I don’t think that’s it. I think it’s either rage/hate bleedover from the Island (IDesmond may be all copacetic, doesn’t mean ADesmond will be) or a really dangerous way of getting Locke to the hospital.
Poor Desmond, downgraded from a Mercedes to a Civic.
-Joe, Accord owner
I simply think they’ve “frozen” the casts’ appearances on the island to make production easier. Also, little details about searching for food & personal grooming are pretty much ignored for the sake of getting on with the story. (Ahem…tampons?)
Why do the guys usually have the same stubble? Perhaps because most of them would begin to look like Z Z Top. Who wants that?
I like that idea (if I’m interpreting what you wrote correctly) – Desmond knows that a near-death experience will trigger memories from the island, so he’s trying to trigger them in Locke. Seems risky, but maybe Locke cannot die in the alt universe, and maybe Desmond knows this on some level.
Luckily for Hurley, all it took was a kiss.
A black stone and a white stone? 
…wait.
Didn’t the producers spend the last 6 years saying “The Island isn’t Purgatory”?
Then what do you call a timeless limbo where souls who can’t move on wait?
Sounds like Purgatory to me.
Cleveland?
No, Baltimore.
You know, I don’t think Flocke walked Desmond out to the well planning to kill him. I think the “why aren’t you scared?” line was genuine curiosity - Desmond does seem remarkably chill, all things considered. And his answer just touched the wrong nerve with Flocke.
Sawyer thinks Flocke isn’t scared, which is what differentiates him from Locke. I don’t think that’s so - Flocke is scared, of dying, of being trapped on the Island, of losing. It defines his character. So what Desmond said freaked him out.
IIRC, the first time I read something along the lines of “everything can be explained with science, or at least theoretical science,” and not supernatural elements was in an interview posted on Aint It Cool News; I’m not sure if it was quoting from another source or not, but I remember that being where I first read of that notion. I don’t remember many more specifics about the interview, except that they seemed to rule out the supernatural as an explanation for anything.
I also remember reading what may have been just a rumor that the original intent of the creators was to make the entire thing end up being all in Hurley’s mind, that everyone would be revealed to be someone Hurley knows from the asylum, kind of like in “I Am The Cheese.” But apparently the big wigs at ABC put the kibosh on that and forced some retconning or at least made them scramble to go in a different direction for an explanation.
In any case, the idea of grounding the bizarre in science is nothing new, but I do think they kind of abandoned the whole “nothing is supernatural” bit a long time ago.
Didn’t Jack used to have a close-cropped buzz cut? It’s at least an inch or so now, and keep in mind that not that much time has passed on the island, so it’s reasonable that the hair length wouldn’t change that much. It’d be especially not as noticeable on Sawyer.
Well, Locke got kissed…by a bumper. And some asphalt.
Maybe it all does come down to a kiss!
-Joe
Right. I think Desmond knows the future and is sure Flocke can’t hurt him(or at least kill him). This bothers Flocke because he is used to freaking people out. People like Desmond, who don’t fear him, seem to bother him.
Anyone else notice the dog Hugo was holding early in the episode? That’s Jorge Garcia’s dog Nunu. He’s always showing it off on his blog. I thought it was him then this morning I noticed the hint on Geronimo Jackson’s beard.
Just tickled me. 
I don’t think that well leads to the Donkey Wheel. Locke said there were lots of other wells dug that didn’t lead anywhere, and this was one of them. And Dharma filled in that well.
Already covered
There’s no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going
There’s no knowing where we’re rowing
Or which way the river’s flowing
Is it raining?
Is it snowing?
Is a hurricane a’blowing?
Not a speck of light is showing
So the danger must be growing
Are the fires of hell a’glowing?
Is the grisly reaper mowing?
Yes! The danger must be growing
'Cause the rowers keep on rowing
And they’re certainly not showing
Any signs that they are slowing!
AAAAAAAAH!!!
Well Locke broke his leg and had bones sticking out lol. Plus, different well. Donkey well was only open before the Orchid was constructed at which point you had to go in through the cavern.
They said that the island is not purgatory for the living characters, and that the characters weren’t in the afterlife. Which makes sense since, why would you die and see ghosts if you’re already dead? The impression I got was that dead people with unresolved issues get stuck there in the same way that they’ll get stuck in the house they were murdered in off island. That’s called haunting, not purgatory.
By the way. One of Hurley’s charities is “The Human Fund” (Money for People) 
I thought I heard that but I wasn’t sure.
I know this doesn’t matter much in comparison with other things that happened in the episode but did anybody else think “Eko-Jesus stick” when UnLocke was carving that piece of wood?
Also, I think Michael could have given us one last “Waaaaaaaaalt” reference when talking with Hurley.
I mean, couldn’t he have at least mentioned his son?
Maybe he understood that even Hurley would go all Proton Pack on his ass if he did that.
-Joe