He's Our You

So, basically, the episode was rather boring, eeeeeeeeeeexcept for that ending.

• Little Ben linus offers Sayid a book, Seperate Reality. Its supposidly a book about the experience of the author while being under psychodelic drugs in an attempt at seeing the energies of the Universe (or something like that). Was that a foreshadowing at the (truth) drugs Sayid was given in the woods to tell Dharma the truth? Did this drug help him "see" something which made him realize "why he is back on the island" and what "he has to do?"
  
• In my opinion, Ilana was hired by Ben to get him on Ajira. I doubt that there is any family in Guam. That is simply a story Ben told her to capture Sayid. This site says this is wrong, due to the timing being impossible. It was the day they were all on Ajira that Hawking said they had to be on THAT flight, which means there wouldn't be enough time to mobilize Ilana to capture Sayid. But its hard to believe this was all coincidental.
  
• What's with that record player used by Oldham? Record players seem to be a reoccuring theme in Lost. We see a really old one that Oldham plays, Dr. Candle and Desmond have a standard 70's modal record player and Juliet plays a modern cd player. And why DOES Oldham have an incredibly old record player? Does that attest somehow to how long he has been on the island? 
• During the meeting of what they are going to do with Sayid, Radzinsky says he will call Ann Arbor and they will make a decision. Ann Arbor is located in Michigan. This is the location of the DeGroots, the people responsible for the Dharma Initiative.
• Sayid Shoots Ben - Ok, so what on earth does this mean? What happened to Faraday's rules that whatever happened, already happened? Is Ben dead? Hmmmm, probably not. I have been reading some comments all around and some ideas are that :
  

1. the island brings Ben back to life. Perhaps even the smoke monster takes Ben and "revives" him and becomes part of him. Which would mean that Ben ALL this time has been "sick" (like Rousous husband) by the Smoke Monster. Would this explain what Widmore mean't in The Shapes of Things to Come (season 4) when he said "I know what you are"???
2. I read another comment by someone that Ben survives the shooting. This person mentioned that in season 3, you are shown a scar on his chest. If this is true, perhaps it is Jake that helps him. Wow, that would be twice saving Ben's life.
   
3. This is more complicated, but someone else mentioned that perhaps there are TWO time lines now. There is REAL time that has the events we are used to; the purge happens, Oceanic crashes and the 6 are rescued etc etc,. The other time line is this new one being written, where Ben is killed and the purge never happens. This is problematic because Faraday already said you cannot change what has happened; that time is like a string, you can go back and forth but can't make a new one or affect the past. You can read the comments here. Honestly, its all very complicated now. Soo, we will have to just sit tight.
   
4. Ben survives the shooting no different than how Locke survived when Ben shot  him in season 3. Possibly, Ben will see his mother and she will utter those time honored words "You've got work to do." 
5. Richard finds Ben and somehow nurses him back to health and sends him back to Dharma. 
6. Ben is revived by Jacob
7. The writers screw with all of us, making us think that things in the past can't change but in fact Ben REALLY DOES die which in fact was what was SUPPOSED to happen all along. Remember, this show focuses on things SUPPOSED to happen and Sayid basically fixed what was supposed to happen all along (sort of like the universe course correcting itself). Yes, I am confused as well. But that would mean Ben doesn't exist in the future because he was killed, and, this because the true timeline causing the other reality to implode....which doesn't seem possible. Did I mention I am confused. Maybe we should shut up and wait.

• So far, the last few episodes have been bothering me. Part of the reason is that till now, we have been entrenched by the mystery of this Island. It was even a bit spooky and dark. It has sort of been put all that aside now, and just concentrated on this Dharma where things look bright and cheery. Before part of the compelling nature of Dharma was its mystery. Also, there is no antagonist yet, or at least a clear one. We are all spinning around STILL trying to figure out WHY the 6 had to get back to the Island. Forget why WANTED TO, but why did Richard and Christian Shepard make it seem like they HAVE to be there. I don't want the Oceanic 6 to be background players which so far it looks like. I am also bothered by how frail Jake is. I want him to become the angry jerk he was before. Where it was him vs Locke. There was a constant tension between characters. Lost is about our beloved characters, not Dharma.