ESCAPE

It was an easy plot magic to have Michael, whose back story was an artist who had to work in construction to get by, to build a raft to escape the island. Of course it really did not make any sense since hanging drywall or nailing trim pieces is not the same as building a seaworthy vessel out of bamboo and tarps. But at least it had some obvious element that made it believable: Michael and his construction experience.

Even multimillion dollar racing yachts cannot compete with the harsh nature of the Pacific Ocean. the vast ocean and high rolling waves takes it toll on all shipping, including the large cargo container vessels. The idea of a small amateur raft being able to sail hundreds or thousands of miles to Fiji seems implausible. But at least it fulfilled one critical human element of the story: escape and rescue.

That was the key point to the start of the series. Human beings shipwrecked on an island want to go home. They need to get home. Their lives are not on the island. They would do anything to get home. Building a raft for a dangerous journey across a brutal sea makes sense when the overriding human emotion is to get home. The building of the raft made the most sense in the early story lines.

It also caused one of the first true leadership splits in the group. Michael was in charge of the ship, not Jack. Jack was really not interested in their rescue plan. Michael was motivated to take his son home. But Walt had different ideas. He did not want to live with a stranger (his father). He would rather stay on the island and create a new life since he had nothing to go home to on the mainland.

The building of the raft led to the first true betrayal. The first raft was set a blaze, which led to charges and countercharges amongst the group's alpha males. Sabotage was a volcanic destabliizer for the beach camp. Fingers were pointed at Sawyer, Locke, the Others . . .  but Michael channeled his anger in order to build a second raft. It was the only thing bringing hope to the group.

When the raft set sail, it marked a turning point in the series. The show could have gone in several different directions. First, the comparison of the "good" camp life with food and shelter could have been contrasted by the harsh starvation and terror of being lost at sea for weeks on a raft that was slowly falling a part. Second, the raft could have made it civilization which could have set up the second betrayal - - - Michael and Sawyer not telling their rescuers of the island survivors. Third, and what happened, was the Others taking charge of the castaways lives. This was the flash point for serious bloody conflict between the Others and the 815ers. Why the Others would break the truce in order to kidnap Walt, who was special was unclear, considering Ben would release Walt and his father on the boat for freedom (in exchange for another betrayal, which seems now as the only real currency on the island.)

The raft symbolized freedom, escape and rescue. But in the end, the raft set in motion a series of bloody decisions leading to dozens of senseless deaths, kidnapping and torture of individuals. Walt's kidnapping led to Michael going insane with rage. His rage killed Ana Lucia and Libby. His plan to rescue Walt led to Jack, Sawyer and Kate being captured and tortured. It forever divided the beach camp and the Others as enemies.

THE RAFT

The series could have had a major story arc with the raft. It represented what the pilot episode stressed as the focal point of the show: rescue. The idea that four survivors would had the ability to build a raft, let alone sail it, across the Pacific to find rescue would have upped the ante.

It would have given the audience time and episode space to get a better understanding of an early character that was exiled from the series: Walt.

In the confined space of the raft, Walt could have been the center piece of the story. He really did not want to leave the island, because he really had nothing to go back to. His mother was dead. His adopted father abandoned him. Michael, his biological dad, gave him up when he was a child. Walt was totally alone. But, we were told he was "special."

If he was indeed special, why did Ben let him go so easily after Michael's final betrayal? Did Ben's science stations extract Walt's special qualities like draining a battery?

But the raft portion of the series was very short lived; interrupted quickly by a rescue fishing boat, with the quick twist of kidnapping Walt, shooting Sawyer and destroying the raft. It could have been a real cost saver to kill off three main characters.

But they wound up washed on shore into what some consider a filler arc of the show, the Tailies. Besides Bernard, the other 48 tail section passengers were merely red shirts - - - fodder for grisly deaths to come.

It would have been better to run a half season of raft episodes (or cutaways) than the Tailies and their back stories. The show did not need new characters, but better development of the ones we were told were important clues to unraveling the series.

The tension was there for the taking. Sawyer would have gotten on Michael's nerves. Walt would have looked to rebel against his new father's orders; so Walt would have been drawn to Sawyer's rebel attitude. That would have further inflamed the situation. The odd part of the raft was Jin's presence - - - for he would be the silent provider, fisherman. It also could be comic relief if the only English he learned was from Sawyer's verbal jabs.

It also could been an avenue to smooth over the rough edges of the Sawyer character. He could have communicated his rough childhood to Walt, so he could understand the problems he would face.  It could be an older brother moment.

But the real lost opportunity was to focus on Walt. Since he had the ability to communicate (and kill) birds and possibly other animals, he could have been a magical provider of food on the long voyage. Or he could have contacted the Dharma sharks for assistance. Since at this time we had no idea about Jacob and why visitors were brought to the island, Walt's abilities would have been critical clues into the island's purpose.

There could have been several paths this long raft arc could have taken. One, the raft could have met a horrible fate in the open seas. A storm could have crushed the small vessel. The heat could have boiled the men to madness, conflict and death. Two, the raft could have made it to another island, where a) they could have found native people who (i) greeted them warmly or (ii) captured them for cannibal sacrifices; or b) been rescued by a container ship heading towards America. Then their story of survival would have made the O6 story arc pale in comparison. It could also set off a rich man's war to find the island between Sun's father and Widmore. It would have been an expensive America's Cup race to find the island, which could have brought in the mysterious Eloise to manipulate both sides to her own game of betrayal.

So, the raft island escape was a missed opportunity for deep story development and character spotlights.

THE CHARACTER SUMMATION OF WALT

Walt was listed as the last main character in the LOST's writer's guide.  It stated:

Walt has had a nomadic existence most of his life, traveling the world with his mother on business trips. Deprived of the ability to establish roots or friends, he consequently relates to adults better than his peers. Now stranded on the island with a father he doesn't really know - - - and doesn't want to know. 

Every viewer thought that Walt's role in the show would have been bigger. But the writers guide gave him the smallest description and the single mission to reject Michael as his father.

But even in that small description, there are several very LOST themes at play. Loner. Loneliness. Friendship. Daddy issues. Abandonment. Relationships. 

There was nothing in the description that tied Walt's character to the inner darkness of the island, or his ability to make birds commit suicide, or see ghost images or have supernatural powers. It would seem that Walt's role would be that of a disengaged but rebellious 10 year old boy.

Perhaps that is why Walt was an after-thought "main character." The producers did not know how to handle a child in an adult environment that was going to have an adventure, i.e. danger, story engine week to week. There are only so many scared kid in a tent featurettes in a writer's quill.

It may have been foreshadowing of what was going to happen to Walt in real life. The show was going to have a linear time scope where episode to episode would invoke 24-48 hours of real island time. But since the show would only adopt a few months of run time, the real seasonal time would eclipse years. Years in which the actor playing Walt would grow up faster than the series built-in time code. Literally, Walt "out grew" LOST before LOST outgrew his character.  I don't think the writers thought too far ahead with the growing up Walt problem because they put into his back story some major sci-fi elements and tied him to the island as being "special," but failed to explain why. Perhaps the ill-fated time travel loop was going to be a means of keeping Walt later into the series, but that was dreadfully executed that Walt's character never made a meaningful return. So TPTB raised Walt up to a main character, gave him significant mysteries and powers, but dropped him like a cold stone leaving fans to wonder.

THE CHARACTER SUMMATION OF MICHAEL

The character of Michael was the living embodiment of the "daddy issues" which plagued many of the other main characters in the show. Michael was picking up his young son from his adoptive father after Walt's mother had died (which again, makes no legal sense). Walt has abandonment issues with his natural father, but also has some sort of supernatural ability which manifests with dying birds. We don't get that story line until later episodes flesh out these characters.

But the writers guide did indicate that Michael would have an important role.

Michael has always known he was an artist, but his course changed drastically when a casual relationship in his twenties resulted in a pregnancy. Determined that his child wouldn't grow up fatherless, Michael married his girlfriend, dropped out of Art School and took a "real"job. But six months after his son was born, his wife abruptly left him and took the baby with her. Although this was the perfect time for Michael to get back to his dream, the security provided by a regular paycheck kept him in the corporate world. Now ten years later, his world is rocked again as he gains custody of Walt, a son he barely knows. Here on the island, Michael must not only learn to be a father, but get back in touch with his inner creative soul in order to emerge in a new role as the group's most capable BUILDER.

The initial description of Michael pretty much follows through in later episodes. He does become the builder of the rescue raft. He does have trouble coping with fatherhood issues with Walt.  Michael becomes an overprotective parent on the island. He tries to keep Walt near the safety of the beach camp. He does not want Walt to learn things from Locke. This begins to create conflict between Michael and the other castaways. It also angers Walt. Part of it may be the insecurity he feels since Walt is a stranger to him, and Walt could view Michael as a stranger on the island. This makes Michael even more obsessive and protective of Walt. His frustration boils to anger at times, which puts off the other beach campers.

It would seem Michael's role as a "builder" would have been bigger than just raft-builder. It was thought that the survivors would have to construct a compound until they found the underground bunker. Michael's construction skills would be a valuable asset, but a limited resource that could create issues between the group's leaders on how best to utilize it. But in the actual series, the leaders never directed Michael to do anything. Michael made the independent decision to build a raft. No one stopped him. Even though his plan was a failure, he did manage to become the first person to receive escape from the island (through immoral means of killing two people and betraying his friends to cut a deal with Ben for a boat and safe passage home.) It would be ironic that Michael, the builder, had to destroy so many lives in order to save his son.

MEET KEVIN, DISSECT KEVIN'S STORY

"Meet Kevin Johnson" was one of those strange episodes that started a twisted plot arc but turned into a braided contextual nightmare.

The character of Michael started off as a man dispossessed of his new born son. It was a contrast to the other characters "daddy issues" when in fact Michael at least tried to have a relationship with Walt, but his mother and her career separated any normal family setting. As a failed artist and kicking around from job to job, Michael could not stand in the (economic) way for Walt to have a better life. It is clear that Walt resented the fact he grew up without his "real" father. But Walt never understood that it was his mother who pushed them away. It is also clear that Michael "regretted" that he gave up with parental rights to Walt.

Walt grew up moving from country to country. It appears he did not make friends. When his mother died, his adoptive father abandoned him (which legally and morally he could not do) back to Michael, who assumed the responsibility to take care of his son, though he had no legal or moral obligation to do so. This sets up the odd relationship for Walt: two fathers, two prior abandonments, and an uncertain future.

So when Michael is bringing Walt back the the United States, both are on edge. Both do not how to communicate with each other because they were strangers. So what better "bonding" experience than surviving a plane crash and camping on an island with deadly smoke monsters and murderous Others?

