No offense or anything since you went about saying that nicely. But if you think that episode was one of the best of the series then you either have really bad taste or your enthusiasm for the mythology of the show outweighs your enthusiasm for good television. Probably both.
Or option three, which is the correct one: opinions are subjective and you are really overstepping your bounds on this. Hell, personally, I found Jughead to be the weakest episodes of the season, so far. That doesn't make my tastes bad or my passion for the show any less, it just means my opinion differs from yours.
And mietteissass, in terms of the blood, that's exactly what I think. At least, that he tried to. Look at the scenario:
He assured Whidmore he was going to kill Penny. He knew Desmond was in town from meeting him and would easily have been able to presume Penny was there as well as a result. The big thing, though? When he calls Jack, the blood is clearly fresh, probably not all his and he's on a dock. Considering Penny lives on a boat now, it's the logical conclusion. I'm not sure one way or the other whether he succeeded, but my guess is he at least tried to kill Penny and ran afoul of Desmond. My best guess is that he did not succeed and Desmond will follow Ben to the island to make sure he never tries again.
In terms of the other people on the plane, I found some VERY interesting theories on that that I find myself clinging to. Eloise told Jack, in no uncertain terms, they had to recreate the crash as closely as possible.
First and obviously, Locke is dead, as Christian was.
Ben is almost late for the plane, as Hurley was; he also is out of his seat when the turbulence begins, as Charlie was.
Sayid is escorted onto the plane, in handcuffs, by a U.S. Marshall, as Kate was.
Sun is holding her husband's wedding band, as Rose was.
Jack is reading a letter, as Sawyer was.
Hurley is reading a comic book, as he was on 815; he brings a guitar aboard, as Charlie did.
Kate is the only one who does not obviously emulate an aspect of flight 815. Popular theory is that she may have gotten pregnant with Jack's child during the prior night's rendezvous, thus emulating Claire.