REBOOT FINAL 4 PART TWO

There was an awful lot of fan commentary after Across the Sea aired in its original ABC run. Many people thought the back story of newer characters totally out of place in regard to the trials of the regular 815 cast. Again, the following commentary is based upon the LOST blogs I haunted:

ACROSS THE SEA

1. Island History: good or bad?

This was a split decision. Some viewers hated the idea of another side tangent introducing new character plot lines with only three episodes to go in the series. Jacob and his brother were not characters even introduced in the first two seasons. The concept of adding two major players with a full episode back story was confusing, frustrating and questioning the end game of the writers.

Some viewers thought Across the Sea and Ab Aeterno were good episodes because it finally answered some questions about the mysterious island's history. The events were the only clues to what the 2007 castaways would be up against in the finale.

2. Crazy Mom

She is portrayed as the guardian of the island. But one commentator had a different spin on her:

Jacob’s “mom” was a smoke monster. In a previous episode we were told the smoke monster can be killed with that dagger as long as you don’t let it speak first.

Every time their mother went up to the MIB, she always asked him if she could join him, i.e. when she met him on the beach and when she met him in the well, thereby preventing him from killing her.
When he did kill her, she didn’t say anything. She walked into the cave, and he stabbed her, with the same knife.

How else could she, on her own, have killed that entire tribe, as well as filling up the well?
She told Jacob and his brother that going into the light was worse than death. How would she have known that if she didn’t go in herself? She said “thank you” after Jacob’s brother killed her. He was releasing her from the curse. By Jacob throwing his brother into the light cave, it passed the smoke monster curse on to him. But in order for this theory to be validated, one would have to assume that all three were spirits - - - that the light cave transforms a spirit into an evil smoke monster.

There was a growing consensus that Crazy Mom may have been human at some point. But on the island,  enlightenment changed her being into a semi-god status. She was probably tricked into becoming the guardian. She needed to trick someone to take her place, and children are easier to manipulate. Only when she could confer her powers onto another being (like Jacob), could her job be complete and she could pass on (to next life, rebirth, etc.) So being a guardian is not all it is cracked out to be. The parallel with Desmond and the button is the best way to look at this theme. You believe you are doing something important and good - but you grow weary and tired of your obligation, so you also want to pass it on to someone else, so you can achieve your personal peace.

3. There are no Rules.

There are no set Rules. The one in charge (the guardian) sets the rules. As MIB told young Jacob, he can make up the rules of the game when he is in charge. (Note: I think the game they played was not backgammon or senet, because Jacob was moving pieces in zig zag fashion.) The principle is simple: whoever is in power sets the rules.

But there were problems with the No Rules Rule. It was totally inconsistent from event to event. With the wine ceremony,  Crazy Mom was casting (or unlocking) a magic spell so Jacob could "know" everything about the island and its properties. He was enlightened at that point, giving CrazyMom her opportunity to cease being guardian. But if CrazyMom passing the guardianship to Jacob was the only reason why MIB could kill her that leads to a problem later on.  If this was standing operating procedure, then Jacob already passed on the island guardianship to another person before being killed by Ben. But that did not happen. Ghost Jacob will pass along the job to Jack. Some viewers believed that the wine itself is largely symbolic, and that it is not the chemical properties that lead to wisdom/guardianship.

4. Why bring people to the island?

This episode had no real religious tones.  A few people thought the references to wine and ritual more symbolic than important. The symbol of wine and perhaps the conversations between God and Satan in the book of Job, and the possible comparison between the light at the end of the tunnel and the tree of knowledge of good and evil may all be symbols familiar to Judeo-Christian-Muslim religions, but many fans thought they are intended as such here. They have a religious significance but in the more abstract sense of mythology.

I thought CrazyMom was like a lighthouse keeper. Isolated, alone, but with a specific important job to do, one that apparently she was either chosen or manipulated into taking. She called the shipwreck survivors "people," like it was a derogatory term. MIB also called the people brought to the island in derogatory terms: people always "fight, destroy and corrupt." But Jacob remarked it all was "progress."

Which leads to the strange behavior of Jacob. If it is true that he continues to bring people to the island (like CrazyMom did to find her successor by shipwrecks), as a demi-god why did he need people to build temples or Dharma stations? Likewise, why would he need to leave the island to recruit in order to protect it? Besides, that would prove MIB was right: there was something "across the sea."  But maybe bringing people to the island for centuries was all Jacob's cruel, new game with his brother, that "lowly people" are bad and their CrazyMom was right. However, "across the sea" could have used as a metaphor. It could mean across the galaxy, the plane of existence, the after life or dimensions.

