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!

Lost - "Maternity Leave"

Episode Title: “Maternity Leave”

Brian’s Deeper Meaning Guess: I suppose it would be wishful thinking to have the title refer to Claire dying – but that would be the ultimate “maternity leave”, leaving Aaron alone after his mother’s death. Nothing against Claire, she’s pretty cute and has a fun accent, but we’ve now got something like 20 main characters on the show, and I think some trimming would tighten the story up immensely. Plus, they’re on a mysterious and dangerous Island; you’d think deaths would be a pretty common occurrence, right?

Sadly, I’m guessing this title merely carries this dual-meaning:

Meaning 1: Flashback to when Claire was kidnapped in Season 1, finally showing us what happened to her (but I bet not showing us everything – I mean, this is Lost after all!). She took a “leave” from the group.

Meaning 2: Claire leaving Aaron to go hiking through the jungle in search of the places she sees in her memories.

This should serve as the first of what I hope is an upcoming trend on the show, giving us flashbacks that occur on the Island. Tell me you wouldn’t love to see a flashback of what Michael has been up to since he’s disappeared? Or Walt’s kidnapping? Or Locke when he first encountered the Monster?

At some point, we’re going to have a full understanding of the characters on the Island based on their pre-Island flashbacks, so if Lost is going to continue it’s flashback format, I think this is the only way to go!

TV Guide Description: A desperate Claire, along with Kate and Rousseau, attempts a return to the scene of her kidnapping where she believes she might find the cure for Baby Aaron's mysterious illness. Meanwhile, Jack and Locke must keep their prisoner a secret from the rest of the survivors.

TV Guide Breakdown: Show creators and Internet people in the know (not me… yet) have hinted that “big changes” were coming for Aaron this season. Is this what his mysterious illness is? Does Aaron have “the sickness” that CFL warned about? Is he turning evil, as forecasted by the psychic last season? Or is he merely ill due to malnutrition because he’s living on a freakin’ tropical island without getting any medical shots right after birth? I hope this is the start of something big, a place to begin explaining why children are so important on the Island, perhaps?

It also looks like new girl Libby finally has a role on the show! She’s serving as psychologist to Claire, helping her dig up repressed memories of her abduction prior to Aaron’s birth. It’s about time! Is it just me, or do these memories look an awful lot like Sydney’s, circa Alias Season 3?





This really brings up the fundamental question of “Are the Others good or evil?” If good, they’re putting a needle in Claire to check the health of her and her baby. If they’re evil, they’re injecting pure concentrated devil juice into her. To be honest, if you look at how the whole Claire abduction storyline turned out last year, I’m leaning towards this being for Claire / Aaron’s own good. I mean, why would they kidnap her, do tests on her, and then just release her? If they wanted Aaron so badly, they would have kept her captive until he was born and then taken him. Perhaps this is merely an injection of Desmond’s 4815162342 juice to protect Aaron from the “sickness”? If so, his new mysterious illness might be the result of not getting a fresh injection for a while, leaving his susceptible to the sickness.

There has also been some chatter that this is a third Dharma Hatch:



I don’t buy it. For one, there’s a very clear medical symbol (two snakes around a staff with wings) in the center of what appears to be the outside door of some sort of facility. Both the Swan and Arrow Hatch doors had no markings whatsoever on their outer doors (probably to help camouflage them?) My money is on this being a legitimate Dharma Medical Facility – one used by Dharma scientists when they get cuts, performing autopsies on experiments gone terribly, terribly wrong, and administering yearly Hanso flu shots. But… what are the odds this thing is abandoned when they enter? I’d guess pretty high.

It also seems very odd that the crew that goes on this mission would be Claire, Kate, and… CFL?! Hi, do we not remember CFL’s Claire and Aaron-napping past? And I don’t even think Kate and CFL have ever even been formerly introduced. If I was going to return to the scene of a violent crime, I wouldn’t pick a complete stranger who may or may not evil to accompany me. I’d also be taking some strapping boy along in case they encountered spiders or sports-trivia games. Be on the lookout for a CFL double-cross.

Lastly, it looks like Jack and Locke finally come to some agreement regarding Henry… that they are going to keep him secret from everyone else. This makes no sense to me. What harm could possibly come from everyone else knowing there was a strange man who might be a mysterious “Other” held captive in the Hatch? Keeping him secret just opens up the door for someone else to be in the Hatch on 4-8-15-16-23-42 entering duty and literally open up the door and let him escape down the road.

Previously on Lost…

We flashback to the magical time that was “Operation Desert Storm”, where Sayid learns the Iraqi government is responsible for the murder of his family in a neighboring town and learns the fine art of torture.

Meanwhile, back on the Island, CFL has captured a person she claims to be “An Other” named Henry Gale. Sayid isn’t so sure, so takes him back to the Hatch where he questions him about his past. After an involved “hot air balloon ride gone terribly wrong” tale, it seems that he’s telling the trust. But after doing his best Jack Bauer impression, Sayid finally gets him to trip up on the details of his supposed wife’s death. Unfortunately, buzz-kill Jack turns out to be a Democrat who has problems with “torturing people for information”, and interrupts the party before Sayid can get any more information. However, Henry gives Sayid this look, which pretty much confirms he is pure evil:



Elsewhere, in what could either be a throwaway storyline or an absolutely huge one, Sawyer is tormented by a noisy frog. In looking for the frog, he stumbles upon Hurley doing his best Piggy impression. Sawyer blackmails him into helping find Kermit, and upon finding it, smashes it with his hand and gives it to Hurley.

