Lost: Favorite Scenes

This week's awesome Lost poster reminded me of one of my favorite scenes, and why I like it so much. It's a scene so important it has been featured on the show not once, not twice, but three separate times in three separate seasons!



Let's hop in the Wayback Machine, and set coordinates for March 2005, the last part of season one. This was the 41st day on the Island, and Locke was desperate to believe that the Hatch he found was special. Locke has a vision of the Beechcraft plane crashing, a vision he believes is a sign from the Island - proof that he is "special" and that coming to the Island is his destiny. On his way to find the plane, Locke loses his ability to walk. It seems like the Island has taken back its gift to John, and he's unable to approach the Beechcraft, so he sends Boone in his place. Of course, the plane couldn't take Boone's weight and it falls, fatally injuring Boone. That night, John is unable to face the rest of the survivors and explain himself. Miserable, alone, and doubting his faith, Locke stumbles into the jungle and pounds on the Hatch. "I've done everything you wanted me to do, so why did you do this to me?" And at that moment, a light comes on in the Hatch. Cut to black. That's not all of the scene, but viewers would have to wait over a year to see more.


On May 24, 2006 the explosive season two finale showcased John Locke's crisis of faith and revealed the history of the man in the Hatch. Desmond lived in the Swan Hatch for over three years, and on September 24, 2004 he failed to press the button and caused a system failure. When the Swan went into overload, the electromagnetic power pulled Oceanic 815 out of the air. John Locke awoke to discover he could walk again. Meanwhile, Desmond feared that everyone on the outside of the Hatch was killed, and the world might have been destroyed. After three years trapped on the Island, and now over three months since the system failure pushing the button alone, Desmond is contemplating suicide. He sits with a bottle of whisky, a gun and a book. He's a fan of Charles Dickens and has read every book but his last, Our Mutual Friend. Desmond carries a copy intended to be the last book he ever reads. Penny knows how important that book is, and before Desmond is sent to military prison, she hides a letter inside. It falls out now, and Desmond finally reads it:

"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, Pen"

At this moment, everything comes crashing down on poor Desmond. He knows that Penny still loved him, but fears everything is already lost. "It's all gone", he yells as he trashes the room. But then he hears a sound: Pounding on the Hatch. A voice: "I've done everything you wanted me to do, so why did you do this to me?" Desmond turns on a light and realizes there are still people, and he may be saved. He goes on pushing the button, and later tells John "You saved my life brother, so I could save yours." Desmond then turns the failsafe key and destroys the Swan Hatch. This sets into motion the events that lead to the rescue of the Oceanic 6, and the death of Jacob. And there's still more to the scene.


On February 4, 2009 the season five episode "The Little Prince" featured Sawyer, Locke, Juliet, Miles, Charlotte, and Daniel skipping in time. For them, it has been over 100 days since the crash of Oceanic 815. The group skips away from 1954 and begins traveling through the jungle - the date is now November 1, 2004. At this moment John Locke is pounding on the Hatch and Desmond is inside contemplating suicide. A light shines into the night sky as the group passes. Miles asks, "What's that light?" "We better stay clear of it", says Locke. Later, Sawyer guesses why Locke wanted to avoid the light, and asks him if he wants to go back there, "tell yourself to do things different, save yourself a world of pain." "No," says John. "I needed that pain, to get to where I am now."


What a moment. It encapsulates so much of what's great about Lost: it's about fate vs. free will, and not mistaking coincidence for destiny (or vice versa!) It asks whether there's a meaning to everything we do, or only what we make of it ourselves? And it's about redemption - earned with self awareness and by taking responsibility for our actions, not through divine intervention.

There's even more I could write about this moment, including who or what was influencing John Locke, its connection to the death of Boone at the same time as the birth of Aaron, Saywer's moment of anguish in the jungle missing Kate and more. And there are tons more incredible scenes throughout the series. I'd love to hear some other favorites.
Read more!

Lost: It's The Little Things

There are dozens of mysteries that have cropped up on Lost over the years. Some have been answered: How did Locke end up in a wheelchair? Who was in the coffin at the end of season three and why? Some have not been answered: What are the Whispers and Smoke Monster? Why do pregnant mothers die on the Island? And some answers were really disappointing: the meaning of Jack's tattoo was revealed in season three's Stranger in a Strange Land - a low point for the series. So low in fact, that this single episode is credited with convincing ABC heads that Lost producers needed an end date. Finally, some mysteries do get answered but you have to go looking for the answers yourself.


One such mystery is the construction project from season three that Sawyer & Kate were forced to work on. They spent days breaking rocks and clearing debris. In the final episode of season three, Juliet reveals to Sawyer that the project was a runway. But what was the runway for? "For the aliens," says Juliet. "I don't know what for, do you think they told me everything?"

Well, the answer has been revealed, but you may have missed it. That runway was constructed as a landing strip for Ajira 316! After the plane hits some turbulence, it seems to bounce through time briefly before ending up in 2007 right above the Hydra Island. The sharp eyed co-pilot spots a possible landing site, with barely enough time to put the plane down safely.



This shows just incredible planning - the runway is constructed in winter 2004 and Flight 316 doesn't crash until 2007! Somehow, someone knew that Jack, Kate, Hurley, et. al would be passing over and pulled them off the flight, while also making sure the rest of the travelers would have a safe place to land. Incredible foresight and planning, from some being who seems to know the past and the future. Someone orchestrating many of the events we see in the series. Someone named...Jacob. It's still unknown what his ulterior motives are. Can't wait for season six to reveal more answers! Meanwhile, don't forget that sometimes, the answers to your questions may be teased out of past episodes. What a great show! Read more!

New Lost Characters Cast for Season Six

Lost Season 6 casting news: Japanese star Hiroyuki Sanada and Deadwood’s John Hawkes have signed on as "recurring" characters.



Now, it's worth mentioning that Caesar from Season 5 was also a recurring character. He only lasted 3 episodes before proving that "Dead is Dead" when Ben blasted him with a shotgun. Then there's Nikki and Paulo, who were briefly added to the main cast. Let's never speak of it again.

