A Case of the.... Lost - Episode 6-12 Revisited

My college roommate Frank: She really was throwing that dynamite around, eh?
Me: It's almost as if she forgot its 150 year old dynamite.
Frank: And why would she pack it with water? She kinda had it coming.
Me: I mean they have like six people in the group. They can't distribute the load? Like "hey, I'll take the dynamite. Jack, why don't you handle the water?"
Frank: Yeah seriously. And now she blew up the water.

And considering the fact that it hasn’t rained as much as it used to on that wacky island, I’d say that fresh water is more valuable than ever!

With the hilarity out of the way, let’s revisit (that’s the title of the column!) last week’s episode. So what did everybody think about last week’s format, with me dividing up the reader comments by topic, instead of by person? Because, looking through the feedback I’ve compiled so far, I think that might work better for this edition as well. Any preference between that style and the original? Let me know!

Continue reading "A Case of the.... Lost - Episode 6-12 Revisited"....

DESMOND’S HIT AND RUN
The biggest question from this episode is why did Desmond run Locke over? – DaBooty, my blog

That pretty much sums it up better than one of my long-winded introductions. I didn’t really discuss this too deeply in my original column, mostly because I didn’t read into the scene all that much. For me, the explanation seemed pretty clear (which I’ll get to in a moment). But, surprisingly, a lot of others had differing theories. I’m going to list all of these responses consecutively, and then offer my thoughts at the end. Here they are:

I liked the episode. The ending was "woah" to me. Why did Desmond do that? Was it because his memories were bleeding over and he thought Smoke Monster was ACTUALLY Locke, who tried to kill him? Or is there some other reason? This Desmond seemed to be travelling around visiting Flight 815 people, but why did he run over Locke? – Kyle, my blog

I have heard some people say (including Kyle) that maybe he did it out of some kind of revenge for what Flocke just did to him on the island. I don't subscribe to this theory because revenge is a very unDesmond like thing to do. Instead I think he did it because it is what will ultimately show Locke his island self.

Desmond is acting very much like a Jacob figure. He stepped in with Hurley, didn't really explain who he was or what he was doing, and then he nudged Hurley in the direction he was supposed to go to see Libby. It was as if Desmond knew exactly what he had to say to get Hurley where he wanted him. I think the same thing applies to Locke. I think Des knows that hitting Locke will result in an emergency room visit and I am willing to bet he will be attended to by a certain spinal surgeon who will hopefully fix Locke and jog some memories for him. – DaBooty, my blog

All that why did Desmond run Locke in this article was ill thought. RIGHT AFTER he ran him over Sideways Locke had a combination of the look he had when he landed on the island and could walk/ and the post Jacob touch after he fell. Sideways Locke is about to start walking after Jack operates on him. – EW.com comments section

So, basically the thought process seems to be that Desmond blasted Sideways Locke with his car for one of the following reasons: (a) revenge because he suddenly recalled what Locke does to him on the island, (b) to stop the Smoke Monster from taking over Sideways Locke’s body (not necessarily represented in the excerpts above, but a theory I’ve heard numerous people share), (c) to bring him to Jack to trigger an Island memory, or (d) to bring him near death in order to trigger an Island memory.

My theory, from the get go, was that Desmond was trying to bring Locke to the brink of death so that he can have his “near death vision,” much like he and Charlie had. It did seem a bit curious that he would go to such extreme lengths – after all, there are better ways to accomplish this task than to plow down an innocent man in a wheel chair. But now that I think of it, this very well could have been a mechanism to reunite him with Jack as well. Desmond knows that Jack works at the hospital, so maybe it was necessary to do something so dramatic in such a public domain.

I will shoot down possibilities (a) and (b), though. As DaBooty notes, revenge is a very uncharacteristic of Desmond. Despite all the crap that Widmore put him through, he never behaves violently around him. In fact, this guy gets screwed over quite a bit, yet the only time he responds physically is when he’s provoked to the extreme. And as I told my friend Frank, referenced in the conversation at the beginning of the column, in my view killing Locke would only assist Smokey in taking over his body (although there’s no indication that Smokey even has this intention), as the Smoke Monster manifests himself as those who have died. So, again, killing Locke only aids him.

