In Greek mythology and other cultures, there are stories about the heavenly gods coming down to Earth to mess with the human population. Sometimes, these gods mate with human females, creating a hybrid off-spring which other gods try to eliminate. These demi-gods have half human and half-god like traits. They may have magical powers, but still be mortal.
Under the background of these stories, the off-spring are usually hidden away from the gods in order to protect them from destruction. Sometimes they are banished by the gods to a faraway place so their mere presence will not upset the gods' rule over humanity. At times, these off-spring are cursed by the gods so they could have no human interaction, such as the ability to turn men into stone.
As such, these stories may be relevant to the island guardian. The ones we have seen, like Crazy Mother and Jacob, appear to be immortal, with magical powers but yet have the ability to die under certain circumstances.
Perhaps, the initial island guardian was a demi-god, banished to this remote island. One of its magical powers is the ability to turn human beings into smoke monsters. With the essence of human souls trapped in smoke form, they would be trapped on the island prison with their host, the demi-god.
We saw the smoke monster take many human forms. However, that does not eliminate the possibility that there were more than one smoke monster on the island. The whispers, the trapped souls who have no physical form, may be like cloaks that a smoke monster absorbs in order to create a human form.
What damage does one do by banishing a supernatural being to a deserted island to live their eternity alone? You try to find loopholes in order to bring things to the island "for play." Jacob was all about playing games; and his manipulation of Alpert to Ben Linus was all a part of an elaborate game that Jacob made up the rules as it went along. In one way, this may be a childlike game of "tag." Jacob was looking to find a person to be "it," the new guardian, so his prison sentence or banishment would be over.
Showing posts with label guardian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guardian. Show all posts
Friday, September 12, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
NON-ISLAND ALTERNATIVE
One of the ways to test the story construction is to see if it would work in a different setting.
In this post, we take away a key feature of the series: the island.
The main characters never arrive on the island. There is no plane crash. Things play out in LA (like the sideways world view).
The island focus was on Jacob being a protector of the life force that could destroy the world if it fell into the wrong hands. We still don't know for sure what he was talking about. But if all life in the universe is made by a single energy spring in an Earth dimension in space-time, then it could be located anywhere.
The nomadic cult of The Others would be turned into what Dharma should have been: a layered R&D academic-military corporation charged with trying to a) find the source; b) capture the source; c) and weaponize the source. Who would not have bought into Ben being the ruthless CEO of Dharma?
Likewise, the rivalry with Widmore over the search and control of the power source would have been a more realistic and compelling fight than Widmore's return to the island and their short and bloody confrontation in the presence of Flocke.
Since the life force is a scientific property, Dharma and Widmore would need to recruit scientists, medical professionals and test subjects in order to research and development the energy. Jack and Juliet could have been recruited for their medical/research expertise. Widmore could have retained more unethical or risk takers like Dr. Chang, Daniel or even Keamy. It would be like two rival mining companies drilling on opposite ends of a mountain to reach the motherlode of gold.
What about the non-technical people in the series, like Kate and Sawyer. How would they get involved in this scientific show down? Well, it was past procedure to use criminals in medical experimentation and human trials. With Kate and Sawyer's criminal backgrounds, they could have made "deals" to lessen their sentences and be assigned to the R&D departments. Likewise, mental patients were unethically used as guinea pigs in drug experiments. People who could talk to the dead like Hurley and Miles could have been transferred to the R&D departments.
So we have these two rival companies sparring over the motherlode of life itself. But is that enough conflict? Perhaps, but like in the series, there is another element at play - - - the pseudo-religious, faith in humanity based players in Jacob. Even today, big pharma companies are going back to ancient civilizations to research their treatments and remedies to see if their crude medicines have any modern applications. Further, many religious orders kept alive the ancient secrets and knowledge during the Dark Ages. So, if we give Jacob and his followers like Dogen, Locke and Alpert a monastery setting as guardians of life source, then we have a three way battle for control. It could be like the Knights Templar guarding the Holy Grail.
The basic elements of the island story could have easily been ported to a modern, industrial park setting with probably more reasonable intrigue, corporate sabotage and spying, human manipulation and dangerous gambits than the generic jungle trek missions. And clearly, there would have been a single end game to the series: one of these three groups would be the victor and control the life spring. But the open question is who would be that group (and whether there would have been changed loyalties and new alliances to make it happen).
One result could be Dharma and Widmore destroying each other's plans with the help of the religious zealots. Or another result could be the test subjects could rebel and take control of the light source and use it to regain their freedom and purpose in life (in other words, becoming the new guardians of the life force).
In this post, we take away a key feature of the series: the island.
The main characters never arrive on the island. There is no plane crash. Things play out in LA (like the sideways world view).
The island focus was on Jacob being a protector of the life force that could destroy the world if it fell into the wrong hands. We still don't know for sure what he was talking about. But if all life in the universe is made by a single energy spring in an Earth dimension in space-time, then it could be located anywhere.
The nomadic cult of The Others would be turned into what Dharma should have been: a layered R&D academic-military corporation charged with trying to a) find the source; b) capture the source; c) and weaponize the source. Who would not have bought into Ben being the ruthless CEO of Dharma?
Likewise, the rivalry with Widmore over the search and control of the power source would have been a more realistic and compelling fight than Widmore's return to the island and their short and bloody confrontation in the presence of Flocke.
Since the life force is a scientific property, Dharma and Widmore would need to recruit scientists, medical professionals and test subjects in order to research and development the energy. Jack and Juliet could have been recruited for their medical/research expertise. Widmore could have retained more unethical or risk takers like Dr. Chang, Daniel or even Keamy. It would be like two rival mining companies drilling on opposite ends of a mountain to reach the motherlode of gold.
