I loved the episode (especially the fact that Michael and Libby were on the show again!) but there were just a few nagging plot issues that bothered me:
1.) I understand that Richard would have had a hard time trusting Hugo not so long ago, but for crying out loud, didn't Hugo just relay a message from his long-dead wife? I thought the whole point of Hugo playing the role of Ghost Whisperer was to assure Richard that there was a plan, and to not give up hope. I just saw a bit of a disconnect with the writing that Richard would act so surprised that Hugo claimed he was communicating with Jacob when just a short while ago it was clear to Richard that Hurley was communicating with dead people.
2.) I was never a big fan of Ilana's character, but it seems strange that the writers would give her such a vital role over the course of the season only to blow her up out of the blue. Sp she had prepared her whole life to protect the candidates, but then "boom"....just like that she's gone? Artz I could understand blowing up because he was basically in one episode (until this season), but Ilana's death just seems kind of, well...cheep, I guess.
3.) The last issue has to do with Richard again. A few episodes ago, Jacob tells Hurely that Richard will know what to do; Richard then claims that he doesn't know what to do, and storms off to join the Smoke Monster in despair; then Hurley's Ghost Whispering assures Richard that Jacob still has a plan and Richard realizes what he has to do. Ok, that's all well and good - but now we find out that what Richard thought he was supposed to do was wrong, and Hurley thwarted him by blowing up the Black Rock. So in reality, Richard really didn't know what to do, and Jacob just told Hurley that just to set certain events into motion. I don't know, it just doesn't sit well with me.
In Christ,
Acts6:5