Lost Season 6 Analysis and Commentary (Episodes 5 – Lighthouse)

For the past several weeks, I’ve been trying to make some sense of this season’s LOST. While the show has been as entertaining as ever, the parallel storylines have really had me baffled. I just couldn’t come up with a connection between the two that I liked. However, last night, lying in bed I started to connect some of the dots and I think I actually have a theory that could work.

Sit and think long enough and you can come up with anything

One of the many devices the LOST creators sprinkle in the show are works of literature. This week’s analysis will begin with one of these. In one of the flash-sideways scenes, Jack notes that his son (hmmm....never had one before) is reading “The Annotated Alice”. This text includes the two Lewis Carroll’s stories: “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass”. Both stories are surrealistic tales that warp logic, space and time (sounds familiar). However, what is really interesting is that is that while Alice is the protagonist in both stories, there is no reference to the “Wonderland” story in “Looking Glass” sequel. Although some of the same characters recur (in some cases under different names or appearances), the themes and settings of the two stories appear to be mirror images. So, now think about this in terms of LOST....we have two parallel stories being told with the same characters acting as mirrors of themselves....the characters in the flash-sideways story react differently than those in the main story.

Still not convinced, think about how many times we’ve seen main characters looking at their reflections:

LA X:
- Jack in the plane lavatory

What Kate Does:
- Kate in the chop shop bathroom

The Substitute:
- Locke deciding whether or not to call the surgeon

The Lighthouse:
- Jack in the pond in front of the Temple
- Jack after washing his face
- Jack in the lighthouse

This is NOT coincidence. The mirror image is important.

Now let’s talk about what we learned in the lighthouse and how this relates to the above theory. On the wheel in the lighthouse many names with numbers appeared. Most of these names/numbers correspond to those on the wall of the cave from the last episode. Some interesting new (or at least confirmed) crossed-out names of note:

Rousseau (Danielle)
Pryce (Ryan....Other killed in Season 3)
Stanhope (Goodwin or Harper.....Others)
Radzinsky (Stuart.....DHARMA)
Friendly (Tom....Other)

And most importantly one new UNCROSSED-OUT name:

51 – Austen (Kate)

Note that 51 is NOT one of “the numbers” (Hurley’s lottery numbers/Swan computer numbers).

Also interesting to note is that some of the numbers/names don’t correspond between the cave and lighthouse. For example:

- Burke (Juliet) is listed as 55 in the cave and 58 in the lighthouse
- Martin (Karl) is listed as 33 in the cave and Novak (?) is listed as 33 in the lighthouse
- Rutherford (Shannon) is listed as 31 in the cave and 32 in the lighthouse
- Brennen (French Team) is listed as 29 in the cave and 25 in the lighthouse

So, here is what I’m wondering: Does the cave represent the candidates on the island and the lighthouse represent the people in the sideways flashes? Think about this...the mirrors in the lighthouse might not have been used for Jacob to spy on the Losties, but instead to look in on their counterparts in the alternative universe. I think the slight changes in names and numbers between the cave and lighthouse could support this theory, as the lives they’ve lived in each universe are different.

Wheel of Fortune!

If I am correct about this theory, it could mean that Jacob (“Someone is coming to the island and I need you to help them find it”) is trying to bring someone from the Sideways universe to the Island (which could explain how these two stories will interconnect). This could mean all the lighthouse uncrossed-out names, or perhaps there is only one person that cross into the island universe. If it is the latter, one guess could be Locke (who has been crossed off the cave wall, but remains on the lighthouse wheel). Another possibility is Desmond, who we’ve been told the rules don’t apply to. Regardless of who is coming, I think the “Alice” clues are helping to bring these two realities together.

Before I go on to the rest of the episode, I want to return to the lighthouse discuss the building itself. The first thing I thought of when I saw it was the Lighthouse of Alexandria....one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Other than being built on the island of Pharos in Ancient Egypt, the history of the Lighthouse of Alexandria is not particularly relevant. However, the L of A, got me thinking about the other Seven Wonders. For those not familiar with the Wonders, they are:

Great Pyramid of Giza
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus
Colossus of Rhodes
Lighthouse of Alexandria

The Lighthouse of Alexandria

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

What I was wondering is if there are analogies to each of these seven on the island. Before the Four Toed Statue was revealed to be Tawaret, there was quite a bit of fan speculation that it was the Colossus of Rhodes. Also, it isn’t hard to compare the Temple on the island to either the Pyramid of Giza, the Temple of Artemis, or the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. The above ground portion of the Orchid DHARMA Station always kinda made me think of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Now to be clear, I don’t think there is a direct connection between the Wonders and the Island. However, what I am thinking is that the ancient cultures that produced the Wonders were in some way seeded from the island. Or perhaps the island is the last vestige of those cultures....a place where the magic and superstitions of the ancients still exists. Just some info to store away for future reference.

Let’s get into the some of the other things in this episode, beginning with the Sideways Jack story. The first thing of real interest that occurred in this episode was Jack taking note of his appendix scar. Recall that Jack’s appendix was removed on the island in the Season 4 episode “Something Nice Back Home” (In that episode’s flashforward, Jack reads to Aaron from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”....coincidence? I think not). In this reality, Jack’s appendix was removed when he was 7 or 8. We then learn that Jack has a son, David. These two things tell us that despite the similarities in Jack’s lives (like his relationship with his father), he has had different life experiences.

Now I earlier made reference to David reading “The Annotated Alice”.....I’d like to return to that for one more thought. Remember that in the Season 3 Finale, entitled “Through the Looking Glass” (further underscoring the importance the Alice references), Charlie must turn off the jamming signal in the Looking Glass DHARMA Station. Charlie is told that the code to jamming signal was "programmed by a musician." When I saw that Jack’s son was a musician, the first thing that came to mind is that somehow he could be the musician referenced in “Through the Looking Glass”. I don’t have a plausible “how” for this and maybe it is nothing, but it is something to keep in mind just in case it comes up again.

