Ponderings on Episodes 5.1 and 5.2

Things we learned, and questions these facts might tend to raise:

We learned that "Dr. Marvin Candle" (and other aliases) is referred to by DHARMA personnel as 'Dr Chang'. Why the use of multiple aliases, even within the DHARMA organization?

We learned that Candle had a newborn child on the island. Did this baby 'originate' on the island? If so, does that mean that it was at one time possible for women to conceive and successfully deliver on the island? If that is the case, what changed? What impact did "the incident" have on the ability to reproduce on the island? Or, was what we observed taking place after the incident?

We learned that Candle was apparently of some importance in the DHARMA Initiative. He was personally summoned to the Orchid station to investigate a problem with its construction. What role does he play in DHARMA?

We learned that the Arrow station was used for intelligence gathering purposes. We also know that Horace, in spite of his profession as a mathematician, was affiliated with the Arrow.

We learned that the Donkey Wheel had not been used for a long while prior to the DHARMA presence. But, at some point someone managed to drill through to the wheel, install a ladder down to it, and so forth. Was that in contrast to Candle's orders?

We learned that Faraday was present during the construction of the Orchid. We can assume he got there via time travel given both his stunned look and the fact that he looked the same then as he does normally. What was he there to do? What if he was able to turn the wheel again? What if he was able to prevent DHARMA from accessing the Donkey Wheel?

Ben Linus claims to have had no contact with 'Jeremy Bentham' after Bentham left the island. This pertains to the matter of how Locke dies. If Locke is to die voluntarily, as part of a plan to save the island, does that mean the Others killed him, or will he have to die via actions he must take, or do Widmore's people kill him?

We seem to have evidence that the island is indeed within its own pocket of space-time. Faraday mentions a 'radius' of effect just after the island jumps. The island must move in both time and space. (Evidence for this, also, is the fact that it left ocean ripples when it jumped.)

We learned that the island, once the wheel is turned, jumps backward and forward in time. Living things on the island seem to remain in a more or less constant state of being, in their own 'present', while they shift back and forth along the island's timeline.

We learned, though, of potentially deadly side effects. Charlotte is having some serious health problems with the time-shifting phenomenon. She doesn't seem to be suffering from the 'unstuck in time' disorder, though she is experiencing physical symptoms in her brain. This also raises the question of what killed the boar Miles brought into the camp.

We learned that Ben's off-island network is significant. We also got a glimpse into the nature of the operation. It's old-school cloak and dagger. Operatives posing as shop clerks and so forth. Is this also one of the sources of funds for the operation?

We learned that Ms. Hawking is not just a random jewelry store clerk with future-prediction abilities, but is deeply connected to, it would seem, Jacob's tribe. This is a huge detail, believe it or not. Previously, it could be assumed that Hawking's connection was to Widmore – or more importantly, that Widmore's advance knowledge of Desmond's fate could have allowed Widmore to manipulate him. But now that we know that Hawking is connected to Ben, we have to wonder if it was in fact Ben's scheme all along.

Here's a big nasty possibility: Did Ben manipulate the murder of Alex in order to justify the vendetta against Penelope Widmore, given that his schemes (were he to be behind Desmond's various misfortunes) had already brought Penelope within his range? It's a wild stretch, true – but he could be using the vendetta situation as a means to accomplish what he really wants: The death of Charles Widmore.

We learned that Charles Widmore does seem to have significant influence at Oceanic. I have long hated the idea of Widmore owning Oceanic Airlines. That would just be too much of a simple out for the writers. The big bad guy controlling everything is much less satisfying as a story than a cunning villain who schemes and conjures massive conspiracies.

We learned that Sun considers Ben her enemy as opposed to Widmore. From this, do we learn that Sun is just setting Widmore up for a fall, or is Sun really that stupid? How does she figure that Ben is the cause of Jin's death? Furthermore, do we even know that Jin is dead?

Other questions:

Why does Sayid tell Hurley not to trust Ben?
Who were the military types threatening to cut off Juliet's hand?
Who was firing the flaming arrows?
Alpert tells Locke that the next time they meet, he won't recognize Locke. How far back in time will the island travel? If Alpert has done everything we have thus far seen in real time, that might mean that the island will travel back quite a ways. He's been checking in on Locke since the 1950s.
What's in the box Ben stashes in his bag?
Why did Hurley get himself arrested after Ana Lucia had specifically told him not to?
What was the apparatus Hawking was monitoring? What's the 70 hour window all about?
If the island is supposedly moving, will it not stabilize and come to rest at a new place and time? What's Locke supposed to be 'saving' it from?