Insane "Lockdown" Analysis

(Okay... here goes. It's rushed, it's probably somewhat incoherent, but in my mind, I've got it all figured out. So if this doesn't make sense, just let me know. Here we go...)

Official Review: I hyped it up too much.

Was it a good episode? Yes. Better than many recent ones we’ve got – and we got the most interesting thing to over-analyze yet on this show!

Was it a great episode? Not quite.

As fantastic as the last ten minutes were, the rest of the episode was pretty slow. The whole “poker” part seemed like filler and took us away from much more interesting storylines going on. Then at the end they threw so much at us that it was almost overwhelming. If I was writing, I would have spaced them out and filled them out. Give me the arguments between Sayid and Ana-Lucia about digging up the body. Show Charlie protesting and getting freaked out. Give me a scene showing Henry climbing through the duct, seeming to know exactly where he’s going. You can still keep his motives secret (more on that later), but in my mind, this deserved more of the camera’s attention this week.

But I digress. There’s so much to say. (Anyone seen the bridge?) Where to begin? Let’s start with appetizers, then we’ll move to the main course:

1. Locke was selling a house to Nadia. No, not Sidney Bristow’s sister (but the Alias commercial during Lost was pretty good last night)

Remember her? Here she is this week:

Here she is in Iraqi prison:

Sayid loved her in Iraqi prison, then ratted out his friends in hopes of reuniting with him. It makes it especially poignant when Locke mentioned “It’s a good house for you and your husband” and she replied “I don’t have a husband”. Sad. That should have been Sayid’s house!

Chalk this up to another “connection” all the Survivors seem to have made with each other in their past lives. Is there something more to this? At this point, I am leaning towards “yes”. I’m all for them just showing “we’re all connected to each other in everyday life but we don’t realize it”, but it’s getting pretty absurd at this point.

Someday I’ll have to make a diagram outlining them all. But not today. There’s more urgent analysis to be done…

2. Henry Gale is an Other!

That’s right – and it wasn’t this Minnesota ID that convinced me:

It was the way that Henry started freaking out early in the episode when the warning voice-over started talking. Here’s a guy who’s been in an (alleged) strange and mysterious “Hatch” full of strange people he’s never met before. Obviously, he’s going to hear a lot of different things, from the music Locke was blaring (Geronimo Jackson again?) to voices of the new Survivors who paid him a visit over the past few days. None of this gave him any concern.

Yet he suddenly hears some sort of announcement and he goes crazy? Not buying it. He knew exactly what was going on and was concerned (or perhaps curious?) about it. So what was going on?

3. The Warning.

If you listen closely, the voice in the speaker is saying something along the lines of “Lockdown… please proceed to… 29… 28… 27…” counting down to zero. But why?

The most logical cause and effect analysis ties this to the Supply Drop (more on that later). But it doesn’t quite add up.

You could easily surmise that the lockdown occurs to keep the people in the Hatch from either meeting or interfering with the Supply Drop. If you view the people in the Hatch as experiment test subjects, and part of the experiment is isolation – you can’t very well have them seeing other people involved with a Supply Drop. Likewise, if the test subjects were desperate enough, the Supply Drop people would be likely targets for an attack.

But here’s the thing – the Supply Drop seemingly was dropped from the sky via plane / helicopter / hot air balloon. Therefore, there’s no danger of the test subjects interfering with it, seeing another human being, or attacking. I suppose there could be a danger of the Supply Drop falling on the test subjects, so the Lockdown could be a way of protecting them… but:

Remember those “Quarantine” signs all over the inside of the Hatch? Clearly the people inside, who are injecting themselves with 4815162342 medicine are afraid of going outside – can you really see them doing it to gather these supplies?

So what caused the Lockdown? Seeing as how nothing special seemed to be going on inside the Hatch, at the Beach, or in the Jungle at the time, you have to think this is a scheduled event. Heck, they even tell whoever is in the Hatch that it’s about to happen, giving them ample time to get wherever they need to be. But why?

If you look at what got isolated during the Lockdown, it was the living area – not the area with the computer and not the area with the blocked off super-magnet. This eliminates any theories that the Lockdown is used to keep the “unique magnetic properties” of the Hatch from effecting the supply plane-helicopter-balloon, or any theories about “protecting the mission of entering the numbers on the computer from being affected by outsiders”.

Here’s my full theory: The Lockdown is used to re-supply the Hatch. New food. New equipment (when necessary – like the washer and dryer!). Perhaps even perform any maintenance, cart away waste, and get out of there.

Before the Lockdown occurs, the voiceover tells the test subject to make their way to their “stations” (i.e.- the computer) so that they can continue to work while the rest of their living area is sealed off. Then, behind closed doors, the Dharma employees collects the goods from the Supply Drop, delivers them to the Hatch, then leaves. The Blast Doors reopen, and all the test subjects know is that now they have enough food to continue their job for another 6-8 months (more on this later).

Is it a coincidence that Henry Gale was wandering around our Survivors camp (and the Hatch) two days earlier? No, he was waiting for the Supply Drop. His job was to replenish the Hatch. Is it a coincidence that Henry Gale started freaking out when the Warning went off? No, he knew exactly what it meant, and that it was time to do his job. Notice how the first thing he said when he woke up after being knocked out was “How long was I out?” Time is of the essence!

Oh, and there’s the potential “Henry Gale was sent to spy on the Others” scenario, which I think also comes into play.

4. Remember 5 Things:

So I’ve had some requests for what I think the “five revelations, each more shocking than the one before” were for this episode, as the ABC promo department famously promised. This is my best guess, in order:

1. Sayid, Ana-Lucia and Charlie finding the balloon and grave.

2. The Lockdown in the Hatch, (and perhaps Locke getting pinned underneath).

3. The revealing of the black light Diagram on the Blast Door.

4. The discovery of the Supply Drop in the Jungle.

5. The revelation that Henry Gale has been lying all along.

Again – the creators of Lost are on record of saying “Don’t trust the previews” and “We hate ABC for their misleading previews” (not those exact words – come on, they know who butters their bread – yes, I just used that expression – I think it’s hilarious).

Okay, time for the main course.

