Sunday, March 04, 2007

"Tricia Tanaka is Dead" Analysis!

Finally back from Montana! Good to see that the Blog is still in one piece, and all the booze is still in my liquor cabinet. Without further ado, here is a mix of my “Instant Reactions” and “Analysis” of “Tricia Tanaka is Dead”…

Brian’s One Word Review: Happy.

It’s funny – after last week’s debacle of an episode that left most viewers (myself included) disappointed about the lack of plot development, along comes this week’s episode – one that centered around fixing an old van found in the jungle - and it totally worked. I’m sure there are some people out there who were just as angry – if not angrier – after this episode as they were last week. “Tricia Tanaka is Dead” featured very little in the way of plot development concerning any of the main mysteries of the Island. If you watch Lost solely for reveals about the deep mythology they’ve established, you were likely hugely disappointed in this episode. But in fairness, if you only watch the show for storylines about Dharma / Hanso / and the potential “funky time” of the Island, you probably hated Season One too, since we didn’t even really learn about them until early Season Two.

So why did this week make me happy whereas last week left me disappointed? Quite simply, this episode didn’t offer any pretense about being about something bigger than it was. From the start, you knew this episode was going to center around Hurley and the junked Van, and it told that story very well. Last week hinted at much grander plots (Cindy, the kids, the “laws” of the Others’ society), but the story failed because they were unwilling to actually tell the story of any of these points. This week felt like a throwback to Season One, very similar to Hurley building a golf course in an attempt to raise the spirits of his fellow Survivors, with a simple self-contained storyline with little bits of greater plot development interspersed.

What made me happy?

Locke, Sayid, and Kate. I think I verbally said “thank you” when Kate came back and Locke and Sayid immediately began drilling her with questions. In a way, the two minute scene between the three of them on the beach was more satisfying than any scene involving Kate, Sawyer, or Jack when they were actually among the Others – because they were asking the questions we as viewers have been asking, and analyzing what the answers mean in the grand scheme of things. I can’t tell you how excited this makes me for the next few weeks of episodes (since we’re due for a Sayid flashback next week, and a Locke flashback in three weeks) assuming these two maintain the same level of logic in looking for answers.

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The overall theme of the episode. If you think about it, Hurley’s right – a lot of really crappy things have happened to our Survivors lately. Honestly, this season has been very “heavy” with Survivors dying, Survivors being held prisoner, and Survivors in a state of panic over these mysterious “Others”. This episode was all about hope, and raising the spirits (before more heavy episodes which I think are right around the corner). While the flashbacks didn’t really contribute a lot in terms of character development, but they tied in nicely with the theme, and served as a way to verbally reinforce the underlying theme of the Island action.

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The “buddy adventure”. Sure, the whole sub-plot about finding a Van in the jungle seemed a little out of place – but it offered the opportunity for a fantastic “guy’s episode” that bonded the characters, gave them plenty of opportunities for hilarious interactions, and a simple mission, that when completed, left them all happy and their spirits changed for it. I absolutely loved the ending scene, where Jin and Charlie return to the main camp excited about the “adventure” they just had, and can’t wait to share it with the women in their lives because it showed that the action in the episode actually had an impact on them, and changed them for the better. Even better was that Sawyer was in the same boat (no pun intended… well, maybe just a little one), ready to get over his foolish arguments with Kate and excitedly tell her the stories about the getting the Van to run – but she was gone… the love rhombus continues…

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The re-introduction of CFL. What do you know? In a shocking display of logic and problem-solving skills, Kate proved that she’s more than just a pretty face (and smoking body) by putting together what she learned about CFL and Alex over the course of the past two seasons – and sought her out as an ally in her quest to rescue Jack. Again – it’s another example of the characters acting “smart”, acting like real people would be acting if they were in this situation – and I loved it.


Part of me wants to take the episode for what it was – a simple story that isn’t supposed to be over-analyzed and debated like so many other episodes of Lost. It’s clear that this was supposed to be a “fun” episode that sets the stage for some heavy duty stuff to go down in the next few weeks – the sunshine before the storm, if you will.