So, final answer: Desmond was merely trying to bring Locke to the cusp of death so that he could trigger some Island memories, and reuniting him with Jack is only icing on the cake.

I'm surprised Doc didn't mention (and many other posters aren't) how Desmond tells Ben that he has a son named Charlie. Ben asks him what his son's name is, while inquiring why he is parked at school, and Des replies with "Charlie". If this isn't proof that Des DOES have full awareness of both realities, I don't know what is. Originally, sideways Des did not have a family at all. – EW.com comments section

While I did notice this, for whatever reason I didn’t mention it in my review either. And that’s too bad, because it is a rather significant “throwaway” line. While we do know that Desmond is aware of the dual realities, the extent of what he knows is still a mystery. He’s aware of an alternate existence in which he falls in love with Penny, but does he know about the island? Does he know about time travel? The fact that he named his fictitious son Charlie – the name of his son in the island world – is quite telling. It may indicate that he’s far more aware than we initially thought. This scene, however, brings up another issue….

UNIVERSAL TIMELINES
Now for a little nitpicking. One thing that is bothering me about the "memories" or the merging of the universes is the fact that they are operating in 2 different time periods. Its not as though both universes are taking place in 2004. The sideways is 2004 and the island is 2007. How are the sideways people having memories of their island selves that didn't even happen yet?

I guess when you have a show that deals with these types of complicated scientific theories, you just have to suspend your disbelief. – DaBooty, my blog

DaBooty is selling himself short, as this is more than mere “nitpicking” in my view. And actually, it’s a facet of this show that I don’t think has been completely explained or reconciled. Case-in-point: When Faraday and the rest of the Left Behinders were traveling through time, Daniel had a conversation with Hatch-bound Desmond. When the memory was integrated into Desmond’s brain, it just so happened to occur in the real time present. Why? Why wouldn’t this memory come to fruition when Desmond met everybody for the first time on the island?

I think there’s a similar disconnect here. In the sideways world, it’s 2004. Yet when Desmond started having visions of his island life, he saw baby Charlie, who wasn’t born until sometime after 2005, I would say (I don’t recall how old Charlie was when we saw him in 2008). Likewise, when Libby and Hurley had visions of each other, they imagined things that wouldn’t have happened yet in the island world. I believe the sideways world is still occurring days after Flight 815 landed. Libby and Hurley didn’t meet until both were on the island for a month and a half. So, for some reason, these characters are having visions of things that wouldn’t have happened yet, if the sideways and the island worlds are happening in a linear timeline.

However, I don’t believe this is a case of sloppy writing. Instead, I’m inclined to believe that this is merely showing us that the sideways world didn’t come into existence until after the events of the Incident, which for all intents and purposes occurred sometime in 2008 (even though it was technically 1977, the events that transpired that resulted in several of the characters going back in time kicked off in 2008). I’m starting to believe that the first time we saw the sideways world, with Jack on Flight 815, was the moment that universe was created. And these characters were born in that moment, with memories of that life already ingrained in their mind.

In other words, the events of the 2004 sideways world are actually occurring AFTER the events of island world 2008. That’s my current line of thinking, anyway.

THE SIDEWAYS WORLD
In what may very well be a trend for the rest of the series, arguably the more interesting, mythical, theorizing stuff occurred in the sideways world. Here’s what some people had to say.

I did not pick up on the fact that the dead people from the island are the ones who are first starting to remember. That is totally spot on. – DaBooty, my blog

Now my follow up question is, was this deliberate? And if so, it’s a bit surprising that Locke didn’t pick up some repressed memories during his various interactions with Jack and Ben, the two most intense relationships he had on the island. Then again, love seems to be the catalyst for these triggers (as was the case with other dead characters like Charlie, Daniel, and Libby), so maybe the lack of an island romance is what’s blocking these memories. This thought process is echoed in the following passage from the EW.com review:

