Did anyone else think that the moment Charlie emerged through the pool of water into the Looking Glass hatch that he left the confines of the Island and was in fact back in the outside world?

explain

Nope, I didn't think that and I don't believe it but it would be an interesting twist. Although knowing they can escape by simply swimming down there is pretty lame.

That is still a Dharma station, so, no, I don't think of it as the outside world.

What kind of drugs are you on? He went into the underwater station through the sub entrance. Nothing is there to make us presume that he's somehow teleported off the island.

I had that thought for a second -- at first it looked station-y but at one point I said "hey, it's a swimming pool!" Though the tough looking gals with guns brought me back to Lostworld.
M

The looking glass was the portal into another world for Alice, right? Maybe that's the portal the sub used to go between the two?

I love this idea. Like the Looking Glass in Alice - maybe this Looking Glass has a door or "switch" that opens the door to the outside world. Kind of like the island is on the outside of the world and this Looking Glass Hatch in the way in. That would be really cool. and maybe when Desmond made the sky go purple he triggerd the shield to disarm and let the inside "real" world out (also meaning in as into where they are). make sense? if not, guess you have to be in my brain.

The looking glass was the portal into another world for Alice, right? Maybe that's the portal the sub used to go between the two?

That was my thoughts exactly especially with the name of the finale being

Through the looking glass

That they some how go through it literally to another time or somethin along those lines.

That would qualify as something i certainly didnt see coming! (well til just now anyways :biggrin:)

*Edit* would also explain why its such a rough ride as ethan put it in D.O.C. i think it was.

I immediately thought that the Looking Glass station could be the “shortcut” to the mainland that gets the Others back and forth in seemingly record time. They take the submarine to the the station and use "another means of transport" from there to the mainland. Would explain why people have to be sedated for travel or else in on the secret.

The Looking Glass is a sub dock. So clearly, one must go "through the looking glass" before arriving at the Island.

I'm with you, I've been saying this since yesterday. The Looking Glass is the way onto the island somehow, that's how Juliet showed up in the sub on her first visit.

I think this thread is definitely on to something. After seeing last nights epi I was thinking that maybe the Looking Glass station is similar to the portal in Stargate. Maybe the recruited need to be sedated to keep them from discovering the technology. That could also explain how those like Richard are able to travel to and fro so quickly. In combination with the four-toed statue, I am starting to wonder if there isn't some sort of other worldly intelligent life form involved somehow. There seems to be quite a bit of "supernatural" type phenomena going on on this island. Maybe the entire island is a ufo that has come to earth to do experiments on humans to discover potential weaknesses or strengths. Might not be like a War of the Worlds type visit, but maybe more like a scientific outing to save a dying world or something along those lines.

Sorry, I have been watching and reading a lot of scifi lately so take this for what it's worth.

I thought that when I saw it too..

The logo even has a rabbit on it.. In "Alice in Wonderland" they go down the rabbit hole.. This is their rabbit hole, only I bet it's a portal to another time/dimension.. and definitely the outside world..

I wonder how they really arrive there... It seems only the very last leg of the journey is by sub. Only to bring them to the surface.

I agree. The Logo itself plus the name is the big clue -- this is the portal.
And a game changer, right?
Because this is something I did not expect but it makes perfect sense. Richard can come and go easily (buy those snazzy shirts for him and Ben ;) ) through the portal.

Although, I imagine its a bit difficult to get there if that sub is indeed blown up.

Very interesting. I am a believer too :biggrin:

I love the idea of the Looking Glass hatch as a portal and it would make a lot of sense too. That Juliette knows little about it makes sense too because Ben would want to keep it a secret - if everyone who wants off knew they could just go through the portal, there'd be a mutiny on Ben's hands. The women in the hatch could be guards as well as operators.

Good catch with the rabbit on the logo...anyone have a screencap? Great theory...it never occurred to me as I was distracted by the ladies in that station - wasn't expecting that!

what if 'looking glass' is a reference to the snowglobe effect mentioned by Desmond? Does this hatch/station control a huge invisible dome around the island that keeps any electromagnetic waves (including LIGHT) from escaping?

I'm not sure I buy the idea that going up through this pool of water is in fact a 4-dimensional portal to somewhere else on the earth. A tesseract for all you Wrinkle in Time fans. I know there are some sci-fi concepts on the show but that would just be way too out there and really absurd. Plus there was no "effect" as charlie went up through the water, seems a little low key for a show like Lost. Usually that is reserved for artsy sci fi movies like Pi and Primer.