But we all know I can’t resist, so I’ll semi-over-analyze (just plan “analyze”?) a few things that intrigued me – such as…


Curses. Since Charlie and Hurley faced their fears and “won”, does that mean that Charlie actually won’t die, and Hurley will no longer be under the curse of the Numbers? Well, I doubt that this will put Charlie in the clear. From a storytelling perspective, I think it’s much more interesting to continue the Desmond-Charlie interaction and see how Charlie reacts to potentially dangerous situations that arise with the knowledge that he could die at any moment. As for the Numbers, I’m kinda of the opinion that their “power” has been diminishing ever since the Hatch imploded, based on the lack of their presence in episodes ever since.

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I think what this episode showed was that you have to make your own luck, and not live your life in fear of some “curses” that might be over you. Even if they still exist, this episode showed that they shouldn’t prevent you from living your life. Hopefully, this will prevent us from having Charlie complaining about his impending death in every scene he’s in, and will get Hurley back to the jolly fattie we know and love.


Roger Work Man. Who was this guy? Should we take Sawyer’s logical explanation that he was simply a “Dharma Janitor”, and “Work Man” was his title, rather than his name? If you notice – the name seemed to be handwritten on his jacket, not embroidered or sewn on like the Dharma Logo. This would seem to indicate that there were a number of “generic” uniforms created that could be used interchangeably among various members of the Dharma community. If Roger really was simply a “Work Man”, it makes sense that he didn’t get a fancy personalized Dharma suit.

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But who was Roger? The Dharma logo on his suit is from the Swan Hatch, which puts him in the same plot thread as Desmond, Kelvin, and Radzinski – people who were tasked with inputting the Numbers to prevent the world from coming to an end. Since we know he’s not any of those three characters, he must have existed pre-Radzinski – which is an era I imagine as the “glory days” of the Dharma Initiative – when the Hatches were new, the experiments were just beginning, Dharma employees on the Island were plentiful, and “work men” such as Roger served as simple “assistants” to the scientists actually carrying out the experiments on the Island.

“Work Men” such as Roger would go on beer runs for the scientists, take out their garbage, pick up their dry cleaning – whatever they needed to be done. They were doing important work, and couldn’t be bothered with such menial tasks. It seems that Roger was in the middle of carrying away some “recycling” (which would fit in nicely with the hippie ideals Dharma surely had), and was carrying large quantities of beer – either to provide to the Hatch workers, or to take back to the “work men” barracks, where he and his buddies could booze the night away and complain about “those fancy Dharma Scientists who think they know everything and don’t tip us enough” – when he met his unfortunate demise.

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Which brings up a whole new set of questions – how did Roger die? If he did exist during the Dharma Glory Days, why didn’t someone come and recover his body? If you recall, Roger still had his seatbelt on (which, according to billboards on the highway, should have saved his life). Also, while the Van was on its side, it didn’t seem to have any huge structural damage that you would expect to see if he had hit something. Who Killed Roger Work Man? (Wow – how much better of a title would that have been for this episode – I could have frantically analyzed the similarities between Toon Town and Lost!)

Partly because I have no other answers, all signs point to Smokey. Smokey is the only thing I can imagine that could pick up, shake up, and roll the Van without totally destroying it. What if Roger was driving through the “dark territory” of the Island where Smokey roamed, a part of the Island that everyone else was afraid of entering? If he was attacked inside, it’s logical that no one would ever come looking for him – they were afraid of that area for good reason. Heck, maybe all the beer was in the Van in order to give Roger some “liquid confidence” to make it through the dangerous journey (also, all the more reason to send a “work man” on the trip, rather than an important Dharma scientist).


Roads. Aside from Roger, probably the biggest piece of information we gained from the Van was the map that Sawyer found among the beer and garbage. If you look closely at the map, it seems to show a topographic map showing a road going from a high point (that seems to have a hand-drawn “civilization” with a Dharma logo next to it), down a series of cutbacks, down to a location off screen shot of the map. This provides more evidence of Roger existing during the Dharma Glory Days, where they probably had a much stronger Island infrastructure.

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But it also reminded me of a very important point – remember the radio tower on the Island, used to transmit CFL’s crazy message during Season One? We still haven’t seen that radio tower on the Island, but it would make sense that it would be located at the highest point on the Island. It would also stand to reason that there would be some other buildings constructed around this tower to keep all the Dharma workers centralized. I’m thinking that the map shows the location of the “Dharma Civilization” – and it’s located at the highest point of the Island. This would help explain why our Survivors haven’t stumbled across it yet in their journeys.