What about the non-technical people in the series, like Kate and Sawyer. How would they get involved in this scientific show down? Well, it was past procedure to use criminals in medical experimentation and human trials. With Kate and Sawyer's criminal backgrounds, they could have made "deals" to lessen their sentences and be assigned to the R&D departments. Likewise, mental patients were unethically used as guinea pigs in drug experiments. People who could talk to the dead like Hurley and Miles could have been transferred to the R&D departments.
So we have these two rival companies sparring over the motherlode of life itself. But is that enough conflict? Perhaps, but like in the series, there is another element at play - - - the pseudo-religious, faith in humanity based players in Jacob. Even today, big pharma companies are going back to ancient civilizations to research their treatments and remedies to see if their crude medicines have any modern applications. Further, many religious orders kept alive the ancient secrets and knowledge during the Dark Ages. So, if we give Jacob and his followers like Dogen, Locke and Alpert a monastery setting as guardians of life source, then we have a three way battle for control. It could be like the Knights Templar guarding the Holy Grail.
The basic elements of the island story could have easily been ported to a modern, industrial park setting with probably more reasonable intrigue, corporate sabotage and spying, human manipulation and dangerous gambits than the generic jungle trek missions. And clearly, there would have been a single end game to the series: one of these three groups would be the victor and control the life spring. But the open question is who would be that group (and whether there would have been changed loyalties and new alliances to make it happen).
One result could be Dharma and Widmore destroying each other's plans with the help of the religious zealots. Or another result could be the test subjects could rebel and take control of the light source and use it to regain their freedom and purpose in life (in other words, becoming the new guardians of the life force).
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
THE STORY OF LIBBY
Elizabeth Smith, or Libby, is an enigma.
She begins her time on the series as a Tailie in Season 2. She is caring but very secretive of her past.
She claimed to be a clinical psychologist, but also apparently dropped out of medical school. She was a supportive character, first to Ana Lucia when she was leading her group and then to Hurley when he was having his own personal issues. Libby had a very short term relationship (one date) with Hurley. Libby died along with Ana Lucia when Michael shot them while arranging Ben's escape from the Hatch. Libby died without being able to tell anyone that Michael killed her.
From her own words and background observations, this is what we "know" about Libby:
1. She lived in Newport Beach, California.
2. She was a medical student but dropped out in her first year.
3. She eventually became a clinical psychologist.
4. She broke her leg skiing with an instructor in Vermont.
5. She was married three times, apparently last to a man named David Smith.
6. David Smith named his boat Elizabeth after her.
7. David Smith died of an unknown illness.
8. Libby inherited David's boat, and later gave it to Desmond for his Pacific race.
9. Some time after David died, Libby admitted herself to Santa Rose Mental Health Institute, the same place where Hurley and Leonard Sims were patients.
10. Libby was traveling home from Australia on Flight 815.
11. Libby briefly intervened in an argument that Eko was having with Charlotte Malkin, the young woman who had drowned but miraculously returned to life on the autopsy table. Her father was a psychic who refused Eko's request to interview Charlotte for the church investigation on the miracle. Charlotte was telling Eko that she saw Eko's brother, Yemi, when she was between worlds. Libby had asked them if everything was alright, but she got the silent treatment and left to board to the plane.
There were only five Tail section survivors left when Jin, Michael and Sawyer washed up on shore (Ana Lucia, Eko, Libby, Cindy and Bernard). Libby was the first person to reach out some support to the raft survivors, telling them that Ana Lucia "had trust issues."
She begins her time on the series as a Tailie in Season 2. She is caring but very secretive of her past.
She claimed to be a clinical psychologist, but also apparently dropped out of medical school. She was a supportive character, first to Ana Lucia when she was leading her group and then to Hurley when he was having his own personal issues. Libby had a very short term relationship (one date) with Hurley. Libby died along with Ana Lucia when Michael shot them while arranging Ben's escape from the Hatch. Libby died without being able to tell anyone that Michael killed her.
From her own words and background observations, this is what we "know" about Libby:
1. She lived in Newport Beach, California.
2. She was a medical student but dropped out in her first year.
3. She eventually became a clinical psychologist.
4. She broke her leg skiing with an instructor in Vermont.
5. She was married three times, apparently last to a man named David Smith.
6. David Smith named his boat Elizabeth after her.
7. David Smith died of an unknown illness.
8. Libby inherited David's boat, and later gave it to Desmond for his Pacific race.
9. Some time after David died, Libby admitted herself to Santa Rose Mental Health Institute, the same place where Hurley and Leonard Sims were patients.
10. Libby was traveling home from Australia on Flight 815.
11. Libby briefly intervened in an argument that Eko was having with Charlotte Malkin, the young woman who had drowned but miraculously returned to life on the autopsy table. Her father was a psychic who refused Eko's request to interview Charlotte for the church investigation on the miracle. Charlotte was telling Eko that she saw Eko's brother, Yemi, when she was between worlds. Libby had asked them if everything was alright, but she got the silent treatment and left to board to the plane.