Anyway, Michael Ausiello confirmed on his blog that John Hawkes will play "Lennon". The casting notice read: "Lennon: Scruffy, edgy, charismatic, and slightly stir-crazy, Lennon can be deferential when it's called for. He's the spokesperson/translator for the president of a foreign corporation. He's a wily negotiator, and far more powerful than his lowly position would seem to indicate. Recurring."

As for Sanada, it's still up in the air. If I had to guess, I'd say Hiroyuki will play a young Mr. Paik, Sun's father and CEO of industrial manufacturing firm Paik Heavy Industries. It would make sense, as Lennon is the translator for "the president of a foreign corporation." I've long had a theory that Paik was involved in the construction of the DHARMA installations on the Island. WAaaay back in 2006 (!!) The Lost Experience revealed that Paik was working closely with the Hanso Foundation and the Widmore Corporation. I had always believed that it would be revealed that Sun's father had been to the Island, and helped design and build many of the hatches. To my disappointment, it never was revealed on the show.

The problem is that we've seen DHARMA in 1977. We've seen the construction of many of the hatches. And Damon has said we won't see much more DHARMA in season six. Also, the producers have said they're done with flashbacks and flashforwards. How could they fit in a young Mr. Paik visiting the Island??

Time will tell. Maybe season six will play out as Jacob visits various points in the timeline, affecting and shaping events in order to make sure things lead up to the moment where the Lostie "A-team" rolls in to save the day?

Read more!

Lost: It'll Come Back Around

Heading into season six, Lost fans are wondering how it will end. I certainly can't answer that question, but I think I have a good idea how some of it will play out. I believe death on the Island is a huge key to the final secrets of Lost. And at the end, or toward the end of the series, we will see most (maybe all) of the characters die. But in some way, they will be reborn.


A major theme of Lost is that the characters have been literally and figuratively lost, each finally finding his or her true purpose on the Island. The tagline for season six has been revealed as "Destiny Found." Many characters have died on the show, which prompts the question, "If everyone has a purpose on the Island, what's the purpose of those who have died?" Was Boone's "destiny" really just to die on the Island? I believe the Island actually holds the key to eternal life.

After five seasons we've seen some amazing things and learned that death on the Island is not what it seems. The end of season five revealed a shocking twist: that the John Locke we knew is dead, and something else has been walking around looking just like him. But also, there's Claire, who was in a house destroyed by rocket propelled grenade. Later, we saw her leave her baby and wander out to the Cabin. And of course, Claire has since been hanging out with the apparition of her dead father, Christian Shepard. Did Claire really survive? Consider this exchange after the accident, with Miles - a wise-ass who can speak to the dead:

SAWYER: You all right, sweetheart?
CLAIRE: Yeah, a bit wobbly, but, uh, I'll live.
MILES: Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that.

There are many more examples showing how weird death on the Island can be. These are just a few: A major event from season three revealed that Ben, an outsider, had been accepted by the Others partly because they knew he had seen his dead mother appear on the Island. During a Season 2 Kate episode, a delirious Saywer seemingly speaks as Kate's dead father, growling "You killed me. Why did you kill me?!?" Miles, who lived on the Island as a baby, can hear the thoughts of the dead. Hurley receives visits from those who died on the Island, including Charlie and Mr. Eko.

And then there are the Whispers. I think the Whispers are the voices of the dead. A somewhat more "sci fi" explanation is they are echoes from another time, audible thanks to the unique properties of the Island. Several times, the Whispers seem to be associated with the dead. In Abandoned the Whispers are heard just after Cindy the flight attendant disappears. She is later seen with the Others. Did Cindy actually survive the crash? Later, as the Tailies approach the beach camp, Shannon and Sayid hear the Whispers in the jungle. Some think the the voices say "She likes this guy/Dying sucks/Hi sis/Here she comes, here she comes". Is this the voice of Boone on "the other side" waiting for his sister? In The Man Behind the Curtain, Ben hears the whispers just before he sees the ghost of his mother. And in The Other Woman Harper Stanhope of the Others appears to Juliet and Jack with a mysterious "message from Ben". While Jack and Juliet are distracted by the Whispers, Harper vanishes. Is Harper actually dead? Finally, I think the most important relation of the Whispers and the dead is from the season one episode Outlaws. It also hints at what I think will be a major Lost theme - that season six will reflect season one, and the story will be somewhat circular. Sawyer hears the Whispers say "It'll come back around" - the dying words of Frank Duckett, the man Sawyer had killed in Australia believing him to be the "Real Sawyer". The Whispers are the voices of the dead, and they're saying it will all come back around.

"Season six will feel a lot like season one," said Damon Lindelof in a recent interview. The season six promotional still shown at Comic Con features almost every main character to appear on Lost, alive or dead, and shows John Locke in the middle with his back to us. We already know one way season six will resemble season one - by including main characters from season one thought to be dead, like Charlie, Boone and Claire.


At the Comic Con panel we saw Dominic Monahan, confirming Charlie's return, but Monahan wrote on his hand "Am I Alive?" Also, Damon revealed, we will definitely see the return of Daniel Faraday and Juliet will appear in only a few episodes. In another interview, Carlton confirmed that we will see Claire in season six. But Lost producers have been very cagey about the status of the returning characters. Carlton was only willing to admit, "We’ll circle back around to include Emilie, we think in a very exciting way.”

There are comments from Matthew Fox about the ending of Lost, echoing the producers' statement that the ending will be "bittersweet". Fox is asked whether Jack could die, answering "Oh Yeah!" and when asked what he would think about Jack dying, replied:

"I think that would be awesome. I think Jack will die. I mean that's my own personal belief. Whether he will die in the last moments of the show or before that will remain to be seen. I think a lot of the characters are going to die, but I can be wrong. I might know that."

I have theorized that Charlie's death was a special moment. He embraced his death and went willingly to face his destiny, sacrificing himself for the greater good. I believe that is the most important lesson on the Island - embracing Destiny rather than struggling against it, and giving selflessly for the good of others. In return for his sacrifice, Charlie will be granted a form of eternal life. Others who were not so good may only return as Whispers, or not at all.


