"Lost" clues, season 2, episode 1

Offical recap from ABC:

Man of Science, Man of Faith
Air Date: 09/21/2005
Against Jack's better wishes, Locke and Kate rush to venture into the hatch. Jack follows to find no sign of Kate and Locke being held at gunpoint by a man whom he recognizes from his past.

In flashback, we see how Jack miraculously saved a woman named Sarah - the same Sarah he ends up marrying - and get a better understanding of his journey from man of science to man of faith.

Meanwhile, back on the island, while searching for Vincent, Shannon has an eerie encounter with Walt - who was last seen being taken by the Others out on the open ocean.

Things noticed--with added speculation!

Man, that was a pretty cool opener. We know a little bit more. But as usual, more questions have surfaced. Like: Who's that dude down in the Hatch? Why is he there? What's his connection with Jack? Why does he still listen to LPs?

A few observations on the season 2 opener culled from message boards and elsewhere:

--The SUV driver killed in the crash that injured Jack's future wife, Sara, was named "Adam Rutherford"--the same last name as Boone and Shannon. In season 1, there's a mention that their father had died, leaving their mother all his money.

--The man in the Hatch was seen getting up from a bunkbed. Are there, were there, more people down there?

--In their flashback, the Hatch man introduces himself to Jack as "Desmond."

--Desmond is very friendly and supportive when Jack explains his sadness over Sara's likely paralysis. Later, Sara miraculously regains feeling in her legs--much as Locke, after the crash, regains his ability to walk. Is Desmond somehow responsible for this healing effect?

--Is there any significance to the water Desmond shared with Jack?

--As Jack and Desmond part, Desmond says "See you again in another life, brother."

--Freeze-framed, the label on the drug Desmond administers to himself at the beginning of the episode reads:
CR 4-81516-23 42
FOR INJECTION
RX-1
The numbers, of course, are the same ones that keep popping up throughout the series.
Here's a shot:


--Some details about the painting Jack sees inside the hatch.
Here's a couple shots lifted from http://www.thetailsection.com/:

Note: 108 is the sum of the mysterious numbers: 4+8+15+16+23+42.

A reference to the sickness Danielle mentions in season 1?

--More numbers:
The last number Desmond turns the safe combination to is 42.
The driver of the SUV was pronounced dead at 8:15AM.
It looks like Desmond typed in 4 8 15 16 23 and 42 and then hits the EXECUTE button on the keyboard right after he wakes up.
When Desmond gets on the bike, he cycles up to 16 mph.

--Here's a pic (also from http://www.thetailsection.com/) of the symbol shown on Desmond's medicine cabinet:


--The "quarantine" warning is on the inside of the Hatch door, leading one to believe the island itself, not the interior of the hatch, is what's under quarantine.

--"Make Your Own Kind of Music" was recorded by Mama Cass. Check out the lyrics here.

--There's some sort of large magnet in the Hatch that pulls at the key tied around Jack's neck. Did this magnet pull down the plane? Is it what caused the compass in season 1 to go wonky?

--Supposedly if you play Walt's whispering to Shannon backwards, he says "Dont push the button, the button is bad" or something having to do a with a "button."

--Given Walt's weird ties to animals shown last season, its seems he somehow used the dog, Vincent, to send a message to Shannon.

--Yahoo! has some clips from last night's episode.

--Just a hunch, but it seems like Jack's mysterious tattoo might figure into all this weirdness somehow.

--New theory: What if there never was a plane crash? The folks on the island were made to believe so, but are there for a completely different reason? The memories in their flashbacks were somehow implanted or imagined?

SPOILER WARNING!

Go to http://www.oceanicflight815.com/, look for the little bar code graphic at the bottom of the page and type in "theislandiswaiting."