The real question is – is the Dharma Civilization the same thing as the Others Civilization? I guess it all depends on the relationship between Dharma and the Others (which we’re supposed to learn next episode!) Theoretically, if the Others do live in the former Dharma buildings, we might just be a few episodes away from a reveal of one of the major undiscovered areas of the Island. Even more intriguing – if this is the case, Sawyer is basically holding a map that would lead right to this location… and Jack! (The only problem of course is that the “rescue party” consisting of Kate, Sayid, and Locke seem to have already left – but you never know, they might also get captured – and the map might once again prove critical.)


Shambala. One last thing about the Van – I know a number of Commenters were already all over this in my absence, but the song that began playing when the Van started was “Shambala” by Three Dog Night. Besides being a rocking song that perfectly fit the mood the episode (and did you notice how it was carried over into the score for the touching reunion scenes on the beach – very well done), the song is about Shambala - a legendary, mythical city - kind of like a Buddhist Camelot. It represents the ideal of secular enlightenment, a view that all aspects of civilization - family, commerce, education, science, the arts, and religion - can be full of an innate sacredness. It’s not really a physical place, but rather a spiritual place that can only be achieved by those who have achieved a state of spiritual enlightenment.

It’s pretty obvious to see the tie-ins to Lost, and even makes one to wonder if the Island represents a sort of “Shambala”, a place that only “enlightened” ones were allowed to live. If nothing else, it’s a cool little Easter Egg in the episode.


Like I said earlier, I think the vast majority of the episode was intended for pure entertainment and didn’t need over-analyzing. But as the episode winded down, the mood shifted, and with the shift came something that definitely needs addressing.


CFL. While I think we’re all super-excited about the return of CFL, with it comes some serious questions about her prior stories and motives. Let’s revisit her story so far:

CFL was on a science expedition (where her team was allegedly studying “time” – but that line was cut from the original script), with her husband Robert, and was pregnant. When their ship picked up a signal broadcasting the Numbers, they came towards the Island to investigate and crashed when a storm hit. After a few weeks on the Island, her team became “sick”, and CFL killed them all out of fear that if they ever did get off the Island, this “sickness” would spread to the rest of the world.

She soon gave birth to a daughter, Alexandra. But a week after her birth, she saw a black pillar of smoke, and Alex was kidnapped by the Others. At some point, she changed the message at the radio tower from the Numbers to her own distress signal (picked up by Charlie in the Pilot episode), but claims that the tower is still under control of the Others. She seems to have extensive maps of the Island, but claims to have never seen the Others, only having “heard their whispers”. She helped Claire escape from the Others, and caught Ben in one of her traps – warning Sayid that “he’ll lie for a very long time”.

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After reading that, I hope you’re thinking the same thing I am – CFL’s story doesn’t add up. Immediately, the following three questions jump out at me:

  1. How could she have changed the message at the radio tower if it’s under control of the Others?
  2. How has she lived 16 years on the Island without seeing the Others, when clearly they have a full-fledged civilization “with backyards”? Especially since her maps seem to indicate that she’s explored the Island quite extensively?
  3. If she’s never seen (and thus, never interacted with) an Other, how does she know that Ben will “lie” when she catches him?

Something is not adding up.

At first, I was inclined to think she was an Other “mole”, merely acting like a Crazy French Lady much like Ben was acting like a stranded balloonist – but she really does seem like she hasn’t seen Alex for quite some time. When she first captured Sayid in Season One, the first thing she asked him (multiple times) was “where is Alex?”, thinking that he was one of the Others, and would have answers. Also, Alex has yet to mention her mother, and doesn’t seem to know that she exists – so I think it’s safe to say that CFL is not an Other.

On the other hand, if the Others know that she exists, why didn’t they kidnap and brainwash or kill her? Clearly, they must not think she poses any threat to them or she would have been taken care of long ago – it’s almost as if they are coexisting on the Island without either side taking notice of the other – which seems totally out of place for both sides.