I think the looking glass concept is more abstract. When Alice went through the looking glass essentially the rules of the world she was in changed and her preconceived notions of the world were proven false. I think this is closer to what is going on, that somehow something the Losties and the fans believed to be true about the world of the show will be proven very wrong. What that is I don't know.

This is a definite possibility. If not the actual WAY off the island, I think it could be the way to turn off the snowglobe effect or whatever. Hence the yellow button.

I like the idea of the looking glass as a portal as well. But, If that were the case, how did everyone get to the island without the portal. Like the Losties, Naomi and Desmond?

another question was the Swan and the Looking Glass interconnected?

From Wikipedia:
"Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There is a work of by (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), generally categorized as literary nonsense. It is the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland), although it makes no reference to its events. In it, there are many mirror themes, including opposites, time running backwards, and so on."

Interesting...

Not to mention the symbol for "The Looking Glass" hatch is a white rabbit with a black hole on it....opposites and time running backwards also sound like some stuff we've seen going on too! In the backgrond of one of the screenshots theres also a door behind the girl holding a gun, where is that door going? its not that big of a station from what charlie saw on the outside.

This is my first post so if this has been discussed already I am sorry. The looking glass was different than all of the other stations because all of the machinery was working perfectly and looked new. All of the other stations look like they are at least 30 year behind the times.

I think that this is going to play out as true in some form or another, but maybe not as we expect. A few possibilities that come to mind off the top of my head...

1. As discussed, the Looking Glass is an instant portal to the outside world. You enter the station, walk down a corridor, open the door and you're in the Herarat airport, or something. All the bumpy ride submarine stuff is a bit of a cover-up. Everyone who is brought there is drugged, brought into the station in Portland, then strapped down into the sub and brought to the Dharma greeting port.

2. It's a portal, but requires some equipment to retune where you are in the space-time continuum. You get on a sub in Portland (or wherever), go to the Dharma underwater station (call it Looking Glass One), then they open the portal, and when the sub comes back out it's been transported to the island (via the Looking Glass Two station)...

3. It's a metaphor. The station is figuratively the looking glass, because it provides the beacon/signal/compass to getting to the island. Without that signal, as Ben has mentioned, there's no getting back to the island, hence no looking glass for Alice. This is the easiest answer, and not much of a game changer. The writers may want to put their focus somewhere else, and/or make the island more difficult to get to.

In thinking through this, we need to remember that People have gotten onto the island BY ACCIDENT, without ever going through the Looking Glass station, and have (possibly) LEFT the island (Walt and Michael) without going through the station, although that may not be the case, we don't know. But we do know that The Black Rock, Rousseau's ship, Desmond's boat, Henry Gale's balloon, Yemi's prop plane, Naomi's Helicopter and Flight 815 all ended up on this island by other means.

So either it's number 3 or there are multiple ways onto the island.

Not to mention Cooper...Is the Looking Glass the magic box? Seems unlikely...

:confused: :confused: :confused:

This is my first post so if this has been discussed already I am sorry. The looking glass was different than all of the other stations because all of the machinery was working perfectly and looked new. All of the other stations look like they are at least 30 year behind the times.

I'd guess that it was built after the place started to fall apart or the 'Incidents" or whatever. Maybe after the time the numbers started to be a standard procedure in the Swan.

When young Ben and co. arrived they seemed like there was nothing much to the trip, no knock-out drugs, just a cool sub-ride. They could sail right in to the pier. After the big changes, and the Swan computer implementation, the island really became hidden, either in some time anomaly or magnetic, and they needed this offshore way-station to be built.

I think that this is going to play out as true in some form or another, but maybe not as we expect. A few possibilities that come to mind off the top of my head...

1. As discussed, the Looking Glass is an instant portal to the outside world. You enter the station, walk down a corridor, open the door and you're in the Herarat airport, or something. All the bumpy ride submarine stuff is a bit of a cover-up. Everyone who is brought there is drugged, brought into the station in Portland, then strapped down into the sub and brought to the Dharma greeting port.

2. It's a portal, but requires some equipment to retune where you are in the space-time continuum. You get on a sub in Portland (or wherever), go to the Dharma underwater station (call it Looking Glass One), then they open the portal, and when the sub comes back out it's been transported to the island (via the Looking Glass Two station)...

3. It's a metaphor. The station is figuratively the looking glass, because it provides the beacon/signal/compass to getting to the island. Without that signal, as Ben has mentioned, there's no getting back to the island, hence no looking glass for Alice. This is the easiest answer, and not much of a game changer. The writers may want to put their focus somewhere else, and/or make the island more difficult to get to.