In the wake of last week's episode, we now know that having a soul mate is beneficial if not essential to lighting up the Sideways peeps with past-life Island awareness. This brings us to the Hurley's T-Rex shaped Man of the Year award. Tyrannosaurus Rex: ''king tyrant lizard.'' An interesting allusion for an episode about leadership, but also an ominous symbol for a season that finds the castaways shuddering under the dark cloud (literally) of potential extinction — provided, of course, you actually believe Charles Widmore and Richard Alpert when they say that some kind of reality-blotting catastrophic event will occur should Smokesaurus Rex succeed in escaping The Island. Yet the psycho-spiritual-celestial-quantum mechanics of the Lostverse seem to allow for the continuance of mind and/or spirit provided that one has love in their life. The best articulation of this Good News comes to us in Penelope's ''Live Together, Die Alone'' epistle. Bottom line: The castaways need a constant, a better half, an Eve to their Adam or vise versa. – EW.com review

The reviewer’s choice of wording here is important, I think, as there’s a distinct difference between “soul mate” and “constant.” Of course, in some instances, the person can be one in the same (as it was with Penny and Desmond, in the time traveling island universe). But as we saw with Daniel and Desmond, a romance does not have to exist in order to be constants. The person simply needs to be a bridge that connects the two worlds.

So if it’s true that the sideways castaways need a constant in order to get a glimpse into their island lives, then Jack should suffice with a critically unstable Locke.

THE ISLAND GHOSTS
I didn't think the big reveal about the whispers was all that surprising. Frankly, they just confirmed a theory I had for a while now. Illana dying was rather surprising. As soon as she stepped away from the group I thought to myself "uh oh" and then boom! So much for her protecting. I feel like some other characters who Jacob may be done with are going to meet their end soon as well. My guess is that now that Hurley is communicating direclty with Jacob, Richard is no longer needed. – DaBooty, my blog

The past few seasons have done a pretty effective job of weeding out practically every single unnecessary character, no matter how unsubstantial they may be. The freighter explosion killed practically every surviving member of Oceanic Flight 815 that isn’t in the opening credits. And those that were fortunate enough to avoid getting on the freighter were killed off within the first episode of the next season (flaming arrows, anyone?) And just a couple episodes ago we discovered that everybody else on the Ajira flight had been murdered as well.

So with this in mind, DaBooty may be right about Ilana’s disposal. Ben quite frankly pointed out that the island was done with her, but that comment might have a double meaning in the sense that the show was done with her as well. While there are a lot of fans out there complaining about all these new characters being introduced in the last season, you’ve got to also recognize that they’re doing away with those that evidently won’t be playing a part in the finale.

Anyway, DaBooty brings up a fair point about how “necessary” Richard is at this point in time. With Hurley communicating with Jacob, Richard’s role as a representative seems a bit unneeded. And one of the biggest spectacles of his character was the mystery behind it, which, essentially, has been answered. We know why he doesn’t age, we know his relationship with Jacob, we know how he got to the island, and we know how long he’s been there. Now, does this mean the character is no longer necessary? Thankfully, since I love the character, I think the answer is no. Consider this: the island wouldn’t let Richard die, meaning it’s not done with him yet. At that point, Hurley was already communicating with Jacob on a fairly consistent basis. Sure, at this point the viewers didn’t know Richard’s backstory, but does the island care about that sort of thing? No, of course not. Otherwise Rousseau wouldn’t have died when she did. This leads me to believe he’s going to play some part in the finale, which means that the show’s not done with him either. At least, I hope not.

Are these ''ghosts'' really ''ghosts'' or are they illusions conjured by some Island agency, i.e. Jacob or the Man In Black? If they aren't illusions, are they managed or controlled by some Island agency, i.e. Jacob or the Man In Black? Finally, whether these ghosts are puppets or not, what are their true intentions? Do they want what's best for the castaways, or what's best for themselves, or what's best for their masters? – EW.com review

I will allow somebody from the EW.com comments section to offer their thoughts before I respond:

Doc is too cynical. If Michael is trapped for "what he did", why would he add more bad juju by steering Hurley wrong? Why assume Hurley's instincts are bad? I know people lie a lot on this show, but do sometimes mean what they say.
Great moments: Jack trusting Hurley even though he knew he was lying. Libby telling Hurley, "I want to be with you because I like you." Both of those were EARNED through years of getting to know these characters. – EW.com comments section