When someone dies on the island, they may be granted a form of eternal life. Their soul is judged, and those who have learned the lessons of the Island may be reborn. Some force or some race of ancient immortals inhabits the Island, and they inspired humans' notions of gods and demons. Possibly they granted mankind technology, or even language and civilization. Those they deem "worthy" in some fashion are granted an opportunity to join the citizens of the Island. This is depicted in the hieroglyph that appears underneath the Temple - apparently a depiction of Anubis and Ammit. In Egyptian mythology the jackal-headed god Anubis weighed the hearts of the dead. Those whose hearts are heavy with wrongdoing failed the test, and their souls given to Ammit to devour. Ammit dwelt in the Hall of Ma'at, who was the personification of the concept of truth, balance, and order. She embodied all that the Egyptians feared, threatening to bind them to eternal restlessness if they did not follow the principle of Ma'at. Perhaps the Smoke Monster is the Island's devourer of souls, and inspiration for Ammit, the personification of divine retribution for all the wrongs one had committed in life. If a soul can't measure up to the principles of the Island, it is devoured. The "good" people are invited to join the Others, and live forever like Richard Alpert.

As part of the final season of Lost, I think we will see many of the survivors die in some fashion. Their souls will be judged by the forces on the Island, and many of them will be granted a form of eternal life on the Island. This is my guess for the bittersweet ending of the series. Read more!

Reviewing Lost Season One

Lost has finally been released on Blu-ray and I've just made my way through Season One. Some thoughts and random musings:

What a great image to end on - after they blow the Hatch, we see Jack and Locke looking down into the unknown. And what a cliff hanger - leaving fans to wonder for a whole summer...What's in the hatch?!?

I originally had a really hard time getting into the first season of Lost. I Netflix'd disc one way back in Oct '05 and then didn't try disc 2 until Jan '06. Then I gave up and didn't watch more until the broadcast of episode 212 or so, when I quickly became hooked!

There were a lot of things I didn't like - from the start, Jack's frantic scampering about on the beach came off as comedic in a bad way - like a Looney Tunes reference gone awry. At the time, I felt like Locke's wheelchair reveal in episode 3 was cheesy, though I've always loved the character. Not so for Jin & Sun - Boring! I never liked their episodes, but I do have new compassion for S1 Jin, who's all gruff because he doesn't speak English, and he had to be a hitman to repay his wife's debts, while she was seeing someone else on the side.

In all, Season One has too much Jack and too much Kate. Looking back, Kate is just such a bitch, and if she weren't so selfish and manipulative she'd have just hooked up with Sawyer and left it at that. "Whatever the Case May Be" - a lame pun and lamer episode - features yet another one of Kate's selfish and insane plots. She's one of those dangerous, psycho girls who turns people against each other to get what she wants, and all she really wants is to get a rise out of people. Her exploits involving that toy plane, first featured here, have gotten multiple people shot and killed. Her whining and manipulating scene with Jack at the end of the episode really turned me off the character, and she doesn't get any better in the rest of the series, with her two-timing and backstabbing. Season One also featured endless stories of Jack grieving intensely in the ER and whining about his dad. I particularly disliked "Do No Harm", where Jack's behavior with Boone shows it isn't about the injured people he treats, it's about Jack proving something. It's always about Jack.

The good news is there's also some great TV, and particularly great character development - setting up many themes and character traits: Sayid's pain over the long lost love he was finally going to see in LA and his bitter, violent past in the military; Episode 108 "Confidence Man", revealing Sawyer's tortured past - driven to find the real Sawyer, even as he turned into the same sort of man he hates and hopes to kill, contrasted with the beginnings of his fragile relationship with Kate; John Locke's rebirth as a man of faith, stalking the Island with power and confidence; Charlie's struggle with fame, drugs and disappointment, until he finds strength by supporting Claire. Too many great things to write about. Everyone will have their favorites.

There was also some of the coolest "mysterious" stuff introduced - The Swan Hatch, of course; the Black Rock sailing ship in the middle of the Island, and the Nigerian Beechcraft plane; Locke's visions and the death of Boone, the same night as the birth of Aaron; Sayid's discovery of the Looking Glass station's cable on the beach; the kidnapping of Claire to the Staff station; the discovery of "Adam and Eve". Some questions have been answered, and some mysteries remain.

One huge moment was the appearance of the whispers, first in "Solitary" and then again in one of my favorite episodes of the season, "Outlaws" featuring Sawyer. On the Island, Sawyer hears the whispers saying, among other things, "It'll come back around". In his flashbacks, it's revealed what he was up to in Australia - he was looking for the real Sawyer, and was told his name is Frank Duckett. Before boarding Flight 815, Sawyer finds and kills Duckett, learning too late that he is not the real Sawyer. Frank's dying words are, "It'll come back around". This ties into a bigger theory about death and the Island that I have - including the return of many of the "dead" characters in Season 6. More to come on that, once I can get my head around it.

Also, Season One features the first appearance of my favorite Lost mystery - the Smoke Monster. From killing the Pilot to dragging Locke through the jungle, the Monster terrorizes the Losties throughout the season. For the first time, we see the small wisp of traveling smoke, and hear distinctly the mechanical sounds of the "security system". Clearly the thing emerges from vents in the ground, and relies on some kind of underground machinery. Also, when hit with dynamite, the Monster breaks apart briefly revealing what looks like a magnetic field.


Season 6 will finally reveal the secrets of the Whispers and the Monster, and maybe death and the afterlife on the Island too. There isn't much in Season One that gives clues about what may happen in Season 6, like "What happens after the Incident?" or "Who is Jacob?" but there is a ton of character building and relationship development. Right up to the end of Season 5, the core characters like Sawyer, Kate, Jack, Hurley, Sayid and Locke have shown remarkably consistent character and motivation. It was all evident in Season One, and it's a real testament to the writing on the show that it has remained so tight over 100 episodes, even if they did wander a little bit in the middle there.

Up next, my favorite, Season Two!

Read more!

Who is Dexter Stratton?

A minor detail in the season 5 finale has me thinking, "Who is Dexter Stratton?" In 2007, Sun returns to the Losties' Beach Camp, and in Aaron's crib she finds a ring.

What's the significance of Sun picking up the DS ring? Will Dexter Stratton be revealed as a key figure in the destiny of the Island? Will Charlie be returning somehow in season 6?


