Where are the Tailies that were taken by the Others the first few nights they were on the island? They were mentionned by Ana-Lucia in "The Other 48 days"

they showed what happened to them in one of the episodes this season... Jack saw Cindy and some of the other tailies and they mentioned how the kids were there too... i forget which episode it was though... it was the one where Juliet was put on trial and they were all brought to that building to watch... Jack eventually got Ben to save Juliet by having him write a note

Also, Kate asked Jack about them (at least the children) when they met in the pool hall in The Man From Tallahassee.

What the bigger mystery is - is Why did the Others need kate etc. to break rocks and who were all the other people working?

They showed the people that were taken

What the bigger mystery is - is Why did the Others need kate etc. to break rocks and who were all the other people working?

Yeah, thats been ignored for quite sometime now.. what was she doing there? Why was she smashing rocks? Same with Sawyer.. Maybe for punishment?

Yeah, thats been ignored for quite sometime now.. what was she doing there? Why was she smashing rocks? Same with Sawyer.. Maybe for punishment?

How will we ever find out? That wa son the satellite island, but now there's no sub to get back there.

How will we ever find out? That wa son the satellite island, but now there's no sub to get back there.

You can get to the other island via boat...

You can get to the other island via boat...

Their boats would be at the satellite island though. Nothing was at the "Pala Ferry" besides the sub.

good question - why were they breaking rocks?

1. punishment
2 to serve as an example to the "others"
of what happens when you break the rules
3. or both

and why werre they doing it on the other island, what was over there that they thought they needed rocks broke for. it almost has to be just some kind of mind game or why would they just have them breaking rocks on a different island that they dont even live on or plan to be there for more than a few days.

What the bigger mystery is - is Why did the Others need kate etc. to break rocks and who were all the other people working?

The goal was to get Kate to sleep with Sawyer and have Jack witness it so he would feel betrayed by Kate and feel no kinship to the LOSTies. At that point, he'd be more amenable to wanting to find a place among the Others and thus would willingly perform the surgery.

By having them pound rocks, it kept Kate and Sawyer busy, tired and under constant threat. The ratcheted tension also made them feel that their lives might be short, which increases the chance they might want to spend that limited time with one another.

Ben's plan had a few hitches in it. One of them was Pickett, who really did want to kill Sawyer out of revenge for Sun killing his wife. The other one was Juliet who screwed up by letting Jack see Ben's tumor X-Ray before Jack was in the proper mental state (presumably, after seeing Kate and Saywer get it on.)

But, it all worked out in the end for Ben anyway.

They did it on the far island because that way the Losties wouldn't be able to rescue them (as Ben didn't know about Desmond's boat) and also because that's where they had the facilities that would allow Jack to operate on Ben.

Actually, Jack did not see the Tailies that were kidnapped the first night. He saw Cindy and the kids. Cindy was snatched right before Ana Lucia shot Shannon, and the kids were taken after two weeks on the island.

Some Tailies did disappear on the first night, and we still do not know who took them or why. That is if they were taken at all. Ben gave Goodwin and Ethan 10 days to make lists, why would they take people on the first night?


As for the rock breaking, I'd agree that it was just a mind trick to tire Kate and Sawyer out, except that when Kate sees Jack to ask him to do the surgery she says that they are building/doing something and its big. Why throw out that detail unless they wanted to keep the fire stoked so that they could return to it at a later date?

Juliet told Jack that because they needed something believable to say. Otherwise Jack might realize it's all part of the con. So they told him something vague yet plausible. I don't think Juliet's stray comment should be seen to mean more than a part of the con.

Their boats would be at the satellite island though. Nothing was at the "Pala Ferry" besides the sub.

That wasn't the Pala Ferry.

What the bigger mystery is - is Why did the Others need kate etc. to break rocks and who were all the other people working?

I think the main reason was to just keep them busy and tired. The main reason they were there ( as far as we know) is to keep Jack in line. Having them break rocks kept there minds a little distracted.

As for the OP that mystery does seem to be ignored now your right. I think it might be because it seemed like we got an answer by seeing the kids and Cindy in the others camp, but the more I think about the more confused I get. If it was the Others that we've grown to love then why did they take them on the first night? And how do they take people out of nowhere? And why were they dressed in rags and not wearing shoes? And why were they wondering around in the jungle in that one episode back in season 2 (the one where Michael ran off and Jinn and Echo went to go find him)?
Really all of this just inforces the thoery of another group of others on the island. But then why would Cindy and the kids be with our Others? Maybe the two groups work together but arn't the same? :confused:
Ahh too many questions!

The boat that took Juliet, Jack, Ben, Alex and Others back to the mysterious island was some form of motor yatch, not the sub. To my surprise, friends of mine were unclear as to where Alex was in that wonderful last moment, but it was clear that the camera panned past a boat porthole on it's way down from the stars.

This is just a magical show and I wish I were one of the writers. Thanks for raising the bar so very high. CB