In what should been a huge event, the 108 clock finally ran out, and we were treated to Egyptian hieroglyphics in the place of the numbers… and also learned that the 108 clock is really more like the 109 clock since Locke still had the opportunity to enter the numbers and reset it after the hieroglyphics appeared.

Fade to black. LOST.



Sawyer. What is it with Sawyer and animals? First the boar, now this? After his conning of everyone last week and getting all the guns, I’m beginning to wonder if Sawyer is really a bad guy, and that animals can sense evil. But did the frog smashing scene have greater significance than solidifying Sawyer’s place as a bad guy?



joexray, apparently some sort of frogologist who reads the Blog (does that make me a blogologist?) points out:

“One thing that I noticed tonight is that the frog Sawyer and Hurley were holding is a Poison Arrow/Dart Frog. These frogs contain poison that can kill human beings by entering through cuts, the mouth or even permeating unbroken skin. The poison is like curare and affects the heart and may cause hallucinations. The skin is used as a poison for blowgun darts and arrows by some tribes of the rainforest of Colombia. Some species are considered to be among the deadliest animals in the world with enough poison per frog to kill 10 adults. The toxicity varies due to the "cicle-of-life" situation of each frog. These frogs eat insects. The vegetation that the insect eat actually influences the toxicity of the frogs sweat. Since nothing on this island is safe, I'm betting these frogs are very toxic.I'm sure it's no coincidence that they used a Poison Arrow Frog in this episode. The fact that Sawyer squished it in his hand is even more concerning. He, in essence squeezed venom into his hand, then handed it to Hurley.”

So are Sawyer and Hurley doomed? If they choose to follow this storyline through, they’re actually in luck – because they effects of the Poison Arrow Frog can be prevented or reversed with the tetrodotoxin from a puffer fish. I’m sure Jin could catch one of those and save them!


Ranch. Cue Wendy’s Ranch Tooth yelling “Raaaanch!”



As predicted, Hurley’s lack of weight loss is not explained by his “invincibility” due to his Numbers curse, but rather due to a secret stash of Dharma foodstuffs from the Hatch. (Should we be suspicious that some of the food labels – like Crepes Au Chocolat – are written in French? CFL, you’re going on the Threat Down!)



Jorge Garcia (Hurley) has actually lost 30 pounds since the show started, but adding this quick storyline is a nice touch of realism, since anyone who watches Survivor (read: Currin) knows that you lose a ton of weight in a week, let alone in a month of an Island. It also gives Hurley a secret he’s hiding on the Island, albeit a minor one compared to some others (Sawyer, Locke, Charlie).


Sides. This is two weeks in a row that Jack and Locke have had a heated confrontation. If they’re trying to build up the Locke vs. Jack battle, they’ve done a good job. In fact, at this point it seems absurd that Locke and Jack would work together on anything, making their co-hiding of Henry seem a stretch.



How long before Locke changes the combination on the vault again? How long before Jack makes a speech about how Henry is innocent and they need to let him go? If the rest of our Survivors knew about Henry, it’s logical to think they would neatly fall behind Locke or Jack’s line of thinking and reasoning. However, the interesting thing is that I now see a third side forming – a “You’re Both Crazy, I’m Taking Action” side – led by Sayid and Ana-Lucia.



Sayid and Ana-Lucia? Yes, the most unlikely of friends after Ana-Lucia’s accidental Shannonicide earlier this season. But both have basically made the same speech about taking action. “You people aren’t afraid enough” says Ana. “You’ve forgotten how dangerous they are” says Sayid. I think it would be easy to sway Sawyer (and his mega-valuable gun stash) to their side as well. “You and me, we ain’t done, Zeke” says Sawyer – plus he’s now been shot by Others twice!


Iraq. Here’s the curious thing about the whole Sayid flashback. No, not the fact that Kate’s unbiological dad appeared in it.





It’s that the whole reason they needed Sayid was to pump information out of his friend. I assumed this was because he spoke their language. However, in the end, we found that the Shawshank Redemption Guard also spoke the language… so why did he need Sayid? Did he think the Iraqi would be more receptive to Sayid? Or is there something bigger going on here? He talked very cryptically by saying “You’ve learned how to torture someone. You’re going to need that skill down the road” or something along those lines. It really reminded me of Desmond’s “I’ll see you in another lifetime brother” line, as if he knew Sayid would end up on the Island and need to torture someone down the road.

Maybe I’m reading too much into this. (But not as much as people who think this guy is Tom Degroot / Zeke:



Yes, he has a beard, but that’s it.)


Hieroglyphics. To those of you who didn’t tune in last week for the post One of Them post (fun!), based on what we saw when the 108 clock went Egyptian on us, it said the equivalent of “To Cause Death”.



This brings us back to the question of “what would happen if you didn’t enter the numbers?” If you watch the episode, there’s an audible sound of something happening (wheels grinding?) right before Locke gets the Numbers in. But I don’t see how any of this would bring about death. Would it have shut the blast doors, trapping the person inside the Hatch – where they would eventually die? Does it have something to do with the super-magnetic core that seems to be inside the Hatch as well? Not sure. But I’m betting we find out before the season is over.

The other curious thing is that this “To Cause Death” warning is written in a language that hasn’t been used since 391 AD. Why put up such an important message in a format that almost no living person understands? Initially I thought “well maybe this place has been around since the beginning of time, and back then they understood it…” but if so, they wouldn’t be using our modern number system. So the two pieces are completely incongruous. Why?


