With LOST currently dropping progressively bigger hints that the Show is not a straightforward Drama featuring Real People doing Real Deeds in Real Situations, but is instead a Game or an Illusion or a Dream, I thought I’d re-watch a couple of movies that are based upon this same premise: "Vanilla Sky" (2001), starring Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz - and the 1997 movie upon which VS was based: "Open your eyes" - also starring Penelope Cruz .... Penelope.
Notable points from Open Your Eyes:
The hero’s name is César
He’s being held in a Psychiatric Penitentiary for murder. During his first two months there, he was catatonic - like Hugo was at Santa Rosa. His shrink, Antonio, is trying to get Hugo, er César to remember and confront his crime. The rest of the movie jumps to and fro among flashbacks, dreams, nightmares and (finally) Present Day Reality:
A company called Life Extension ("LE") - pronounced "Ellie" - is a prominent player in this movie, and over time, we get to learn how and why. In LOST, Life Extension was one of the areas that DHARMA was researching - and Eternal Life might very well be what Daddy Widmore and Daddy Paik want from the Island. Ageless Richard seems to have accomplished Life Extension.
As events unfold in "Open your eyes", we find it harder and harder to know what is real and what is a dream. When César expresses some doubt as to whether or not a particular character is actually dead, Antonio says: "Im like you - I only believe what I see" - a line we’ve heard Sayid speak.
Like LOST, there are some Déja Vu moments here and there. Like Hugo, César likes to draw while incarcerated.
After César is released from the Police Station after having roughed "Sofia" up, his Best Friend shows him a picture of himself sitting at a table with his arm around the shoulders of "Sofia" - just like the picture that Hugo’s shrink showed Hugo to prove that "Dave" wasn’t real.
During a Bar Scene, in which César is drinking by himself, the LE Man approaches and tells him that he’s dreaming - and that everyone in the bar is a creature of his imagination - that they are there to serve and obey him. César says that he wished they would just shut up - which they promptly do.
We get to watch César making love to Sofia - who right before his eyes transforms into Nuria - the Stalker ex GF who killed herself and almost killed him when she drove her car off a bridge early in the movie. Having been driven more than a little crazy, César suffocates "Nuria" - and this is the murder for which he’s been arrested. As his Shrink walks away, convinced that César is guilty - and crazy, César catches another glimpse of that same LE ad - and suddenly knows that this is the "Ellie" he’s been overheard repeatedly mentioning in his sleep.
He convinces Antonio to accompany him to LE and we learn that the Company offers (wealthy) terminally-ill patients a couple of services: 1) Cryogenic long-term storage until such time that Medical Science can cure whatever afflicted the patient - and -
2) Lucid Dreams - while they’re in Suspended Animation - to help pass the time pleasantly.
Upon arrival at the LE skyscraper, César experiences some more Déja Vu: he’s been here before. He’s signed a contract. He’s dead - and everything he’s experienced after collapsing drunk on the sidewalk has been a dream - and/or nightmare. He didn’t murder anyone - except himself (via drug overdose).
The Shrink tries to convince César that the LE rep is lying - that he himself is real (he certainly believes that he is). But - he cannot recall the names of his "daughters". The fact that Antonio behaves as though he’s "real" and believes himself to be "real" is a hint that some, most or all of the characters in LOST are similarly mistaken.
César decides that he wants to wake up - and the way for him to do this is to jump off the top of the skyscraper - which he does. The last words (and the first words) of the film are: "Open your eyes". Note that in "Dave", Hugo was similarly counseled to jump and to "wake up", but he didn’t. I doubt it, but I sure hope he’s not still at Santa Rosa, catatonic, hallucinating LOST.
Notable Points from Vanilla Sky:
Near the beginning of the movie, Dave, our hero, played by Tom Cruise, is driving to a racquet-ball game with his best friend, and they’re in a near-miss - possibly fatal - accident. His friend tells Dave that just before the near-miss that "Your life flashed before my eyes"
Ken Leung (LOST’s Miles) - has a tiny, but memorable part near the beginning of VS
David’s Dad used to "seek adventure" - including sailing, parachuting and ballooning. David Ames Junior has inherited the business from his Daddy, David Sr.
Juliana - Dave’s Stalker "Fuck-buddy" - when she spots "Sofia" ( once again played by Penelope Cruz) tells Dave that she looks like a Moth. She subsequently asks Dave: "How’d it go with our Moth Girl? Did she turn into a butterfly for you?"
At the party, with Juliana watching from a distance, Dave strikes up a conversation with Sofia, during which he asks her if Juliana is "burning a hole in my back right now". She is.
LE’s Life Extension research "mascot" is "Benny the Dog" - who drowned in an icy river, was frozen in an ice-block for 3 months and was subsequently thawed and reanimated.
One of Dave’s favourite keep-sakes is a Toy Airplane
At one point, Penelope tells Dave that she will tell him something "in another life"
"Sofia" appears (as an "Imaginary Friend") in the Psych Penn where Dave is being held. He can see her but his Shrink cannot.
While David and Sofia are walking down a New York street, we see a VW bus - in the same colours as the LOST DHARMA buses. It turns out that this scene was "borrowed" from an album cover entitled "The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan"
At one point when "Sofia" is replaced by "Julianna", we hear Whispers.
When LE "Tech Support" tells Dave that the folks at the bar are figments of his imagination, he adds that "You are their God and you can make them obey you"
When Dave and his Shrink visit LE - their initial guide is a red-haired woman whose name is Libby. Their second guide (played by Tilda Swinton) also has red hair.
The LE Lucid Dream brochure includes: "Upon Resurrection, you will continue in an ageless state, preserved but living in the present with a future of your choosing." The music being played during the LE Lucid Dreams infomercial is "Good Vibrations".
The repeated line: "They laughed at Jules Verne too" helps convince Dave that he did, in fact, sign the deal with LE, including the Lucid Dreams option - and that he is in control of all the events he’s experienced - good and bad.
Having learned that he can choose to "wake up", we learn that Dave’s "Panel of Observers" await his Choice. He chooses to "wake up" and live out the rest of his natural life in The Future - where Modern Medicine can repair his disfigured face and other physical damage. But before he takes the last step before Waking Up - he "summons" Sofia, Manifesting her by Wishing Her Up, for one last kiss. His last words to her include: "I’ll see you in another life"
As he falls to earth, his life flashes before his eyes and the last words in the movie are: "Relax Dave. Open your eyes". The final image of the movie is an extreme close-up of an eye opening - which is the very first image we see on LOST.
So - there it is - A serious car accident followed by severe personal damage, Altered States - dreaming, nightmares, wishful thinking, false insanity, Bad Twins, Imaginary Friends, Manifestations, Non-Living Persons, Invisible (Whispering) Observers, mind-reading and Choice.
If LOST is all a Dream (which I hope it isn’t) - who is the Dreamer?
I’ve written before that the repeating personal themes we’ve seen time and again: Mysterious/Miraculous Birth, malicious or absent parent(s), car accidents followed by serious injuries often including amputations, child working with/for a parent, poor boy/rich girl, people secretly knowing a second language ... these scenarios seem to be Variations on a Theme - of a single life. So, again ... whose life? Jacob’s ?
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
"He's our you" (510) Recap and comments
A terrific Episode which rocketed along, thanks to The Island’s introduction of Jack, Kate, Hugo and Sayid into the 1977 DHARMA Initiative
Tikrit:
In a scene reminiscent of the one during which Young Yemi is ordered to kill a man but his older brother Eko does the deed for him, Young Sayid "helps" his (older) brother by wringing a chicken’s neck (like Goodwin did) and gives the dead chicken into his brother’s hands, intending to take no credit for the deed. His brother, however, admits that Sayid did the killing - and their Father praises Sayid for his courage. 2008 Sayid’s been a Killer (and a torturer) for decades.
The similarity between the two scenarios suggests the circularity of Human existence on the Wheel of Birth, Death and Reincarnation - but also suggests (again) that LOST is a Game in which various Players are assigned Roles. In Sayid’s case, his Role (in this Ep at least) is "Killer".
1977 Otherville jail:
Young Ben brings Sayid another sandwich (chicken, naturally) while Phil polishes his gun. He also brings the prisoner a book - "A Separate Reality" by Carlos Castaneda.
A Separate Reality... real, but unreal ... "Real", but an Illusion ... possibly a Game (with Rules), possibly a multi-party shared Santa Rosa hallucination, possibly a "Matrix"-like False Reality, possibly a shared Dream, possibly a Star Trek Holodeck-style Drama ...
According to Wikipedia: "As in his previous book, "The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge", Castaneda describes the experiences he has as an apprentice to Don Juan Matus (a self-proclaimed Yaqui Indian Sorcerer) while under the influence of the psychotropic plants that Don Juan offered. The main focus of the book centered around Don Juan's attempts at getting Carlos to See, a practice best described as, in Castaneda's own words, "perceiving energy directly as it flows through the universe".
The book contains an introduction, an epilogue and two separate parts. Part One, "The Preliminaries of 'Seeing'", describes his re-initiation into the apprenticeship from which he withdrew in late 1965, and also describes his introduction to another brujo (sorcerer) named Don Genaro. Part Two, "The Task of 'Seeing'", elaborates on the mental processes involved with Seeing, and begins with Castaneda realizing that the plants are a necessary tool to arrive at Seeing."
So ... we viewers have yet to learn to "see" LOST for what it "really" is. I cast my mind back to Charlie’s S1 tattoo: "Living is easy with eyes closed" - the subsequent line for which is: "misunderstanding all you see". Most of us are still - 4 Seasons later - misunderstanding all we see. LOST is not the Story of Jack, Kate etc. It’s not about the Ben/Widmore War. It’s not even about the Island in and of itself.
Having handed Sayid food for his body and for his mind, Young Ben tells us that he bumped into Richard "four years ago" - which would be 1973, when Ben was about 9 years old, which is also the year that Ben and Roger arrived on the Island.
As a slight aside - If Lostpedia is right about Ben’s birthdate (12/21/65), he adopted Alex (in 1988) when he was 23 years old, four or five years before The Purge (1992 or 1993) - which means that four or five years before he killed his Dad, he’d already adopted a baby girl. OK, then.
Be that as it may, Ben has a Plan to spring Sayid from jail.
Moscow:
Sayid’s "last" Assassination Target is panic-stricken as he rushes into his apartment, locking various doors behind him and grabbing a handful of cash from his Paik-style digital safe in a futile effort to bribe Death.
The fact that Andropow’s safe is similar, if not identical to Paik’s suggests that the Separate Reality we are witnessing has finite Capacity or Memory; that the Island (via Smokey) can only Manifest what’s been down-loaded from the memories of the Players.
After Sayid kills him (two shots), Sayid exits the building and has a memorable encounter with Ben, during which he mentions the bribe - and that it "didn’t work". Sayid takes Pride in his Work.
When Ben tells Sayid that there’s no one left for him to kill, Sayid is lost, not knowing what he should do next. Ben specifically tells him that he’s " free" - that he should go and live his life. But, just like the similar conversation after the death of Bakir, Ben still knows how to pull Sayid’s strings.
So ... who is The Economist? Based on the fact that Elsa didn’t know that Sayid worked for Ben - something that Charles Widmore would certainly have known - The Economist is not CW. And yet, Ben tells Sayid that there’s no one else in Widmore’s organization who needs to be taken care of, implying that Widmore is The Economist. Maybe all of Sayid’s assassinations were merely training exercises, meant to prepare him for his real goal - the assassination of Young Ben.
Otherville jail:
Horace (Mathematician) plus Radzinsky and Phil enter Sayid’s cell, where Horace cuts off Sayid’s zip-tie "hand-cuffs" and threatens Enhanced Interrogation if Sayid doesn’t start talking within the hour. Why is a Mathematician the local Sherriff and Mayor?
Casa LaFleur/Burke: While Juliet stares out the window at Kate’s door, the bacon’s burning in the frying pan (as in "from the fat to the fire"). Coupled with her muffin-burning in TOTC, I’d suggest that Juliet should stay away from stoves and ovens.
Talk about low self-esteem - the mere fact of Kate’s return to Otherville leads Juliet to doubt the durability of her relationship with James: "It’s over, isn’t it? This, us, playing house". Note that "playing house" is a Kate phrase and that "This, us" is a Desmond phrase - the Island Separate Reality Game recycling within its limited stock of phrases. Note also that James assures Juliet that "everything’s under control". In his dreams
And yet, within a few hours, Kate’s been educated about the James/Juliet relationship and has explicitly ceded ownership of James to Juliet.
Enter Horace, who informs Jim that the prisoner isn’t talking and that the next step is a visit to Oldham (the "psychopath"). James gets his shot at extracting Sayid’s co-operation and marches over to Otherville Jail, where he orders Phil to take a long walk. His attempt to persuade Sayid to join in on the LaFleur Long Con fails because Sayid’s been so carefully trained (by Ben) to hate Ben - who maneuvered him into all those murders and learning to enjoy - or at least tolerate - his Work.
I’ve written elsewhere that Ben often appears to be The Master Manipulator, but that he himself is being played by Someone Else. This entity might be Jacob, the Island - or maybe future-dwelling Alvar Hanso. If so, this Entity is the true Man Behind The Curtain - the true "Watchmen" Ozymandias.
DI Cafeteria:
Hugo Cook brings some food to Jack Workman and Kate Mechanic. Talk about "Roles" ... talk about Karma ... talk about Jim’s (or Juliet’s) sense of humour.
I guess that "Love is Blind" because Kate genuinely seems not to have known that James (multiply scorned by her and separated from her for three subjective years) now belongs to Juliet. At least, she reacts with grace. Her "love" for James may have been her reason to Go Back, but she’s unwilling (for now at least) to fight for his affection.
As per standard, Jack hangs back and dutifully accepts whatever scraps of Rebound Love that Kate tosses at his feet. A couple of subjective days ago, she dragged him to bed, only to slap him in the face the next day. Then, after a sexual foreplay-style North Valley embrace with Ford, Jack hangs back some more. Ah, but that same night (I think) she invites Jack back into her bed.
Jail:
Roger Work Man mops the jail area floor, but really just wants to taunt the Prisoner by asking how he could be dumb enough to have been captured by dimwits like Radzinsky and Kwon. I guess the point of this exchange is to make us dislike Roger more than we already do - which sets up the following Bad Daddy scene - in which Young Ben is verbally and physically abused by Roger. This abuse helps to "explain" Ben’s Character, making it that much harder for Sayid to stick to his Mission - but he’s been well-enough conditioned that he carries it out all the same.
Santo Domingo:
Ben visits Sayid to inform him of Locke’s death. Playing on Sayid’s affection for Hugo and his guilt over his earlier rejection of Locke’s Go Back request, Ben delivers his lines and leaves, secure in the knowledge that the seeds he’s just planted in Sayid’s mind will bear fruit very shortly. Note the close correlation between the "Flashback" and Sayid’s "present day" memories, motivations and actions: having heard Ben tell him that he’s a Killer - that all the Free Will choices he ever made to torture and to kill weren’t Free Will at all because Killing is in his Nature (plus a lot of Nurture), Sayid comes to believe this "Truth".
