Colonel Kira's Left Tit said:
1) What exactly did Desmond's key do to the anomaly to shut it down, and will that affect Locke's paralysis and Rose's cancer?
From what I saw, it probably blew the whole place. What effect this would have is anyone's guess. I've been wondering too if the healing effects of the EM field would still be in effect. We don't know HOW Locke got paralyzed, so maybe some damage was reversed. In Rose's case, the cancer is gone (she thinks) but it could come back.
2) Why did Desmond take the vials with him when he left the hatch at the beginning of the season if he knew the sickness was a ruse?
I never thought of that, myself. He was also dosing himself regularly before he left. Maybe he thought "better safe than sorry." Or maybe the producers goofed. This shit IS getting rather complicated, you know.
And why did he go along with Locke's determination to not push the button when he'd clearly seen the results? Was he just hungover or something and didn't remember?
Because Locke convinced him that it was all a psychological experiment and mentioned observation from the Pearl hatch. Only when Locke mentioned the logs did Desmond look through them and realize "oh fuck..."
3) Sayid was back on the boat with Sun and Jin when the Electromagnetic Doohickey did its thing. What happened to the plan?
The plane was to meet with Jack and the others on the beach. That all went south with the land force's capture by the Others. I hope Sayid, Jin, and Sun don't wait too long...they're Jack's ace in the hole.
And what was with the look between Jack and Kate before the bags were thrown over their heads at the end?
I think Jack and Kate had a secret plan. Sayid told Jack not to mention the signal fire and deviation to the beach to Sawyer, Kate and Hurley, but obviously he did since Sawyer commented on the smoke. Maybe Jack's made contingency plans since he...I dunno...knew he was probably walking into a trap!
4) I'm still pretty sure Libby played a big part in this. She gave Desmond the boat, there was an odd exchange a few episodes back where she interrupted the conversation between Eko and the girl who "died" (at the airport), and she was a patient at the same booby hatch Hurley was staying. If I recall, she also agreed with Ana-Lucia about not seeing Nathan on the plane in The Other 48 Days. Nathan was the guy they suspected of being the infiltrator until Goodwin turned out to be the culprit.
Cynthia Watros is scheduled for several guest appearances next season...I'm guessing in flashbacks. I've been suspicious of her for awhile since she has that "Other" disposition. We haven't seen or heard the last of Libby.
5) On second viewing, I think the bird did say "Hurley" twice before it left the area.
It did, and that was seriously fucked up. The same bird appeared in the season 1 finale when Jack's party was walking the dynamite to the hatch door. Look back, and you'll see it right before ol' Smoky shows up.
6) If the Dharma Initiative projects are long abandoned, as it appears, why are they still receiving air drops?
Because the Others don't want the Lost ones to starve. That and they fully understand that mangos three times a day starts sucking after awhile. That's my guess.
The Others are benevolent. Some of the things they've done seem fucked up, like hanging Charlie, but their agenda is a good one. The island is a proving grounds or a sanctuary of some sort, and the Others are there to see something through.