5. Fun with Maps!

Black lights – they’re not just for haunted houses and skating rinks anymore. They now reveal insane images on Blast Doors inside secret Hatches on mysterious Islands!

Here’s the original image we were presented with:



So many questions. We’ll do this logically:

Who? Who made this? Or should I say “whom”? (Seriously, I’m asking, I always get this particular idiosyncrasy of the English language confused). My guess? It wasn’t written by Hatch inhabitants like Desmond or Kelvin (Hatchers), but by Dharmites (my new name for members of Dharma). Think I belong in a mental institution with Hurley and that bald guy from the preview? Let me explain…

Back in the day, when Dharma started out, there was a master plan for everything that was going on on the Island – reasons for the experiments, goals they hoped to accomplish, the meaning behind it all. But this information was only fully known by a select few key people (such as Hanso and the Degroots).

They simply would give tasks and commands to other Dharmites (believers) who blindly followed and completed their mission (wow – this keeps sounding more and more like Scientology – what if Lost turned out to be an elaborate metaphor criticizing the “religion” of Tom Cruise and John Travolta?)

Then there are two options:

1. Over time, Degroot and Hanso died (perhaps in “the incident”?) without passing along the original aims of their mission to Others, leaving the remaining Dharmites to try and figure out what the point of it all is. All they knew is that their menial tasks (such as restocking the Swan Hatch) needed to continue to ensure the mission succeeded (which had been preached to them as being the most important thing). The map shows how much they’ve figured out so far (outlining the Hatches they are aware of).
2. Frustrated by this lack of knowledge, some Dharmites became disenfranchised, and began trying to figure out what was going on in hopes of getting out of the Dharma Cult or to understand the meaning behind it all. The map shows the extent of the knowledge of what they know.

Why does it have to be the Dharmites?

1. It’s on the Blast Doors. Assuming the protocol is when they are down, the Hatchers should be at the computer on the other side of them, they couldn’t have written it. If my Blast Door theory is correct, the only people who are ever on the other side are Dharmites restocking the Hatch.
2. It shows knowledge of the other Hatches, located all over the Island. The map itself even notes “estimated travel time incompatible with 108. Do not attempt to survey.” If this was the case, how would a Hatcher ever have gotten to the Arrow Hatch on the other side of the Island to document it, when they can’t even get half way there without the 108 Timer going off? Especially when they’re afraid of going outside anyways due to the Quarantine?
3. There are references to “Known Final Resting Place of Magnus Hanso”, “Stated Goal Accelerated De-Territorial of Ursus Maritimus”, and “Geological Composition Likely to Cause Magnetic Interference with Weather Project” which wouldn’t be known to just random people on the Island like Desmond who are simply test subjects. The writing demonstrates a greater knowledge of all the projects going on, but not quite 100%.

It also is clear that more than one Dharmite has written on this. There are phrases like “I think we’re on the same wavelength” that seem to indicate more than one person was working on it, but not at the same time.

Could there be “shifts” among the Dharmites in tending to the Supply Drop? If so, those Dharmites who are “rebels” simply developed a secret code (flip on the black light) that no “by the book” Dharmites would ever discover. Each time they are down there, they add any new information they have learned, and can communicate without their superiors finding out.

Based on what we’ve seen from Alex in “Maternity Leave", there are definitely some Others that dissent from the “master plan”. I would put money that she has drawn part of this map (note the similarities between this and the other drawing on the wall of the Hatch, looking to be done by a child). Like-thinking Dharmites clearly contributed over the years.

What? There is a ton of information on the Blast Door. The most obvious being the location of the six Hatches:

Starting at 11:00, working counter clockwise:

“The Staff” = Hatch 1 of 6
“The Flame” = Hatch 2 of 6
“The Swan” = Hatch 3 of 6
“C4” = Hatch 4 of 6
“C3” = Hatch 5 of 6
“The Arrow” = Hatch 6 of 6

There is also a mysterious “?” at the heart of it all. What is this? The mysterious magnetic core of the Island? If they Island is mechanical, as some have speculated, it would probably be “the control center” – possibly the key to getting off the Island. (The rumors of the May 10th episode of Lost being titled “?” excite like no other, if it means the possibility of our Survivors attempting to find a way to this creamy middle!)

As for the words, here they are (starting from the top left corner and working counter-clockwise around the picture), along with meaning / guesses:

