Let’s start with my moment of Zen: Sun is not the candidate Kwon!
Or is she?
I keep going back and forth. Consider the facts: In last night’s episode "The Package," Charles Widmore sends a posse to retrieve Jin, whom they think knows the secrets to the island’s pockets of electromagnetic energy. (Joke’s on them.) Widmore singles out Jin (hint #1!) around the same time the Kwons’ Sideways reality starts, and we discover that in this bittersweet world, Sun still goes by her family name Paik (hint #2!). Yup, Sun and Jin aren’t married here—but they are secret lovers, which might be even better.

So why does that make Jin the chosen Kwon candidate? It doesn’t… and in the end, I don’t think it matters. What matters is that Jin and Sun are both a threat to the Locke-ness Monster, so he’ll continue to try to bring them together so he can get them off the island. And Widmore knows he can use either Kwon—Jin or Sun—as guaranteed bait for LNM. What he didn’t know is that Locke would respond to the bait like a rat jumps on a hot dog. And so, the war begins. Baldie versus baldie. Ultimate showdown. And I fear that Jin and Sun’s marriage will be a casualty of the war.

Mystery #1: What is Widmore really doing here? Widmore has a team of geophysicists on the island with him now—and they somehow know how to construct (or find) those security pylons that make people’s ears bleed. Really, what do those pylons do? And why do they keep both humans and Smokey out? Are they like the bad-o-meter in Dogen’s office in the temple? Do they issue sonic blasts that keep away anyone who’s a sinner? Weird. While we’re at it, let’s review the Rules of Smokey:

1. Smokey can’t cross the pylons.
2. Smokey can’t hurt the candidates physically, but he can try to manipulate them.
3. Smokey couldn’t kill Jacob.
4. Smokey can’t leave the island.
5. Smokey can take the shape of dead people.

What I wonder is if Widmore has metaphysical powers, a supreme role in all this, or if he’s just a power-hungry goon who wants to harness the island’s energy. I’m going with goon, but it’s fun to consider the possibilities.

Mystery #2: What’s wrong with Sayid? Sayid looks depressed. But it’s something worse…

Sayid to LNM: "I don’t feel anything. Anger, happiness, pain."
LNM: "Maybe that’s for the best. It will help you get through what’s coming."

So Sayid has become a shell of himself…I think (grandiose guess coming) that means he’s just an LNM puppet. Literally, LNM is possessing both Locke’s dead body and Sayid’s dead body. He can create an army of dead people, which means Christian Shepard might make a reappearance, too. Claire throws a kink in my theory—I’m not convinced she’s a shell. She has a bit too much fire, too much angst directed at Kate to be a true LNM puppet.

Mystery #3: What’s Widmore keeping locked away in the submarine? It’s not a what. It’s a who. And do you know how hard it was to resist writing "What’s the deal with Widmore’s package?" Though I guess I just did…
The big reveal comes at the end of the episode, and our guesses started flying about halfway through: It’s Jin and Sun’s baby! Daniel Faraday! Walt! And in the end, as I had long ago hoped, it’s…Desmond. Excellent. Makes sense, since Widmore has access to Desmond. But what’s he going to do with him? Will Desmond be the one person who keeps everyone from leaving, even as Jack decides it’s his duty to get everyone off the island (again)? Stay tuned.