There were only five Tail section survivors left when Jin, Michael and Sawyer washed up on shore (Ana Lucia, Eko, Libby, Cindy and Bernard). Libby was the first person to reach out some support to the raft survivors, telling them that Ana Lucia "had trust issues."
| Libby used her knowledge of psychology to persuade Sawyer that his wound was not as bad as it looked or felt (which was a comforting lie). Unlike Ana
Lucia, she was willing to help construct a stretcher to transport Sawyer
in the hopes of keeping him alive. When they were lifting this
stretcher up a steep cliff, Cindy disappeared without a sound. Libby expressed great fear when they heard The Whispers right before Ana Lucia shot Shannon, as the two groups of survivors paths' collided in the jungle. The Tail section survivors met the beach camp members on Day 48 after the crash. Libby was killed on Day 65. This means that Hurley and Libby only had only 17 days to interact. When they met during this time, neither one of them acknowledged that they had been together previously in the mental hospital. During a Hurley flashback involving his imaginary friend, Dave, we clearly saw a disheveled Libby in the same day room, staring blankly into space, being given medications from a nurse. Even when she was visibly emotionally spent and mentally out of it, she looked intently in Hurley's direction. Hurley, being comfortable in the day room, would have noticed all the other patients, including Libby. This is one of those plot points that screams "set up." Was it a background story to lessen or tarnish Hurley's monumental moment (his first island date) since Libby knew him before the crash? Or, in an inversion of a fan theory that the whole Island adventure was Hurley's own dream, that the whole LOST sage was the imagination or dream of mental patient Libby. It is odd that Libby was the person who gave a stranger, Desmond, an expensive boat to sail off on a one man race across the Pacific Ocean. It is also odd that Libby is suddenly on Flight 815 in Sydney making sure that Eko was okay - - - and would board the flight. It is too convenient to place Libby at such desperate locations which have direct consequences of other people landing on the island. One could extrapolate the Libby was a player early on. She could have been an agent for Jacob just like Naomi was later on. Libby was a spy that was making sure that the candidates would make it to the island. And Libby died like Naomi trying to get the candidates all back together. Even if Libby was just another lost soul who found her way to the Island, why would she have wound up with Hurley? She had a more serious relationship with her husband, David, whose death traumatized her enough that she had to be admitted to Santa Rosa. Why did she not wind up with her husband in the after life? One answer is that her entire back ground was lies and cover stories. Even so, why did Libby become Hurley's "soul mate" after an extremely short island tenure? One could speculate that Libby was merely a prop or a reward that Hurley desired and that the Island's magic box provided to him. But this I Dream of Libby explanation is based purely on a childlike crush and not an intense romantic relationship and commitment. The character of Libby gave us certain plot twists and mysteries. But her predominate position in the end with Hurley makes little sense. If Hurley's relationship with Libby (the courage to ask her out) was the lesson why Hurley had to journey to the island in the first place, then when Hurley finished his guardianship and "closed" it, he would have returned to the main land to live a long, rich life (and presumably meet other women). But based upon the ending construction, Hurley gave us no indication that he had a life after he became the island guardian. That the island and the people he met "were the most important people" in his life. Libby's inclusion in the end church was merely to give a popular character, Hurley, happiness in the end. Apparently, that was the whole objective of the end sequence: to give the main characters a happy ending (logic and common sense not required.) |
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
THE JACOB ALTERNATIVE
There were a few absolutes in regard to Jacob.
1. He was immortal.
2. He was the island guardian.
3. He was the only person who brought people to the Island.
4. He had the ability to spy on people throughout their lives.
5. He had the ability to go off the island and touch his "candidates."
6. He gave the people brought to the island free will to make their own decisions.
What purpose did Jacob truly serve?
Most of the main characters in the series had no religious consciousness. Most were not devoted or true followers of any faith. Many, like Charlie and Hurley, grew up in religious families but had waned on their observation. Many, like Eko and Sayid, referenced religion in the daily routine but acted in the opposite manner in their real lives.
LOST could have tackled the idea of sinners without religious observation by the background character of Jacob.
What if Jacob was not just the island "guardian" but a guardian angel?
Jacob dressed in white, which is symbolic of angels. Instead of the scythe of a grim reaper, Jacob used a lighthouse and the touch of of hand to guide lost souls into eternity. He may have been one of the spirits entrusted with guiding the souls of the no longer living to the other side.
Unlike the devils in literature who approach their grim duty with detachment or even malevolence toward sinners, Jacob may have tried to "save" those about to cross over.
He did not give solace and sympathy to those he brought to the island, but an opportunity to resolve lingering issues in a person's life, or even a chance to make amends. He does not directly lecture these lost souls but gives them a complex environment in which to re-live their troubles in a different setting to see if they can resolve them.
Jacob would give the island visitors the opportunity to believe in something, including themselves, in order to reconcile their confusion and pain attributed to their lives on Earth.
It is not purgatory, but a diversion program toward the afterlife.
As we learned, there are people who did not find what they were looking for on the island. They became trapped souls (the whispers) like Michael. In Michael's case, he may have been brought to the island to reconcile his abandonment of his son. But in the end, he made things worse by killing innocent people in order to get his son back. Michael failed to reach his afterlife.
Those people who reached the sideways church did reach their afterlives. They may have reached the church because they fulfilled something missing in their lives, such as true friendship or love, which only came about due to the events that Jacob created on the Island. Each found a new purpose and reason for living by passing the island challenges. In a clever way, Jacob allowed each person to help themselves without sermonizing their faults. That is what Clarence did to Jimmy Stewart's character in It's A Wonderful Life.
1. He was immortal.
2. He was the island guardian.
3. He was the only person who brought people to the Island.
4. He had the ability to spy on people throughout their lives.
5. He had the ability to go off the island and touch his "candidates."
6. He gave the people brought to the island free will to make their own decisions.
What purpose did Jacob truly serve?
