Good episode. Well done. Where to begin?
The list. Why those four? Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley. They've all "seen" things. Jack saw his dad, Hurley saw Dave, Kate & Sawyer saw Kate's horse, and even the boar that was harassing Sawyer, he thought was the spirit of someone from his past. Or could the Others want Hurley for his connection to the numbers. But that doesn't necessarily explain the other three. I've thought maybe they're trying to separate some of the stronger individuals from camp but that doesn't explain why Sayid, Eko, Jin and the like weren't on that list. Interesting nonetheless.
The boat. Who's on it, or is even anyone on it? Possibly Desmond? We haven't seen him since the premiere. Maybe he tried to fix the boat he crashed on the island with, but just wasn't able to make it where he wanted to go. Also, didn't Michael say something to the Others about wanting a boat? Or did I hear that wrong near the end of "Three Minutes".
So Walt says they're making him take tests and the Others aren't what they appear to be. We kind of already knew part of that from Claire's flashback in the Staff Hatch and from the face-fuzz Kate found in said hatch. Are these tests similar to the ones seen in the Orientation video? My guess is that if they are doing the DeGroots work, then most likely. Since Walt is supposed to be a "special" boy, I would assume they are testing his mental abilities. I wish we would have gotten a look inside the newest hatch we saw last night. But we might have to wait until Season 3 to get a look inside. By the way, did anyone think they saw Flight Attendant Cindy when they were bringing Michael into their camp? I haven't rewatched the scene, but I thought a lady looked like her (it was very quick).
I did like the scene with Jack and Sawyer in the hatch, finally putting their manhood-measuring contest aside for awhile. I think there is truth to that "you're the closest thing I have to a friend" line. One could argue that Kate is his closest friend, but I'm not so sure Sawyer sees women as "friends" as much as sees them as potential conquests. Jin doesn't speak english, Michael is too bent on selling everyone up the river to get Waaaaaaaaaaalt back, and I don't see him and Sayid or Hurley becoming buddy-buddy. There are more similarities between Jack and Sawyer than they first realized.
Can't wait for the season finale. Should be good.