Maybe, since the Others really aren’t heartless killers, and have no reason to kill her, they haven’t – but due to her craziness, they have no reason to try and integrate her into their society. Maybe the Others use Smokey as a “security system” (CFL’s words, in fact) to keep her away from their neighborhoods with backyards (and Alex). It does seem like the Others aren’t seen unless they want to be seen, and are willing to quickly abandon places (the Staff Hatch) or setup decoys (the huts where Michael was held) for the sake of anonymity and secrecy.

At the end of the day, I get the feeling that CFL has lied to our Survivors. She clearly knows more about this Island and the Others than she is letting on, but doesn’t know everything, and is just as “lost” as they are in some aspects of the Island. But why would she lie to our Survivors? Well, at the end of the day, I get the feeling that we’ll just chalk it up to CFL being not right in the head. I don’t think there’s anything malicious in her actions thus far, she’s just crazy (obviously, or else we would just call her FL).

It’s going to be very interesting to see how the next few episodes play out. We could be in store for a heartfelt reunion between CFL and Alex, CFL going crazy on Ben for kidnapping her in the first place, or Alex coming to grips with who she actually is and what that means in regards to her place in the Others society.

I’m excited for it.

37 comments:

Alec said...

"Who Killed Roger Work Man?"

LOL! That would've been a way better title!

Anonymous said...

I'm with you, Brian. I enjoyed the episode.

Anonymous said...

Answer this...if CFL's baby Alex (which she named) was kidnapped a week after birth, what are the odds that the Others actually kept the baby's name? Did they watch her? Did they hear her say the baby's name? It would seem odd that they'd keep that name, since the baby wouldn't have been able to speak.

Weird.

4kids4me

Anonymous said...

Re: anonymous

I was wondering that as well which put a thought into my head that is probably way out of left field: What if CFL and Ben are actually Alex's parents? Alex is treated as Ben's daughter and I know it could just be an adoptive bond, but CFL and Ben being Alex's true parent's would explain a few things. The whole "sickness" thing and crashed science expedition would be explained away as her cover story, like Ben's baloonist story. This would explain how CFL is able to seemingly live on the island without problem with the Others. It would also explain why CFL would want to lie to the survivors; they're already afraid of Others, so why would she want to announce that she is one of them. Anyway, just a thought. Welcome back Brian.

Anonymous said...

Still no comment on the fact that "Tricia Tanaka" is clearly an ode to Family Guy's Tricia Takanawa? Well I thought it was funny.

L said...

I was thinking a similar thing, jdcfsu. What if CFL *used* to be an Other but then went crazy and so they took Alex. So now she's just a crazy lady wandering in the jungle ... although, now that I'm writing it out, it might not actually add up ...

Brian said...

How do the Others know the baby's name is Alex? Well, as we've seen, they're constantly watching everyone on the Island - heck, they learned the names of all of our Survivors pretty quickly too. I'm sure CFL talked to her baby by name at some point in the brief time she had Alex in her care and they picked up on it. Also, once Alex was taken, I'm sure CFL would have cried out her name in sadness.

chris b. - I totally didn't pick up on that initially, but now that you mention it, that's too close to be coincidence, right? Unless "Tanaka" is the equivalent of "Smith" in the Asian culture?

Jason Jordan said...

Take a look at this:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/2wjhfj

There are more links to Buddhism that we realise.

Rich said...

Brian -

Tanaka pretty much is the Smith of Japan. It means something like "center of the rice field" - "ta" meaning "rice field" and "naka" meaning "middle".

JacobUSA said...