Most of the main characters in the series had no religious consciousness. Most were not devoted or true followers of any faith. Many, like Charlie and Hurley, grew up in religious families but had waned on their observation. Many, like Eko and Sayid, referenced religion in the daily routine but acted in the opposite manner in their real lives.
LOST could have tackled the idea of sinners without religious observation by the background character of Jacob.
What if Jacob was not just the island "guardian" but a guardian angel?
Jacob dressed in white, which is symbolic of angels. Instead of the scythe of a grim reaper, Jacob used a lighthouse and the touch of of hand to guide lost souls into eternity. He may have been one of the spirits entrusted with guiding the souls of the no longer living to the other side.
Unlike the devils in literature who approach their grim duty with detachment or even malevolence toward sinners, Jacob may have tried to "save" those about to cross over.
He did not give solace and sympathy to those he brought to the island, but an opportunity to resolve lingering issues in a person's life, or even a chance to make amends. He does not directly lecture these lost souls but gives them a complex environment in which to re-live their troubles in a different setting to see if they can resolve them.
Jacob would give the island visitors the opportunity to believe in something, including themselves, in order to reconcile their confusion and pain attributed to their lives on Earth.
It is not purgatory, but a diversion program toward the afterlife.
As we learned, there are people who did not find what they were looking for on the island. They became trapped souls (the whispers) like Michael. In Michael's case, he may have been brought to the island to reconcile his abandonment of his son. But in the end, he made things worse by killing innocent people in order to get his son back. Michael failed to reach his afterlife.
Those people who reached the sideways church did reach their afterlives. They may have reached the church because they fulfilled something missing in their lives, such as true friendship or love, which only came about due to the events that Jacob created on the Island. Each found a new purpose and reason for living by passing the island challenges. In a clever way, Jacob allowed each person to help themselves without sermonizing their faults. That is what Clarence did to Jimmy Stewart's character in It's A Wonderful Life.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
IN CHARGE
One of the themes was the acquisition and control of "power." Power motivated men like Widmore and Ben to attempt to seize the island and its unique properties. Power was the means to control and manipulate people. Power kept those in charge in control of their own destiny.
It would seem that anyone brought to the island to be a "candidate" needed an inherit quality of wanting "power." The island guardian was all-powerful. A weak candidate would mean a weak guardian - - - the island would be in jeopardy. That is true if the island was a fragile object that needed human protection.
The final candidates did not have the same power traits. They may have had common personalty features like free will and primordial need for survival. We can group the final candidates in a simple chart:
The one person of this group who really wanted to be The Leader was Locke. But he had to leave the island in order to follow his destiny as told to him by Christian (or MIB). Locke was manipulated into thinking he was a final choice for guardian because he thought he had a spiritual connection with it. Locke was manipulated into leaving the island instead of guarding it. Locke could never have succeeded Jacob because Locke was too naive and lacked judgment. Locke's purpose was to die so that more worthy candidates could return to the island.
Sayid and Jin never expressed any desire to rule the island. Both were focused in on leaving the island; rescue. Sayid left the island, Jin did not. Sayid's post-island life was also a manipulation (by Ben). But Sayid's return was not one of leadership but one of revenge. He was to be a tool or weapon in the final fight against MIB.
Sawyer never wanted responsibility. All he wanted to do was get off the island. Anything that stood in the way of his goal was pushed aside. Sawyer was selfish. He was never comfortable in any leadership role, even when Hurley pressed him to be the "de facto" leader of the beach camp. He never wanted to attain a higher calling in life. Like Sayid, his life's motivation was consumed by revenge.
So in all of the convoluted story arcs and twists, there were only two viable final candidates from the very beginning of the series: Jack and Hurley. Jack accepted the notion of leadership because the survivors immediately valued his medical skills as a means to their rescue and survival. Hurley never accepted a leadership role. He was comfortable at the end of the mission line. He hardly made his opinions known until the last story arc. He did not have the ego to want to seize power over other people's lives (because of his feelings of what other people in a similar position did to him).
In the end, both Jack and Hurley become the island guardians. One volunteers and one assumes the job involuntarily. Jack's reign as guardian is short lived; Hurley's reign is one of janitor, cleaning up the leftover strings, to close the island down (whatever that meant). We can assume that Hurley sealed away the island from future "crashes," but that is one of the final mysteries: what ever happened to the island after Hurley?
Nothing. Hurley and Ben briefly discuss their time on the island in the sideways church courtyard. There is no great revelation that the island needed protection, that it had a new guardian or that it even survived at all.
The island either continued on its life force mission without a guardian or it faded away from reality when none of the characters remained on (or in) it. In either event, the world did not end. The only thing that ended were the lives of the main characters who gathered in the after life church to move on.
It would seem that anyone brought to the island to be a "candidate" needed an inherit quality of wanting "power." The island guardian was all-powerful. A weak candidate would mean a weak guardian - - - the island would be in jeopardy. That is true if the island was a fragile object that needed human protection.
The final candidates did not have the same power traits. They may have had common personalty features like free will and primordial need for survival. We can group the final candidates in a simple chart:
The one person of this group who really wanted to be The Leader was Locke. But he had to leave the island in order to follow his destiny as told to him by Christian (or MIB). Locke was manipulated into thinking he was a final choice for guardian because he thought he had a spiritual connection with it. Locke was manipulated into leaving the island instead of guarding it. Locke could never have succeeded Jacob because Locke was too naive and lacked judgment. Locke's purpose was to die so that more worthy candidates could return to the island.
Sayid and Jin never expressed any desire to rule the island. Both were focused in on leaving the island; rescue. Sayid left the island, Jin did not. Sayid's post-island life was also a manipulation (by Ben). But Sayid's return was not one of leadership but one of revenge. He was to be a tool or weapon in the final fight against MIB.