Michael's overriding obsession is to get off the island and rescue his son. He does it by building a raft, but that leads to Walt being captured by the Others. He does it by making a deal with the Others to get Ben out of the Hatch prison in exchange for safe passage off the island. In executing the deal, Michael kills Ana Lucia and Libby. When he arranges for a posse to get their "killer" and to save Walt, Michael betrays his own people (Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Hurley) and gives them up to the Others.  At the dock, Michael is rewarded with a boat and passage off the island. To the stunned silence of the 815ers, Michael receives instructions from Ben to take the boat and follow a bearing of 325, so both he and his son can find rescue. They leave the island and their "friends" at the hands of a recently tortured Ben and his group.

The structure of Michael's sub-plot story followed the traditional literary paths. There was a beginning, conflict, a middle, a reunion, then heartbreak tearing a part, then a dangerous climax to the resolution Michael had hoped for - - - getting off the island with his son. Michael's story and role in LOST should have ended there, in Season 4. His character did change: from anguished father letting go of his son to a murderous protector of his son against adverse odds. In Michael's mind, the ends justified the means, which was standard operating procedure for many of the Island's characters. People may not like what Michael did, but there was some logical basis for his actions.

The end of Michael's island time did give us a few key points. First, apparently Ben is a man of his word. Since Mrs. Klugh made a deal with Michael, he would honor it. (Or would he?) Second, despite Desmond's claim that the Island was in "a bloody snow globe" and there was no way back to civilization, Ben told Michael to use bearing 325 to get home. Third, there is a foreshadowing of the importance of "lists," especially in the realm of Jacob's candidates. The four 815ers brought to the dock as payment for Walt were all candidates. It is unclear whether Ben ever knew who were candidates or what Jacob's grand plan for everyone, but it could be that Ben took his captives to "test them" on behalf of either Jacob or MIB. Could they be corrupted?

So the end of Michael's island story end gave us several important clues into the Island, the ability to leave the island, and the militaristic honor among the Others.

But then the reincorporation of Michael into the series led to major story structural problems.

One could understand Walt's rejection of Michael once Walt was told the cost of their freedom (two lives and four friends being held captive). But it does not explain Michael's need to return to the Island.

Once rejected by Walt, Michael goes on a downward spiral (much like Jack would do when he leaved the island with the O6). He is distraught and cannot live with the fact he killed two women. He is now estranged from Walt because of those actions. He writes a note to Walt, gets into his car, and at very high speed crashes into a shipping container. Instead of dying, he wakes in the hospital only to find that his nurse is dead Libby. He screams, and then truly awakens but refuses to answer anyone's question of what happened to him. After his release, Michael trades Jin's watch for a hand gun. He goes into an alley to shoot himself, but is interrupted by Mr. Friendly. Michael demands that Mr. Friendly, Tom, shoot him. But Tom replies "the island is not done" with Michael. Tom says Michael "still has work to do" (which is the same line Tall Walt gives a shot Locke when he is lying in the purge mass grave). A short time later, Michael tries to commit suicide in his apartment but the gun does not work. We are lead to believe that it is the Island intervention. Then Michael sees a news report that the remains of Flight 815 was found with confirmation that all 324 passengers and crew had perished in the crash.

Michael goes to see Tom. Tom explains to Michael that the television report was wrong. Widmore had created a fake crash site in order to keep the island to himself. Michael demands proof, and Tom calmy shows him files of exhumed graves, plane receipts and official looking documentation (which has the eerie vibe of a Sawyer con job). Michael is told that Widmore's plan is to send a force to the island and kill everyone on it.

Tom gives Michael an offer. He can get on the freighter as a crew member and stop Widmore from killing everyone on the island. Michael asks why he should do it, and Tom reminds him that this would be a chance to redeem himself for the actions he took on the island. Tom says that Michael will not return to the island, but destroy the freighter and everyone on board. He is handed a passport and an alias, Kevin Johnson.

In this set-up, we are led to believe many improbable and impossible factors. First, that Ben and the Others kept minute tabs on Michael after he left the island. There was no reason to do so. Michael was never going back to the island, or disclose its location because that would admit his guilt in two murders. If Ben thought Michael was a threat, then he should have let Michael commit suicide. Problem solved. Second, that the Island is a supernatural power that intervenes to stop Michael's numerous suicide attempts. How? Why? So in Season 4, the TPTB basically tells us that the Island and its premise was just one big McGuffin? Third, how gullible are Michael and the viewers to believe that a detailed oriented man like Widmore who could fake a plane crash would not check every crew member on his freighter's mission to seize the Island? It is not credible that Ben could "sneak" his own agent on board Widmore's freighter. Fourth, we were told that no one could find the island so why would Michael believe the freighter could? Also, there were more "loyal" soldiers in the Others camp to be the saboteur than Michael.

Once on the boat, Michael realizes that Widmore's crew is filled with soldiers who plan on killing the island inhabitants. This is not a rescue mission as helicopter pilot Frank told him. Back in his room, Michael opens his crate and finds a case in it. He takes the case to the engine room and finds a bomb inside. Michael inputs the combination for the bomb, but hesitates to push the EXECUTE button to set off the bomb. Suddenly, he hears the same Mama Cass song he was listening to in the car when he tried to commit suicide. He sees another vision of Libby who tells him not to do it, and then disappears. Michael says, "I love you, Walt" and pushes the button. The bomb's 15-second timer expires, but the bomb doesn't explode. Instead, a flag pops up with a note around it which reads "NOT YET."

This scene adds another thick layer of disbelief. It should never matter where the freighter exploded so long as it never reaches the island. The non-explosion was a mean trick on the viewers to add suspense then not deliver (in the hope of adding more filler).  The scene also adds to the growing visions of dead people within the series. It strengthens the evidence that the characters are not in the real world but in supernatural place where dead souls reside and interact.

We are then included into another layer of a con. When Michael is taken to the radio room to take a call from "Walt," Michael rushes in to speak to his son (even though we know Walt has no idea where Michael is or how to contact him). For some reason, Michael thinks Walt is on the line. Ben informs Michael there are innocent people on the freighter, and that the plan was never to kill them all, because Ben isn't "that kind of person." He says he gave the fake bomb to Michael to show that unlike Widmore, he does not want to kill innocents. Ben then orders Michael to get him a list of everyone on board, report the list back to him, and then disable both the radio and engine so that the ship cannot get to the Island. Michael is obviously shaken up, but Ben tells him that he can now consider himself "one of the good guys."


We know Ben is a master liar and manipulator. We can tell that Ben is using Michael to do his dirty work. But if Ben truly wanted no one to reach the island, then he should have given Michael those instructions to disable the freighter from the beginning instead of the fake bomb. And the need for a freighter list seems to be an excessive-compulsive waste of time. It gets further unnecessarily complicated when the helicopter lands on the island, and Desmond and Sayid go to the freighter. In the simple scheme of not allowing anyone on or off the island, Ben has made a huge mess of it. Unless, Ben himself is being manipulated by Jacob who really wants to bring new people to the island for his game with MIB. (Which would make some sense since we were told ONLY Jacob had the power to bring people to the island.)

Later, Sayid and Desmond find Michael in the engine room and confront him about why he is on the boat. Michael tells his story about being Ben's "man on the boat." When he learns Michael is working for Ben. Sayid grabs Michael and drags him into Captain Gault's room, revealing Michael's true identity as the saboteur, a spy, a traitor, and a survivor of Oceanic 815. This action pushes two sets of dangerous dominoes into motion. It disrupts Ben's plan to thwart Widmore's forces from getting to the island. It also sets into motion the safe passage of the soldiers to the island to confront Ben.

Ben has to give up his secrecy when his plan begins to fall a part. Locke takes a leadership role.
Locke holds a meeting with everyone at the Barracks to share information. Miles confirms the people from the freighter are after Ben. Sawyer suggests they just turn Ben over to the freighter people. Ben says the orders of the freighter people are to capture him, then kill everyone else on the Island; Miles does not deny it.

Ben persuades Alex to go to a location he calls "the Temple" with Karl and Danielle, and tells her the rest of the Others are already there. He provides them with a map. Ben tells Alex she is in danger because the people who are coming to the Island will use her to get to him. He assures her that her mother will protect them. He is dead wrong.

Some time into their journey, Danielle, Alex, and Karl take a break. Sudden gunfire erupts from the jungle and Karl is shot in the chest. Danielle and Alex hide behind a tree and quickly decide they need to make a run for it. They get to their feet, but Danielle is immediately hit by gunfire and falls to the ground. Alex stands up, puts her hands in the air and yells, "I'm Ben's daughter!"


This episode is one where everything goes wrong from its stated purpose. Michael's voyage of redemption has turned into a savage murderous spectacle. Michael's failure to stop the freighter (which was part of Ben's disjointed plan) caused the deaths of many more innocent people. The fate of the innocent were sealed when Sayid betrayed Michael like Michael had done to the 815ers. Michael was played for the fool by everyone.


From a failed artist, to construction worker, then to sailboat builder, to freighter engine expert to finally alleged bomb detention specialist, Michael's skill set continued to grow beyond belief when the story line needed some authoritative explanation. The more grand Michael's expertise grew in the series, the more the show stumbled toward pure fantasy over even science fiction. Especially in the end, when ghost Christian, speaking as the Island, allows Michael to end his life by allowing the jury and scientifically inaccurate bomb device, to blow up the freighter.

The last thing Kevin Johnson gave the story was the ghost meeting with Hurley near the end of the series. Michael tells Hurley that he is a whisper, a ghost, trapped on the island. Michael accepts his fate to be trapped as a lost soul on the island. However, this conclusion runs contrary to what happens to Ben. Ben did more heinous things on and off the island than Michael did, yet Ben was "rewarded" by continuing to live on the island and then later going to the sideways world to being his after life.


It is one of the great problems with LOST. It set forth canon about "rules," but never explained them or even followed them consistently from character to character. The uneven application of the rules weakens the story foundation for the series. Why would Michael have to remain a ghost on the island for eternity while Ben and other evil people get a second, third or fourth chance at redemption?


The idea that Michael was not "ready" to move on is also suspect because Ben himself states the same thing Hurley outside the church. The concept that Michael needed to re-connect in his own sideways world with Walt also has no basis because Michael was not a part of the sideways world. We are not shown any tangible proof that Michael had the  ability to create  his own purgatory realm. He may never had a chance because Hurley was going to shut down the island operations. Just as Walt was abandoned by his fathers, Michael's character was abandoned by the writers. And Michael was not alone in the inconsistent treatment and altered resolutions of many characters.