Note that Ben considers himself a Good Person who is not a Killer.
Jail:
The Posse have come to take The Prisoner to The Torturer. This process starts with LaFleur giving Sayid a Last Chance to speak up. When he doesn’t, LaFleur shocks Sayid in the crotch! That had to hurt.
Oldham’s Office:
The music playing on Oldham’s wind-up phonograph is a Billie Holiday song whose words include: "I can’t give you anything but Love, the only thing I’ve got plenty of" - a little ironic for an Interrogator.
Oldham’s Office consists of a patchwork tent inspired by Locke’s Grow-Op Sweat Lodge, some outdoor tables loaded with vials of chemicals and some trees with strategically-placed restraint-straps.
Oldham is played by William Sanderson - who played JF Sebastian in "Blade-Runner" - and who also played in 12 Eps (in 2008) of "True Blood" - the very same show in which Michael Emerson’s wife Carrie Preston also played 12 Eps in 2008. Small world, eh?
When Sayid asks LaFleur who Oldham is, he answers: "He’s our you" - meaning he’s our Interrogator. But Oldham doesn’t resort to torture. He uses Truth Drugs instead - something the US military wishes it had (maybe they do have it?).
Long Beach Marina:
With the "illusion" in the background, Sayid stalks off after Kate announces that "This is insane. You are all crazy". Insane ... crazy ... Illusion. Can the LOST writers be any more obvious that what we (and the Players) think is "real" isn’t?
We catch up to Sayid - once again lost - drinking some MacCutcheon’s - Widmore’s brand of Scotch. Ilana - whose facial mannerisms and speech patterns are almost identical to Elsa’s - is there to pick him up. Whereas Sayid asked Elsa to dinner, Ilana asks Sayid to buy her a glass of MacCutcheon’s.
Ilana: "When you're that good at something, there are always going to be people who tempt you into staying the same." This line reminded me of Dave - who tried to keep Hugo from Changing. The Island, it seems is all in favour of Change, getting Players out of their "stuck" groove - helping them to Evolve.
Sayid is a slow learner and is conned by a beautiful woman. Again. It seems that Ilana - like Boba Fett of Star Wars - is a Bounty Hunter. She’s apparently been hired by the family of Peter Avellino and her Mission is to arrest and transport Sayid to Guam - where he will "answer for what he’s done". Maybe in Guam (alleged) criminals don’t have the rights they have here in North America.
Oldham’s Lab: As the drug-soaked sugar cube takes effect, Horace says: "Hello there" - just as he did in Locke’s Dream. Sayid is now ready to tell the Truth, including the Truth that he’s from The Future and that "you’re all going to die". His interrogators don’t quite believe that. Yet.
Kangaroo Court:
With Rabid Radzinsky foaming at the mouth about the Secrecy surrounding the design/construction of The Swan (as if the DI could possibly build such a large installation secretly), Sayid is sentenced to death on no motive plus non-existent evidence. Note that it’s Truce-Breaking Amy who sways the "Jury" to vote for Radzinsky’s Solution. When she said that "we have no choice", my first thought was: "there’s always a choice".
It seems that the (somewhat) hippy-dippy peace/love DI was readily willing to kill, whereas Family Ben/Richard (who use bolos, tasers, trank-darts, sling-shots and trip-wires) seem to genuinely be (or try to be) Non-Killers - maybe because they are all themselves Resurrected Murder Victims.
Note that Radzinsky (first name Stuart) is "Head of Research" and (possibly because of his Flame responsibilities) also has the privilege of consulting TPTB in Ann Arbor. Hmmm who might these folks be? Hanso? Mittelwerk? The DeGroote’s?
Note that Future Radzinsky (and therefore Inman) knew about the Hostiles. It may be that he and Kelvin quarantined/will quarantine themselves in The Swan during and after The Purge. I wonder if Radzinsky’s suicide was triggered by guilt over his role in the Sayid Affair.
Note that in an effort to enhance their "security" by deciding to execute Sayid, the DI may have helped trigger their own subsequent destruction. Recognizing the futility of his lone dissenting vote, LaFleur reluctantly knuckles under to Groupthink.
In a noble last-ditch effort to save Sayid’s life, LaFleur offers to stage a fake Jail-break like the Michael/Ben Con - another Illusion. Sayid declines, because he’s convinced himself that the Righteous Path for him includes murdering an innocent child. He too has become a Man of Faith.
Just before Kate spells out her reason for Returning, Ben’s Burning Bus Distraction sends all the Dharmites into Fire-Person mode.
I had to laugh when James said something to Jack along the lines of "We had three years of no burning buses [until] ... you’re all back for one day."
Jail:
Ben, wearing his Donnie Darko/Charlie Pace/Miles Straum hoodie, approaches Sayid and proposes a bargain: He’ll spring Sayid if Sayid promises to take him to Richard and his Hostiles. Sayid replies: "Yes, Ben, I will. That’s why I’m here" Sayid has discerned his Purpose.
LAX:
When (cuffed) Sayid spots Hugo, then Jack and then Kate ready to board Flight 316, he asks Ilana to skip this flight and take the next - because he’s" very superstitious" about flying. She replies that she’ll buy him a rabbit’s foot. Like the ones belonging to Roger Work Man, David Reyes and the Co-pilot of the O6 Coast Guard plane.
Jailbreak:
When Jin spots Sayid in the bush, he’s willing to let him go, subject to LaFleur’s approval. So Sayid executes a ninja move on him and knocks him out. Too bad for Jin that he suddenly forgot all his Tae kwon do training. When Sayid grabbed Jin’s pistol and said: "You were right about me. I am a killer", I thought for a moment (as I was meant to) that he was about to shoot Jin. But he shot Young Ben instead!
So ... if Ben is not dead, his near-murder may help lead (over time) to The Purge.
But if Sayid the Experienced Assassin really did kill Young Ben (it looked like a shot to the heart to me) the implication is that The Ben Entity that murdered Roger Work Man was a Resurrected Non-living Person like "Christian". I’ve been speculating for years that Ben may not be human - and the Assassination of Young Ben may offer the proof that this has been true for 4.5 Seasons. It would certainly explain Ben’s apparent ability to teleport - and his apparent ability to read minds. It would also explain CW’s remark, as well as Miles’ that he knows what Ben is.
So ... if Ben is an Island Manifestation, is he a slave to the island’s will? Does he have any Free Will of his own? Was his Sin - the one that got him banished - that he wanted a "real" daughter of his own? Is this why CW argued that it was Ben’s fault that Alex was murdered?
Is "Ben" opposed to "Christian"? Do these two Manifestations embody the duality/schizophrenia of The Island itself? Where does Future-seeing Widmore fit into this waltz?
Is "Ben" still acting as The Island’s Faithful Servant (or at least the Servant of the Light/Good Aspect of The Island)? Or does he have a "personal" mission - a personal agenda?
Tikrit:
In a scene reminiscent of the one during which Young Yemi is ordered to kill a man but his older brother Eko does the deed for him, Young Sayid "helps" his (older) brother by wringing a chicken’s neck (like Goodwin did) and gives the dead chicken into his brother’s hands, intending to take no credit for the deed. His brother, however, admits that Sayid did the killing - and their Father praises Sayid for his courage. 2008 Sayid’s been a Killer (and a torturer) for decades.
The similarity between the two scenarios suggests the circularity of Human existence on the Wheel of Birth, Death and Reincarnation - but also suggests (again) that LOST is a Game in which various Players are assigned Roles. In Sayid’s case, his Role (in this Ep at least) is "Killer".
1977 Otherville jail:
Young Ben brings Sayid another sandwich (chicken, naturally) while Phil polishes his gun. He also brings the prisoner a book - "A Separate Reality" by Carlos Castaneda.
A Separate Reality... real, but unreal ... "Real", but an Illusion ... possibly a Game (with Rules), possibly a multi-party shared Santa Rosa hallucination, possibly a "Matrix"-like False Reality, possibly a shared Dream, possibly a Star Trek Holodeck-style Drama ...
According to Wikipedia: "As in his previous book, "The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge", Castaneda describes the experiences he has as an apprentice to Don Juan Matus (a self-proclaimed Yaqui Indian Sorcerer) while under the influence of the psychotropic plants that Don Juan offered. The main focus of the book centered around Don Juan's attempts at getting Carlos to See, a practice best described as, in Castaneda's own words, "perceiving energy directly as it flows through the universe".
The book contains an introduction, an epilogue and two separate parts. Part One, "The Preliminaries of 'Seeing'", describes his re-initiation into the apprenticeship from which he withdrew in late 1965, and also describes his introduction to another brujo (sorcerer) named Don Genaro. Part Two, "The Task of 'Seeing'", elaborates on the mental processes involved with Seeing, and begins with Castaneda realizing that the plants are a necessary tool to arrive at Seeing."
So ... we viewers have yet to learn to "see" LOST for what it "really" is. I cast my mind back to Charlie’s S1 tattoo: "Living is easy with eyes closed" - the subsequent line for which is: "misunderstanding all you see". Most of us are still - 4 Seasons later - misunderstanding all we see. LOST is not the Story of Jack, Kate etc. It’s not about the Ben/Widmore War. It’s not even about the Island in and of itself.
Having handed Sayid food for his body and for his mind, Young Ben tells us that he bumped into Richard "four years ago" - which would be 1973, when Ben was about 9 years old, which is also the year that Ben and Roger arrived on the Island.
As a slight aside - If Lostpedia is right about Ben’s birthdate (12/21/65), he adopted Alex (in 1988) when he was 23 years old, four or five years before The Purge (1992 or 1993) - which means that four or five years before he killed his Dad, he’d already adopted a baby girl. OK, then.
Be that as it may, Ben has a Plan to spring Sayid from jail.
Moscow:
Sayid’s "last" Assassination Target is panic-stricken as he rushes into his apartment, locking various doors behind him and grabbing a handful of cash from his Paik-style digital safe in a futile effort to bribe Death.
The fact that Andropow’s safe is similar, if not identical to Paik’s suggests that the Separate Reality we are witnessing has finite Capacity or Memory; that the Island (via Smokey) can only Manifest what’s been down-loaded from the memories of the Players.
After Sayid kills him (two shots), Sayid exits the building and has a memorable encounter with Ben, during which he mentions the bribe - and that it "didn’t work". Sayid takes Pride in his Work.
When Ben tells Sayid that there’s no one left for him to kill, Sayid is lost, not knowing what he should do next. Ben specifically tells him that he’s " free" - that he should go and live his life. But, just like the similar conversation after the death of Bakir, Ben still knows how to pull Sayid’s strings.
So ... who is The Economist? Based on the fact that Elsa didn’t know that Sayid worked for Ben - something that Charles Widmore would certainly have known - The Economist is not CW. And yet, Ben tells Sayid that there’s no one else in Widmore’s organization who needs to be taken care of, implying that Widmore is The Economist. Maybe all of Sayid’s assassinations were merely training exercises, meant to prepare him for his real goal - the assassination of Young Ben.
Otherville jail:
Horace (Mathematician) plus Radzinsky and Phil enter Sayid’s cell, where Horace cuts off Sayid’s zip-tie "hand-cuffs" and threatens Enhanced Interrogation if Sayid doesn’t start talking within the hour. Why is a Mathematician the local Sherriff and Mayor?
Casa LaFleur/Burke: While Juliet stares out the window at Kate’s door, the bacon’s burning in the frying pan (as in "from the fat to the fire"). Coupled with her muffin-burning in TOTC, I’d suggest that Juliet should stay away from stoves and ovens.
Talk about low self-esteem - the mere fact of Kate’s return to Otherville leads Juliet to doubt the durability of her relationship with James: "It’s over, isn’t it? This, us, playing house". Note that "playing house" is a Kate phrase and that "This, us" is a Desmond phrase - the Island Separate Reality Game recycling within its limited stock of phrases. Note also that James assures Juliet that "everything’s under control". In his dreams
And yet, within a few hours, Kate’s been educated about the James/Juliet relationship and has explicitly ceded ownership of James to Juliet.
Enter Horace, who informs Jim that the prisoner isn’t talking and that the next step is a visit to Oldham (the "psychopath"). James gets his shot at extracting Sayid’s co-operation and marches over to Otherville Jail, where he orders Phil to take a long walk. His attempt to persuade Sayid to join in on the LaFleur Long Con fails because Sayid’s been so carefully trained (by Ben) to hate Ben - who maneuvered him into all those murders and learning to enjoy - or at least tolerate - his Work.
I’ve written elsewhere that Ben often appears to be The Master Manipulator, but that he himself is being played by Someone Else. This entity might be Jacob, the Island - or maybe future-dwelling Alvar Hanso. If so, this Entity is the true Man Behind The Curtain - the true "Watchmen" Ozymandias.
DI Cafeteria:
Hugo Cook brings some food to Jack Workman and Kate Mechanic. Talk about "Roles" ... talk about Karma ... talk about Jim’s (or Juliet’s) sense of humour.
I guess that "Love is Blind" because Kate genuinely seems not to have known that James (multiply scorned by her and separated from her for three subjective years) now belongs to Juliet. At least, she reacts with grace. Her "love" for James may have been her reason to Go Back, but she’s unwilling (for now at least) to fight for his affection.
As per standard, Jack hangs back and dutifully accepts whatever scraps of Rebound Love that Kate tosses at his feet. A couple of subjective days ago, she dragged him to bed, only to slap him in the face the next day. Then, after a sexual foreplay-style North Valley embrace with Ford, Jack hangs back some more. Ah, but that same night (I think) she invites Jack back into her bed.
Jail:
Roger Work Man mops the jail area floor, but really just wants to taunt the Prisoner by asking how he could be dumb enough to have been captured by dimwits like Radzinsky and Kwon. I guess the point of this exchange is to make us dislike Roger more than we already do - which sets up the following Bad Daddy scene - in which Young Ben is verbally and physically abused by Roger. This abuse helps to "explain" Ben’s Character, making it that much harder for Sayid to stick to his Mission - but he’s been well-enough conditioned that he carries it out all the same.
Santo Domingo:
Ben visits Sayid to inform him of Locke’s death. Playing on Sayid’s affection for Hugo and his guilt over his earlier rejection of Locke’s Go Back request, Ben delivers his lines and leaves, secure in the knowledge that the seeds he’s just planted in Sayid’s mind will bear fruit very shortly. Note the close correlation between the "Flashback" and Sayid’s "present day" memories, motivations and actions: having heard Ben tell him that he’s a Killer - that all the Free Will choices he ever made to torture and to kill weren’t Free Will at all because Killing is in his Nature (plus a lot of Nurture), Sayid comes to believe this "Truth".
Note that Ben considers himself a Good Person who is not a Killer.
Jail:
The Posse have come to take The Prisoner to The Torturer. This process starts with LaFleur giving Sayid a Last Chance to speak up. When he doesn’t, LaFleur shocks Sayid in the crotch! That had to hurt.
