Joe DiMaggio said, “A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example.”
In LOST, there were various characters who pushed to become leaders. It was a mix of office politics and mortal combat.
Jack was the Reluctant Leader. He got the job from the 815 survivors because he was a doctor. There were injured people who needed his help. He gave instructions . . . people listened to him. But a few did not like Jack because he got the respect they did not. Sawyer, for example, wanted the appreciation of being a leader without the responsibility. Only after the time flash skip to become the sheriff of the others did Sawyer learn what it took to protect his people.
Locke was the Hopeful Leader. He always wanted to be acknowledged and accepted for his skills so that he could be one of the popular kids. The fact that his foster home orphan upbringing gave him the anger and bitterness that would shape his adult life and decisions was not lost on the writers. For every opportunity to take a leadership role, he failed because he demanded too much. When he came back to camp with food, he thought he would be accepted as a leader. But Jack was still the man. Locke never let go of that rivalry. When Locke was thought of the chosen leader of the Others, one who could dethrone Ben, he took the chance to seize total control over the group. But the one condition he could not meet: killing his own father.
Ben was also an outcast. He grew up in the environment of an alcoholic father who blamed him for the death of his mother (in childbirth). As a result, Ben was a shy, bitter boy who dreamed of controlling his own destiny. When the Others were in a leadership flux, he took control by means of violence - - - slaying his rivals to seize total control like a military dictator. He used fear and threats to become the Absolute Leader on the island. But being a dictator brought detractors in his own group who wanted to have someone to remove Ben from power.
Leadership is a double edged sword. It can be used to offensively consolidate power, direction and support for the common good. Or it could be used defensively to hold onto power, unilaterally force decisions and abuse authority for corrupt purposes.
All of those elements were seeded in LOST's story lines. None of the main character leaders had a good final result. There leadership strengths would turn into their personal weaknesses. Even Jacob, the islands real, True Leader, succumbed to his own hubris.
Showing posts with label trap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trap. Show all posts
Thursday, October 3, 2019
Saturday, August 2, 2014
LEFTOVERS
The new television series The Leftovers had a morbid advertising display of the show at San Diego Comic Con. It showed realistic mannequins representing the missing 2 percent of the population who suddenly vanished in a Rapture type event. The show deals with the after math of the event, with a focus on the people left behind.
Since there is a LOST connection to this show, and one very old Hollywood adage is that "nothing is new in Hollywood," can we apply a rapture premise to LOST?
Yes, we can.
The Rapture is the religious belief that followers will be transported to heaven upon the Second Coming of Christ. In certain viewpoints, the Second Coming will be a purge of all evil on Earth. And only true believers will be saved from the rath.
First, Flight 815 suddenly disappeared for no apparent reason. People off the island believed that the plane crashed with no survivors, but on the island we were shown that was not true. The "survivors" were saved by the island.
This leads to the first point of contention. Was the electromagnetic discharge from the Swan because Desmond did not push the button down Flight 815, or was it Jacob's magical powers that delivered his candidates to the island? Science v. Faith. A major theme in the series.
This leads to a second point of contention. Was Jacob good or evil? Jacob appeared to be a benevolent leader who had many island followers. However, it was his intervention through Richard Alpert that sowed the seed for young Ben to "purge" the Dharma community in an act of mass murder. Further, Jacob's own game of finding candidates and bringing them to the island is a form of kidnapping that usually lead to their deaths. Good v. Evil. Another major theme of the series.
Second, Flight 815 safely landed in the sideways LAX. People on this plane found nothing had changed in their "lives" so they went on with the business. However, this sideways world was completely different than the island flash back stories.
This leads to a third point of contention. Which world was actually the "real" world? Since viewers first saw the island and the flashbacks, they assume those images are from the real character world. But if the survivors had been "teleported" to a different realm, than that reality is not their true past lives. But apparently at the same time, all of the passengers landed in the sideways world (which we would learn is the afterlife.) The intellectual paradox is how can one be both dead and alive at the same time?
This leads to a fourth point of contention: time. LOST was a series that used time like flour in a bakery; a commodity and utility to make different things happen despite WTF? reasoning. Is time linear as science and human experience shows? Or is time a circular motion like several ancient cultures who believe time follows the cycles of nature? Since the writers did not fashion set rules for time in their stories, we are left to drift in the quicksand of poor plot execution.
This leads to a fifth point of contention. Which came first, the flashbacks or the sideways reality? This is really a classic which came first puzzle, the chicken or the egg? Because the sideways character lives were so different than the flashbacks (Sawyer is a cop not a con man; Jack was married to Juliet and not Sarah; Jack had a son and not childless; Desmond was a successful businessman not a tramp loser; Hurley was a respected community leader and not a timid cursed crazy person; etc.) If you believe the flashbacks were the characters true past life experiences, then the sideways afterlife events are merely a dream, a fantasy until it is shattered by remembering the past. If you believe that the sideways world was the true (and at times boring aspects) of the characters real past lives, then the island events are taken either as a dream-fantasy or the characters going through Hell. It is not a simple answer because of one very troublesome point: in both realms, Aaron and Sun's child were born. If the children were born in the actual real life time line of the island, then they could not be born in the afterlife since they were already having their own Earth lives to lead. If the children were the heavenly reward for their parents to experience joy in heaven, then the island time frame births were a mere illusion, a deception or a trick by the devil.
Third, if the Flight 815 survivors were "snatched" from their lives by a god-like force, what was the purpose for their rapture event? Some of the characters seemed to be good people (Rose, Bernard, Jack), some had done some terrible things (Kate, Sawyer, Sayid) and some had crazy mental problems (Hurley, Claire). We were told that only Jacob could bring people to the island, to be its next guardian. But that reason has been hollow without substance. Why would an island need protection if its life force creates life, death and rebirth? One smoke monster sentry guard could take care of any intruders. So this island mystery, quasi-religious "savior" theme really makes little sense in the context of asking why the island needed people.
This leads to a sixth point of contention. If the main characters were taken to the island, or even the sideways realm, to be "judged" for their lives sins, did that actually happen? The sideways world was more Happy Days than Hellboy. Certainly Jack's sideways life of being married to Juliet and having a son is not extreme punishment for his past issues disobeying his father. And the people who "died" on the island did not find any true redemption. And the ones who escaped, did not leave as changed individuals.
This leads to a seventh point. Was LOST's main concern like throwing a bunch of cats and dogs into one closed room just to see what would happen? The randomness of the characters, the forced missions, and faux dangers coupled with lies and manipulations does not seem to fit a classic tale of a journey by a character from his past, through trials that changes him or her, to a moment where his wish or dream is fulfilled in a meaningful way. It seems like all the character backstories and island stories seemed to intersect like a pile of leftovers after a big Sunday buffet.
Could LOST's mythology be cloaked in a rapture theme premise? Maybe. But it does not fit into normal views of such a major event. If the LOST characters were the people "left behind" and had to struggle to get to their heaven, the events leading up their their ultimate deaths are too inconsistent to determine whether that truly was the case.
Since there is a LOST connection to this show, and one very old Hollywood adage is that "nothing is new in Hollywood," can we apply a rapture premise to LOST?
