I'm posting this and figure I'm going to get "shot down" but am I the only one who thinks that Juliet's ex's bus accident was selective memory on her part? I'm beginning to think that Juliet is on the island to cure a mental breakdown. That is, I think she pushed her ex in front of the bus but dosen't remember. She wanted so badly to take the job offer and was constantly humilated by her ex and then with the announcement from her sister she snapped and got rid of the only thing she felt was stopping her and preventing her ex from "publishing" her work.

Any thoughts?.

I don't think that accident was an accident. I think DHARMA wanted Juliet at all costs and killed her exhusband.

Only thought that came into my head bakerboys, I never thought of any other theory.

I haven't actually seen the ep yet, but with the amount of Spoiler info there has been for it I practically have anyway. My take was something along the lines of coincidence vs fate. But your idea would fit very well with LostSanity's theories about VR therapy. You should check them out if you haven't already.

Like I said above i think Dharma had everything to do with the bus hitting him, however couldn't he have been more cautious? Instead of stepping off the curb without looking and then just standing there?!! Maybe they all need some lessons in crossing the street!! Remember Michael in a flashback getting hit by a car, then Locke in the parking lot got hit as well! I think they need some help learning how to walk in traffic!!

Seems pretty improbable to me that Dharma could arrange an accident like that - having the bus come speeding down just as he walks into the street without paying attention? Maybe it was just a "lucky" coincidence.

Wanders - I think you have an interesting theory there. My problem with it is that there were a number of witnesses and someone would have fingered her as the pusher.

Well, she mentiones to the interviewee that 'she wanted her exhusband to be hit by a bus' so she could take the job....

And she even suspected that in the morgue when the interviewee showed up.

Coincidence? I don't believe in them, especially when it comes to LOST. Everything that happens on LOST happens for a reason and there is a story behind it. I believe that Dharma wanted Juliet so badly, that after that comment, they arranged it. I would find it even more wierd if Ethan or Ben was driving that bus.

Seems pretty improbable to me that Dharma could arrange an accident like that - having the bus come speeding down just as he walks into the street without paying attention? Maybe it was just a "lucky" coincidence.

Wanders - I think you have an interesting theory there. My problem with it is that there were a number of witnesses and someone would have fingered her as the pusher.


Pov..no problem there. If the courts found her not sane enough to stand trial and this is therapy to get her "sane" again. Who knows?

I personally don't read anything in to it other than what it appeared to be... her ex-hubbie was killed so that she would take the job offer.

That being said... I laughed for a solid 2 minutes after that scene. :) A bit morbid, sure, but I just couldn't help it.

I think she pushed her ex in front of the bus but dosen't remember. She wanted so badly to take the job offer and was constantly humilated by her ex and then with the announcement from her sister she snapped and got rid of the only thing she felt was stopping her and preventing her ex from "publishing" her work.

Any thoughts?.

I like this idea. Hard to think it was planned that a city bus just happened to be speeding by when the Ex stepped from the curb and was struck. Had to have a police investigation after MVA caused a death.

<Shrugs Shoulders>

Maybe she is like Walt and willed the bus accident to happen. Maybe that is the real reason Dharma wanted her, the fertility tie in was a bonus for them. Perhaps Desmond is actually willing his events as well. Maybe he isn't seeing the future, per se, but changing it with his thoughts.

As a post script...did it seem like that bus went from "0 to 60" pretty darn quick?
I know buses hit pedestrians but it look more like freeway speeds that downtown speeds.

As for chuckling after the accident so did I. All I could think of is the old adage "Be careful what you ask for".

If the bus accident end up being one of the factors that "allows" Juliet to go to Portland (and beyond), I don't think it's too far fetched to assume that Hanso/The Others could have rigged Juliet's sisters pregnancy test to show positive too. A little positive reinforcement in her work could convince her to relocate and continue research.

This is my students' assignment in class today, in fact. It's running 4-1 as intentional so far, but that's just one class. I'll post final results later.