REBOOT EPISODES 77-80

POSTING NOTE: Due to work changes, I may not be able to post updates on Tuesdays after Monday night marathon G4 reruns, but updates will occur later in the week.

LOST REBOOT 
Recap: Episodes 77-80 (Days 94-97)

Sayid and Desmond meet the crew members on freighter, while the latter experiences some unexpected side effects from the trip, when his mind bounces back and forth from 1996. The helicopter hits turbulence on its way to the freighter, and Desmond experiences unexpected side effects; as his consciousness travels in time he and a key character discover their “constants.” The episode follows Desmond's consciousness in a continuous narrative.

Juliet receives an unwelcome visit from someone from her past, Harper,  and is given orders to track down Charlotte and Daniel  in order to stop them from completing their mission of getting Ben.  Meanwhile, Ben offers Locke an enticing deal. Juliet is walking through the jungle and suddenly hears the whispers. She looks around and finds Harper standing behind her, who says that Ben has a message for her: Daniel and Charlotte are heading towards the Tempest station, and Juliet has to stop them, using deadly force if necessary. If Daniel and Charlotte figure out how to deploy the gas, everyone is going to die. Juliet asks why Harper doesn't stop them herself, and Harper answers that it is Ben's wish that Juliet does it, and says that although Ben is a prisoner,  he is "exactly where he wants to be." Harper says that Juliet must kill Daniel and Charlotte. The conversation is interrupted by Jack, who points his gun at Harper and demands to know who she is. She says she is an old friend of Juliet’s and she was telling her where the people they are looking for are headed and that Jack with his gun should go there too. The whispers are heard again, and Harper suddenly disappears.

Juliet is forced to reveal some startling news to Jin when Sun threatens to move to Locke’s camp.  Juliet warns Jin that Sun is very ill and will die within three weeks if she doesn’t leave the Island, but Jin doesn't appear to understand what Juliet is saying, and Sun refuses to translate. Sun is not swayed and Jin supports her, saying: “Where Sun go, I go.”  Meanwhile, Sayid and Desmond begin to get an idea of the freighter crew’s mission when they meet the ship’s  captain, who has a militaristic tone.

Sayid confronts Michael, Ben’s spy on the freighter while  Ben urges Alex to flee Locke’s camp to go the temple in order to survive an impending attack from the freighter crew. Sayid insists on learning why Michael was on the boat. Michael answers, “I’m here to die.”

Later, Sayid and Desmond find Michael in the engine room and confront him about why he is on the boat. Michael tells his story about being Ben's tool. When he is finished, Sayid asks him if he is truly working for Ben. Michael confirms this. Sayid grabs Michael and drags him into Captain Gault's room, revealing Michael's true identity as the saboteur, a spy, a traitor, and a survivor of Flight 815.


Science:

“Minkowski” as a crew name as a clue to the freighter situation. Hermann Minkowski was a scientist and peer of Albert Einstein. Minkowski’s work dealt with the concept of space-time. By 1907 Minkowski realized that Einstein’s special theory of relativity could be best understood in a four dimensional space,  in which time and space are not separated entities but intermingled in a four dimensional space-time. Minkowski said "The views of space and time which I wish to lay before you have sprung from the soil of experimental physics, and therein lies their strength. They are radical. Henceforth space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and only a kind of union of the two will preserve an independent reality."

“Faraday” as a scientist as a clue to the island electromagnetic properties. Michael Faraday was a 19th century English scientist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include those of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and electrolysis. It was by his research on the magnetic field  around a conductor carrying a direct current that Faraday established the basis for the concept of the electromagnetic field in physics. Faraday also established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena. His inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices formed the foundation of electric motor technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that electricity became practical for use in technology.

The island as a large machine, which creates it own electromagnetic field, as referenced in the snow globe effect. And if this island electromagnetic field interfaces with Minkowski’s four dimensional space time to alter an individual’s reality in time.

Improbabilities:

When Capt. Gault shows Sayid the black box flight recorder from Flight 815, alleged “acquired” by Widmore, is unbelievable. Any plane crash debris, especially the flight recorder, would be impounded as critical investigative evidence by the NTSB. Further, Gault claims that the Flight 815 wreckage was “staged” by a man with great resources and serial killer motives to “find” 324 bodies for the wreck site: Ben. If one can film the wreck, and recover the flight recorder, the recover of other plane parts and bodies would be possible. With airliners having serial numbers on all parts and detailed records, it is impossible to “duplicate” a plane in a matter of weeks.

The concept of “mind jumps” from 1996 to 2004 caused by exposure to oscillating radiation frequencies. Further, the need for an “anchor” in both time periods would not cause Minkowski and other crew members to die because everyone has a parent, sibling, friend or co-worker in both time frames. The conscious imbalance and alleged brain trauma caused by severed “memories” from two time periods cannot cause physical harm - - - at best, it seems to cue schizophrenic behavior.

Frank being able to hold the helicopter on a bearing while flying through a thunderstorm.

Clues:

On the helicopter ride, Desmond “flashes” or mind jumps. One remarks whether he is “day dreaming.”

The Numbers may be Hurley’s curse, but they are also Desmond’s numbers. Penny’s apartment number in his latest mind jump and the setting for Daniel’s Eloise experiment are part of the Numbers.

Frank travels to the lower level of the ship, where he meets Regina, who seems somewhat distant and a little confused. He tells her that the captain wants him to bring the paper bag (to Sayid and Desmond), and that the book she is reading, The Survivors of the Chancellor, is upside down.

The book written by Jules Verne is about the final voyage of a British sailing ship, the Chancellor, told from the perspective of one of its passengers from his diary. In the story, one of the crew members commits suicide Later, Regina in chains, jumps overboard to her death while the crew watches. It seems people think of their fate, it happens to them.

Juliet explains that all pregnant women on the island do not come to term; in the second trimester there is nausea, followed by pain, unconsciousness then COMA, then death. However, her explanation that the body’s immune system attacks the mother by “white blood cells decreasing” is the opposite of an immune response (another gross medical error).

When Michael attempts suicide in a car crash, he awakes in a hospital room next to a comatose patient. A vision of ghost Libby appears to him. Then, Michael tries to commit suicide with a loaded gun, but it jams. He is told that the island won’t let him die. But when he is on the freighter, he tells Sayid that he is on the boat “to die.”

When Ben plays his “last card” of a secret video tape of Widmore, Ben says the blindfolded man “was one of his men” who gets severely beaten. That man appears to be Desmond in 1996.

The whispers in the jungle when Juliet is heading for the Tempest:

"Sarah is having another..."
"Is that the other woman?"

Right when Juliet runs into Harper in the jungle:

"Look out"
"Sarah is having another..."

"Did you hear that?"

"If she won't save us then who is?"

"Sarah, somebody's coming"

"There is somebody coming"

"Hold on one second"

"There is somebody coming"

After Jack runs into Juliet and Harper:

"Look out"
 
“Sarah, it's someone we know. Sarah, it's someone we know"

"I'm not answering"

"Answer them"

"We have our answer"

"Can we trust her?"

The “Sarah” we know is Jack’s ex-wife, the woman he “miraculously” cured after her auto accident.  The consensus is that when people die around the Island but cannot "move on" to the next stage, they remain as whispers, watching or trying to communicate with the living on the Island.  Characters often hear them when in peril, or when the Others or the Smoke Monster are near. The deceased whisperers can appear in their physical form only to a select few. If so, why is Sarah’s soul trapped on the island? Or are these whispers the echoes of people in Jack’s life, trapped in his mind?
Sarah should not be on the island; she moved on without Jack. It was Jack who could not let go of her. And now, a mental conflict inside of Jack about "moving on" from Sarah with another woman (Juliet?)

Daniel’s concept of a “constant” in both “worlds” is a clue that Desmond’s freighter flashes were not flashbacks, but connections in the sideways world, a parallel reality that once breached (known) can cause death if not controlled by a strong singularity in both worlds.

Discussion:

“ A word too much always defeats its purpose. ”
— Arthur Schopenhauer

Locke said there are no reason for rules if there is no punishment for breaking them. In the series, we have numerous “unwritten” rules, especially those island rules of Jacob, and the rules between Ben and Widmore in their feud.

Rules are defined as: a) one of a set of explicit or understood regulations or principles governing conduct within a particular activity or sphere: the rules of the game were understood, b) a law or principle that operates within a particular sphere of knowledge, describing or prescribing what is possible or allowable: the rules of grammar. c)  a code of practice and discipline for a religious order or community, or d) control of or dominion over an area or people.The word is from Latin, regula, meaning “straight stick.”

Somehow, the rules have been broken. And now there is the word, “war,” on the lips of Ben and the Others. Who is at war?

Jack thinks the survivors are at war with the Others. Locke had thought that too, until he became a splinter cell leader.

The Others think they are at war with the survivors for killing their people.

Ben thinks he is at war with Widmore’s men on the freighter.

But the twists on the freighter (more for shock value than plot movement) call into play a larger "con" being conducted on the characters. It is an emotional roller coaster when Michael's bomb does not explode, when Desmond incredibly "calls" Penny on Christmas eve, when Regina commits suicide and no one cares, and when the captain tells them the elaborate hoax of the Flight 815 wreckage (since there is no need to tell people where the false wreckage is when no one can find the island to begin with - - - it took the Black Rock journal purchased by Widmore to find the island). Who is running the con on the characters? Apparently, the all-powerful being called "the island" is calling the the life and death shots of the characters.

In the final season, we will learn that Jacob is at odds with his brother, MIB, but you cannot call their dispute a war. It is more a difference of opinion. A wager on the outcome of humans brought to the island for some unknown purpose. All we know is that MIB has continually won this wager and has grown tired of the characters brought to the island because in the end, they all wind up corrupting themselves.

We also still here that some people are “special.”  But in island terms, what does that mean? Ben infers that he is special because he “was born on the island.”  This is a false statement in physical reality; he was prematurely born on the mainland, in the forest, with his parents. Locke has also been called “special,” and he was also a “miracle” baby as he was born prematurely in a rural town after his mother was hit by a car driven by his biological father. Jacob and his brother are also “special,” because they have immortal and magical powers. Is it because they were truly “born” on the island, after a shipwreck? Or are all these persons “special” because they were “born” in a different dimension, in the island after life realm?

One last person was called “special.” Walt showed that he had telekinetic powers, so much so that his adoptive father was so spooked by his special talents that he pushed Walt off onto Michael to raise after Walt’s mother’s death. We do not have any information on Walt’s actual birth to put him in the same classification as Ben or Locke. But Walt shows one aspect of Jacob and MIB as he materializes as ghost Walt to Locke to tell the bleeding man to get up because he still has “work” to do.