In thinking through this, we need to remember that People have gotten onto the island BY ACCIDENT, without ever going through the Looking Glass station, and have (possibly) LEFT the island (Walt and Michael) without going through the station, although that may not be the case, we don't know. But we do know that The Black Rock, Rousseau's ship, Desmond's boat, Henry Gale's balloon, Yemi's prop plane, Naomi's Helicopter and Flight 815 all ended up on this island by other means.

So either it's number 3 or there are multiple ways onto the island.

Not to mention Cooper...Is the Looking Glass the magic box? Seems unlikely...

:confused: :confused: :confused:

I agree, to me number three seems most likely. One question, though. Am I remembering right that there was some talk of an underwater "sub beacon" or some such thing being disabled by the sky turning purple swan imploding incident? I had assumed that the beacon that was disabled was at the dock near Otherville where the sub carrying Juliet and young Ben arrived. Do you think the beacon is there or is it at the Looking Glass? And if it's at the Looking Glass and it was disabled, why wasn't the signal-scrambling function disabled too?

Also, if the Looking Glass is accessible by sub, and Locke has either blown up or hidden the sub, have the women at the Looking Glass been stuck out there? Is there a way a contact on the outside world could reach it with another sub (or could if the beacon, if it's indeed there, weren't disabled, if it is disabled, lol)? Do you think the others have another sub docked somewhere near the island? Wouldn't the women need to be resupplied somehow?

Wondering what folks think.

i've said before that perhaps this dome around the island acts like a computer firewall, filtering radio frequencies. That's how Ben is 'jamming' non-other radio signals. Now I wonder if they still have lost communication with the rest of the world. That's what they said the anomaly caused, right? But now we know that the reason why no radio signals are getting off the island is because Ben is jamming them from the LG. So can The Others send signals off the island after the purple sky event or not?????

Do you think the coordinates given to Michael and Walt could have led them to the looking glass?

So either it's number 3 or there are multiple ways onto the island.I’ll go for the “multiple ways”.

I’ve read several times that a working title for Lost was “The Circle”. Looking at Sayid’s drawing, we can clearly see the circular, glass-fronted structure around the center sub dock. This station is quite a bit bigger than what we’ve seen thus far. I really think this station is the way to and from the island reality, ie. Richard Alpert’s personal time machine, Ben’s magic box…

I also think the switch that Charlie is there to flip has absolutely nothing to do with a jamming signal.

I am leaning to some sort of portal/door off the island as well. Not only for the looking glass name, but if you remember back in the day that Sawyer was reading "A Wrinkle in Time". Maybe that plays in here.

I believe the Looking Glass is how you "arrive" at the island. The small sub transports you from the arrival portal to the main island.

I can't imagine spending the voyage from the mainland in that small of a sub and still be "happy" when leaving.

As for Charlie flipping the switch, I too believe that it does not have to do with the jammer. I blieve it will be another "purple sky" event. :undecide:

did Charlie screw it all up by knocking Desmond out? I wonder because in order for Desmond to know the future....he would have needed to see it (he has in all other flashes). If charlie drowns before coming back to the surface, how would Desmond know what charlie did down there if he didn't see it. Therefore, if Desi doesn't wake up and get down there is the future screwed up?

All of the hatch's construction materials, communities (houses, refrigerators stoves water heaters you get the idea), vw vans, boats and sonic fences seem to be an awful lot of stuff for a bunch of alternative enlightened folks to haul through that one portal with one rather small submarine.

There's some kinda hocus pocus going on here. I just can't buy that everything that makes up this island was shoved through that looking glass without some sort of magic

In another thread (the bunny-slaughtering one) someone posted a link to a DarkUFO site with a screencap of the "Looking Glass"... yes, it's a white rabbit indeed.

When you scroll down there is also an image of all the DHARMA logos next to each other, and when you see them all lined up, the "Pearl" hatch and the "Bunny" hatch are the only ones where the logo frame is black and the inside is white... the other ones are reversed. You'll see what I mean here (http://losteastereggs.blogspot.com/)... you gotta scroll down a bit.

Could that be a visual clue, i.e. those two are (were, after Locke blew up the "Pearl") the connections to the outside world, or just coincidence?

P.S.
I understand that on this particular site are links to finale spoilers. This particular page appears safe (it's the screencap section)... it discusses episodes that have aired only.

But anyhow, enter at your own risk!

P.S.S. Mods, if you're not cool with linking to this, please remove. Thanks.

All of the hatch's construction materials, communities (houses, refrigerators stoves water heaters you get the idea), vw vans, boats and sonic fences seem to be an awful lot of stuff for a bunch of alternative enlightened folks to haul through that one portal with one rather small submarine.