Dexter Stratton's granddaughter Megan married Simon Pace, and they had two sons - Liam and Charlie. Liam's birthright was the DS ring handed down to Megan, but Liam feared his own death by heroin. One Christmas morning he gave the DS ring to his brother Charlie, to pass down to his son one day.




On his way to what he believes is his final destiny in the Looking Glass Station, Charlie stopped and left his ring for his surrogate son, Aaron. The ring was tucked into Aaron's crib, but Aaron and Claire never returned to the camp and Aaron was rescued as one of the Oceanic 6.

So, with the benefit of hindsight, who is Charlie Pace? Washed up rock star, reformed drug addict, daddy surrogate, hero. The focus of one of the best and also one of the worst episodes of Lost.





The Charlie focused Fire+Water is considered by some to be one of the worst episodes of Lost so far. Right up there with Expose featuring Nikki & Paulo, and every Kate episode. For instance, here and here. In its defense, the gift of the piano and Megan's statement that Charlie is "special" both hint at his destiny in the Looking Glass, where he plays "Good Vibrations" on the keyboard and shuts down the radio jammers. Fire+Water is an extended allusion to the Baptism of Christ, including a visual reference to Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci's painting by that name.



















Fire+Water doesn't look like any other episode of Lost, and a lot of the details seemed to go nowhere. Conversely, Greatest Hits is one of my absolute favorite episodes of Lost.

Even during the first airing, I felt it was something special. The structure of the flashbacks as Charlie's countdown of Top 5 Best Moments was incredibly engaging and endearing. From the first time he heard himself on the radio, to the day he met Claire, Charlie reflects on a life he was proud of. He knows he can go to face death with the knowledge that Aaron and Claire will be rescued. It didn't exactly turn out that way of course.

Charlie faced his destiny and gave his life in the Looking Glass. His sacrifice allowed the Kahana to access the Island. The result was both Ben and Locke turning the Wheel, and also the escape of the Oceanic 6. This ultimately allowed the Losties to return to the Island in the year 1977, where they also met their destinies by creating Ben Linus and causing the Incident. Meanwhile, John and Ben end up in 2007 for a showdown with Jacob.

Some of this seems bound up in the plan by Jacob's Nemesis leading to Jacob's murder. Many of these events are critical in the plan to take over John Locke and manipulate Ben into striking with the knife.

However, there's also the reference to Aaron as a sort of Christ figure, and Charlie was responsible for him getting baptized. What's the significance of Charlie's sacrifice and his importance in Aaron's destiny? Could it be that Aaron is really Jacob, thanks to some time loop, and being baptized is the only thing that could lead to His resurrection after being murdered by his Nemesis? In the end, is Charlie's sacrifice evidence of the "progress" Jacob hopes for, even though it's also twisted up in the Nemesis' plans for "destruction"? And who is Dexter Stratton?

It's impossible to say how much of this will actually be tied up in the final season, or whether I'm just grasping at straws. These may turn out to be just loose ends in an incredibly intricate series. There's still a long wait for 2010.
Read more!

The Lost Statue - It's Official?

ABC's Lost recap officially spills the beans? Doc Artz is reporting this as a done deal. In the ABC.com recap of the Incident, the statue is named as Tawaret. It makes a lot of sense, as I speculated in early May, that the statue would be an Egyptian Goddess of fertility and child birth. Yes, the crocodile-looking face through many for a loop, including me.

But really, the two ankhs, the headdress...it does all add up. And I can't exactly blame ABC for not putting giant, saggy boobs on the statue in a hit prime-time TV series.


















Additionally, Lostpedia reveals this fascinating detail:

Wired magazine’s May 2009 issue, guest-edited by J.J. Abrams, included a Lost-related puzzle on pages 104-105 consisting of two pages of one- and two-digit numbers. When the first page was decrypted using a Vigenère cipher, it read:

“ U S E L E T
T E R S B A
C K W A R D S F
R O M E N D
”

or, “use letters backward from end”.

Counting letters backwards from the end of a section of an article on time travel written by Thorne Plates for the August 2003 issue of Wired, in which the Casimir effect was referenced, yielded the solution to the second page:

“ T H E F O U
R T O E D S
T A T U E I S
T A W E R E T
”

or, “The four-toed statue is Taweret”.

I do think the variance in the statue's design has an interesting implication, as well. I really don't think any of these beings are literally meant to be one deity or another. We've seen references to what could be Anubis, Ammit, Isis, Set, plus Jacob and Esau. It seems clear that it's an amalgam of religious iconography, and I would guess that these beings inspired the human legends of gods and mortals. Great stuff! Man, I love this show.
Read more!

Think of all the epileptic dogs

We kicked off the Summer season at Red Rocks last night with Flight of the Conchords! It was a really great show, and way more fun than the show we saw last year at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House. Before FOC hit the stage last night, I was able to recreate our experience from that show.





This one had much better lighting, and of course the experience of Red Rocks! Plus, an acoustic performance by Iron & Wine and some hilarious stand up from Arj Barker.

Being all awkward and unsure is part of the FOC shtick, but the show at the Ellie was all "Oooh, this is going really bad" awkward. This time they were much more assured, so when Bret messed up the beginning of "Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" he calmly said "OH shit! I've just fucked that up!" But seriously, they really seemed on, and put on a great show.

We got to see them do a number I haven't seen on the show yet, about an awkward meeting in a park between a man and a woman. The woman remembers meeting him, but the guy can't quite place where that was? At a party? I got a little crappy cell phone video:



Read more!

Doc Jensen nails a few things

Whoa! Adding a whole lot to what I said, and tying in the Flannery O'Connor book and Jacob's visits, Doc Jensen's Lost recap has some really cool stuff in it.




First - the O'Connor book:

"Everything That Rises Must Converge" — from a phrase coined by an egghead and fellow Catholic provocateur named Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who concocted a theory of evolution called “Omega Point.” Basically, it’s the idea that there is some kind of transcendent entity or consciousness that is guiding everyone and everything toward greater complexity and enlightenment, until everyone and everything becomes transcendent, too.