Oz. Quickly, if you didn’t read the previous post – I’ll point out that Henry Gale is the name of Dorothy’s uncle in the Wizard of Oz. Henry Gale on the Island tells Sayid that he got there when his hot air balloon crashed… which is the same way the Wizard claims he got to Oz. What does this mean?

Initially, I was worried this was a subtle reference that everything happening on the Island might end up being “all a dream”, like in Wizard of Oz. However, after doing some research, I found that in the original Wizard of Oz book, Oz is a real place – where Dorothy and her family go and live forever. In the movie, it was made into “all a dream” because Hollywood bigwigs were worried no one would believe such a fantasy concept. Making it “all a dream” made the story more believable.

Ask anyone who’s played Super Mario Bros. 2 – the “all a dream” ending is the worst thing ever. Here’s hoping the writers know this, and threw it in just to trip us up, similar to the “maybe this song is from another time” comment two weeks back.


What Would Brian Do? This is a new section of the weekly post I’m starting due to my increasing frustrations with the story-telling style of the show. What am I referring to? Let’s review:

So far this season, we’ve been introduced to Desmond, only to have him run away and not be seen again for 12 episodes and counting. We were introduced to the Tailers, only to have them have minimal interaction with our original cast, and appear in throwaway two minute scenes tacked on to the end of episodes here and there. We now have Walt and Michael missing, and no one is even talking about them. Jack, Locke, and Sawyer encountered a large group of “Others” in the jungle who knew way more about them than they should have, and yet they didn’t attempt to talk to them or find them again, or even tell everyone else about the experience. There’s this mysterious Hatch that may hold the secrets to the Island, yet everyone spends their time hanging on the beach instead of tearing that thing apart looking for answers. Charlie and Eko encounter a crazy smoke monster and don’t talk about it with anyone. Sawyer steals all the guns and cons everyone on the Island one week, and the next week no one is treating him any differently.

HELLO!? Am I going crazy here? Does this not seem insane to anyone else? Why aren’t the characters talking to each other, sharing Island experiences and trying to get off of it? Why don’t events on the Island carry any resonance into future episodes? Why are the writers hell-bent on starting a storyline, then abandoning it for two months, then coming back to it? It’s terrible, terrible storytelling!

They say that no man is an Island. Ironically, on Lost (which takes place on an Island) not only is every character an Island, but each episode is a seeming Island.

But it’s easy to complain. This is where I tell you how I would make this show better, starting with this week. If I were in charge, these five things would happen during “Maternity Leave”:

5. Find stuff in the Dharma Medical Facility. I'm talking charts about each of the Survivors on the Island, pictures, dossiers, etc. Something to let them know (and the audience know) that they have been watching them along, and perhaps they were all hand selected and brought there for a specific reason.

4. Have Locke tell someone, anyone about what happened with the 108 Numbers turning hieroglyphic last episode. We can't let this be another one of those crazy things that happens and no one on the Island ever talks about it. Discuss it. Guess what it could be mean. Do something to let the audience know that you indeed saw the symbols and ponder what they might mean!

3. Continue to question Henry Gale. Don't just let him sit in the vault while Locke and Jack debate the ethics of keeping him there. Get details of his story, ask him if he's seen anything weird happen, look for him to slip up in his stories. Throw out information about the 108 Numbers, Desmond, Zeke, etc. to see what his reactions are. Keep a close eye on him at all times.

2. Show Sayid beginning to forgive Ana-Lucia and the two sharing a common bond in what needs to be done. Show them planning a strategy and commenting on how insane everyone else on the Island has been for merrily living their simple existence instead of questioning things, being afraid, and trying to get off the Island!

1. Kill Claire. I know, it sounds cruel, but think about it. Killing Claire would force someone else to raise Aaron. Who else? How about our resident couples on the Island, neither of whom have any major storylines going on. I'm talking about Sun / Jin or Rose / Bernard. Plus, we will all be left to wonder if the psychic's prediction about Aaron will come true - if he's raised by someone other than Claire, will he turn evil? I'd be very intrigued to see how this would play out.

How? Well, if we're to believe that The Zeke Others are really good guys (which I'm leaning towards), you'd need to either have one of The Misfit Others (Ethan / Henry) take her out (we've seen that Ethan had no problem killing our Survivors). With Ethan dead, the most likely candidate would be Henry. Since his escape seems eminent, he could easily crash the CFL/Kate/Claire party. CFL and Kate clearly have survivor skills. Claire does not. Sorry Charlie! (I'm using that both as a valid expression in our English language as well as expressing sorrow for the character Charlie who would be sad if she died. Hilarious.)

Tell me that wouldn't make for a fantastic episode?

"One of Them" Instant Discussion Points

1. "Henry Gale", the name given by the stranger in this episode, is the name of Dorothy's uncle in the Wizard of Oz. In that movie, the Wizard flew away in a hot air balloon.

2. Here is the Egyptian Hieroglyphics Alphabet:



Here is what we saw when the timer hit zero:



While studying hieroglyphics on the Internet, I came across this:



3. We were totally lied to in the preview. They included a picture of a fake timer. That's pretty unbelievable, and reason enough to never trust another preview ever again. I guess TV can lie to us (but only once in a great while).

4. No new episode next week, even though it's still sweeps. Very odd.

5. Discuss.

Lost - "One of Them"

Episode Title: “One of Them”

Brian’s Deeper Meaning Guess: Inevitably in life, sides are always drawn. No matter who you are or what you do – in the end, sides will form. You’re either going to be one of us or one of them. Philosophical discussions about stereotypes aside, what does it mean to us?

