LOST (Do not read unless you have watched the Season 5 finale!)

Ok, my most recent obsession is LOST. Shannon and I were watching select episodes of Season 3 last night, and that sparked a question and subsequent conversation. The conversation was surrounding the time flashes that happened to the folks on The Island (Locke, Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel Faraday, Miles, Charlotte, Rose, and Bernard). The question is, why did some people flash through time after Ben turned the wheel ("There's No Place Like Home Part 3"), and others did not? For example, members of Oceanic Flight 815 (which include a Stewardess and 2 children) who were kidnapped by The Others and subsequently became "Others" ("The Brig") did not flash, whereas people who were not originally members of the Flight 815 group did flash, like Juliet, Daniel Faraday, Miles, and Charlotte?

Also, the character of Richard Alpert has lost his...mystery, I guess. I'm starting to think he doesn't know as much about the Island or things that are happening as perhaps originally thought. When we first met Richard, I got this impression that Richard was really wise, and knew a lot about the Island. But now I'm starting think that Richard doesn't really know all that much. To take it to an extreme, he seems like Jacob's lackey. I also have some reservations about Locke being The Others' new leader, before we found out in the Season 5 finale, that the Locke we've been seeing most of the season is actually Jacob's unnamed "Nemesis" (as he's being referred to). During the Islanders' flashes through time, Locke told Richard Alpert in 1954 that he (Locke) is the new leader of the Others. Now, did Richard tell Locke in 2004 that he's the new leader because Locke is actually the new leader (with orders fresh from Jacob) or because Locke told him he was in 1954? I'm inclined to believe that Locke was never supposed to be the leader of The Others. It's all one huge looped pretzel: Richard tells Locke he's the new leader because Locke told him that he was. Bottom line: in my opinion, Richard Alpert is nothing but a messenger.