Speaking of David and music, the sheet music Jack found on his desk was entitled “Fantaisie Impromptu” (by Chopin)....what a cool title for this series. Did you also happen to notice the hand-written notes. On one side it said, “Start off slower” and on the other side it said “Start pick up pace tempo”. I had to wonder if this was a note from the producers to the audience that this season started slow and is now beginning to pick up the pace. The other possible reference here is “Pace” is Charlie’s last name. Is there a connection? Maybe.

Also, in the Flash Sideways, we see Dogan (the Samurai Temple dude) appear at David’s audition. It isn’t clear to me yet if Dogan’s appearance here is either a tool to show that those that interact in one universe will interact in another OR is he working for Jacob in both realities. Either way, he had an interesting line, when he said, “They are too young to have this kind of pressure.” I wonder if this has some significance to the importance of children (like Walt and Aaron) and the role they can play in the outcome of the show. His next line was even more thought provoking: “It’s hard to watch and be unable to help.” This appears to be the exact position Dogan is in on the island. He can’t help the candidates....he can only watch.

OK....back to the island story. I really enjoyed the Jack and Hurley “old school” island trek. Specifically, I liked their pit stop at the caves from Season 1 where we revisted Shannon’s inhaler (possible foreshadowing that her legs will grace the screen again this season), Christian’s coffin (you KNOW Christian is going to be seen again), and Adam and Eve (the skeletons). I especially liked how Hurley was the voice of the audience again, talking about how Adam and Eve could be some of the Losties who travelled back in time and died in the caves. To me, this says that this long speculated theory could be wrong and that Adam and Eve are really two people other than the main characters. It also indicated that we will get an answer before all is said and done.

The other thing that struck me as interesting was when Jack and Hurley ran into Kate in the jungle. Instead of teaming up, they had a brief interaction and then went their separate ways. Think about how similar this is to the Flash-Sideways story. The characters interact and then move on. In fact as this season has progressed, the characters have all drifted further apart. Of our main Losties think about how apart they have become:

Jack and Hurley – at the lighthouse
Sawyer – with Flocke
Kate – wandering the jungle
Jin – With Claire
Sayid – At the Temple
Sun – With Team Ilana

This is as disparate as they have ever been in the series. Remember: Live together, die alone. Not a good sign for the Losties.

You can go your own way

OK...speaking of bad signs, my-oh-my has sweet little Claire taken a turn for the worse. It seems the “infection” has turned her bonkers. While I could spend all night trying to analyze Clairesseau, I’d like to focus on a couple of interesting things she said. First, you had the great reveal at the end when Claire said, “That’s not John, that’s my friend.” So, it appears that Clairesseau is already a recruit under Team Smokey. The second thing was something I only caught on the second viewing....Claire said that she is sure The Others took Aaron because “First my father told me....and then my friend”. What I thought was interesting here was that this indicates that Christian is probably not a manifestation of the Smoke Monster....and that they are two distinct entities. However, the fact that both told Claire the same lie, tells me that whomever or whatever Christian is, he’s also on Team Smokey.

That hits the high points for this week. Here are a few misc items:

- Best line of the week goes to Claire: “If there is one thing that will kill you around here, it’s infection.”
- Honorable mention to Hurley (who had a lot of good lines): “Nothin, just you know... Looking. Cuz I'm a big fan of temples, and like history, Indiana Jones stuff.”
- Hurley also said that Jacob turns up whenever he wants, “like Obi-Won Kenobi”. Remember what I said last week.... “You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.”
- I have no idea what kind of skull was in Claire’s bassinette. It wasn’t a boar or a polar bear.
- Nice Season 1 (episode 5) reference....”You don’t have what it takes” mirrored in Season 6 (episode 5).....”You have what it takes”.
- One more “Alice” reference....the key to David’s mother’s house was under the rabbit.
- In case you were wondering, 108 on the lighthouse wheel corresponds to “Wallace”. I have no idea who this could be.

OK...that’s a wrap. I could keep going, but I think that is enough. I am really starting to like where this season is heading.

I suspect that anyone who was losing faith in LOST after last week’s Kate-centric episode, was born-again with this week’s rockin’ Locke-centric: “The Substitute”. There is a ton to talk about following this episode, but I need to start at the end, because that’s what got me really excited....and I’ll bet you too.

Of course I am talking about the writing on the wall of the cliff-side cave (I’m sure Harry Potter fans loved the nod to the cave in HP the Half-Blood Prince). Not since Locke saw the map on the back of the Swan Station blast door in Season 2’s “Lockdown”, have fans been freeze-framing their DVRs so carefully to decipher some hidden clues. Let’s start with what was pointed out to us by Fake-Locke (Flocke)....the uncrossed-out names:

23 – Shephard (Jack)
8 – Reyes (Hurley)
16 – Jarrah (Sayid)
42 – Kwon (Sun or Jin)
4 – Locke (John)
15 – Ford (Sawyer)

Can't go anywhere without graffiti!

The numbers have been one of the core mysteries of the show since Season 1. Hurley won the lottery with these numbers and they have been omnipresent throughout the series. Now while this doesn’t tell us specifically why these numbers were chosen or why they were assigned to these individuals (and we may never know the answers to these questions), it does tell us that when the numbers were assigned to these Losties, they became significant. It also means that these 6 people are more important than any others....even if their names had once appeared on the wall (and I’ll talk to some of those other names later)....because these numbers had meaning BEFORE the crash of Oceanic 815.

The next very obvious thing that sticks out is that one major character is NOT among the final 6 names: Kate. This is very important because Kate is the only one of the Losties that was touched by Jacob in last season’s finale who does not appear. Not only that, but so far, she has not been identified at all ANYWHERE on the wall (crossed-out or uncrossed-out). Does this mean that Kate was NEVER a “candidate” (more on what being a candidate means later). Clearly, Jacob touched Kate for a reason...but why? Were people brought to the island for reasons other than candidacy? Maybe in Kate’s case she is a facilitator....helping to get candidates to the island (she is one of the reason’s Jack returned to the island and she was the reason Sawyer jumped from the helicopter). Or maybe we just didn’t see the name (but I doubt they wouldn’t show us the name if it was there).