Which leads us to another nebulous word from the series, “work.”  What is the “work” that drives people forward in the series. The Others, including Richard Alpert, have been worried about Ben’s sidetracking to other issues like the fertility question over the Other’s primary mission. But we have no idea what the Others “goal in life” is on the island, except to fear outsiders.

What is Locke’s “work” that he needs to accomplish? He has nothing to go back to off the island. In fact, his life was pretty much a miserable wreck. Is the work to be completed the coup of Ben’s leadership? Is it to become the island’s new guardian?

The 815ers have no clear mission either. First, it was survival. Second, it was living together or dying alone. Third, it was battling the Others. Fourth, it was rescue. Then, rescue concept tore the group in half. And then, when some of the survivors actually leave the island, they are compelled to return to the island.

The Tempest scene was badly conceived and poorly executed. First, the concept of Dan knowing the computer codes to change a chemical plant system is not credible. Second, the warning of the activation of the plant makes no sense. The plant was inactive when Charlotte and Dan arrived. There was no need to “de-activate it.” Third, when Juliet arrives to stop them, she passes the main power switch. She could have simply “turned” off the station’s power! Fourth, Daniel claims that he is there is make the chemical gas “inert.” However, an inert gas or noble gas, any of the elements in Group 18 of the periodic table. In order of increasing atomic number they are: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon and radon. They are colorless, odorless, tasteless gases and were once believed to be entirely inert, i.e., forming no chemical compounds. So that is not what Daniel could do at a computer console. In order to neutralize a poisonous gas, something has to react to it. In 2005, Czech scientists believe they found the first known neutralizer for mustard gas:

An enzyme [employed through their method] reacts within minutes, is able to split several molecules of mustard gas per second, and its decontaminating effect is expected to last for hours at an average temperature of 30 degrees Celsius.

The problem is that Daniel is not neutralizing the gas: the computer screen ends with notation that a valve has been secured. It appears that the whole drama was for naught; a double, double cross. Are the freighters friend or foe? If a friend, why are they lying to the survivors? If they are a foe, why not use the gas and kill everyone? No wonder no trusts anyone anymore.


Is this why the whispers of Sarah talk about "trust?" The whole basis of the island story could be summed up as the mental instability of Jack. He is the one who could never get over Sarah. She was the one he fixed, but he could not fix their relationship. When he tries to commit suicide, it is Sarah who appears before him - - - and he wants to be with her, but she refuses and leaves. Sarah is one of the elements in Jack's life that he cannot get over. Likewise, it is Christian's berating that Jack cannot make the hard decisions, the life and more importantly, the death decisions. As such, he can never be a leader. He can never be a good doctor. So in a way, the island and its plots could center around the mental issues (or character flaws) of Jack not being able to "get over" Sarah and "move on" with another woman and the fact that he cannot "save" every life; and at times he needs to "take" lives in order for others to live. It would be an agonizing dynamic in a tortured soul's mind to try to reconcile those deep rooted beliefs; but that is what Jack does at the End.

The characters now appear to be rats in a complex maze. When Michael attempts to set off the bomb on the freighter, it surprises Ben that he actually attempted it. So the bomb was rigged NOT to explode. Instead, Ben ordered Michael to get a “list” of crew, then disable the radio room and engines. Why? If the whole purpose is to “stop” the crew from getting to the island, why not stop them dead in the water by exploding the bomb? The only reason is that Ben “wants” the crew to arrive at the island; that he wants “them” to do the dirty work of killing everyone but his “chosen” people (meaning all the 815ers). But Ben will stumble over his own arrogance, because when he sets Alex off to safety, Karl and Rousseau are both killed, and Alex is captured by Keamy’s ship crew. In one respect, this incident fulfills a wish of Ben’s: to get rid of Alex’s boyfriend and her mother. But the consequences for that decision will be grave.

Magical/Supernatural/Elements:

The concept of “constants” and mental “time travel.”

The “whispers” are trapped souls left on the island.

The island “not allowing” Michael to commit suicide on at least two occasions, because Tom has Michael “has work to do” to save his friends still on the Island.

Last lines in episodes:

EP 77:
DESMOND: Aye. I'm perfect.

[Daniel is on the beach flipping through his journal. On a page, he sees: "If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be MY constant."]

EP 78:

BEN: [cheerfully] See you guys at dinner.
[Ben marches into a house and shuts the door behind him, leaving Sawyer and Hurley dumbfounded.]

EP 79:

[Hurley and Sun are at a cemetery, Sun holding the baby. They approach Jin's tombstone. Sun kneels down, crying.]

SUN: [Subtitle: Jin... You were right. It's a girl. The delivery was hard on me... The doctor said I was calling out for you... I wish you could've been there. Jin... she's beautiful. Ji Yeon. I named her just like you wanted. I miss you so much. I miss you so much.]

EP 80:

ALEX: Wait! Wait! Don't! I'm Ben's daughter! I'm his daughter!


New Ideas/Tests of Theories:

In the last Reboot, we fully developed two “Unified Theories” to the Lost mythology to explain all of the factual and legal impossibilities in the actual Lost scripts. The Dream State theory postulates that the characters are alive in reality, but in a deep coma state where their minds have split in the dream world of the island and the fantasy world of the sideways realm.  In the Egyptian After Life theory, the characters are already dead before the plane crash, and that their souls have been split between the underworld (island world) and the spirit world (sideways).

Using the science concepts of Minkowski and Faraday, one could extract a science-fiction basis for the island itself. It has been debated whether the Island is a character, a person or a place. If one combines Faraday’s electromagnetic physics with Minkowski’s theories of space-time, the Island can be seen as a unique “machine,” creating its own electromagnetic field a part from the Earth, which creates an opening portal, nexus or intersection into the four dimensions of space-time. This portal connection to space-time would allow an individual to go back into the past (to change events) or go forward into the future (to see the future events). The island’s power is one of a living time machine. Any person of wealth or stature would want to “control” the ability to control a time machine. One could make a fortune knowing the future, or changing the past. This may be the motivation for Widmore’s attempt to reclaim the Island from Ben and the Others. At the same time, this may be the motivation for Ben to keep people from coming and going from the island. It’s power must remain a captive secret so the island is not over-run by “miracle seekers.”

So what is the Island?

We know various story “facts” about the island. First, it appears to be a Pacific tropic island, believed to be located somewhere near Fiji. Second, based on the freighter rocket experiment, it is moving away at a fairly rapid speed. Third, based on the helicopter flights, it is difficult to get because there is only one “door way” inside the mask or cloaked atmosphere that surrounds the island itself. Fourth, the island contains “unique” electromagnetic properties. It appears that the Hatch was constructed after an “incident” to control the “discharge” of any electromagnetic build-up. Fifth, Faraday remarks that the island “scatters light” differently than normal. Sixth, we will learn later that the island contains a cave containing a “life force.” Seventh, there is speculation whether the smoke monster is mechanical, nanotech, spiritual or an organic beast.

So what is the Island?

Various theories have been postulated over the years.

One, is that the island is the bridge between earth and hell, a place of limbo where the dead or near-dead act out their last days before the after life journey begins.

Two, is that the island is actually hell, and souls incorporated into human form must journey through various dangerous but familiar “tests” to determine whether they are worthy of redemption and a fantasy life in heaven.

Three, is that the island is a fantasy game show, like the movie  West World, but abandoned and taken over by evil spirits.

Four, is that the island is an alien space ship that has trapped people in its snow globe field to view humanity at its basic level.

Fifth, is that the island is merely a collective, networked dream of various characters who are in a state of coma or deep dreaming.

Sixth, is that the island is an alien time machine that has crash landed on earth, and the forces of good and evil are trying to control it.

Seventh, is that the island is ancient Atlantis, a highly advanced civilization that had mastered the elements and dimensions of time travel.

Eighth, is that the island is an ancient Egyptian portal to the underworld, created to help their pharaohs in the after life achieve great power and immortality.

Ninth, is that the island represents the subconscious of a troubled person, trapped in his or her own personal fantasy land.

Tenth, is that the island is a living being of supernatural powers, who uses human beings as pawns for his amusement.

Eleventh, is that the island is a prison for Satan, who is trapped by the electromagnetic fields created by messengers (angels) in order to “save the (human) world” from destruction.

Twelfth, is that the island is a quantum portal, a black hole in the fabric of the universe, that allows parallel universes (the multiverse theory) to come into contact with each other, either physically or mentally in time jumps.

Thirteen, is that the island is a metaphor for god, in how he gives people choices but allows their individual’s free will to guide their decision making to make their own choices; but with consequences for their actions, good or bad.

REBOOT EPISODES 45-48

POSTING NOTE: Due to work changes, I may not be able to post updates on Tuesdays after Monday night marathon G4 reruns, but updates will occur later in the week.

LOST REBOOT 
Recap: Episodes 45-48 (Days 63-66)

The second season begins to wind down with the build up of the confrontation with the Others.

Michael reveals secrets about the Others' camp to the survivors;  Hurley and Libby plan their first date. When Ana  is attacked by Ben, she begins to contemplate taking matters into her own hands. Meanwhile, Michael is reunited with his friends and tells them he wants to go back for Walt, which Ben said the Others would never give up. Michael takes matters into his own hands, and as a result he shoots Ana and Libby.

After Eko experiences unusual dreams, he asks Locke to take him to the “?” from the blast door map. They go out and find the Pearl Station. Michael must maintain his cool as he watches Libby die slowly. In the Hatch, the rest of the survivors  must come to terms with what just transpired and try to ease the suffering of a mortally wounded Libby.

As the survivors mourn the losses  Ana and Libby, Michael  continues to badger the 815ers to launch a rescue mission for Walt, an assault against the Others who are to blame for their current situation. Michael convinces Hurley, Jack, Kate and Sawyer  to ambush the Others.

Events come to a head as Michael  leads his friends across the Island to confront the Others. Meanwhile, Desmond returns to the Island on his sailboat, and he and Locke make a decision to see what happens if the Hatch countdown timer goes beyond zero.

Michael’s ambush party is seen by the Others; Michael is confronted by Jack. Sayid, Jin and Sun use Desmond’s boat to counterattack and to meet up Jack's crew. Locke and Desmond trick Eko from leaving the station during a Lockdown, in order to test whether something happens if one does not press the Hatch button.

Science:

Brain washing is a technique to make people do something against their natural will.
Scientific studies began in the 1950s including the spheres of cults, marketing, influence, thought reform, torture and reeducation.