Yes, we can.
The Rapture is the religious belief that followers will be transported to heaven upon the Second Coming of Christ. In certain viewpoints, the Second Coming will be a purge of all evil on Earth. And only true believers will be saved from the rath.
First, Flight 815 suddenly disappeared for no apparent reason. People off the island believed that the plane crashed with no survivors, but on the island we were shown that was not true. The "survivors" were saved by the island.
This leads to the first point of contention. Was the electromagnetic discharge from the Swan because Desmond did not push the button down Flight 815, or was it Jacob's magical powers that delivered his candidates to the island? Science v. Faith. A major theme in the series.
This leads to a second point of contention. Was Jacob good or evil? Jacob appeared to be a benevolent leader who had many island followers. However, it was his intervention through Richard Alpert that sowed the seed for young Ben to "purge" the Dharma community in an act of mass murder. Further, Jacob's own game of finding candidates and bringing them to the island is a form of kidnapping that usually lead to their deaths. Good v. Evil. Another major theme of the series.
Second, Flight 815 safely landed in the sideways LAX. People on this plane found nothing had changed in their "lives" so they went on with the business. However, this sideways world was completely different than the island flash back stories.
This leads to a third point of contention. Which world was actually the "real" world? Since viewers first saw the island and the flashbacks, they assume those images are from the real character world. But if the survivors had been "teleported" to a different realm, than that reality is not their true past lives. But apparently at the same time, all of the passengers landed in the sideways world (which we would learn is the afterlife.) The intellectual paradox is how can one be both dead and alive at the same time?
This leads to a fourth point of contention: time. LOST was a series that used time like flour in a bakery; a commodity and utility to make different things happen despite WTF? reasoning. Is time linear as science and human experience shows? Or is time a circular motion like several ancient cultures who believe time follows the cycles of nature? Since the writers did not fashion set rules for time in their stories, we are left to drift in the quicksand of poor plot execution.
This leads to a fifth point of contention. Which came first, the flashbacks or the sideways reality? This is really a classic which came first puzzle, the chicken or the egg? Because the sideways character lives were so different than the flashbacks (Sawyer is a cop not a con man; Jack was married to Juliet and not Sarah; Jack had a son and not childless; Desmond was a successful businessman not a tramp loser; Hurley was a respected community leader and not a timid cursed crazy person; etc.) If you believe the flashbacks were the characters true past life experiences, then the sideways afterlife events are merely a dream, a fantasy until it is shattered by remembering the past. If you believe that the sideways world was the true (and at times boring aspects) of the characters real past lives, then the island events are taken either as a dream-fantasy or the characters going through Hell. It is not a simple answer because of one very troublesome point: in both realms, Aaron and Sun's child were born. If the children were born in the actual real life time line of the island, then they could not be born in the afterlife since they were already having their own Earth lives to lead. If the children were the heavenly reward for their parents to experience joy in heaven, then the island time frame births were a mere illusion, a deception or a trick by the devil.
Third, if the Flight 815 survivors were "snatched" from their lives by a god-like force, what was the purpose for their rapture event? Some of the characters seemed to be good people (Rose, Bernard, Jack), some had done some terrible things (Kate, Sawyer, Sayid) and some had crazy mental problems (Hurley, Claire). We were told that only Jacob could bring people to the island, to be its next guardian. But that reason has been hollow without substance. Why would an island need protection if its life force creates life, death and rebirth? One smoke monster sentry guard could take care of any intruders. So this island mystery, quasi-religious "savior" theme really makes little sense in the context of asking why the island needed people.
This leads to a sixth point of contention. If the main characters were taken to the island, or even the sideways realm, to be "judged" for their lives sins, did that actually happen? The sideways world was more Happy Days than Hellboy. Certainly Jack's sideways life of being married to Juliet and having a son is not extreme punishment for his past issues disobeying his father. And the people who "died" on the island did not find any true redemption. And the ones who escaped, did not leave as changed individuals.
This leads to a seventh point. Was LOST's main concern like throwing a bunch of cats and dogs into one closed room just to see what would happen? The randomness of the characters, the forced missions, and faux dangers coupled with lies and manipulations does not seem to fit a classic tale of a journey by a character from his past, through trials that changes him or her, to a moment where his wish or dream is fulfilled in a meaningful way. It seems like all the character backstories and island stories seemed to intersect like a pile of leftovers after a big Sunday buffet.
Could LOST's mythology be cloaked in a rapture theme premise? Maybe. But it does not fit into normal views of such a major event. If the LOST characters were the people "left behind" and had to struggle to get to their heaven, the events leading up their their ultimate deaths are too inconsistent to determine whether that truly was the case.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
TRAPPED IN A CAGE
Squirrels got into a neighbor's attic. The critter control person placed two traps on the roof and eave. Within a day, one squirrel was caught in the wire cage.
Throughout the day you could tell that the squirrel went through the range of emotions. First, it was perplexed by getting caged in a wire box. Next, the mental gears tried to figure out a way to get out of the cage door. Third, depression set in. It would still still in the cage for long periods not moving. Fourth, there would be anger as it would attack the cage wires. Fifth, there was panic as it started to gnaw at the wire grid in a rapid fire bouncing of its head, trying to find a weak spot in a corner. Lastly, resignation. It lies motionless on the bottom of the age, exhausted from its fruitless escape.
Squirrels may be cute, but they are still rodents who can do vast amounts of property damage to a home. After a day, I was surprised that one of the area's large red tail hawks had not tried to swoop down and get a quick meal. It would have been interesting to see if the hawk could have managed to open or break the cage with its talons or beak.
In some ways, this real life nature drama is representative of the LOST experience.
From a character story line, the island was the trap. The characters were the trapped squirrels gnawing their way to freedom. They go through the range of emotions to the point where they give up and accept their cruel fates.
From a fan perspective, the show's early cleverness and plot twists were the traps that kept us watching for six seasons. We went through the same analytic processes to try to figure out the clues, the environment, the meaning of the island and a way for the characters to gain their freedom. Fans went through a range of emotions when characters go hurt or died. When the show ended, many were left like the exhausted squirrel: perplexed, resigned, depressed and wondering what would happen next.
In the cage, the exhausted squirrel is trapped against the cold night elements. It gives up and dies.
In certain respects, that is what Jack did in the final episode.
Throughout the day you could tell that the squirrel went through the range of emotions. First, it was perplexed by getting caged in a wire box. Next, the mental gears tried to figure out a way to get out of the cage door. Third, depression set in. It would still still in the cage for long periods not moving. Fourth, there would be anger as it would attack the cage wires. Fifth, there was panic as it started to gnaw at the wire grid in a rapid fire bouncing of its head, trying to find a weak spot in a corner. Lastly, resignation. It lies motionless on the bottom of the age, exhausted from its fruitless escape.
Squirrels may be cute, but they are still rodents who can do vast amounts of property damage to a home. After a day, I was surprised that one of the area's large red tail hawks had not tried to swoop down and get a quick meal. It would have been interesting to see if the hawk could have managed to open or break the cage with its talons or beak.
In some ways, this real life nature drama is representative of the LOST experience.