• Following AH / MGD Incident – “AH” probably stands for Alfred Hanso” – what was the “incident” he was involved in? The abbreviation is MGD! Miller Genuine Draft? Did Hanso become an alcoholic? Not enough clues here…
• But Could Be #6 – A seeming early piece of the puzzle, when still trying to find all Six Hatches…
• Confirmed Site of Cadeceus Medical Station (The Staff) – which eventually is updated with this comment, when confirmed.
• Sursum corda – “Lift up your hearts” in Latin. The one “upbeat” latin phrase on the whole map, perhaps written in jest, or perhaps written from one Rebel to another, to try and keep their spirits high during the hellish life that is being a Dharmite.
• AEG Exit – AEG is the symbol for some airport in Albuquerque, but no clue on this one.
• Montendo – not an English word. No idea.
• Cerberus Station believed to have been abandoned due to AH / MDG incident of 1985 or Possible Catastrophic Malfunction of Cerberus System – another reference to the Alfred Hanso incident, apparently occurring in 1985. In Greek mythology, Cerberus was a vicious beast that guarded the entrance to Hades and kept the living from entering the world of the dead. According to Apollodorus, Cerberus was a strange mixture of creatures: he had three heads of wild dogs, a dragon or serpent for a tail, and heads of snakes all over his back. Another piece of evidence for the “They’re all in purgatory!” theorists? Or just a code name for some other security device… like the SMOKE MONSTER!
• Estimated Travel Time incompatible with 108. Do not attempt to survey. – the one piece of evidence that doesn’t seem to fit with my theory of the Dharmites being the authors of the drawings. Why would they care about the timer going off in travel between the Swan and the Staff?
• Malum consilium quod mutari non potest – “It's a bad plan that can't be changed” in Latin. Clearly whatever the aims of Dharma were, whoever is writing this disagreed with them, but felt it was too late to do anything about it. So all they can do is keep on with it, although they disagree with it / feel it will bring about their downfall.
• Alleged Location of #4 – The Flame but unlikely due to Cerberus activity – more supporting evidence that Cerberus is the Smoke Monster. It seems to be “guarding” the location of the Flame, preventing confirmation of the site.
• Alleged Location of aborted #7 Large Number of Underground Springs / Heavy Water Table – the rumored “Underwater Hatch” that some have mentioned in interviews. But it’s “aborted”. I take this to mean the writers originally had an idea to do this, then abandoned it – and this is just a hilarious reference to it tucked away on the wall.
• Cogito ergo doleo – “I think therefore I am depressed “ in Latin – strong evidence that this was created by Rebels – if they could just blindly go along with the Dharma plans, they would be mindlessly, blissfully happy. But since they think and question the actions, they are depressed at the realization of them.
• Activity Unsuitable for DIHG – DIHG is used many times around the map and seems to reference the Dharmites. I’ll guess something like “Dharma Initiative Hanso Group”?
• CV I Highly unlikely – it seems at one point all the Hatches were referred to as CV I – IV. This could be taken as the Roman Numeral (106), but I think it’s more likely to be another abbreviation. If we stick with the Latin kick, it would stand for Curriculum Vitae – which lists someone’s history, achievements, and skills. You could stretch this meaning to be the “purpose” of each Hatch…
• No safe location for Dharmatel Servers / Hub / Cabling or Infrastructure – “Dharmatel” seems to be the telecommunications arm of Dharma, responsible for wiring and computer nerdery, but there seems to be no good place to put a hub in this area of the Island.
• Possible recreational area for D.I.H.G. survey teams – straightforward, a potential “safe zone” on the Island where DIHGs can relax?
• Low priority zone for exploration - Possible site for above ground – it seems that they are much more concerned with things underground than aboveground, thus little interest in this area.
• Relevance to Valenzetti-related research activity – Valenzetti must be someone’s name, because it doesn’t exist anywhere else on the Internet.
• Multiple Escape conduits blocked after incident – refers to the Swan. After the “Incident”, they clearly put the clamp down on this Hatch – probably referring to burying the true “hatch” exit that Locke found last season.
• I AM HERE – the reference point to the entire map, perhaps used to familiarize any new people with the layout?
• Ut sit magna, tamen certe lenta ira deorum est – “The wrath of the gods may be great, but it certainly is slow” in Latin – incredibly depressing, almost hinting at a torturous existence on the Island… waiting for Cerberus to come and take them away (again the Purgatory thing seems to fit right in!)
• The Swan: (4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42) – some sort of numbers, I don’t think we’ve seen them on the Island before?
• Home of H. G. Delegation inspection of 12.07.81 – whatever the “HG” in “DIHG” stands for, here it is again. This inspection took place before “the incident” in 1985.
• System wide failure of Dharmatel Intranet 4.08.00, 8.15.01, 01.06.06 – the Dharmatel system seems to keep crashing. I wonder if these “system crashes” are what cause things to get pulled to the Island… such as Desmond’s boat, the hot air balloon, or Flight 815 – January of 2006 would seem to fit in with the timelines, wouldn’t it?
• Complete Shutdown in Effect – something bad eventually happened (“the incident”?) that caused them to shut down operations.
• P.R.D. Every 6-8 Months – “Periodic Ration Drop” every 6-8 months. Another clue that the Supply Drop wasn’t triggered by any action, but is a scheduled action put in place long ago, and one that will continue in the future regardless of what is happening on the Island.
• Fatalities: 5 – Are these Dharmite fatalities? Test subject fatalities?
• No Connection to E.E.P. Network – EEP is clearly an abbreviation, but for what? Einstein Equivalence Principle” is a good guess – the theory that everything is accelerating towards the Earth’s core – since all the Hatches are seeming trying to get to the “core”.
• Possible CV II – Inactive Since Accident – A Hatch shut down after an “accident” – is this the same as the “incident”? Not likely, otherwise they would have called it the “incident” as they do everywhere else on this map. Another accident. I think the experiments started falling apart with time, and as they did, more issues arose.
• Primary Nexus of Cerberus Related Activity – the central location of the Smoke Monster? Probably the “Dark Territory” CFL referred to, where you do not want to be!
• Known Final Resting Place of Magnus Hanso / Black Rock – ancient Hanso relative who was a pirate? Or some sort of nickname for Alfred?
• Sightings coincide with emergency shutdown of intranet services of heightened security – what are these “sightings” they refer to? Sightings of other people on the Island, like our Survivors? Or “sightings” like seeing things on the Island (like Jack, Hurley, and Kate)?
• Activity minimal during lockdown and restocking procedures – ties the Lockdown to the “Restocking”, per my theory above.
• Rev – 4.2.02 possible location of Zoological research facility – Zoological research for sharks and polars bears and black horses, oh my?
• Stated Goal accelerated de-territorial of ursus maritimus through gene therapy and extreme climate change – clearly they were doing some experiment on the polar bear (ursus maritimus) on the Island, allowing it to survive in the extreme heat of the Island through some sort of DNA splicing – so does this mean it wasn’t brought about by Walt’s “powers”?
• Z4, Y8, Z15 – three dimension number coordinates.
• Subterranean conduit – underground pipe
• CVIII – Third Hatch (Swan)?
• Hic sunt dracones – “Here be dragons” in Latin - English mapmakers formerly placed the phrase "here be dragons" at the edges of their known world – except this only appears on one map in the world. Could it simply be referring to the “dragon” that is the Smoke Monster? Or does it truly stand for the edge of the known Island (the fringe of the “Dark Territory”?)
• The Pearl? – sounds like a good name for the water Hatch, doesn’t it?
• CV IV? – The fourth Hatch – the Pearl?
• High Potential for R.V.S. – Recreational vehicles? No idea on this abbreviation
• Interference might also prevent location from use as listening station cryptography research or analysis – is this the same interference Sayid found when trying to use his transponder? Wasn’t that just caused by the radio tower (which, PS – they should try and find – HELLO?!), or does the “unique magnetic property” of the Island make it impossible to try and use some sort of “sonar mapping technique”
• Geological composition likely to cause magnetic interference with weather project – “weather project” could be related to the freak rain storms that seem to come and go on the Island.
• Why so many Dharmatel Relays in such an untenable location? – If Dharmatel is the telecomm company of Dharma, relays could be used to signal warnings when certain conditions are met. But why so many here? There must be something important, as this seems to indicate a sort of security system…
• Mountainous terrain most likely used by D.I.H.G. for meteorological research due to… - no idea about this
• Suspected shutdown date: 10.28.84 – a suspected shutdown date prior to the incident – odd… were they "forecasting" the eventual "incident"???
• Or other route of travel?– it seems as though they were looking for alternative ways to get around the Island, rather than on foot, perhaps to avoid the Smoke Monster? Or avoid being seen by the “By the Book” Dharmites?
• With light industrial equipment – seems to be related to one of the Dharma Experiments...
• Credo nos in fluctu eodem esse – “I think we're on the same wavelength” in Latin – another sign that these Rebels don’t get the opportunity to communicate with one another directly, but only through the writing – a sign that they seem to be in agreement with what they’ve captured thus far.
• Designation uncertain? Purpose unknown? Relation to D.I.H.G. unknown – it seems as though our Rebels don’t know what’s at the center of it all (the “main purpose” of everything), but they know it’s there.
• Nil actum reputa si quid superest agendum – “Don't consider that anything has been done if anything is left to be done” in Latin – the main theme of it all – basically “keep trying to get to the center, no matter how many times you fail”. I think this is the reason there are so many hatches. Each reperesents a failed attempt. Likewise, Mus uni non fidit antro (“A mouse does not rely on just one hole”) seems to repeat this theme.