One interesting discussion point was why Jacob or other demi-god on the island need people to build huge monuments or temples.  Or why MIB/Smokey needs a dead body in order to take human form.
The island powers do not enable the guardian to create mass - he simply can influence people. Jacob seemingly can't just blink, and presto - we have a lighthouse. So proponents of "the Genie theory" that island guardians could create anything with a blink of an eye surrendered with this explanation. If Jacob, MIB or smoke monsters cannot create objects or things out of thin air (or in nature with fundamental elements), then that could mean that they themselves have no cohesive mass - - - that they are truly spirits seeking a material world.

I observed that commentators were looking for a time frame for this episode, I thought the only real clue was Claudia, her dress and appearance. I think she represents Claudia Quinta, a Roman leader of the Cult of the Great Mother, circa 205 BC. (There is a National Art Gallery painting of her). She was instrumental in bringing ashore Cybele, the Roman goddess of fertility, earth, caves and mountains to Rome from Greece. It is from 210 BC to 30 BC when the world had the three great civilizations still in place (Egyptian, Greek and Roman). That could explain where hieroglyphs, Greek symbols and Latin can converge on the island.

5. The creation of a smoke monster.

It was quite debatable whether Jacob's killing of his brother by throwing him into the light cave created the smoke monster, or the fact of throwing a body into the cave released a smoke monster. But it seems certain that MIB is a smoke monster. That the smoke monster needed Jacob's brother's body in order to take human form. But in taking that human form, the inconsistent science-fiction is how then did the new smoke monster retain all MIB's memories?

If the life force embodies life, death, and rebirth, then I do not see how mortal man could transform it into healing temple water (unless the death of MIB was the change allowing the guardian to control its properties.) I got the impression that CrazyMom and Jacob's powers were different than the light force. 
Many fans thought the light force might effect different people in different ways, and this might also depend on length of exposure.
 For Rose, just being on the island cured her cancer. For Locke - it allowed him to walk again. But for Ben, it caused him to have a spinal tumor. It may have been responsible for all the pregnant women not giving birth on the island. But then again, it allowed Claire to give birth to Aaron.

One main issue was that the EM life force was stable in the cave at the surface of the island. There was no reason to confine it in the Hatch, or have a "release " computer code. Also, if the light is a natural phenomenon, then anyone came in direct contact with the light, they should have also turned into Smoke Monsters (that means Ben and Locke turning the FDW or Desmond when the Hatch blew up).

In these older time frame episodes, we do hear a louder "clicking" sound and a deep animal moaning when Smokey appears - - -  and the smoke itself is highly charged particles and electric flashes. It sounds like a mechanical creature. But as time passes, the Smoke Monster has less noises attached to it. Is this progress or better technology? And as such, is Smokey truly self aware?

6. The Jacob-MIB dynamic.

We have seen ghost Jacob in adult form speaking to Hurley, why would there be a need for a young ghost Jacob running around the jungle to bug Flocke? If so, did this confirm that Jacob can make multiple apparitions like MIB-Smokey?

One troublesome aspect of this episode was that it created more illogical patterns in the MIB character. If MIB's memories in Smokey may have led him manipulate people brought to the island into creating the FDW. If MIB-Smokey wanted to leave, it could take human form and turn the wheel as Flocke (who has been seen moving objects). But in a thousand years, Smokey never turned the wheel. Unless, turning the wheel destroys him or if he is flashed to the outside world, his non-human substance would cease to be.

But we have been told that Jacob was the one who has been bringing people to the island. Was it was not for MIB's sake?  One explanation is that Jacob accepted the fact that he caused a cascade of events that led to both his CrazyMom's and brother's death. His world had ended. He was left with a substitute brother, the smoke monster. He was looking for a candidate so he could die (his punishment) and rejoin his real brother in death, but he had not found one person who would "accept" the position as guardian.

But is the real island conflict simply that MIB's ghost does not want Jacob to scheme his way off the island by death; he wants to continually punish Jacob for what he did to MIB by keeping Jacob on the island for eternity?