Are we sure her husband didn't fake the accident? Was he paid off by DHARMA?

TPTB have certainly said that everything happens for a reason. The question now becomes is that him being killed by Dharma or by Fate, what happened for a reason. My first instinct was that "they" had something to do with making it happen.

I also confess I giggled a bit after the bus hit him! I couldn't help it. I remember also laughing after Michael got hit by the car too. I don't know what it is but it's just funny.
I agree with a post above, the bus was going awfully fast, it was just sitting there one minute and then racing down the street the next. Pretty unbelievable. It takes a looong time for a bus to get going that fast.

Staging a bus accident is pretty complex and takes alot of time and resources. I'm not convinced DHARMA and/or their proxies intentionly ran him over. I could imagine the driver explaining to the passengers "Sorry ma'am, I can't leave just yet ... the bald guy hasn't stepped off the curb yet."

It does follow the coincedence story line. We have what we call "meteor books" at my work. It contains all of the important information on how we do our jobs including phone numbers, contacts, file names, and business procedures that someone would need in case we were "hit by a meteor" and could not return to work. You could very well insert "hit by a bus" as well.

I also think it was just a coincidence. DHARMA may be powerful, but to stage a bus accident like that? I think they may have been planning to take Juliet's ex out, bribe him, whatever, but I don't think they did this.

This has now become my favorite scene ever in Lost. And if it turns out DHARMA did do it, where can I hire one of their bus drivers run over MY ex?

interesting about the reconstructed memory.

but i definitely think dharma did it. my friends and i called it as soon as she said it in the interview. and then the next time we see him we see a bus in the background... hahahaha and then they pulled a Mean Girls!! hilarious. totally dharma. they're powerful. they could pull it off. it didn't have to be a running bus, it could have been empty with just a driver.

I really like the idea that Juliet willed it to happen and that she may have "powers" like Walt. That's why they wanted her so badly. I just don't know how Dharma could have arranged the bus thing so quickly and easily, but I guess I wouldn't put anything past them. They seem to be really good at getting what they want.

Also, is it possible that her sister may have been in on it? It seems like quite a coincidence for Juliet to get this great job offer, turn it down because she thinks she's not good enough, and then all the sudden her testing works? Her sister being pregnant was definitely a turning point for her to decide she wanted the job.

No, to the others who thought this was laugh-out-loud-funy, I was laughing too.

As for rigging a bus accident... it doesn't seem as if it would be that at hard, IMHO. Have a bus rigged with nitro (I think it's nitro. The same stuff you can attach to a car's fuel system for a burst of speed). Have it idling at the curb with an out-of-order sign so no one gets on. Edmond steps off the curb- Bam!.

Of course, if the above scenario is correct, then this also means Edmond was possibly being stalked by a bus, just waiting for him to step off the curb...

How Monty Pythonesque.

I also think it was just a coincidence. DHARMA may be powerful, but to stage a bus accident like that? I think they may have been planning to take Juliet's ex out, bribe him, whatever, but I don't think they did this.

This has now become my favorite scene ever in Lost. And if it turns out DHARMA did do it, where can I hire one of their bus drivers run over MY ex?

Take a good look at that scene again(the power of Tivo) and you will see that the Bus that hit him was standing Idle about 30 yards away waiting for him to cross the street.

You see while Juliet is talking to her Ex they show the bus about two to three times standing Idle.

I think this is proof that this was no accident. They waited for him to step onto the street.

I really like the idea that Juliet willed it to happen and that she may have "powers" like Walt. .


oooooohhhhhh. hadn't thought of that one. love it!

The bus came by so fast - can anyone pause it or slow it down to see what the bus company was. Could give insight into the accident or murder

The bus came by so fast - can anyone pause it or slow it down to see what the bus company was. Could give insight into the accident or murder

Carlton Cuselines? Sorry couldn't resist. I didn't Tivo so maybe some one else can help.:biggrin:

haven't see the APOLLO ad in the bus?