(Phew. I’m exhausted. Sorry for the scattered thoughts. Here comes my half-assed race to the finish...)

When? It looks as though this has been going on for a while, at least 20 years. I think the discovery of the different Hatches was probably a slow process, along with the other random bits of information strewn about the borders of the drawing.

Where? Is this Island truly the “edge of the world”, or perhaps Purgatory? Too hard to say at this point. If anything, I think these are red herrings, and the show will continue to be based in reality and science.

Why? As I said before, it looks like these Rebel Dharmites are using the secret Blast Door drawing as a method of sharing ideas and knowledge about the Island and the purpose of the Dharma experiments. I envision the By The Book Dharmites as being the type of people who would quickly squash any type of rebellious movement or thinking that differs from that of their leader. It needed to be secret. Perhaps they are planning some master coup, or just trying to find a way off the Island? Either way, they’re doing something that is going against the Dharma Status Quo.

How? I don’t know – I guess Dharma has black light chalk lying around somewhere, and the Rebels stole it? Stealing chalk – talk about rebels!


Okay. I’m exhausted. Hopefully these scattered ramblings help you digest the information from the diagram below. I’ll try and put together a “Cliff’s Notes” version in the next post of the main themes once I’ve had time to digest them all.

Disagree? Feel free to argue via the Comments section. Or you can shower me with praise. Whatever you feel is appropriate :)

A picture so big it ruins all my Blog's formatting - but totally worth it!




PS - here are the mega-heady translations of the Latin...

• Nil actum reputa si quid superest agendum = Don't consider that anything has been done if anything is left to be done
• Aegrescit medendo = The disease worsens with the treatment. The remedy is worse than the disease
• Sursum corda = Lift up your hearts
• Malum consilium quod mutari non potest = It's a bad plan that can't be changed
• Cogito ergo doleo = I think therefore I am depressed
• Credo nos in fluctu eodem esse = I think we're on the same wavelength
• Ut sit magna, tamen certe lenta ira deorum est = The wrath of the gods may be great, but it certainly is slow
• Liberate te ex inferis = Save yourself from hell
• Hic sunt dracones = Here be dragons
• Mus uni non fidit antro = A mouse does not rely on just one hole

Lost - "Lockdown"

Episode Title: “Lockdown”

Brian’s Deeper Meaning Guess: Wow – this is perhaps the deepest meaning on Lost ever. Where to begin? The most obvious place, of course – check the dictionary meanings of the word!

Lockdown:

1. The confinement of prison inmates to their cells as a security measure following a disturbance in the prison.
2. A prison, especially a high-security one.
3. A device that secures a piece of equipment, especially a computer, so that it cannot be moved or stolen.

Interestingly, each of these could seemingly apply to our world inside the Swan Hatch.

1. Clearly the Hatch is our “prison”. Not only is it the only place with seal-you-in-against-your-will “blast doors”, but there’s also been the whole “use-a-room-as-a-jail-cell” deal with Henry. In fact, one could view the whole Henry Gale situation as a “disturbance” that causes the Lockdown in the first place, as described by the definition. Everything seemed to be going fine inside the Hatch (seemingly) until he showed up. Coincidence?
2. A simpler version of explanation one, missing the whole “disturbance”. Again, could apply to the Hatch, it would just mean that Henry Gale has nothing to do with the Lockdown.
3. This is a definition I was personally unaware of – but is quite intriguing. Could it be that the Lockdown is caused by someone using the computer inappropriately? Remember that the Orientation video explicitly states to not use the computer for anything other than entering the Numbers, lest another “Incident” occurs. It’s not crazy to think that using it for some other purpose (Internet porn, Fantasy Football) would trigger this security feature and “Lockdown” the entire Hatch so that no one can leave. The only thing is, I’m not sure who would use the computer for something else. Michael was our most likely candidate, but he’s now MIA. Perhaps if Henry Gale is given more freedom inside the Hatch, he could trigger something. That would sure make it seem like he was an Other, sending a “distress signal” of sorts to his Other brethren.

Regardless of which scenario plays out, a literal “Lockdown” of the Hatch is a given. However, this isn’t “Brian’s Literal Meaning Guess”, it’s “Brian’s Deeper Meaning Guess”.

When I first read the title, before even thinking of a prison-esque Lockdown, I looked at the two words in the title and saw “Locke” and “Down”. Even in writing this post, my fingers are tempted to write “Lockedown” each time. But what would that mean?

John Locke is going to lose his ability to walk.

How? Not sure. Perhaps his ability to walk is somehow tied to the huge magnetic core of the Hatch, and when the blast doors come down during the Lockdown it blocks these magnetic waves from reaching him. Or vice versa, perhaps the doors closing increase the intensity of the magnetic field and cripple him.

