"Because You Left" and "The Lie" - Timelines

Last night's 2-hour premiere event was long, but fast moving.  It was all over the place, covering at least six and maybe more time periods:

1) Losties present (108 days after the crash, just before the first flash, late 2004)

2) Three years in the future (The Oceanic 6 back in the US, 2007)

3) 30 years in the past (During the heyday of the Darma Initiative, sometime in the 70's)

4) Time of African Beechcraft plane crash (late 90's)

5) When Sawyer, et al, jump back to a time before the hatch was blown and Daniel talks to Desmond it was at some point between 2001 (when Desmond arrived on the island) and 2004 (when the hatch was opened).

6) When the Losties are attacked by the flaming arrows and Sawyer and Juliet are captured by Dharma people I assume they are back in the same period we saw with Chang in the 5-1 teaser.  But since Daniel is seen in the 5-1 teaser flashback working for DI, I would bet this scene occurs slightly before the training film shoot to give him time to infiltrate.  In other words, if the scene with Chang shooting the film and the workers digging in the tunnel is in, say, late September 1977, Sawyer and Juliet and Daniel and the rest go back to early September 1977.

7?) When Sawyer, et al, visit hatch crater they assume it's in their present but it could have been any time after they blow it up - from late 2004 to any point in the future.

There may have been other time periods covered but it was a long 2 hours and late when I watched it ;)

It's interesting that the characters on the island - the Losties, at least - move back and forth through time but the Others don't.  Richard Alpert and Ethan appeared in various times but were their current selves for that time period.  Ethan, of course, being dead in the present and who knows what or when Alpert is.  It almost seems like the island is staying put but the Losties are the ones moving around (what with the topography and clutter constantly rearranging themselves).  What makes the Others different from the Losties?  And does this apply to the crash survivors who now live with the Others (Cindy, the kids)?

Not to mention - where did the island go in the present time?  If it "disappeared" from the Oceanic 6's perspective but it didn't actually move anywhere in space why couldn't they still see it?  Regardless of what time period the island is in, it should still be in the same spot, right?

Well, that's true unless it moves in space and time - so that with the first flash they jumped back to 1999 and the Beechcraft crash and the island was in a different location in the world as well?

I hope the producers have answers to these questions. :)

Finally a time travel problem: Daniel is quite adamant about people not being able to change the past when they're in it.  He insists over and over that "Time travel is like a street - you can go backwards and forwards, but you can't create a new street."  (He also says time is like a record album that's skipping - he's just full of analogies).   But it's obvious that the Losties' very presence in the past is changing it.  They step on blades of grass that didn't get stepped on at that time before.  Ethan shoots a bullet into Locke's leg that didn't happen before.  They're changing the past with every molecule of air they breathe.  It may not have that much implication with regards to human notice in the future, but it is indeed affected and changed.

Indeed, Daniel was adamant that they couldn't contact Desmond in the hatch, he simply wouldn't hear them or come investigating.  After Sawyer and the others leave, Daniel remembers that Desmond is his "constant" and breaks his own rule.  Desmond hears the knocking and remarks that they've been knocking for several minutes - which implies he heard Sawyer knocking before, and that anyone can affect the past, not just a constant.

Ok, there are some time travel perplexities for you.   More on the rest of the episode later.