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/6145/lohassa2.gif

As a post script...did it seem like that bus went from "0 to 60" pretty darn quick?
I know buses hit pedestrians but it look more like freeway speeds that downtown speeds.

As for chuckling after the accident so did I. All I could think of is the old adage "Be careful what you ask for".

I was thinking that, too. We could see a bus about a block away, sitting idle. I remember seeing it as the scene started and saying to my gf "I her ex gets ran over by that bus." The bus then hit him going so fast that I cracked up for about a minute.

:blshing1: Um... I laughed too after the bus hit him !

I think what someone said about maybe her "willing" it to happen at that moment may be on to something... I only say that because of Walts history.

*shrugs shoulders* You just never know !

I think she may have willed it to happen. I won't rule that out as a possibility. During the interview in which Juliette said she'd like her ex to be hit by a bus, the recruiter said they thought she was "special." The others used the same word to describe Walt.

The bus came by so fast - can anyone pause it or slow it down to see what the bus company was. Could give insight into the accident or murder

I wonder who was driving the bus . I read somewhere that it was Boone.

To me the bus was driving a bit fast for a busy city street.

It's way too much of a stretch that Dharma was waiting at all times with a bus ready to take him out, IF, at any point in time, Juliet's husband stepped on the street...That's way too ridiculous, no matter how powerful they are...All of that just because that's the way Juliet phrased her desire to get him out of her life?

If they were going to kill him, why bother taking her so literally? Why not just kill him by poisoning, shooting, strangling, etc...all much easier, and actually, makes them look less suspicious than the assasination by bus did.

Hopefully, if the writers are still credible, this is a result of a similar "power" to Walt's, and thus why they are so interested in her. Maybe she tried to deflect blame on them, because she had caused things to happen with her thoughts in the past? I hope so.

Assasination by bus is by far the worst turn of events for the show, if it is what the writers intended.

Let's not forget Hurley's long list of accidents as well as Walt's 'special' powers.

Death by bus would resonate more psychologically with Juliet, who'd actually SAID Edmund would have to be hit by a bus before she could consider Albert's offer. Don't think that Albert didn't know this! He played her like a violin!

I just thought it was kewl that an ad for Apollo bars was on the side of the bus! :D

Can someone repost the side of the bus shot? It was removed because off the bandwidth of the shot. Thanks!!

Like I said above i think Dharma had everything to do with the bus hitting him, however couldn't he have been more cautious? Instead of stepping off the curb without looking and then just standing there?!! Maybe they all need some lessons in crossing the street!! Remember Michael in a flashback getting hit by a car, then Locke in the parking lot got hit as well! I think they need some help learning how to walk in traffic!!

HAHA thats funny... yah i totally think it was Dharma too. yea.. the others arent very nice people lol

I can't believe so many people laughed at that scene. My dad was laughing hysterically too. I had to tell him to be quiet because he was laughing for so long. :rolleyes: Maybe I didn't really find it that funny because I knew it was coming. I did find Edmund's phone conversation funny though. I didn't hear it the first time, but the second time I watched the episode I made sure I was listening to what he was saying and it is pretty funny and spot on for his character.

I really hope that it was Juliet's mind that willed it to happen, otherwise Dharma are a pretty literal bunch! But I don't really know how I feel about the idea that she was/is a science genius as well as a psychic... seems a little far fetched to me. But I do think she's quite an unstable woman, so who knows what she's capable of?

TPTB have certainly said that everything happens for a reason. The question now becomes is that him being killed by Dharma or by Fate, what happened for a reason. My first instinct was that "they" had something to do with making it happen.


I found this interesting ....the guy from Dharma comes to the morgue to talk to Juliet and he says "...I don't even remember you saying that (that her ex would have to be hit by a bus for her to take the job.)" As he says this he looks to his right. I've heard that when someone looks to their right when they speak they are lying...when they look to their left they are trying to remember.