I agree with the poster here. As I’ve said in the past, mostly regarding the good/evil categorization of Jacob/the Man in Black, I honestly don’t think the writers – for the most part – are trying to “trick” us. Not this late in the game, anyway. And don’t get me wrong, some things are certainly ambiguous – like Widmore, for example. But with Smokey and Jacob, everything from their actions, to what they say, to how they act, to explicit symbolism, points in the direction that Smokey is bad and Jacob is good (if you want to put it in such simple terms). As viewers, I think some of us tend to over think things. It happened with Jacob and Smokey, and I think the EW.com reviewer is doing it here with these ghosts.

Besides, if we take things at face value, we’re left with a few satisfying answers. We come to understand why some people appear as ghosts on the island, while others don’t. We get confirmation on the whispers. And Hurley – and perhaps the audience – can forgive Michael for what he had done. Tricking us just leaves us with the original question unanswered, as well as a few new questions being asked.

THE SMOKE MONTSER MYSTERY
In last week’s column I brought up the fact that Christian appeared on the freighter to tell Michael the island no longer needs him, which should have been an impossibility if he’s a manifestation of the Smoke Monster (who, as Locke, made it clear that he can’t merely smoke up and fly across the water). Kyle offered this perspective on the matter:

One other point though that might actually support the idea of Smoke Monster = Christian. One of the arguments against it seems to be that he's trapped on the Island, so how did he get to the freighter/mainland to visit Michael and Jack? And we still have no clue. But if the whispers, and presumably the people Hurley is seeing (they didn't say that flat out, but it seems the conclusion they wanted us to make, since I doubt Hurley got this whole theory about the whispers based solely on Michael's one appearance), are dead people who are, as Michael and Hurley put it, "trapped on the island" and unable to move on, well, they've been appearing to Hurley off Island as well. I don't think Christian is one of those people, since nobody other than Hurley has been able to see any of them (whereas lots of people have seen Christian), but if they're both trapped on the Island yet able to appear briefly off Island, maybe Smoke Monster can too. Something to think about. – Kyle, my blog

Kyle brings up some good points here, but to be perfectly honest I think it more supports the idea that Christian is an island ghost. When Michael and Hurley discussed the idea of ghosts being trapped on the island, I didn’t take it to mean the same thing as Smokey being imprisoned there. To me, it meant that they couldn’t pass on to the afterlife (Heaven, for the sake of simplicity). But I’m not sure that means they can’t appear elsewhere. Michael saw Libby in New York. Hurley saw Charlie, Ana Lucia, and Eko in Los Angeles. Jack saw his father in Los Angeles. Michael saw Jack’s father on the freighter. So, to me, this is a case of semantics. By saying that ghosts are trapped on the island, I took it to mean that they’re trapped in this universe and are unable to pass through to the next life.

What seems curious to me is this inconsistent, for lack of a better word, portrayal of people interacting with ghosts. At this point in time, it’s being presented that Hurley is special because he’s able to see and talk with dead people. Yet, as I noted above, select other characters have shared this ability. Most certainly not to the extent of Hurley, but he’s also definitely not the only one.

Alright, that’s it for this column. I’ll be back following this week’s new episode. One thing I do hope, though, is that we get a nice Jack/Claire scene. The revelation that Claire and Jack are siblings was pretty huge, yet we haven’t really seen much of a reaction from Jack. Sure, he was shocked when he first found out, but it seems strange to me that he doesn’t share Kate’s devotion to rescue her. I’m sure the new episode will focus on the first confrontation between Jack and the Locke Ness Monster – as it should – but I hope they don’t completely ignore the first interaction between Jack and Claire since finding out they are related.

And as a final note, I must also mention how funny I find it when one character in the sideways world asks another, “Were you on Flight 815?” Honestly, how many people ever remember their flight number? Wouldn’t it be more realistic to say, “Hey, were you on that 9:00 flight from Sydney to Australia?”

And here's the latest edition of Lost Untangled!