and Abbadon, I also wondered if they are opposing forces but some aspects of that theory don't quite make sense. If it's true, however, I wonder if they are angellic beings--Alpert the Island's guardian angel and Abbadon Widmore's demonic agent--and that's why they don't age like everybody else.

Claire does look strange. She's way too relaxed for what she's gone through. I would think she would be concerned about Aaron, but she's getting a kick out of Locke's confusion.
I don't know about posession (that idea is new to me) or even a dead Claire, she isn't acting like the other "returned dead" who come back to give someone a message.
She's just having too much fun hanging out with her dead dad to care about Aaron. There is something really twisted about this picture.

I thought Claire seemed... evil, somehow. Like possessed, maybe?

I'm thinking that there are "spirits" (for lack of a better word) that need a body to occupy. Maybe Jacob chooses Christian's conveniently-already-dead body, and now there's some other spirit that occupies Claire? (this isn't boding well for Claire...)

Claire was kinda high.

Remember Abbadon visiting Hurley under false pretensesn in the "institution"? He left asking "are they still alive?"

was the young girl who had locke the same girl who had Ben??? and died? and wasn't locke's grandmother a witch!!! there could be a connection somehow unless..

In the Video game "Myst" your brother is stuck in a Time warp and the goal is to save him (its an amazing game). What if Jacob and Widmore were brothers and Widmore some how trapped Jacob in a time warp so that he could almost "Steal the Island".

Now I'm just waiting for them exposing that John and Benjamin both have the same father and thus are brothers...;P

It almost looks like the Smoke monster is ment to be attacking Locke! He is bald... Maybe this is ment to show that something will happen later in Lockes life...

Claire looks really hot in this scene. Just Sayin! :)

Clair looks drunk...

What's the chances of Alpert and Abbadon are opposing forces of the island or for the men?

as in Alpert works for the island/Ben and Abbadon works for Hanso/Widmore.

then again Ben did say their are "Leaders" of the island.

What I pondered is how Abbadon said Locke would "owe" him.

Great as always.

How about finding the comic book Alpert brought young Locke?

I don't think Alpert and Abbadon are the same. Though, I will agree with connected. Looks like Ben and Locke have some company.

ericd543, I was wondering about that other picture in the locker as well.

Can we get a shot of Richard and the bald black dude? Are they the same person? How did Locke's Grandmother know who Richard was? It seemed like she might have.

I too saw the poster of Geronimo Jackson in Locke's locker.

Or maybe Christian isn't really dead?

I noticed a Geronimo Jackson picture on Locke's school locker. Didn't Locke play their music in the hatch in season 2? It's in the scene where the girls are laughing because he was locked in there. Behind the Geronimo Jackson pic is another B&W pic of some old guy. I can't make out if he is someone we might know.

Clair must have died in the rocket blast. I mean that building was blown the @#$% up. But how did it seem like she survived? And all the losties saw her. Till Christan came to take her away since she wasn't supposed to be there. She did say "Charlie" just after the blast. Maybe she really did see him.
Weird.