On the Island, the episode title clearly refers to this curious fellow:



Who is he? SAT-style multiple choice time!

a. A survivor of Flight 815 who somehow ended up on his own?
b. An ever-elusive “Other”?
c. Kelvin, the supposedly dead co-Hatch-dweller of Desmond?
d. A resident of another Hatch, not affiliated with any of the aforementioned parties?
e. None of the above.

See, it’s tricky because I threw in that “none of the above” answer. However, I’m leaning towards D. Why? One big clue. Remember the “timer” we saw in the preview, counting down to zero, causing gasps and little girl shrieks of joy from the Delta House viewing faithful (note: shrieks came from me, not any of the girls in attendance). Look closer:



They’re different. They seem to be doing the same thing – but they’re not even close in appearance. So (unless it appears in some dream sequence, which would anger me more than anything in the world) there’s obviously some other timer on the Island. Where better than inside another Hatch? Although back in the day, I originally thought that each Hatch would have its own “experiment” going on (since the Orientation video listed all the different “focuses” of Dharma), it now seems as though at least two have the same “push the button” action going on.

Strange.

A bigger question is why did this guy leave his Hatch? Assuming he’s anything like Desmond, he believes that he has to be there or else something terrible will happen. I can’t imagine that he would leave his post, unless he ran out of supplies?

In the end though, the important thing is that he doesn’t appear to be one of our Survivors. He’s not one of us, he’s one of them… and that’s the most dangerous thing someone can be at this point on the Island.

Fresh off the attempted Sun abduction (which remember, most still think was the work of an Other), any strangers to the Survivors are a potentially dangerous enemy. Let’s not forget that so far everyone they’ve met on the Island has either kidnapped them, murdered them, stole their children, or talked them into pressing a button every 108 minutes. Not a good track record.

But let’s not forget this is also a Sayid-centric ep, so I’m thinking the title also refers Sayid being “one of them”. Through his other flashbacks, we’ve seen that Sayid was a torturous Iraqi with a heart, a sucker for ladies with big brown eyes, and willing to do a little spying for the Great Satan of America if it means he can get closer to his one true love (not Shannon).

When we last left Sayid in his flashbacks, he was pretty much a good dude - so, I think we’re going to see Sayid thrown in with stereotypes of being a flag-burning Iraqi commie, “one of them” to Americans who don’t trust him no matter how much he helps them. There’s also a chance we see him as a traitor to his fellow Iraqi countrymen, since he’s helping the Americans spy rather than fighting them.

Look for the parallels between Sayid being persecuted for being an outsider or different in his flashbacks while the innocent stranger on the Island is being persecuted for being mysterious – likely ending with Sayid finding he can’t torture this person, because he feels his pain.

TV Guide Description: When Rousseau leads Sayid to a mysterious captive in the jungle, he becomes determined to find out if he is one of the "Others." Meanwhile, Sawyer discovers Hurley's potentially devastating breech of the survivors' trust and blackmails him into helping track an elusive island creature that won't leave Sawyer alone.

TV Guide Breakdown: Again, the real mystery for me is “how did this guy get captured”? If he were a true “Other”, he would have the catlike cunning to avoid the trap in the first place. But if he were a Hatcher like Desmond, what is he doing in the jungle where he would get trapped in the first place? Very confusing.

Hurley’s devastating breech of the survivors’ trust? The only thing I can think of is that he’s been hoarding food from the Hatch this whole time (thus explaining why he’s not losing weight). I can’t imagine any other situation that would involve Hurley losing the trust of the other Survivors. Sawyer likely stumbles upon Hurley’s food stash on the way to his own gun stash, then blackmails him into tracking that darn cat – er, boar – that’s been tormenting him for going on two seasons.

I agree, bringing the whole boar storyline back seems like an unnecessary rehash of last year’s storyline. I mean, didn’t we already resolve this when Sawyer let the boar go? Why is he suddenly being tormented again? I’m hoping for something different, but I fear this storyline will leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Overall, I’m more excited for this episode than last week’s. The promise of a new character on the Island, the return of CFL, and a potential new Hatch are enough to make it a worthwhile episode that will actually advance the storyline on the Island.

Previously on Lost…

Locke Box. As predicted, Locke claims he’s keeping the Heroin as pain medication. Riiiiiight. I’m telling you, he’s evil! (Although it was pretty funny when Jack asked why he didn’t break the Virgin Mary statues…)



Vincent. Once again, Vincent seems to show up right before disaster strikes. This time, it’s before another freak rain storm and Charlie’s “Other” impersonation. Is this a coincidence? Does it represent how dogs can sense evil? Or could it be there is some sort of connection between Vincent and the seeming all-knowing Walt. Is Walt no longer appearing as a Ghost to warn about danger, but instead having Vincent go in his place? It might be a little too “Timmy in the Well” for Lost, but it’s better than Sully’s “Dog is God spelled backwards” theory…



Script. Did you see what Hurley was reading by the campfire?



Hello product placement! Guess what book is coming out on May 2nd?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1401302769/sr=8-1/qid=1139881978/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-7105998-4498266?%5Fencoding=UTF8



So what’s the deal? This book, actually written by Lost writers, is authored under the pen name “Gary Troup” (FYI – rearrange the letters to spell “PURGATORY”!!!!). Here’s his bio:

Bad Twin is the highly-anticipated new novel by acclaimed mystery writer Gary Troup. Bad Twin was delivered to Hyperion just days before Troup boarded Oceanic Flight 815, which was lost in flight from Sydney, Australia to Los Angeles in September 2004. He remains missing and is presumed dead.