There's some kinda hocus pocus going on here. I just can't buy that everything that makes up this island was shoved through that looking glass without some sort of magic

No, we know you can also get to the island by chance and by following a sonar or radio beacon. But the LG portal might be the easiest way on or off.... and possibly even the only way off.

Did anyone else think that the moment Charlie emerged through the pool of water into the Looking Glass hatch that he left the confines of the Island and was in fact back in the outside world?

Not me. I don't think that.

No no, I thought people could only arrive on the island when an incident occurred with the numbers' station. That's what happened when the plane crashed there, and some have suggested the "incident" referred to in orientation films happened at the same time Danielle arrived.


I think Desmond's snowglobe comment is very descriptive. The magnetic effects have warped time-space so much that it's its own universe, you can't leave on your own and time is really, really messed up (Desmond being affected by the blast.) Through the Looking Glass refers to alternate worlds and stepping into them. The station has to be a portal to the other worlds, by whatever means.

No, we know you can also get to the island by chance and by following a sonar or radio beacon. But the LG portal might be the easiest way on or off.... and possibly even the only way off.

True. I can understand this but what i have a really hard time with is the heavy lifting so to speak. The things we have seen on this island took massive logistics. Not only the building supplies but also the equipment needed to build such things. Bulldozers, backhoes, cranes and hatch hole diggers (whatever the heck can do that). Not to mention the large boat we seen Jack and Juliet leave the Hydra on. Heck even the small Boat Walt and Micheal left on would have been some serious lifting. All these things didn't simply crash or luck out and land safely on this island. This is a serious question as to how these supplies got there. Not to mention the still unexplained food drops which seem to come from the air (and planes if we are living in our known relm). This is a really big mystery for me. Not the actors in this mystery (although they are a serious mystery in their own right) but rather the backdrop they live in.

Maybe I should just ignore such questions but I can't. LOL

:)

I immediately thought that the Looking Glass station could be the “shortcut” to the mainland that gets the Others back and forth in seemingly record time. They take the submarine to the the station and use "another means of transport" from there to the mainland. Would explain why people have to be sedated for travel or else in on the secret.

Wow I never thought of it like that. I was thinking the Looking Glass was just a stopping point before you get to the island. Example: Sub leaves Portland(?) and travels to the Looking Glass. It stops and refuels, takes on supplies, drops of supplies, then it travels up river to Otherville.

I never did think about the sub just being a way to get to and from Otherville and the Looking Glass.

I guess the Other's have a Stargate down there. Maybe Richard Dean Anderson is Jacob. lol

I guess the Other's have a Stargate down there. Maybe Richard Dean Anderson is Jacob.


:biglaugh: I was thinking the same thing !

Did we forget, planes drop off supplies. Naomi flew over the island in a helicoptor. Flight 815 arrived by air. None of these passed thru the underwater station's moonpool.

Did we forget, planes drop off supplies. Naomi flew over the island in a helicoptor. Flight 815 arrived by air. None of these passed thru the underwater station's moonpool.
Yep, and all of them crashed, except for the food drop which is supposedly being delievered by someone who knows how to access the island. The underwater station might be the only safe way to get to the island.
I'm leaning towards the idea that people get to the station somehow and then, from there, they take the sub to the barracks. This is done to keep the illusion that the whole trip is being done on a submarine. What for? So nobody knows HOW they really get there. They are probably given tranquilizers for the same reason, to hide the fact that they may not be using conventional modes of transportation.
Following my Time Onion theory, I must say that there are places around the island that act as a bridge between 2 alternate timelines. One of this places might be underwater. They built a station around it to be able to go from one timeline to the other as they please.
100%
True. I can understand this but what i have a really hard time with is the heavy lifting so to speak. The things we have seen on this island took massive logistics. Not only the building supplies but also the equipment needed to build such things. Bulldozers, backhoes, cranes and hatch hole diggers (whatever the heck can do that). Not to mention the large boat we seen Jack and Juliet leave the Hydra on. Heck even the small Boat Walt and Micheal left on would have been some serious lifting. All these things didn't simply crash or luck out and land safely on this island. This is a serious question as to how these supplies got there. Not to mention the still unexplained food drops which seem to come from the air (and planes if we are living in our known relm). This is a really big mystery for me. Not the actors in this mystery (although they are a serious mystery in their own right) but rather the backdrop they live in.

Maybe I should just ignore such questions but I can't. LOL

:)



Perhaps when they built the facilities, the island was more accessible. I've long theorized that the function of the Swan was to keep the natural EM shield down so communication and accessibility was possible. Perhaps the first hatch to be built was the Swan. They brought down the cloaking dome and started bringing construction stuff to finish the stations.
After the incident, they had to establish the button protocol, which according to my crazy TIme Onion theory, creates a Time Loop between 2 points in time, preventing the end of the world day to ever be reached, therefore by pressing the button Desmond WAS indeed saving the world.