The neurological basis for reasoning and cognition in the brain, and brings the point across that the self is changeable. The physiology behind neurological pathways which include webs of neurons containing dendrites, axons and synapses; and this explains that certain brains with more rigid pathways will be less susceptible to new information or creative stimuli. Neurological science to show that brainwashed individuals have more rigid pathways, and that rigidity can make it unlikely that the individual will rethink situations or be able to later reorganize these pathways.

Certain techniques in influencing and brainwashing others, including a restriction of individual freedoms, deception, and methods that conflict with one's decision-making processes. the techniques used by cults to influence others are similar to those used by other social groups, and compares similar totalitarian aspects of cults and communist societies. These techniques include isolating the individual and controlling their access to information, challenging their belief structure and creating doubt, and repeating messages in a pressurized environment.  cults emphasize positive aspects of the group over negative aspects of outsiders, endlessly repeat simple ideas in "highly reductive, definitive - sounding phrases", and refer to "abstract and ambiguous" ideas associated with "huge emotional baggage” according to neuroscientist Kathleen Taylor.

Improbabilities:

Inman, the American soldier in Iraq with Sayid, is now pushing button in Hatch with Desmond.

In the 13 day Island flashback, why would Jack and/or Locke trust anything Michael would say after Michael knocked out Locke and pulled a gun on Jack in the Hatch? Michael’s violence against his friends under the guise of finding his son would get more paranoid after his return when he wants to organize a small ambush party that Jack agrees Michael has a right to lead.

Mysteries:

How can Ben and the Others leave the Island, and Desmond in his boat could not?

Is the vaccine actually the sickness or merely another fake element to get people to do something that does not matter?

What is the four toe foot statue base represent? We will learn that it is the remains of the statue of Tawaret, an ancient Egyptian god of fertility and death.

Themes:

Life and Death. There is a fine line between life and death. To what ends will a father do to save the life of his son? Is it rational for Michael to murder two people under the anger that his group is not helping him enough to find his son?  At this point in the story, it is the plane survivors who act more like savages - - - killing three others and a few of their own people by gross negligence. But later on, we will be told that pales in comparison with Ben’s purge of Dharma.

Missions and Quests. The main characters are often viewed, from even within the secondary characters, as going off into the jungle on dangerous missions. Those roles are similar to those of characters in massive on-line games like Worlds of Warcraft.

Clues:

When Desmond returns on his sailboat, which floated back to the Island, he states "we are stuck in a bloody snow globe! There's no outside world, there's no escape."

Desmond finally asks Jack if they are "still pushing" to which Jack replies with a smile, "Yeah, we're still pushing it."  Locke later remarks that the “world’s still here,” for which Desmond responds “not so sure.”

Ben tells Ana, “you are the killers!” And when confronted with his lies, Ben knows his fate with the survivors or his own group by saying “I’m dead anyway.”

Desmond won’t read Dickens “Our Mutual Friend” until just before his death; but his copy is tattered and worn like it has been read a lot.

When Michael asks Eko if he is a priest, Michael says next that he must believe in Hell.

Eko tells the story of a boy who kills a dog to protect his sister. The boy wonders if he can go to heaven for his action, and Eko tells him he will be forgiven so long as he is sorry. But the boy is still afraid that he will to Hell and find the dog waiting there for him.

Eko pieces together the impossible facts to conclude the Island is a magical place because his brother’s plane crashes halfway around the world, his plane crashes in the same place, and that he and John have vivid dreams of his brother telling them what to do.

Eko sees the vision of bleeding/dead Ana, who tells Eko to help Jack, and to help Locke find the question mark.

Discussion:

“ Business demands faith, compels earnestness, requires courage, is honestly selfish, is penalized for mistakes, and is the essence of life. ”
— William Feather

“Equal opportunity means everyone will have a fair chance at being incompetent.”
--- Laurence J. Peter

“Love must not touch the marrow of the soul. Our affections must be breakable chains that we can cast them off or tighten them.”
---- Louise Erdrich

As the second season winds down, there was a huge event that should have answered several burning questions about the Island and the Hatch. When Desmond returns, he tells the survivors that they are never going back to their old life; that there is no escape from the Island. Desmond then begins to drink himself to death.

The other element of these episodes is Michael’s dissent into his personal hell. His incompetence as a father transforms him into an incompetent killer. He compounds his mistakes by blaming Ben for the shootings, and covers up the truth while his friends watch innocent Libby die. As a result of his misguided love for his son, Michael will forever chain his soul to the Island seeking answers to his misery, as a trapped whisper in the jungle, which in some respects is his purgatory.

We also begin to get clear understanding of the fears and motivations of the characters.

We also see continuing repetition of themes and situations between characters.
Christian and Ana “run away” from their problems to go to Australia much in the same way that Kate is running away from her past decisions. We see characters like Desmond having to prove himself but fails just like Hurley believes he failed Libby on his organization of their first date.

Desmond is called a coward by Widmore. In order to restore his honor, he decides to win a round the world boat race sponsored by Widmore in order to win Penny back. How that makes any sense when Penny is engaged to another man, and upset with Dez for not writing her while he was “away.” (It is noteworthy that she does not acknowledge his “prison,” but uses the word “away” which has one meaning of “to go toward nonexistence.”) So Desmond’s fate is to do something incredibly brave in order to restore his honor so he can reconnect with his love, Penny. As in the Wizard of Oz, courage can only be obtained by the tests along the way to the end.

We see Michael as a father who allowed his son to be adopted and taken away by another person be racked by guilt of his selfish decision to compound his mistakes in order to get Walt back. Michael’s incompetence continues in his role as a murderer, because he could not do that right when he shot Libby, who suffered an agonizing death in front of her friends.

Charlie has his own personal demon, drugs. It tears a part his personal relationships. It leaves him alone; he fears being alone. So in order to restore his friendship with Claire, he must break free from the hold that drugs has on his soul. He does so when Vincent shows him Sawyer’s stash. Charlie throws all the statues out to sea. Later, at the funeral of Ana and Libby, Claire holds his hand, re-connecting their bond.

Bonds appear to be an important element of Island survival. Sawyer admits to Jack that Jack is the closest thing he has to a friend. Friendship could be equated to Faraday’s concept of having “a Constant” to keep you mind frying during the time travel elements of the future story arc. The bonds of friendship are important facets of human life, of social order and social behavior. When Jack repeats his mantra, “Live Together, Die Alone,” he means that their group bonds are more important than self-centered, selfish goals. We will find that those who go it alone, such as Michael, will wind up with damnation as a trapped island whisper, believed to be a lost soul that has not or cannot be redeemed.

Magical/Supernatural/Elements:

Desmond sailing “due west” for three weeks and not finding Fiji, but the only land is his return to the Island, which he considers “a large snow globe.”

Dead people showing up on the island, like Eko’s brother and Ana, telling Eko what to do next. Spirits are guiding individuals along the path of Island existence, in the same way one could say angels may guide souls through the after life.

Last lines in episodes:

EP 45:
LIBBY: [appearing] Michael?!
[Michael, surprised, turns and shoots her twice. He opens the armory door. He and Gale stare at each other for a long moment. Michael shoots himself in the arm.]

EP 46:
JACK: Michael. He's okay. He made it, Libby. It's okay. It's alright.
[Libby gasps for air and dies. Jack closes her eyelids. Hurley cries. Kate cries and Sawyer comforts her. We hear the timer alarm start sounding. We see Eko and Locke walking through the jungle. We see Michael standing by himself in the armory. We see a close up of the prompt at the computer monitor.]

EP 47:
SUN: Boat. Boat!
[We see a sailboat coming in to shore.]

EP 48:
SAYID: We’re here.


New Ideas/Tests of Theories:

If one looks to what is actually said within the show as the answers and theories to the Island mysteries, this is what we have so far:

1. Dave’s explanation to Hurley that Hurley is still in the hospital, in a catatonic state, and that he has created all these characters and events in his own mind.

2. Desmond believes that they are no longer in “their world” after sailing for three weeks in a “bloody snow globe.”  The concept as the Island in a different dimension or realm is a compelling premise, even if the characters survived the plane crash and transported to a spirit world interacting with dead souls seeking redemption.

3. Sawyer believes satirically that the Others are aliens. This would infer that the survivors are alien abductees on a ship or other planet as test subjects, like the Star Trek episode The Cage.

4. Many characters have referenced the Island being Hell or the after life. Rose and Locke acknowledge their secret “miracles” after the plane crash, a crash a normal person would not have survived. Radinzky, Inman’s partner in the Hatch, puts on the blast door map reference to Cerberus, the guardian dogs of Hell. Through Michael’s guilt and cover up, he references a belief in Hell to Eko.

5. That the survivors are unfortunate castaways who have landed on a crazy island controlled by dangerous psychopaths who have built several scientific stations to monitor and test human behavior in a series of cruel lies.

6. Likewise, there is evidence that the inhabitants of the Island all have mental illness symptoms or traits, including parenting and social issues, criminal behavior and paranoia. The Island may be a symbolic view point of insane people receiving treatment in a mental institution in order to “change” their behavior. The ability to “change” one’s path is an important element in each person’s back story. When Ben yells at Ana that her group “are the killers,” there could be truth in that statement that everyone on the island is criminally insane, and being treated in an unconventional manner as part of their sentence on an isolated penal colony. All the 815ers came from Australia, which began its existence as a penal colony.

7. After Walt is captured and sees Michael briefly, he warns him that it is all “pretend.” The Others are pretending to be a band of shoddy hillbillies. But it is a lie. But to pretend in a child’s world is to dream and act out adventure stories with other children. The idea that there are no children around could infer that the children are present, but in the form of adults, acting out their own interconnected dramas. This could all be as simple as a game of pretend. It could be an on-line game, it could be a virtual world, or it could be a fantasy dream of a “special” child. Any form of dream state could explain away all of the inconsistencies, continuity, legal errors, medical errors and supernatural elements of the show. For in a dream you can do anything you want, including reviving the dead.


These episodes dynamically reinforce the science that mind control is at the heart of the Island characters survival.  Is it about mental illness in a person(s) that creates a fantasy world that the characters are trying to get through, via quests, religious ritual or missions of survival? Or is characters in a hospital setting getting treatment from real doctors for whom the patients turn into villains? The whole idea that Dharma, the Others, Widmore or any other group is using brain washing techniques to “change” a person’s behavior or beliefs is compelling when viewed from the point of the last eight episodes. Ben and Klug use spies, interviews, and data collection of the survivors, including capturing subjects, isolating individuals from their group, controlling their access to information, challenging their belief structure; creating doubt, and repeating messages in a pressurized environment of confinement or supernatural dangers. It seems that the Island structures are all available means to re-train a person’s mind or brain wash them to change.  It seems that some characters must reach their personal “rock bottom” in order to change, and in turn, in order to be saved from their personal demons.