I was also originally thinking perhaps a Blast Door could come down on his legs, but it doesn’t seem like that’s the case in the previews…

At any rate, that’s my guess for the real reason Locke loses his reason to walk. But John isn’t going to see it like that. He’s going to view it as the Island punishing him, probably for their capturing and holding of Henry Gale. Locke views the Island as magic, and this magic gave him the ability to walk. He thinks that if you give something to the Island, it gives you something in return. Now he’s going to think that if you take something from the Island, it takes something from you. They took Henry Gale. Now the Island is talking John’s legs.

The one thing I can’t get a read on is how “Lockdown” could apply to the flashback. It’s a Locke flashback, so perhaps something sad happens and causes him to be emotionally or spiritually “down”? But there haven’t been any clues to that so far. But we’ve got enough deeper meaning for one week just on the Island, so I’ll let the flashback part slide…


TV Guide Description: When the hatch suddenly takes on a life of its own, Locke is forced to enlist the help of an unlikely ally. Meanwhile, Ana Lucia, Sayid and Charlie go off into the jungle to find out the truth about Henry.

TV Guide Breakdown: The interesting part of the “Hatch suddenly taking on a life of its own” is the word “suddenly”. One would think that if the Lockdown was a result of not entering in the Numbers, it wouldn’t be considered “sudden”, but rather an almost expected result. However, in the previews, you can hear a siren going off while the Blast Doors are coming down – the same siren we heard when the Numbers weren’t entered (and is that Desmond’s voice I hear?!).

(PS – speaking of Desmond, we all wondered where he ran off to early this season. It turns out he went to Los Angeles to work undercover for the German government. Of course! Great twist, Lost writers!)

I’m on the fence, but I almost think it would be more exciting if the Lockdown wasn’t a result of the 108 timer going off – but rather put a blast wall between John Locke and the computer, causing him to freak out as the timer ticks closer and closer to expiration. Imagine that suspense!

Moving on, Locke being forced to enlist the help of an unlikely ally (Henry Gale) goes hand in hand with my “Locke loses his ability to walk” theory. With just the two of them trapped inside the Hatch, he’ll need Henry to scope a way out… like through the heating ducts for example:




But can Henry be trusted? Given everything he’s been through, wouldn’t you think if he did find a way out, he would ditch Locke and just go running off? Is this the start of an alliance of Locke and Henry?

Lastly, the preview takes us all for old people (or Will Riley) who fall asleep halfway through episodes of Lost. Because we clearly saw Ana-Lucia, Charlie, and Sayid going through the jungle in the second half of last week’s episode. This episode will show them discovering the Balloon, and wondering about the repercussion of this discovery. But I’ve already discussed that in detail below. That’s right, I got my “The Whole Truth” analysis done ahead of time this week. What, you weren’t checking the Blog daily for updates? For shame!


I’m not going to lie, I’m mega-pumped for this week’s episode – probably as excited as I’ve been for any Lost this year. The commercials hint at “Five Revelations” this episode, each more shocking than the one before. If I were writing the episode, here would be my five revelations (coincidentally, if these happened, it would be the best hour of Lost ever):

1. The Blast Doors come down, the 108 Countdown runs out (and whatever happens after that!).
2. Desmond returns (at least in voice, over the speakers in the Hatch).
3. Locke loses his ability to walk (and thus, we learn how he could walk in the first place).
4. Henry Gale’s whole story checks out (and our Survivors are forced to grapple with the repercussions of their actions).
5. After helping him escape the Hatch, Locke forms a pact with Henry Gale - and becomes a spy for the Others.

(and if I could have #6, it would be “Kate finds a piece of luggage full of bikinis and has a fashion show for the other Survivors” – but I won’t get greedy…)

Caliente!

The one thing that worries me is that the commercial almost hypes it up too much. I hate it when my expectations are too high and I inevitably walk away disappointed (see: every DMB concert I attended from 1998 to 2001).

Let’s hope this isn’t the case. Happy watching!

Dress Up Henry Gale!

Per request, here is the comparison between Henry Gale and the medical surgeon who was about to do the baby extraction of Claire in "Maternity Leave".

If this were true, it would lend credence to my "there aren't really that many Others, so each one has to wear many hats (literally), and they can't overpower the Survivors by sheer force" theory.

If nothing else, it's fun to pretend!



Thoughts?

"The Whole Truth" Discussion Points

Well I was close. My guesses about this episode were pretty much dead on, aside from one item. Here are the discussion points:

1. Here’s where my prediction for the episode was incorrect (see, I told you I’m not really a Lost writer!) - Sun didn’t cheat on Jin. However, the episode really teased you along to make you think that she did.

First, they introduce the bald English tutor character (Baldie), who she has been seeing in secret. Then we find out that Jin isn’t able to make babies (remember my fish in the Tigris analogy below?). Finally, Sun gives this weird look after telling Jin she had never been with another man:

So all signals point to Sun being a hussie, right? Wrong.

Exhibit A: I’m no girl, but I’m pretty sure they get some sort of “signal” each month that tells them if they’re pregnant or not. As it’s been established that they have been on the Island for two months, even if she was hooking up with Baldie the night before they left, you would think she would have known before now.

Exhibit B: She tells Jack “I can’t be pregnant.” Since she knew Jin was the one with reproductive-issues, if she had been with another man, there could have been a chance she was pregnant.

Exhibit C: That look at the end? It’s not a “I’m lying to my husband” look. It’s actually a “Great, now I have to have a baby on this Island – full of baby-stealing Others with no pain medication”, coupled with the acceptance that “Jin and I are tied together forever, even though I was about to leave him prior to Flight 815”, and with an added touch of “Seasons Four through Eight are going to suck, filming in Hawaii with a 40 pound pregnant suit hanging on me in the heat.”

So where does that leave us? With a terrible, terrible storyline. It’s almost like the episodes ran out of order. Shouldn’t we have had this episode before the “Charlie fake kidnaps Sun”, which would have neatly gotten rid of the storyline? Or are we due for an Alias-esque “time jump” on Lost, where the next season will start a few months in the future?

2. Sun is hot. Good work Lost producers…

but Kate is still way hotter, looking particularly good this week, I must say!