From a character story line, the island was the trap. The characters were the trapped squirrels gnawing their way to freedom. They go through the range of emotions to the point where they give up and accept their cruel fates.
From a fan perspective, the show's early cleverness and plot twists were the traps that kept us watching for six seasons. We went through the same analytic processes to try to figure out the clues, the environment, the meaning of the island and a way for the characters to gain their freedom. Fans went through a range of emotions when characters go hurt or died. When the show ended, many were left like the exhausted squirrel: perplexed, resigned, depressed and wondering what would happen next.
In the cage, the exhausted squirrel is trapped against the cold night elements. It gives up and dies.
In certain respects, that is what Jack did in the final episode.
Friday, October 11, 2013
PERSONALITY CHART
On the left side, positive attributes which begin with basic hope, then move up to dreams, love, trust and leadership. On the right side, negative attributes with basic regret, then fears, hate, naivety, to being a follower. A stronger will comes with each level toward the bottom line of being either a leader or a follower (a theme of the series).
I started the chart by simple word association. I began with hope, then quickly worked up the emotional ladder. I then started on the right side with the opposite of hope which I thought would be regret, and then by quick word association got through the series to the opposite of leader.
On the light side, there is a fairly clear progression a person would take in a path to leadership. One would have to have some hope (which is tied to a goal). From that point, one would dream about that goal. One must love what they are after. Then they must trust themselves enough to succeed. And once that trust has been obtained, it can be projected upon others to form leadership.
Likewise, regrets can easily morph into fears. Fears can compound themselves into hate. Hate can cloud judgment to make a person outwardly naive. Being naive means people can take advantage of you. You become a follower.
In the light example, we can take Jack. Jack had hope as a young boy that he would someday impress his father. He dreamed that he would become as successful as this father. He loved medicine and his ability to help other people. His love of his craft led to other people, including patients, trusting his judgment. Such trust can him leadership skills in his OR teams. People looked to him to make the right clinical decisions. Those qualities made him a natural candidate to lead the survivors.
On the flip side, Locke had regrets from an early age. He regretted not having a normal family life as a child. Her feared that he would be unwanted as he was raised by successive foster homes. He began to hate how people perceived him. He hated that he was being directed to the uncool sciences when he wanted to be a popular athlete. His hate made him distrustful of other people. As a result, he bounced from meaningless job to meaningless job. He became withdrawn. He was then quite naive when his father reappeared in his life. So much so, that his kidney was stolen. Because he was so naive about the people around him, he could only be a follower throughout his life. And that realization is something that Locke attempted to rebel against, until he realized that no one would follow him. That dissolved any hope (and all those light side emotional states) of change. He died a bitter and broken man.
But both sides can stumble down a different path. Hope can turn into fears, which could become so strong as to consume one's psyche to love the paranoia and pain. That misguided love of pain can lead to naive isolation, which was the safety net Hurley had at Santa Rosa.
Likewise, regrets can turn into one's dreams. Unfulfilled dreams can quickly turn into hate. Hate can be marshaled into developing a trust with other people who do not factor in your dreams. That trust turns one into a follower, just as Sayid had become during his youth to Iraqi soldier days.
This chart also shows that change can make a difference. False hope can turn into hate, but that strong emotion can be channeled into great leadership qualities, as was the case with Ben and his ascension to leader of the Others.
Likewise, regrets can turn to love and that love can make you follow a special person instead of running away, which is an explanation for Kate becoming Jack's partner in the after life church at the end.
Monday, July 22, 2013
TRAGIC RESOLUTIONS
The tragedy in life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. — Benjamin Mays
From a point blank, black or white, yes or no answer - - - - did the main characters attain what they were seeking when their LOST saga began?
JACK. His sole goal or mission when LOST started was to bring his father "home" for his funeral.
In a roundabout way, Jack did have his father's funeral in O6 story arc and "another one" in the sideways world conclusion. It seems redundant that Jack "experiences" two funerals for his father, but we get the sense of no resolution within Jack.
KATE. Her sole goal or mission when LOST started was to get away from Marshal Mars and her criminal charges including murder.
In a sense, Kate got her wish when the marshal died with her secret, but she could not run away from it forever as in the O6 story arc, she was put on (a legally dubious) trial and received no punishment from her crimes. She re-lived her runaway nature in the sideways world when Flight 815 landed in LA.
LOCKE. His sole goal was to become independent, to take charge of his own life (beyond his disabilities).
As terrible as it sounds, Locke was crippled more by his mental fixation of abandonment and betrayal by his parents than his paralysis. The island gave him his miracle of being able to walk, and then his opportunity to become the man he never was . . . but the mental baggage of his own personality would doom him over and over again. He would get a second "miracle" in the sideways world by allowing Jack to do surgery, but we now know that was a meaningless fictional device to jump start the final reunion.
SAWYER. His sole goal in life was to avenge his parents death by killing Anthony Cooper.
Sawyer was granted the opportunity to kill Cooper when Locke's "wish" was granted by the island's "magic box." In order to become the island leader, Locke needed to kill his father in order to become worthy (whether symbolic or real ritual is unclear). Locke could not do the deed, but he got Sawyer into the same locked room with Cooper knowing that Sawyer's rage would get the better of him. In the sideways world, Sawyer did not get any revenge on Cooper, who was a feeble old man being taken care of by Locke and Helen.
SAYID. His sole goal was to change his dark evil torturer past in order to find happiness with Nadia.
In all respects, Sayid failed in his goals. He really had nothing in common with the other main characters. The closest person to him from a purely mental background was Ben. Both had embraced the dark side of the force. But with all the pining for Nadia, including the O6 story arc, Sayid winds up as a reincarnated dark minion and with Shannon in the sideways reunion.
HURLEY. His mission was to find the source of his problems, The Numbers, which he believed cursed his life by bringing him pain of people dying, people taking advantage of him (like his father in his return).
Hurley's blessing of winning the lottery added more mental pressure on his low self-esteem. He could not see anyone liking him for himself because of the fame and money. At the most basic level, Hurley failed in his mission to find out what the Numbers truly meant. Even when his secret got out on the island, most people did not believe him. In the O6 story arc, Hurley was more comfortable voluntarily committing himself in a mental institution than dealing with the real world. And that fantasy escape seems to have transfixed his final resolution by ending up with Libby, a person he only "knew" for a few weeks on the island (and never had a first date until the sideways world.)
ROSE and BERNARD. To be together, until death do part.
Bernard wanted to find a miracle to cure Rose's cancer so he could spend more time with her. Rose was stoic and resolute that her cancer could not be cured so she only wanted to live out her life in peace with her husband. The island did give them that peace after they decided to get away from all the beach politics, leadership issues and dangerous battles with strangers like the Others or Widmore's men. It is interesting to note that they did not have to be "awakened" in the sideways world. One aspect of Rose's early introduction after the crash was that she knew her cancer was gone. Many assumed the island's healing powers, but a few of us thought that Rose knew then and there her cancer was gone because she was dead. Everything was going to be alright because she accepted her fate.
JIN and SUN. Their confusion over their relationship was in part fueled by each individual's desire to run away (Jin from his poor fisherman past; and Sun from her domineering father). The open ended question was whether they had the personal resolve to run away from their past together.