Example, when Klug is interviewing Michael in the Other’s camp, she is asking questions like a physician would to a new patient. She gives Michael a list of names, similar to what Dr. Brooks did with Hurley at the mental institution. When Walt is given three minutes with Michael, Klug threatens Walt with “the room,” which is Room 23 at a station that was used by Dharma and the Others for brain washing individuals. But Walt warns Michael that “this is all PRETEND!!”  The whole scene leaves Michael an emotional wreck, willing to do anything asked of him to get his son back, including murder. The question is whether Klug is helping Michael “change” his maniac personality disorder, re-channel his emotional guilt of not being a good father to his son, or feeding Michael’s fragile emotional state to act on impulses of pure evil.

REBOOT EPISODES 33-36

 POSTING NOTE: Due to work changes, I may not be able to post updates on Tuesdays after Monday night marathon G4 reruns, but updates will occur later in the week. 

LOST REBOOT 
Recap: Episodes 33-36 (Days 48-53 )

 After Shannon being shot, Ana panics, putting everyone's safety in danger. Meanwhile, Eko takes Sawyer to with him to find Jack.  Thus, the current survivors of Flight 815 are united for the first time.

Kate begins to believe that she is going mad after she sees a black horse, similar to the one in her childhood and hearing her father when speaking to Sawyer.  Meanwhile, Eko shows Locke a piece of film he found in the other station, which warns not to misuse the computer terminal as it could cause another incident.

When Eko learns that Charlie as a Virgin Mary statue, he demands that he take him to where he found it at once. Elsewhere, Michael defies the orientation rules and  continues to communicate on the computer without the other survivors knowing.

Jack is faced with a decision when a gun-toting Michael leaves to find his son. Jack gets Locke and Sawyer to help bring back Michael before he is killed by the Others. He tells Kate to stay at the Swan to push the button, but at an encounter with the Others, Kate disobeyed Jack and she is  captured hostage.

Science:

Delusions. A symptom of a mental disorder, a delusion is the belief in something that rationally is not present. When Kate sees something from her childhood in the jungle, this is like Jack seeing his dead father. It should not exist on the Island, but in their minds it is clear as day.

Medical literature defines delusions as an unshakable belief in something untrue. These irrational beliefs defy normal reasoning, and remain firm even when overwhelming proof is presented to dispute them. Delusions are often accompanied by hallucinations and/or feelings of paranoia,  which act to strengthen confidence in the delusion.

Hallucinations are are false or distorted sensory experiences that appear to be real perceptions. These sensory impressions are generated by the mind rather than by any external stimuli, and may be seen, heard, felt, and even smelled or tasted. Delusions are distinct from culturally or religiously based beliefs that may be seen as untrue by outsiders.

The survivors continue to manifest signs of mental disorders as the days pass on the island. Whether these delusions or hallucinations are from pre-existing disorders and/or are the product of stress of being stranded on a dangerous island is up for debate. But in a literary sense, it may be a clue to support the theory that the premise of the show is a series of manifested events of a mentally deranged person(s), such as known mental patients Leonard, Hurley, Locke or Libby, or the criminal mental instability of Kate, Sawyer, or Ben, or the transference of what one wants to be to avoid reality that could explain Jack’s or other characters relationships with their fathers.
Hurley asks Jack, who is chopping wood like Sawyer used to, if he was “transference” with Sawyer. Jack asked him if he was making a medical diagnosis. In medical terms, transference means the displacement of affect from one person or one idea to another; in psychoanalysis, generally applied to the projection of feelings, thoughts, and wishes onto the analyst, who has come to represent some person from the patient's past. In a world being re-created from the memories, night mares and phobias of a few characters, transference could mean the elaborate fiction of the island as a means of one or a few coping with their psychotic minds (like last week’s theory of Leonard Sims).

Improbabilities:

Kate’s entire criminal back story is so fraught with errors it makes the whole story arc
unbelievable and unreal. First, if she was charged with murder in Iowa, it would be a state crime. The U.S. Marshals do not hunt down state criminals. A warrant and alert to other states is given, and if she is arrested, she does not have an arraignment but an extradition hearing to go back to Iowa for trial. But her unbelievable trial lands in LA, which is also a farce, legally and procedurally. This mess up in basic legal framework turned many Lost observers against TPTB.

The idea that the Hatch is now open, and it is roomy with showers, fresh water, food and security, why are the survivors still camping on the beach? It makes no sense when they know that there are people who have attacked them. Especially Claire, who had herself kidnapped and Charlie tortured - - -  why would they stay in the open on the beach when the safety of the Hatch is available?

Mysteries:

Why some people with fatal wounds, like Sawyer live, while other characters, like Shannon, “die.” Yes, there were different wounds, but Sawyer went into septic shock for days without treatment. Later, Sayid would be shot in the time travel incident.

How does Walt get access to a computer terminal and re-connect with Michael? Or is it a ruse to make Michael react and run off into the jungle on the war path to find Walt?

What do the others want with the children, especially Walt?

Why the smoke monster “scanned” Eko instead of killing him?

Themes:

Religion.

One Episode is entitled “The 23rd Psalm.”

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
 I will fear no evil: 
For thou art with me;
 
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;

Thou annointest my head with oil; My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
 and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.

For some Lost fans, this is the map for the show’s foundation. Jack lying down in the green jungle after the crash, being led to leadership over his new flock, to Devine intervention of finding life giving fresh water in the caves, to restore their “souls.” Jack’s trip to the Black Rock and the Dark Territory, and the foreboding conflicts with the Others is in the shadow of death with his enemies, to be resolved in Jack’s case by his goodness and mercy that frees him to move on in the next life. In the End, the characters do end up in a church, the house of the lord, dead - - - awaiting an after life journey.
 
Clues:

The Island is a mish-mash of culture and technology from past eras. Each group of castaways brought to the island, brings with them collective memories that Jacob and the Island use to re-create elements as illusions, visions, structures or delusions. When the 815ers arrive at the Island, they are put into a situation where the stations appear to be 1980 technology, some 20 years removed from their present day. Which shows the isolation, the “bubble” as Desmond will call it, of the Island realm.

The 23rd Psalm. Jack Shepard is the center of the survivors hope. He is the provider of life (medical training, finding the caves and fresh water, and inspiring the group). The psalm may be a metaphor for the Island itself: the fore-hell of their personal existences. The green pastures are the Island jungle and groves. The still waters are the caves. The  valley of the shadow of death is the Dark Territory, the evil that lurks in the smoke monsters. Once you do not fear the evil, you will be awakened to the next realm, heaven.

Locke is working on a crossword puzzle when Eko arrives with Sawyer. 42 down clue is “Enkidu's friend.” Enkidu was formed from clay and saliva by Aruru, the goddess of creation, to rid Gilgamesh of his arrogance. In the story he is a wild man, raised by animals and ignorant of human society until he is bedded by Shambat. Thereafter a series of interactions with humans and human ways bring him closer to civilization, culminating in a wrestling match with Gilgamesh, king of Uruk.  Enkidu embodies the wild or natural world, and though equal to Gilgamesh in strength and bearing, acts in some ways as an antithesis to the cultured, urban-bred warrior-king. Enkidu then becomes the king's constant companion and deeply beloved friend, accompanying him on adventures until he is stricken ill. The deep, tragic loss of Enkidu profoundly inspires in Gilgamesh a quest to escape death by obtaining godly immortality.

Discussion:

“If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows, and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing. A writer who appreciates the seriousness of writing so little that he is anxious to make people see he is formally educated, cultured, or well-bred, is merely a popinjay.” —Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon

A “popinjay” a vain or conceited person. Many Lost fan-critics felt that the creators and writers let them down by dishing up story lines with science fiction elements that were never explained or led to mere arc dead ends. The idea of creating a mystery and not solving it on purpose let a bitter taste in some fans. Continuity and consistent canon was something that is lacking, even in the little character traits like with Locke.

There is an odd change with Locke. Outside, in the jungle, he has the wry smile of an all-knowing super hunter (which we have inferred in previous articles that he may already be Flocke/MIB). But once he is inside the hatch, Locke’s personality and character changes. He is no longer the forceful outback survivalist. He is more comfortable as an office computer jockey.

There is also a mirror story line present in these episodes. In Kate’s case, her father tells her “he does not have murder in his heart” in regard to Wayne, her step father. It infers that Kate does when she blows up the house. In Ana’s case, the person who shot her and killed her unborn child, is released because she refuses to ID him. She uses his release to stalk and hunt him down to kill him. In Ana’s case, it was revenge against the criminal who killed her baby and ruined her personal life. In Kate’s case, her motive was to “save” her mother from an abusive relationship. Which is worse? For in Ana’s case, she will not survive the island or join the 815ers in the afterlife. But for Kate, she finds happiness in the End with Jack.

The great unsolved mystery of Lost continues to be “what is the smoke monster?”  In the 23rd Psalm episode, the smoke monster appears to Charlie and Eko. Charlie screams “run!” But Eko holds his ground and literally stares down Smokey. In this encounter, we hear growling and mechanical sounds, flashes of light and screens as if the smoke monster is “scanning” Eko. Then Smokey quickly leaves. When Charlie asks why Eko did not run, Eko replied “he was not afraid.”  Is that the simple emotive state that keeps Smokey at bay? That is doubtful.

But this encounter led to many theories of what was the smoke monster. There was one group that believed the smoke monster was an evil spirit, in essence, a wild animal reaper of human souls. Another group believed that the smoke monster was a mechanical machine, made possibly of nano-technology robots that swarm. And as a machine, it was programmed or created to gather information about human beings. Another group believed that the smoke monster was a fantasy beast which was the “security system” or guard dog of the island. Another group who believed that this was not a physical monster at all, but in the context of a mental patient being treated by electro-shock and other stimuli devices, Smokey’s appearance is the manifestation of negative emotions in a patient’s mind.

The great story line “holes” through the entire series still bothers fans to this day. It is not enough to have fans “figure things out on their own” when the writers are supposedly carving out an epic mystery tale, where in the End no one knows for sure what the last 6 years was all about. Just answering the simple question of what is the smoke monster (alien, super nano-machine, evil spirit, Satan) would greatly explain the other gaps, including the Big Premise of the series. Without such context, the ending of the series still remains a hollow exercise in trying to figure things out.