3. I thought showing Bernard and Sawyer’s conversation from Jin’s perspective was great, if only to make viewers think they were going crazy for the first few seconds. In case you were curious, they just had the audio playing backwards, and here’s what they said:

Bernard: Well, how do you know?

Sawyer: I got my sources

Bernard: Aren’t you going to tell him?

Sawyer: Not my place

Bernard: You should tell him.

Sawyer: Hell no! Let Sunshine tell him.

4. I meant to comment on this last week, but got distracted. The book that Henry’s been reading is The Brothers Karamazov. It’s a pretty long and unwieldy book, but here are the themes we should note:

The central philosophical conflict of The Brothers Karamazov is the conflict between religious faith and doubt.

“Man of Science” (Jack), “Man of Faith” (Locke) anyone? We’ve gone over this too many times before. But it comes up yet again!

The novel argues forcefully that people have free will, whether they wish to or not. That is, every individual is free to choose whether to believe or disbelieve in God, whether to accept or reject morality, and whether to pursue good or evil. The condition of free will may seem to be a blessing, guaranteeing the spiritual independence of each individual and ensuring that no outside force can control the individual’s choices with regard to faith. But throughout The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky portrays free will as a curse.

Sound familiar? Like the Survivors who are forced to decide if Henry is good or evil, knowing that if they’re wrong, the actions could lead to either the death of an innocent man or the deaths of some of their own?

One of the central lessons of the novel is that people should not judge one another, should forgive one another’s sins, and should pray for the redemption of criminals rather than their punishment.

This also screams “Henry Gale!”

So what’s the deal with this guy?

Choose Your Adventure, Henry Gale Edition!

A. He’s telling the truth.
B. He’s an Other.
C. Both A and B.


A. He’s telling the truth. He withstood a beating from Sayid, cross examination from Jack and Locke, and a big scary black man with a huge knife – all sticking to his story. We’ve seen from the clips from next week (or below in My Most Controversial Blog Post Ever) that there indeed is a hot air balloon crashed on the Island, looking exactly like Henry described it:

So if this is the case, Henry Gale’s purpose on the Island is to serve as a wakeup call to our Survivors – letting them know, “You’re all going crazy with fear and distrust!” which would play nicely into the Brothers Karamazov theme. If they’re going to go this route, they really need to have a Survivor kill Henry, which would really hit everyone hard in a “We’re like Lord of the Flies, what have we become?” sort of way.

But if this is the case, why is he playing everyone against each other so hard? Why is he stirring the pot, making speeches about leading people to traps? Why does he sometimes have pure evil looks?

B. He’s an Other. The Balloon thing is a cover story. All the Others know it since they know the Island like the back of their baby-grabbing hands. Maybe they even know to use it as their cover if they ever get caught. They’re trained on it. Just like there’s a black horse and a pirate ship, there is also a Balloon on the Island. No big deal.

Henry’s intentionally turning Jack against Locke, Locke against Jack, and both of them against Ana-Lucia in an attempt to destroy the Survivors / weaken their relationships. In fact, as the Others are so savvy in the Jungle, he must have gotten himself captured on purpose. Why?

Well, after last week’s episode, seeing that the whole “rustic Others” thing is just an act, I got to thinking – why would you want to look like a derelict unless it’s a new fashion line from Mugatu? Why the smoke and mirrors? Well, during my recent viewing of “Wicked”, I noted the similarities between Oz and the Lost Island. Besides the obvious themes of bad (Others) being good (Survivors) and vice versa (which I’ve already discussed in my Locke Manifesto), in both cases everyone thinks there is some huge powerful leader / group behind it all, but in reality, behind the curtain it’s just a small old man / group.

In a nutshell – I don’t think the Others are all that and a bag of chips. I think they are a smaller than we think group of Scientists who use these costumes to make them seem more mysterious, more crazy, and more desperate than they really are (polo shirt, khaki-wearing logical people). The 815 crash put a lot of people on the Island (like 50, some of them quite strong).

Remember what Zeke said about “not crossing the line” and “you’re still here because we left you alone”? This might be partially true. But I think it’s also true that the Others couldn’t really launch a full scale assault on all of them and succeed. Thus they send in Henry Gale to do some recon and try and shake things up…

C. Both A and B. The most dreaded of all multiple choices because it makes you analyze every possible solution realizing that more than one could be true.

How did the Balloon get there? Because Henry Gale’s story is true. It crashed on this Island, he and his wife lived there for a while… and eventually she died (from the sickness? From the crash of the Balloon?) He buried here and wandered around, eventually being “captured” by the Others (since he was “good”).

At this point, the Others did whatever the Others do to these “good ones” they capture – but in my mind it’s something like a Scientology brainwash. Thus Henry Gale becomes an Other – and has a sweet story if anyone ever questions him on it.



I really could see any of the three being true. Time to put this up to a democratic vote. Use the comment area, people!

Lost - "The Whole Truth"

(I’m back! Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I was dealing with a pesky medical condition for the past two weeks - a double hernia if you must know, stalker fans out there - that rendered me unable to move, let alone spend multiple hours researching and analyzing television programs. I’m finally on the mend now, but far from 100%. Therefore, this will be a shamefully short Blog post, but should serve to get you prepped for the first new episode in a few weeks.

I think the real question is – this medical condition mysteriously pops up the week I post that Balloon picture on my website. Coincidence? Or have I been discovered by Dharma (ABC)? Did they actually implant me with something during the operation to make me less able to skillfully analyze and track down information about this show, or was this a failed murder attempt to silence me? Intriguing…)

Episode Title: “The Whole Truth”

Brian’s Deeper Meaning Guess: The “whole truth” likely refers to two characters on the Island – Sun and Henry Gale. First of, let’s examine Sun…

Since this episode is Sun-centric (how do you know it’s Sun-centric and not Jin-centric? Well, traditionally Jin-centric eps have clever plays on the word “Lost” – see “…in Translation” and “…and Found”, whereas the only Sun episode we’ve gotten was titled “House of the Rising Sun.” Still a pun, but a different kind of pun. But I digress…), there must be something about Sun’s past that we (and Jin) don’t know about. As he learned of her English-speaking last season, the title refers to the fact that there is still something else about her he doesn’t know… but will learn this episode, finally giving him “the whole truth” about her.