Only in death on the island, did Jin and Sun truly sealed their bond (even though Jin's failure to take into consideration of their young child is a troublesome issue). They could never live "happily ever after" except in the fantasy sideways world.
CHARLIE. His pre-flight goal was to "get the band back together," but in some ways Charlie was looking for family to fill his drug induced void in his life.
Charlie never reached his goals. His overture was rejected by his brother, who suddenly had a nice family life in Australia. It was seeing that family life, and the rejection by his brother, that made Charlie "dream" of such life for himself. But he never got a chance to realize the full extent of any such relationship on the island, or really in the sideways church as he was engulfed by white light shortly after Aaron's "re-birth."
MICHAEL. His sole mission was to get his son, Walt, back into his life.
Michael never succeeded in his goal. Walt was a stranger. Walt had issues on why his father let him go as a baby. Walt was also dealing with the death of his mother, and abandonment by his stepfather. Michael's desire to protect and save Walt from the island dangers clouded Michael's judgment so much that he turned into a killer and betrayer of his fellow survivors. As a result of his actions, Walt became bitter and estranged from his father. Michael, so despondent over his personal failures, tried to commit suicide on multiple occasions. In the end, he is literally a lost soul trapped in the spirit world of the island.
A summary of the main characters and their pre-crash goals being met:
YES: Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Rose & Bernard,
NO: Locke, Sayid, Hurley, Jin & Sun, Charlie, Michael
There is no consistent story pattern from reviewing this simple pre-crash question. It is hard to pinpoint one critical pre-crash issue that was buried in the gut of each character. Maybe all the characters were looking for a way to say they were sorry to a parent. It also seems that the sideways world main unresolved issues were transfixed just before the plane crash (which gives some credence to the parallel purgatory theories). Maybe 40% of the characters attained some form of closure in their pre-island personal issues. But that means more of them did not.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
REBOOT EPISODES 49-52
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 49-52 (Days 67-69)
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 captured by the Others; Sayid, Jin and Sun use Desmond’s boat to counterattack and to meet up Jack's crew. Locke and Desmond confront Eko, who wants to continue to press the Hatch button.
Season 3 begins with Jack in a holding cell, an aquarium at the Dharma Hydra station. The interrogation of Sawyer and Kate take different tacks: Sawyer is caged and treated harshly by Tom (Mr. Friendly) while Kate is given beach breakfast with Ben, who then tells her the rest of her stay would be harsh. All three prisoners have had blood drawn and/or something injected into their arms.
We also see the “crash” of Flight 815 from the vantage point of the center of the Island barracks where the Others have a bucolic campus. Once the crash occurs, Ben orders Goodwin to run an hour away to the tail section; and Ethan to become a survivor in the front section of the plane. He wants “lists” in 3 days.
Sawyer and Kate are put to work by boss Danny Pickett in clearing the jungle of rocks, which we will later learn is for a runway. Sawyer “tests” his guards by kissing Kate to gather information on who is strong and who is weak. At the same time, the Others are testing Sawyer and Kate, first with the polar bear biscuit food cage puzzle, and their escape plans (as Ben is sitting in a monitoring station observing them).
Sayid’s rescue/ambush plan fails, as the Others board the sailboat while Jin and Sayid wait in the shadows of the beach fire. The boarding party finds Sun with a gun; Colleen tells Sun that she won’t shoot, because she is not a killer. But we know from a flashback that Sun is a killer, cleaning up her own mess with her tutor, when Jin could not follow her father’s instructions. Sun shoots Colleen in the stomach; more gun fire erupts and the sailboat leaves the dock. Jin rushes out into the water to find Sun in the darkness.
Locke also has to “clean up his own mess” when he is physically jolted by ghost Boone in the sweat lodge, built inside of Eko’s church frame. Boone tells him that he needs to save someone. It turns out to be Eko from a polar bear that has dragged him into a deep cave. Locke continues to see and hear visions.
Desmond, after the implosion, begins to see mental “flash forwards” including Locke’s rescue speech to the other camp members after returning with injured Eko. Other campers are upset that Hurley did not tell them
Science:
Entropy.
1. thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system. (Symbol: S )
2. lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder: a marketplace where entropy reigns supreme.
3. (in information theory) a logarithmic measure of the rate of transfer of information in a particular message or language.
ORIGIN mid 19th cent., Greek roots for “transformation.”
Improbabilities:
Kelvin Inman, the American soldier in Iraq with Sayid, is now pushing button in Hatch with Desmond.
Charlie and Eko surviving without burns the dynamite fireball in the Hatch hallway. Also, Charlie, Eko, Locke and Desmond surviving a massive explosion-implosion of the Hatch which threw a large solid steel hatch cover (which took two men to open) more than a mile in the air to the beach camp.
Mysteries:
What did the fail safe key really do? Did it lock or imprison an evil spirit? Did it move the island out of its protective snow globe shell? Or did it do nothing of importance (mental nightmare)?
How did Penelope’s Russian men in the Arctic “find” Desmond after the Hatch explosion/implosion?
How can Ben and the Others leave the Island, and Desmond in his boat could not?
And if Ben can leave the island (by boat or submarine), why is he building a runway?
How did Ben not know about Desmond’s sailboat? Does it also mean that Ben did not know about Desmond being on the Island?
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.
Being “Sorry.” The characters are continually telling people they are sorry for some action, but in most cases the ask of forgiveness is hollow. At times, lies continue to cover up repentance for their past actions.
Mirrors. Events continue to mirror other events in different character story lines. The repetitive nature of the tests of the Island invokes a series of game play levels.
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."
Again, Desmond tells Locke this time, “see you in another life” just before he turns the failsafe key.
Eko makes the sign of the cross before lighting off the dynamite to get back into the Hatch; Desmond makes the sign of the cross before turning the fail safe key.
Ben tells Michael to say at a 325 compass bearing to get “home.” That is the only way to get through the “snow globe” of the Island realm.
Discussion:
The man who backbites an absent friend, nay, who does not stand up for him when another blames him, the man who angles for bursts of laughter and for the repute of a wit, who can invent what he never saw, who cannot keep a secret --- that man is back at heart: mark and avoid him. - - - Cicero
A harbor, even if it is a little harbor, is a good thing . . . It takes something from the world, and has something to give in return. - - - Sarah Orne Jewett
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 makes the decision to “save them all,” and explodes the Hatch. In doing so, his “reality” does not change, again. When he says to Locke before inserting the failsafe key, we hear for the third time in the series “see you in another life.” This infers that the characters are never going back to their old life; that there is no escape from the Island; and that the Island is another realm.
The failure to explain, even in a science fiction way, begins the slow decline of the of the story line continuity and mysteries. A formula will emerge in the next seasons of adding characters as red shirts, to be killed off in an unexplained conflict with the Others, who are in an unexplained conflict with Widmore, over control of the Island which no one knows what it is or its purpose.
The vague explanation of the Hatch and its purpose is that there is a “unique” electromagnetic property under the Island that was uncovered during the drilling of the Hatch “the Incident,” and as a result the Hatch was constructed over the anomaly in order to discharge the EM build up to avoid another incident, which is earthquake shaking magnetic pulls toward the underground station walls.
