3x22 - "Through the Looking Glass" Future (?)

This entire flashback was the "Rattlesnake" twist the writers had planned for this finale. I don't know if this is meant to be a glimpse into what happens after everybody eventually leaves the Island of if everything that happens on the Island is now considered to be a flashback. Hence the question mark. Until I hear an official podcast, then that's what I'm calling this post. Well here I go!

1. It seems that quite some time has passed since Jack got off the Island, and he seems to be more like his father. At least in regards to the alcoholism. Notably he's still flying Oceanic.

2. The newspaper is the April 5, 2007 edition of the LA Times. How did Jack fall so far in such a short time? Who's obituary is that, and why does it have Jack making a phone call, and standing at the edge of a bridge ready to jump soon after? Why did he run back and save the people in the car crash? Looks like he still needs things to fix.

3. Why did Jack still have Sarah listed as his emergency contact? Wouldn't he have changed it after the divorce? Oddly enough he didn't say "Goodbye Sarah."

4. Oh boy, Jack's even popping pills now AND he wants to do the surgery on the injured mother? He's worse then his father. Now he's Jack "House" Shepherd M.D. Yep, he still needs to fix anything but himself.

5. Who is in the casket and why did they only get a viewing and not an actual funeral? Why was Jack the only one who showed up?

6. Why did Jack say his father wrote the new prescription? It's an obvious lie, isn't it?

7. The drug Jack became addicted to is oxycodone, also known as Hillbilly Heroin (very addictive). It's hard for one to get refills for it as they are not permitted, so how did Jack manage to get two.

8. "You get my father down here right now. Get him down here. And if I'm drunker then he is, you can fire me." HOLD THE PHONE! Is Christian Shepherd really alive? Does that mean that Jack was transporting an empty coffin on flight 815 all along? I'm trying to remember if Jack has ever specifically said that his father is dead.

9. Why is Kate no longer on the run from the law? Who is the "he" that will be wondering where Kate is if she doesn't get back? My first guess is Sawyer, but he doesn't strike me as being controlling to the point of overbearing.

10. Why is Jack so desperate to go back to the Island? What is he sick of lying about? Why was it a mistake? Why do they all have to go back?

Parting thoughts: The fact that Jack is a complete wreck after returning to LA seems to fit in with the basic premise of the show. The castaways are people who are lost in their lives, who then became physically lost in the world. When they could find themselves in their lives, they could physically be found in the world. Since Jack didn't find himself in his life, he wasn't ready to be physically found in the world. Could this ring true for some of the other survivors as well?

I'm going to guess that season four will have a time jump of sorts. Instead of having flashbacks, the flashes will center on how the characters react to being off the island. This could allow Michael and even Walt to come back into the mix, albeit in the present. The flashbacks will then be on the Island, covering what happened between the phone call and the eventual rescue.

That's all for now. I may update this if Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse rehash this episode in their next podcast and I hear something noteworthy. If not then I'll be idle on her until season four, but that doesn't mean I won't update this from time to time. It just depends if anything Lost that's newsworthy comes out here. Until then however.... SHUTDOWN!