Fun, huh?

The story in the book has nothing to do with the story on the Island, as it was “written” before the plane crashed. But I’d be willing to bet there’s some symbolism hidden in there that we can correlate to the Island. Needless to say, I’ll be buying it when it comes out and reading it. Stupid Lost Media Machine! I’m powerless in your grasp!

Kate. Did you catch the waitress in the diner in Sawyer’s flashback? That’s right, it was Kate’s mom. Again we see how the Survivor’s lives have all nearly criss-crossed (jump, jump) without their knowledge. Is there some master plan at work, or is this just an example of how we are all connected to one another without knowing it as we move through our day to day lives?

Love. Okay, so Sawyer turns out to return to his rebel roots. After thinking he was going soft by letting Kate cut his hair and altruistically going after Michael and Walt, he goes and totally turns on us. It definitely is a shake up to the balance of power on the Island, ripping it away from Jack / Locke, and making Sawyer king. Does this mean when Survivors start taking sides, it’ll be Jack or Locke or Sawyer? Or will Jack and Locke compete for Sawyer to join their side, knowing that it will give them all the power? At any rate, it doesn’t look like the army is going to be trained any time soon, not without any guns.

Here’s the part that I don’t get – Sawyer pretty much ruined any chance he had of hooking up with Kate. Con or no con, that’s a bad move on his part. She’s freakin’ hot!



Radio. Sometimes I think the Lost writers throw things in an episode just because they want me to type pages upon pages of pages of analysis about them, only to read them and laugh at how I’m their puppet. Not this time. During the Sayid and Hurley scene with the radio, Hurley comments on how the song seemed to be “from another time”, which instantly made me think the whole “time warp” theory was back… except Hurley instantly followed his comment with “or not”, as if to brush the whole thing off as a joke. A joke from the writers to me. Very funny. Stop toying with my emotions!


Owls. Lastly, something else you could chalk up to “intentionally messing with the viewer” is the intentional shot of the book that Locke was pulling off the bookshelf in the Hatch when Sawyer came in.



"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is the story of a man who is sentenced to death by hanging at the Owl Creek Bridge of the title. When he is hanged the rope breaks and the main character falls into the water, from which he begins a journey back to his home. During his journey, he starts to feel some strange physiological events that ultimately end with a searing pain in his neck. It turns out that the man never escaped; he imagined the entire thing during the time between being pushed off the bridge and the noose finally breaking his neck.

Are we to take this to mean that the whole Purgatory theory is alive and well, and that everyone on the Island is dead? Only imagining they are alive. JJ Abrams is on record saying this is not the case, but admits that it’s a good theory. I’d chalk this up to another Red Herring.

But fun nonetheless. That's all for this week.

Lost - "The Long Con"

Episode Title: “The Long Con”

Brian’s Deeper Meaning Guess: This is a Sawyer-centric episode, so “The Long Con” seems to be a fitting title. I’m sure this episode will involve some other scheme he was running back in the day, but the “long” part is intriguing. Granted, it could just be referring to a particular scheme that went on for a prolonged period of time (boring), but I’m thinking it’s more referring to some other aspect of Sawyer’s life, not tricking someone else, but rather himself.

Gibberish? Okay, let me rephrase – I’m thinking the episode will be about Sawyer lying to himself about who he is and the justification for his actions. Since his father murdered his mother and took his own life, he’s felt that he had the vindication – the right and authority – to do whatever it took to find the true Sawyer, the person responsible. He had the mindset that he could take whatever he wanted from the world because the same world took so much from him. But in reality, this is just him lying to himself about the nature of right and wrong.

Want more? How about the same theme of Sawyer’s flashback playing out on the Island, in a much more literal sense? “The Long Con” that’s been going on this whole time on the Island. Jack called Zeke out on having a spy two episodes back, “Ethan” – but based on Zeke’s reactions, Ethan wasn’t the spy he was thinking of. Libby you say? Well, given that she’s only been with our Survivors for the equivalent of eight Island days, I wouldn’t say that qualifies as a long con, but a short one.

So who is it? I’ll get there…

TV Guide Description: Survivors fear that "The Others" may have returned when Sun is injured during a failed kidnapping attempt. Meanwhile, Sawyer is an amused but highly interested bystander when tension escalates between Jack, Locke, Kate and Ana Lucia.

TV Guide Breakdown: The “failed kidnapping attempt” is somewhat disappointing. I would think that a true kidnapping of a pure, innocent Sun might be just what Jack needs to get his “army” rolling. However, judging from the previews and his confrontation with Locke, he’s still pretty fired up about the incident.

But the bigger question is - why Sun? Was she simply an easy target, since she was out in her garden away from anyone else? Or is there something more at play here. Goodwin said that The Others took the “good ones” and left those who weren’t so good. You could make a strong case that the only true “good ones” left in the Survivors are Sun and Claire. We’ve already seen Claire be kidnapped, so Sun seems to be the next logical choice. Or could it be that Sun is pregnant??? It’s entirely possible since she is all lovey-dovey with Jin again! The Others love the babies…

Tension escalating between Jack, Locke, Kate, Ana-Lucia isn’t surprising. You already have the tension between Jack and Kate (love lost), Jack and Locke (faith vs. science), Ana-Lucia and everyone (Shannon murderer), Jack and Ana-Lucia (sexual) and Kate and Ana-Lucia (hot!). Sawyer prefers to stay on the sidelines. He’s more than willing to help out, pick a fight, or make witty banter, but he’s no leader. His interest likely results from what is surely a debate between our core Island leaders over the guns / The Others. Sawyer will come down on whatever side wins, and will prove to be a tie-breaker – making him more important than he thinks… or wants.