If Juliet "willed" the bus to hit her husband, is it also possible that she "willed" her sister to get pregnant?? Is this why DHARMA needed her so bad.....that this miracle birth technique could only be done by Juliet??

If it wasn't Dharma then why would that man show up at the morgue? Pretty weird for a business man that you had an interview with to show up when your ex-husband dies. Even if he wasn't going to have the chance to talk to her in person again, because he was leaving, why would you go into the morgue to talk to her? Couldn't he have given her a phone call? Dharma had everything to do with this.

This wasn't a coincidence. I think Dharma did it to prove they were all powerful. Juliet asked for her husband to get hit by a bus and they delivered. Otherwise Juliet wouldn't have left her sister.

I don't think Juliet has the power to will things to happen or she wouldn't have been in such a sorry situation working for her ex-husband.

I agree with the general consensus, that the "accident" isn't one at all. We've all thought at one time or another that Walt was or is "special". Is it so far fetched that Juliette might be special herself. Ben and the rest were rather intrigued by Walt. Is it possible that Juliette's desire to disassociate herself from her ex-husband was so great, that she actually caused the accident herself. Which brings me to my next point. Ben said it himself in an episode from season 2. He found out about his tumor and the next day a spinal surgeon fell from the sky is it possible that Juliette herself caused the plane crash through her desire to fix Ben?

This theory is sure to get shot down, but its worth a look I hope. After all it probably is just DHARMA behind the wheel of the bus as well as in the cockpit of the plane.

Everybody's come up with really interesting theories and I am really not landing hard on one side or the other.

I'm posting this and figure I'm going to get "shot down" but am I the only one who thinks that Juliet's ex's bus accident was selective memory on her part? I'm beginning to think that Juliet is on the island to cure a mental breakdown. That is, I think she pushed her ex in front of the bus but dosen't remember. She wanted so badly to take the job offer and was constantly humilated by her ex and then with the announcement from her sister she snapped and got rid of the only thing she felt was stopping her and preventing her ex from "publishing" her work.

Any thoughts?. I must say that's a plausible idea, wanders. After all, it's her flashback and according to the model we're basically looking into the character's memory during the "whoosh" of the flashback. I'd say there's precedent in Claire's on-island flashback in ML, for I think her memory is clouded by the mind altering drugs they were giving her, like the Oceanic plane mobile playing her childhood song.
Juliet's state of mind was none too stable, as we saw in other scenes of the flashback, so it is possible she actually pushed him and "remembered" it as Burke backing into the street himself. Interesting!

Seems pretty improbable to me that Dharma could arrange an accident like that - having the bus come speeding down just as he walks into the street without paying attention? Maybe it was just a "lucky" coincidence.

Wanders - I think you have an interesting theory there. My problem with it is that there were a number of witnesses and someone would have fingered her as the pusher. Well maybe her disappearance to an uncharted island was hastened by that inconvenience. :shrug:

Let's not forget Hurley's long list of accidents as well as Walt's 'special' powers.
These tend to point to the untamed power of these people unwittingly making things happen around them. It's also a very compelling theory and the one I think I really subscribe to.

If it wasn't Dharma then why would that man show up at the morgue? Pretty weird for a business man that you had an interview with to show up when your ex-husband dies. Even if he wasn't going to have the chance to talk to her in person again, because he was leaving, why would you go into the morgue to talk to her? Couldn't he have given her a phone call? Dharma had everything to do with this. Yeah, that's the thing. Dharma was probably involved one way or another. But maybe they knew she had telekinetic (or whatever) powers and wanted her for that as well as her genetic research brilliance. A twofer. Anyway, any man who wears that much eyeliner shouldn't be trusted. :biggrin:

I agree with the general consensus, that the "accident" isn't one at all. We've all thought at one time or another that Walt was or is "special". Is it so far fetched that Juliette might be special herself. Ben and the rest were rather intrigued by Walt. Is it possible that Juliette's desire to disassociate herself from her ex-husband was so great, that she actually caused the accident herself. Which brings me to my next point. Ben said it himself in an episode from season 2. He found out about his tumor and the next day a spinal surgeon fell from the sky is it possible that Juliette herself caused the plane crash through her desire to fix Ben?

