Ben meets Danielle Rousseau, gets emotional about Alex

At the school, Ben is struggling to get to his keys since his left arm is in a sling. He drops them and Alex comes over to help and inquires about what happened. She asks why anyone would want to hurt him since he's "like, the nicest guy ever."

Alex insists that he shouldn't drive since he only has one hand like Napoleon. She asks her mother who is in the car near-by if they can give him a ride home. As expected, Danielle Rousseau appears (it's the first time we've seen her since she was shot by Keamy's team in the season 4 episode "Meet Kevin Johnson"). Danielle says that a ride is the least they can do for Ben after the help he's given Alex.

Alex then asks him if he wants to come to dinner and Danielle insists, saying even if they have to kidnap him (a nod to the fact that Ben kidnapped Alex on the island).

Later at the Rousseau home, Ben is helping clean up after dinner. Danielle says that it is nice to cook for someone other than just Alex. Ben asks what happened to her father, and Danielle says that he died when Alex was two (very different from the island timeline). Danielle says that's probably why Alex is so attached to Ben since he's the closest thing to a father she's ever had.

Ben looks at Alex in the other room working at a desk and starts to get choked up. When he returns to the kitchen, Danielle asks if he's alright, and Ben says that it must be the onions. She says that she'll have to use less next time and they share a look like they're about to kiss as we hear the infamous sideways woosh.

So it's interesting to see Ben and Danielle have a budding romantic connection in the sideways. It's nice to see Ben as a humble, emotional character that he doesn't show in the island timeline.

Ben takes Alex from Danielle Rousseau, young Ethan waits nearby

In 1989, Ben (who is about 24 or 25) is with a young Ethan Rom (who is about 12) looking at Danielle Rousseau's camp on the beach. Ben is just looking at the camp when Ethan asks him twice if he wants him to do it. Ben tells Ethan to shut up and stay there. With his gun drawn, Ben moves into Rousseau's camp, stops at the entrance and the moves in. Once inside, he hears a baby (Alex) cry which startles him causing him to knock Rousseau's music box to the ground. Rousseau wakes up and reaches for her gun but Ben tells her to stop. Rousseau says "You're the one who infected us, aren't you?" Ben moves towards Alex and Rousseau begins screaming "Rendez-moi mon bébé!" Ben picks up Alex and Rousseau asks him not to take her. Ben asks her "Do you want your baby to live?" Rousseau screams "Why are you taking her?" and steps towards Ben who then fires his gun into the sand. He tells her to "Be grateful you're still alive." He continues saying that if she follows him or ever comes looking for him, he'll kill her. He then tells her "Everytime you hear whispers, you run the other way." Ben the darts out of the tent/hut.

So this explains why Danielle Rousseau was so paranoid about the whispers in the first few seasons. It also gives us a glimpse of young Ethan who seems to have already joined the others. What's weird about this is that the purge didn't occur until 1992, so Ben and Ethan were working with the others while Ben was still living with the Dharma Initiative. Did Ben sneak out at night to help the others and then go back to the barracks?

Jin finds Rousseau's camp, she shoots Robert

After the time skip, Jin sees smoke coming from the beach and goes to investigate. He finds Danielle Rousseau's camp. He finds her music box with the dancers that Sayid fixed for her in season 1. Jin also examines her shelter which has a box of explosives next to it, meaning she must have already been to the Black Rock. After noticing flies buzzing around, Jin finds the bodies of Brennan and Lacombe who have been shot. He hears Danielle and Robert arguing and goes to see what's happening. He finds Danielle holding a gun on Robert and she says that the monster changed him. Robert says it's not a monster, "it's a security system guarding that temple." He convinces her to lower her weapon but as soon as she does he tries to shoot her but the gun doesn't fire. She then shoots Robert in the head and sees Jin and starts firing at him. As he runs away through the jungle, time skips again.

So what happened to Robert down under the temple with the monster to make him turn on Danielle? Is Robert right about the monster being a security system for the temple? It would definitely seem that Danielle isn't as crazy as she initially seemed in the first few seasons.

Bewildered Jin finds out that it's 1988

A bewildered Jin questions Danielle Rousseau about when and where she and her team came from. He finds out that the team sailed from Tahiti on November 15, 1988. Jin wants to try and find the beach camp because he thinks the helicopter and Sun may be there. Robert and Danielle convince him to take them to the radio tower since he does not know how to get to the camp site from where he currently is.

Translation of French team on the beach

Here is a translation of what the French science team were saying on the beach while Jin is waking up (from Lostpedia). One of the team, Robert and Montand discuss that the signal they were following is coming from the island.

Montand: Robert, look, the signal is coming from the island.
Robert: Can you determine the source?
Montand: Of course, look.
Robert: You think the island is inhabited?
Danielle: [To Jin] Are you OK? How are you feeling?
[Jin & Danielle start speaking in English]
Robert: Who is it?
Montand: Who cares who it is. What's he doing here?
Danielle: He says he came on a boat.
[Robert & Montand speak English with Jin]
Danielle: [To Montand] Montand, leave him, he's in shock! [To Robert] Do we have water to give him?
[Robert comes back with the water]
Robert: Here.
Danielle: Thanks.
[Jin & Danielle continue in English]

Jin wakes up, meets young Danielle Rousseau, Montand, Robert, Brennan

Jin wakes up on the beach as the French science team are salvaging what items they have from the raft. While speaking in French, Montand and Robert discuss that the signal they were following is coming from the island. Danielle notices Jin has woken up and the team gathers around him. They question him about where he came from and he tells them he came from a boat that sank. Jin doesn't seem to know how long he was in the ocean or how he got there which frustrates Montand. Robert gets a canteen of water for Jin and Danielle takes off her jacket revealing that she is pregnant (with Alex). When Danielle tells Jin her name, he looks bewildered and rightfully so. He is unaware that the island is moving in time.

Robert is in the fifth photo and Montand is in the sixth. Brennan is crouched down to the left of Danielle in the seventh photo. The other two members of the team are unnamed so far.

Here's a translation of the dialogue of the team while on the beach.

Translation of the French team while on the raft

Here is a translation of what the French science team were saying on the emergency raft (from Lostpedia). One of the team, Robert (Alex's father & Danielle's boyfriend) mentions that they shouldn't have followed the numbers.

Robert: We never should have followed those damn numbers.
Unknown: It's not my fault, Brennan was at the sonar.
Brennan: If you listened to Montand, he already said the instruments malfunctioned.
Danielle: Man at sea!
Robert: What? I thought we were all there?
Unknown: We are all there! It's not one of ours.
Unknown: Then who is it?
Unknown: Start paddling! Paddle! Paddle, come on!
Unknown: Hurry up, he's going with the current!
Montand: There's only him - no boat, nothing.
Danielle: For the love of God, Brennan, shut up.
Unknown: Bring him aboard! There. He's still breathing.

The French science team finds Jin

The French science team including Danielle Rousseau are floating in an emergency raft at sea in the storm. In the distance they notice a man floating on a piece of debris and move towards him. They pull him into the raft and it is revealed that it is Jin.

Here's a translation of the dialogue of the team while on the raft.

How did Jin survive the explosion and what happened to him between the explosion and when the French team finds him?