Now let’s get into the areas that weren’t obvious to the casual viewer....LOST-obsessed fans have been scrutinizing the crossed-out names. They come in various flavors (courtesy of the good people at Lostpedia):

Oceanic 815 survivors:
Littleton (Claire...could also be Aaron)
Pace (Charlie)
Rutherford (Shannon)
Mars (Edward....the marshal)
Fernandez (Nikki)
Troup (the guy who was sucked into the engine in the Pilot)
Sullivan (the guy with the rash in Season 1)

Freighter Team:
Faraday (Daniel)
Lewis (Charlotte)
Straume (Miles)

The Others:
Linus (Ben....could also be Roger)
Burke (Juliet)
Pickett (Danny....the guy that used to like beating on Sawyer)
Martin (Karl....Alex’s boyfriend)

The DHARMA Initiative:
Goodspeed (Horace.....could also be Ethan)
Chang (Pierre....Miles’ Dad)

US Army (known only by the uniforms stolen by the 1950’s Others):
Jones
Mattingly
Cunningham

Rousseau’s Team
Brennan
Lacombe

There are also many other crossed-out names that don’t correspond to any known characters.

These names tell us that Jacob has been looking for candidates for a very long time and keeps bringing people to the island until he finds the right one. But it also begs the question: What disqualifies one from being a candidate? Many of these people are dead....so that seems to be one way. At least one has been “claimed”: Claire. At least 2 are alive and well: Miles and Ben. If I had to guess, I would say that the disqualification is based more on your actions than anything else....but murder doesn’t necessarily knock you out (Sayid, Sawyer). In classic LOST fashion, we are presented with answers, but there are always more questions.

Another thing to note is that there may not be any women on the wall. I noted above that Kate was missing. Let’s look at some of the other potential female names:

Littleton – Could be Aaron instead of Claire
Lewis – Charlotte’s father was a member of the DHARMA Initiative
Burke – Don’t know if this is Juliet.....could have been her ex-husband (the one that got hit by a bus) or maybe her father (who was shown briefly in a flashback in last season’s finale)
Rutherford – Shannon’s father was killed in a car accident (the same one that injured Jack’s ex-wife Sarah)....but we don’t know if he ever had any connection to the island.

I tend to think that gender is not a factor, but it is something to keep an eye on....it would also disqualify Sun, if true. Also, I’ve got a gut feel that Sun is more likely to be a candidate than Jin. She seems smarter....or at least more cunning.

One other thing stuck me as very curious. Two very notable names don’t appear: Widmore and Hawking. These two were incredibly prominent island figures. If you need to be male, that would explain Eloise Hawking’s absence. Charles Widmore’s absence could be much more meaningful. Recall that Widmore told Locke in Season 5’s “The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham” that “...there's a war coming, John. And if you're not back on the Island when that happens, the wrong side is going to win.” Locke eventually is killed and his body becomes the new vessel for the Man-in-Black/Smoke Monster. It is not too crazy of a stretch to suggest that Widmore is aligned with the MIB and helped facilitate his return (again...another Harry Potter parallel of the servant helping to resurrect the master). If Widmore is on Team Smokey, then he probably can’t be one of Jacob’s candidates.

So, what is a “candidate”? Flocke tells Sawyer that names on the wall are potential candidates to take over Jacob’s position as protector of the island. When Sawyer asks to protect it from what, Flocke replies: “From nothing, James. That's the joke, there is nothing to protect it from, its just a damn island. And it will be perfectly fine without Jacob or you, or any of the other people; whose lives he wasted.” Two things to think about relative to this: First, recall this conversation the Season 4 finale:

LOCKE: If you have to go, then you have to lie about everything...everything that happened since we got to the island it's the only way to protect it.
JACK: It's an island, John. No one needs to protect it.
LOCKE: It's not an island. It's a place where miracles happen. And--and--if you--if you don't believe that, Jack, if you can't believe that, just wait till you see what I'm about to do.

Second, Flocke is clearly lying.....he will do and say ANYTHING to get Sawyer to agree with him. Remember too that Team Ilana have discussed “candidates” (wondering if Frank Lapidus is one). This indicates that they have some awareness of how things work. I kind of look at Team Ilana as the Knights Templar of the island......they are not members of the clergy, but are dedicated to protecting the church.

So what are the options for candidates. According to Flocke, they are as follows:

1) Do nothing and see how this all plays out....and possibly get your name crossed off the list. (Seems like a path to getting Sawyer killed)
2) Accept the job of Jacob’s replacement. (Not Sawyer’s style)
3) Get the hell off this island. (Sawyer has gone to a very dark place after Juliet’s death and this seems like an appealing option).

Sawyer of course chooses option 3. He makes his deal with the devil and has chosen his side in the war: Team Smokey

Just another member of the team.

Earlier in the episode when Sun asked why Flocke took Richard into the jungle, Ilana responded that he was “recruiting”. I really like this choice of a term. Last year, I wrote a blog entry comparing LOST to three other epic mythologies: Stephen King’s “The Stand” (which the show’s creators claim to be a blueprint for LOST), the Star Wars saga, and the Harry Potter novels. In each of these there is a light side (the Boulder Free Zone survivors, the Jedi, and the Order of the Phoenix) and a dark side (the Las Vegas group of survivors, the Empire/Sith, and the Death Eaters). And the leader of the dark side (Randall Flagg, the Emperor, and Voldemort) preys upon the weaknesses of the men and women as a recruiting tool....gathering followers. So too in LOST, the MIB tries to recruit Richard (unsuccessfully) by playing up Jacob withholding information from him. But he does nab Sawyer by appealing to his pain over the loss of a loved one (Juliet). However, before we crucify the MIB as the antichrist....let’s think about Jacob’s recruiting: Jack (touched when in a conflict with his father), Kate (touched after caught stealing), Hurley (touched when he must make a decision on whether or not to return to the island), Sawyer (touched when plotting his revenge for the death of his parents), Sun/Jin (touched after entering into a troubled marriage) and Sayid (touched after his wife is run over by a van). Each side is now gathering their soldiers for the coming war. Face the hard truth now.....some of our heroes are going to line up against each other. The battle lines are being drawn and war is approaching.