Sawyer never wanted responsibility. All he wanted to do was get off the island. Anything that stood in the way of his goal was pushed aside. Sawyer was selfish. He was never comfortable in any leadership role, even when Hurley pressed him to be the "de facto" leader of the beach camp. He never wanted to attain a higher calling in life. Like Sayid, his life's motivation was consumed by revenge.
So in all of the convoluted story arcs and twists, there were only two viable final candidates from the very beginning of the series: Jack and Hurley. Jack accepted the notion of leadership because the survivors immediately valued his medical skills as a means to their rescue and survival. Hurley never accepted a leadership role. He was comfortable at the end of the mission line. He hardly made his opinions known until the last story arc. He did not have the ego to want to seize power over other people's lives (because of his feelings of what other people in a similar position did to him).
In the end, both Jack and Hurley become the island guardians. One volunteers and one assumes the job involuntarily. Jack's reign as guardian is short lived; Hurley's reign is one of janitor, cleaning up the leftover strings, to close the island down (whatever that meant). We can assume that Hurley sealed away the island from future "crashes," but that is one of the final mysteries: what ever happened to the island after Hurley?
Nothing. Hurley and Ben briefly discuss their time on the island in the sideways church courtyard. There is no great revelation that the island needed protection, that it had a new guardian or that it even survived at all.
The island either continued on its life force mission without a guardian or it faded away from reality when none of the characters remained on (or in) it. In either event, the world did not end. The only thing that ended were the lives of the main characters who gathered in the after life church to move on.
Friday, May 17, 2013
NEXT
The writings on the stone cork date back more than 7,000 years to the first written symbols of mankind. It would seem that the light cave, in its shrouded mystery, may have been around since the beginning of the planet. If it was truly the "source" of life, death and rebirth, that would make sense.
However, it had to exist before man became the intelligent ruler of the planet. It had to be a self-sufficient engine for the life cycle of Earth. As such, it would have never needed a human being to manage it or protect it.
A manager, guardian or worker would only be required if the light cave was an alien machine brought to the planet to "seed" it with life. All machines have moving parts that need some form of maintenance or replacement. Was the electromagnetic energy of the light cave the battery that made the inner planetary core molten, create the rotation of the planet, form the atmospheric shield, and develop the currents which created weather systems to feed the growth medium (water) to all parts of the globe?
The Earth is a unique planet in our own solar system. It is the only planet that sustains life as we know it. Scientists have been scanning the heavens looking for another planet with life. They have yet to find one. Taking the science fiction premise of the light cave, no planet can have complex life without a light cave machine at its core.
If the island was the heart of the planet. if its energy pulses the life blood of the world, then what happened to it? Jack left Hurley "in charge" of the island after Jack went to battle MIB. In one of the many fumbled series questions, a post-conclusion reference that Hurley and Ben "closed down" the island makes little sense in the framework of its alleged paramount importance in Season 6. The vast extent of Hurley's mechanical knowledge was helping his dad rebuild a Camaro. No one can compare the island dynamics to that of an old Camaro.
So what if Hurley and Ben shut down the Dharma barracks, made everyone leave the island safely, and hid it from people like Eloise forever? The island as a foundation element of the story had to have survived otherwise the dire warnings would have come true: the world would end as we would know it.
But the main characters worlds did end in the sideways church. They were all dead. They could never go back to their past. Their memories had been compromised and nearly erased by the transformation into their sideways forms. Could it have been the island shutting down that caused these memory lapses? Maybe, but Eloise remained fully knowledgeable of all the past and future ramifications of Desmond's actions to awaken the island survivors. So we must assume that the island itself is a survivor in its plain of existence.
So the island continues on but without Hurley, Ben or any known guardian. If Jacob's campfire words were true, his island after life existence ended after a short time period just like Crazy Mother never returned after MIB killed her. So there was a way for each immortal guardian to escape their duty to the island.
So if the island had no guardian, but remained a viable planetary engine for life, then we must assume that the island itself was an intelligent being capable of self preservation. That would make sense because the island manipulated and recreated various matter into wondrous forms like temples and ghosts from memories of visitors.
Many people were waiting for the End to show who truly was the Man Behind the Island Curtain. Just like when Dorothy pulls back the curtain and discovers that the Wizard of Oz is “just a man” which character was stripped of his spell of mystery and island power? Which "wizard " turned out to be a mortal fake? The only truly all knowing and all powerful person on the island was Jacob.
We saw him stabbed and burned to ash. We saw that his ghost (as a child and as a man) lived on in the jungle. We never saw him again after he said his final farewell. He may have just led us to believe his illusion roller coaster of immortality and mortality. Confusion and vagueness was his calling card.
So we can conclude that after the 815 survivors completed their time on the island, the island either lived on on its own, or that the mysterious Jacob reformed himself to bring the next batch human beings to his island.
However, it had to exist before man became the intelligent ruler of the planet. It had to be a self-sufficient engine for the life cycle of Earth. As such, it would have never needed a human being to manage it or protect it.
A manager, guardian or worker would only be required if the light cave was an alien machine brought to the planet to "seed" it with life. All machines have moving parts that need some form of maintenance or replacement. Was the electromagnetic energy of the light cave the battery that made the inner planetary core molten, create the rotation of the planet, form the atmospheric shield, and develop the currents which created weather systems to feed the growth medium (water) to all parts of the globe?
The Earth is a unique planet in our own solar system. It is the only planet that sustains life as we know it. Scientists have been scanning the heavens looking for another planet with life. They have yet to find one. Taking the science fiction premise of the light cave, no planet can have complex life without a light cave machine at its core.