Oldham’s Office:
The music playing on Oldham’s wind-up phonograph is a Billie Holiday song whose words include: "I can’t give you anything but Love, the only thing I’ve got plenty of" - a little ironic for an Interrogator.
Oldham’s Office consists of a patchwork tent inspired by Locke’s Grow-Op Sweat Lodge, some outdoor tables loaded with vials of chemicals and some trees with strategically-placed restraint-straps.
Oldham is played by William Sanderson - who played JF Sebastian in "Blade-Runner" - and who also played in 12 Eps (in 2008) of "True Blood" - the very same show in which Michael Emerson’s wife Carrie Preston also played 12 Eps in 2008. Small world, eh?
When Sayid asks LaFleur who Oldham is, he answers: "He’s our you" - meaning he’s our Interrogator. But Oldham doesn’t resort to torture. He uses Truth Drugs instead - something the US military wishes it had (maybe they do have it?).
Long Beach Marina:
With the "illusion" in the background, Sayid stalks off after Kate announces that "This is insane. You are all crazy". Insane ... crazy ... Illusion. Can the LOST writers be any more obvious that what we (and the Players) think is "real" isn’t?
We catch up to Sayid - once again lost - drinking some MacCutcheon’s - Widmore’s brand of Scotch. Ilana - whose facial mannerisms and speech patterns are almost identical to Elsa’s - is there to pick him up. Whereas Sayid asked Elsa to dinner, Ilana asks Sayid to buy her a glass of MacCutcheon’s.
Ilana: "When you're that good at something, there are always going to be people who tempt you into staying the same." This line reminded me of Dave - who tried to keep Hugo from Changing. The Island, it seems is all in favour of Change, getting Players out of their "stuck" groove - helping them to Evolve.
Sayid is a slow learner and is conned by a beautiful woman. Again. It seems that Ilana - like Boba Fett of Star Wars - is a Bounty Hunter. She’s apparently been hired by the family of Peter Avellino and her Mission is to arrest and transport Sayid to Guam - where he will "answer for what he’s done". Maybe in Guam (alleged) criminals don’t have the rights they have here in North America.
Oldham’s Lab: As the drug-soaked sugar cube takes effect, Horace says: "Hello there" - just as he did in Locke’s Dream. Sayid is now ready to tell the Truth, including the Truth that he’s from The Future and that "you’re all going to die". His interrogators don’t quite believe that. Yet.
Kangaroo Court:
With Rabid Radzinsky foaming at the mouth about the Secrecy surrounding the design/construction of The Swan (as if the DI could possibly build such a large installation secretly), Sayid is sentenced to death on no motive plus non-existent evidence. Note that it’s Truce-Breaking Amy who sways the "Jury" to vote for Radzinsky’s Solution. When she said that "we have no choice", my first thought was: "there’s always a choice".
It seems that the (somewhat) hippy-dippy peace/love DI was readily willing to kill, whereas Family Ben/Richard (who use bolos, tasers, trank-darts, sling-shots and trip-wires) seem to genuinely be (or try to be) Non-Killers - maybe because they are all themselves Resurrected Murder Victims.
Note that Radzinsky (first name Stuart) is "Head of Research" and (possibly because of his Flame responsibilities) also has the privilege of consulting TPTB in Ann Arbor. Hmmm who might these folks be? Hanso? Mittelwerk? The DeGroote’s?
Note that Future Radzinsky (and therefore Inman) knew about the Hostiles. It may be that he and Kelvin quarantined/will quarantine themselves in The Swan during and after The Purge. I wonder if Radzinsky’s suicide was triggered by guilt over his role in the Sayid Affair.
Note that in an effort to enhance their "security" by deciding to execute Sayid, the DI may have helped trigger their own subsequent destruction. Recognizing the futility of his lone dissenting vote, LaFleur reluctantly knuckles under to Groupthink.
In a noble last-ditch effort to save Sayid’s life, LaFleur offers to stage a fake Jail-break like the Michael/Ben Con - another Illusion. Sayid declines, because he’s convinced himself that the Righteous Path for him includes murdering an innocent child. He too has become a Man of Faith.
Just before Kate spells out her reason for Returning, Ben’s Burning Bus Distraction sends all the Dharmites into Fire-Person mode.
I had to laugh when James said something to Jack along the lines of "We had three years of no burning buses [until] ... you’re all back for one day."
Jail:
Ben, wearing his Donnie Darko/Charlie Pace/Miles Straum hoodie, approaches Sayid and proposes a bargain: He’ll spring Sayid if Sayid promises to take him to Richard and his Hostiles. Sayid replies: "Yes, Ben, I will. That’s why I’m here" Sayid has discerned his Purpose.
LAX:
When (cuffed) Sayid spots Hugo, then Jack and then Kate ready to board Flight 316, he asks Ilana to skip this flight and take the next - because he’s" very superstitious" about flying. She replies that she’ll buy him a rabbit’s foot. Like the ones belonging to Roger Work Man, David Reyes and the Co-pilot of the O6 Coast Guard plane.
Jailbreak:
When Jin spots Sayid in the bush, he’s willing to let him go, subject to LaFleur’s approval. So Sayid executes a ninja move on him and knocks him out. Too bad for Jin that he suddenly forgot all his Tae kwon do training. When Sayid grabbed Jin’s pistol and said: "You were right about me. I am a killer", I thought for a moment (as I was meant to) that he was about to shoot Jin. But he shot Young Ben instead!
So ... if Ben is not dead, his near-murder may help lead (over time) to The Purge.
But if Sayid the Experienced Assassin really did kill Young Ben (it looked like a shot to the heart to me) the implication is that The Ben Entity that murdered Roger Work Man was a Resurrected Non-living Person like "Christian". I’ve been speculating for years that Ben may not be human - and the Assassination of Young Ben may offer the proof that this has been true for 4.5 Seasons. It would certainly explain Ben’s apparent ability to teleport - and his apparent ability to read minds. It would also explain CW’s remark, as well as Miles’ that he knows what Ben is.
So ... if Ben is an Island Manifestation, is he a slave to the island’s will? Does he have any Free Will of his own? Was his Sin - the one that got him banished - that he wanted a "real" daughter of his own? Is this why CW argued that it was Ben’s fault that Alex was murdered?
Is "Ben" opposed to "Christian"? Do these two Manifestations embody the duality/schizophrenia of The Island itself? Where does Future-seeing Widmore fit into this waltz?
Is "Ben" still acting as The Island’s Faithful Servant (or at least the Servant of the Light/Good Aspect of The Island)? Or does he have a "personal" mission - a personal agenda?
Sunday, March 22, 2009
"Namaste" (509) - Recap and comments
A satisfying Ep in which some loose ends were addressed and a couple of Familiar Names reappeared.
Ajira Flight 316 hasn’t crashed yet - and the co-pilot muses about Hugo’s Nerves of Steel. Frank appears to have embraced his Fate (possibly "knowing" that he was Supposed to Go to the Island) and does not warn the co-pilot of what’s coming. Frank’s "Flight Wings" brooch might mean something to Fans who know about these things.
The Time Flash Whiteout teleports Sayid, Jack, Kate, Sun and Hugo to 1977 and shuts off the jet engines - which the co-pilot manages to restart just in time for a heroic but surely non-survivable crash landing at Hydra International. During the co-pilot’s "Mayday" broadcast, we hear for a moment (in the background) a male voice reciting The Numbers.
The co-pilot, apparently not needed by the Island, has been impaled by a tree-branch whereas Frank, Sun, Caesar, Ilana, Ben etc apparently all have Work To Do.
Immediately post-crash, Caesar wakes Ilana whose first thought is to her prisoner and asks: "Jarrah"? Caesar introduces himself to her at this point, and we notice that Sayid has vanished. His 1977 Island arrival - with hands cuffed like Kate’s had been on Flight 815 - might have been, er, rough.
In response to Caesar’s question as to where everyone else was, Ben, looking creepier than usual, with one eye shaded (dark) and the other normal (light) announces that "They’re gone", followed (in response to Frank’s "gone where"? question) by: "How would I know?" As if. Ben’s Light/Dark eyes may be a hint that he, like The Island, is Schizophrenic.
Ajira Beach: Sun is fingering Jin’s ring the same way that Rose was fingering Bernard’s. Ilana approaches her and asks if she’s "lost someone". Frank announces that everyone should gather firewood, stay on the beach and hunker down for rescue. He seems to have forgotten the extreme unlikelihood of "rescue". In contrast, Caesar’s suggestion that the Ajirans explore the nearby buildings in search of food and communications equipment sounds smarter. Except that Caesar doesn’t end up looking for food or communications equipment. He’s looking for documents as instructed by his Boss. Caesar is a Natural Leader.
Caesar’s mention of "buildings and animal cages" appears to have alerted Ben (who’s been lurking near the beach/bush edge) as to his whenabouts - and he immediately leaves the beach area - with Sun and Frank in pursuit.
John is nowhere to be seen. I guess it takes 3 days for him to Resurrect.
When Ben circles around (or teleports around) behind Sun and asks her why she’s following him, she asks him where he’s going and he invites her to accompany him "back to our Island". His arm injury is already fully healed and he’s heading to the outriggers - stashed in place with the same Future Knowledge that dictated the construction of the air-strip. While Frank (who’s just arrived) discusses Ben’s Trustworthiness with Sun, Ben holds his tongue until Sun says that she "has to trust him" - at which point, Ben offers a slight nod before asking her if she’s "ready" to go find the canoes.
One of my favourite exchanges: "Sun, I want you to think about this, okay? This guy is dangerous. Sun, that boat I came here on, it was filled with commandos whose only mission was to get him."
"And how'd that work out for everyone?" Ben says. Boastful, but to the point. They’re all dead and Ben is exactly where he needs to be. Immediately after Ben tells F&S that he has "people I have to take care of" [as in "execute" ? - OR - as in St John who’ll still need lots of help?] and that "there's a small dock about a half mile [Wow - mighty close] due south across the water. It leads directly to a town where I used to live. There are resources there", Sun smites him with a paddle. I guess that’s how he ended up in the Hydra Injury Ward. If, when he wakes up and confronts St John he makes little or no mention of Sun and Frank’s Excellent Adventure, we’ll know that it was his Mission all along to send them on their way.
As Sun and Frank land their canoe at the New Otherton Sub Dock, we see that N.O. is in much worse shape than it was in 2004 and that the (2005) Processing Station isn’t nearly as vibrant as it had been 30 years earlier. Shortly after a brief Smokey visit (some shaking bushes and some Smokey chittering), we hear some Whispers immediately followed by some lights on inside the Station. So ... not only are S&F under close Observation, but "Christian’s" arrival is heralded on this occasion by Smokey and the Whisperers. If Smokey is Evil, then so is "Christian". Be that as it may, he seems to be acting as a Spirit Guide tonight, answering Sun’s question regarding Jin’s whenabouts and suggesting that there is a way for them to reunite. Note that "Christian" knows exactly what year Jack, Hugo and Kate had arrived. They were deliberately sent (or "pulled") to that year.
The final scene of the 509 Sun/Frank story is a picture of Jin’s 1977 DI Recruit Friends
Note that Sun and Frank did not head to Lostie Beach. At least, not yet.
Meanwhile, back in 1977:
Hugo is the first O6 Returnee to lumber over and give James a Bear-hug:
Sawyer laughs. "Easy on the ribs, there, Kong."
"Kong," Hurley says. "I've actually missed that."
"I've missed you too, Hugo." James has evolved, thanks to his Island Education
B Linus, Principal.
James and Kate have an awkward reunion, with Jack "hanging back" and wondering WTF is going on between him and James and Fickle Kate. Wasn’t it just a couple of days ago that she practically raped him?
James’ admiration for John’s "success" in bringing the O6 back is tempered by the news of his "death". Note that Jack is unwilling to use the "S" word.
After breaking the news that they’re in 1977 and discovering that both groups have been separated from each other for three (subjective) years, James announces that J,K and H will have to be "brought in" to Otherville, the alternative being camping in Hostile/Other Territory. When Jin hears that Sun was also on the plane, he rushes off to the Flame because "If a plane landed on the Island, Radzinsky will know".
Radzinsky. Kelvin’s Swan buddy - the guy who designed the Station, survived The Incident and The Purge, the guy who removed the Swan Orientation Film reference to the dangers of using the computer to contact the outside world, the guy who drew the Blast Door Map, who knew about the Chernobyl-style Swan concrete and the dumbing down of its computer. The guy who blew his brains out.
It was a good thing that Jin rushed to the Flame. Otherwise, Sayid would have been executed by "Quick-draw" Radzinsky.
After James tells J,K &H to stay put until he returns -"Don't go nowhere, don't do nothing until I can figure how the hell to explain where you came from." - he heads home to pack up some Dharma-compatible clothing for them to change into.
Meanwhile, Juliet, having observed the James/Jack/Kate/Hugo reunion is wise enough not to fly off the handle. To his credit, when she asks him what’s going on, James tells her straight that "they’re back". Note that it’s Juliet who reminds James that there’s a sub (conveniently) coming in that afternoon.
The Flame: As Jin bursts in on Radzinsky - who’s carefully building the Fuller Dome section of The Swan - Radzinsky asks: "Hey, you understand the concept of knocking?" We’ve seen this question before: Ben with Jack and Juliet the night before John blew up The Sub. I guess it’s no wonder that Radzinsky ended up at The Swan - since it appears to have been his "baby".
However, since he was in charge of Flame communications, he would presumably have known that the Swan was being watched by The Pearl. Note that the Swan was only in the Design stage in 1977 - and yet before 1980, The Incident, presumably triggered at the Swan, had already occurred. Those Dharmites must have been quick builders.
When Radzinsky asks Jin why he’s so agitated about a possible air-plane, Jin’s reply: "It just is" - sounds very much like something Ben might say. And with good reason. Jin knows something he cannot share with Radzinsky.
While James is rounding up J,K and H, Juliet is busily subverting the DI’s recruitment protocols. Since Amy’s conveniently off-duty, Juliet has the opportunity to insert names and files into the Sub manifest. We learn that all Submarine Arrivals involve Unconsciousness. An Altered State - again.
We also learn that the baby’s name is Ethan, which supports the Amy = Amelia theory. It seems that Ethan becomes a survivor of both The Incident and The Purge. Note the delicacy with which Juliet answers Amy’s question about a possible J&J baby: "I don't know. Timing's got to be right."
Meanwhile, back at The North Point, LaFleur drives up and kills the engine. He opens the bus and pulls out the clothes. "Alright, listen, you're all going to be the second batch of recruits coming off the sub pulling into port right now, so we ain't got much time. Nice suit, doc. Not exactly island wear. Try this."
"You want us to say that we were on the sub? How's that going to work?" Jack asks.
"Everyone gets knocked out before the trip, so no one meets each other until we process them." Since there’s only "10 minutes to make "Intake" ", there’s no time to debate The Plan. Note that James has become a decisive, effective Leader.