Nice thread, everyone. Here’s some random thoughts and issues.

There’s only one apparent way in and out of the Looking Glass—the moon pool. That just seems very awkward. No matter what the purpose of the facility is, the “one inconvenient door” design is poor. And, I really don’t think we can say that diving underneath the thing is the generally accepted way of entering and exiting.

If we assume the station is for sub maintenance and refueling, what happens to the workers after the sub leaves? They’re stuck. What if you need to replace a part on the sub? You actually need to use the sub (that needs said part) to get it up through the moon pool! That just doesn’t make sense. They better have a dive team living under there. Although not ideal, a scuba team would be helpful (and could possibly explain the drowning and disappearance of what’s-her-face back in Season 1).

So, maybe the Looking Glass is much more than that. Maybe it’s some kind of time/space portal mechanism. Many have commented that emerging through the moon pool is the journey “through the looking glass”. OK, what if we run it in reverse? Let’s say in “normal” time/space someone wants to come to the island time/space. So, they get into the sub (whenever and wherever that may be) in our “real time” and come up through some similar (or same) moon pool and “presto”…they’re inside the Looking Glass station. Well, now what? Aren’t they stuck there? How are they supposed to leave the place? Only way out is through the moon pool and…presto…back from whenever and where they came.

I don’t think the moon pool itself is any kind of portal. But what of the rest of the station we haven’t seen yet? According to Sayid’s drawings, there’s a ring around the sub bay that has a control room (to control what?), windows and observation space. Assuming the windows are facing outward and not toward the center, I wonder what was being observed in the open water? The station didn’t strike me as very marine biological (like the Hydra). Maybe light can make it’s way down there and that’s what they’re for…who knows.

I don’t think the cable is a moor, or used for air. One garden-hose-sized cable is too small for either of those tasks. Let’s face it, there’s bunch of perfectly good air right above the water surface. Power line? I doubt it-- still too thin. I think that’s a data cable of some sort. And remember, the other end of the cable disappears into the island floor a little ways into the jungle…possibly to another hatch someplace (as indicated on the blast door map).

I guess all of this leads me to believe that the circular chamber around the sub hatch is the reason this station is underwater; thereby hidden from view. The circular chamber is probably the reason that the sub hatch was built at all. Can it detach and surface? Is it in fact a portal? Who knows… But I‘d bet that the sub and moon pool were merely necessities to enter and service (in island time/space) whatever lies in the ring.
100%
Did anyone else think that the moment Charlie emerged through the pool of water into the Looking Glass hatch that he left the confines of the Island and was in fact back in the outside world?Actually, I thought of "The Moth". It really reminded me of Charlie digging up through the soil to escape the cave in. I guess it's just another "rebirth" motif for Charlie.

I'm with you, I've been saying this since yesterday. The Looking Glass is the way onto the island somehow, that's how Juliet showed up in the sub on her first visit.

And possibly may explain how Cooper got to the island and still looked like he had fresh wounds plus he said one minute he was driving ,crashed then was on the island ......all seemed like it played out too quickly for my liking

I guess the Other's have a Stargate down there. Maybe Richard Dean Anderson is Jacob. lol

Lol, Jacob = Harry Maybourne
http://www.gateworld.net/sg1/s8/images/813_13.jpg.shtml

wow, like a tesseract from a Wrinkle in Time! Very cool idea.

Yep, and all of them crashed, except for the food drop which is supposedly being delievered by someone who knows how to access the island.
It's irrelevant that they crashed. The point, which was achieved, was to prove that the underwater station is not the only way to get to the island.

I don’t think the cable is a moor, or used for air. One garden-hose-sized cable is too small for either of those tasks. Let’s face it, there’s bunch of perfectly good air right above the water surface. Power line? I doubt it-- still too thin. I think that’s a data cable of some sort. And remember, the other end of the cable disappears into the island floor a little ways into the jungle…possibly to another hatch someplace (as indicated on the blast door map).
The cable could easily be a moor, supply oxygen or power, or be a data cable. None of these are ruled out because there's no real evidence to do so. However, there's no reason to think the station schematics are fraudulent. If they say the cable is an anchor, chances are it's an anchor. Not everything is a big mystery.

I do think we'll see more of the actual portal and it's inner workings in the finale..