From lostpedia, the pivotal event of season 2:
[Back in the Hatch Desmond opens his Dickens book and finds the failsafe key. We see the timer at 29 seconds. Desmond rushes to open the grate and get to the failsafe.]
DESMOND: 3 days before you came down here, before we met, I heard a banging on the Hatch door, shouting. But it was you, John, wasn't it? You said there isn't any purpose—there's no such thing as fate. But you saved my life, brother, so that I could save yours.
LOCKE: No, no, no, none of this is real! Nothing is going to happen. We're going to be okay.
[We see 5 seconds left on the timer.]
DESMOND: I've got to go. And you've got to get as far away from here as possible.
LOCKE: Go where?! Stop!
DESMOND: I'm going to blow the dam, John. [the timer starts flipping to the hieroglyphs] I'm sorry for whatever happened that made you stop believing. But it's all real. Now I've got to go and make it all go away.
LOCKE: Wait, Desmond.
DESMOND: I'll see you in another life, brother.
[We see the last hieroglyph lock in place. The loudspeaker starts announcing System Failure over and over. Everything starts shaking. We see Charlie trying to help Eko.]
CHARLIE: Eko! Eko! Wake up! Can you move? Okay, come on.
[Knives and forks start flying toward the magnet wall, with Charlie and Eko in their path. Everything metal in the place starts flying toward the magnet wall. Charlie helps Eko walk. Desmond makes it to the failsafe mechanism.]
CHARLIE: Eko, on your feet.
EKO: Charlie.
CHARLIE: No.
[Eko pushes Charlie away and knocks him to the ground. Eko heads back toward the computer room. The washing machine comes barreling toward Charlie as he rolls out of the way.]
EKO: John!
LOCKE: I was wrong.
[We see Desmond cross himself and insert the key. We hear Penelope as a VO, reading again.]
PENELOPE: All we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us. And you have her. I will wait for you. Always. I love you.
DESMOND: [turning the key] I love you, Penny.
[The screen fades to white.]
This event transforms the series. Desmond now becomes a center piece character, the wild card in a suddenly wild place. The Island survives a massive release of energy which apparently destroys matter but leaves the humans unharmed. How is that possible? Clearly, it is not. It is direct evidence that the characters are not human beings in the sense of being of blood and breathing carbon.
There may be an ode to the science of Entropy, but in a literary sense. The Hatch’s EM properties is a “magic wand” to represent supernatural change in the characters, a conversion from their past problems, motives and fears toward new “work” to rehabilitate their souls. The Hatch explosion also marks the lack of peace on the Island, and the slow decline of disorder in the bitter struggle between the survivors and the Others. The transformation, including the accelerating use of personal information against people, is new dynamic at play.
This massive white light experience will come back two more times in the series. The next is the Juliet time travel “falling down the well” moment of smashing a rock against an atomic weapon to allegedly re-boot them back to their own time period. The last time we see the white light is at the end of the church ceremony, when Christian opens the back doors and the room is filled with white light as peace comes over the characters expressions.
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.
The capture of Jack, Sawyer and Kate along with the absence of Sayid leaves the beach camp “leaderless” until Locke comes to tell them that he would get their friends back from the Others, and that he will come up with a plan. It is another transformation that Locke is taking a leadership role from his past as a follower. This time it appears that many of the castaways will follow his lead in this time of crisis.
Some consider the end of the Season 2, “Live Together Die Alone,” to be the climax of the first two seasons on the mysterious island. Beginning with Season 3, the quick descent into filler arcs and mad quests against “frenemies” is maddening to critics. The series “jumped the shark” for a few viewers with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo at the end of Season 3 Episode 3. In order to keep up the level of “drama,” more red shirts were required to fill time.
Michael's escape from the island is problematic as well. When Ben tells him to go NNW at a compass bearing of 325, a map of the Pacific Ocean west of Fiji shows that the boat would be headed into open ocean and not toward any close land mass.
Magical/Supernatural/Elements:
Desmond turning the “fail safe” key and the Hatch first exploding (with a solid steel door landing near the beach more than a mile away, and shaking the other side of the Island) then imploding into a large crater.
Locke returns to his commune past to build a sweat lodge to “talk” to the Island to find out what he needs to do now. The Island speaks through Boone, who is dead, who tells John that someone (Eko) is in danger and needs his immediate help.
Last lines in episodes:
EP 49:
MAN #1: It's us. I think we found it.
EP 50:
JULIET: Thank you, Ben.
EP 51:
BEN: That's home, Jack. Right there, on the other side of that glass. And if you listen to me -- if you trust me -- if you do what I tell you when the time comes -- I'll take you there. I will take you home.
EP 52:
CHARLIE: [looking at Desmond and back at Hurley] Okay. Well, when that wears off can you get bandages from the kitchen?
[Hurley continues staring as Desmond. The last shot we see is of Desmond looking out to sea -- worried and slightly crazed.]
New Ideas/Tests of Theories:
What does it mean to SEE YOU IN ANOTHER LIFE?
The Hatch explosion/implosion should have killed a human being inside the blast crater. If one assumes that the 200 pound Hatch door was blown one mile to the beach camp in a minute (landing next to Claire and Bernard), the force needed to throw that door would be at least 17,600 foot pounds of force. A human neck can only withstand blunt force of 140 pounds. A human skull can withstand 1600-1900 pounds.
There are three ways in which to try to reconcile the Hatch explosion/implosion and the affect on the characters. One, the events on the island are wholly fantasy, with no relation to Earth physics or human endurance.
The inconsistency with how the implosion affected people inside the Hatch is a real story problem. Desmond winds up naked in jungle a day later. Charlie loses his hearing. Locke loses his voice. Eko apparently loses his consciousness. All of these injuries are inconsistent with the amount of force applied to their bodies as compared to physical objects such as hatch quarantine door. Hurley asks if Desmond has turned into a “Hulk,” a comic book character created by a mad experiment gone bad.
But there is another easy explanation. The first two seasons of LOST have all the components of a modern video game. In game play, you need a character with back stories. You need people or things to protect. You need territory to take or defend. You need spies, assassins, soldiers, weapons and missions. You need intel in order to form strategies. As we have said from the beginning, the key principle in LOST is “knowledge is power.” All the characters could be avatars in a complex multiplayer video game, with Desmond’s new “power” of flash forward visions, either a wild card upgrade or the fact the player is “farther” along at a different level than the other players. The flashbacks, with the repeat of characters in different places, could be assumed to be merely earlier versions of the current game, as developers often re-use characters in video game sequels.
The second is the concept of power and illusion of the mind. When Hurley talked in earlier episodes about transference, it could also relate to the concept of the show’s mental institution theories. When we talk about transference in the setting of a hospital mental institution, with its floors and “stations,” one could argue that there are similar pieces on the island. When you have institutional group sessions and group rooms, the island also has their own “groups.” If these groups have vivid fantasies, then they could create the island dynamic as it pits them against authority. Dave is Hurley’s alter-ego against such authority. When Dr. Brooks asks Hurley to make LISTs, that idea is transferred through to the Others who also demand “lists” or work off “lists of names.” The idea of the Numbers, lists, food - - neurotic triggers of Hurley's mind - - - being of importance and repeating on the Island is because those elements are repeated because Hurley’s subconscious continues to repeat them in his fantasy world. Ben is also obsessive about LISTs: to Ethan and Goodwin after the plane crash, to Michael to bring back the four people to exchange for his son.