Before I completely leave the subject of candidates, one other thing crossed my mind. Locke was an interesting choice for the MIB to utilize for his plot to kill Jacob. Now on the surface, I believe what Flocke says, that this was his way to get access to Jacob. However, I also believed he was eliminating the TOP candidate for Jacob’s position. Clearly, Locke would not hesitate to accept this position. So, the MIB has managed to kill two birds with one stone (pun intended), killing Jacob and eliminating the top seeded candidate to replace him. Now the MIB’s main mission is to eliminate the other 5 remaining candidates.....and remember death is not necessarily a requirement for eliminating a candidate. The scales have been tipped in the MIB’s favor....as exemplified by the Flocke’s “inside joke” removing the white stone from the balance scale. However, the MIB had better not get too cocky.....while Jacob may be gone, it will only take one candidate to accept the position to rebalance the scales. And I think the smart money is on a certain spinal surgeon.

Tipping the scales.

So, one may ask (well, I guess I am still talking about candidates), why doesn’t Flocke just kill the candidates. Well a mysterious blond boy (I’ll get to him in a minute) showed up in the jungle and said, “You know the rules. You can't kill him.” Hmmmm.....we’ve often heard reference to “the rules”. I’m wondering if one of the rules is that you can’t kill a candidate (with maybe a caveat). This could mean that Ben’s adopted (or kidnapped if you prefer) daughter Alex was a candidate....since Ben accused Widmore of breaking the rules. It also means that some people who were attacked by the Smoke Monster were not candidates: Mr. Eko, Montand (French team member whose arm was ripped off), the Oceanic 815 pilot, and Bram. However, I think there may be a caveat to this rule: if the Smoke Monster is attacked by a candidate.....it may kill to defend itself....like it did to Bram. This could also explain why Flocke seemed perfectly content to be shot by Sawyer. One, he knows he can’t be harmed by bullets and, two, it may allow him retaliate and eliminate a candidate (although I think Sawyer may be more useful to the MIB as an ally than a corpse).

So, lets return to the enigmatic blond boy. He showed up suddenly in the jungle and could not be seen by Richard (not a candidate), but could be seen by Sawyer (candidate). When he first appeared, his arms were covered in blood (I haven’t got a clue...but it must be important). Two big questions come to mind regarding this kid: 1) Who is he?; and 2) Why does Flocke appear to be afraid of him? As to his identity, two possibilities come to mind (based solely on physical appearance): Aaron and Jacob. And my theory is that Aaron and Jacob are one-in-the-same person. The appearance of a young Jacob could explain what is freaking Flocke out....when Jacob was killed last season, I was reminded of the Obi-Wan Kenobi line: “You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.” Maybe that is what we are beginning to see....or more importantly, this is what the MIB is beginning to see. After Flocke chases the boy into the jungle and he is reminded of the “rules”, Locke screams back, “Don't tell me what I can't do.....don't tell me what I can't do!” I took this to mean that the essence of Locke still remains somewhere underneath the Flocke exterior....and maybe this means he can someday return.

Aaron? Jacob? Both?

Back on the other side of the island, a distraught Ilana was sitting in the statue foot trying to make sense of what happened. Of course, Ben is of little help....sprinkling in lies in his retelling of Jacob’s demise. After Ilana learned that Jacob’s body was burned in the fire, she collected some of the ash. It makes sense that Jacob’s ashes can protect one from the Smoke Monster, but clearly the ash being used by the Others for protection can’t have come from Jacob. I had read one theory that the ash may be from Jacob’s predecessors. I’m not sure that I buy this as Jacob has been in charge of the island for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years. However, it could be possible that the ash comes from the cremated bodies of the Others (or maybe previous candidates). Something to keep an eye on the rest of this season.

Ashes to Ashes

The off-island storyline was pretty interesting too. In this timeline, while Locke is flawed, he is not the beaten, broken man we’ve met in his flashbacks. Note that he still has Helen in his life....who in the flashbacks had left him because of his unhealthy relationship with his father. And speaking of the anti-Ward-Cleaver, Anthony Cooper, maybe in this universe he isn’t so bad....notice that Helen suggests that Locke’s dad be one of the attendees at their quickie wedding in Vegas. It would not surprise me at all to learn that this Locke is a wheelchair for some reason other than being thrown out of a window by his own father.

There were many intriguing occurrences in this stroyline, such as Locke’s interactions with Hugo (offering a second chance) and Rose (talking about acceptance, his paralysis and her cancer....a nice callback to their island discussion about being the two people who understood that the island healed them). These two meetings led to Locke’s ultimate decision to stop trying to do things that he can’t do and start doing things he can. This is a conclusion the old Locke could have never reached....and maybe because he has the love of Helen and his father he can reach it and have his second chance at life. When Locke says there is “no such thing” as miracles, is this a loss of faith or his coming into true understanding that life is what you make it?

Locke end’s up as a substitute teacher. Nice how the titles of these episodes often have duel meanings. Flocke is “The Substitute” on the island. Locke is “The Substitute” off the island. When Locke entered the teacher’s lounge, who did he meet? None other than European History teacher, Benjamin Linus. My initial reaction when seeing this was that this was proof that the Island didn’t sink immediately after the nuke was detonated. After further consideration, “proof” may be too strong of a word. The last we saw Ben in 1977, he was recovering from being healed by the Others and was told that he must return to the DHARMA Initiative. However, it isn’t clear if he was returned to the DI and evacuated on the submarine, before the bomb went off. My intuition says that he remained on the island. In the weeks to come, I think we will learn the how Ben ended up as a history teacher and perhaps the occurrences following the detonation. At the very minimum, Ben is the one character we have seen so far in the universe that will have memory of life on the island.