That large round portion of the hatch ....Could that be a mini particle accelerator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_accelerator)? They are theoretically thought to be used in black hole production..
Did we forget, planes drop off supplies. Naomi flew over the island in a helicoptor. Flight 815 arrived by air. None of these passed thru the underwater station's moonpool.I don't believe we've actually ever seen a plane drop the supplies.. Just like we never actually saw Naomi's helicopter.. We've always heard the sounds but that doesn't prove they exist... I have a feeling the food comes from the portal, and is delivered during Lockdown in a fashion that would make it seem like a plane dropped it.. Always at night- if I'm not mistaken- which would help because no one would be able to see the plane... Airplane sounds can be replicated.

Flight 815 crashed because Des didn't enter the numbers, causing the island to be visible and accessible for a short period.

Hm, I still think he's in the "island world"

It's been talked about and joked about that The Swan Station itself wasn't really a hatch like the losties were calling it, the term just carried over from the hatch that lead down to it that Locke found. But The Looking Glass plan that Sayid looks says "hatch". I guess the moon pool is an opening and the page Sayid is looking at could simply be plans showing the moon pool, but who knows? It certainly leaves interpretation open to the idea that The Looking Glass is a portal that leads elsewhwere...

It's irrelevant that they crashed. The point, which was achieved, was to prove that the underwater station is not the only way to get to the island.


The cable could easily be a moor, supply oxygen or power, or be a data cable. None of these are ruled out because there's no real evidence to do so. However, there's no reason to think the station schematics are fraudulent. If they say the cable is an anchor, chances are it's an anchor. Not everything is a big mystery.

But it could certainly be the only way OUT. And if Dharma created this portal, was for a reason. They probably didn't want to send their employees by a ship or a plane which would end up crashing on the island killing most of its passengers.
Let me reword it for you: the looking glass could be the safest way to get to the island, the RIGHT WAY. Of course, you can get into a house thru a window, but you are supposed to use the door.

It's been talked about and joked about that The Swan Station itself wasn't really a hatch like the losties were calling it, the term just carried over from the hatch that lead down to it that Locke found. But The Looking Glass plan that Sayid looks says "hatch". I guess the moon pool is an opening and the page Sayid is looking at could simply be plans showing the moon pool, but who knows? It certainly leaves interpretation open to the idea that The Looking Glass is a portal that leads elsewhwere...It certainly does.. I tend to think the Looking Glass is aptly named a hatch....

Dont really think he enterd the outside world, but it diffinetly has a link to the outside world. Not really believing that it is a "door" though

I'm so in love with the idea that this is a portal, ala STARGATE. But I know they (TPTB) would not do that...too sci fi for their audience base. I would bet the Looking Glass IS more important that we think for getting through whatever sheilds the island. The surrounding water having a higher density than the atmosphere above it would be a good medium for the "rocky" ride people must endure in breaching the island's barrier. I would bet it somehow lessens the turbulant affects of entering and leaving the island. Passing the barrier is not easy in the air, but the water provides cushioning.....I dunno. Something to think about.

I do think we'll see more of the actual portal and it's inner workings in the finale..

I don't believe we've actually ever seen a plane drop the supplies.. Just like we never actually saw Naomi's helicopter.. We've always heard the sounds but that doesn't prove they exist... I have a feeling the food comes from the portal, and is delivered during Lockdown in a fashion that would make it seem like a plane dropped it.. Always at night- if I'm not mistaken- which would help because no one would be able to see the plane... Airplane sounds can be replicated.

The portal is just a theory with no supporting evidence at this point. Aside of that, why would anyone go to the trouble of faking supply drops and helicoptor crashes when the losties are stuck on the island anyway? It's not like they can swim the ocean to rescue, and if the underwater station was really some kind of portal to the outside world, the Others sure aren't doing a good job of securing it since little ol' Charlie swam right into it completely unnoticed.

The argument that we only heard the helicoptor crash but didn't actually see it therefore there was no crash.. Well, we have enough supporting evidence to believe it but regardless of that, if I told you a dog is barking and you heard a dog barking, do you really have to see it for yourself to believe it's true?

All I'm saying is not everything is a mystery and I'm guessing that faking heli crashes and supply dropoffs isn't on anyones todo list.

Yep, and all of them crashed, except for the food drop which is supposedly being delievered by someone who knows how to access the island. The underwater station might be the only safe way to get to the island.

Fierro, we meet again. Hey, I was thinking just the same as above. Perhaps, other than the Looking Glass, the only way to get tot he island is to crash or shipwreck there. Perhaps distortions in time at the islands "event horizon" disrupt things and cause crashes. For instance, we know now why Flight 815 crashed, but not why it came apart in midair. We also don't know why Naomi's helicopter crashed. At one point, she's flying along, and then she's coming down.

And we don't know that the food drops are coming by plane. There's lots of discussion around here about the idea that they might not be "dropped" at all.