This leads to the continuing possibility that the big premise of Lost is contained in Hurley’s dream world. Dave’s explanation to Hurley that all of this is in his mind is the most detailed character driven rationale in the entire series. Where else can the surreal nature of the smoke monsters, polar bears in the jungle, whispers in the brush, and hostile natives all function except in the vivid fantasy world in someone’s creative mind. People have said that their night visions are so “real” that they wake up in a panic, thinking the events are happening to them in real time. What if they are so real, a catatonic patient cannot wake up from his nightmares? Dave’s solution is that you need to kill yourself in your nightmare in order to wake up in the real world.
Hurley choses to continue his fantasy over a chance at getting back at reality. If you believe that the flashbacks are “real,” then Hurley would have known about Libby at the mental institution: they shared the same day room. Her photograph would have been on the bulletin board. She was only a few feet away from him when Leonard is playing Connect Four. Hurley’s memories of people we know he saw or who he could have saw if it is a criminal mental institution create all of his Island “characters.” That makes sense on all the backstory “coincidences” of the Island characters, such as Desmond telling Jack at the stadium, “see you in another life,” just as Dave tells Hurley he will “see him in another life.” How would Hurley know Desmond’s line to Jack unless Hurley himself had a memory or subconscious use of it.
Hurley has an opportunity to end his mental trap, but some part of him does not want to deal with reality. In his reality, he blames himself for the death of two people in a deck collapse, because of his weight. But what if that guilt haunts him after his own death?
There are more references to other characters having mental problems, mental meltdowns or “losing their grip” on reality like Jack going through his divorce and fighting his father at an AA meeting, to Jin “losing his grip” when told to do his father-in-law’s killing. In fact, all of the characters in LOST have the ability to become violent killers. Even lovesick Desmond, kills Kelvin in a rage over keeping his repaired sailboat a secret. The repression of past harm could be re-tested in the environment of the Island, either as a metaphor for a hospital treatment, or as judgment of a person’s soul.
Third, that the events of the Island is in the realm of the afterlife. In an Albert Brooks movie tangent, the idea that Hurley was in an accident that killed two people, one of those people may have been himself. Like in Defending Your Life, a dead Hurley boards a plane to the afterlife with fellow souls, except for some reason, these people don’t believe they are dead. The plane crash was a fiction for these lost souls to work out their sins, issues and character flaws in order to pass on to the next level of existence.
There is also a reference to the Brooks movie when Juliet has a large file in front of her when she is talking to Jack. She tells him “this is your life.” She says knows everything about him, much like the angel defender does with Albert Brooks’ character.
These episodes dynamically reinforce the three theories about game play, mental illness, and the afterlife, creating a spiritual fantasy world that the characters are trying to get through, via quests, religious ritual or missions of survival. It seems that some characters must reach their personal “rock bottom” in order to change, in order to be saved.
Any form of dream or non-Earth 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.
What does it mean to SEE YOU IN ANOTHER LIFE? It can mean see you at the next game level, see you in the next dream, or see you in the afterlife.
LOST REBOOT
Recap: Episodes 49-52 (Days 67-69)
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 captured by the Others; Sayid, Jin and Sun use Desmond’s boat to counterattack and to meet up Jack's crew. Locke and Desmond confront Eko, who wants to continue to press the Hatch button.
Season 3 begins with Jack in a holding cell, an aquarium at the Dharma Hydra station. The interrogation of Sawyer and Kate take different tacks: Sawyer is caged and treated harshly by Tom (Mr. Friendly) while Kate is given beach breakfast with Ben, who then tells her the rest of her stay would be harsh. All three prisoners have had blood drawn and/or something injected into their arms.
We also see the “crash” of Flight 815 from the vantage point of the center of the Island barracks where the Others have a bucolic campus. Once the crash occurs, Ben orders Goodwin to run an hour away to the tail section; and Ethan to become a survivor in the front section of the plane. He wants “lists” in 3 days.
Sawyer and Kate are put to work by boss Danny Pickett in clearing the jungle of rocks, which we will later learn is for a runway. Sawyer “tests” his guards by kissing Kate to gather information on who is strong and who is weak. At the same time, the Others are testing Sawyer and Kate, first with the polar bear biscuit food cage puzzle, and their escape plans (as Ben is sitting in a monitoring station observing them).
Sayid’s rescue/ambush plan fails, as the Others board the sailboat while Jin and Sayid wait in the shadows of the beach fire. The boarding party finds Sun with a gun; Colleen tells Sun that she won’t shoot, because she is not a killer. But we know from a flashback that Sun is a killer, cleaning up her own mess with her tutor, when Jin could not follow her father’s instructions. Sun shoots Colleen in the stomach; more gun fire erupts and the sailboat leaves the dock. Jin rushes out into the water to find Sun in the darkness.
Locke also has to “clean up his own mess” when he is physically jolted by ghost Boone in the sweat lodge, built inside of Eko’s church frame. Boone tells him that he needs to save someone. It turns out to be Eko from a polar bear that has dragged him into a deep cave. Locke continues to see and hear visions.
Desmond, after the implosion, begins to see mental “flash forwards” including Locke’s rescue speech to the other camp members after returning with injured Eko. Other campers are upset that Hurley did not tell them
Science:
Entropy.
1. thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work, often interpreted as the degree of disorder or randomness in the system. (Symbol: S )
2. lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder: a marketplace where entropy reigns supreme.
3. (in information theory) a logarithmic measure of the rate of transfer of information in a particular message or language.
ORIGIN mid 19th cent., Greek roots for “transformation.”
Improbabilities:
Kelvin Inman, the American soldier in Iraq with Sayid, is now pushing button in Hatch with Desmond.
Charlie and Eko surviving without burns the dynamite fireball in the Hatch hallway. Also, Charlie, Eko, Locke and Desmond surviving a massive explosion-implosion of the Hatch which threw a large solid steel hatch cover (which took two men to open) more than a mile in the air to the beach camp.
Mysteries:
What did the fail safe key really do? Did it lock or imprison an evil spirit? Did it move the island out of its protective snow globe shell? Or did it do nothing of importance (mental nightmare)?
How did Penelope’s Russian men in the Arctic “find” Desmond after the Hatch explosion/implosion?
How can Ben and the Others leave the Island, and Desmond in his boat could not?
And if Ben can leave the island (by boat or submarine), why is he building a runway?
How did Ben not know about Desmond’s sailboat? Does it also mean that Ben did not know about Desmond being on the Island?
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.
Being “Sorry.” The characters are continually telling people they are sorry for some action, but in most cases the ask of forgiveness is hollow. At times, lies continue to cover up repentance for their past actions.
Mirrors. Events continue to mirror other events in different character story lines. The repetitive nature of the tests of the Island invokes a series of game play levels.