If the island was the heart of the planet. if its energy pulses the life blood of the world, then what happened to it? Jack left Hurley "in charge" of the island after Jack went to battle MIB. In one of the many fumbled series questions, a post-conclusion reference that Hurley and Ben "closed down" the island makes little sense in the framework of its alleged paramount importance in Season 6. The vast extent of Hurley's mechanical knowledge was helping his dad rebuild a Camaro. No one can compare the island dynamics to that of an old Camaro.
So what if Hurley and Ben shut down the Dharma barracks, made everyone leave the island safely, and hid it from people like Eloise forever? The island as a foundation element of the story had to have survived otherwise the dire warnings would have come true: the world would end as we would know it.
But the main characters worlds did end in the sideways church. They were all dead. They could never go back to their past. Their memories had been compromised and nearly erased by the transformation into their sideways forms. Could it have been the island shutting down that caused these memory lapses? Maybe, but Eloise remained fully knowledgeable of all the past and future ramifications of Desmond's actions to awaken the island survivors. So we must assume that the island itself is a survivor in its plain of existence.
So the island continues on but without Hurley, Ben or any known guardian. If Jacob's campfire words were true, his island after life existence ended after a short time period just like Crazy Mother never returned after MIB killed her. So there was a way for each immortal guardian to escape their duty to the island.
So if the island had no guardian, but remained a viable planetary engine for life, then we must assume that the island itself was an intelligent being capable of self preservation. That would make sense because the island manipulated and recreated various matter into wondrous forms like temples and ghosts from memories of visitors.
Many people were waiting for the End to show who truly was the Man Behind the Island Curtain. Just like when Dorothy pulls back the curtain and discovers that the Wizard of Oz is “just a man” which character was stripped of his spell of mystery and island power? Which "wizard " turned out to be a mortal fake? The only truly all knowing and all powerful person on the island was Jacob.
We saw him stabbed and burned to ash. We saw that his ghost (as a child and as a man) lived on in the jungle. We never saw him again after he said his final farewell. He may have just led us to believe his illusion roller coaster of immortality and mortality. Confusion and vagueness was his calling card.
So we can conclude that after the 815 survivors completed their time on the island, the island either lived on on its own, or that the mysterious Jacob reformed himself to bring the next batch human beings to his island.
Monday, April 22, 2013
LIFE OF THE PARTY OF FIVE
Let us presume that all the LOST characters from Flight 815 survived the plane crash and were "alive" on the island. They were all "saved" because a mysterious supernatural being named Jacob needed one of them to man-up and become the island successor guardian - - - to "kill" the MIB (smoke monster) because for no apparent reason, Jacob could not kill it because it was against the rules.
Rules, mind you, that Jacob broke by actually killing his brother after he killed their Crazy Mother. Jacob's action of beating his brother and throwing his body into the light cave apparently killed him and turned whatever spirit or soul into a violent smoke monster. Jacob took his dead brother and Crazy Mother and buried them in the water cave (Jack found them and we knew the bodies as Adam and Eve).
So the whole plot line reasoning about Jacob needing a successor was totally flawed. He was an immortal being, so how could he actually die? And when he did die by being stabbed by Ben in the Tawaret statue, he apparently "lived on" like a smoke monster creating images of himself as a young boy to torment MIB/Flocke, steal back his ashes from Hurley, and making his big pep rally speech to his remaining candidates around his last campfire.
Near the end, Sawyer asks jack why Locke didn't just kill Desmond. Jack suggests maybe it was one of his 'rules'. Sawyer suggests that he himself was responsible for the deaths on the submarine, because he attempted to defuse the bomb against Jack's advice. Jack insists that Flocke killed them. Behind them, Hurley is confronted by young Jacob who asks for the ashes, then snatches them and runs off. Hurley chases him and comes across adult Jacob seated by a fire. Jacob tells Hurley that the ashes are in the fire and that when the fire goes out, he will not be seen again, adding "We are very close to the end."
Why Jacob needs to be a boy to get his ashes back is strange, since Hurley knows of the adult Jacob from the lighthouse. So there is no need for another level of confusion.
As night falls, Hurley leads Kate, Sawyer and Jack to Jacob's fire. Jacob greets them by their first names. Hurley is surprised that they can all see Jacob. Kate asks Jacob whether he is the one who wrote the names on the wall, and whether it is their candidacy that ultimately led to their deaths. She also demands to know that Sun, Jin, and Sayid didn't die for nothing. Jacob says he will tell the group what they died for and why he chose them. He adds that by the time the fire is out one of them will have to take his place as protector of the Island.
Jacob explains that a very long time ago he made a mistake, and as a result there is a good chance that everyone is going to die. He acknowledges that he is responsible for the current state of the Man in Black. The Monster has been trying to kill him and that when it succeeded, someone would have to replace him: that is why he brought them all to the Island. Challenged by Sawyer, Jacob explains that he didn't drag anyone out of a happy existence but that they were all flawed. He says that he chose them because they were all like him - all alone, all looking for something that they couldn't find. He says he chose them because they needed the Island as much as the Island needed them. Jacob tells Kate her name was crossed off because she became a mother, but that she is not disqualified. He explains that the task for the candidate is to protect the light at the center of the Island.
