LOST - A BRAND NEW SEASON

Welcome back to the Lost Secret Clue, where we dig deeper to find the clues and secrets you might've missed to fuel your theories! This week's episode, 'The Shape Of Things To Come', was an amazingly good hour that put the series' antagonist Benjamin Linus in a completely different light and made us accept that he may not be as bad as we've thought all along. A Dharka, a baton, more hieroglyphs, the return of Smokey and a truly shocking death...

Firstly, let us take a moment to mourn those we lost. First up was Doug, the guy carrying logs, followed by an unnamed Lostie then Jerome, the redshirt-wearing redshirt. Folks, we hardly knew you, but you will be missed. Not nearly as missed as young Alexandra Rousseau, a young lady who led a difficult life. While your death left us stunned, it has served as the catalyst to turn your father into the revenge-seeking, bad-guy dispatching machine we see in the future.

As Ben's flashforward began, he lay sprawled in the same position we've seen both Jack and Locke wake in... except in the Sahara desert. As he woke, he breathed out a cloud of cold air; couple this with the fact he's wearing a Dharma parka and we know he either came from somewhere cold or landed here unexpectedly. The clues that something truly strange happened? The parka features an as-yet-unseen logo for another Dharma station while the nametag states the jacket belonged to someone named Halliwax. Edgar Halliwax is another alias used by Dr Marvin Candle, the one-armed host of the island's Orientation films - specifically, he used this name in The Orchid's orientation video, where time-travel and teleportation studies appear to have been undertaken...

The clues don't stop there! The yellow liquid Ben vomited up brought to mind the orange juice Juliet was made to drink on her trip to the island. Ben was unaware of the date when he arrived at the hotel (and did you notice how scared the woman was of him once she learnt his identity?!) Finally, the biggest clue was hidden from us through the language barrier. When the two Bedoins were discussing Ben, the following conversation takes place:
Guy #1 - "Look! There are no footprints around him!"
Guy #2 - "Where did he come from? Did he fall from the sky?!"

We also learned in Ben's flashforward of how Sayid came to be in his employ: completely of his own free will. It was devestating to watch Sayid effectively sell his own soul in anger, but it fits with his attitude towards Ben during his own flashforward. Did you notice Ben's slight smirk as he walked away from their final discussion? Ben knew all along that he'd convert Sayid to his cause, just as he's been steps ahead of everyone else the whole series. However, for the very first time, we saw something unplanned and unexpected rock Ben world - the death of Alex.

It was this shock of Widmore "changing the rules" that shocked Ben into finally taking the offensive. Could anyone truly be surprised to learn Ben's secret room has another secret room contained within? The exact function of this room is still a mystery, but the fact Ben emerged covered in soot should give you a big clue. Did you notice the hierogylphs adorning the door? Roughly translated they read "to summon protection..." Ben told Locke he didn't know what the smoke monster was; he never said he didn't know how to make it do his bidding. Ben was just as terrified of it as the rest though, so perhaps it is more a cause of pointing the missile and getting out of dodge than actually having any control. This was the most destructive and angry we've ever seen Smokey; could this relate to Ben's mood while calling it?

Back at the beach camp, our 815ers were dealing with a brand new mystery - trying to learn what happened to the freighters' Doc Ray who washed up onshore with a slit throat, despite the fact he's fine on the boat. That, my friends, sounds like relative-time playing havoc with our perceptions. Will Doc Ray learn he's dead on the island before it takes place on the freighter?

Finally, the two Big Bad Guys of the show had their long awaited confrontation, sure to be the first of many we see, especially as it appears they can't kill each other. Are they gods? Demons? Or is it the island's will keeping the intact? Ben declares that he will kill Penny, a move sure to put him in direct conflict with Desmond. It is strange that Desmond and Ben are our only two main charaters that have never met, a fact that will surely come into play with time... Either way, as Ben himself professed, I'm certain Widmore will be wishing he hadn't "changed the rules".

Want more theories? Make sure you check out the Lost Ninja's blog, as he's done an in-depth study of Ben's character and makes some bold predictions for the future!