Which is not unlike what Jacob seems to be trying to do - bringing all these people to the Island and exposing them to its power, trying out different permutations with a goal of total transcendence. It's possible the two Adversaries are even caught in some kind of time loop, and Jacob hopes to resolve it somehow, escaping this wheel and reaching Nirvana. Or something.

Then, he writes:

CONCLUSION
Jacob was “quibbling” during his flashbacks; he was building loopholes and failsafe devices into each castaway’s life that will allow them to cheat death by Jughead. By physically touching each of them, he marked them in a magical way. And now, he’s going to draw them to himself, i.e., the Island, just like the electromagnetic anomaly at the Swan site started drawing anything metal into is powerful singularity. Perhaps they will all be immediately beamed to the Island in reincarnated bodies. (The promo for next season seemed to imply as much, what with Jack’s eye shooting open and reflecting back the jungle.) Or maybe it will be like this: the souls of the annihilated castaways will migrate into their bodies at the point in time that Jacob touched them. And more, I’ll bet you that they will retain all the memories of their past lives. Which means, for example, that Young James Ford will have knowledge of his fate — and can choose to try to change it, if he wishes. This is part of the great gift Jacob has given them: Not only new life, but the capacity to create their own destinies — a destiny which could include, if they wish, to go to the Island of their own free will. And they will. Remember Jacob’s last, bloody sputter: “They’re coming.”

Now, I think that might be taking it a bit far. For instance, yeah Sawyer would get all this time to shape his future, but Jacob appeared to Hurley in 2007/2008 just before boarding Ajira 316. He'd already been stranded on the Island once - why doesn't Hurley get a new life? Though it really does seem like those visit changed or shaped things, somehow. And it really does seem like Jacob was building his dream team, so he could call upon them later, and I agree they're probably the ones who are "coming".

I really don't like the idea that our heroes will significantly change the past they know, and that Season 6 will be an alternate timeline as they resolve what's been changed and why. One of things that is so troubling about time travel stories is the number of temporal issues and potential paradoxes involved. The "What happened, happened" theory of time travel assures that even if you go back to try and change things, all that will happen is you causing the event you're trying to change.

Now, the writers have also been stacking the deck with predetermination paradox after predetermination paradox. I'm hopeful that is more meaningful than people's suggestion that the Losties will change the Incident and alter their own lives. What we'll see is that it was all set up by time travelers, and Jacob has assured that by being involved in the Incident, his chosen group is able to travel to 2007 and end this war for good.

On the other hand, I have to agree with Doc Jensen when he points out that

despite his sensitive, soothing demeanor, I find myself nagged by the prospect that Jacob could be playing with the dark pieces in this cosmic game. The final moments of the opening sequence may have offered a clue that Jacob is more charismatic Lucifer Morningstar than feel-good sexy Jesus.

It's quite possible that there's something to the Red Herring theory as it's just the sort of wink the writers love to throw in (see: Flannery O'Connor's "Everything Rises").Is Jacob "the good guy" or is it possible that the Smoke Monster is the true defender of the Island, appearing in human form as Jacob's Nemesis? And everyone knows, Smokey eats the souls of "bad" people, not herring! Read more!

The Incident

Wow, that was quite an episode of Lost! It wasn't the "Holy Shit!! game changer" that Season 3's "Through the Looking Glass" was, nor did it have the epic "Lost: The Movie" feeling of last year's "There's No Place Like Home". It did give me a lot to think about, and in a cool way this finale is perfectly in keeping with the other finales. Jack traipsing through the jungle with explosives strapped to his back, leading right up to the explosion and leaving us all wondering what's next, clearly echoes season 1's finale. Plus, from the finished Swan hatch, to the the Kahana freighter and now the early Swan site, they manage to blow something up just about every season finale. But this time, the season's big twist ending is when we realize it was not really John Locke at all in Season 5, but rather Jacob's unnamed Nemesis, who orchestrates the murder of Jacob. Clearly this war has been brewing for a long, long time.



There were a lot of things I really liked in this episode. One great moment - they throw the bomb in the Swan shaft, the music swells, they clinch their eyes....and nothing happens! They all stand around with "oh shit!" looks. Classic. Also, the return of Vincent who leads Sawyer to Rose & Bernard. Now more than ever it seems like they could be Adam & Eve, the two bodies found in the caves. I also have been loving Michael Emerson's Ben. He's become such a whipping boy he's practically a martyr, but he keeps up that creepy facade. In this episode, Ben claims he's never seen Jacob, has no idea how the statue was destroyed, and that he's a Pisces. Well, he's definitely a Sagittarius, and I'd say 2 out of every 3 things Ben says is a lie.

I had heard two major characters would die this season. As I wrote in my theories for "The Incident", I had a feeling one of them might be Sayid. I hadn't guessed the "love quadrangle" would be reduced to a triangle though. I thought the chains pulling Juliet into the shaft were terrifying - gave me a little "Evil Dead" feeling, like they were alive! And just think, in 2004 when Jack and Sayid stand in the Swan and wonder what's walled up in all that concrete...it's Juliet's bones. That's some dark stuff, like a mother sending her son back in time, only to shoot him dead herself. Lost has thrown in some really dark twists in lately.

There's so much in this episode to think and write about, I really don't know where to start. This episode certainly did leave my mind whirling and will give us all plenty to chew on until next year's final season! First, I'll focus on one of my favorite parts - Is John Locke the Smoke Monster?


The headline of the episode is that the John Locke we've seen return to the Island is really Jacob's Nemesis. In an earlier post I suggested it's possible he is the Smoke Monster. This obviously would inspire the Other's traditional burial service - a funeral pyre sent out to sea. That way the Nemesis can never animate their spirit, in the fashion of Christian, Claire, Yemi, Alex and now Locke - the dead bodies on the Island. It would seem that for a while now the Nemesis has been manipulating events, in the form of Christian Shepard and other various apparitions. The Lost mobisode "So It Begins" shows Christian ordering Vincent to wake his son, as "he has work to do" which leads into the very first scene of the series. Appearing as Walt, he repeats the phrase to John Locke, inspiring him to get up from his gunshot wound and try to stop Jack from contacting the freighter crew. We now can see that it was the Nemesis, not Jacob, in the Cabin giving orders and trying to get Locke to keep anyone else from getting to the Island. It was all part of a long con, to find a loophole to kill Jacob.

