Egg-what?

Well, it wasn't as exciting or revelatory as the last two episodes, but it was a lot better than the premiere. We got a few answers, forward narrative motion, and a slew of new questions. My thoughts/observations are below, plus some clarification from the producers on a few things, plus a preview of next week.

The Title
Egg-town = A town whose citizens are notably cheap when it comes to bartering. This term comes from the Great Depression, when door-to-door salesmen would go from town-to-town, looking to trade items. A town where people had nothing to trade but eggs was called an "Egg-town." The title probably refers to all of the trading going on in this episode between Locke, Kate, Sawyer, Miles, etc.

Thanks, KateFor demonstrating, over and over, exactly why I can't stand you. How many people does she blatantly, selfishly use in this episode? Off the top of my head, Hurley, Locke, Sawyer, Miles, and Ben. The girl is ridiculous. The worst part was when she used Sawyer for comfort at night, and then was a complete witch to him the following morning, for no apparent reason. Sure, Sawyer was insensitive about the pregnancy, but she was being cold way before that topic ever came up. I did love it when Sawyer called her out with, "You'll just come running back to me when you get mad at Jack." Spot-on, Sawyer. I just wish he and Jack would both smarten up and stop letting Kate use them.

Aaron's a Big Boy NowI totally saw this coming after the scene with Claire and Kate doing laundry, and I'm glad because it was a great twist. But does it mean that Claire died? I hope not, she's my favorite Island female, other than Juliet, and I'm hoping that one day the writers will give her more to do before they kill her off. I'm thinking she's just stuck on the Island in the future. That might explain why Jack doesn't want to see Aaron (Claire's his half-sister, after all). I'm also convinced that Aaron is not one of the Oceanic 6 (more on that later). My biggest question: how is Kate explaining him to the world? Did she adopt him? Did she lie and say that she was already pregnant on 815 and delivered the baby on the Island? They were only there for three months. Or has more time passed in the real world? AHHHHHH!

Jack's TestimonyFirst of all, nice yuppie haircut. Second, Jack gave us some insight into the Oceanic 6's cover-story. It looks like they're all saying that they washed up onto a small island in the South Pacific, that Kate was the hero who dragged them onto shore, and that eight of them survived the crash, but two of them died on the Island. Hmm, I wonder who those other two survivors were in this little alibi?

The Oceanic How-Many-Exactly?
Well we know for certain that Jack, Kate, Hurley, and Sayid are famous for being members of the Oceanic 6. We now know that Aaron made it off the Island, but that Kate is pretending to be his biological mother. And we know that somebody winds up in that coffin that Jack was obsessed with at the end of last season. That's six people, but I don't think that's the Oceanic 6. Why? For one thing, I'm convinced that Michael is the one in the coffin, and that he already established a new identity for himself in the real world the first time he left the Island with Walt back in Season 2. To the public, he and Walt died in the plane crash. Also, watch that scene again from last night with Sun and Jin discussing where they're going to raise their baby. Why would the writers include that seemingly random scene unless Sun and Jin are going to make it off-Island? I think the remaining Oceanic 6 are Sun and Jin. I'm not sure why Aaron doesn't count. Maybe he's too small.

Ben's Wealth
Looks like Miles knows how well-funded the Others really are. This scene totally reconfirmed my Light Side vs. Dark Side theory for me where Ben winds up a hero at the end of the show, protecting the Island from ending up in the wrong hands. Why 3.2 million, though? Does Miles need exactly that much money for something? Who is his employer? Abbadon? How is Ben going to get that money in a week if he's locked in a cellar? What did Miles mean when he said "I know what you can do?"

Dan's MemoryThat scene with the cards was really revealing. It looks like Dan has memory problems, which could explain why he had such an emotional reaction to the news of the plane crash in Confirmed Dead, without knowing why.

Cultural References
Lots of pop-culture shout-outs last night, including:

VALIS by Philip K. Dick, a novel about a vast, ancient grid of satellites that are actually an aspect of God. It's the book that Locke brings to Ben.

The Invention of Morel, a science-fiction novel about a fugitive hiding on a strange island in the South Pacific. It's the book Sawyer's reading right before Kate uses him. Both times.

Xanadu, a weird musical-fantasy film from the eighties about a guy who crosses dimensions. It's also the name of the mansion/estate in Citizen Kane. It's the movie Hurley mentions.

Satan's Doom, apparently a Brazilian heavy metal band. It's the CD Hurley mentions.

Stray Observations
Did you notice where Locke was sleeping at the beginning of the episode? In Ben's bed.

Why isn't the Island and/or Jacob helping Locke figure out what to do anymore? Could it be because he failed to stop the Freighter Folk from reaching the Island?

Why does Kate want to leave the Island? Sawyer and Miles are right, she's got nothing but trouble waiting for her.

When Locke smashes the eggs against the wall, you can tell it's a set, because the entire wall actually bounces back and forth.

How old is that boathouse? Why do the Others need a boathouse? How cool was it when Locke shoved that grenade into Miles' mouth. Where did Locke GET A GRENADE?

Why was the DA so concerned about Kate staying put? Is she one of the Dark Side people who want to keep tabs on all of the Oceanic 6?

Kate's lawyer in this episode was also the creepy serial killer in Frequency, where he played a man named...Jack Shepard, and killed a character played by...Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet).

When Locke played Backgammon, he was the black side, instead of the white (like he was in the Pilot).

What happened to the helicopter? (We'll find out next week, apparently)

Sawyer looks good shirtless.

Claire looks good every time she's on the screen.

Producers' Clarifications (Taken from this interview)

We'll know all of the Oceanic 6 by the end of Episode 7.

We'll know who was in the coffin by the end of this season.

There is no connection between Naomi's bracelet and Elsa's. It was just a similarity in props.

The future we see on the show is definitely THE future. No parallel dimensions or alternate futures are in play.

The polar bear in Tunisia has something to do with The Orchid Station (see the video from last summer), which we will visit later this season.

Charlotte's name (CS Lewis) is a hint to her backstory, as well as events that will occur later in the season.

My Guess On the Remaining Seasons
So Season 1 was the intro to the 815ers and the Island. Season 2 was the Tailies and Dharma. Season 3 was the Others. It looks like Season 4 (about the Freighter Folk) will end with the Oceanic 6 getting off the Island, and with the flashforwards catching up to Jack and Kate's meeting last season. In my opinion, Season 5 will therefore alternate between the On-Island story of the remainder of the cast, and the Off-Island story of the Oceanic 6 trying to get back to the Island. Season 6 will be what happens when they do make it back. Or, I'm completely wrong.

Next Week's EpisodeThe Constant, written by show-runners Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, directed by Lost-vet Jack Bender. We find out what happened to the helicopter with Frank, Sayid, and Desmond. It's a Desmond flashback, which probably means...TIME TRAVEL! My guess is that he has another time-travel flashback. Maybe we'll see one of the Temporal Police again. From the preview, it looks like he runs into Daniel in his flashback/travelback. Crazy!