Viewers made symbolic assumptions that Jacob (white) as being good as the "guardian" of the light while MIB-Smokey (black) being bad, evil and a killing machine. But what if the opposite was true? What if the viewers have been conned into believing just Jacob's view of the island?

7. The fan angst.

A large part of the discussion board comments centered around where the story was heading; and the anxiety mounted that there was too much new information and not enough old conclusions to feel good about the final result. With two episodes to go, the series climax was upon us. But it did not seem like a the end of a thrilling rollercoaster ride.

Comments like:
" . . . the more I see the more that the ending looks forced."
"OK Lost staff. Go back and figure out how we can quickly tie up some loose ends and make it look like we really had a huge vision. When we didn't."
 "(I) feel like we are getting all these tiny little "bones" thrown in at the end. All sizzle and no steak. Feeling cheated and a little duped at this point."
"I am holding on to hope that maybe, just maybe, I am being way too cynical and negative and that the show and Damon/Carlton will prove us wrong."
"For me the wheels are falling off the show's consistency, and the result feels cobbled-together."
"What was the point of showing us the Adam and Eve skeletons to eventually show us that they were the MIB and Mommy. What was the point of the revelation?"

One explanation for the viewer concern was that week's poster angst is that the Across the Sea episode seems totally out of place. But if you look back, the production values of cutting off scenes, jumbling the time sequences, flashes were all to create aura of mystery as much as the underlying story, had been a long simmering show critique. In standard story telling, there is a beginning middle and end. The story starts with action, character development, reaction, character choices, climax, then character change. It has always appeared that TPTB wanted to slice out pieces of those conventional story sections and show them out of order to keep viewers in the dark as long as possible.

However, one can tell the viewer what is going on in the background without telling the main characters; classic horror movies do that --- "don't open that door!" moments.

A few commentators really hated the episode. To some, the episode was so disappointing. It's not that we didn't get answers. It's that the answers were stupid.

The issue with this show is that they throw these mysteries at you, and you keep thinking "Wow, what in the world could explain what just happened??" And then you start to wonder if the writers are just making it up as they go along, and there's really nothing behind any of it. If this episode's answers represent what was behind it all, then yes, the writers were just making it up as they go along, and it was all just arbitrary. And finally, their explanation for what was behind it all is just lame.

For example, the Donkey Wheel. We wanted to know what it was, how it worked, why it worked, etc. The answer is: The MIB started building it because some ancient people had "interesting ideas" and because he somehow if he turned it he'd get off the island. How did he know that? Because he's special. That is basically a non-answer. "Because it's magic."

Then the cave. We've been told the island is special in some way, and that various people are trying to get something from it or protect that something. So what is that something? It's... some magical life/death/whatever that's inside every person. Sorry, that is not an answer. It doesn't tie anything together. It just pretends to give an answer to what is behind everything.

Then there's the characters' motivations. Why does Smokey want to get off the island? Because a woman killed his real mother and he wants to go back to where he came from. Really? That's the motivation behind the last two seasons? As I said at the top, that is definitely a concrete answer, but it's just a stupid one.

And that may be LOST's greatest success and its greatest weakness: fan expectations.

A few viewers hoped that there was a possibility that the next two episodes will tie things together better or give better answers that aren't so lame. But contrarians thought at this stage that view seems pretty naive.

Would the big questions really be answered? Simple examples were posted like  the question was posed by Charlie in the pilot episode: "Where are we?" This poster did not want speculation and theories in the end, but wanted to to know what the island was!  That seems like a reasonable request; when you get to the last page of a good mystery novel, you want to know. You expect to gain full knowledge to appreciate the entire work to confirm your entertainment investment in the novel.

Another poster made this comment "I think the disappointment ahead could be that if LOST is the story of the resolution of the Jacob-MIB conflict (which was hidden for five seasons), people will think that all the other story lines were filler."

That cast a dark shadow of pause within the community.

In trying to find deeper meaning in this episode, one could speculate 
MIB's memory of "clever" people with ideas about the life energy could be used to change the past. There are a few common things that both Jacob and MIB would jointly like to correct: a) MIB killing CrazyMom; b) Jacob killing his brother and turning him into Smokey; or c) CrazyMom killing Claudia. The search for time travel may have been the quest, "the progress" of the brothers to make amends with their own Past mistakes. Once they can achieve it, their misery ends.