Previously on Lost…

We learned more about Charlie’s troubled past and got a healthy does of religious symbolism. I was infinitely proud of calling the whole baptism theme in the title and the John the Baptist symbolism (did you catch the picture in the beginning when Hurley was coming down the steps?). But in the end, not a lot happened. Eko mysteriously marked trees that were his favorites, we saw images of Hurley as Jesus, Claire and Charlie’s mom as Virgin Mary / some other Biblical chica, and saw a flying dove interpolated with a crashing plane…


But what does it all mean? I’m thinking Charlie is going to end up being right – Aaron is in danger – but now that he’s viewed as a druggie, no one is going to believe him. It’s like The Boy Who Cried Wolf but without the wolf – “The Boy Who Cried Others”.

But perhaps the most important part of the episode for me was a scene at the very end…


My Locke Manifesto.

So here’s the thing – a funny thing happened during one of the last scenes of the last new episode, where Locke is showing locking up (pun intended, I’m hilarious) the Virgin Mary statues full of H. I thought to myself, “What the hell? Why wouldn’t he destroy them? This makes no sense.” But the more I thought about it, the more it began to make sense and I came to a realization. Although I had our “strips-to-change-the-subject” friend Libby (why aren’t all girls like that?!) pegged as the “Mole” in our group, she’s not. It’s John Locke. It’s been John Locke all along.



Shocked? Like many, John Locke has long been my favorite character on the show. That’s the point. The writers have creatively (or accidentally) kept his shadiness just under the surface – so that in watching a typical episode, you wouldn’t catch it.

Furthermore, they’ve developed this great sympathy for his character through the flashbacks, which makes you even less likely to view him as “bad”. Think about it. Through most characters’ flashbacks, we see crimes they committed, people they murdered, and lives they’ve messed up. Locke’s flashbacks always leave us with a feeling of “Awww! Poor Locke! His dad / mom / boss / everyone in his life are the meanest ever! I love Locke!” This makes him an even more unlikely traitor.

But in doing some research, I went back and isolated his actions in each episode so far. Once you do this and look at them critically, his actions become glaringly obvious.

So this is it – my John Locke Manifesto. Why now? Because I’m thinking the big reveal is coming soon and I want you to be prepared. Let’s start at the beginning. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…


The Plane Crash.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying this is some huge conspiracy on Locke’s part. He didn’t get onto Flight 815 with any malicious intent. He was just the perfect choice. Think about his life prior to the crash:

In flashbacks, we see an angry wheelchaired Locke shouting, “Don’t tell me what I can’t do!” We see his father telling him “Go away and don’t come back. You’re not wanted!” We see a broken man having imaginary relationships with telephone sex line operators, working at a box factory wishing he could be something else – do something more with his life. He had nothing going for him, and seemingly could do nothing about it. Then things changed.

His plane crashed. Locke could suddenly walk. Locke didn’t know why, but didn’t really question it.

After teaching Walt the history of backgammon, Locke asks Walt a very creepy question: "Do you want to know a secret?" In a later episode we find the secret is "a miracle happened."

At this point, Locke has already bought into the idea that the Island allows him to be something he’s not. However, as we see him attempting to hunt wild boar (and quickly getting knocked down), we see that he’s still not the man he wants to be. Which brings us to his encounter with “The Monster”.



The Monster.


Remember, we have no idea who or what this monster is. I think right now, knowing what we know from Eko’s episode, we’re assuming Locke encountered some version of the Smoke Monster – but we can’t be certain. I still don’t quite have this encountered figured out. Did he encounter the Smoke Monster? Did it show him something? Was Zeke / An Other there as well, who offered to spare his life if he worked with them? I’m not sure. But it’s really not that important for the argument. Here’s the thing:

When pressed about what he saw during his encounter with “The Monster”, Locke says, “I didn't see anything.” Obviously he saw SOMETHING. Is this the face of someone who sees nothing?



So obviously, he is LYING. Why would he lie about seeing some crazy Smoke Monster in the jungle? Fast forward a few episodes (days) on the Island…

Let me set the scene: Night has fallen at the caves and Hurley is roused from his sleep when Locke returns to camp with some additional luggage he and Ethan found while out tracking game. Locke and Ethan “hunting” at night? Pretty odd, and not in a Brokeback Mountain sort of way. Not coming back with anything from the hunt? Also pretty odd since Locke was a pretty sweet hunter. Granted, we know that Locke was “hunting for boars” during the whole Hatch escapade and repeatedly coming back empty handed, but this is before any of that. Clearly Locke uses “hunting for boars” as his excuse the same way I use to always be “studying in the library” in college.

So what was he doing? It’s pretty clear that through some combination of Locke’s encounter with “The Monster” and his meetings with Ethan, he was changed. He somehow gained his “powers”, those being knowledge of survival skills, ability to handle and use weapons, etc. – because he lacked all of them right after the crash. How? You’ve got me. But the important thing is they didn’t come for free.