You can trace the work of this Nemesis all through the series. He sought out Mr. Eko as a possible tool, but when Eko could not be convinced The Monster killed him. With his dying breath, Mr. Eko says the Monster told him "you're next", a phrase which now seems to indicate Locke alone - that Locke would be the focus of the Smoke Monster in its attempt to create a loophole leading to Jacob's death. Maybe he was even Boone when he appeared in Locke's medicine hut, where the Island seemed to speak to John - that could have been the Nemesis setting up his long con. He finally used Locke to trick Ben into supporting him without question. That loophole he sought ended up being poor Benjamin Linus, the Leader of the Others.

Poor Ben has become the John Locke - he's a pawn and a patsy, just the way John got scammed all those times. I've been thinking for a while that what was happening to Ben was a crisis of faith - that the Island was testing him, like Job. If Ben would just take charge of his destiny, he could regain the mantle of Leader and save the Island. Well, it seems Ben finally did take hold of his destiny, and it was to kill Jacob. The Nemesis has created a whole scenario to break down Ben's confidence in himself. In 2008 he convinces Richard to give Locke the compass, which inspires Locke to approach Richard in 1954 and tell him Locke is to be the Leader. This results in a weakening of Ben's authority when Locke appears in 2004, and Ben is distraught when Jacob appears to speak to Locke in the Cabin. The Nemesis eventually convinces Ben he has to turn the wheel and leave the Island. When Ben finally schemes his way back to the Island he believes he has to seek the Smoke Monster's judgment. Using the spirit of Ben's daughter, it tells Ben to do "Locke's" bidding or else, and finally leads Ben to kill Jacob. The Nemesis couldn't kill Jacob directly, but manipulated Ben into doing it for him. Ben Linus has been brought so low, from imprisonment and constant beatings, to the loss of his position as Leader and then having to witness the murder of his daughter. It was quite a moment to see him lash out in fury - Ben is typically composed and in control, even when someone's beating the hell out of him. I thought the whole thing was fascinating, and really well played by Michael Emerson.

So, what lies in the shadow of the statue? The answer Richard says is, "He who will protect/save us all."

Battle lines are being drawn between two ancient forces, represented by Jacob and his Nemesis. Jacob offers everyone "choice" and keeps bringing people to the Island for some reason. The Nemesis opposes Jacob, believing in fate and wishing to keep people off the Island. In their support we have Ilana and Bram, who clearly oppose the Nemesis. There's Richard Alpert who appears to side with Jacob, and speak for the people called The Others. Then there's Charles Widmore and his wife Eloise Hawking, who were both members of the Others, but now manipulate events from off the Island. Widmore's employee Matthew Abbadon was the one who got Locke on Oceanic 815, and he also hired Naomi. Naomi recruited Miles, and before he traveled to the Island Bram jumped Miles and told him not to go, that he was "playing for the wrong team". This echoes Widmore's claim that if Locke doesn't return to the Island then "the wrong side" will win. Given how that turned out, it seems Widmore may side with, or even be the Nemesis. Whew! Crazy.

There's also a lot of various Egyptian iconography involved, but I think the two big ones are Jacob's statue, and the hieroglyphics in the Smoke Monster's chamber.


It appears the statue may not be Tawaret the hippo goddess of fertility, as it's clearly masculine with a crocodile face. After finally seeing the face, one possibility is Sobek the crocodile god, who first came out of the waters of chaos to create the world. Sobek also became a god of the Nile who gave life to vegetation and fertility to the land. Crocodiles were seen as terrifying and powerful, and Sobek was sometimes a fearsome god and sometimes a god of protection. Sobek was also an avatar of Ra, then known as Amun-Ra, and Sobek was sometimes called Sobek-Ra. These could tie in nicely with the theory that the statue is tied to fertility on the Island, and that Richard Alpert is Ra.





Then, there's the image Ben sees in the Temple on his way to be judged by the Smoke Monster. It looks like it could be Anubis, god of the afterlife holding a heart. In the underworld Anubis weighed the hearts of the dead. The hearts of those who were heavy with wrongdoing failed the test, and were given to Ammit to devour. Sounds suspiciously like the Smoke Monster. Is that it there in the picture?



So, where is this all going? I believe a big part of the Lost endgame will involve an Ancient Astronaut theory. Ultimately, these forces on the Island (which is probably a sort of advanced space craft) inspired much of human culture. Thanks to a portal on the Island that leads to Tunisia, in ancient Egypt they were the inspiration for multiple gods and legends. The Island was possibly once located in the Atlantic ocean, inspiring the Greek civilization and the legend of Atlantis. We'll see. There's been a lot of set up for this final season. I can't wait to see it all play out! Read more!

Beyond Good & Evil 2 teaser

Oh my god Kotaku has a teaser for Beyond Good and Evil 2! It's like Mirror's Edge meets Assassin's Creed!




Beyond Good and Evil is one of my favorite games of all time, and totally ranks with the best Gamecube titles like Wind Waker and Eternal Darkness. The tone and style were just immediately captivating, and it has one of the few video game stories I've ever found memorable.

You play as Jade, an idealistic photojournalist whose home doubles as a foster care center. Wait, wait, stay with me! As you explore the town, 3D Zelda-style, you use your camera to investigate the ruling hegemony called Alpha Section. The Alpha Section is being threatened by the IRIS Network and soon both sides want to recruit Jade. The streets are full of people watching and reacting to propaganda on big screens in the city squares. It's really amazing.

Another big aspect of the game is Jade's side job as a nature photographer, and there are side quests in a variety of environments. It's really quite peaceful, and the sounds and colors in the design are charming and pleasant.

This teaser looks to be based on the Assassin's Creed engine, also developed by Ubisoft. I wasn't a big fan of the repetitive mission structure and passive missions like Eavesdropping in Assassin's Creed. I did really enjoy some of the fluid running and jumping offered by the engine and the "marionette" control scheme though. I'm imagining that gameplay paired with a Michel Ancel sequel to BG&E and I'm very excited! Read more!

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na LEADER!