However, how long can Team JJJ maintain their Lie? Do they help trigger The Purge? Note that Richard knows that Team James are from The Future.
Meanwhile, back at the Flame, R&J react to an Intruder Alert and discover Sayid - not a Hostile prisoner as I’d predicted, but stumbling around in the jungle with his hands cuffed together. He’s glad (and mildly astonished) to see Jin, but their reunion is very short because Radzinsky arrives moments later to help "arrest" the "Hostile".
Instead of blindfolding him, they march him into the Flame - where he has the opportunity to see Radzinsky’s model/map. Radzinsky’s convinced that Sayid’s a Hostile Spy - which strikes me as a pretty stupid conclusion. Sayid’s in cuffs - and he’s crashing around in the jungle, setting off Motion Sensors. But whatever.
Meanwhile, back in the DHARMA Van, Hugo’s asking some smart questions:
"So it's 1977... and you guys are all members of the Dharma Initiative."
"Yep."
"You do realize, those dudes get wiped out, right? I saw the pit where all the bodies get dumped."
"What about it?"
"Well aren't you going to warn them? Aren't you going to stop it from happening?"
"I ain't here to play Nostradamus to these people. Besides, Daniel's got some interesting theories on what we can and can't do here." ["Whatever happened, happened"]
Jack leans forward. "Did you say Faraday? He's here?"
"Not anymore." [gone Time-travelling and/or working at the Orchid, I’d guess]
Upon arrival at the "Welcome to the Island" party, James tells J,K & H that their names are on a List and how the Welcome will unfold. When Hugo asks: "What if they start asking us questions we can't answer, like who's president in 1977?", James replies:
"It's not a damn game show, Hugo" Except maybe it is.
Once the newbies have been sent into the Processing Centre, James hears from Jin that he and Radzinsky have "found a hostile." "What's he doing in our territory?" Sawyer asks. "It's a violation of the truce." So ...the Truce includes Territories with Borders. Maybe Bea, in "Three Minutes" was still constrained by the Rules of a similar Truce.
When James arrives at the Flame, he’s very smart and very cool. All that Con Man training is sure coming in handy now. Sayid is smart enough too to understand his "role" - and thus avoid summary execution.
"My name's LaFleur. I'm head of security. I want you to listen real carefully to what I've got to say. If you do that, you'll be fine. Understand?"
Sayid nods.
"Identify yourself as a hostile," Sayid doesn't say anything so Sawyer adds, "The terms of the truce say that you have to identify yourself as a hostile or we've got the right to shoot you."
"We do not refer to ourselves as hostiles, but yes, I am one of them." Over Radzinsky’s ardent objections, James takes custody of Sayid and locks him up in the Otherville Jail, where he orders some food for the prisoner.
Meanwhile back at the Processing Centre, Jack gets promoted to Workman (not even Work Man) and Kate gets a blue jump-suit like Juliet’s, but with a flower (?) symbol on it. Maybe she’s in Gardening. I couldn’t read Hugo’s "role"
At the Namaste Party, the 1977 DI Recruit Pic is being taken - the very same Pic that Christian showed/will show Sun in 2005.
That evening, Jack and James have a powwow/confrontation:
Jack takes a deep breath. "I don't even know where to start. How about with Sayid?"
"I had no choice. He was running around in the jungle and got caught by my people. Seeing as how he can't tell the truth about how he got here, I had to improvise."
"Improvise."
"Uh huh. For now Sayid is safe, which is all that matters." [Just as "LaFleur" is deceiving the DI, Ben was/has been deceiving Somebody - and keeping the Losties safe]
"So, where do we go from here?"
"I'm working on it."
"Really? Because it looked to me like you were reading a book." [Jack the Hot-Head]
Sawyer chuckles. "I heard once that Winston Churchill read a book every night, even during the Blitz. He said it made him think better. That's how I like to run things [just like Ben]. I think.
I'm sure that doesn't mean that much to you, because back when you were calling the shots, you pretty much just reacted. See, you didn't think, Jack. And as I recall, a lot of people ended up dead." [More Leader Education for Jack]
"I got us off the island." [Only 5 1/2 of you - and not for long]
"But here you are, right back where you started. So I'm going to go back to reading my book and I'm going to think." He gets up. " 'Cause that's how I saved your ass today and that's how I'm going to save Sayid's tomorrow. All you've got to do is go home and get a good night's rest and let me do what I do." He opens the door and Jack walks out. "Now ain't that a relief?"
"Yeah," Jack says. ["letting go" ought to be a relief to Jack Workman]
Young Ben enters Security and announces that he’s bringing the prisoner a sandwich. He’s been on the Island long enough to be permitted this privilege. He is not a Newbie.
Young Ben asks Sayid: "Are you a hostile?"
"Do you think I am?"
Ben looks scared. "What's your name?"
"Sayid. What's yours?"
"I'm Ben." It may not have been intentional, but I thought Young Ben seemed (inappropriately) a little creepy.
Sayid looks startled and then says, "It's nice to meet you, Ben."
So ... Team James has been ignoring Young Ben for at least a year, maybe two or even three. OK, then.
Looking forward to the next chapter of the Ben/Annie saga.
Ajira Flight 316 hasn’t crashed yet - and the co-pilot muses about Hugo’s Nerves of Steel. Frank appears to have embraced his Fate (possibly "knowing" that he was Supposed to Go to the Island) and does not warn the co-pilot of what’s coming. Frank’s "Flight Wings" brooch might mean something to Fans who know about these things.
The Time Flash Whiteout teleports Sayid, Jack, Kate, Sun and Hugo to 1977 and shuts off the jet engines - which the co-pilot manages to restart just in time for a heroic but surely non-survivable crash landing at Hydra International. During the co-pilot’s "Mayday" broadcast, we hear for a moment (in the background) a male voice reciting The Numbers.
The co-pilot, apparently not needed by the Island, has been impaled by a tree-branch whereas Frank, Sun, Caesar, Ilana, Ben etc apparently all have Work To Do.
Immediately post-crash, Caesar wakes Ilana whose first thought is to her prisoner and asks: "Jarrah"? Caesar introduces himself to her at this point, and we notice that Sayid has vanished. His 1977 Island arrival - with hands cuffed like Kate’s had been on Flight 815 - might have been, er, rough.
In response to Caesar’s question as to where everyone else was, Ben, looking creepier than usual, with one eye shaded (dark) and the other normal (light) announces that "They’re gone", followed (in response to Frank’s "gone where"? question) by: "How would I know?" As if. Ben’s Light/Dark eyes may be a hint that he, like The Island, is Schizophrenic.
Ajira Beach: Sun is fingering Jin’s ring the same way that Rose was fingering Bernard’s. Ilana approaches her and asks if she’s "lost someone". Frank announces that everyone should gather firewood, stay on the beach and hunker down for rescue. He seems to have forgotten the extreme unlikelihood of "rescue". In contrast, Caesar’s suggestion that the Ajirans explore the nearby buildings in search of food and communications equipment sounds smarter. Except that Caesar doesn’t end up looking for food or communications equipment. He’s looking for documents as instructed by his Boss. Caesar is a Natural Leader.
Caesar’s mention of "buildings and animal cages" appears to have alerted Ben (who’s been lurking near the beach/bush edge) as to his whenabouts - and he immediately leaves the beach area - with Sun and Frank in pursuit.
John is nowhere to be seen. I guess it takes 3 days for him to Resurrect.
When Ben circles around (or teleports around) behind Sun and asks her why she’s following him, she asks him where he’s going and he invites her to accompany him "back to our Island". His arm injury is already fully healed and he’s heading to the outriggers - stashed in place with the same Future Knowledge that dictated the construction of the air-strip. While Frank (who’s just arrived) discusses Ben’s Trustworthiness with Sun, Ben holds his tongue until Sun says that she "has to trust him" - at which point, Ben offers a slight nod before asking her if she’s "ready" to go find the canoes.
One of my favourite exchanges: "Sun, I want you to think about this, okay? This guy is dangerous. Sun, that boat I came here on, it was filled with commandos whose only mission was to get him."
"And how'd that work out for everyone?" Ben says. Boastful, but to the point. They’re all dead and Ben is exactly where he needs to be. Immediately after Ben tells F&S that he has "people I have to take care of" [as in "execute" ? - OR - as in St John who’ll still need lots of help?] and that "there's a small dock about a half mile [Wow - mighty close] due south across the water. It leads directly to a town where I used to live. There are resources there", Sun smites him with a paddle. I guess that’s how he ended up in the Hydra Injury Ward. If, when he wakes up and confronts St John he makes little or no mention of Sun and Frank’s Excellent Adventure, we’ll know that it was his Mission all along to send them on their way.
As Sun and Frank land their canoe at the New Otherton Sub Dock, we see that N.O. is in much worse shape than it was in 2004 and that the (2005) Processing Station isn’t nearly as vibrant as it had been 30 years earlier. Shortly after a brief Smokey visit (some shaking bushes and some Smokey chittering), we hear some Whispers immediately followed by some lights on inside the Station. So ... not only are S&F under close Observation, but "Christian’s" arrival is heralded on this occasion by Smokey and the Whisperers. If Smokey is Evil, then so is "Christian". Be that as it may, he seems to be acting as a Spirit Guide tonight, answering Sun’s question regarding Jin’s whenabouts and suggesting that there is a way for them to reunite. Note that "Christian" knows exactly what year Jack, Hugo and Kate had arrived. They were deliberately sent (or "pulled") to that year.
The final scene of the 509 Sun/Frank story is a picture of Jin’s 1977 DI Recruit Friends
Note that Sun and Frank did not head to Lostie Beach. At least, not yet.
Meanwhile, back in 1977:
Hugo is the first O6 Returnee to lumber over and give James a Bear-hug:
Sawyer laughs. "Easy on the ribs, there, Kong."
"Kong," Hurley says. "I've actually missed that."
"I've missed you too, Hugo." James has evolved, thanks to his Island Education
B Linus, Principal.
James and Kate have an awkward reunion, with Jack "hanging back" and wondering WTF is going on between him and James and Fickle Kate. Wasn’t it just a couple of days ago that she practically raped him?
James’ admiration for John’s "success" in bringing the O6 back is tempered by the news of his "death". Note that Jack is unwilling to use the "S" word.
After breaking the news that they’re in 1977 and discovering that both groups have been separated from each other for three (subjective) years, James announces that J,K and H will have to be "brought in" to Otherville, the alternative being camping in Hostile/Other Territory. When Jin hears that Sun was also on the plane, he rushes off to the Flame because "If a plane landed on the Island, Radzinsky will know".
Radzinsky. Kelvin’s Swan buddy - the guy who designed the Station, survived The Incident and The Purge, the guy who removed the Swan Orientation Film reference to the dangers of using the computer to contact the outside world, the guy who drew the Blast Door Map, who knew about the Chernobyl-style Swan concrete and the dumbing down of its computer. The guy who blew his brains out.
It was a good thing that Jin rushed to the Flame. Otherwise, Sayid would have been executed by "Quick-draw" Radzinsky.
After James tells J,K &H to stay put until he returns -"Don't go nowhere, don't do nothing until I can figure how the hell to explain where you came from." - he heads home to pack up some Dharma-compatible clothing for them to change into.
Meanwhile, Juliet, having observed the James/Jack/Kate/Hugo reunion is wise enough not to fly off the handle. To his credit, when she asks him what’s going on, James tells her straight that "they’re back". Note that it’s Juliet who reminds James that there’s a sub (conveniently) coming in that afternoon.
The Flame: As Jin bursts in on Radzinsky - who’s carefully building the Fuller Dome section of The Swan - Radzinsky asks: "Hey, you understand the concept of knocking?" We’ve seen this question before: Ben with Jack and Juliet the night before John blew up The Sub. I guess it’s no wonder that Radzinsky ended up at The Swan - since it appears to have been his "baby".
However, since he was in charge of Flame communications, he would presumably have known that the Swan was being watched by The Pearl. Note that the Swan was only in the Design stage in 1977 - and yet before 1980, The Incident, presumably triggered at the Swan, had already occurred. Those Dharmites must have been quick builders.
When Radzinsky asks Jin why he’s so agitated about a possible air-plane, Jin’s reply: "It just is" - sounds very much like something Ben might say. And with good reason. Jin knows something he cannot share with Radzinsky.
While James is rounding up J,K and H, Juliet is busily subverting the DI’s recruitment protocols. Since Amy’s conveniently off-duty, Juliet has the opportunity to insert names and files into the Sub manifest. We learn that all Submarine Arrivals involve Unconsciousness. An Altered State - again.
We also learn that the baby’s name is Ethan, which supports the Amy = Amelia theory. It seems that Ethan becomes a survivor of both The Incident and The Purge. Note the delicacy with which Juliet answers Amy’s question about a possible J&J baby: "I don't know. Timing's got to be right."
Meanwhile, back at The North Point, LaFleur drives up and kills the engine. He opens the bus and pulls out the clothes. "Alright, listen, you're all going to be the second batch of recruits coming off the sub pulling into port right now, so we ain't got much time. Nice suit, doc. Not exactly island wear. Try this."
"You want us to say that we were on the sub? How's that going to work?" Jack asks.
"Everyone gets knocked out before the trip, so no one meets each other until we process them." Since there’s only "10 minutes to make "Intake" ", there’s no time to debate The Plan. Note that James has become a decisive, effective Leader.
However, how long can Team JJJ maintain their Lie? Do they help trigger The Purge? Note that Richard knows that Team James are from The Future.
Meanwhile, back at the Flame, R&J react to an Intruder Alert and discover Sayid - not a Hostile prisoner as I’d predicted, but stumbling around in the jungle with his hands cuffed together. He’s glad (and mildly astonished) to see Jin, but their reunion is very short because Radzinsky arrives moments later to help "arrest" the "Hostile".
Instead of blindfolding him, they march him into the Flame - where he has the opportunity to see Radzinsky’s model/map. Radzinsky’s convinced that Sayid’s a Hostile Spy - which strikes me as a pretty stupid conclusion. Sayid’s in cuffs - and he’s crashing around in the jungle, setting off Motion Sensors. But whatever.
Meanwhile, back in the DHARMA Van, Hugo’s asking some smart questions:
"So it's 1977... and you guys are all members of the Dharma Initiative."
"Yep."
"You do realize, those dudes get wiped out, right? I saw the pit where all the bodies get dumped."
"What about it?"
"Well aren't you going to warn them? Aren't you going to stop it from happening?"
"I ain't here to play Nostradamus to these people. Besides, Daniel's got some interesting theories on what we can and can't do here." ["Whatever happened, happened"]
Jack leans forward. "Did you say Faraday? He's here?"
"Not anymore." [gone Time-travelling and/or working at the Orchid, I’d guess]
Upon arrival at the "Welcome to the Island" party, James tells J,K & H that their names are on a List and how the Welcome will unfold. When Hugo asks: "What if they start asking us questions we can't answer, like who's president in 1977?", James replies:
"It's not a damn game show, Hugo" Except maybe it is.
