Better Living through Star Wars metaphors: Some Like it Hoth recap

Some like it Hoth-some is more like it; just prior to an agonizing 2 week break (now nearly over, thank God) the writers got down to giving us our first full blown flashback episode on one of the 'Freighties' - introduced way back in Season 4 before we started skipping through time like a stone. I've been waiting for one of these, and the only thing that kept me from having a hernia that it was not a Faraday flashback, was the fact that I'm pretty sure his will be next week. We'll see. Fingers crossed. The very fact that, as of the last scene of this episode, our man Faraday is back (in black) makes it at least a possibility that Wednesday's 'The Variable' (the opposite of a Constant, if you will) will be Faraday-centric. And it looks like he's forgotten all about what's-her-face with the red hair and accent and such, so that bodes well.
Anyways, this was not Daniel's story, this was Miles Straume's time in the limelight and to be truthful, the new kid held up pretty well. In standard, old school, flashback style we saw the child, the angry youth and the circumstances which brought him to the island. We saw the daddy angst which set up the most awkward time travel scene yet:


"How awesome would that be?"

In the present, the longest day ever continued, as Roger returned from his bullshit errand to discover Ben missing, and Juliet, in very un-Juliet fashion was fresh out of lies. In fact, both our Betty and Veronica of deceit were in the room and came up dry. It would fall to Jack then to make things much, much worse for all.
Sawyer also spent the episode more-or-less making a mess of things, and the fact that we leave him tying up his employee pretty much makes it curtains for his and Juliet's cozy life in Dharmaville.
Jin was absent this episode, ditto Sayid, same for Rose and Bernard and... oh, who the hell cares anymore? Let's just say the Smoke Monster ate Rose and Bernard and move on (My crackpot theory of the week: their Others, now).
The rest of the action then, belonged to Miles and Hurley who have become yet another comedic team this season. Actually, pretty much anyone Hurley pals around with becomes funnier by virtue of his Care Bear stare, as we saw last season when he teamed up with Locke and Ben.
Hurley would give us the title of this episode, with his re-writing of the Empire Strikes Back. His efforts here represent in microscosm, the struggle going right now in Lost, the battle for it's very heart and soul - can the future be changed or can't it?
If it can't then Hurley's efforts are in vain. Even if he writes it, changes and all, the same movie will get made. It's just the way it always happened. But if the future can be changed, then his plan is not only feasible, but admirable. Because Ewoks do suck.
But whether it's feasible or not -and I think that more and more we must accept that it is- it is so very Hurley.
'Make your own luck' was the lesson he learned (and learned well) from his own father. Making your own luck does not sound deterministic at all. Making your own luck would get right in the face of Whatever Happened, Happened and it is we, the viewers who will reap the benefits of the spectacle to come.
What was most interesting about their cross-island adventures was the glimpse of the massive Swan construction site. We've progressed way past the model making stage seen a few episodes previous; the Swan is now a sprawling excavation crawling with men (but not any men with fillings, we can presume). Of course, the question which leaps to mind is, what do the Others make of all this? I mean, for all we know they've been there since the Fall of Lucifer, and they know their territory pretty well. Also, being as all this construction is going down in Widmore's time, you just know he's gonna be pissy about it. How long until we see the ramifications of breaking The Truce?
And finally, we got a ret-con on Miles's powers; despite what his mini flashback in 'Confirmed Dead' would have us believe, he doesn't actually talk to dead people, nor they to him. Instead their entire lives become an open book for him to read. Or something. This is in direct contrast to Hurley's power ('cooler' or not; 'power' or hallucination), wherein he is able to see his old friends and communicate with them. They help him out of jam's (Ana Lucia) and give him direction (Charlie).
Yet another interesting dichotomy on Lost. I love the writers.
Our last flash of Miles had him waylaid by none other than Iliana's henchmen, Bram. Here our show of mysteries may have given us our most compelling yet. What does lie in the shadow of the statue? Who the hell are these Shadow/Statue people? We may have to wait until the following episode "Follow the Leader" to find that out.
My guess with all the info we've been given thus far is that they represent some kind of reconstituted Dharma Initiative, perhaps a splinter cell of the Ann Arbor folk. What I don't know is where Widmore falls into this. Could they represent his people as well? We did see a brief flash of a Dharma logo on Keamy's secondary protocols in Season 4; perhaps Widmore, desperate to get back, to get Ben, has struck up an alliance with his former adversaries. The Enemy of my Enemy and all that.
As I finish this, it is 45 minutes until 'The Variable' airs. Way to wait until the very last minute, Jer.