"Follow The Leader"

What a great episode of Lost. It was full of mystery and revelation, playing out the events of 1977 and setting up for the explosive finale in 2007. There were no traditional Lost flashbacks, and there was no central character of the episode. Also, the way little events are revealed as both cause and effect of each other continues, and brings to mind the phrase "Eddies in the space-time continuum!" Where the hell did that compass come from, anyway?!? And who is "The Leader" referred to in the title? Isn't everyone asking Richard to lead them some place in this episode?



Sawyer and Juliet have been really good lately, and were great in this episode. Sawyer's bargain to get off the Island was totally in line with the character, and I loved the "Good riddance" moment. I was terribly afraid it wasn't going to work though, and watched the scene of the two being handcuffed in the Galaga with a pit in my stomach. I was so afraid they would be double-crossed and killed, and imagine my surprise when in dropped Kate! I'm really digging the crazy love rhombus they've had going this season between these three and Jack. The tension has been great, and they just keep ratcheting it up. Sadly, this also means many more series of "smoldering glances" but hey, they're keeping it moving nicely.

Another thing I just loved was the stuff with Ellie Hawking in 1977. The first act with Eloise realizing what had just happened was moving, even heartbreaking. Of course the older Eloise Hawking knew so much about what would happen because she had the journal and met the Losties in 1977. Seems really weird to me that Ellie has no baby, though. Daniel was a Professor at Oxford in 1996. When was he born? Anyway, it also seems clear that Daniel's mathematics were used to design the Lamp Post and locate the Island. Eloise knew the whole crew would return to the Island 2007, even though she personally was unable to gather them. If they didn't return, then as she says "God help us all" because it would cause a paradox.

Speaking of paradoxes, Jack continues his doomed efforts to change the past and alter his future. It's fun to imagine how this will all play out, and I can think of a few scenarios.



What will be the nature of The Incident?

It could be that Jack sets off Jughead somehow, and combined with energy released from the Swan site some kind of electromagnetic pulse blasts the Island. This causes many deaths, results in the infertility problems, and bounces the Losties into 2007. That's why Richard thinks he "saw them all die." Another interesting possibility is that Jughead is actually walled into the cement room in the Swan and becomes the failsafe mechanism. Daniel's mathematics finally come into play in 2004 when John Locke decides not to press the button, and catastrophe is averted when Desmond turns the key. It has just the effect Daniel hoped, he was just trying to do it in the wrong time. Finally, it could be that Jughead is "what lies in the shadow of the statue". Jack can't figure out how to detonate the bomb, and while they're moving it Radzinsky drills into the Swan site, causing the Incident just as Jack emerges from the tunnels. The statue crumbles, burying the bomb and possibly killing Sayid. Ilana and Bram are looking for Jughead in 2007 in order to use it in the coming war. How will it play out next week?

The two hour finale "The Incident" airs next week. How many bombs will they drop on us? Will we see Jacob, and how much will we learn about his nature? Is that really John Locke? As Richard notes "he's changed". Will it come down to Locke and Jacob vs. Ben and Richard? Jacob and Richard vs. Locke and Widmore? Where does Christian Shephard fit in all this, and why does Richard Alpert never age? Are we seeing many "walking corpses", and will John stop aging too? Or are the dead bodies infused with another spirit? And what's with all the Egyptian references? Is Richard Alpert RA? And is the statue Taweret, deity of protection in pregnancy and childbirth and does its destruction result in the problems on the Island? So many wonderful mysteries on this show! For now, check out the Lost statue, and a statue of Taweret and hold your breath for next week's exciting finale!!




Read more!

Of Variable Quality

Lost! It can be such a frustrating show. There are so many details in each episode, sometimes you have to work at it to pull out all the meanings. This week's episode felt flat and a little cheesy, but included plenty of mindblowing details as well.



There were a lot of surface things I didn't like about this episode of Lost. For one thing, I hated the whole cheesy concept of humans as the variables. Daniel's entire speech rang false, like some goofy new age "Indomitable spirit of humanity wins out" ramblings. This, coming from the rational scientist character. And Daniel was one of the better characters, so I'm really sorry to see him die. I also dreaded the reveal of Widmore as Faraday's father. Must everyone be related to everyone else? Is this a soap opera now? And, as things come to their conclusions it's becoming difficult for the writers to cram all the details nicely into the story they have left. For one thing, they've announced they won't have time to return to Libby's "incredibly tangential" story. Then in this episode, we finally see the leadup and payoff of the first scene of season 5 - Daniel in the Orchid station. The only problem is, it didn't make any sense.

The scene of Daniel apparently in the 1970's that kicked off season 5 was incredibly enticing for Lost fans. How did he get there? This is the past, right? Is Daniel a member of DHARMA? Is this the Incident? We now know the answers to all those questions, but the reveal fell flat. Daniel has Miles drive him to the Orchid to confront Chang, then hides his identity in the construction area and tries to play coy. Moments later, he pulls a 180 and confronts Chang with a crazy story about time travel, the Incident and his son Miles. Why wouldn't Daniel just mention something before he goes down into the Orchid? What was the point of Daniel even going into the construction area, except that it was already written into the season opener? Well, it happened because it happened I guess.

With "The Variable" the writers add yet another crazy layer of predestination to the story, a theme I've mentioned in the past. The most apt analogy is the ouroboros, a snake devouring its own tail. The stories are getting twisted too! Eloise sends her son on a mission through time, ending with Daniel being shot by his own mother! It's like a reverse grandfather paradox. Not to mention the fact that Daniel must have been born by 1977. Daniel is a professor at Oxford in 1996 when he meets Desmond. Even being "the youngest doctor ever to graduate from Oxford" Daniel would have to be at least 19 or 20 by 1996. So, he must have been born before 1977.

Now poor Ellie has killed her own baby. I'd guess she's among the first to leave before the Incident. She knew all along, but she had to send him anyway. Daniel's journey culminated on the Island, but it began that day his mother told him he could no longer play piano.