It appeared that Jacob and MIB had no knowledge of time travel. Bringing people from the great civilizations was the means to their end, but human nature, personality conflicts and greed destroyed all hope for Jacob-MIB's getting their time machine. The problem with this theory is that the 815ers had no scientific skill sets to create time machines or improve on the technology. You would think Jacob would have targeted nuclear scientists, quantum physics professors, Steven Hawking.

The search for time travel may have been the quest, "the progress" of the brothers to make amends with their own Past mistakes. Once they can achieve it, their misery ends. That would answer a lot of questions. But it would not change the feeling that the 815 characters were merely a long filler arc to a three episode Jacob and MIB reunion.

Such angst turned into possible "bad endings" for the show.

How in the hell are they going to rap up the ENTIRE show up in 2.5 hours?! Many viewers could not see how it could be accomplished in a reasonable fashion. Many thought The Answer must be easy...simple. (A head slap moment - - - why didn't we think of that!)

But the "quick fix" endings did not stir confidence in the LOST community.

A. One simple trick ending would be to have the Dharma people in hospital beds in a mind experiment. BUT their body is not really there!!!!! It is too late in the series to throw the whole concept into reverse by saying it was all about mind control experiments (even though the series is riddled with such clues like Room 23, Santa Rosa, Eloise the rat maze). But if TPTB are so stubborn in the position that the series is all about character development, character "destruction" is a viable alternative.

B. Another ending was that the show runners lied to the viewers when they screamed loudly in the first season the island was not "purgatory." TPTB stated that the series was all about character development. Supporters of that view remarked that it could be about a figurative purgatory. The concept of purgatory is built in to the human experience. Life,  death and rebirth. The characters trials and growth to redemption in a figurative or symbolic purgatory could be the answer, as any good character study always is.

However, a review of the show themes was contradictory.

White v. Black theme is open to several interpretations to the literal (Jacob and MIB) to the philosophical (good v. evil). It may or may not be the key to the finale.
  Redemption/resurrection was the long dismissed purgatory concept, which is still a viable solution if the big premise is about testing souls in the after life.
 The EM energy on the island could be a possible solution if properly explained.  The smoke monster is playing a factor as the story winds down since it is the embodiment of MIB, the guardian's departed brother.  The Numbers as mere markers for candidates names held no real significance except coincidence (which probably bummed out theorists the most).  The concept of people being "brought" to the island is another unknown part of the solution or possible mere story line filler.
 unless we find out what the island is.  Widmore, the Others , Dharma and the Tailies. With the exception of whatever role Widmore will play, the Others, Dharma and the Tailies were more filler story arcs.
 The Dharma story line appears to be immaterial to the end game.
 The Hatch seems immaterial except for the introduction of Desmond, whose final role is unknown.
 Blast Door Map appears irrelevant to the final solution.. Tawaret and Egyptology appear irrelevant unless the premise is about the after life.

Part of the collective angst is that many of the seemingly important elements of the show could be rendered immaterial or irrelevant, while new concepts out of left field play a more important role in concluding the show.


C. The idea that the main characters are NOT who we think they are; they are like kids playing make-believe roles of adults: Jack is not a doctor, Kate is not a criminal, Sawyer is not a con man.
Example, Jack. Both the marshal and Boone died in his care. He did not deliver Aaron. His surgery on Ben was filled with medical errors. We are shown Jack as a doctor, but it is a delusion by a person who wants us to look at him in a different way. If you want to find out-of-place episodes, look to the one where Jack goes to Thailand. What knowledgeable, successful doctor would go to Thailand, roll around with a crazy woman in dirty opium dens, and get a back alley tattoo "He walks among us, but is not one of us?" That episode made was a clue that Jack was not a doctor, but a rebellious drop out rich kid traveling the world seeking adventure at daddy's expense. Add "daddy issues" to the concept of transference (or even a world of make believe), you can have an individual with a neurosis that tries to change a person's past to succeed their parents, break parental controls, or escape from their own boring reality. The open question would be what is the actual setting for this childlike escapism.


8. Prediction

Several posters thought that we would still  talking about all of this stuff 4-5 years later....

It will be interesting to see if the ending is so open-ended, that fans will continue to debate its ending for years, or if they will tie it up into a neat bow like so many from the "We want answers" camp are demanding. Seems to me the more that is left unanswered, the greater the lifespan this series will have...???

Sadly, there was no stable will be a cottage industry after LOST ended for fans to write about how they would have wrapped things up (to counterbalance any disappointment).