This theory is sure to get shot down, but its worth a look I hope. After all it probably is just DHARMA behind the wheel of the bus as well as in the cockpit of the plane. I like that parallel about the "summoning" of a spinal surgeon to the island. But at the time of the Oceanic crash, Juliet was already on the outs with Ben so she probably didn't want very hard for him to be saved.

There's no way it was an accident. The moment she said "if my ex were hit by a bus--" I said "HAHA she has NO IDEA who she's talking to! they will hit him with a bus!!" and lo and behold it happens...and on one of the other threads they said the problem with Lost was that it wasn't predictable enough. ;)

Somebody has got "Carrie" powers. There is a reason why that is Juliet's favorite book. I always assumed that it was Ben with the powers, but we didn't see him in Miami. Who ever has them caused the "accident".

Maybe she is like Walt and willed the bus accident to happen. Maybe that is the real reason Dharma wanted her, the fertility tie in was a bonus for them.

I thought perhaps the 2 were linked - that she not only willed the bus accident to occur, but also had willed the male mouse and her sister to be impregnated.

Yeah, because of this thread, I checked in the interview if she said it. Lo and behold she said, "if he got hit by a bus, that would work..." in the context of her refusing to work for DHARMA. And Alpert said he didn't remember her saying it. I am one of those people who think DHARMA did it. And after someone in this thread said they saw a bus just sitting there, it was a little too convenient. Although, I wouldn't be able to explain how they expected him to get off the curb without Juliet going with him at the same time - then again, this is Hollywood! Not everything needs to be explained.

Heck, I am more convinced that not all of our questions will be answered on Lost because:
1) More questions come up after each episode.
2) The answers to questions pose more questions.
3) People will question things the writers did not intend. For example, after the man who had an affair with Sun fell on Jin's car, people wondered whether it was suicide or murder. Damon and Carlton admitted they never intended to leave that a mystery, and that it was suicide.

i dont think its so much a case of Dharma doing it, as they were over way before all this.
it was the Others that caused it to happen - i think thats pretty clear

but how is the big question - how do you make someone just step out into the path of a bus ?

i think its got to be manipulation of fate or magic.

and its not the first time a road accident has had a profound effect on Lost

i started a thread about these issues in general theories if anyone wants to check it out

http://thefuselage.com/Threaded/showthread.php?t=68512

I suppose it could go either way, caused by Alpert/Ethan or Juliet. But I think it was Juliet and I think it would serve the story better if she is special like Walt. I think it would fit nicely. Carrie is acually on Sci Fi right now.

Maybe she is like Walt and willed the bus accident to happen. Maybe that is the real reason Dharma wanted her, the fertility tie in was a bonus for them. Perhaps Desmond is actually willing his events as well. Maybe he isn't seeing the future, per se, but changing it with his thoughts.


yea thats what I think too. That why the others want Juliet, like Walt (and maybe Jack), she is special.

I suppose it could go either way, caused by Alpert/Ethan or Juliet. But I think it was Juliet and I think it would serve the story better if she is special like Walt. I think it would fit nicely. Carrie is acually on Sci Fi right now.

but it was a throw - away comment by juliet because she couldnt take the job, she was joking. If she had that kind of power then wouldn't she have made something happen sooner ? - she obviously hated and feared him.

we see a bus in the background... hahahaha and then they pulled a Mean Girls!! hilarious. totally dharma.
Now I know I wasn't the only one that shouted out, "Watch out, Regina!!!" :lol:
:biglaugh:

Of course, if the above scenario is correct, then this also means Edmond was possibly being stalked by a bus, just waiting for him to step off the curb...

