S6: LA X: Part 1

And thus begins Season 6.  What we have learned from this episode:  The bomb appears to have gone off and the Losties are no longer in 1977.  Somehow the bomb didn't kill them but moved them through time.  I don't think any of them know WHEN they are yet, but it's definitely after the time that Desmond blew up the Swan hatch.  Juliet dies in Sawyers arms, and he's pissed.  Ghost/Dead Jacob appears to Hurley and tell him to take Sayid to the Temple to save him.

Elsewhere on the island, it's confirmed that Jacob is definitely dead and Locke is actually the Smoke Monster who must also be the Man in Black (we won't find out how the MIB became the Smoke Monster until very close to the end of the season).  The Smoke Monster kills all of Jacob's followers who decide to attack him instead of leave when they were given the opportunity by the MIB/Locke.

But the big thing this season is the new story telling device, lovingly called  a Flash Sideways.  Flashbacks and Forwards are pretty much done.  The Flash Sideways appear to be showing us what WOULD have happened if the bomb actually worked - the island sinks and the plane lands safely in LAX.  But the title of the episode is LA (space) X, so it's not exactly a reality.  So far, there are some similarities but also differences.  As the season progresses, we will see what's the same, what's different and how our beloved cast will find their way to their destiny.