There’s only one apparent way in and out of the Looking Glass—the moon pool. That just seems very awkward. No matter what the purpose of the facility is, the “one inconvenient door” design is poor. And, I really don’t think we can say that diving underneath the thing is the generally accepted way of entering and exiting.

If we assume the station is for sub maintenance and refueling, what happens to the workers after the sub leaves? They’re stuck. What if you need to replace a part on the sub? You actually need to use the sub (that needs said part) to get it up through the moon pool! That just doesn’t make sense. They better have a dive team living under there. Although not ideal, a scuba team would be helpful (and could possibly explain the drowning and disappearance of what’s-her-face back in Season 1).

Hmm... How else do you make an entrance to an underwater structure? You can have an airlock on the side or top, but if you've got a moon pool, why bother? And perhaps scuba diving in and out is not such an outrageous option. If Charlie could freedive there, scuba diving wouldn't be a problem.

The portal is just a theory with no supporting evidence at this point. Aside of that, why would anyone go to the trouble of faking supply drops and helicoptor crashes when the losties are stuck on the island anyway? It's not like they can swim the ocean to rescue, and if the underwater station was really some kind of portal to the outside world, the Others sure aren't doing a good job of securing it since little ol' Charlie swam right into it completely unnoticed.

The argument that we only heard the helicoptor crash but didn't actually see it therefore there was no crash.. Well, we have enough supporting evidence to believe it but regardless of that, if I told you a dog is barking and you heard a dog barking, do you really have to see it for yourself to believe it's true?

All I'm saying is not everything is a mystery and I'm guessing that faking heli crashes and supply dropoffs isn't on anyones todo list.

But from your last two posts, you seem to be making an assumption that this is all being done for the benefit of the Losties. I agree with you that some things, like the Looking Glass plans, just probably wouldn't be faked. But there's obviously been a steady stream of deception directed at the Others, as well. Ben admitted that the sub kept them thinking that they could leave, when actually, they couldn't. Juliet was sedated for the trip, and I don't believe for a minute that it was because it would be a "rocky ride." So keeping the source of the food drops secret could be part of the deception, too. It makes sense that, if you're going to deceive someone about the way they come and go from the outside world, you're also going to deceive them about the way EVERYTHING comes and goes from the outside world.

Also, I'm not sure what you're driving at with the Looking Glass not being well secured. For one thing, before the crash, who would they have had to secure it from? For another thing, having it be deep underwater renders it pretty secure. After all, Charlie, though a good swimmer, was expecting to drown. Third, it's staffed with armed guards. Who cares who gets there if, as they come through the moon pool, they're going to get shot?

Seems pretty secure to me.

One more thing while on the subject of deception: remember that TPTB are doing their best to deceive the viewers in artful ways. So although I agree with you that we can't just go around saying "everything is fake" (I've never held with those who say the whole crash was staged, for instance), we can't very well assume that those things we aren't sure of are for real. You make a point of stating that there's o evidence for certain things. Well, I'd counter that there's no evidence that certain things are NOT faked. Depends, I guess, on where you place the burden of proof.

The portal is just a theory with no supporting evidence at this point. Aside of that, why would anyone go to the trouble of faking supply drops and helicoptor crashes when the losties are stuck on the island anyway? It's not like they can swim the ocean to rescue, and if the underwater station was really some kind of portal to the outside world, the Others sure aren't doing a good job of securing it since little ol' Charlie swam right into it completely unnoticed.

The argument that we only heard the helicoptor crash but didn't actually see it therefore there was no crash.. Well, we have enough supporting evidence to believe it but regardless of that, if I told you a dog is barking and you heard a dog barking, do you really have to see it for yourself to believe it's true?

All I'm saying is not everything is a mystery and I'm guessing that faking heli crashes and supply dropoffs isn't on anyones todo list.I'd agree with everything that Ed Muse just said -he even took the burden of proof line out of my mouth, but add a few points..

Deception is a constant thread running through this show. And Ben recently revealed that he continues certain deceptions to keep up the illusion that there is constant contact with the outside world; that people can come and go as they please. Continuing that illusion ensures less of a chance for a coup, and keeps people from panicking.

Along those lines, if someone arrives by helicopter saying there is a ship offshore as Naomi did, it a) gives illusion that she is from the outside world and b) gives her more of an edge to be trusted, as she came from the "outside" which implies rescue. So they kind of welcomed her with open arms, due to the fact that she brings hope for rescue.

if I told you a dog is barking and you heard a dog barking, do you really have to see it for yourself to believe it's true?
There's so many factors to this equation that you've left out.. Do I have a history of trusting you? No, I don't even know you. Moreover with products like this (http://www.security-stop.com/barkingdog.html)on the market, I'd have to say I'd want to see the dog.