Brian, you said:
"Quite simply, this episode didn’t offer any pretense about being about something bigger than it was."
This will sound oppositional, but that's only because I disagree (hmm), but what other pretense does the show have than with the previews for the week ahead. And if every preview for this episode had the tagline that this would be the episode EVERYONE would be talking about, is there something I missed? Okay, sure every episode gives you something to talk about... [case in point], but there was not any meat or substantial arc moving stuff in the episode. People may disagree that Hurley's overcoming his curse is a revelation, but it doesn't do anything to answer the questions of the show, which is why we tune in... to figure it out.
For me, there's not really much to talk about at all after this episode. It was a comfort meal that was poorly acted and directed.
Just to be clear, I am a huge fan of the show and have been reading your site for a long long time, so I respectfully disagree with the glowing review. I just think there's another side to this episode that is weak on the production (writing, directing, acting) end of things. Lost has been getting into a bad habit of bad writing episode, good writing episode and we ping pong through the season. An episode with heart warming character stuff, an episode with a few teasers about the island... I have felt a shift in the show for the last 2 episodes that is really starting to bum me out. I had a moment, where I felt as if maybe Lost jumped the shark last week, but I am hoping this week will change that, has anybody felt inconsistencies with performances by Sawyer and Kate, are those clunker dialog lines going to be continuously excused... I am only this critical, because the show has set the bar high for itself, by its own doing and it hasn't attained near it's own brilliance in a while.
Obviously, those of us who read your posts and take the time to read the talk back are the core fans of lost, but I think those numbers are dwindling. Since the new episodes began, about half of the people I know who watch Lost and have been watching lost [but aren't, well... obsessed] have started to write it off.
You can't have Jack see other people from the Plane and not ask them what is going on. You can't just dismiss the fact that Locke knocked Sayid out in Season 1 and from this week's episode, where did this hill come from that Hurley found? How is it that they haven't fully explored a 1 mile semi-circle inland from the beach in 2 months time. Because there's no chance Hurley ran more than a mile.
I just hope all the incidents that we have been adding up and those that you note every week are addressed and answered, not jut brushed away with trite episodes to tick another one off the season chart and put bread in people's pocket.
I am praying for a kick-ass turn around, because the ratings numbers don't seem to be going up and that matters to the mouse...

Craig said...

I opened the comments section up to suggest the same as JDCFSU! So instead I will just say I agree :-).
I liked this ep too, yes it was light but you gotta love the Sawyer quips! And the van song was a perfect fit.

Anonymous said...

" The Dharma logo on his suit is from the Swan Hatch, which puts him in the same plot thread as Desmond, Kelvin, and Radzinski –

“Work Men” such as Roger would go on beer runs for the scientists, take out their garbage, pick up their dry cleaning – whatever they needed to be done. "

In that case, why isn't Roger wearing a contamination suit just like Kelvin did each time he left the hatch? Did he know there was no contamination as well? Did everyone know? Why would Kelvin lie to Desmond? To keep him in the hatch?

" At the end of the day, I get the feeling that CFL has lied to our Survivors. "

That, or TPTB didn't think things through. I'm inclined to think the second option. Those 3 questions you asked make perfect sense. One thing though: I think the maps don't lead to the radio tower and it's no longer controled by the others. How could it be? Why would the others keep sending out her signal?

Danielle said she didn't see any "others" but that she heard them whisper. We saw cameras in the jungle on Alcatrez. Maybe there are more on the main island. But it still doesn't make sense: If the others simply don't get themselves seen, how would Eko and Jin see them? (2x09)

I was surprised to love this episode too :) When I first heard of the van, I dismissed this episode in my head, but I quite liked it once I watched it. Hurley seems to be the only lostie I like right now. Oh, and Kate, since she started to act smart and open her mouth and question things. Go girl!

Anonymous said...

One last thing: Who wanna bet that we'll never see that road map again? And that no one will take all those papers from the back of the van and examine them?

Anonymous said...

As far as Roger not wearing a radiation suit, what if Roger and his van are from pre-"incident" - now there's a word we've not heard in a while. We still don't know what the incident was (or indeed if there really was one - i thought for a while there wasn't, and it was just a way to keep the Swan guys pushing the button, but that's been kind of blown apart since Season 2's climax).

Considering he's driving a love wagon and listening to Shambala, I'm thinking he's from the Woodstock generation (so we're talking late 60s into the 70s) - not sure how this fits into the timeline of the Incident and Kelvin/Radzinski, but I'm pretty sure Kelvin at least hasn't been there since the 70s (did we ever decide where in the timeline he met Sayid? I don't remember).

Maybe this is unimportant in the grander scheme of things, but I feel the more we can piece together the Island's history, the more we can start to put together informed theories about what the hell is going on.

Anonymous said...

Consider this.. didn't CFL try to take Aaron? Perhaps this was for the others?
No, she's just too unstable for that.

