It seems from the behavior of the four freighties they don't seem to realize how difficult accomplishing their mission, whatever it is is going to be. To me it seems as if they have been lied to about their mission or aspects of the island, which given the scene between Abbadon and Naomi is a very real possibility. Or they're arrogant enough to believe that they can overcome the obstacles in front of them and accomplish their mission with no problems. Which they've had in their brief time on the island.

I don't know, I think Charlotte has an inkling. She definitely had a smirk on her face when she found the polar bear in the desert w/ the Dharma collar. And it wasn't even like she needed a nanosecond to look at the skeleton--she was just like, "Crikey, it's a Tunisian Ursus maritimus!" Moreover....

Check out the threads about her odd jubilant reaction when she fell into the island grotto. Personally, she has my vote for Ben's "Man on the Boat". My guess is Ben knew she was wearing a vest. At the time, he needed to prove to the Losties that he had a spy, so they would keep him alive for his inside line on the freighties. At the same time, he needed to protect the identity of the spy---and what better way to do that than by plugging her with two in the chest?

I think Charlotte's reaction to finding the bear was excitement, definitely, but she had read about the island and the Dharma Initiative and had found evidence of it. Yes, her reaction on the island was excitement, she has read everything her people have on the island and from the flashback has done her research and she's prepared in that regard, but she's not prepared for the actual life on the island. Look at her first encounter with Team Locke, and I know they went with him because they were suspicious of the freighties but she seemed to have little empathy for the tough existence these people have had on the island, perhaps little empathy is too harsh. There seemed to be a disconnect between the experience of the losties and Charlotte who seemed to be absolutely giddy to be speaking to them (I have about a million questions I want to ask you). She thinks because she knows about the island DI she can handle it.
And I don't think she's Ben's mole
It's Michael. Harold Perrineau is coming back and it would be the one way they could bring him back. Episode 8 is supposedly a Michael flashback.
But I think Charlotte will join up with the losties at some point.

As an anthropologist discovering what she's been looking for, perhaps charlotte's utter lack of concern is because they are now her test subjects, like rats in a maze? Or like a newly discovered jungle tribe, suitable for study from afar?

Maybe her whole life has been hearing whispers (not THOSE whispers) about a mysterious Island, polar bears where the shouldn't be, etc. And somehow she gets in touch with Ben who agrees to let her stay on the Island and "discover" it, if she becomes his mole.

I guess Ben would be able to play on her sheer curiosity about the Island to bribe her into mole-ing. When she gets to the Island, she is very happy to have finally made it to where she's always wanted to be?

I duno.

usnbostx2 you hit the nail on the head with what I was trying to say, she approaches the losties like they were some kind of tribe to be studied from afar rather than actual people who just went through a horrifying ordeal.

Maybe Charlotte was a Dharma operative who left the island before the Purge.

Maybe Charlotte is Annie - Ben's long lost girl friend.

Charlotte might have an inkling of what's going on, but I don't think that Daniel, Myles, or Lapidus really know what's going on. Or maybe the other three have an inkling, but they seem so...confused at where they've ended up. I mean, maybe Daniel's just playing dumb, but him crying in front of the TV at the beginning with the combination of the way he talks...it makes me think he doesn't know what's going on. As for Myles, he just wants to get something done. He doesn't care what the task is, but he's ready for whatever kind of action that Naomi/Abbadon had set them.

It seems like Miles wants to get in and get out and thinks it will be easy, he seems angry and arrogant.

It seems like Miles wants to get in and get out and thinks it will be easy, he seems angry and arrogant.

Yes, arrogant's the word.

Something's gonna happen, though, that he doesn't anticipate. His arrogance is gonna go down the drain.

(if I was a writer, that'd probably be my plot device. *shrug*)

I don't think that any of the Freighties have been given the full info. It would be too dangerous to whomever is funding them to do so.

Charlotte being an anthropologist/archaeologist--well, she'd be the most likely to have known of Dharma, wouldn't she? And of course she'd be fascinated to interact with what was probably largely considered rumor, or at best sketchily described in her studies. So of course she's be excited! It would be akin to finding Big Foot.

But her youth betrays her. She is bookish--not much experience with the real world. So she is utterly unprepared to be on the Island in a practical sense. She is a researcher. Having dated my share(well, more than my share) of academics, doctors, etc., let me tell you--they are smart as whips, but might as well be autistic in terms of their ability to understand living, breathing people or interacting with them. They just don't get it.

She seems no different.

It seems from the behavior of the four freighties they don't seem to realize how difficult accomplishing their mission, whatever it is is going to be. To me it seems as if they have been lied to about their mission or aspects of the island, which given the scene between Abbadon and Naomi is a very real possibility. Or they're arrogant enough to believe that they can overcome the obstacles in front of them and accomplish their mission with no problems. Which they've had in their brief time on the island.

I don't thing that they have been told everything about their mission but enough to get them interested in going.

I agree shootingstar, to a point. I don't think that the freighties have been told the full scope of their mission. But it seems like some know more than others, Faraday seems to know look at his reaction when Jack and Kate found the box of gas masks. He seemed to know their true mission. Or maybe I got that impression because he's such a bad liar. Charlotte seemed to believe they were there to rescue the losties, but if that were true she wouldn't have been at the Dharma dig in Tunisia. Or she's a better liar, she comes off as very naive. Like I said she treated the losties as test subjects and not people who've been through a horrible ordeal. I would equate the freighties to people who study a foreign language, they do good in class but when they go to the country can't understand the language. They've done the reading on the island but actually being there is something completely different.

Tell me if Im the only one that thinks this would be a cool scene:

The Losties meet up, and have all the Freighties in tow. The group is continuing to get to know each other as they walk through the jungle towards (pick your destination).

Suddenly we hear the familiar sounds, the bangs and clatters, perhaps an uprooted tree, as Smokey makes his long-awaiting appearance. Knowing its target instantly it darts in for the kill, offing one of the Freighties in a glorious manner (that looks NOTHING like a big fist) because the island Could Not have that individual here for a moment longer. Mad panic ensues, every body scatters into the jungle.



LOL. Let me know what you think?