Hmm... How else do you make an entrance to an underwater structure? You can have an airlock on the side or top, but if you've got a moon pool, why bother? And perhaps scuba diving in and out is not such an outrageous option. If Charlie could freedive there, scuba diving wouldn't be a problem.

I guess what I'm attempting to do is determine the function of the station. I'm assuming that it was built underwater because it NEEDS to be underwater. OK, then....why? Why does this thing need to be underwater and only accessible from beneath the surface?

Secrecy is the only answer I'm currently comfortable with.

As for the cable.... I just struggle imagining the station somehow sliding off it's footers and that cable doing anything but quickly (and easily) snapping.

FREEDIVE! Thank you. I was racking my brain trying to come up with that term.

So keeping the source of the food drops secret could be part of the deception, too. It makes sense that, if you're going to deceive someone about the way they come and go from the outside world, you're also going to deceive them about the way EVERYTHING comes and goes from the outside world.
Concerning the food drops... Let's examine what would make the most sense. 1) a plane drops pallets from the sky. 2) a truck or some other land vehicle drives them out to their drop point while the sound of an airplane flying over head is somehow convincingly broadcast. Option 1 is known to be a common means of supply distribution. Option 2, is, well.. a little ridiculous. Remember, we see the palettes, we see the parachute, we heard the plane. That's enough reasonable evidence to believe there's nothing fraudulent going on here. Unless people learn how to grow wings and fly, or figure out how to bring down a plane without destroying it, learning how to fly it, and figuring out how to launch it from the island, knowing you can get off the island by flying is useless information.

Also, I'm not sure what you're driving at with the Looking Glass not being well secured. For one thing, before the crash, who would they have had to secure it from? For another thing, having it be deep underwater renders it pretty secure. After all, Charlie, though a good swimmer, was expecting to drown. Third, it's staffed with armed guards. Who cares who gets there if, as they come through the moon pool, they're going to get shot?

Seems pretty secure to me.
But Charlie isn't a good swimmer. He was lying because he was determined to fulfill what he thought was his destiny and what would ultimately save Claire & Aaron. That is why Desmond asked him, "so how long can you really hold your breath?" The underwater station isn't that deep. You can easily see it from the surface and a weak swimmer was able to make it down there. Also, no armed guards were present. The only time we saw the stations occupants is after Charlie started yelling about how he made it. That's when they came rushing out, meaning they were unaware of his presence before that. When you asked, "Who cares who gets there if, as they come through the moon pool, they're going to get shot?", my response is that it didn't happen to Charlie so that theory has been proven false.

One more thing while on the subject of deception: remember that TPTB are doing their best to deceive the viewers in artful ways. So although I agree with you that we can't just go around saying "everything is fake" (I've never held with those who say the whole crash was staged, for instance), we can't very well assume that those things we aren't sure of are for real. You make a point of stating that there's o evidence for certain things. Well, I'd counter that there's no evidence that certain things are NOT faked. Depends, I guess, on where you place the burden of proof.
I agree, TPTB have found ways to deceive the audience but it tends to be over things with significance. When you have reasonable supporting evidence for something, the case is made that it's likely true. I absolutely agree we all make assumptions and leaps of faith depending on where we place the burden of proof. For me that place just happens to be where reasonable evidence, logic, and sense is met. :)

There's so many factors to this equation that you've left out.. Do I have a history of trusting you? No, I don't even know you. Moreover with products like this (http://www.security-stop.com/barkingdog.html)on the market, I'd have to say I'd want to see the dog.
In three seasons we haven't seen a single instance where the Others were using sounds to fake anything. There's been countless lies but we haven't seen any big attempts on anyones part to fake anything. Sure you could argue that there's a trust issue, or that it might be technically possible to fake something, or any one of a zillion other reasons you could present to cast doubt... In the end you just have to ask yourself, does it make sense? Even TPTB joked in their podcasts that fans are going totally overboard in thinking theres deception or a conspiracy behind everything and when that happens, what does common sense tell you? Wait, let me guess... They're just saying it to deceive us even further! ;)

The only time we saw the stations occupants is after Charlie started yelling about how he made it.

Also, the moon pool area is being monitored. You can see the red blinking light of a video camera in the scene where the armed woman (blonde) closes the distance between her and Charlie.
100%
Concerning the food drops.

I recall an orientation film (Swan?) where Candle explained that food/supply drops were arranged "to continue in perpetuity." Yes, the truth of that statement could be questioned, but the meaning is clear. Someone has contracted and is paying for food/supply drops to continue forever.