Once the newbies have been sent into the Processing Centre, James hears from Jin that he and Radzinsky have "found a hostile." "What's he doing in our territory?" Sawyer asks. "It's a violation of the truce." So ...the Truce includes Territories with Borders. Maybe Bea, in "Three Minutes" was still constrained by the Rules of a similar Truce.
When James arrives at the Flame, he’s very smart and very cool. All that Con Man training is sure coming in handy now. Sayid is smart enough too to understand his "role" - and thus avoid summary execution.
"My name's LaFleur. I'm head of security. I want you to listen real carefully to what I've got to say. If you do that, you'll be fine. Understand?"
Sayid nods.
"Identify yourself as a hostile," Sayid doesn't say anything so Sawyer adds, "The terms of the truce say that you have to identify yourself as a hostile or we've got the right to shoot you."
"We do not refer to ourselves as hostiles, but yes, I am one of them." Over Radzinsky’s ardent objections, James takes custody of Sayid and locks him up in the Otherville Jail, where he orders some food for the prisoner.
Meanwhile back at the Processing Centre, Jack gets promoted to Workman (not even Work Man) and Kate gets a blue jump-suit like Juliet’s, but with a flower (?) symbol on it. Maybe she’s in Gardening. I couldn’t read Hugo’s "role"
At the Namaste Party, the 1977 DI Recruit Pic is being taken - the very same Pic that Christian showed/will show Sun in 2005.
That evening, Jack and James have a powwow/confrontation:
Jack takes a deep breath. "I don't even know where to start. How about with Sayid?"
"I had no choice. He was running around in the jungle and got caught by my people. Seeing as how he can't tell the truth about how he got here, I had to improvise."
"Improvise."
"Uh huh. For now Sayid is safe, which is all that matters." [Just as "LaFleur" is deceiving the DI, Ben was/has been deceiving Somebody - and keeping the Losties safe]
"So, where do we go from here?"
"I'm working on it."
"Really? Because it looked to me like you were reading a book." [Jack the Hot-Head]
Sawyer chuckles. "I heard once that Winston Churchill read a book every night, even during the Blitz. He said it made him think better. That's how I like to run things [just like Ben]. I think.
I'm sure that doesn't mean that much to you, because back when you were calling the shots, you pretty much just reacted. See, you didn't think, Jack. And as I recall, a lot of people ended up dead." [More Leader Education for Jack]
"I got us off the island." [Only 5 1/2 of you - and not for long]
"But here you are, right back where you started. So I'm going to go back to reading my book and I'm going to think." He gets up. " 'Cause that's how I saved your ass today and that's how I'm going to save Sayid's tomorrow. All you've got to do is go home and get a good night's rest and let me do what I do." He opens the door and Jack walks out. "Now ain't that a relief?"
"Yeah," Jack says. ["letting go" ought to be a relief to Jack Workman]
Young Ben enters Security and announces that he’s bringing the prisoner a sandwich. He’s been on the Island long enough to be permitted this privilege. He is not a Newbie.
Young Ben asks Sayid: "Are you a hostile?"
"Do you think I am?"
Ben looks scared. "What's your name?"
"Sayid. What's yours?"
"I'm Ben." It may not have been intentional, but I thought Young Ben seemed (inappropriately) a little creepy.
Sayid looks startled and then says, "It's nice to meet you, Ben."
So ... Team James has been ignoring Young Ben for at least a year, maybe two or even three. OK, then.
Looking forward to the next chapter of the Ben/Annie saga.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Rewatching Season One with S5 eyes
102:
Sawyer: "This guy [Sayid] was sitting in the back row of business class, the whole flight, never got up ... hands folded underneath the blanket [just like he was on Ajira Flight 316] ... the guy sittin' next to him didn't make it" .... [just like Marshall Edward Mars "didn’t make it"]
Sawyer: "Fine! I'm the criminal. You're the terrorist. We can all play a part. [to Shannon] Who do you want to be?"
To me, this is a hint that some part of Sawyer knew (or remembered) that he and his friends were "chosen" to play "roles" ... in a Game.
SAWYER: [grabbing Kate's arm] I know your type.
KATE: I'm not so sure.
SAWYER: Yeah. I've been with girls like you.
KATE: No girl's exactly like me.
This suggests that our Losties are in some ways similar (but not identical) to either their predecessors in previous Iterations of The Game OR are similar but not identical to previous versions of themselves. This of course suggests that the personalities of our Losties have been "edited" over many Iterations. The "Alice in Wonderland" excerpt that Jack read to Aaron hinted as much:
"I wonder if I've been changed in the night. Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? But if I'm not the same, the next question is, 'Who in the world am I’?"
Changed in the night. Edited while unconscious. How "real" are the memories and experiences of our Losties? Are they all unconscious somewhere in some "Matrix"-type of Alternate Reality? I hope not.
103:
Marshall to Kate: "You really are one of a kind" - which supports the above
Note that Jack murdered The Marshall to put him out of his misery and was respected, not hated or despised for his action. I think that Ben’s "murder" of Locke in 507 should be viewed at least as charitably as Jack’s murder.
104:
Kate: "Who says this is my first time boar hunting?" Who indeed? How many times has she gone boar-hunting in previous Iterations?
Note that our first view of "Christian" was not standing in the ocean, but standing on-shore by a tree.
The black slip-on shoes that Locke puts on as soon as he realises he’s regained the use of his legs appear to be the same shoes that he was wearing in his coffin.
Sawyer: "This guy [Sayid] was sitting in the back row of business class, the whole flight, never got up ... hands folded underneath the blanket [just like he was on Ajira Flight 316] ... the guy sittin' next to him didn't make it" .... [just like Marshall Edward Mars "didn’t make it"]
Sawyer: "Fine! I'm the criminal. You're the terrorist. We can all play a part. [to Shannon] Who do you want to be?"
To me, this is a hint that some part of Sawyer knew (or remembered) that he and his friends were "chosen" to play "roles" ... in a Game.
SAWYER: [grabbing Kate's arm] I know your type.
KATE: I'm not so sure.
SAWYER: Yeah. I've been with girls like you.
KATE: No girl's exactly like me.
This suggests that our Losties are in some ways similar (but not identical) to either their predecessors in previous Iterations of The Game OR are similar but not identical to previous versions of themselves. This of course suggests that the personalities of our Losties have been "edited" over many Iterations. The "Alice in Wonderland" excerpt that Jack read to Aaron hinted as much:
"I wonder if I've been changed in the night. Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? But if I'm not the same, the next question is, 'Who in the world am I’?"
Changed in the night. Edited while unconscious. How "real" are the memories and experiences of our Losties? Are they all unconscious somewhere in some "Matrix"-type of Alternate Reality? I hope not.
103:
Marshall to Kate: "You really are one of a kind" - which supports the above
Note that Jack murdered The Marshall to put him out of his misery and was respected, not hated or despised for his action. I think that Ben’s "murder" of Locke in 507 should be viewed at least as charitably as Jack’s murder.
104:
Kate: "Who says this is my first time boar hunting?" Who indeed? How many times has she gone boar-hunting in previous Iterations?
Note that our first view of "Christian" was not standing in the ocean, but standing on-shore by a tree.
The black slip-on shoes that Locke puts on as soon as he realises he’s regained the use of his legs appear to be the same shoes that he was wearing in his coffin.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Christian is more Evil than Good
Christian deliberately raised Jack to lack self-confidence. What Good Parent would ("White Rabbit" - 105) tell a child: " Don't choose, Jack, don't decide. You don't want to be a hero, you don't try and save everyone because when you fail … you just don't have what it takes." ? Granted, this may have been Christian’s well-meant attempt to "toughen" Jack up, but if so, it achieved the opposite. To me, it looks like a deliberate attempt to cripple Jack emotionally, to prevent him from becoming a Great Leader.
To be fair, it seems that in later life that Christian did try to be a Better Father:
advising Jack to give his patients a little hope, admitting (on Jack’s wedding day) that he wasn’t as good a father as he could have been, advising Jack not to "cross the line" with Gabriela and then, when Jack did so anyway, to "let go" of Sarah.
Nevertheless, Jack, upon arrival on the Island, was riddled with self-doubt and it was only because of Locke’s subtle guidance in "White Rabbit" (not to mention his rescue as Jack dangled over the edge of that cliff) plus the Island’s Healing Influence that Jack gradually grew into his Leadership role
Christian was an adulterer - including fathering a child with his lover
Christian suggested (in "Par Avion" - 312) to Claire that he could stealthily murder Carole (while in her coma):
CHRISTIAN: Claire, your mother is alive, but she’s not really living ... now may be the time to look at other alternatives; other ways to relieve her pain. Now, it is illegal to turn off her machines, but I know of ways that can achieve the same effect without the legal consequences.
CLAIRE: You think that just paying her bills makes you noble or something? You come down here and you try and get me to kill her?
CHRISTIAN: Claire listen to me. Do not keep your mother alive for the wrong reasons. Now there is hope and there is guilt. And believe me, I know the difference.
Note that it was only because Claire refused this "help" that Carole survived, recovered from her coma, and flew to LA, possibly taking over from Kate as Aaron’s Parent figure
Christian was an alcoholic - who basically committed suicide by drinking himself to death: "The police found him in an alley in Queens Cross. Now, a tox screen showed a blood alcohol content, which for a man of his size, probably brought on myocardial infarction - a sizable, and fatal heat-attack." ("White Rabbit"). It may be that having chosen death by suicide, that Christian was resurrected on the Island as a Bad Guy.
In "Meet Kevin Johnson (408)", "Christian" casually, almost gleefully tells Michael that he "can go now"
"Christian" tells John (in "Cabin Fever" - 411) that he is not Jacob but can speak for him
"Christian" subsequently implies (in 505) that he is Jacob and suggests that Ben is an untrustworthy weasel
If Christian does, in fact "speak for" Jacob, there’s further evidence to support Christian’s Badness:
Good Persons like Sayid, Kate, and John are not on Jacob’s List because they are "flawed" - "frightened, angry and weak". People who are on Jacob’s List presumably include Danny Pickett (hater), Colleen (hater), Bea and Mikhail - who cheerfully killed colleagues Greta and Bonnie as well as Charlie.
To be fair, it seems that in later life that Christian did try to be a Better Father:
advising Jack to give his patients a little hope, admitting (on Jack’s wedding day) that he wasn’t as good a father as he could have been, advising Jack not to "cross the line" with Gabriela and then, when Jack did so anyway, to "let go" of Sarah.
Nevertheless, Jack, upon arrival on the Island, was riddled with self-doubt and it was only because of Locke’s subtle guidance in "White Rabbit" (not to mention his rescue as Jack dangled over the edge of that cliff) plus the Island’s Healing Influence that Jack gradually grew into his Leadership role
Christian was an adulterer - including fathering a child with his lover
Christian suggested (in "Par Avion" - 312) to Claire that he could stealthily murder Carole (while in her coma):
CHRISTIAN: Claire, your mother is alive, but she’s not really living ... now may be the time to look at other alternatives; other ways to relieve her pain. Now, it is illegal to turn off her machines, but I know of ways that can achieve the same effect without the legal consequences.
CLAIRE: You think that just paying her bills makes you noble or something? You come down here and you try and get me to kill her?
CHRISTIAN: Claire listen to me. Do not keep your mother alive for the wrong reasons. Now there is hope and there is guilt. And believe me, I know the difference.
Note that it was only because Claire refused this "help" that Carole survived, recovered from her coma, and flew to LA, possibly taking over from Kate as Aaron’s Parent figure
Christian was an alcoholic - who basically committed suicide by drinking himself to death: "The police found him in an alley in Queens Cross. Now, a tox screen showed a blood alcohol content, which for a man of his size, probably brought on myocardial infarction - a sizable, and fatal heat-attack." ("White Rabbit"). It may be that having chosen death by suicide, that Christian was resurrected on the Island as a Bad Guy.
In "Meet Kevin Johnson (408)", "Christian" casually, almost gleefully tells Michael that he "can go now"
"Christian" tells John (in "Cabin Fever" - 411) that he is not Jacob but can speak for him
"Christian" subsequently implies (in 505) that he is Jacob and suggests that Ben is an untrustworthy weasel
If Christian does, in fact "speak for" Jacob, there’s further evidence to support Christian’s Badness:
Good Persons like Sayid, Kate, and John are not on Jacob’s List because they are "flawed" - "frightened, angry and weak". People who are on Jacob’s List presumably include Danny Pickett (hater), Colleen (hater), Bea and Mikhail - who cheerfully killed colleagues Greta and Bonnie as well as Charlie.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Episode 508 "LaFleur" recap and comments
The Well - John is in the FDW chamber and Team James are up top. James has the rope in his hands and The Well hasn’t been built yet.
But The Statue has. From the back, it looks Egyptian. It may be a Lion-Man, possibly a Sphinx-Man - including four toes like The Sphinx. He has a crown on his head and in each dangling hand, he holds a large Ankh (one dark and one light?). Who knew that The Orchid was within a few hundred yards of the Island’s West Coast?
According to Lostpedia: "The Egyptian [Ankh] hieroglyph is a symbol of eternal life and fertility".
Eternal Life - something wealthy old men might like to enjoy
Fertility - or its opposite - seems to be an Island Issue - or at least a Ben Issue
So - what is it with the DI and Egypt? My best guess is that it has to do with the Egyptians’ obsession with death, resurrection and rebirth.
After the Whiteout Time Flash during which John worm-holed to Tunisia, Team James is sent to 1974, and The Well has reappeared. In a heroic effort to rescue Locke, James rushes over, grabs the rope and jumps in - but The Well has been filled in with rocks and dirt. Maybe the ancient Statue-era rope leading into the ground persuaded Someone to dig a somewhat less ancient Well in that location. And 1974 Daniel knows that something at its bottom controls Island Time Travel. The Orchid has not yet (1974) been built.
The Last Flash seemed "different" to the members of Team James - more intense ("like a volcano") and yet the headaches and the nosebleeds are gone. Note that by embracing his Destiny and Leaving the Island - even on pain of death - that John has saved the lives of the Left-Behinders. Note the "volcano" reference. I think we’re in for a Volcanic Eruption at some point in the future. Note that Ben’s dire warning about the "death of every single living person" has not occurred. Yet.
A few minutes later, they spot Daniel, mumbling to himself: "I’m not gonna do it. I’m not gonna tell her " [never to return] Daniel will once again Try to Change The Past/Present/Future. It seems that during the Final Flash, Charlotte’s body stayed behind in the Statue Era and Daniel announces that "whenever we are now, we’re here for good" So to speak.
After James decides to lead his friends back to Lostie Beach, he and Juliet share A Moment, during which James thanks Juliet for "getting his back". It’s another step on the way to Love. Awww.
