OK, I was able to see this episode on-line, but the quality was not the greatest, so I missed what the images were in the smoke....I am only going on what was said by the group for that part. I do want to add that for the first time on this show ever, I did get misty-eyed in this episode. My thoughts on "the smoke"- the whole scene smacked of "The Abyss" to me this leads me to thinking once again that there is a group that is making contact with our survivors, from someplace else...same as the visions. What did Eko see? well since the image quality was not that great for me, I will leave it up to the group....but the genral consensus is that it was positive and from his past. I think it was left for us to assume that this is the full POV of the same scene that took place between Locke and the (whatever) in season one. Locke saw something positive the first time he had the encounter....Eko saw something positive the first encounter as well. Locke looks horrified the second encounter...we do not yet know enough to know if it was the same thing/group/origin the second time, only that it was not the same experience....yet we do know that Locke was ok with what he saw, since he still thought that he would not be harmed if he went into the hole with it. We also do not know if the smoke and the "security system" are one in the same. Anytime that we have seen the "smoke" we have heard an echoy-reverberatiting ticking kind of noise, anytime that we have been shown a scene with the "security system" we have heard more of a mechanical rollercoaster clacking and grinding noise with a steam whistle type of sound. Thoughts on Eko's back story- So now we know the start of Eko's backstory. The African crime lords came into their village to find a new child to bring into their ranks. Eko's little brother was picked, but could not commit the murder. Knowing that he would be killed for this, Eko stepped in to do it for him and was taken away for his "born abilities" thus saving his brother's life. This was not an act of true sin...Eko did what he had to do to save his brother and the other children there....after he was taken, I'm sure he continued to do what he had to do to keep from being killed by these men. Flash forward to an unknown year near the present.... We see a full grown Eko making what appears to be a drug deal. We see him kill the men that he was meeting with. We then see him visiting his younger brother, now a priest. Eko does want to transport the drugs, but it does not sound like he is doing it to profit. He makes the argument that the drugs will be out of the country so that "their people" will not have it and it can't hurt them...he also says that all of the money will go to the mission to save lives. We then see the actuall transport about to take place. Eko's brother comes to warn him and then the military comes. Eko's brother is shot and then dragged onto the plane by Eko's cohorts (all but one dressed as priests) and the plane takes off full of Mary statues, but without Eko. Since the military was alerted by a priest, they assumed that Eko was that priest. That is where the back story ends, but I would like to think that this allowed Eko to start a new life out of crime. Still not sure what any of this has to do with the 40 day silence, but ok. Thoughts on the current- So we find out that Eko's drug plane and the beechcraft on the island are one in the same. We found out why a "priest" was found with a gun. We did not find out why it was on the cliff or why some were in the plane and some were out...or anything else really, and since they are all dead, we may not know these things any time soon. But I do think that I saw a parachute above where the body was found...so that may become important later. We also have a timeline reference from season one of 2-10 years on Eko's backstory thanks to Locke. (given the pattern so far, I'm going out on a limb to say 4 or 5 years before the crash) So Charlie has a stash now....one can only hope that he plans to do something drastic with it. Now that he has once again let down another woman that he cared about...he has nothing left to lose once the word gets out. And what about Charlie and all of his lies? I still think there has to be more there somewhere, he's hiding too much. *giggles* "Hurley and Libby sittin' in a tree...." *gasp* Michael, just what are you planning to do? freaky and improbable coincedences so far- Lenny and Sam heard the same numbers at the same time as Danielle's team. Hurley (15 years later) hears the numbers from Lenny. Danielle's team was marooned on the island after going on a quest to find out where they came from, 16 years later, Hurley is marooned on the same island after going on a quest to find out where they came from. The beechcraft with Eko's brother and comrades lands on the same island that Eko lands on some years later. Desmond lands on the island a very short time after meeting Jack, who also lands on the island 3 years later. can't wait to see how this all goes together!http://www.livejournal.com/community/pondering_lost/97074.html