SpecuLOSTions

Spoilers for "Par Avion" below....

• Who is the "magnificent man" that Mikhail mentioned? He is somebody above Ben, and may be part of Dharma/Hanso and may not. There's someone named Jacob that was mentioned as being the one the "lists" were for, so maybe he has a name. Ben also mentions a "great man" who would kill him if he gave up information but Ben could've been lying while in captivity.
  
  Since the castaways are all known rather well by the Others, I'm forced to conclude that the "magnificent man"/Jacob is somebody known to the Losties. And I'm also forced to conclude he has to be one of these people:
  
  a) Sun's father, Mr. Paik, the Korean businessman/crimelord
  b) Locke's father, Anthony Cooper, the recent kidney recipient who faked his own death
  c) Kate's stepfather, Sergeant Major Sam Austen of the US Army
  d) Jack's father, Christian Shephard, supposedly dead and in a coffin on the plane but the body was not there.
  e) Desmond's former girlfriend Penelope's father, Charles Widmore, businessman.
  
  Both Mr. Paik and Charles Widmore have possible connections to Dharma Initiative. Sam Austen could be heading up a military or quasi-military operation. Anthony Cooper presumably disappeared but was shown to be rich and powerful.
  
  I think the most likely answer is Christian Shephard, mainly due to a) he's Claie and Jack's (the main character on the show) father, and b) he's appeared in three other characters' flashbacks so far (Anna-Lucia, Sawyer and Claire). The main drawback to Shephard being "the magnificent man"/Jacob is that he's a doctor and not a businessman or man of real power and influence. I think dramatically it makes sense.
  
  Perhaps...and this is real wishful thinking....perhaps one or more of these men are working together. Paik and Widmore (and Cooper) have the capital and power, Austen has the military and Shephard has Medical. I don't know. Sounds a little like the old Batman movie to me. Hey, they did have a submarine!
  
  Am I missing any more possibilities? Alvar Hanso, the actual founder of the Hanso Foundation, may end up being the main guy but that seems almost too easy.
  
  
  
• One never-before-seen character that's been a huge influence on one of the Losties' lives is the original con man Sawyer, the one James Ford too his name from. He swindled James' parents (in Knoxville) and indirectly caused James' father to shoot his mother and himself. James came to Australia looking to kill the original Sawyer but never found him. Who wants to bet the original Sawyer is involved as well?
  
  
• Folks are speculating that Rousseau is not who she claims to be, that she's actually an Other who's pretending to help Kate, Sawyer and Locke. Evidence put forth so far includes her disinterest and disappearance while the trio investigate the Flame Station, and how she stopped Mikhail just before he revealed he knew Locke had once been paralyzed. Plus general creepiness on her part. I think personally it's just coincidence. I believe she has her own agenda - get her daughter back - and won't be terribly interested in helping the Losties vs. the Others, but I don't think she's secretly working against them.
  
  
• Did anyone think the fact the quartet were able to climb over the perimeter fence so easily was a bit far-fetched? I mean, I could've thought of that. I don't think the Others' did it on purpose, I just think it was designed poorly. Well, let me rephrase it. I think it was designed to either keep something nonhuman out or in - something that wouldn't have the ability to cut down a tree and climb over. The Smoke Monster, perhaps? The escaped polar bears? I did half expect to see a T-Rex or Spinosaurus lurking about...
  
  
• Jack is fated to lead the Others, I think it's obvious. His tattoo translated to "he walks amongst us, but he is not one of us." I think he feels he can change better from within and will willingly take a leadership role - either over Ben or next to Ben, but whether it's with Ben's blessing is unknown. It will come down to Jack leading the Others vs Kate/Locke/Sayid/Sawyer and the other Losties. See Stockholm Syndrome.
  

UPDATE (03/30/07): Ok, scratch "b)" off that list above, assuming it's really Cooper the Others are holding all tied up in the basement. Apparently, according to Locke's flashback, he's not quite so rich and powerful as I thought. Or maybe he became more rich after he killed his mark's son and pushed Locke out the window, but apparently not powerful enough to keep from being captured.

I also mentioned how the real Sawyer would probably turn up eventually - I think (as do other folks) that Cooper is the real Sawyer. If our Sawyer ever lays his eyes on Cooper, we'll find out.