A few moments later, we hear two gun-shots, followed by the screams and pleadings of a Woman: " Oh God ... no, no, no ... we didn’t mean anything." The woman is Amy. Her dead husband is Paul. It appears that they were picnicking in Hostile Territory, contrary to the Truce Terms. The two "Hostiles" are wearing Hillbilly clothes. One of them has tattoos on his upper arm. Having killed Paul, it appears they intend to capture Amy and bring her to Family Richard with a bag over her head looking very similar to the bags used by Family Ben 30 years later
Miles wants to avoid involvement, confirming with Daniel that "we don’t get involved, right?" and Daniel replies that it doesn’t matter, that "whatever happened, happened", which in this case includes Sawyer and Juliet’s TT-enabled intervention. Confirming that Juliet’s still got his back (answer: "absolutely"), J&J approach the picnic scene. When James yells at Hostile #1 to "drop the gun", he doesn’t. He aims it at James and is killed by Hawkeye Juliet before James can pull his trigger - which he does when Hostile #2 aims at him. At that point, "it’s over" and Amy is safe.
When Jin finds a walkie-talkie on one of the corpses, James announces that they "need to go". Amy, thinking that it might be possible to hide the evidence of her Transgression, insists that The Hostiles must be buried and that Paul’s body must be brought along - a task for which Jin volunteers.
When Amy mentioned The Truce, my first thought was the Truce between Mikhail and the group he called "The Hostiles". The Truce terms would appear to include a requirement whereby DI members must stay inside the Sonic Fence and within close proximity to their Stations and roads.
When she insisted that Paul’s body be brought back to The Barracks, my first thought was that dead bodies are important on the Island - fresh or not, the obvious implication being that there are lots of reanimated corpses running around the place.
As Team James accompanied Amy back to The Barracks, James instructs his friends: "Alright, listen up. When we get there, there’s going to be a lot of questions. So just keep your mouth shut and let me to the talking."
Miles asks: "You really think that you can convince them we were in a boat wreck?"
"I'm a professional. I used to lie for a living." It is no coincidence that James is a Good Liar. And its no coincidence that The Island sent Team James into 1974. They have Work to do - and they’ve been "here" before - only this time, they remember the Future/Past.
By the time they reach the Sonic Fence, Amy has begun to suspect that Team James might be lying. Juliet warns Dan not to walk between the pylons - and James instructs Amy to turn the Fence off and to step through it first - which she does. We hear the "zing" of the stun-level frequency she’s set, but Team James does not. As they all stupidly cross together, James says: "Going forward, we should all do a better job of trusting ..." as they all fall down together, the Con-Man having been conned again.
As James wakes up, Horace asks him: "How’s your head?" James: "It hurts". Three years later, this exact same scene occurs, but with the roles reversed. After Horace thanks James for saving Amy’s life, he says:
"There are hostile indigenous people on this island and we don't get along with them. So, why don't you tell me who the hell you are."
"My name is James LaFleur. You can call me Jim."
"How'd you get to the island, Jim?"
"If my friends are safe, why are you asking me all the questions?"
"They told me I need to talk you. That you're the boat captain."
"We got caught in a storm and shipwrecked. We must have hit the reef. Thankfully, we washed up on shore."
"What kind of ship?"
"Salvage vessel. We were searching for a famous lost wreck. It's an old slaver out of Portsmouth, England, called The Black Rock. You ever heard of her?" How could James possibly have known that the Black Rock sailed out of Portsmouth? My best guess - a memory fragment from a Past Life.
Be that as it may, Horace doesn’t really believe James’ story, but concludes that his group is harmless and no more than a temporary problem, since he plans to ship them off the Island the next day. This situation sounds familiar.
While James is lying to Horace inside, Jin, Miles, Daniel and Juliet are outside, where Juliet explains that the Others took over the Barracks, wiped out most of the people living in them and brought her to the Island via the sub a long time after that.
Jin asks: "Daniel, no more flash?"
"No. The record is spinning again and we're just not on the song we want to be on."
They see a little girl with red hair. She asks her mom where her dad is. Daniel stares at her. She waves at him as he whispers "Charlotte" to himself. Note that it’s 1974 and "Charlotte" appears to be about 3, yielding a DOB around 1971 - which flatly contradicts Ben’s statement that she was born in 1979 - in England.
When Horace brings "Jim LaFleur" out to his "ship-mates", James informs them that LaFleur" is Creole, hinting that yet another Lostie speaks a Secret Language. As it happens, La Fleur is French for The Flower, but whatever. Note that Creole is the language of Voodoo.
A few minutes later - Hostile Attack Warning! Team James are hustled indoors where they watch Ageless Richard march up and plant a torch for a Parley. He is not wearing Hillbilly clothes, but he could use a shave:
Horace walks outside and approaches Richard. "Hello, Mr. Alpert."
"Hello, Mr. Goodspeed."
"I wish you would have told me you were coming, I would have turned the fence off for you." [Stupid comment, seeing as how, Richard bypassed it with ease]
"That fence may keep other things out, but not us [since we’re Non-Living Persons who can Teleport at will]. The only thing that does keep us out, Horace, is our Truce, which you've now broken."
I believe that Rose, Bernard, the surviving Red Shirts and Sayid are all in the custody of Family Richard. Note that it is Richard, and not Charles Widmore who represents "The Hostiles". It may be that 1974 Charles Widmore (aged 37) has not yet seized control of "his people". OR ... he is in Military Control but sends Richard as his ambassador. The brutality of the two dead Hostiles hints at the brutality of their Commander.
After Horace, having come inside to confer, hears James say that the bodies wouldn’t be very hard to find, he orders Phil: "Call the Arrow. Tell them we're at Condition 1. Take the heavy ordnance and make sure the fence is at maximum." The Arrow, it seems, may once have been a Weapons Depot.
James: "Let me talk to him"
"Excuse me?"
"Your buddy out there with the eyeliner, let me talk to him." [I smiled at his "eyeliner" crack - which was a nod to us Fans]
"We had a truce with these people. You don't understand."
"I understand that I'm the one that killed his men. And I'm the one that's going to go out there and tell him why I did it."
"I can't let you do that."
"Then it's a good thing I ain't asking your permission."
"Hello, Richard."
Richard is sitting on a bench. "I'm sorry, do we know each other?"
"I'm the guy that killed your men. Heard some gunshots, saw two men throwing a bag over a woman's head, gave them a chance to throw their weapons down and walk away, but one of them took a shot at me and I defended myself."
"Your people know that you're telling me this?"
"Ain't my people, Hoss, so if you've got some kind of a truce with them, it ain't been broken."
"If you're not a member of the Dharma Initiative, then what are you?" ["what", not "who"]
Sawyer sits next to Richard. "Did you bury the bomb?"
"Excuse me?"
"The hydrogen bomb with "Jughead" written on the side. Did you bury it?"
"What?"
"Yeah, I know about it. I also know that 20 years ago some bald fella limped into your camp and fed you some mumbo jumbo about being your leader. And then "poof", he disappeared right in front of you. Any of this ringing a bell? That man's name is John Locke. I'm waiting for him to come back. So, still think I'm a member of the damn Dharma Initiative?"
"No. I guess I don't. But no matter who you are, two of my men are dead. And my people need some kind of justice. What are we going to do about that?"
The LaFleur Treaty includes leading Family Richard to the graves of his two men and handing over Paul’s body as well. This Treaty - plus maybe something else that James did over the next couple of weeks - earned him and his friends the privilege of becoming Dharmites.
So ... Ageless Richard meets Locke in 1954, witnesses his 1956 birth, gives him the Dalai Lama test a few years later and then a few years later still invites him to Science Camp. Meanwhile, back on the Island in 1974, he meets James the Time Traveller from 2008 who refers to Locke again. No wonder Locke’s 2004 Island Arrival is so eagerly anticipated by Family Richard. It will certainly be interesting to see how long Team James/Jack stays in 1977 onward and how their presence shapes the Past/Present/Future.
Before releasing Paul’s body, Amy removes a necklace from his neck. It’s an Ankh symbol. Yes indeed, the DI have embraced Ancient Egyptian (and Sumerian, Greek, Roman, Druidic, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Voodoo) culture.
James approaches Juliet on the Submarine dock where she tells him she’s leaving on the Sub the next morning. We’ve heard this before. James talks her into staying for "two weeks - that’s all I’m asking"
Daniel obviously wants to stick around and learn what he can about the DI’s investigations into TT. Juliet’s becoming "invested" in James ... and it seems that Miles and Jin would rather stick around working in Security than to re-enter The World in 1974.
Three Years Later, it’s 1977 and Jerry is enjoying a Night-Shift Moment with Rosie - who’s brought some Brownies. She’s wearing a Geronimo Jackson shirt and the tunes on the open-reel tape recorder are groovy. They are in a Security Monitoring Room (which we have not previously seen) within the Barracks compound. Like the Infirmary, and the School, the windows are protected by steel mesh. This may be the room in which 2004 Ryan watched Kate enter Jack’s house to "rescue" him.
The Monitors at this Station include the Hydra Island Polar Bear cages and therefore presumably other Stations as well. While Jerry and his freshly-returned boss Phil argue, Rosie notices that Horace is out near the Sonic Fence drunk and blowing trees up. It’s 3 AM, but Jim LaFleur, Head of Security, takes his job seriously and rousts Miles to help him collect their boss Horace.
When I saw Horace blowing trees up, my first thought was that this action looked and sounded exactly like the "tree-exploder" aspect of Smokey. Did Future Smokey incorporate Exploding Trees into its repertoire because of Horace’s actions that night? Does Smokey dislike members of the DI (including Juliet in "Left Behind") because of Horace’s tree-destruction? Is Smokey a relative of Tolkien’s Ents?
When James brings (drunk) Horace home to (pregnant) Amy, he tells her that he was blowing up trees "by the Flame"? Huh? From what we saw, he was within sight of the Sonic Fence - nowhere near The Flame, but whatever.
It turns out that she and Horace had gotten into an argument over Paul, her 3-year-dead husband - and that the baby was coming sooner than expected!
The local medic - who’s a Resident and not an Obstetrician - is unsure of his C-Section skills. It seems that Island women "always deliver on the Mainland" and that Amy’s slightly premature breech-birth could end up fatal for both her and her baby. If only there were a trained Fertility/OB somewhere at hand.
James marches over to the Auto Hospital where Juliet the Wrench is performing cosmetic surgery on a metal patient when James tells her Amy’s Tale. I’m not 100% sure, but I think Juliet’s job title is "Motor Rx"
It seems that she and James had an agreement whereby Juliet would not resume her Fertility Practice. However, the Island has other plans for Dr Juliet and she decides to try to deliver Amy’s baby, despite her fear that Amy, like every other Island Woman patient Juliet has treated, would die at her hands. The support and confidence that James has for her help settle her mind - and Dr J, Medicine Woman succeeds in helping bring a new baby boy (Karl?) into the World. James was right - the Island Fertility Problem hasn’t cropped up yet - and Dr Juliet, having chosen to stay on the Island, might just be able to learn what caused/will cause it - which just happens to be Ben’s Obsession.
While waiting outside the Infirmary, James is met by Jin, who informs him that he and his team finished searching Grid 133 today - with no sign of their people. Tomorrow’s assignment will be to search Grid 134. I wonder if all this Grid-searching will lead to further Truce breaches.
On his way home that day (while Horace sleeps through the birth of his son), James stops to pick a flower. There’s a bottle of DI Merlot and some salad on the kitchen table. When Jim LaFleur shows Juliet The Flower, I thought about his name and I also thought about how Jin used to do that for Sun - bring her one flower. Juliet is grateful that James "believed in" her ... "believed" ... that word again.
When James told Juliet that he loved her, I thought about the fact that it was mostly Ben and his harsh manipulations that led James to finally let down his defences and self-loathing enough to permit himself to love Kate. Ben the Good Guy helped James evolve into a Good Person (with a little help from the Light Aspect of the Island).
After dinner, James wakes Horace up and History repeats itself - only role-reversed: "How’s your head"? "It hurts" We now learn that the Horace/Amy fight was sparked by the possibility that Amy hadn’t "gotten over" Paul, since he’d only been dead for three years.
James: "I had a thing for a girl once. And I had a shot at her. But I didn't take it. [Yeah, right] For a little while, I'd lay in bed every night and wonder if that was a mistake, wondering if I'd ever stop thinking about her. But now I can barely remember what she looks like. I mean her face ... she's just gone. And she ain't never coming back. So, is three years long enough to get over someone? Absolutely." Little does James know that this conviction of his is about to be sorely tested.
The very next morning, snuggled up in bed with a naked Juliet, James gets a phone-call from Jin. He’s found Jack, Hugo and Kate - should he bring them to New Otherton? The right thing for James to have done at this point would have been to say "yes", tell Juliet exactly what’s just happened - and meet them holding hands together.
But that’s not what James does. He instructs Jin to meet him in the North Valley. Why, oh why, would James lie to the woman he now loves - and who loves him back - presumably much more steadfastly than Kate the Fickle Bitch ever did or will do? Is it because "you can’t help who you love?"
Note that the "Three Years" referenced in this Ep (1974 to 1977) mirror the "Three Years" (2005 to 2008) that the O6 were "away". For both sets of Losties, it’s been three years since they’ve seen each other.
According to Lostpedia, Young Ben and Roger arrived on the Island around 1976/77. So ... it’s barely possible that Team James/Jack will get to witness the arrival of Young Ben.
Note, however, that Olivia is nowhere to be seen - which completely contradicts what we saw in "The Man Behind The Curtain" - and which therefore suggests that this Iteration of 1974 - 1977 Island Events is Different. It may be that in this Version, Ben doesn’t come to the Island. Maybe Ben doesn’t even survive childbirth!
Horace - Mathematician seems to be in charge of The Barracks as Chief of Security. In this Ep, we do not see any Scientists - not even Pierre Chang. I suppose that he and his fellow Scientists would have been working at/in their Stations. We do see folks riding bicycles and playing chess, though. I’m guessing that Daniel’s been working at the Orchid since 1974.
Note also that Ben and John have both (unlike Charles Widmore) found a way to Return to The Island.
But The Statue has. From the back, it looks Egyptian. It may be a Lion-Man, possibly a Sphinx-Man - including four toes like The Sphinx. He has a crown on his head and in each dangling hand, he holds a large Ankh (one dark and one light?). Who knew that The Orchid was within a few hundred yards of the Island’s West Coast?
According to Lostpedia: "The Egyptian [Ankh] hieroglyph is a symbol of eternal life and fertility".
Eternal Life - something wealthy old men might like to enjoy
Fertility - or its opposite - seems to be an Island Issue - or at least a Ben Issue
So - what is it with the DI and Egypt? My best guess is that it has to do with the Egyptians’ obsession with death, resurrection and rebirth.
After the Whiteout Time Flash during which John worm-holed to Tunisia, Team James is sent to 1974, and The Well has reappeared. In a heroic effort to rescue Locke, James rushes over, grabs the rope and jumps in - but The Well has been filled in with rocks and dirt. Maybe the ancient Statue-era rope leading into the ground persuaded Someone to dig a somewhat less ancient Well in that location. And 1974 Daniel knows that something at its bottom controls Island Time Travel. The Orchid has not yet (1974) been built.