From this point on, Locke has been secretly working with some Others (be it the “Ethan Others” group, the “Zeke Others” group, some combination of the two, or a third party altogether. In Locke’s eyes, he has been chosen for a reason and needs to perform certain tasks for them, such as monitoring the Survivors, occasionally kidnapping people, etc. But he’s cool with it. After a lifetime spent of wishing he was important, and could make a difference – all the sudden he’s the Big Man on Island Campus.

Locke isn’t a bad guy – they have him convinced that he’s doing all of this for the greater good. Locke even believes it, telling Charlie, “have faith — this island will give you a great deal…if you are willing to give it something in return.” Clearly, Locke “has faith” and “gave something” to the Monster / The Others – his services as a liaison between the Others and the Survivors, a la Walt Cummings on 24.

The weird thing is, his abilities seemed to fade at a few points last season. Remember when he was having trouble walking when he and Boone found the plane? Well his inability to walk kept him from being the one in the plane when it fell from the tree. It’s almost as though the Island was protecting him from a certain doom, since it knows Locke is on its side. Locke protects the Island’s secrets and in return the Island protects Locke.

The only puzzling piece to this theory is the second time Locke encountered The Monster. Things were different, Locke was afraid, and it tried to take him. Why? Remember, it attacked as our fearless heroes worked their way through the jungle with TNT needed to blow open the Hatch. Clearly The Monster was trying to prevent this from happening. Yet even in this peril, Locke still knows that he’ll be fine. He implores Jack to let him go, saying “I’ll be okay”.

Later in that same episode, Jack says, "I don't believe in destiny." To which Locke replies, "Yes, you do, you just don't know it yet." Clearly, Locke knows the master plan, that they are all there for a reason, and someday Jack will too.



Locke’s Deceptions:

So what? So, ever since Locke turned, he’s been playing every single other person on the Island, lying to them and causing havoc right before our very eyes! Let’s check some examples:

Back in the beginning of Season One, there was a plan to triangulate a radio signal and try to send a distress signal. Remember, Sayid got hit on the head and the plan was ruined. Immediately afterwards, Sayid questions Locke on his whereabouts when he was attacked. Locke claims he was out hunting and points Sayid in Sawyer’s direction. This sets Sawyer up for an Iraqi-style beating and makes him the “bad guy”.

Cleverly, the writers finally reveal that it was indeed Locke – but not until so much later in the season, we’ve almost forgotten about it. Locke defends his actions by pointing out that the source of the distress call isn't really a place one would want to lead people. How does he know this unless he’s been there? Per CFL, the Black Rock is Others-central. Cahoots!

Then there was the attack on Claire. There was clearly a knife involved. Who has the most knives on the Island? One John Locke. It’s debatable if he had an accomplice role in the attack, or if he just helped Ethan. Once she eventually is kidnapped by Ethan, Locke did two very curious things. First, he sides with Sayid, saying they should not track him down – instead staying at the camp and building their defenses. Weird.

Later, once the search party leaves, Locke insists that Jack return to camp and look over Sayid, saying "You be the doctor, I'll be the hunter." Locke wants to follow Ethan - alone. He’s trying to ditch everyone else in the pursuit of Ethan so that the goals of The Others can be accomplished. After the search party is finally formed, right before they encounter Ethan, Locke wants to rest - but Jack insists they push on. It’s as if Locke knew they were getting too close… very similar to the scene two weeks ago!

Jack, Locke, and Sawyer are in pursuit of Michael when Jack and Locke argue about whether to turn back or keep searching – again, Locke wants to quit. Not ten seconds later, Zeke appears. Coincidence?



Locke’s Plan:

Last year, when I thought Locke was pure Kendall goodness, I thought his interactions with each character were to help them overcome their fears and weaknesses, in order to create a strong army to fight The Others. However, now that I look back, his interactions strike me far more sinister, as if he’s “winning everyone ever” so that they would never expect him of doing anything evil. But at the same time, he’s gaining knowledge about each of them, learning their strengths and weaknesses, and how to exploit them. Look at some examples:

Sayid - Locke makes peace with Sayid when the two could easily be enemies after the radio incident – he even counsels Boone not to make an enemy out of Sayid saying “we are going to need him on our side… later.” Sayid also admits that Locke is their best hope of surviving on the Island.

Sun – Remember when Sun was breaking down Jack Johnson style after she thought Jin was dead? Locke shows up, gives her the speech about “the only way to find something is to stop looking” and makes her feel better.

Claire - Locke made Claire a baby crib, knew it was her birthday when no one else did (how?!), and is now teaching her how to care for Aaron and keeping Charlie away.

Michael - Locke teaches Michael how to use a gun – combined with the bad directions being fed to Mike via the computer, this effectively gets Michael out of the picture, leading him to some sort of Others capture, keeping Walt safely wherever he is.

Sawyer - Locke reveals that he is aware of Sawyer's real name, James Ford. It’s interesting that no one else knew this, and the manifest reading took place over a month earlier. Locke knows too much…

Charlie - Charlie doesn't hesitate to say that Locke is the one man on the island that he would trust his life to. By taking possession of the Virgin Mary statues, Locke now controls the one thing that has power over Charlie.

Walt – Locke has taught Walt the nature of good and evil, how to throw a knife, given him support when Michael wouldn’t, and even covered up for him when Walt burned down the raft. That’s an awful lot of attention… but we’ve seen that Walt has some special powers, and is clearly worth stealing in The Others eyes – he was obviously prime target #1, so Locke kept him close and won him over.