In the last of these episodes, we find that Michael is going nuts over finding Walt. He has knocked out Locke in the armory so he can get a gun and go find Walt. Michael locks Jack and Locke up even though Jack offers to him. By doing so, Michael is endangering the Hatch station since no one is around to put in the Numbers. Michael claims he must get Walt back by himself, it is his right as a father.

When Kate takes Sawyer to the Hatch for medical treatment, they find their locked in friends. Jack and Locke will go to bring back Michael, and the still healing Sawyer (in a moment of bravado) joins them. Kate wants to come too, but Jack orders her to stay at the computer.

During the hunt for Michael, couples begin to fray: Jack and Kate tiff, and at the beach Jin wants to join the party, but Sun says no.

During the jungle trek, Locke remarks that they may not have the “right” to tell anyone what they can or cannot do. They debate the statement. Later, Locke says he knows Sawyer’s real name is James Ford (how did he know that? Who told him? Or did he “scan” the information?) After they hear several gunshots, they rush to the area to find just bullet casings. Jack asks Sawyer if he is out in the field to help Michael, or to get revenge on the Others for shooting him (a mirror story line to Ana’s hunting down her shooter in her flashback).

“Mr. Friendly” from the raft appears that night, knowing all their names. Sawyer attempts to fire at him, but a bullet from the jungle grazes his ear. He says Michael will never find them and that Walt is fine, and that he is “special.” He also scolds the survivors for going into someone’s else’s place, eating food that is not theirs, and having no business “opening doors.” When the survivors challenge Mr. Friendly, he yells “light em up,” and Jack’s crew is suddenly surrounded by Others. They are warned by the Other’s commander that there is a line in the jungle that they cannot cross (similar to the “truce” with Dharma?) which they must accept because the Others “let them” live on their Island. To prove the point, the Others bring out hostage Kate. Jack is enraged; he hesitates about turning over their guns, but relents. Kate is freed and the Others disappear into the jungle.

Once Jack gets back to the beach, the healer himself “turns commando” and asks Ana what it would take to raise an army.  The first face to face encounter with the Others immediately changes Jack into warrior mode. It may be his anger for Kate’s action of disobeying him being channeled against the Others who have told him “what to do” which he disagrees with; Jack vows to himself to get Michael and Walt back from the Others, truce or no truce.  Jack in a way has turned into Gilgamesh in strength and bearing, now acting like a cultured, urban-bred warrior-king. Jack needs to find his own Enkidu, a person who embodies the wild or natural world, and equal to Gilgamesh in strength and bearing (which may be Kate in The End.)

Magical/Supernatural/Elements:

Kate’s Black horse from her past shows up on the island. The last time, it is also seen by weak Sawyer. Kate actually goes over an touches the horse before it moves off into the jungle.


Last lines in episodes:

EP 33:

[Kate with Sawyer who is shivering.]
KATE: Hey! Hey, can you hear me? You're going to be okay. You're going to be alright. You're home.

EP 34:
MONITOR: Dad?
[Michael stares at the monitor and begins to mouth the word "Walt".]

EP 35:
CLAIRE: Charlie, I don't want you sleeping anywhere near us, okay?! Just go.


EP 36:
JACK: How long do you think it would take to train an army?

New Ideas/Tests of Theories:

The last line of the four episodes convey a clear message: change. When Kate tells Sawyer that he is “home,” that means a change from running away from his childhood revenge motivations. It is also a prequel to the flashback to 1977 and his domestication with Juliet. When the computer screen says “Dad?” to Michael’s attempts to communicate, he becomes a changed man - - - from frightened father to angry warrior. This transformation will lead to his soul being trapped on the island when his friends awaken and leave. Claire has begun to change as well, rejecting the envelope that Charlie has begun to spin on their relationship, to one more closely aligned with Locke. If Locke is really Flocke, then maybe the dark “infection” has begun to take over Claire’s spirit which in the final season leads to pure mental collapse and evil intent. And finally, Jack the Healer turns into crusader as he begins to organize an army against the Others.

The conclusion of the show harped upon a character “awakening” in the sideways world (purgatory) in order to remember the most important things in that life time. It is possible that some transformative “change” in the Island sphere is necessary in order for a person to be able to “move on” to the next level of the after life (as the group awaited in the church). Is it as simple as Locke’s crossword clue?  That the characters needed a new creation in order to rid themselves of their own arrogance? 

But some changes on the Island were the opposite of religious redemption; both Claire and Sayid turn ghastly evil but in the End are welcomed in the church. It may be the flash point recognition in Claire that Charlie was the only man who truly cared for him allows her to move on with him in the next world. It may be that Sayid never truly loved Nadia (she was a fiction, an obsession, a guilt trip for torturing or killing her) but did have his first true relationship with Shannon. So any religious context of redemption is pretty much nullified since change on the Island and sideways world is not redemptive of one’s sins, but a mere realization of what is personally best for each individual.

But change can also mean realization. When Kate asks herself if she is crazy, she is believing it with her vision of the black horse (which saved her from the marshal). When she tells Sayid her story, Sayid admits that he saw Walt just before Shannon was killed. He asks, “does that make me crazy?” Yes, yes it does.

For if we take the canon of Kate’s criminal story line as “true,” then we can only conclude that her flashback and off-island experiences are “false” and unreal. So this is evidence that the flashbacks may not be true, and the island time frame also unreal. And we know that the future sideways world is also not real, but a purgatory like waiting room for the characters to awaken. So one can conclude that all three time periods are false, in the sense that the events in each is not believable.

Now with the clues that many of the characters believe that they are crazy, a theory could arise that this the real truth of the series. Like the Leonard Sims theory that this is all about his Numbers psychosis, each of the characters could have deep seeded issues and each story arc (flashback, island time and sideways world) are merely levels of group therapy to work out their issues in an interactive mental fantasy land. (Even The Simpsons have used this genre several times by hooking up the brains of the family and throwing them into bizarre adventures).

Transference or projection of personality traits is an element of child’s play. Little kids grow up playing combat, cowboys and indians, hide ‘n seek in their yards with their friends. The same could be true for the Lost characters. Example, we have been shown that Jack is a medical doctor, but if the flashback world is not real, then it is a young Jack transferring his father’s medical talent on himself in his own make believe world.

If Lost can be explained as a massive, multi-level group therapy session from a third person view point, what is the end point? Does each character need to prove something to himself or herself? Do they have to work out relationship issues, fears, phobias or self loathing in order to get better? To free themselves of the therapy loop of being trapped inside’s one’s own mental games? It is an interesting and feasible premise.

The key to Lost could be summed up in the unsolved mystery of the Smoke Monster.
One theory is that the smoke monster is imprisoned on the Island, which is Hell. When MIB was thrown into the Light Cave, he was still alive. He was dead in the stream not by the light, but by unsealing the cork like Desmond did. But in his case, the cork released the evil spirit which killed Jacob’s brother, stealing his form and mental thoughts.  The Smoke Monster, as a evil spirit,  was able to take the form of the dead and chose to take the form of MIB because he knew it would help him. By pretending to be MIB, he could get in close with Jacob. (He later says that he took the form of Locke because it would help him get in close with Jacob.) But one would think that Jacob would know the difference between his brother and the smoke monster pretending to be his brother. For if Jacob was immortal, why was not his brother? Or is only the smoke monster immortal?

If the Smoke Monster is evil incarnate and came from Hell, then the Island’s defenses have been arranged to keep this Evil at bay. The whole idea of the Swan station and the Numbers is to keep an electromagnetic build up that would create another “incident.”  If the numbers are not put into the computer on time, the Hatch timer turns into Egyptian symbols that state: “He escapes place of death.”
Many of the characters said that if the Monster left the Island, it would bring about the end of the world. If you accept this premise, that the smoke monster is Satan, it seems that the Island was either a test or a prison set up by God to see if anyone could defeat the Smoke Monster or keep him at bay. That is why the smoke monster had to be killed in “human form” in order to be defeated. But we never truly know if Flocke “died” a traditional death during that fall, or whether his demise merely “resealed” him in the pit under the Light Cave to start the whole prison situation over again. The reward for those who could defeat Satan, or re-seal him in his prison cave, would reach Heaven/Nirvana/Paradise.

REBOOT EPISODES 13-16

LOST REBOOT 

Recap: Episodes 13-16 (Days 24-31)

When Boone gets frustrated with Locke’s obsession to get into the Hatch,Locke ties him up and drugs him.  When Locke learns that Boone wants to tell their "secret" to Shannon, Shannon’s life is placed in sudden peril (showing a clue that Locke has secret powers of evil like Flocke), and the shocking truth about her past with Boone is revealed. Meanwhile, Kate is puzzled by Sun’s mysterious behavior, and a hungry Hurley must repay a debt to Jin.

Michael starts to build a raft to get his son rescued. Locke and Michael’s animosity is put aside when both of them must save Walt from a polar bear. Violence ensues and the smoke monsters re-appears when Michael and Locke clash over Walt’s upbringing. (Did Locke call upon his pet Cerebus to attack Michael for interfering with his new friendship?) Meanwhile, Charlie is tempted to read the missing Claire’s diary.

Locke and Boone find Claire in the jungle. She is suffering from amnesia. A survivor is killed, and Jack, Sayid and Locke plan a way to capture Ethan. Ethan returns and threatens to kill off the other survivors unless Claire is returned to him.

Kate and Sawyer’s outcast relationship continues to blossom while they are boar hunting. Kate and Sawyer divulge dark secrets to each other while tracking a renegade boar that Sawyer swears is purposely harassing him. (more smoke monster manipulation of matter to evoke human reaction?)  Meanwhile, Hurley and Sayid worry that Charlie is losing it after his brush with death, and a shocking, prior connection between Sawyer and Jack is revealed (Sawyer met Jack’s father just before his death).

Science:

Compass works on magnetic field, a magnetized piece of metal suspended in air will point to true magnet north. However, some electromagnetic surges or anomalies can adversely affect compass readings. It is said that the Bermuda Triangle area has unusual EM properties that disrupts electronics and compass readings in airplanes (leading to mysteries of missing boats and planes).

Improbabilities:

Claire escaping Ethan after two weeks in the jungle.

Also, Ethan asking for her return when he infiltrated the camp and is stronger than any of the survivors.

Mysteries:

The “defective” compass that does not point North.

Sections of Rousseau’s maps that form a triangle, which may not even be part of this island, or the location of the “Black Rock.” We will learn that the Black Rock was an old slave ship that was shipwrecked on the Island, with all occupants killed except for one, Richard, who is spared by the smoke monster (MIB) but later becomes Jacob's immortal right hand man.