In essence, there were five candidates left on the island: Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, Kate and Ben. Austin and Linus had their names crossed off in the cave. Why Ben was no longer a candidate is never explained; he seemed to be the most prepared and most willing to take charge. But could a guardian killer become the guardian of the island? It would appear that is how Crazy Mother operated when she murdered Claudia to take her children. Ben did the same thing by kidnapping Alex from her natural mother. We must remember that the guardians are not high moral beings. In fact, they are really self-centered, narcissistic demi-gods. From that perspective, Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, Kate and Ben each in their own way "qualified" for the guardianship job.
Jacob never explains why the light source needs to be protected, or be protected from Flocke. His statements that the candidates friends deaths were in furtherance of a plan to find a new guardian ring hollow. If MIB wanted to kill Jacob, he could just kill him (since Crazy Mom's rule was that the brothers could not harm each other, which was false). Jacob could avoided being killed by NOT bringing anyone to the island who could be corrupted into killing him (as what happened with Ben). So in reality, Jacob continued to lie to his final candidates. He wanted to bring people to the island so he would "die."
Jacob then says that they must do what he couldn't do: kill MIB (Flocke). Jack asks whether that is even possible and Jacob says that he hopes so because "he" is certainly going to try to kill them. Jacob offers the remaining candidates a choice of who will take his place - Jack accepts, acknowledging that he is on the island for this very purpose. Jacob asks Jack to affirm this decision, and is pleased when he does.
Again, if Jacob is a supernatural being with full knowledge of all the island's properties, he is lying to Jack on whether MIB/Flocke is a being capable of being killed. Jacob would know. And this elaborate ritual is merely a mask to get these lost souls to buy into the dirty deed: MIB/Flocke must die.
So why would Jacob hijack human beings to come to an island that contains the entire life spirit of the universe? If one looks closely at the dark side of these proceedings, it is because it was Jacob, not MIB, who was trapped on the island. MIB was a spiritual security system that kept Jacob was leaving the island realm; he was the jailor and Jacob was imprisoned (for killing his brother perhaps?) But we saw that Jacob left the island to "touch" his candidates. But perhaps that was an illusion (or the candidates were dead but hijacked on their way to the after life).
So it came down to five people. Jacob only needed to convince, con or manipulate one person to kill Flocke. The motivation was simple: Flocke killed you friends and he will kill you. If he kills you, he will destroy the world. Heavy stuff. But if you recall, people have tried to kill Flocke but nothing harmed it. There is no magic switch to turn MIB into a mortal human. The campfire going out to end Jacob's time was a ruse because when Ilana found the ash pit, it was already extinguished so by common sense, Jacob's life was extinguished as well. But that is not the case as he continued to appear to the candidates.
It seems almost absurdly stupid. It is the make-believe aspect of the explanation that makes one recall two little kids playing pretend WAR in their back yard. Both shoot each other with toy guns, and one has their dramatic "you got me" dying moment. Then they get up and do it all over again. We have no proof that either Jacob or MIB "died" as a result any event on the island. We were just swept away into the sideways vortex.
But then again, in the context of the end, was the island conflict all that important? There appears to be faulty logic to try to bridge the island events to the fantasy of the sideways world. For if the island was the "most important" part of each of the church members lives, why not did they not all "reunited" on the island and live FOREVER together? It would seem that the island was no longer important (even though we were told that it was the source of life, death and rebirth). The island was merely closed like a bad diner going out of business.
Rules, mind you, that Jacob broke by actually killing his brother after he killed their Crazy Mother. Jacob's action of beating his brother and throwing his body into the light cave apparently killed him and turned whatever spirit or soul into a violent smoke monster. Jacob took his dead brother and Crazy Mother and buried them in the water cave (Jack found them and we knew the bodies as Adam and Eve).
So the whole plot line reasoning about Jacob needing a successor was totally flawed. He was an immortal being, so how could he actually die? And when he did die by being stabbed by Ben in the Tawaret statue, he apparently "lived on" like a smoke monster creating images of himself as a young boy to torment MIB/Flocke, steal back his ashes from Hurley, and making his big pep rally speech to his remaining candidates around his last campfire.
Near the end, Sawyer asks jack why Locke didn't just kill Desmond. Jack suggests maybe it was one of his 'rules'. Sawyer suggests that he himself was responsible for the deaths on the submarine, because he attempted to defuse the bomb against Jack's advice. Jack insists that Flocke killed them. Behind them, Hurley is confronted by young Jacob who asks for the ashes, then snatches them and runs off. Hurley chases him and comes across adult Jacob seated by a fire. Jacob tells Hurley that the ashes are in the fire and that when the fire goes out, he will not be seen again, adding "We are very close to the end."
Why Jacob needs to be a boy to get his ashes back is strange, since Hurley knows of the adult Jacob from the lighthouse. So there is no need for another level of confusion.
As night falls, Hurley leads Kate, Sawyer and Jack to Jacob's fire. Jacob greets them by their first names. Hurley is surprised that they can all see Jacob. Kate asks Jacob whether he is the one who wrote the names on the wall, and whether it is their candidacy that ultimately led to their deaths. She also demands to know that Sun, Jin, and Sayid didn't die for nothing. Jacob says he will tell the group what they died for and why he chose them. He adds that by the time the fire is out one of them will have to take his place as protector of the Island.
Jacob explains that a very long time ago he made a mistake, and as a result there is a good chance that everyone is going to die. He acknowledges that he is responsible for the current state of the Man in Black. The Monster has been trying to kill him and that when it succeeded, someone would have to replace him: that is why he brought them all to the Island. Challenged by Sawyer, Jacob explains that he didn't drag anyone out of a happy existence but that they were all flawed. He says that he chose them because they were all like him - all alone, all looking for something that they couldn't find. He says he chose them because they needed the Island as much as the Island needed them. Jacob tells Kate her name was crossed off because she became a mother, but that she is not disqualified. He explains that the task for the candidate is to protect the light at the center of the Island.