Jack – For crying out loud, Locke convinced Jack to push the button, thus going against every scientifc fiber in Jack’s body. He plays on Jack’s weaknesses and turned him into a man of faith. The undisputed leader of the Island playing by his rules? That’s a pretty big win for Locke.

Remember the last line of Season One? It served as a sneak preview of Season Two, one we’re just now getting two. Jack says, "We're going to have a Locke problem."



Okay, enough ranting. Hopefully I’ve made my point. I guess I could have forgone the previous Manifesto by typing a simple “LOCKE = BAD”, but where’s the fun in that?



Here’s the thing that’ll really blow your mind. Now that we’ve established that Locke is in cahoots with The Others (“the bad guys”), what is going to happen when there’s finally a battle between them and our Survivors (“the good guys”)?

If Lost wants to be the coolest TV show ever, I’m banking on the good guys turn out to be bad, and the bad guys turn out to be good.

Remember - all along we’ve been told that The Others were taking the people who were good and that there is no need to worry about them because they’re fine. The good guys (and we as an audience) are convinced that none of this is true. Why?

Again, judging by the flashbacks – almost every good guy has a tortured past full of lies, murder, and criminal acts. How is that good?

Is it so hard to believe that Locke and The Others actually do have the best interests of everyone on the Island in mind, but the good guys just can’t see the big picture?

Remember the Comic Book in the first episode? The writers said they picked that comic book for a reason, because it had a deeper meaning that related to the whole show. The basic storyline of the comic is that a group of superheroes (read: “good guys”) fight and kill this alien (read: someone different that they don’t understand, like The Others), only to learn in the end that the alien was actually there to help save the world, and was a good guy.

If I’m a writer for Lost, I make the last scene of the last episode end with Jack and Co. finally defeating The Others only to realize in horror that they just killed the good guys, effectively ruining any chance of getting off the Island / dooming themselves / bringing about the end of the world – choose your adventure!

Fade to black.

LOST.


Okay, sorry for the Manifesto-heavy post. But at least it gave me something to write about after a fairly symbolism-weak episode followed by a repeat. Watch, this episode will reveal Locke to be good and Libby to be the traitor all along, meaning I spent the past four hours of my life for nothing. But if not, I expect your praise and adulation in the comments section.

I hate Pittsburgh.

Not The Same

(...no, not the Ben Folds song)

To those of you who asked, the Doctor at the Mental Institution in "Numbers" is not Dr. Marvin Candle, the narrator of the Orientation Film. Here is your photo evidence:

Dr. Marvin Candle:


Doctor at Mental Institution:



Also - they were played by completely different actors, according to imdb.com.

Theory debunked.

Lost - "Numbers" Revisited

Sadly, Lost is a repeat this week - but that doesn't mean we can't look for deeper meaning! In this case, "Why would they choose to repeat a season one episode instead of a season two episode?" I'm thinking it's because they want to remind us of something that happened in "Numbers" that is going to relate to something that is coming up in future episodes.

Here are some theories, based on things you'll see in "Numbers" tonight:

1. The Numbers. 4 8 15 16 23 42. They're all over this episode, reminding us that they are cursed and bring bad things to those who use them. Now we have literally every Survivor entering them into the computer in the Hatch in shifts. Will this bring about bad fortune to all of them?

However, we haven't really seen these numbers show up in quite some time in flashbacks on the show - even though there have been plenty of opportunities to do so. While repeating this episode might be an attempt to bring them back to the forefront, it also makes me think of the comment from the show's creators about "I don't think we'll ever be able to answer what the Numbers are or what they mean." Maybe the show is trying to move away from them...

2. Love. In this episode, Hurley's mother is criticizing him for not going out and finding a girl - and we now have Hurley pursuing a relationship with Libby. Coincidence?

3. Crazy. We see Hurley enter a mental institution - where doctors and patients there seem to know him - and talk to Leonard about the Numbers. Did Hurley used to be in a mental institution? Is that how he knows Libby? Was she also in the institution, or was she just a psychologist working there? This has to be how Hurley knows Libby! Be on the lookout for Libby in the background when Hurley is in the hospital!

4. Wire. In Hurley's search for CFL in "Numbers", he again follows the strange wire that leads from somewhere in the ocean to her camp. What is this wire? Seemingly, CFL was getting the power for her bunker from this wire - so it must be connected to some sort of generator / power source / establishment under the water. There's either some sort of downed ship / submarine out there, or perhaps a Hatch that is located underwater?

Given that all the images we've seen of Ghost Walt have had him dripping wet, and he was kidnapped out at sea, I think it could be likely that he's being held captive at whatever this establishment is.

5. Black Rock. CFL mentions that there is a radio tower near the Black Rock which was broadcasting the Numbers - a broadcast she changed once "The Sickness" got to the rest of her crew. When we saw the Black Rock in "Exodus", I didn't see any sign of a radio tower - but perhaps we'll pay a visit to this location in a future episode?

6. CFL. Finally, we have CFL. We haven't seen her this season, but you know she's going to be back before we know it. This episode neatly reminds us of her whole story. This is also the episode where we learn she has moved away from her oringinal bunker (and blew it up). I'm betting she's now living somewhere around that radio tower and the Black Rock. I'm also betting she shows up again as part of the "build an army" storyline!

So there you have it. That should be reason enough to tune in for a repeat. And after tonight, we have three weeks of new episodes!

Feb. 8 - "The Long Con" (Sawyer-centric)
Feb. 15 - "One of Them" (Sayid-centric)
Feb. 22 - "Maternity Leave" (Claire-centric)

Plus it's sweeps, so you know they'll be good!