The Last Flash seemed "different" to the members of Team James - more intense ("like a volcano") and yet the headaches and the nosebleeds are gone. Note that by embracing his Destiny and Leaving the Island - even on pain of death - that John has saved the lives of the Left-Behinders. Note the "volcano" reference. I think we’re in for a Volcanic Eruption at some point in the future. Note that Ben’s dire warning about the "death of every single living person" has not occurred. Yet.
A few minutes later, they spot Daniel, mumbling to himself: "I’m not gonna do it. I’m not gonna tell her " [never to return] Daniel will once again Try to Change The Past/Present/Future. It seems that during the Final Flash, Charlotte’s body stayed behind in the Statue Era and Daniel announces that "whenever we are now, we’re here for good" So to speak.
After James decides to lead his friends back to Lostie Beach, he and Juliet share A Moment, during which James thanks Juliet for "getting his back". It’s another step on the way to Love. Awww.
A few moments later, we hear two gun-shots, followed by the screams and pleadings of a Woman: " Oh God ... no, no, no ... we didn’t mean anything." The woman is Amy. Her dead husband is Paul. It appears that they were picnicking in Hostile Territory, contrary to the Truce Terms. The two "Hostiles" are wearing Hillbilly clothes. One of them has tattoos on his upper arm. Having killed Paul, it appears they intend to capture Amy and bring her to Family Richard with a bag over her head looking very similar to the bags used by Family Ben 30 years later
Miles wants to avoid involvement, confirming with Daniel that "we don’t get involved, right?" and Daniel replies that it doesn’t matter, that "whatever happened, happened", which in this case includes Sawyer and Juliet’s TT-enabled intervention. Confirming that Juliet’s still got his back (answer: "absolutely"), J&J approach the picnic scene. When James yells at Hostile #1 to "drop the gun", he doesn’t. He aims it at James and is killed by Hawkeye Juliet before James can pull his trigger - which he does when Hostile #2 aims at him. At that point, "it’s over" and Amy is safe.
When Jin finds a walkie-talkie on one of the corpses, James announces that they "need to go". Amy, thinking that it might be possible to hide the evidence of her Transgression, insists that The Hostiles must be buried and that Paul’s body must be brought along - a task for which Jin volunteers.
When Amy mentioned The Truce, my first thought was the Truce between Mikhail and the group he called "The Hostiles". The Truce terms would appear to include a requirement whereby DI members must stay inside the Sonic Fence and within close proximity to their Stations and roads.
When she insisted that Paul’s body be brought back to The Barracks, my first thought was that dead bodies are important on the Island - fresh or not, the obvious implication being that there are lots of reanimated corpses running around the place.
As Team James accompanied Amy back to The Barracks, James instructs his friends: "Alright, listen up. When we get there, there’s going to be a lot of questions. So just keep your mouth shut and let me to the talking."
Miles asks: "You really think that you can convince them we were in a boat wreck?"
"I'm a professional. I used to lie for a living." It is no coincidence that James is a Good Liar. And its no coincidence that The Island sent Team James into 1974. They have Work to do - and they’ve been "here" before - only this time, they remember the Future/Past.
By the time they reach the Sonic Fence, Amy has begun to suspect that Team James might be lying. Juliet warns Dan not to walk between the pylons - and James instructs Amy to turn the Fence off and to step through it first - which she does. We hear the "zing" of the stun-level frequency she’s set, but Team James does not. As they all stupidly cross together, James says: "Going forward, we should all do a better job of trusting ..." as they all fall down together, the Con-Man having been conned again.
As James wakes up, Horace asks him: "How’s your head?" James: "It hurts". Three years later, this exact same scene occurs, but with the roles reversed. After Horace thanks James for saving Amy’s life, he says:
"There are hostile indigenous people on this island and we don't get along with them. So, why don't you tell me who the hell you are."
"My name is James LaFleur. You can call me Jim."
"How'd you get to the island, Jim?"
"If my friends are safe, why are you asking me all the questions?"
"They told me I need to talk you. That you're the boat captain."
"We got caught in a storm and shipwrecked. We must have hit the reef. Thankfully, we washed up on shore."
"What kind of ship?"
"Salvage vessel. We were searching for a famous lost wreck. It's an old slaver out of Portsmouth, England, called The Black Rock. You ever heard of her?" How could James possibly have known that the Black Rock sailed out of Portsmouth? My best guess - a memory fragment from a Past Life.
Be that as it may, Horace doesn’t really believe James’ story, but concludes that his group is harmless and no more than a temporary problem, since he plans to ship them off the Island the next day. This situation sounds familiar.
While James is lying to Horace inside, Jin, Miles, Daniel and Juliet are outside, where Juliet explains that the Others took over the Barracks, wiped out most of the people living in them and brought her to the Island via the sub a long time after that.
Jin asks: "Daniel, no more flash?"
"No. The record is spinning again and we're just not on the song we want to be on."
They see a little girl with red hair. She asks her mom where her dad is. Daniel stares at her. She waves at him as he whispers "Charlotte" to himself. Note that it’s 1974 and "Charlotte" appears to be about 3, yielding a DOB around 1971 - which flatly contradicts Ben’s statement that she was born in 1979 - in England.
When Horace brings "Jim LaFleur" out to his "ship-mates", James informs them that LaFleur" is Creole, hinting that yet another Lostie speaks a Secret Language. As it happens, La Fleur is French for The Flower, but whatever. Note that Creole is the language of Voodoo.
A few minutes later - Hostile Attack Warning! Team James are hustled indoors where they watch Ageless Richard march up and plant a torch for a Parley. He is not wearing Hillbilly clothes, but he could use a shave:
Horace walks outside and approaches Richard. "Hello, Mr. Alpert."
"Hello, Mr. Goodspeed."
"I wish you would have told me you were coming, I would have turned the fence off for you." [Stupid comment, seeing as how, Richard bypassed it with ease]
"That fence may keep other things out, but not us [since we’re Non-Living Persons who can Teleport at will]. The only thing that does keep us out, Horace, is our Truce, which you've now broken."
I believe that Rose, Bernard, the surviving Red Shirts and Sayid are all in the custody of Family Richard. Note that it is Richard, and not Charles Widmore who represents "The Hostiles". It may be that 1974 Charles Widmore (aged 37) has not yet seized control of "his people". OR ... he is in Military Control but sends Richard as his ambassador. The brutality of the two dead Hostiles hints at the brutality of their Commander.
After Horace, having come inside to confer, hears James say that the bodies wouldn’t be very hard to find, he orders Phil: "Call the Arrow. Tell them we're at Condition 1. Take the heavy ordnance and make sure the fence is at maximum." The Arrow, it seems, may once have been a Weapons Depot.
James: "Let me talk to him"
"Excuse me?"
"Your buddy out there with the eyeliner, let me talk to him." [I smiled at his "eyeliner" crack - which was a nod to us Fans]
"We had a truce with these people. You don't understand."
"I understand that I'm the one that killed his men. And I'm the one that's going to go out there and tell him why I did it."
"I can't let you do that."
"Then it's a good thing I ain't asking your permission."
"Hello, Richard."
Richard is sitting on a bench. "I'm sorry, do we know each other?"
"I'm the guy that killed your men. Heard some gunshots, saw two men throwing a bag over a woman's head, gave them a chance to throw their weapons down and walk away, but one of them took a shot at me and I defended myself."
"Your people know that you're telling me this?"
"Ain't my people, Hoss, so if you've got some kind of a truce with them, it ain't been broken."
"If you're not a member of the Dharma Initiative, then what are you?" ["what", not "who"]
Sawyer sits next to Richard. "Did you bury the bomb?"
"Excuse me?"
"The hydrogen bomb with "Jughead" written on the side. Did you bury it?"
"What?"
"Yeah, I know about it. I also know that 20 years ago some bald fella limped into your camp and fed you some mumbo jumbo about being your leader. And then "poof", he disappeared right in front of you. Any of this ringing a bell? That man's name is John Locke. I'm waiting for him to come back. So, still think I'm a member of the damn Dharma Initiative?"
"No. I guess I don't. But no matter who you are, two of my men are dead. And my people need some kind of justice. What are we going to do about that?"
The LaFleur Treaty includes leading Family Richard to the graves of his two men and handing over Paul’s body as well. This Treaty - plus maybe something else that James did over the next couple of weeks - earned him and his friends the privilege of becoming Dharmites.
So ... Ageless Richard meets Locke in 1954, witnesses his 1956 birth, gives him the Dalai Lama test a few years later and then a few years later still invites him to Science Camp. Meanwhile, back on the Island in 1974, he meets James the Time Traveller from 2008 who refers to Locke again. No wonder Locke’s 2004 Island Arrival is so eagerly anticipated by Family Richard. It will certainly be interesting to see how long Team James/Jack stays in 1977 onward and how their presence shapes the Past/Present/Future.
Before releasing Paul’s body, Amy removes a necklace from his neck. It’s an Ankh symbol. Yes indeed, the DI have embraced Ancient Egyptian (and Sumerian, Greek, Roman, Druidic, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Voodoo) culture.
James approaches Juliet on the Submarine dock where she tells him she’s leaving on the Sub the next morning. We’ve heard this before. James talks her into staying for "two weeks - that’s all I’m asking"
Daniel obviously wants to stick around and learn what he can about the DI’s investigations into TT. Juliet’s becoming "invested" in James ... and it seems that Miles and Jin would rather stick around working in Security than to re-enter The World in 1974.
Three Years Later, it’s 1977 and Jerry is enjoying a Night-Shift Moment with Rosie - who’s brought some Brownies. She’s wearing a Geronimo Jackson shirt and the tunes on the open-reel tape recorder are groovy. They are in a Security Monitoring Room (which we have not previously seen) within the Barracks compound. Like the Infirmary, and the School, the windows are protected by steel mesh. This may be the room in which 2004 Ryan watched Kate enter Jack’s house to "rescue" him.
The Monitors at this Station include the Hydra Island Polar Bear cages and therefore presumably other Stations as well. While Jerry and his freshly-returned boss Phil argue, Rosie notices that Horace is out near the Sonic Fence drunk and blowing trees up. It’s 3 AM, but Jim LaFleur, Head of Security, takes his job seriously and rousts Miles to help him collect their boss Horace.
When I saw Horace blowing trees up, my first thought was that this action looked and sounded exactly like the "tree-exploder" aspect of Smokey. Did Future Smokey incorporate Exploding Trees into its repertoire because of Horace’s actions that night? Does Smokey dislike members of the DI (including Juliet in "Left Behind") because of Horace’s tree-destruction? Is Smokey a relative of Tolkien’s Ents?
When James brings (drunk) Horace home to (pregnant) Amy, he tells her that he was blowing up trees "by the Flame"? Huh? From what we saw, he was within sight of the Sonic Fence - nowhere near The Flame, but whatever.
It turns out that she and Horace had gotten into an argument over Paul, her 3-year-dead husband - and that the baby was coming sooner than expected!
The local medic - who’s a Resident and not an Obstetrician - is unsure of his C-Section skills. It seems that Island women "always deliver on the Mainland" and that Amy’s slightly premature breech-birth could end up fatal for both her and her baby. If only there were a trained Fertility/OB somewhere at hand.
James marches over to the Auto Hospital where Juliet the Wrench is performing cosmetic surgery on a metal patient when James tells her Amy’s Tale. I’m not 100% sure, but I think Juliet’s job title is "Motor Rx"
It seems that she and James had an agreement whereby Juliet would not resume her Fertility Practice. However, the Island has other plans for Dr Juliet and she decides to try to deliver Amy’s baby, despite her fear that Amy, like every other Island Woman patient Juliet has treated, would die at her hands. The support and confidence that James has for her help settle her mind - and Dr J, Medicine Woman succeeds in helping bring a new baby boy (Karl?) into the World. James was right - the Island Fertility Problem hasn’t cropped up yet - and Dr Juliet, having chosen to stay on the Island, might just be able to learn what caused/will cause it - which just happens to be Ben’s Obsession.
While waiting outside the Infirmary, James is met by Jin, who informs him that he and his team finished searching Grid 133 today - with no sign of their people. Tomorrow’s assignment will be to search Grid 134. I wonder if all this Grid-searching will lead to further Truce breaches.
On his way home that day (while Horace sleeps through the birth of his son), James stops to pick a flower. There’s a bottle of DI Merlot and some salad on the kitchen table. When Jim LaFleur shows Juliet The Flower, I thought about his name and I also thought about how Jin used to do that for Sun - bring her one flower. Juliet is grateful that James "believed in" her ... "believed" ... that word again.
When James told Juliet that he loved her, I thought about the fact that it was mostly Ben and his harsh manipulations that led James to finally let down his defences and self-loathing enough to permit himself to love Kate. Ben the Good Guy helped James evolve into a Good Person (with a little help from the Light Aspect of the Island).
After dinner, James wakes Horace up and History repeats itself - only role-reversed: "How’s your head"? "It hurts" We now learn that the Horace/Amy fight was sparked by the possibility that Amy hadn’t "gotten over" Paul, since he’d only been dead for three years.
James: "I had a thing for a girl once. And I had a shot at her. But I didn't take it. [Yeah, right] For a little while, I'd lay in bed every night and wonder if that was a mistake, wondering if I'd ever stop thinking about her. But now I can barely remember what she looks like. I mean her face ... she's just gone. And she ain't never coming back. So, is three years long enough to get over someone? Absolutely." Little does James know that this conviction of his is about to be sorely tested.
The very next morning, snuggled up in bed with a naked Juliet, James gets a phone-call from Jin. He’s found Jack, Hugo and Kate - should he bring them to New Otherton? The right thing for James to have done at this point would have been to say "yes", tell Juliet exactly what’s just happened - and meet them holding hands together.
But that’s not what James does. He instructs Jin to meet him in the North Valley. Why, oh why, would James lie to the woman he now loves - and who loves him back - presumably much more steadfastly than Kate the Fickle Bitch ever did or will do? Is it because "you can’t help who you love?"
Note that the "Three Years" referenced in this Ep (1974 to 1977) mirror the "Three Years" (2005 to 2008) that the O6 were "away". For both sets of Losties, it’s been three years since they’ve seen each other.
According to Lostpedia, Young Ben and Roger arrived on the Island around 1976/77. So ... it’s barely possible that Team James/Jack will get to witness the arrival of Young Ben.
Note, however, that Olivia is nowhere to be seen - which completely contradicts what we saw in "The Man Behind The Curtain" - and which therefore suggests that this Iteration of 1974 - 1977 Island Events is Different. It may be that in this Version, Ben doesn’t come to the Island. Maybe Ben doesn’t even survive childbirth!