How Monty Pythonesque.

Why did this comment remind me of the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog??? :p

:rotflmao2:

but it was a throw - away comment by juliet because she couldnt take the job, she was joking. If she had that kind of power then wouldn't she have made something happen sooner ? - she obviously hated and feared him.

I don't think we know enough about her to know how long she may have even had this ability or if she's even consciously aware of it herself. Walt was probably blissfully unaware of his "specialness", at least for a while. It may have developped in Juliet later in life. Or even if she did have this ability all her life, its occurrences may have been subtle or she may have just blown them off as coincidence. Never underestimate the power of denial. I think this whole thing with Edmond had finally just come to a head after all this emotional turmoil. We saw how emotional she was over it and how badly she seemed to want to go. I'm no expert on telekinesis but it may be tied in with the emotions ala Carrie. If she did cause it to happen, I don't think she did it concsiously. Kind of like Walt and that bird.

My idea is that Ethan caused Edmond to get hit by the bus. Ethan has obvious means of making people forget things (Claire forgetting herself in the Staff, Charlie forgetting what happened with him and Ethan), explaining why Alpert doesn't remember Juliet saying those words in the interview. I also think everyone can agree that a bus 'accident' like this is definitely something up Ethan's alley. :D

My guess is that Ethan wanted Juliet in just as bad as Alpert did, but Ethan was willing to go the distance. After Alpert told him about the interview, Ethan would do whatever he does that makes people forget things and then went about his 'duties'. Maybe Ethan didn't want Alpert to find out that he murdered someone - that doesn't ever look good on a resume`.
I don't want to get into the details, because all that does is make a theory have more 'holes' once we learn more things in the show, so I'm gonna keep it at that.

This is all, of course, if Alpert is telling the truth when he says he 'doesn't remember her saying anything about a bus running her ex over'. If Alpert does indeed remember Juliet saying this, then Alpert is the one who caused this. Otherwise, Ethan is flexing his uber-psycho habits once again! :D

Well, there's no question that Ethan is uber psycho but let's not give him The Haitian's memory wiping abilities. I really don't think Lost is going that direction. I think Alpert was lying about not remembering that comment to ease Juliet's emotions. It was a very uncomfotable moment for both of them.

Okie wat is so does that mean every 1 is connected 2 ETHAN in some kind of way!?:cool: & I know it soundz mean but I thought when Juliet's ex got ran over the buz wuz HILLARIOUS! Onlie bc he wuz a jackass 2 her he knew that she had something going w her experiment or w/e it wuz(I wuznt paying too much attention....)& yet he wanted 2 keep it 2 himself!? & it remined me of Final Destination 3 & Mean Gurlz!! :rotflmao2:

My eyes, my poor eyes...

Could you please use proper English and not that sad excuse for it? Using chatspeak/numbers instead of letters is frowned upon here. Thank you.

I think that the Others (or dharma as it seems) killed juliets Ex-husband, and that the doctor (didnt catch his name) is either the leader of the others, or in a high possition at least

An important point here is that this very much appears to be a CITY bus. There is no way you can arrange for someone to get hit by a city bus and get away with it as an accident. A city bus follows a schedule. If that bus was not where it should have been, there would have been serious suspicions in a matter of minutes.

There was an accident around here a while back where a bicyclist went out of control and a guy slid under a bus and got away with minor foot injuries or something. The investigation was huge – police, city transportation, doctors, insurance companies, city planners, newspapers, etc. For Burke, this wasn’t a case where the person hit was drunk or on drugs or otherwise impaired, or on icy roads, or at night, or during a rainstorm, or running to catch a bus, or running out into the street, or where the bus was slowly pulling out into the street or turning a corner where there were blind spots. This was a bright clear summer day where Burke was just standing in the street and the bus hit him on a straightaway going fast.

