Geeky theories & ideas about Lost Season 6

I posed these comments on http://scifiwire.com/2010/02/week-1-lost-questions-ans.php#comments in response to 100 questions still unanswered about Lost after the airing of the first episode of Season 6 this week. Read away.

I have a few theories, a few other ideas, and some gloating.
First, some new questions: If the island is under water, etc., and all those things that happened after the bomb (whenever it occurred but for the sake of argument lets say 1977) like the building of the hatch and pressing the button (not to mention the arrival of Rousseau, etc) never happened in the island-under-water reality. So that dude in the nut-house with Hurley never heard the numbers. So Hurley could never have heard the numbers. SO WHY WAS HURLEY IN AUSTRALIA? I thought he was there recording the commercial, but since people already saw the commercial and recognized Hurley, that is doubtful.
Another question: What changed so that Boone didn't bring Shannon back with him?
Now the gloating: I knew the smoke monster was Alex and Locke (and Christian), because Alex told Ben to do whatever Locke said, etc. etc... he has obviously been manipulating the situation for a very very long time. It was also Smoke-Locke who told Richard to tell real Locke that he would have to die, so that Smoke-Locke could take his form.
This did lead me to believe - as recently as a few minutes ago, and probably still now, that the comment above by "strider47" must be on point. "How come no one ever brings up the fact that this whole incident is and endlessly repeating time loop. One that has been going on and on..."
However, I had an idea while I was watching, which I believe solves all the problems, and (more importantly) keeps the structure of the series - in its entirety - balanced. Here it goes:
Ok, The first three seasons were all flashbacks, and when season three ended with a flash-forward, then continued on with flash-forwards, I figured this would continue until the times met up. When the 6 returned to the Island, the flash forwards, and correct me if I'm wrong, stopped. However, the time shifts seem to have compensated for this. Anyway, the scenes where everyone is ok on the plane, I believe, are still flash-forwards. And the bomb worked, as in it blew up, but that was what happened anyway, I think. Time will reset, however... just not yet. There must be some other event that has to happen in order for the plane to not crash, for the EM disturbance to go away, etc. Because it is a time loop, that thing can happen in the "present" island where the survivors are now, or there can be another time shift where the event occurs in the past, or anything else under the sun. The key is, the time will be reset before the last episode. The event to reset the time simply has not happened yet.
SO - the storyline where everyone lives - is still a flash forward. It is a flash forward because the survivors in 2007 have yet to do whatever it is that must happen in order for the island to sink before 2004 so that the plane can fly over unharmed.
Either that, or Jack is dead, and we are seeing Jack's personal heaven, or some "life flash before he dies" thing; Sawyer did say he would kill Jack, and even though he took it back, that sounds like classic foreshadowing to me. Sawyer just might kill Jack.
More theories: Sayid is not Jacob, he is whatever Ben became with the "consequences" of when he was in the temple. Whatever it was, it made Ben a tool of the smoke monster, which I believe is why Jacob never contacted Ben before. So, since Hurley is the only one who can see Jacob - Hurley is the new leader of the others.

The over-arching theme has been debated. I think it is clear now, that the theme is "free will vs not-free will." Before, I assumed it was "free will vs. destiny" but it has become clear that there is no "destiny" on the island, only events planned out and manipulated by the Smoke Monster.
Continuing, this also responds to "azsinzz"'s comment about Widmore working for Smoke Monster once he got off the island. I disagree. Jacob is obviously pro-free-will, and Smoke Monster is not. Jacob is free to leave the island, Smoke Monster is not. Jacob has always been free to leave the island. Who is the only other person that we know of who ever left the island before Dharma showed up? Charles Widmore, to marry Penny's mom and father her. Who could have possibly taken him? There was no sub. It must have been Jacob, however he did it. Also, when Ben excommunicates Widmore, Widmore tells Ben that he has a choice here, he doesn't have to banish him. Almost (i'm guessing here because I haven't checked but it sounds right) the same language Jacob used before Ben killed him.
SO, I think Sayid is probably now susceptible by manipulation by the Smoke Monster like Ben was the entire time he was leader. It was also Ben who chose to move the Others into the barracks after the purge, right? Why would he do that? To be protected by the sonic fence. The others lived all together outside the sonic fence, however and the Smoke Monster, we assume, was out there too. Ben probably was sick of the Smoke Monster in whatever incarnation he chose to be in, so he moved everyone into the protection of the fence. Now that I think about it, the smoke monster must have been taking the form of Ben's mom, right? It did it at least once, we know... Thats enough back to work.