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