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."
Again, Desmond tells Locke this time, “see you in another life” just before he turns the failsafe key.
Eko makes the sign of the cross before lighting off the dynamite to get back into the Hatch; Desmond makes the sign of the cross before turning the fail safe key.
Ben tells Michael to say at a 325 compass bearing to get “home.” That is the only way to get through the “snow globe” of the Island realm.
Discussion:
The man who backbites an absent friend, nay, who does not stand up for him when another blames him, the man who angles for bursts of laughter and for the repute of a wit, who can invent what he never saw, who cannot keep a secret --- that man is back at heart: mark and avoid him. - - - Cicero
A harbor, even if it is a little harbor, is a good thing . . . It takes something from the world, and has something to give in return. - - - Sarah Orne Jewett
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 makes the decision to “save them all,” and explodes the Hatch. In doing so, his “reality” does not change, again. When he says to Locke before inserting the failsafe key, we hear for the third time in the series “see you in another life.” This infers that the characters are never going back to their old life; that there is no escape from the Island; and that the Island is another realm.
The failure to explain, even in a science fiction way, begins the slow decline of the of the story line continuity and mysteries. A formula will emerge in the next seasons of adding characters as red shirts, to be killed off in an unexplained conflict with the Others, who are in an unexplained conflict with Widmore, over control of the Island which no one knows what it is or its purpose.
The vague explanation of the Hatch and its purpose is that there is a “unique” electromagnetic property under the Island that was uncovered during the drilling of the Hatch “the Incident,” and as a result the Hatch was constructed over the anomaly in order to discharge the EM build up to avoid another incident, which is earthquake shaking magnetic pulls toward the underground station walls.
From lostpedia, the pivotal event of season 2:
[Back in the Hatch Desmond opens his Dickens book and finds the failsafe key. We see the timer at 29 seconds. Desmond rushes to open the grate and get to the failsafe.]
DESMOND: 3 days before you came down here, before we met, I heard a banging on the Hatch door, shouting. But it was you, John, wasn't it? You said there isn't any purpose—there's no such thing as fate. But you saved my life, brother, so that I could save yours.
LOCKE: No, no, no, none of this is real! Nothing is going to happen. We're going to be okay.
[We see 5 seconds left on the timer.]
DESMOND: I've got to go. And you've got to get as far away from here as possible.
LOCKE: Go where?! Stop!
DESMOND: I'm going to blow the dam, John. [the timer starts flipping to the hieroglyphs] I'm sorry for whatever happened that made you stop believing. But it's all real. Now I've got to go and make it all go away.
LOCKE: Wait, Desmond.
DESMOND: I'll see you in another life, brother.
[We see the last hieroglyph lock in place. The loudspeaker starts announcing System Failure over and over. Everything starts shaking. We see Charlie trying to help Eko.]
CHARLIE: Eko! Eko! Wake up! Can you move? Okay, come on.
[Knives and forks start flying toward the magnet wall, with Charlie and Eko in their path. Everything metal in the place starts flying toward the magnet wall. Charlie helps Eko walk. Desmond makes it to the failsafe mechanism.]
CHARLIE: Eko, on your feet.
EKO: Charlie.
CHARLIE: No.
[Eko pushes Charlie away and knocks him to the ground. Eko heads back toward the computer room. The washing machine comes barreling toward Charlie as he rolls out of the way.]
EKO: John!
LOCKE: I was wrong.
[We see Desmond cross himself and insert the key. We hear Penelope as a VO, reading again.]
PENELOPE: All we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us. And you have her. I will wait for you. Always. I love you.
DESMOND: [turning the key] I love you, Penny.
[The screen fades to white.]
This event transforms the series. Desmond now becomes a center piece character, the wild card in a suddenly wild place. The Island survives a massive release of energy which apparently destroys matter but leaves the humans unharmed. How is that possible? Clearly, it is not. It is direct evidence that the characters are not human beings in the sense of being of blood and breathing carbon.
There may be an ode to the science of Entropy, but in a literary sense. The Hatch’s EM properties is a “magic wand” to represent supernatural change in the characters, a conversion from their past problems, motives and fears toward new “work” to rehabilitate their souls. The Hatch explosion also marks the lack of peace on the Island, and the slow decline of disorder in the bitter struggle between the survivors and the Others. The transformation, including the accelerating use of personal information against people, is new dynamic at play.
This massive white light experience will come back two more times in the series. The next is the Juliet time travel “falling down the well” moment of smashing a rock against an atomic weapon to allegedly re-boot them back to their own time period. The last time we see the white light is at the end of the church ceremony, when Christian opens the back doors and the room is filled with white light as peace comes over the characters expressions.
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.
The capture of Jack, Sawyer and Kate along with the absence of Sayid leaves the beach camp “leaderless” until Locke comes to tell them that he would get their friends back from the Others, and that he will come up with a plan. It is another transformation that Locke is taking a leadership role from his past as a follower. This time it appears that many of the castaways will follow his lead in this time of crisis.
Some consider the end of the Season 2, “Live Together Die Alone,” to be the climax of the first two seasons on the mysterious island. Beginning with Season 3, the quick descent into filler arcs and mad quests against “frenemies” is maddening to critics. The series “jumped the shark” for a few viewers with the introduction of Nikki and Paulo at the end of Season 3 Episode 3. In order to keep up the level of “drama,” more red shirts were required to fill time.
Michael's escape from the island is problematic as well. When Ben tells him to go NNW at a compass bearing of 325, a map of the Pacific Ocean west of Fiji shows that the boat would be headed into open ocean and not toward any close land mass.
Magical/Supernatural/Elements:
Desmond turning the “fail safe” key and the Hatch first exploding (with a solid steel door landing near the beach more than a mile away, and shaking the other side of the Island) then imploding into a large crater.
Locke returns to his commune past to build a sweat lodge to “talk” to the Island to find out what he needs to do now. The Island speaks through Boone, who is dead, who tells John that someone (Eko) is in danger and needs his immediate help.
Last lines in episodes:
EP 49:
MAN #1: It's us. I think we found it.
EP 50:
JULIET: Thank you, Ben.
EP 51:
BEN: That's home, Jack. Right there, on the other side of that glass. And if you listen to me -- if you trust me -- if you do what I tell you when the time comes -- I'll take you there. I will take you home.
EP 52:
CHARLIE: [looking at Desmond and back at Hurley] Okay. Well, when that wears off can you get bandages from the kitchen?
[Hurley continues staring as Desmond. The last shot we see is of Desmond looking out to sea -- worried and slightly crazed.]
New Ideas/Tests of Theories:
What does it mean to SEE YOU IN ANOTHER LIFE?
The Hatch explosion/implosion should have killed a human being inside the blast crater. If one assumes that the 200 pound Hatch door was blown one mile to the beach camp in a minute (landing next to Claire and Bernard), the force needed to throw that door would be at least 17,600 foot pounds of force. A human neck can only withstand blunt force of 140 pounds. A human skull can withstand 1600-1900 pounds.
There are three ways in which to try to reconcile the Hatch explosion/implosion and the affect on the characters. One, the events on the island are wholly fantasy, with no relation to Earth physics or human endurance.