Lunch buddies?

That is the major analysis for this week. Here are a few miscellaneous notes:

- My favorite line of the week came from Frank: “This is the weirdest damn funeral I’ve ever been to.”
- Very cool to get a Smoke Monster Point-of-View tracking shot....and this should put to an end any doubt (from the few holdouts left) that Flocke and the Smoke Monster are one and the same.
- You have to love that it took Sawyer all of 10 seconds to recognize Flocke as a phoney....while everyone else on the island was completely fooled. It takes a conman to spot a conman.
- Sawyer refers to “Of Mice and Men”, which he also did in the Season 3 episode “Every Man for Himself”.
- Ilana says that Flocke/MIB is stuck this way. So, apparently the only two forms he now can take are Flocke and Smoke Monster.
- You have to love Ben’s speech at Locke’s burial: “John Locke was a...a believer, he was a man of faith, he was.. a much better man than I will ever be. And I'm very sorry I murdered him.”
- Substitute teacher Locke, instructs his class on the human reproductive system. Interesting considering the themes regarding fertility on the island....I take this as a sign that this aspect of the story is yet to come.

So am I ready to end this marathon write-up? Hell Yes!

Lost Season 6 Analysis and Commentary (Episodes 3 - What Kate Does)

Ahhhh....the Kate-centric episode. Nothing sparks more acrimony among Lost-nation, than an episode focused on the world’s cutest fugitive. The backlash is so strong after last night’s episode that fans are throwing out comparisons to “Fire + Water” (Charlie goes crazy and tries to baptize Aaron...worst LOST ever), “Stranger in a Strange Land” (Jack gets a tattoo in Thailand), and “Expose” (Nikki and Paulo get bitten by spiders). While, I am not a fan of the typically slow-moving Kate-centric episodes, I think those comparisons are a little unfair to last nights “What Kate Does”. While it wasn’t an edge-of-your-seat thriller, I think it did give us a number of things to think about.

I'm not bad...I'm just written that way.

Let’s start with the title, “What Kate Does”. This is a callback to the Season 2 episode, “What Kate Did”. In that episode we learned that Kate was on the run from the law, because she blew-up her father. Prior to that point, I think many of us were under the impression that Kate was falsely accused....but in reality, Kate is a murderer (extenuating circumstances or not). This week’s episode looked not at Kate’s past, but rather her present. The answer to “What Kate does”, is she is trying to help save Claire and Aaron. It is why she returned to the island and it is why she is helping Claire in the off-island story. It seems pretty clear to me, that one of the themes of Season 6, will be redemption for our Losties. And Kate’s road to redemption is to reunite mother and child (something she failed to do in her own life with her mother).

While, I can understand why people didn’t like the adventures of Kate and Claire in LA, I think there were a few interesting things to note. Recall, last week, I mentioned that alternate-universe-Jack seemed to have bits of recognition of his other life. This week, I think we are seeing more of the same from Kate. As Kate is escaping the airport in a taxi, she makes eye contact with Jack and gets a strange expression on her face. This could be a recollection of bumping into him on the flight, but it seems more likely that she recognizes him from somewhere she can’t quite place. Later in the episode, when Kate is rummaging through Claire’s bag, she comes across a stuffed killer whale and pauses to look at it. Again, she seems to remember something.....when Kate was playing mother in Season 4, Aaron had a stuffed whale just like this one. Later still, when Claire is in false labor, she yells out, “Is Aaron OK?” Hearing this name, again, seems to register something in Kate. As with Jack, these deja-vu-like moments seem to pass quickly, but I would guess, as we work our way through each of our alternative-universe survivors, they will all have these feelings, drawing them closer to the people they were when the plane crashed. It is too early to draw any conclusions about how the merger of the timelines will happen, but expect increases in these phenomena of having been there before.

Aaron with the whale in season 4

The other interesting thing that occurred in the alternative universe, is we received a deliciously ironic encounter with Ethan. Back in Season 1, Ethan kidnapped Claire on the island, brought her to the Staff DHARMA station, and injected her and in-vitro-Aaron with “medicine”. In this episode, Ethan is the on-call OB/GYN at the hospital treating Claire and says that he doesn’t want to stick her if he doesn’t have to. Note that Ethan introduces himself as Dr. Goodspeed.....he has previously only been referred to as Ethan Rom (this is what he told Hurley, when he was making a list of the survivors in the first season). Goodspeed is in fact his father’s last name (his parents were DHARMA members Horace and Amy) and he was likely evacuated from the island with his mother in 1977, before the detonation at the Swan station. While it doesn’t appear that this version of Ethan has any malicious intent towards Claire, we shouldn’t dismiss this entirely. However, if Ethan grew up off the island, than he probably never became an Other.

Dr. Goodspeed, I presume?

Enough of the alternative universe....back to the island. And for those who didn’t like last night’s episode, the defense enters into evidence, Exhibit A: Dogen (you know....the Japanese temple-dude). From what I have seen so far, he is a really interesting addition to the cast. Let’s take a look at his actions in this episode. Note that when he is informed that Sayid is “alive”, he grabs the pendant he wears around his neck. Now you might think that this is nothing of importance, but he did the same thing last week before touching the ankh in Hurley’s guitar case. I’m not sure what it means, but keep an eye on that pendant. Next, I found his “diagnosing” of Sayid to be curious. First, he blows something across Sayid’s stomach (which I believe to be ash.....more on ash below). Then he hooks up electrodes to his abdomen and shocks him (I am guessing this has a similar effect as the sonic fence). So, I believe he was testing Sayid for things that repel the smoke monster. If you look very carefully, after Sayid is shocked, the wound on his stomach appears to be open (sorry, I couldn’t find a good online image of this). Remember that just prior to this, Jack said Sayid’s wound was almost completely healed. Now, while it is possible that the wound just ripped back open, I think the reversal of the healing may be due to the “infection” moving back from the surface of Sayid’s skin due to the ash and electric shock. When Dogen places the poker on Sayid, I believe he is just cauterizing the open wound. Later, Dogen tries to convince Jack to give a pill to Sayid. It turns out that the pill is poison and Dogen believes the only way to stop the “infection” is to kill the host. All this talk about infection is a callback to Rousseau in Season 1....who killed everyone in her party because she believed them to be “infected”. More on the Rousseau tie-ins later, but clearly there is something to being “infected” or as it is also referred to: “claimed”.