However, the far more interesting truth I’m curious about is concerning Henry Gale. It seems that things are coming to a head with him, and the Survivors are going to find out if his story is true or not very soon. I’m thinking this is where the “whole truth” part comes into play. We’ve seen the picture of the balloon. Seemingly, this would prove Henry’s innocence… except this isn’t the “whole truth”. I’m thinking it’s part of an elaborate scheme to cover his tracks, although all of our Survivors will think otherwise – and have some huge moral debate about how they captured and tortured someone just because he was different, they’re becoming animals, etc., etc.

TV Guide Description: Sun wrestles with the thought of telling Jin a newfound secret that threatens to upset the entire balance of the survivors' community. Meanwhile, Locke enlists Ana Lucia to interrogate the prisoner in order to extract more information than he, Jack or Sayid could.

TV Guide Breakdown: In what could take the honor for “Worst Storyline Idea Ever for Lost”, the previews seem to be hinting that Sun is pregnant. Here’s why this is crazy:

1. Each episode lasts a day or two. Season One was 40 days. At this rate, assuming Sun were preggo, it would be Season Four before she started showing, and Season Nine before the baby would be born. Not a good storytelling vehicle for Sun.
2. They already had the “pregnant Survivor” storyline with Claire… and it was pretty dull. I don’t need Sun yelling “they’re after my babay!” every episode for the remainder of the series.
3. I’m all about Willing Suspension of Disbelief… but Sawyer is going to have a pregnancy test on the Island? Really? Okay – perhaps some people travel with medicine and other assorted toiletries – but pregnancy tests? Not bloody likely.

But how would this “threaten to upset the entire balance of the survivors’ community”? Well, if I was a betting man, Sun isn’t sure who the papa is. Jin? Michael? Alfred Hanso? The prospect that someone other than Jin might have been getting to know Sun (in the Biblical sense) would be enough to turn Jin back into the axe-wielding watch-conessuier we saw in last week’s repeat.

(Note: although I didn’t get around to posting about last week’s episode, the obvious intent of airing it was to remind us about Sun and Jin, mainly their turbulent relationship that almost drove Sun to leaving Jin. The two of them have been very lovey-dovey in recent weeks, so this episode served as a stark contrast and reminder of how things between them used to be…)

Then there’s a scene from our last new episode (“Maternity Leave”) that kinda stuck with me.

Claire (in a typical crazy-Claire angry mood): “I’m sorry – are YOU a mother?”
Sun (looking sad): “No. I am not.”

Could it be that Sun had actually been attempting to make babies with Jin before the crash, but was unsuccessful? I’m fairly certain that would add some stress to a relationship, maybe enough to make one person learn a foreign language and try to run away.

Stick with me here. I have a rambing epiphany coming…

So, before the crash, Sun can’t get pregnant. I’m betting that Jin blames Sun for not having a fertile crescent. It’s always the woman’s fault, right? Suddenly, on the Island, she gets knocked up? That means one of two things: either she magically got transformed by the crash (in a Locke-can-now-walk sort of deal), or she cheated on Jin (either with someone on the Island – but I really don’t think the timing for that works out – or before Flight 815) and her pregnancy makes Jin realize two things:

1. It’s not that Sun's crescent wasn't fertile, it's that the fish weren't swimming in his Tigris.
2. His wife cheated on him.

Now that should be enough to drive any man crazy. Thus the upset balance of the Survivors. The end.

Oh wait – there’s still the pesky “Ana-Lucia interrogates Henry Gale” part of the description. Well, we’ve already had a trained Interrogator, a Doctor, a Priest, and a Box Factory Worker talk to Henry without success, might as well bring in a Cop too, right?!

Actually, I think it’s more that Ana-Lucia is already a perceived “outsider” to the group, much like Henry Gale is. She can empathize with him and understand what he’s going through. She probably will believe his story and work to prove him right, whereas everyone else seemed hell-bent on proving him wrong, outing him as “An Other”.


So what’s going to happen? I’m predicting a sub-par Lost episode, a “light episode”, if you will given the intensity and revelations of some of the recent episodes. We’ll learn more of Sun and Jin’s relationship, there will be misunderstandings between them, Ana-Lucia will begin to get a map from Henry Gale and head out with a search party to find it (I think the previews showed Sayid going with her). Predicted ending scene? Finding the balloon! LOST.

However, other than a pesky two week break around Easter, the good news is that we have new Lost now until the end of May. Hooray!

(…and in other Blog news, all my pictures are back! New readers to the site, bask in the glory of technicolor images of previous episodes!)

Lost - "Whatever the Case May Be" Revisited

Another Lost repeat this week. I find the outrage that people express whenever Lost is a repeat to be pretty funny. It's almost as if these people have never watched a serialized network drama before. For the uninitiated, there's something like 40 weeks of programming during a typical network "season". Traditionally, a full season of any program is 22 episodes. Therefore, there are always 18 weeks of repeats each season- or 18 weeks when the show is not on. That's right, almost 50% of the time. (We're actually lucky with Lost - it was a full 24 hours last season, and the same looks to be the case this year.)

Granted, some networks are moving towards more of a "year-round programming" concept, and doing "non-stop seasons" a la 24 - but most TV shows are going to have repeats in the months of October, December, January, March, and April (and all summer). They're not sweeps months. It's the nature ofthe industry. Get over it.

Honestly, as cool as it is to watch new episodes of 24 each week, for a show like Lost, I prefer having it last as long as possible. Since there is so much to think about and research on the show, it's downright mentally exhausting to watch, analyze, predict, and write about each episode week in and week out. If nothing else, repeats give me a chance to rest up... and forget about how quickly the show likes to drop and ignore promising storylines (but I digress).

It's like a bye weekduring the NFL season. Without them, I would probably die from exhaustion. Which brings us to this week - another repeat, this time of Season 1, Episode 12: "Whatever the Case May Be".