The inconsistency with how the implosion affected people inside the Hatch is a real story problem. Desmond winds up naked in jungle a day later. Charlie loses his hearing. Locke loses his voice. Eko apparently loses his consciousness. All of these injuries are inconsistent with the amount of force applied to their bodies as compared to physical objects such as hatch quarantine door. Hurley asks if Desmond has turned into a “Hulk,” a comic book character created by a mad experiment gone bad.
But there is another easy explanation. The first two seasons of LOST have all the components of a modern video game. In game play, you need a character with back stories. You need people or things to protect. You need territory to take or defend. You need spies, assassins, soldiers, weapons and missions. You need intel in order to form strategies. As we have said from the beginning, the key principle in LOST is “knowledge is power.” All the characters could be avatars in a complex multiplayer video game, with Desmond’s new “power” of flash forward visions, either a wild card upgrade or the fact the player is “farther” along at a different level than the other players. The flashbacks, with the repeat of characters in different places, could be assumed to be merely earlier versions of the current game, as developers often re-use characters in video game sequels.
The second is the concept of power and illusion of the mind. When Hurley talked in earlier episodes about transference, it could also relate to the concept of the show’s mental institution theories. When we talk about transference in the setting of a hospital mental institution, with its floors and “stations,” one could argue that there are similar pieces on the island. When you have institutional group sessions and group rooms, the island also has their own “groups.” If these groups have vivid fantasies, then they could create the island dynamic as it pits them against authority. Dave is Hurley’s alter-ego against such authority. When Dr. Brooks asks Hurley to make LISTs, that idea is transferred through to the Others who also demand “lists” or work off “lists of names.” The idea of the Numbers, lists, food - - neurotic triggers of Hurley's mind - - - being of importance and repeating on the Island is because those elements are repeated because Hurley’s subconscious continues to repeat them in his fantasy world. Ben is also obsessive about LISTs: to Ethan and Goodwin after the plane crash, to Michael to bring back the four people to exchange for his son.
This leads to the continuing possibility that the big premise of Lost is contained in Hurley’s dream world. Dave’s explanation to Hurley that all of this is in his mind is the most detailed character driven rationale in the entire series. Where else can the surreal nature of the smoke monsters, polar bears in the jungle, whispers in the brush, and hostile natives all function except in the vivid fantasy world in someone’s creative mind. People have said that their night visions are so “real” that they wake up in a panic, thinking the events are happening to them in real time. What if they are so real, a catatonic patient cannot wake up from his nightmares? Dave’s solution is that you need to kill yourself in your nightmare in order to wake up in the real world.
Hurley choses to continue his fantasy over a chance at getting back at reality. If you believe that the flashbacks are “real,” then Hurley would have known about Libby at the mental institution: they shared the same day room. Her photograph would have been on the bulletin board. She was only a few feet away from him when Leonard is playing Connect Four. Hurley’s memories of people we know he saw or who he could have saw if it is a criminal mental institution create all of his Island “characters.” That makes sense on all the backstory “coincidences” of the Island characters, such as Desmond telling Jack at the stadium, “see you in another life,” just as Dave tells Hurley he will “see him in another life.” How would Hurley know Desmond’s line to Jack unless Hurley himself had a memory or subconscious use of it.
Hurley has an opportunity to end his mental trap, but some part of him does not want to deal with reality. In his reality, he blames himself for the death of two people in a deck collapse, because of his weight. But what if that guilt haunts him after his own death?
There are more references to other characters having mental problems, mental meltdowns or “losing their grip” on reality like Jack going through his divorce and fighting his father at an AA meeting, to Jin “losing his grip” when told to do his father-in-law’s killing. In fact, all of the characters in LOST have the ability to become violent killers. Even lovesick Desmond, kills Kelvin in a rage over keeping his repaired sailboat a secret. The repression of past harm could be re-tested in the environment of the Island, either as a metaphor for a hospital treatment, or as judgment of a person’s soul.
Third, that the events of the Island is in the realm of the afterlife. In an Albert Brooks movie tangent, the idea that Hurley was in an accident that killed two people, one of those people may have been himself. Like in Defending Your Life, a dead Hurley boards a plane to the afterlife with fellow souls, except for some reason, these people don’t believe they are dead. The plane crash was a fiction for these lost souls to work out their sins, issues and character flaws in order to pass on to the next level of existence.
There is also a reference to the Brooks movie when Juliet has a large file in front of her when she is talking to Jack. She tells him “this is your life.” She says knows everything about him, much like the angel defender does with Albert Brooks’ character.
These episodes dynamically reinforce the three theories about game play, mental illness, and the afterlife, creating a spiritual fantasy world that the characters are trying to get through, via quests, religious ritual or missions of survival. It seems that some characters must reach their personal “rock bottom” in order to change, in order to be saved.
Any form of dream or non-Earth 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.
What does it mean to SEE YOU IN ANOTHER LIFE? It can mean see you at the next game level, see you in the next dream, or see you in the afterlife.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
PARADOX SPELL
When MIB-Smokey-Flocke tells us that Jacob has stolen his body, his humanity we don't know if it is literal or figurative because both present themselves as supernatural beings.
That being said, Flocke states that he is trapped on the island and wants to go home. He was trapped by Jacob, and he must believe that by "killing" Jacob he can escape this place. However, one would think that is too simple of a solution if MIB has been trapped on the island since the beginning of time.
A higher authority than Jacob probably committed them to the island for a specific purpose. Some commentators believe that MIB is like a jinn, or genie trapped in a bottle (with the island as its cork). Spells, magic, universal quantum physics may be the explanation of how MIB is trapped in his place, but not what is the key to releasing himself.
I think the real trap is a paradox that MIB cannot break. For example, the liar's paradox states: this statement is false. It brings one to an illogical or self-contradictory conclusion. In MIB's case, the key to break his island spell: The Truth will set him free; but his only Truth is in lies. It is a self-defeating prophecy.
Another example: To leave the maze you must get to the End. The Maze has no End.
Trap: No matter what you do to find the end, you can never leave the maze.
And over time, this would be extremely frustrating because it would be the perfect trap.
That being said, Flocke states that he is trapped on the island and wants to go home. He was trapped by Jacob, and he must believe that by "killing" Jacob he can escape this place. However, one would think that is too simple of a solution if MIB has been trapped on the island since the beginning of time.
A higher authority than Jacob probably committed them to the island for a specific purpose. Some commentators believe that MIB is like a jinn, or genie trapped in a bottle (with the island as its cork). Spells, magic, universal quantum physics may be the explanation of how MIB is trapped in his place, but not what is the key to releasing himself.
I think the real trap is a paradox that MIB cannot break. For example, the liar's paradox states: this statement is false. It brings one to an illogical or self-contradictory conclusion. In MIB's case, the key to break his island spell: The Truth will set him free; but his only Truth is in lies. It is a self-defeating prophecy.
Another example: To leave the maze you must get to the End. The Maze has no End.
Trap: No matter what you do to find the end, you can never leave the maze.
And over time, this would be extremely frustrating because it would be the perfect trap.
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