Ohhhhh.....the irony!

This is probably a good point to take a little tangent and discuss something I’ve been mulling over the past few days. Last week I mentioned that I had some thoughts on the use of the circle of ash as a means of protection against the smoke monster. I wanted to do a little more research about this before putting anything out on this....I’ve done that now, so here goes. My first reaction when I saw Bram put the circle of ash around him was that this reminded me of how the main character in The Dresden Files novel series (by the way, I highly recommend The Dresden Files....very entertaining) protects himself from demons by drawing a “magic circle” around himself. My understanding is that these circles are “standard” means of protection from demons both urban fantasy literature and traditional occult beliefs. So, this leads me to believe that the smoke monster is some form of demon. Pulling this thread a little further, I did some more research and discovered that prior to Christianity, demons could be considered either good or evil. These types of demons appear in ancient Mesopotamian mythologies, as well Hebrew texts. In the Babylonian myth, “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, a hero on a quest for immortality battles a demon that guards the forest of the Gods. The reason I mention this particular myth is that in the Season 2 episode, “Collision”, Locke is doing a crossword puzzle and writes in the answer “GILGAMESH”. Clearly there is some significance here. In some Old Testament passages, there are references to demons or “angels of destruction”. However, these are not agents of Satan, but rather doing God’s bidding....representatives of God’s wrath. While I don’t think any of these historical archetypes are direct explanations of things occurring on LOST, it had me thinking that perhaps, Jacob and the Man-in-Black are demons (or angels if you prefer)....one representing God’s forgiveness, the other representing His wrath. I’ve speculated before that the island may be an entryway to the afterlife. Maybe Jacob and the MIB are on the island to pass judgment upon souls as they pass to the beyond. If the MIB/smoke monster wants to “go home”, maybe he has grown tired of this position and desires returning to the other side. Prior to Jacob’s “death” there was balance among these opposing light and dark sides of God’s will. Now the MIB stands unchecked. He seems to have little patience for mankind....and if man no longer exists, he has no need to remain on the island (“God help us all”). Now, I’ve sort of extrapolated a long way from the circle of ash, but I think the show is moving away from science fiction themes and into more mystical territories. We’ve seen the ash around Jacob’s cabin, as an attempted personal protection for Bram, and as a line of defense around the Temple. It is clearly a means to keep the smoke monster out (I’m not buying the theories that the smoke monster was once a prisoner in the cabin...and the ash was keeping him in). I’ve read various guesses as to the origin of the ash (the island’s volcano, cremated remains of The Others, etc), but I think what the ash exactly is probably isn’t crucial to the plot. The more important thing is that it works to keep the monster away. I think we will get more clues into the exact nature of the smoke monster as this season progresses. As that happens, I’ll update this theory.

Now, circling back from the above thoughts to this week’s episode, if the Man-in-Black/Smoke Monster is some form of demon, then it is not too illogical of a stretch to assume that “claimed” is a type of demonic possession. Now, one of the other hugely significant things that Dogen says is that Jack’s sister (Claire) has also been claimed. Now, think about the odd behavior Claire exhibited when we last saw her in Season 4....wandering off with her ghost dad (Christian) and hiding in the shadow’s of Jacob’s cabin. The “What Kate Does” defense would now like to enter into evidence Exhibit B: Jungle Claire. In this episode we find Claire wandering through the jungle looking very Rousseau-esque, toting a rifle. It is not a very big stretch to assume that Claire also built the trap that knocks out Justin. If Claire is “infected”, does this also mean that Rousseau was infected. Maybe, but I’d also like to throw out another possibility. Recall if you will that Claire was in a house that was blown up by Keamy and the freighter mercenaries in Season 4. It never sat well with me that she survived this. I’ve speculated previously that perhaps she didn’t survive and she is in fact dead...which is why she left Aaron and went off with Christian. However, given the way Claire seemed to be channeling Rousseau this week, I started to wonder if maybe Claire has been “claimed” by Rousseau’s spirit. Then I remembered that after the Claire-house-blow-up incident, she, Sawyer and Miles walked over the make shift grave Rousseau was buried in. So, I am postulating that maybe the dead on the island can be possessed by the souls of other dead inhabitants. This may explain why The Others burn their dead. The potential implication is that Sayid (and maybe other departed individuals, like Christian), may be “claimed” by someone other than Jacob or the MIB.

I wonder how her French is?

There is one other major item (Exhibit C), I’d like to talk about. When Others Aldo and Justin, are escorting Kate and Jin through the jungle, they debate whether or not Jin is “one of them”. This phrase reminded me of Jacob’s final words after being stabbed: “They’re coming.” I am more convinced than ever that the they/them in question are the core Losties. I am also starting to wonder if there is some type of prophecy associated with the island and the Losties. Remember that LOST likes to draw from traditional mythological archetypes.....not unlike other modern classics like Star Wars and Harry Potter. In fact, I am wondering if the question, “What lies in the shadow of the statue” is part of this prophecy. Remember that Richard’s response to this question was "Ille qui nos omnes servabit", which translates to "He who will save us all." Now the assumption at the time was that the response referred to Jacob. Maybe the “He” is one of the Losties....or “one of them”. Chew on that for a while.