As I've said before, I'd like to think that there is some master plan, and they pick the repeated episodes for a reason. It might be to remind us of characters we haven't seen in a while. It might be to remind us of a storyline that hasn't been referenced in a while. Or it might be picked at random by network executives who mock my overanalysis. Either way, here are a few points to ponder this week:

1. Kate's Criminal Past. Granted, she is uber-hot and most of her crimes are easily justifiable - but deep down inside, she's a badass who knows how to wield a gun and use people for her advantage. She's feisty. We were very recently reminded that Sawyer isn't all cuddly when he stole the guns - will we soon get a reminder that Kate is also somewhat of a wild card on the Island?

(Note: The real highlight of the episode...)





2. CFL's Notes. Yes, CFL (Crazy French Lady to the new reader outthere, because typing "Rousseau" is too hard) scribbled The Numbers a lot, but there looks to be a considerable amount of other information on her papers that have never been explained. Finding Nemo song lyrics. A map of the Island showing a boat that looks very similar to the Others'. Strange mathematical equations that even Sayid can't figure out. Will any of these ever come back into play? Or do we write them all off as CFL being crazy?



3. Tide Rising. In the end, I think this small scene is the main reason for repeating this episode. Freakishly, the tide suddenly rises very quickly and the Survivors are forced to gather their belongs and move up the beach. This is a very important point that hasn't been mentioned in quite some time. This is also the only episode that ever referred to it. Why? Yes, there is the practical excuse that it gave the set crew an "out" for not having to put up the crashed Fuselage on the beach every week. But it also seems to indicate that this Island isn't just your run of the mill Island full of crazy people. There's something crazy about the Island itself. Like, is it even an Island? Our foolish cast still hasn't ventured around the entire perimeter. Is it somehow mechanical? We've seen Hatches leading to a very developed underbelly, holes appearing for "The Monster" to spring from, and trees flying out of the ground as if shot out. Is this Island somehow a living, breathing thing?

Let's see how long these pictures will stay up!

Aftermath

So a funny thing happened last night. I'm not sure how, but lots of people looked at the Blog - like, over 20,000 people. Apparently someone posted a link to it on "digg.com" or something, but I've also found links to it on a few other TV / Entertainment websites.

Long story short - all the visits quickly exceeded my bandwidth in my Photobucket account, making all my pictures disappear until the 20th of the month (when the bandwidth counter will reset).

Part of me is excited all these strangers have read my site, but we all know the only reason they came in the first place is because of one particular picture in the post below.

Which brings me to my moral dilemma. According to some of the comments on the post below, the whole "Make a Wish" story is true. They also claim that this kid basically had the picture stolen by his friends, who posted it on the Internet. After finding out what happened, he felt bad about it and requested that websites take it down... to which they all obliged (I mean, who's going to turn down a terminally ill kid?!)

So here's the question: do I have a moral obligation to take it down as well? I could see both sides of the argument:

1. Yes. Although I didn't obtain it through any shady means, it was originally obtained that way. I shouldn't make the situation worse.

2. No. At this point, the proverbial cat is out of the bag. I could take it down, but we've all already seen it. Others have saved it, hosted it elsewhere, and passed it along to their friends. I wish we could go back and erase our memories of the whole thing, but that technology is still years away.

As I easily succumb to peer pressure, I'll let you all vote via the Comments section. Majority rules.

My Most Controversial Post Ever

(So I stumbled across this picture on a French Lost website the other day. The alleged story is that there was some terminally ill kid from Australia who did one of those "Make a Wish" things. Much like if I was about to die, he requested to visit the set of Lost... and took some pictures with the cast and crew. He then uploaded them to the Internet to share with some friends. No big deal until we were introduced to Henry Gale. Then one of his pictures became very interesting...)



A couple of things:

1. Every website that has posted this has taken it down literally hours later. I searched on the Internet for any trace of this last night and couldn't find it anywhere. There's no mention of why it's gone, but it's gone. This could be a good test to see how closely Big Brother is watching me. If it's gone tomorrow, you know why! (Note: Part of me thinks it would be pretty fun to get some "official legal letter" threatening my little Blog site. I would probably frame it and proudly display it over my mantle.)
2. This doesn't prove Henry to be an Other or not. This could be Desmond's balloon from his "race around the world" story that Henry just stumbled across at some point and decided to use as his story. (Except, how would he know if Desmond had already told Jack and Co. he was in a hot air balloon? Then they would be like "Nice try Henry, heard that one before." Hmmmm...)
3. This whole story surrounding the picture could be fake. The picture could be photoshopped. The picture could have come from anywhere, in relation to anything... but it has the smiley face on top, as Henry said. It's crashed in a jungle, looking like the Island on Lost, and weirdos on the Internet even confirmed (before their writings mysteriously vanished) that this would be the type of balloon that could travel across the ocean. But I leave it to you, faithful reader, to make your own judgment.

I'm such a rebel.

"Maternity Leave" Discussion Points

Ten points to ponder...

1. Who is the "he" that Zeke and Ethan were referring to during their little conversation? Clearly some sort of boss. Does that make "he" Tom Degroot? Alfred Hanso? Someone else?
2. What's up with the costumes? It seems as though the Others are trying to make everything think they are living in these wilderness conditions as derelicts, when in reality they seem to all be very educated, clean cut, and have a very organized society on the Island... hello scientists!
3. So Ethan and Zeke are on the same side... I'll assume Goodwin is also on the same side... so there's just one group of "Others" on the Island!
4. Henry Gale seems innocent now, doesn't he?
5. Ethan was working on a list similar to Goodwin's, but didn't get a chance to finish yet. Does that mean they never got a chance to take "the good ones" from the Fuselage camp?
6. When / why did the Others abandon the Medical Facility? It was completely cleared out as if a bomb had gone off in there - except for the costumes... which Zeke was wearing just days ago.
7. Where is Claire getting all this new eye makeup? She looks really good - but come on...
8. How long until Claire realizes that there is 4815162342 medicine inside the Swan Hatch? Have they not investigated what this stuff does yet? Jack, you're a doctor - get on it!
9. What's the symbolism in Eko cutting off his beard? Why confess to this guy, when there are probably 20 - 30 other people on the beach that you don't know either... unless he gets the feeling Henry is an Other, and since he killed Others, he needs to apologize to Others?
10. No new episodes for two weeks. Thankfully, March Madness is right around the corner.

Comment away!