Lost - "The Variable"

Hello all. First off, I am writing this post on my blackberry at work because we were all just told to work much slower (no, seriously!), and therefore can't create links like normal (or so I believe. There's probably some way to do it, but I have no clue what it is.). I'll try to add them later at home, but for now, remember to use the links in my last post for "Some Like it Hoth" for Doc Jensen and Erika's recaps of that episode. It's been two weeks since our last trip to the Island, so getting a refresher is always good.
As I said in my last review, I found "Some Like it Hoth" to be a nice diversion, a sweet trifle of humor before the end run of drama in the last four hours of the season. Yes, we did get some interesting info: we got Phil finding out about Sawyer and Kate taking away Little Ben, and Roger being suspicious of Kate. We got the Miles and Dr. Chang relationship, and some context for the Swan. Most importantly, though, we got Faraday back! I believe his return will be the impetus for this week's episode, "The Variable.". Here's my thoughts:
*It seems to be apparent (from math, science and the thesaurus) that "The Variable" is a counterpoint to "The Constant," the all-time great episode from Season 4 featuring Desmond mind-tripping through time. As we know, and Faraday explained, "The Constant" referred to the anchor one needs to stop the mind from bouncing through time. For Desmond, it was Penny, and for Faraday, it is Desmond. As Faraday told Desmond that he is "special" as it pertains to time and the Island, I am inclined to believe that Desmond is "The Variable," meaning he is the only one that can change the past. Now, this doesn't necessarily mean Desmond will know this/find this out/be in this episode. It could just be that Faraday will determine that a Variable exists, and that it is Desmond.
*I think this will be a Faraday flashback episode with him flashing back to his time from 1974-1977 in Ann Arbor with the Dhara Initiative. We could possibly see how he gets that opportunity after he, Sawyer, Juliet, Jin and Miles fell in with Dharma after Locke got the Frozen Donkey Wheel back on track. We could also possibly see, for the first time, the DeGroots, founders of the Initiative.
*The proverbial stuff is about to hit the fan with Sawyer knocking out Phil. It will be interesting to see if Jack continues to defer to Sawyer, or if the new Jack will revert to his old ways. I believe a fully realized Jack Shephard is a leader, so I hope we see him take charge, but working in concert with Sawyer, and not against him.
*How will Sawyer and Juliet react to losing the life they created the last three years? Methinks, at first, not well, but once they hear from Faraday that they can get back to the present and see their loved ones (Sawyer's daughter Clementine and Juliet's sister and nephew), their attitude will change.
*Will we see more of Locke, Ben and Sun? What about what lies in the shadow of the statue? If we do get to see Ilana and Bram, I think a connection between Faraday's work with Dharma and orders for Ilana et al from a reconstituted Dharma will be established. As I said in my last post, I do believe Ilana's group has been sent by a revitalized Dharma, so showing that link would likely make sense in this upcoming episode.
That's about all I have for now. I'm really looking forward to this episode, mostly based on the awsomeness of "The Constant," which is probably unfair. I'm trying to enter with as clear a brain as possible, as we are likely to get a heaping helping of physics, time travel, and other mind-bending stuff. This will be the catalyst for the season-end run, so I'm leaving expectations behind and allowing myself to get caught up in whatever is thrown at me. It will probably take a couple days to get my thoughts on the episode up because I'll probably have to watch it twice to understand it all! Until then...
Enjoy.

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