In essence, there were five candidates left on the island: Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, Kate and Ben. Austin and Linus had their names crossed off in the cave. Why Ben was no longer a candidate is never explained; he seemed to be the most prepared and most willing to take charge. But could a guardian killer become the guardian of the island? It would appear that is how Crazy Mother operated when she murdered Claudia to take her children. Ben did the same thing by kidnapping Alex from her natural mother. We must remember that the guardians are not high moral beings. In fact, they are really self-centered, narcissistic demi-gods. From that perspective, Jack, Hurley, Sawyer, Kate and Ben each in their own way "qualified" for the guardianship job.
Jacob never explains why the light source needs to be protected, or be protected from Flocke. His statements that the candidates friends deaths were in furtherance of a plan to find a new guardian ring hollow. If MIB wanted to kill Jacob, he could just kill him (since Crazy Mom's rule was that the brothers could not harm each other, which was false). Jacob could avoided being killed by NOT bringing anyone to the island who could be corrupted into killing him (as what happened with Ben). So in reality, Jacob continued to lie to his final candidates. He wanted to bring people to the island so he would "die."
Jacob then says that they must do what he couldn't do: kill MIB (Flocke). Jack asks whether that is even possible and Jacob says that he hopes so because "he" is certainly going to try to kill them. Jacob offers the remaining candidates a choice of who will take his place - Jack accepts, acknowledging that he is on the island for this very purpose. Jacob asks Jack to affirm this decision, and is pleased when he does.
Again, if Jacob is a supernatural being with full knowledge of all the island's properties, he is lying to Jack on whether MIB/Flocke is a being capable of being killed. Jacob would know. And this elaborate ritual is merely a mask to get these lost souls to buy into the dirty deed: MIB/Flocke must die.
So why would Jacob hijack human beings to come to an island that contains the entire life spirit of the universe? If one looks closely at the dark side of these proceedings, it is because it was Jacob, not MIB, who was trapped on the island. MIB was a spiritual security system that kept Jacob was leaving the island realm; he was the jailor and Jacob was imprisoned (for killing his brother perhaps?) But we saw that Jacob left the island to "touch" his candidates. But perhaps that was an illusion (or the candidates were dead but hijacked on their way to the after life).
So it came down to five people. Jacob only needed to convince, con or manipulate one person to kill Flocke. The motivation was simple: Flocke killed you friends and he will kill you. If he kills you, he will destroy the world. Heavy stuff. But if you recall, people have tried to kill Flocke but nothing harmed it. There is no magic switch to turn MIB into a mortal human. The campfire going out to end Jacob's time was a ruse because when Ilana found the ash pit, it was already extinguished so by common sense, Jacob's life was extinguished as well. But that is not the case as he continued to appear to the candidates.
It seems almost absurdly stupid. It is the make-believe aspect of the explanation that makes one recall two little kids playing pretend WAR in their back yard. Both shoot each other with toy guns, and one has their dramatic "you got me" dying moment. Then they get up and do it all over again. We have no proof that either Jacob or MIB "died" as a result any event on the island. We were just swept away into the sideways vortex.
But then again, in the context of the end, was the island conflict all that important? There appears to be faulty logic to try to bridge the island events to the fantasy of the sideways world. For if the island was the "most important" part of each of the church members lives, why not did they not all "reunited" on the island and live FOREVER together? It would seem that the island was no longer important (even though we were told that it was the source of life, death and rebirth). The island was merely closed like a bad diner going out of business.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
THE GUARDIAN
Was the key to MIB's loophole the fact that if he got a candidate to "kill" Jacob, he would regain his humanity (mortality)? And was Jacob's ultimate demise conditioned upon a candidate killing MIB? It would seem so. Crazy Mom's demise was at the hands of one of her "candidates" to replace her.
So what is the significance of both Jacob and MIB being killed by candidates on the island? One could consider that just like the stone cork in the light cave, Jacob and MIB were the symbolic cork that closed the nexus or portal to the character's sideways world.
It would seem to be a simpleton "eye for an eye" loophole. But it had to be difficult to organize and pull off. For Jacob kept himself secreted in the statue or the mystery cabin. He had intermediaries who would keep "candidates" at bay until MIB manipulated them to "follow" him. And once chaos reigned in the island hierarchy, Jacob had to make himself seen among the followers. That left him open to attack.
For what is the portal to our original 815 characters. For those in "everybody was dead" camp, an explanation. Jack's eye was closed at the beginning of the series. What does not truly mean? Why did he land far away from his plane section (Rose was right next to him)? If we look internally for symmetry, when Jack closed his eye in the finale it meant that the was dead. The loop had come back around. If a closed eye represents death, then Jack was dead in the crash. If an eye opening represents "awakening" or "rebirth" then Jack's eye opening in the pilot meant that part of him was reborn on the island (his body) while his soul went on to help create the sideways world. The sideways world had to have been created when everyone was together - - - possibly during the electromagnetic blast that took down the plane. It would explain why there are parallels between the two places. But there was a barrier between the reincarnated on the island and the souls in the sideways plane of existence. That barrier was the island and its guardian, who had the power to manipulate time and space, in order to release himself from the eternal prison of the island.
In one respect, the island also served as a prison for the 815 characters. Part of them were trapped in the island drama for no apparent reason except to free Jacob and MIB from their servitude to some unknown higher deity. Perhaps, with Jacob and MIB's island deaths, they would be awakened in their own parallel sideways world that their real mother created for them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