That is the major analysis for this week. Here are a few miscellaneous notes:

- My favorite line of the week came from Miles: “As you can see Hugo, here, has assumed the leadership position....so that is pretty great.”
- Speaking of Miles, note that he (the ghost whisperer) was confused that Sayid didn’t experience white light, singing, or dead relatives. He also appeared very puzzled last week when Sayid was “dead”. All this implies that Sayid was never truly dead.
- Dogen tells Jack that giving the pill to Sayid is his chance to redeem himself....themes of redemption in Season 6.
- Two excellent character moments in this episode: Jack’s defiance of Dogen by swallowing the pill and Sawyer’s realization that people are “meant to be alone”. Self-determination vs. fate always seems to be at the heart of LOST.
- Dogen says to Jack, “I was brought here” and that Jack knows “exactly what I mean”. I hope we get to learn more of the back stories of these characters and how they fit into the island’s plan.

OK.....that is enough for this week. For a “dull” episode it sure had plenty to write about. I’m guessing next week will ratchet up the intensity.

Lost Season 6 Analysis and Commentary (Episodes 1&2 - LA X, Part 1 & 2)

I have to chuckle at the creators of LOST. Before last night's premiere they were talking about how Season 6 was one in which someone who hadn't seen the show before, or who had stopped watching after the first couple of seasons, could jump right in. So what do they do? Give us what might be the most confusing episode in the history of the series (and THAT is saying something). I've dissected every detail of the series through multiple re-watches and I'm still not sure what I just saw! But hey....that's LOST.

I've now watched the premiere 3 times and I think I've got a handle on what is happening.....or I've at least got some theories. Going back to last season, the big question was: What happened when Juliet smacked the bomb? There were two basic theories among the fans. The first was "Whatever Happened, Happened" (or "you can't change the past").....the bomb caused "the incident", and the Losties were always responsible for the ultimate crash of Oceanic 815. The other was that Faraday's plan worked and caused a "Reset"....meaning the crash of Oceanic 815 never occurred. I was always in the Whatever Happened, Happened camp as it is a very pure way of looking at things. However, in "LA X", LOST gave us both scenarios.

Now, if you don't want your brain to explode, stop trying to make a single story out of the two scenarios. When the bomb went off, the story was split into two separate shows....the one we've been watching and a new one where the crash doesn't occur. Now while I believe these stories will eventually converge, intertwine, or relate in some fashion, I don't see that as critical in the near term. For now, just think about them as independent entities.

So, let's start with the "Reset" universe. The most important thing to note is that lives of the Oceanic passengers are NOT identical to those of the ones we've met before in series. Hurley considers himself lucky...not cursed. Shannon did not board the plane. Sayid's passport says he is from Iran, not Iraq. Sun is referred to as Ms. Paik (implying that she and Jin aren't married yet....and maybe she never learned to speak English). And my guess is that over the next few episodes, we will learn that Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, etc all have had different life experiences. This implies that their lives didn't change when the crash fails to occur, but rather they changed in 1977. However something (fate?) is drawing these 9 people (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, Hurley, Jin, Sun, Sayid, and Claire) together (I view all other characters...including Charlie and Desmond...as secondary....for now). Clearly, their interactions will continue.

Last week, I speculated that if we saw an alternate reality, the Losties would have some sense of recognition of their other life. Note, the somewhat confused look on Jack's face in the initial scene...he is remembering something. He also seems to recognize Desmond (I will concede though that Jack met Desmond before the crash of Oceanic 815 as well...but maybe not in this universe)...more on Des below. Additionally, Jack finds blood on his neck. I believe that as the season progresses, our characters will have more of these deja-vu-like moments. It is too early to tell exactly how this will play out, but I would bet that as they begin to understand what they are experiencing, their world will begin to unravel.....leading to something big.

Deja vu?

Moving on....while the sequence going from Jack's window to the island submerged under the ocean was quite cool, let me ask you this: Why would a hydrogen bomb detonation sink the island? Let's suppose for a minute it did....what are the implications? Well, the following people would be dead: Ben Linus, Richard Alpert, Charles Widmore, Eloise Hawking, and maybe Jacob and the Man-in-Black. It also means that Daniel Faraday would never be born. Penny might not be alive either (unclear exactly when she was born). That makes for a lot of plot driving characters not being around. Let's suppose now, that the explosion didn't sink the island....maybe that happened AFTER 1977. If that is true, then many of the antagonists are still alive and may interact with the Losties.

I mentioned Desmond earlier and, as always, he is an interesting case. And right now there are more questions than answers. Why is he on the plane? What was he doing in Australia? Has he met Penny (does she even exist)? Is he even on the plane or is he a figment of Jack's imagination? Remember that Faraday once told Desmond that "the rules don't apply to you". The assumption was that he was talking about time travel....but maybe it also applies to the alternate realities. Desmond has a role to play in both scenarios and my guess is that he will be instrumental in bringing these to realities into a single timeline.

Seen you in another life brotha?

Before we get to the happenings at the airport, I'd like to note a few more things from the flight. So, did you notice that Jack couldn't find his pen when he was trying to open Charlie's airway? Two interesting things about this. First, this is a callback to the series Pilot when Jack asks Boone to find a pen to open Rose's airway. Second, Kate took Jack's pen when she bumped into him at the lavatory (and later uses it to try to get her cuffs off). Nice cameos by fringe characters Dr. Arzt and Frogurt. Boone tells Locke, "If this thing goes down, I'm sticking with you"....which is what happened after the crash of Oceanic 815 and led to his death. The pilot, Capt Norris, heard over the intercom is Matt Parkman from Heroes (he also played the pilot in the series Pilot). When Charlie realizes he is alive he says the line, "terrific".....which he said in the pilot when the smoke monster is first heard in the jungle. He also says that he was "supposed to die".....just like he was supposed to die on the island. Also, the end of the first hour was just fantastic, as the exiting of Oceanic 815 mirrored the boarding sequence from the Season 1 finale, "Exodus" (one of my favorite scenes in Lost).