If it was a charter bus, maybe that could still be written off as a freak accident. But if it was a CITY bus, then if that bus wasn’t where it was supposed to be and being driven by who was supposed to be driving it, Juliet would have first been down at the police station answering questions on a suspected homicide (probably with her and the bus driver as key suspects).

If it was convincing as an accident, then the bus WAS where it was supposed to be and Ethan and friends somehow arranged to Burke to be standing at that place at that time (and somehow not have the bus driver see Burke standing there).

Unless we just aren’t seeing the part of the story where police are suspecting foul play (which seems unlikely), then something very strange happened. Either:

1. It was an amazing coincidence.
2. Juliet pushed Burke but doesn’t recall it (in her flashback), and neither the bus driver nor anyone else saw her do it.
3. Ethan and friends really did somehow arrange it (which would imply that they can essentially cause ANYTHING to happen).
4. Juliet somehow “willed” the bus to hit Burke.

One way or another, something VERY STRANGE happened.

I have to think the OP is hitting a valid point here. I watched the episode again ( thanks DVR ) and that scene was kinda telegraphed. The two of them are walking out of the building together and the bus is seen in the background picking up some new passengers. The distance between the bus and Juliette and her ex was not that great.

Also, the driver of the bus had an un-obstructed view of the road up to Juliette and her ex. That menas that the driver would have stopped and honked like a mad-man for the dude to get out of the way. ( I ride a bus to work every morning and have witnessed this happening ).

It makes sense that she would have pushed the guy into the path of the bus and seems to have forgotten the actual event.

Just my $.02

I found this interesting ....the guy from Dharma comes to the morgue to talk to Juliet and he says "...I don't even remember you saying that (that her ex would have to be hit by a bus for her to take the job.)" As he says this he looks to his right. I've heard that when someone looks to their right when they speak they are lying...when they look to their left they are trying to remember.

Good call! I was hoping to see someone mention something about this, as I was thinking exactly that when I watched the episode. When I saw him glance to the right, I said out loud "HE'S LYING!".. I completely believe that DHARMA staged the whole accident after Juliet told the recruiter guy that her ex would have to be "hit by a bus" for her to go to Portland (and beyond). In my mind, it's not even possible for that to have just been a bizarre coincidence. It's just too perfect. Like the guys from DHARMA are all like "well, if that's what it takes, then let's make it happen." LOL. Surprised that with all the comparisons to "Mean Girls" noone has compared this scene to the one in "Final Destination" where that blonde chick gets hit by a bus in the same fashion. LOVED THIS EPISODE!! :biggrin:

EDIT: BTW, forgot to mention when I first posted this, that I live in Salem, Oregon which is less than an hour drive from Portland, and all the good things they say about this area are true! Oregon rocks!!

Remember, only fools are enslaved by time and space.
I don't think THF has discovered a way to manipulate time and space, but I do think THF has discovered a way to manipulate the way people perceive time and space. They use this to coerce people, scare people, etc. It's really quite mercenary. If the Valenzetti equation can be used to predict how the entire world can end, then it's possible it can be used to predict how just one person will end. So they did their research, they know Ed Burke keeps the reins tight on his ex-wife, so they use the equation to figure out how he dies: by rogue bus. Then they hypnotize or otherwise brainwash Juliet during her interview (administered by Ethan somehow) so that she remembers telling the interviewer that she wants him to get hit by a bus. Maybe the entire time she was at her interview she was really strapped down in a room similar to Room 23 on Alcatraz. So, when Mittlework's G-Man (reminded me of Half-Life) shows up at the morgue to enlist Juliet, she's so freaked out by him and Mittelos Bio that she feels she has no choice but to join. Ethan helps her get over the shocking 'murder' of her ex-husband (which she feels she co-conspired) in his odd creepy way, and they form a bond. Ben's directions after the crash of Flight 815 get Ethan killed, and Juliet feels a little more alone on the island, which is why she feels less loyalty to the project by the time J/K/S arrive on Alcatraz.