Horace - Mathematician seems to be in charge of The Barracks as Chief of Security. In this Ep, we do not see any Scientists - not even Pierre Chang. I suppose that he and his fellow Scientists would have been working at/in their Stations. We do see folks riding bicycles and playing chess, though. I’m guessing that Daniel’s been working at the Orchid since 1974.
Note also that Ben and John have both (unlike Charles Widmore) found a way to Return to The Island.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Widmore the mind-reader
After Widmore asked John why he would voluntarily leave the Island, he hesitated a moment and then said: "You've come to bring them back... the ones who left." To go from seemingly genuine perplexity over why anyone would voluntarily leave the Island to that particular conclusion seems to me to imply telepathy.
If I’m right, it could explain how a 47-year-old ex-soldier freshly dumped into The Real World could rapidly become wealthy enough to drink MacCutcheon's, finance expensive Temporal Research and also Round-the-world sailboat races, including sailboat giveaways.
If I’m right, it could explain how a 47-year-old ex-soldier freshly dumped into The Real World could rapidly become wealthy enough to drink MacCutcheon's, finance expensive Temporal Research and also Round-the-world sailboat races, including sailboat giveaways.
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Island's Good/Evil Schizophrenia
The undeniably evil way in which Smokey ripped Montand’s body away from his friends in 505 ("This Place is Death") suggested to me that the island itself is evil - or partly evil. This Evil aspect of the Island may have appeared after the merger of its ancient, natural "come to me" Sentience with the DI’s early 1970's installation of their Cerberus Security System. I believe that this merger enhanced the Island’s ancient Self-Awareness with abilities including Telepathy and the down-loading of human memories (both good and bad) and led to The Incident - which we know occurred in the mid/late 1970's since it was mentioned in the 1980 Swan Orientation Film. Note that the Blast Door Map features the blocking off of 7 DI-built tunnels, tunnels which I think once permitted Cerberus to patrol the entire tunnel system which linked the Stations to each other.
This merged/enhanced Island Self-Awareness may have led The Dark Aspect of the Island to conclude that Human Violence, Greed and Dishonesty deserved and demanded the Death of All Human Life on Earth. The fact that "Robert" - "changed" by the Dark Side of The Island - was "willing" to murder an innocent pregnant woman further persuades me that the Dark Side of The Island is Malignantly Evil.
The Island’s Light Aspect may have recognised that not all Humans are Evil and that Human Good Guys deserve to live. Note that Family Richard appear to value non-violence, honesty, selfless courage, integrity, sincere remorse for any wrong-doing and forgiveness. Family Richard - of which we’ve seen very little - may be the Children of the Light Aspect of the Island, judged and chosen by it as Good Persons.
It seems to me that The Island’s two opposing forces - one light and one dark - are engaged in a Civil War - and that these two opposing forces have similar powers - including the ability to send Lucid Dreams, the ability to resurrect, incarnate and reincarnate living, breathing beings as well as to Manifest inanimate objects. The fact that "Robert" - "changed" by the Dark Side of The Island - was "willing" to murder an innocent pregnant woman further persuades me that the Dark Side of The Island is evil.
On the other hand, we’ve seen The Light Aspect of the Island heal our Losties - both physically and spiritually. We’ve seen it intervene when Locke was on the verge of Suicide in the DHARMA Pit and we’ve seen it lead our Losties on journeys of discovery and self-discovery to awaken and strengthen their Best Selves.
I think that the Island’s schizophrenia has led to the creation and/or gathering-together of teams of players, for both sides, both on and off the Island. IMO, the Children of the Dark Aspect of The Island are the Other Others - and we’ve seen only glimpses of them, including the Night One Tailie Kidnappers. I believe the backwards-talking Hater who yelled; "We hate you" to Kate on the courthouse steps is a member of the real Bad Guys.
Regarding the Island’s Schizophrenic Craziness, note the "beer clue":
Frank’s (two) beers on board the Searcher were branded - "Jekyll Island"
The Jekyll/Hyde opposed-personalities-within-one-body concept fits in with the emphasis on Craziness/Sanity in the Show:
Hugo - in and out and in and out of Santa Rosa
Jack’s insistence that John was "insane" coupled with Jack’s fears for his own sanity after spotting "Christian" in "White Rabbit" and later, after his return to St Sebastian’s
Libby’s incarceration (if that’s what it was) at Santa Rosa
Brandon’s fatal, craziness-inducing encounter with the island’s Temporal Radius
Regina’s Kahana Cabin Fever
Keamy’s Blood Lust after the failure of his Primary Protocol
Hugo is the embodiment of this "Craziness" theme. As of 507 (TLADOJB) he has journeyed through Insanity and has emerged "Sane", courageous and yet comfortable with the reality of his ability to interact with Dead Friends. This triumph (within Hugo) of Sanity over Insanity bodes well for the future Happy Ending for LOST. I hope.
This merged/enhanced Island Self-Awareness may have led The Dark Aspect of the Island to conclude that Human Violence, Greed and Dishonesty deserved and demanded the Death of All Human Life on Earth. The fact that "Robert" - "changed" by the Dark Side of The Island - was "willing" to murder an innocent pregnant woman further persuades me that the Dark Side of The Island is Malignantly Evil.
The Island’s Light Aspect may have recognised that not all Humans are Evil and that Human Good Guys deserve to live. Note that Family Richard appear to value non-violence, honesty, selfless courage, integrity, sincere remorse for any wrong-doing and forgiveness. Family Richard - of which we’ve seen very little - may be the Children of the Light Aspect of the Island, judged and chosen by it as Good Persons.
It seems to me that The Island’s two opposing forces - one light and one dark - are engaged in a Civil War - and that these two opposing forces have similar powers - including the ability to send Lucid Dreams, the ability to resurrect, incarnate and reincarnate living, breathing beings as well as to Manifest inanimate objects. The fact that "Robert" - "changed" by the Dark Side of The Island - was "willing" to murder an innocent pregnant woman further persuades me that the Dark Side of The Island is evil.
On the other hand, we’ve seen The Light Aspect of the Island heal our Losties - both physically and spiritually. We’ve seen it intervene when Locke was on the verge of Suicide in the DHARMA Pit and we’ve seen it lead our Losties on journeys of discovery and self-discovery to awaken and strengthen their Best Selves.
I think that the Island’s schizophrenia has led to the creation and/or gathering-together of teams of players, for both sides, both on and off the Island. IMO, the Children of the Dark Aspect of The Island are the Other Others - and we’ve seen only glimpses of them, including the Night One Tailie Kidnappers. I believe the backwards-talking Hater who yelled; "We hate you" to Kate on the courthouse steps is a member of the real Bad Guys.
Regarding the Island’s Schizophrenic Craziness, note the "beer clue":
Frank’s (two) beers on board the Searcher were branded - "Jekyll Island"
The Jekyll/Hyde opposed-personalities-within-one-body concept fits in with the emphasis on Craziness/Sanity in the Show:
Hugo - in and out and in and out of Santa Rosa
Jack’s insistence that John was "insane" coupled with Jack’s fears for his own sanity after spotting "Christian" in "White Rabbit" and later, after his return to St Sebastian’s
Libby’s incarceration (if that’s what it was) at Santa Rosa
Brandon’s fatal, craziness-inducing encounter with the island’s Temporal Radius
Regina’s Kahana Cabin Fever
Keamy’s Blood Lust after the failure of his Primary Protocol
Hugo is the embodiment of this "Craziness" theme. As of 507 (TLADOJB) he has journeyed through Insanity and has emerged "Sane", courageous and yet comfortable with the reality of his ability to interact with Dead Friends. This triumph (within Hugo) of Sanity over Insanity bodes well for the future Happy Ending for LOST. I hope.
DHARMA Glyphs, DI Time Travel and Desmond
Given the "fact" that the FDW and The Well, The Temple and Ben’s Secret Door appear ancient, it would appear that there was a civilisation on the Island that pre-dated the DI and yet had mastered Time Travel - in other words - Aliens.
And yet ... the Glyphs decorating these ancient artifacts are Human symbols, not Alien symbols. The DHARMA-built count-down timer featured Egyptian glyphs and the DI/Hostiles/Linus/Richard Family seems to have whole-heartedly "adopted" various Buddhist/Hindu notions of Reincarnation, Karma, Nirvana plus Christian Messianic leadership into their Island Culture. Note that Ben’s bookshelf included the Quran, VALIS and possibly everything in between.
So ... maybe (like Doc Brown) we all have to think a little more four-dimensionally.
I’m thinking that the DI - in the early 70's - mastered Time Travel (how?) and travelled into the Future - to discover the horrifying Death of All Human Life.
In an effort to prevent this Disaster, the DI travelled back in time to discover the circumstances leading to this Future Disaster and then maybe travelled even farther back in time to try to Rewrite History. We know that the DI sent a Polar Bear to Tunisia far enough back in time (thousands, maybe tens of thousands of years) for it to have become worthy of an Archeological Dig.
I’m thinking that the DI travelled far enough back to have created, or to have influenced, or at least to have incorporated ancient Egyptian, Mayan, Buddhist, Roman, Christian, Druid and Viking practices/beliefs into their Island Culture - which included speaking Latin. In other words, it wasn’t Aliens who built the FDW Well "before" the DI’s Island arrival. It was the DI itself.
I think that the DI tried repeatedly to avert the Future Disaster and failed every time. Somewhere along the line, the DI noticed that each failure to Save The World resulted in a "Reset", where events repeated themselves (as dictated by Buddhist philosophy) during which something else could be tried ... some Change could be introduced (into The "Past") which could help lead to eventual victory over the Future Disaster.
Note that the DI designed and built the Swan, including the fail-safe key and that Ms Hawking, in FBYE, knew all about it and told Desmond that it was his job to eventually turn it. Note also that she corrected Desmond when he told her that he would take the ring. She told him that he changes his mind and walks out the door (which is exactly what he did in a previous Iteration of these events).
Note also that Ben told Locke in "Lockdown" that he didn’t push The Button and that there was a loud, scary humming noise followed by some shaking ... and that the countdown timer then reset itself to 108 without any interference on his part. In other words, Ben knew what would have happened had he not pushed The Button. He had experienced (or at least heard about) the Swan Implosion in a Previous Iteration of these events. Note also that during the Swan Implosion, when Ben was on the Pala Ferry dock with his captives, that he didn’t miss a beat during The Discharge. He’d been through this Time Loop before and knew what to expect.
The point I’m getting at is that the DI designed and built the fail-safe key, knowing that sooner or later, during one or another of the Time Loops to come that a properly-selected and motivated "Desmond" would be sent to the Island and would be forced to turn the fail-safe key, thereby becoming Uniquely Special, and therefore able to help The Good Guys succeed where all previous efforts had failed.
I’m also convinced that the Good Guy DI/Jacob/Hawking/Linus team found itself up against an opposing Bad Guy team with formidable powers who were in favour of the Death of All Humans. Yikes!
The Final Success of the DI/Jacob/Hawking/Linus team, including our rehabilitated Losties is what we will see in Season 6.
And yet ... the Glyphs decorating these ancient artifacts are Human symbols, not Alien symbols. The DHARMA-built count-down timer featured Egyptian glyphs and the DI/Hostiles/Linus/Richard Family seems to have whole-heartedly "adopted" various Buddhist/Hindu notions of Reincarnation, Karma, Nirvana plus Christian Messianic leadership into their Island Culture. Note that Ben’s bookshelf included the Quran, VALIS and possibly everything in between.
So ... maybe (like Doc Brown) we all have to think a little more four-dimensionally.
I’m thinking that the DI - in the early 70's - mastered Time Travel (how?) and travelled into the Future - to discover the horrifying Death of All Human Life.
In an effort to prevent this Disaster, the DI travelled back in time to discover the circumstances leading to this Future Disaster and then maybe travelled even farther back in time to try to Rewrite History. We know that the DI sent a Polar Bear to Tunisia far enough back in time (thousands, maybe tens of thousands of years) for it to have become worthy of an Archeological Dig.
I’m thinking that the DI travelled far enough back to have created, or to have influenced, or at least to have incorporated ancient Egyptian, Mayan, Buddhist, Roman, Christian, Druid and Viking practices/beliefs into their Island Culture - which included speaking Latin. In other words, it wasn’t Aliens who built the FDW Well "before" the DI’s Island arrival. It was the DI itself.
I think that the DI tried repeatedly to avert the Future Disaster and failed every time. Somewhere along the line, the DI noticed that each failure to Save The World resulted in a "Reset", where events repeated themselves (as dictated by Buddhist philosophy) during which something else could be tried ... some Change could be introduced (into The "Past") which could help lead to eventual victory over the Future Disaster.
Note that the DI designed and built the Swan, including the fail-safe key and that Ms Hawking, in FBYE, knew all about it and told Desmond that it was his job to eventually turn it. Note also that she corrected Desmond when he told her that he would take the ring. She told him that he changes his mind and walks out the door (which is exactly what he did in a previous Iteration of these events).
Note also that Ben told Locke in "Lockdown" that he didn’t push The Button and that there was a loud, scary humming noise followed by some shaking ... and that the countdown timer then reset itself to 108 without any interference on his part. In other words, Ben knew what would have happened had he not pushed The Button. He had experienced (or at least heard about) the Swan Implosion in a Previous Iteration of these events. Note also that during the Swan Implosion, when Ben was on the Pala Ferry dock with his captives, that he didn’t miss a beat during The Discharge. He’d been through this Time Loop before and knew what to expect.
The point I’m getting at is that the DI designed and built the fail-safe key, knowing that sooner or later, during one or another of the Time Loops to come that a properly-selected and motivated "Desmond" would be sent to the Island and would be forced to turn the fail-safe key, thereby becoming Uniquely Special, and therefore able to help The Good Guys succeed where all previous efforts had failed.
I’m also convinced that the Good Guy DI/Jacob/Hawking/Linus team found itself up against an opposing Bad Guy team with formidable powers who were in favour of the Death of All Humans. Yikes!
The Final Success of the DI/Jacob/Hawking/Linus team, including our rehabilitated Losties is what we will see in Season 6.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Ben and Roger
When trying to think of Ben as a Good Guy, one fact always gets in the way: he killed his Father.
And yet, Locke killed his Father (via James) and is considered to be a Good Guy. Not only Ben, but also Ageless Richard told Locke he had to kill his Father.
Maybe "Killing your Father" is a necessary step on the Path to becoming the Family Richard Leader.
Maybe these Murdered Fathers get Happily Resurrected like Locke has in 507, making their Deaths a Promotion.
Maybe "you have to kill your Father" was part of the agreement whereby hand-chopping Charles Widmore was "tricked" off the Island.
And yet, Locke killed his Father (via James) and is considered to be a Good Guy. Not only Ben, but also Ageless Richard told Locke he had to kill his Father.
Maybe "Killing your Father" is a necessary step on the Path to becoming the Family Richard Leader.
Maybe these Murdered Fathers get Happily Resurrected like Locke has in 507, making their Deaths a Promotion.
Maybe "you have to kill your Father" was part of the agreement whereby hand-chopping Charles Widmore was "tricked" off the Island.
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