Themes:

Fate. Christian believes it is his fate to die an alcoholic in Hell, estranged from his son because he does not have the courage to pick up the phone and make things right.

Revenge. How difficult events tell what kind of man you really are. Sawyer is conned into killing the wrong man out of revenge. Charlie kills Ethan out of revenge for kidnapping Claire, the only person in his mind he can care for.

Christian tells Sawyer in the Sydney bar, “we’re in Hell.” Sawyer replies, “you’re here too.” Australia was founded as a penal colony. We don’t know if Christian is already “dead” in the bar when he has the discussion with Sawyer, or is about to die regretting that he never had the courage to pick up the phone and call his son to make things right. (In one way, Christian’s Sydney trip was his “island” journey; then his appearances on the island itself is like his own “sideways” world holding pattern until Jack’s soul catches up with his.)

Clues:

The compass malfunction and the map with a triangle can be considered a clue that the island is like the Bermuda or Devils triangles . . . areas of danger and mystery. Speculative science believes they may contain portals to other dimensions.

Locke tells a story about his family. He says a sibling dies, and his mother goes crazy in grief. Then a wandering dog comes into their house and sits by his mother for five years to her death. Locke says the dog was quiet; it was like her sister telling his mother that it was not her fault. The idea that Locke has a crazy mother is a clue to the future Island first family: MIB and Jacob's mother was crazy, too. It may point to Locke being possessed by MIB from the beginning. It also gives us a clue on Vincent, who may be the spirit of Walt's dead mother, looking after him.

Discussion:

“ Life is a system of half-truths and lies. Opportunistic, convenient evasion. ”

— Langston Hughes

It is clear that Locke is orchestrating events on the island. He is leading characters into dangerous events and experiences. He is the puppet master manipulating their souls. We also see for the first time the expressed idea that somehow the characters are going to be divided into teams. Locke stops Boone from confronting Sayid by telling Boone “we want him on our side.”  In the End, Sayid has gone completely to the dark side of MIB’s team. Flocke is already recruiting players for his game with Jacob. Locke has Boone clearly on his side after “giving him the experience” of the smoke monster killing Shannon (quite possibly near the site of the Light cave, where MIB himself was killed by his sibling). Here, illusion becomes reality and changes Boone’s path away from Shannon and becoming a pawn of Locke. 

We will learn that Jacob and MIB played the game of Senet, two sides, one black and one white; and the object of that game is to get your pieces off the board first.

In another situation, Locke leads Michael in the search for Walt. But this is after Walt has come to Locke to learn about knives. Locke tells him to “see it before you do it,” which is like the magic box principle Ben will speak of; Walt does and throws the knife perfectly. Michael interrupts and threatens to kill Locke if he has any contact with them again. Michael burns the comic with the polar bear and the “moving” island that Walt has kept from the crash; they are about to grow irreversibly a part until Walt wanders off with Vincent. He is attacked by a polar bear, but finds shelter in the banyan roots. Locke and Michael do a aerial rescue of Walt, with Michael giving Walt a knife to protect himself. Afterward, Walt and Michael bond; but also there is a truce between the Locke-Michael feud.

Walt’s “talent” of seeing things first then making them happen is foreshadowed in a flashback where Walt reads about a bird, then kills one on the patio in order to get attention from his parents. This spooks out his adoptive father, Brian, who after his mother’s death, in 1 day he is in NYC giving Michael plane tickets from Sydney for Walt and himself. Of course the legal ramifications of this guardianship are all wrong in reality but maybe not in a child's world.

When Claire returns on her own from her ordeal, she is beat up and cannot remember anything. She is upset with Charlie that he kept the Ethan warnings from her. “I am already in the dark,” she scolds him. The question raised here is whether Claire has already met her demise by Ethan’s capture. Has Claire’s memory erase part of the “infection” or soul re-boot that the smoke monsters take over a human soul? We know in the final season, Claire turns feral and crazy in the jungle, as a member of Flocke’s team. Is this the point where Claire is recruited? Recall, Ethan was hanging out with Locke in jungle before the kidnapping. If he infiltrated the 815 camp, Ethan could have also infiltrated “Jacob’s camp” run by Ben.

The other interesting reveal that feeds some evidence in a theory about multiple island realms is the “I Never” game Kate and Sawyer play. It is clear that both had troubled childhoods. Kate never went to Disneyland. In the Sawyer memories, we see his father kill his mother and himself after being conned out of their savings. One theory during the original airing of the show was that Sawyer has “blocked” part of that reality, being killed by his own father, so as to be moved by Jacob into the next level of existence (alternative reality) at the “funeral.” We can also say the same about Kate, who runs out of a store stealing an item, and may have been hit by a car driven by Locke’s father. The theory was that all the characters died in their childhood, and the afterlife is giving them all second chances to “live” and “experience” a faux life in order to mature into fully developed human souls.

Magical/Supernatural/Elements:

A boar that harasses one man, Sawyer, is a comic relief element but also puts light on the idea that all the things on the island have magical properties. The boar may be a symbolic illusion for another person (memories into matter and events).

The Asian cultural idea that good spirits live in banyan tree roots which provide safe harbor from evil is also seen twice in these episodes: in Boone’s illusion of Shannon being attacked by Smokey and Walt being trapped inside while the polar bear attacked him.

Also, the Whispers now are heard by Sawyer. We know the Whispers are the voices of the trapped souls on the island, apparently giving the characters warnings. It may also be that when people begin to hear the whispers, they are slowly becoming spell bound by the Island or its guardians. Mental fatigue can lead to one’s personal defenses going down.

Last lines in episodes:

EP 13:

LOCKE: Yes. Time to let go. [Locke gets up and grabs his pack.] Follow me.

[Boone follows.]

EP 14:

[Claire emerges from the bushes looking awful.]

LOCKE: Claire?

EP 15:

CHARLIE: Goodnight, Claire.

EP 16:

SAWYER: No reason.

[Sawyer leaves. Jack snaps a log of wood with his foot.]

New Ideas/Tests of Theories:

Original fans always hoped that the Numbers would mean something special in the mythology of the series. The Numbers would up to be the designation of 815 characters Locke, Hurley, Sawyer, Sayid, Jack, and Jin. No special formula like the Vanzetti equation that re-sets and saves the world from mass destruction. The Numbers were a planted red herring. An empty Easter egg found throughout the scripts.

Taking in the series a second time, and knowing what we know of the characters fates, one tries again to put a new “spin” on the Numbers. It would seem promising that the first number, 4, Locke, would be engulfed into the Island first. Whether Locke is possessed by the island or is actually Flocke from the crash forward (MIB in human cosplay), this may be the first turn in a combination to open the secrets of the Island safe. Hurley is next, but in the first season he is a background character. But in the end he takes the guardian “role” of the Island from Jack, like winning the silver medal. Sawyer makes the most dramatic change when he is sent time traveling in reverse, and finding new responsibilities and commitment with Juliet. Sayid is a character that makes the least change from his torture soldier roots. He is taken over by the darkness and follows Flocke in his evil plan against his friends. But in an odd, out of place, resolution, Sayid winds up in the church with Shannon (not Nadia). Jack learns to take leadership and responsibility of making tough decisions to save his friends, including “dying” in the process. The consensus is that Jack had to sacrifice himself in order to save everyone else; but in the sideway world he had constructed a better life than in his flashback memories. Jin was a secondary character, almost a Sayid-light. Jin was a self-centered individual whose entire life, in the end, resolved around Sun. The six named Number characters really have nothing in common; no common redemption moments; no final grand judgment on how their lives turned out.

But the Numbers (people) as a combination lock got me to rethink an earlier theory that the Island itself was the safe, and the movement in time and space were tumblers that the Numbers were supposed to release change upon its spirit world. What we know is that Crazy Mother shipwrecked Jacob and MIB’s mother on the Island. Crazy Mother then stole the children and killed their real mother, trapping Jacob and MIB on the Island for eternity: Jacob as the Life Force guardian and MIB as a smoke monster. It is the freedom from the Island (rescue) is what was an underlying motivation for both Jacob and MIB. Jacob was looking to retire from being a guardian, and MIB was tired of the humanity games of any castaways brought to the Island by Jacob. MIB wanted to leave the island as badly as Michael did (which is ironic, since Michael remains trapped on the island as Whisper).

After one month on the Island, it is apparent that the Island inhabitants (Jacob, MIB and Crazy Mother) are dividing up the survivors into teams. I include Crazy Mother because it is not certain that killing a guardian actually ends their existence. Jacob was stabbed and burned by Ben and Flocke, but later showed up to talk to Hurley and a dying Sayid. Jacob’s brother was “killed” by Jacob and tossed into the Light cave, only to fly out as the smoke monster. The assumption was that Jacob’s brother was transformed into the smoke monster, but it may be they were all immortal smoke monsters (spirits). For afterward, Jacob and MIB sit on the beach discussing all the humans Jacob brings to the Island to prove some unknown point in their ageless argument. We know that MIB can shape shift and transform memories into matter (Flocke, even without his actual body).

One telling situation was when Sawyer is eye to eye with his harassing boar. Kate is observing off in the brush. She is clearly waiting for Sawyer to kill his nemesis. But when Sawyer does not shoot, Kate is clearly disappointed that it did not play out. One wonders if the intelligent boar was another manifestation of Locke (or Flocke himself) and Kate is or being controlled by Crazy Mother, who was killed by MIB in the past and may hate the loss of her past human form. The other observation about the boar incident was that even beyond revenge motivation in Sawyer, the beach camp still needs food and there has been no boar meat in almost a month. Shouldn't Sawyer shot the boar just for survival?

The diverse paths of the characters that wind up on 815, the Island, in flashbacks and flash-forwards, while at the same time “creating” a sideways purgatory soul holding life until Jack “awakens” from the Island realm are hard to explain. In the Olympic spirit of fair play, a diagram is in order to explain the possibility that the Island precursor to the afterlife may have just been one stop in a chain of “island” lives (like tumblers in a safe lock; each separate but connected to one final goal: opening the final door).

The characters may move through the various worlds, seemingly "living normal lives" even though it is one long journey through multiple layers of an afterlife existence. Each circle is a reboot or continuation of a soul's journey of experiences. As they move through them, they start to be sorted into like human characteristics and gathered together for a grand group "experience" on the Island. Their experiences and memories are the information feed stock in order for the next circle of existence to re-create events in order to determine whether each soul has any redemptive qualities or can change their behavior.

It is clear that the Island is not part of real Earth. The supernatural elements of the island cannot be explained away by science and normal human experience. It is understood now that the Island brought these people together in order to break them a part (into "teams") for a final showdown between the Island's two forces, Jacob and MIB.