They made it feel like Ethan was just leaving his interview when Juliet arrives for her own, but I think Ethan was probably just setting up the room for her to be brainwashed, or in her case, for memory implantation.

This whole episode reeks of false precognition. That leads me to believe that Desmond's precognition is also false. He sees only what 'they' programmed him to see, so his newfound powers can only be used against the Losties. A pretty powerful tool for making everyone look the other way when something's going on behind them. If Desmond says (and ppl start to believe him), "Look over there! Cool, aren't my powers useful?" Then no one's watching when someone who is truly in danger, really needs help. It helps DHARMA capture who they want to capture (or hire), and by using the Valenzetti equation on everyone individually, they let certain people die when it's their time.

Actually, it's possible all of the crash survivors have already had their lives/timelines adjusted when their plane was brought to the Island, and everything thereafter has been an experiment of the Valenzetti Equation in action. What happens after you divert time and space? What happens to people when you manually adjust their mathematically predestined path? What happens to time and space when you alter the peoples' mathematically predestined path? And then finally (around season 5?), can that previous mathematical certainty be restored after it has been tampered with?

If you want to make a global change to try to evade the extinction of man, that's great. But what if the change you make only alters things for the worse? It would be wise to know if you can reset the equation and restore the original balance, so that you can tweak it a different way for better results.

Sorry, I got WAY off topic. :undecide:

I found this interesting ....the guy from Dharma comes to the morgue to talk to Juliet and he says "...I don't even remember you saying that (that her ex would have to be hit by a bus for her to take the job.)" As he says this he looks to his right. I've heard that when someone looks to their right when they speak they are lying...when they look to their left they are trying to remember.

I've heard of that, but it's a bit more complicated than just looking in a particular direction. It really depends upon the person, and wether they are left handed or not (interestingly enough!)

If you are facing someone, and you told them to imagine something like a unicorn, or make up a story (or lie) they would look to the upper left. (their upper right)

If you ask them to remember something from their past, they would look to the upper right (their upper left)

There are a few books out there that feature this study :)

I was thinking that maybe she has powers like Walt seems to have, and can manifest her thoughts...(Walt with the polar bear, bird hitting the window, etc)

Suggestion:
A screencap:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=386144222&size=o
clearly shows the words "Not In Service" at the front of the bus. So, maybe it isn't really a bus at all, but some kind of 5000-HP killing machine (driven by Ethan?).

Maybe they watched Edmond come and go, and noticed that he is such an egomaniac that he pays no attention to traffic, expecting that the cars will always stop for such a "great man".

Can someone check the video to see what the bus was doing before it hit Burke? Did it pull up to the curb, or was it just sitting there? Did anyone get on or off? Was anyone on the bus?

There is a screencap with the Apollo sign on the side and nobody is in the windows-no passangers or driver. But I'm not sure where that scene occured.

If there wasn't anyone on the bus, then it would actually make more sense. There wouldn't be much police investigation because it was just a Not In Service bus that got away (the brakes went loose or it was idiling and somehow kicked into gear). But that would also mean that someone (like Juliet) somehow "willled" the bus to hit Burke. (or it was a coincidence, or there is something even more hidden that hasn't been revealed).

Suggestion:
A screencap:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=386144222&size=o
clearly shows the words "Not In Service" at the front of the bus. So, maybe it isn't really a bus at all, but some kind of 5000-HP killing machine (driven by Ethan?).



Does anyone have a screncap that catches a glimpse of the driver?

Anyone want to bet it looks alot like someone we already know?

Suggestion:
A screencap:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=386144222&size=o
clearly shows the words "Not In Service" at the front of the bus. So, maybe it isn't really a bus at all, but some kind of 5000-HP killing machine (driven by Ethan?).

Maybe they watched Edmond come and go, and noticed that he is such an egomaniac that he pays no attention to traffic, expecting that the cars will always stop for such a "great man".

Maybe you have a different definition of "clearly" than I do, but that is way too blurry to say for certain. At least, it is too blurry from that picture.