Perhaps they have her 'fooled' by the illness as well? Perhaps it's nothing other than a 'fear' tactic

Alec said...

feesh: Kelvin met Sayid during the first Gulf War.

Also, wasn't the radiation suit just for show, to keep Desmond in the hatch? Remember, Kelvin had a gaping hole in his suit and also took it off as soon as he got outside, in the episode where Desmond finally followed him outside.

Anonymous said...

Feline said "Why would Kelvin lie to Desmond? To keep him in the hatch?"

Yes, exactly, because Kelvin was working on Desmond's sailboat, remember. It probably took months and months to get it back into shape. Desmond had to stay and push the button, and he never would have if he knew what Kelvin was doing.

--Jacko

Anonymous said...

Of course Kelvin's radiation suit was entirely for show....a ploy to keep Desmond in the hatch, pushing the button. As stated, Kelvin was attempting to repair the sail boat and to escape the island.

Anonymous said...

let me get this straight, CFL claims she's never seen the others. Only ever hearing 'whispers'.
so who/what did she see when Alex was kidnapped? did she wake up one morning and her child was gone? can someone enlighten me?
great blog as always Brian, it might sound stupid, but i look forward to your analysis as much as the episode itself. Good job

Anonymous said...

Maybe CFL lost her baby the same way Claire would have. She was kidnapped and drugged; convinced that her baby would have a better life. That would explain why they kept the baby's name.

Anonymous said...

Is it too much to ask, or perhaps just too late to ask that you stop referring to Danielle as CFL? You stopped calling Ben by his various names (Henry Gale, then Benry). I assumed, by the way, that Ben was Alex's adopted father, but is it possible that Danielle and Ben are her real parents and were in cahoots when Ben was caught in the trap?

Anonymous said...

The Others probably continued to call Rousseau's baby 'Alex', so that sixteen years later, we would be able to make the connection that Alex was CFL's daughter (I'm sure it was originally planned as a shocking reveal that her baby was both not a son, and still alive).

Anonymous said...

It would seem unlikely that Daniele (aka CFL) is in cohots with Ben and the Others. At the same time, hard to understand how she has not encountered them while on the island for past 16 years.

Seventoes said...

anon@5:12, i've sort of gotten used to the name CFL. I like it more than Danielle :)

PHG said...

I for one am in favour of keeping "CFL" instead of "Danielle." And yes, I know Danielle didn't need quotes, I just felt like it. And yes, I spelled favour the fancy way and not the normal way, I just like doing that even though I am not a Cunuck or European. What does TPTB mean?

I can't believe I didn't realize it, that HAD to be a reference to Family Guy. Too bad she didn't refer to herself as "Asian Reporter Tricia Tanaka."

I was a big fan of this episode for reasons posted in the previous blog posting.

I have nothing else to say. Maybe I will get really really drunk Wednesday night and come up with a spectacular theory. But probably not. You never know.

PHG said...

And yes, I know I spelled Canuck wrong. No reason there, just being lazy and sloppy. My deepest apologies to our friends up North. I am a fan of Windsor. I can go for some Irish Car Bombs at the bar near the Travelodge, or ring up a big tab at Poppa Cheaney's Whiskey Well. The best part about ringing up a big tab there was I had my receipt, but it was in Canadian, so when I saw my statement it was much cheaper.

Brian said...

anonymous (if that really is your real name)... let the record show that the naming conventions of Ben went from Henry Gale --> HGI (Henry Gale Impersonator) --> Ben. There was never "Benry".

I guess the reason I was willing to make the switch from HGI to "Ben" was that both are short and sweet. I'm cool with that. It in no way slowed the writing process.

On the other hand, CFL started out as some Crazy French Lady whose name was "Rousseau" or something fancy that I likely would have mispelled on numerous occassions. This would have a direct correlation on the length and quality of the Blog, so her name remained CFL even after we learned her full name.

Unless it greatly offends everyone, I'd prefer to keep her as "CFL", Kate as "Hottie McFreckles", and Jack as "Charlie From Party of Five".

Anonymous said...