On the ground things get even more interesting. We got to see bad-ass-Kate kick the marshal's butt before escaping the airport. Interesting that in the getaway taxi there is non-other than Claire....Aaron's mom and pseudo-mom riding off together..... the new Thelma and Louise? I like that Sawyer gave Kate a little cover on her escape. I'm also curious to find out what Jin had all that money for. But the scene I really like is the one with Jack and Locke in the lost baggage office. The dialogue between these two is so great. I love when Locke says, "How could they know where he (Christian) is? They didn't lose your father...they just lost his body." If there was ever any question that Christian Shephard is crucial to the story, put it to rest now. He will prove pivotal in both stories. However, the line that will end up defining the "reset" story is when Jack says, "Nothing is irreversible." Damn....he may not know it yet, but he isn't just talking about Locke's spine. He could be talking about the crash...the bomb....even the island being on the bottom of the ocean. Remember that line. It is important.

OK....back to the island story. Let’s start with the bomb and Juliet. Initially, I was pissed to see Juliet alive. How could she be alive? A nuke detonated 6 inches from her face! However, I’ll suspend disbelief and just be thankful that she did indeed die. My reason for wanting Juliet dead had nothing to do with whether or not I liked or disliked her (but honestly I was never a huge Juliet fan). Rather, I feel her death was critical to the Sawyer story arc. In Season 6, he needs to be a ball of southern-fried rage. And Juliet’s death pushed him there. When he says, “I ain’t followin’ nobody, Kate” it is an indicator that he will be marching to his own drum from here on out. An angry loner...who will ultimately find redemption (and if I had to guess it will be to save Jack.....remember Sawyer once said in season 2, “....you're about the closest thing I've got to a friend, Doc.”)

That is one pissed off redneck!

While Sawyer’s rage is growing, Hurley encounters Jacob. Of course only Hurley can see him, because he is now dead. He tells Hurley, “I was killed by an old friend, who tired of my company” (there were more great lines in this episode than any other I can remember). He then explains that the only way to save Sayid is to take him to the Temple and bring the guitar case with him. However, in order to get to the temple, the Losties needed to journey through the wall surrounding it. This was an interesting little trek as it took us past the body of Montand (Rousseau’s team’s smoke monster victim) sans arm and the hole Ben fell down when he encountered the smoke monster. It was also interesting that Kate heard whispers. It isn’t clear if these were The Whispers (that have been heard in the jungle) or just the Others coming to snatch her.

The Temple itself has been alluded to since Season 3 and finally, we got to see it. I’m sure there is more to the Temple than we saw this week, but we were introduced to The Spring. So this appears to be the source of the island’s healing powers. This must be where young Ben was taken after Sayid shot him. Two things struck me about the Spring. First, is that if it is indeed a spring then it’s source must be below it. We’ve already see that there are “pockets of energy” below the surface and now these healing waters come for below. Something is clearly going on deep underground. The second thing was that the Others state that the water is no longer clear. This seems to affect the healing capabilities. What could have contaminated the water? Maybe it was the detonation of the bomb (a sign that the events in one universe can affect another....but I’m violating my own mandate to keep the stories separate....so I’ll move on) or maybe it is due to Jacob’s death (is his blood running in the water...looks reddish) or maybe it is connected to the smoke monster (remember the muddy water Ben stuck his arm in to summon the smoke monster last season?). Sayid dies in the Spring but he is ultimately resurrected. The question is: Is this really Sayid? Could it be Jacob? Or maybe Christian? Or maybe some other entity? This will be very interesting.

Everybody in the pool!

The other really great thing that was revealed at the temple was the contents of Hurley’s guitar case. He’s been carrying that thing around since midway through last season and now we learn it contained a big wooden ankh...the Egyptian symbol for eternal life (remember last season DHARMA Amy removed an ankh necklace from her dead husband’s neck). But it wasn’t just an ankh...inside the ankh was a note from Jacob. Interesting that Jacob has been passing notes to the Others for years.....was this his method for delivery? Recall that Jacob gave the guitar case, with the ankh and its note, to Hurley before they ever returned to the island, so he must have foreseen what was coming. This make me think that despite the Man-in-Black’s plotting, Jacob has always been in control.

Guitar hero?

Speaking of the MIB, let’s get to his piece of the story. Well, we finally received confirmation that the Fake Locke/MIB is indeed the smoke monster (“I’m sorry you had to see me like that”....classic). And you have to love the way he came out of the closet....taking out Bram and his lackeys with no trouble. Then in a conversation with Ben, the MIB say that he wants to "go home”. Where is home for him? One guess might be Hell (but maybe not...see below). Also note that both Bram and the Others use a ring of ash to keep out the smoke monster (the same ash that was around "Jacob's cabin"). I'll see what I can dig up for next week on the ash.

Now where things really got interesting was when the MIB emerged from the four toed statue. He approached Richard and said, “its good to see you out of those chains”. This indicated to me that Richard was either taken to the island on the Black Rock slaving ship or he may have been a slave in the Egyptian era. I’m guessing though that it is the Black Rock (remember that Richard was once building a ship inside a bottle that looked like the Black Rock). After knocking Richard out and throwing him over his shoulder, MIB turns to the Others and says, “I am very disappointed in all of you.” This was an epic line. I am still on the fence as to whether or not the MIB is truly “bad”. I still think it is possible that Jacob is the “bad guy” and the MIB is the “good one”. Why would the MIB be “disappointed” in the actions of the Others? I'm not sure....but I think I like it.

I could keep on writing, but I think I’ve written enough for now. Before I conclude, I want to give some major props to Terry O’Quinn, the actor who portrays John Locke. He is really an amazing actor. When you juxtapose his performances as Locke interacting with Jack in the airport with the MIB chastising the Others, it is hard to believe it is the same guy. That is a testament to his acting skills. I see another Emmy in his future.

Scary....

OK...that’s a wrap. LOST has come through once again with a spellbinding and mind-bending episode. I expect that Season 6 is really going to be something special. See you next week.