Lost Season 2 Finale - "Live Together, Die Alone"

For some strange reason, that falling Quarantine hatch cover really reminded me of 'The Truman Show'. (The falling light marked 'Sirius')
Then there is Michael having to sail away in a very specific angle (325 degrees) to be able to leave the island and that he wouldn't be able to ever find his way back again. Desmond said that he sailed straight west for 2 and a half weeks and just landed up back at the island. Very reminiscent of an enclosed globe.

At least we do now know that the outside world does still exist.

So, 'Henry Gale' seems to be the leader of the others. The mysterious 'Him' that was referred to in previous episodes with respect and more than a little fear. That would explain why he was so good at subtly manipulating Locke and Jack. Also why the others would be willing to give up Walt in order to get him back. That is, if they are actually planning on just letting Michael and Walt leave. The coordinates they gave him can just as easily lead to another facility.

Henry did mention that he was there to get Locke, but it could very well have been just another lie. But if Henry is as important as they would like us to believe, why would he go there alone? Or allow himself to get captured? Could this be connected to why the others had to bribe Michael to rescue him? Perhaps only certain members of the others are able to go to the beach. Because of the infection?

Jack, Kate and Sawyer. Why them? Is there anything that links them other than the obvious love triangle?
The only thing I can think of is the fact that they've all seem some kind of vision / hallucination. Jack saw his father, Kate and Sawyer both saw her black horse and Sawyer had the boar (not sure if it really qualifies, but he did see the horse). Actually Hurley also had a hallucination, he saw Dave.

Of course there were other characters who also had supernatural experiences, but I think they can be eliminated. With Charlie, Eko, Locke and even Claire, what they saw came in dreams. Also, I don't think the black smoke / security system or the voices qualifies, so that excludes Sayid too. The only others that had hallucinations we know about was Boone and Shannon, but they're both gone now.

The Others supposedly takes the 'good' people. But Sawyer and Kate really doesn't qualify in a traditional sense. People like Sun and Rose would be much likelier candidates. Eko was on their list at one stage, but they don't seem to want him anymore. The fact that he killed 2 of them could very well be the reason.

Henry once again claims that "We're the good guys", but it is still unclear what that exactly means. Again, this is a situation where we will have to wait until we see things from their point of view and learn what their motivations are.

What is wrong with Charlie? I suppose I could be concussion from the explosion, but why is he so unconcerned about Locke and Eko? He even told Claire that nothing had happened. His whole attitude is puzzling. Could it be the effects of the EMP?

I wonder what is happening to Sayid. He did manage to light a fire, so it is improbable that he is captured too, but the music in his last scene in the abandoned camp was pretty ominous.

The Widmore Company that Penny's father owns is the same company that made the pregnancy test that Sun used, the construction company Michael may have worked for. There was also a banner for it near the soundstage Charlie's commercial was being shot and they sponsored real Henry Gale's balloon.
Charles Widmore might have set up the race in order to trap Desmond on the island and thus keep him away from his daughter. It could also explain how Penelope knows to look for some sort of magnetic signal to find Desmond.

• We finally got a time and date for the crash: 922044:16. September 22, 2004, at 4:16 am.
  
  
• Libby was a blonde on the Island, a brunette in the hospital, and in Desmond's flashback, she was a redhead.
  
  
• Desmond's full name is Desmond David Hume. David Hume was also a philosopher.
  
  
• The Hurley-Bird is back.
  
  
• The hieroglyphics on the countdown indicator loosely translate to "death."
  
  
• Penelope's name could be a reference to Odysseus wife in the Iliad and the Odyssey. She faithfully waited 20 years for him to return after the Trojan War, despite constant pressure from other suitors
  
  
• We finally see the Pala Ferry mentioned in the Pearl Station training video.
  
  
• Sayid: "I don't know what is more disquieting: the fact that the rest of the statue is missing, or that it has four toes."