now we really know how this photo was taken. it was sort of staged, but not by oceanic.

Hi there. Been reading all of the comments on the last episode. Here, for what they are worth, are mine.

All I see in this photo of the "rescue" is Sayid and Kate, arm in arm with Jack back behind them. I don't think there is anyone else behind them as all arms and legs are accounted for. Then there is Hurley partially behind Jack. Then there are four unknown guys. These four could be anyone. Ben may be the guy with the hat on, just there to keep a hand in the rescue that he has totally planned. Since he can "move" the island, he very well could have done just that. And then he arranged for our beloved losties to be in that extra boat that was stored away in the shed where Ben kept what's-his-name prisoner. Then he set them out to sea in a carefully plotted course to be "found" by some prearranged "known" folks--maybe some of the "others' that have been off hiding at the temple or, since he has all theses connections he paid or otherwise employed some loyal locals to be "rescuers." I think maybe Sun and Aaron are in the back of the boat out of view in this picture. I can see a very slim part of a person there but it's not enough to see who it is for sure. That could explain why the "Ben in the Hat" and the other guy still are hanging onto to the boat.

I'm not sure if Oceanic is involved in the cover-up. If they are lying about anything it's probably just to cover their as...bums. Can't lure alot of passengers if they think that you don't care or whatever. It's a business thing with them. I think any cover-up is part Ben and his Others and the remaining losties. Remember Locke wants to stay there. And maybe more of our guys do too. Ben sure doesn't want to be found. He thought up the whole thing. Certain ones wanted to go home and he and some others wanted to stay so he whipped up this plan. If he can move/hide the island then the outside world, and Widmore, can't find it. And he sure does have many ways he could do it: space/time, electromagnetic interference rendering any form or mode of detection useless. I'm pretty sure it's way better than just alot of cloud cover, whatever it is.

And for what it's worth, I think that "we" won the battle with the bad guys there on the island. Ben surrendered to them so that Locke could get inside the Orchid and figure out how to save the world. Maybe he and Hurley (wouldn't be the first time Hurley is the hero--remember the van?)even rescued Ben from the bad guys, killed them (let's face it, there aren't that many bad guys--they just have bigger guns). Then Ben helped with the getting rid of the bad guys. Probably a big battle and both side suffer losses. Hopefully not Sawyer. I am sure that all this happens before the 6 get "rescued."

Meanwhile, back on the boat...Jin is probably killed in the explosion. Sad.

It will be interesting to see how it all plays out. I agree, one question gets answered, but opens up another can of worms. One of my questions is what of the fate of the people other than the losties and how do their lives play out. And how hard would that all be to not be able to acknowledge all of this and all the people involved.

Wow. My mind is mush now. Can't wait 'til Thursday!!!

I always read all of your comments but rarely post so here goes:
I think Jin told Sun to get in the lifeboat and cast off because he thinks the ship is going to blow up. Somehow, Jack, Kate, Sayid, and Hurley get off the island (possibly in the helicopter) and then also wind up in the raft with Sun. Everyone else gets stuck on the island or dies.
While they are adrift, Ben finds them and explains the importance of keeping the island a secret and helps them concoct their story. Oceanic is not involved in any of it.

Part of the fake story they're telling seems to be coming directly from the six themselves, though. On the rescue plane, they wait till the woman is back up front before going over one more time that they should stick to their story. If she were in on it completely, they wouldn't have had to say that so secretly without her.

So, no matter who is involved in a cover-up there is at least a little bit that the six Losties are sharing by themselves -- at least a few things the Oceanic folks don't know completely.

I agree Madam P

Are we even sure that all of oceanic workers are involved? the lady on the plane sounded sincere when she told them they didnt have to talk to the press if they didnt want to.

I had another quick thought when I was watching random people loading onto the ship.. maybe the other survivors had to stay on the ship.. as a bargin type thing.... just a thought

As far as Kate being six months pregnant when arrested (according to the "fake" rescue story) .... who saw her being arrested other than the marshall? And he is dead. So no one would know how she looked.

TishkaNY - if this is all a cover-up like most believe it is, then it would make perfect sense for one of Widmore's people to be in Indo to take the photo.

If this is not fake who took it. In that remote pace it does not seem likely that someone would be hanging out there with a camera. and I doubt Sun would have had a Camera. Just a thought.

Hurley's t-shirt is the same one he's wearing in the "current" episode, right? While he's with Ben and Locke at The Orchid? But Jack's shirt is different -- when he and Kate were hiking through the jungle and he was bleeding, he had on a tee-shirt, didn't he? Maybe this button-up was over it? What about Kate's and Sayid's clothes -- can we tell?

I'm trying to figure out how "close" we are to having the Oceanic Six get "rescued," in terms of time. Is their escape going to go down this same day -- the day Ben surrenders at The Orchid and Farraday is ferrying folks to the freighter? (say that fast three times...)

Paolo4President, I have known women who were 6 months pregnant and you couldn't tell. Having said that, if I'd been Kate, I think I would've chimed in that the baby had been born prematurely due to the stress from the plane crash or something...

Also, the flash-forward with Sun at the gravesite -- why do you say that isn't real? Do you mean real in the sense that Jin isn't actually buried there? I think we suspected that all along anyway, didn't we? The tombstone/marker is just a memorial site -- lots of people do that when they know the person is deceased but they don't actually have the body.

Didn't the Oceanic Rep say that they were using the remains of a fishing boat that washed ashore? I think there's a couple levels here. I think Oceanic higher-ups are somehow tied to Widmore or Ben, and need to have the stories between the rescue and the plane at the bottom of the ocean line up, or everyone will know something's going on. And seeing that you had to drift a few hundred miles with 6 people on a rubber raft, with no supplies, this will take days, yet they don't look dehydrated. It's obvious that it's a fake story, but we just don't know all of the people involved in it. I suspect it came from those other than the 6.

that one reporter definatly knew something was up with Kate and her story (it was obvious she wasn't 6 months pregnant when she was arrested)

and when Sun answered that Jin had been killed as soon as they hit the water, she pretty much proves that the flash forward where she is at his grave is not real

Indian Ocean, not Pacific.

Yeah. I think they are covering up because they find out that even though Ben does not have their best interests in mind, he's not as bad as they once thought. I think they will realize that there is something bigger going on here. It's bigger than the island. It's the fate of humanity. Ben couldn't just come out and say that though because who would believe him?

I agree, I don't think the photo is staged. The rescue itself is not a fake and a cover-up, at least not as far as Oceanic is concerned. Seems like only the 6 know what really happened.

I was just about to say that SLF. I agree with you.

Maybe the photo isn't "faked". Perhaps part of the rescue was flying them close to this island, providing the raft, and then they do go ashore and are "rescued".

It's supposed to be the life raft they found on the washed up boat...their means of escape.

where did they get the boat from? its not the same as sayid was using...

Where is sun? Perhaps to the right of Kate and blocked?

Is Kate carrying the baby?