I'm betting that CFL is a former member or "the others" that has been brainwashed and exiled (or escaped) from their group (possibly for some type of rebellion or indiscretion). We know "the others" are able to utilize mental reconditioning techniques and are not unwilling to use them on their own people when they step out of line (aka. Alex's boyfriend Carl). That would also help explain her jumbled past (which sounds more like a made-up cover story) and her half remembered knowledge / ignorance of the going-ons of the island. Ben and CFL, Alex's parents... That would be great TV!

Although... I'm going to be royally annoyed if someone doesn't use that map. Where there's a VW bus in the jungle, there's probably a road covered in over-growth. Right?

Anonymous said...

So CFL's husband's name was Robert. Is Ben a nickname for Robert?

heliopath said...

hey brian,
as always 'love it'...

i like the CFL thought process, however a few things came to me while reading it. Isnt it odd that she was specifically a researching scientist or is that pure coincidence and has no relation with the others/hanso/creepy science

the black pillar of smoke she saw before alex was kidnapped was that perhaps smokey? she tried faking it with claires baby (ugh awful memories of claire whinnage) but it was badly staged.

has she seen smokey? has she interacted with smokey?

theres definetly lots fishy about her...

(i had a random quick nonsensical thought the other day about it, maybe the sickness were people having island halucinations and dying by the hand of smokey, and she said "i killed them" to save them from the incomprehensible truth that there is a black smoke pile Dementorifying people around the island. we still dont know what the "sickness" is, we assume its physical but it could be psychological, more creepiness)

i dunno, more random thoughts. i hope sayid ep is good.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the sickness is a freaky zombie like evil voodoo illness where their eyes turn black and scarey and secrete blood. And I hope there is two groups of others and the second group eats ben then comes for the losties!
Maybe they chant weird voodoo like prayers that enables them to leave their bodies and float around the island and thats where the whispers come from. :P

I'm pretty sure the "others" that passed by ecko and jin are a seperate group, they seemed freeky deaky, where as bens others are quite conservative when compared(based on what WE KNOW), and the way the kids were walking appeared quite experienced and confident in their enchanted jungle ways, unlike Sids kids.


Anyone else think there is two groups? why? why not?

Anonymous said...

Well "anonymous" is it too much to ask that just before you post your comment that you click on the "other" bullet and enter a name? :P lol. It's a simple enough process (not to mention courtesy) that helps the rest of us if we need to refer to a particular comment. It also helps distinguish one anonymous poster from the 50 other anonymous people on here. It's more of a newbie thing anyway and you guys seem like you've been here for a while. Not that it's the end of the world but thanks.

Anonymous brings up an intriging theory (see what I mean?) that possibly CFL is an ex-Other brain-washed/wiped and released out into the wild. Anonymous makes a good case for connecting both her and Ben to be both Alex's biological parents and is a plausible counter to Hopes's dilegence in reminding us that CFL called her husband Robert.
Having said it's intriguing though, I still think her original story is more in line with her characters history because fear and terror also change a person and she is one scared lady. Not withstanding though, I think a Rousseau/Other crossover flashback couldn't hurt.

I never thought about before but yah! put a Hamburgler costume on her and Hottie McFreckles could make it another 99 billion served overnight. robble-robble yummy!

Anonymous said...

One more point. In this episode, around the food shelves someone said they were out of chocolate bars. It seemed like a minor comment for this Hurley centric episode but it does make me wonder again now that the hatch is gone are the food drops gone as well and what will our hap-hazard survivors do then? Not that the story line needs to go there, just a curiosity.

Craig said...

Here I go all hyperthetical again but imagine in a later episode we find out that CFL is also 'marked' like Juliette? Does being marked mean Jules will soon be exiled and forced to go native? Double ouch! :-)

Anonymous said...

"Where there's a VW bus in the jungle, there's probably a road covered in over-growth. Right? "

Not if smokey moved it. Then again, it would probably have smashed it. Someone, this miracle van had tires that kept their air for 15 years.

Back to the van.. the losties may have lost their vinyl, but at least they have an 8-track until they can hook up with with 'others' in 'otherville'.

Wooo! 8 track!

Seventoes said...

craig, you might be on to something there! *gets excited for tomorrow*

btw, wheres our preview brian? Ill be lost without one! (pun kinda intended)

Anonymous said...

Uh, doesnt the van needs like gasoline or diesel or whatever?

And, shouldnt the survivors be worried about getting food, water and smokey traps?