LOST: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

If you were expecting the gang to get together before the season finale, you were probably disappointed. But as far as the Rules of LOST go, there must be various factions seemingly heading in the same direction before the finale. Them's the rules.

Which also means that some predictable things (predictable for LOST, anyway) had to occur, like:

1. Sayid shooting someone;
2. Kate running away because she didn't like the situation;
3. Hurley grabbing food;
4. Jack being stubborn;
5. Locke lying to people;
6. Ben playing both sides;
7. Sun and Jin refusing to do anything until they find each other; and
8. Juliet saying and doing as little as possible.

Of course, there were slight tweaks. Jack is all about Destiny now. Locke finally thinks he knows what he's doing (funny how when this happens, it always involves killing someone). Kate actually let herself get captured. Sayid on a mission that has little direct benefit for him. Sawyer still love Juliet.

So all and all, we have some playing to type mixed in with a smidgen of character growth.

OBSERVATIONS

1. The Dharma Initiative is an extremely violent bunch. I don't know whether it's the fact that they just recruited a very paranoid bunch, the Others were just fucking with them when they first arrived or the Island's been driving them batty since they came along. Could be all three.
2. Considering everything Locke's done up to this point, Sun sure is trusting.
3. Guess Kate's given up trying to find Claire.
4. If you would have told me that out of the Original Kahana team that Frank would leave the Island (only to come back, natch) and Miles would stay and survive until the end of the Fifth Season, I'd tell you to put down the crack pipe.

THEORIES

1. This one is going to sound silly at first read, but: Locke believes that Jacob is mortal. Jacob: the guy who speaks through dead doctors and dead (adopted) daughters. Jacob: the guy who could apparently cure cancer. Jacob: the guy who Locke claimed to have heard when he and Ben first visited the Cabin. It's obvious that Richard doesn't want Locke (let alone the entire Band of Others) meet the guy, and I think it has nothing to do with a fear that Jacob is really some old guy hooked up on life-support. Locke is in for a surprise.
2. Sayid's going to try to kill either Eloise or Richard. I mean, he hasn't shot someone in a good hour, right?
3. Kate's totally trying to test Sawyer's commitment to Juliet. I can only imagine a spin-off show where Kate stalks Juliet trying to ruin her relationships then date her exes.
4. Miles, Jin and Hurley will save the day. We saw so little of them, and it wasn't exactly clear what their plan was. Either Miles proves to be a master strategist or Hurley stumbles on the next episode's Plot Device, but it will happen.

QUESTIONS:

1. What has Sayid been doing for food this whole time? And how did he not run into the Others since he left?
2. Why didn't the Others bury the bomb (sorry, putting it in the Island's basement does not count as burying. Nikki and Paulo were buried; the bomb was stored away)?
3. Why did the DI decide to ship Sawyer, Kate and Juliet away on the sub?