A Fresh Look at LOST's Season 2 Finale, "Live Together, Die Alone"

Following is a brief analysis of some portions of the Season 2 finale, "Live Together, Die Alone," that stood out to me after watching it again recently. It was interesting to watch the show from a fresh perspective, having listened to loads of fan theories over the summer, being aware of several new insights gained through the LOST Experience, and having seen and heard the Season 3 hints, teasers, and spoilers that have been released thusfar.

• Why is it that Desmond couldn't get away from the island? He attempted to sail in the same direction for two weeks straight and ended up back on the island. Desmond assumed that this meant they were in "a bloody snowglobe," but more probable is that the navigational equipment on his boat was giving inaccurate readings. Could it be that the island's magnetic properties affected the instruments on Desmond's boat from so far away? Does the fact that Desmond couldn't get away from the island have anything to do with the fake Henry Gale's instructions to Michael that he would only "find rescue" if he followed a specific heading from a specific place on the island?
  
  
• Why was Desmond placed in prison and dishonorably discharged from the Royal Scotch Regiment? The only thing we know is what Kelvin says to Desmond later, that Desmond "got kicked out because [he] couldn't follow orders."
  
  
• Why did Charles Widmore dislike Desmond so much? Why did he think that Desmond was "a coward"? The only hint we receive is when Desmond later tells Libby that Charles thought that Desmond was "unsuitable on several levels."
  
  
• Libby said that her deceased husband's name was David. Several fans have speculated that David may have been a Widmore, and others have pointed out that Hurley's imaginary friend's name was Dave. Interesting, though, is the fact that at the beginning of the episode we learn that Desmond's middle name is David. Could Libby have known this? Did she lie about having had a husband named David in order to make Desmond think that fate was bringing him a boat?
  
  
• Does the vaccine that Claire has been giving the baby actually do anything, or is it just a placebo? Desmond assumed it was useless because Kelvin told him to use it, and Desmond knew that Kelvin had been deceitful about certain things. Is there really a sickness, and does the vaccine help to prevent it? Danielle, the French woman, certainly believes in the sickness because she believes that her whole team was infected by it.
  
  
• What is the large, four-toed foot statue that Sayid, Jin, and Sun saw from the boat? Why does it only have four toes? Is it supposed to symbolize something? Who built it? Based on comments from the executive producers, it is apparently much older than the DHARMA Initiative.
  
  
• Desmond seemed very concerned when he turned to John in the hatch and said, referring to Mr. Eko, "We locked out a priest?" The apparent depth of his concern, as well as the fact that he crosses himself before putting the key in the fail safe later in the episode, seems to indicate that Desmond is a religious man. We also see the religious side of Sayid coming out when he prays on the boat. Perhaps Sayid is seeking forgiveness for torturing people on the island after having sworn that he would never torture again. Or perhaps Sayid is praying for forgiveness for what he thinks he might do when he finds The Others.
  
  
• Desmond asked Kelvin "What's behind that wall, Kelvin? Huh? What was 'the incident' [mentioned in the Orientation film]?" Kelvin responded: "Electromagnetism... geologically unique. The incident... it was a leak. So now the charge builds up and every time we push the button, it discharges it before it gets too big." What, then, does the fail safe do? Does it cause the electromagnetic charge to become so strong that it becomes unstable and self-destructs? This theory is supported by the fact that the executive producers have used the term "imploded" when describing what happened to the hatch. Or does the fail safe somehow reverse the polarity of the magnetism? If the polarity-reversal theory is correct, this would seem to explain how the "QUARANTINE" hatch door went flying through the air toward the beach; it was propelled away from the magnet.
  
  
• When Sayid raids the camp where The Others had taken Michael, Sayid finds all the buildings to be abandoned—and more interestingly, he even finds that the double doors that appeared to be a hatch were nothing more than a facade. Why in the world would The Others go to the trouble of making a fake hatch when they captured Michael?
  
  
• What was the real purpose of the Pearl station? We now know through The LOST Experience that the DHARMA Initiative's purpose was to try to use the Valenzetti equation (which made use of the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42) to save the world. How would having a human observation station fit with the DHARMA Initiative's purpose? Moreover, what was the point of recording all these observations only to have them dumped in a pile, exposed to the elements, and never analyzed by DHARMA?
  
  
• What did the fake Henry Gale mean by "We got more than we bargained for when Walt joined us"? Many fans believe that Walt has psychic powers; is this what The Others were trying to tap into? If The Others are associated with the DHARMA Initiative, do they want to use psychic abilities to help prevent the world's destruction?
  
  
• Michael said, referring to Jack, Kate, Sawyer, and Hurley (who was still bound at the time), "My friends—I was promised you wouldn't hurt them," to which Henry replied, "Deal's a deal." If The Others keep their promise, then Jack, Kate, and Sawyer won't be hurt. However, we see in Season 3 teasers that Sawyer is hurt by a contraption in his holding cell, and Kate is clearly emotionally hurt in more than one clip where she is seen crying.
  
  
• Michael then asked Henry, "Who are you people?" Henry's reply, "We're the good guys, Michael," has prompted a lot of speculation about what The Others' real goals and intentions are. This may support the theory that The Others are indeed part of the DHARMA Initiative and see themselves as "the good guys" because they're trying to save the world from mass destruction.
  
  
• We find out for sure that Penny Widmore kept her promise to Desmond and didn't get married; one of the Portuguese men from the Listening Station says to her, "Miss Widmore... I think we've found it." By "it," does he mean that they think they found the island? If so, how would Penny have known about the island? Does this prove that Penny's dad is somehow involved with the DHARMA Initiative?