Eloise sends Daniel on a journey that ends with his journal being passed to Jack Shephard. Daniel's whole life of science, giving up on dreams of music, the graduation gift presented by his mother...all so he could record these incredible details in his journal. He spent his life calculating equations and conducting experiments no one else would or could, including theories about time travel that have been proven to be true, like his meetings with his constant, Desmond Hume. What was it all for? Well, it was all written down in his journal, which has traveled to the year 1977. That's why Eloise had to send her son to certain death on the Island.



Of course, any meddling Jack and the rest try to do will only ensure that everything happens just as it happened - though a few people escape thanks to Daniel's warning, an "incident" will claim many lives and the arm of Dr. Chang, possibly causing all the mothers on the Island to die in childbirth, and resulting in the modifications to the Swan Hatch requiring the button to be pressed. There's no other way for things to happen. If, for instance, Jack prevented the Incident then the button would never need pressed, and Oceanic 815 would never crash. Therefore Jack would never board Ajira 316 and never end up in 1977, so the Incident would happen anyway because Jack wasn't there!

The key is that someone from 2008 was in 1977 to receive that journal. Whatever details are in that journal won't be any help in 1977 because the past cannot be changed. The Incident can not be stopped but, in 2008 two groups have gathered on the Island and are preparing for war. The information Daniel passes on through his journal will be instrumental in "the right side" winning that war, but it's still unclear who all the players are and who "the right side" is.

Lost is finally answering questions faster than new ones crop up. As it approaches its conclusion, some of the reveals seem a little "yeah, yeah...we guessed that months ago" but of course they have to be shown. The good news is that Lost continues to present stories that make you think, that you can spend time dissecting and conjecturing about, and that reward you even if you guessed wrong.

Next week, "Follow the Leader" Read more!

Amy & Freddy's Wedding Video

Amy & Freddy's Wedding from Matthew Ballantine on Vimeo. Read more!

Son of an Other?

This week Lost featured Ben Linus flashbacks, and among them we saw a teenager called Ethan. Ethan and Ben were seen sneaking around at night, and seemed to be "undercover" members of the Others. Is this Ethan Rom who infiltrated the beach camp back in season one and if so, what does that mean?


A highlight of Season 5 has been the chance to go back and see the origins of DHARMA, the Truce with the Others, and the events that will lead to the Purge. We've seen a lot more of Horace Goodspeed, and we met Amy who becomes his wife and the mother of his son. So what's going on with Amy and her son, Ethan?

When we first meet Amy she's being held by two of the Others - they've thrown a bag over her head and executed her husband, Paul. Has Amy committed the same crime that resulted in Widmore's banishment from the Island?



What if Amy actually was one of the Others, and she fell in love with a member of DHARMA. Amy was expelled by the Others in keeping with their traditions, but couldn't stand to leave the Island or her lover Paul. Under the terms of the Truce, the DHARMA Initiative kept Amy safe within the barracks, but on this day she wanted to share a picnic with her love out on the traditional grounds of her people. Of course, the Others weren't happy at finding Amy on their land after her banishment, and the penalty was death. Only the timely intervention of Sawyer and Juliette saved Amy from her punishment.


Flashforward three years, and Amy has completed her grieving for Paul and moved on, into a relationship with Horace. They have a baby son and name him Ethan. Ethan is the son of an Other, and still has some rights among his people. As they grow up, Young Ben Linus befriends Ethan and helps him grow in their secret society away from the Barracks. Sometimes at night, they sneak out and do the business of "the Hostiles". In 1988 or so, Ethan and Ben are told they must eliminate a dangerous woman living on the beach.

I think this is a compelling theory. It explains how Ethan was spared from the Purge, how he came to be accepted as Ben's sidekick, and why the Others were so ready to execute Amy and her husband. In episode 510 He's Our You Amy convinces Horace to call a vote to put Sayid to death. Either Amy knows he's not really one of her people, or she worries that the Others will send someone to take her son, and return him to their territory.

I predict it will be revealed that Amy was a "Hostile" before joining DHARMA, and Ethan is an Other by virtue of birth. Read more!

Dead is Dead

A few clever cues in this week's Lost have people wondering if the John Locke we saw in Episode 512 "Dead Is Dead" is actually an apparition of the Smoke Monster. The Monster has previously appeared as the dead seemingly come to life on the Island.

This week on Lost, Ben reveals to Sun that even on the Island, "Dead is dead" - the fact that John is walking and talking is a miracle. But it's not entirely true. In fact, John isn't the first corpse to be reanimated. As early as episode 105 "White Rabbit" Christian Shephard's body is missing from his coffin, and he's appeared many times since. I argue that the appearance of Christian in that episode is consistent with the Smoke Monster, even including the sounds made by the small wisps as they travel.

Also, in episode 305 "The Cost Of Living" Mr. Eko's brother Yemi has vanished from the Beechcraft plane, only to appear in a field of poppies and challenge Eko to atone for his sins.

Now John Locke, brought to the Island dead in a coffin as a proxy for Christian Shepard, has been seen walking and talking again. Meanwhile on the beach, there's a locked container from the Ajira 316 cargo hold just big enough to hold a coffin. And this week, Ben used his foolproof method to summon the Smoke Monster to the barracks. The powerful force emerging from the jungle was...John Locke. Now, that was just a moment of humor, a wink from the writers - or was it?

John's behavior on the main Island is interesting. Calling the Others "your people", he asks Ben if it was his idea to move into the DHARMA Barracks. Then, he says they're going underneath "your Temple". Contrast this with episode 503 "Jughead" where Locke stops Sawyer from shooting Charles Widmore, saying "he's one of my people." Could it be that the judgment of Ben starts at the beginning of the episode?

A lot of Locke's dialogue could be construed as a sort of interview of Ben, often putting him in his place. For instance, he asks Ben he if he likes having to ask questions, to put faith in someone else and hope for answers. "Well, now you know what it was like to be me." You could read most of Locke's lines as a stern judge, pointing out Ben's many missteps, and constantly asking about Ben's motivations.

After bringing Ben to the Temple and getting him to crawl underneath, John suddenly disappeared. In John's absence the Smoke Monster appeared and judged Ben, disappearing just before Locke returned. It's like a Scooby Doo villain! He's never around when the Monster is, or he's showing up when you're expecting to see the Monster.

Now, there are so many criticisms of this theory. The Monster hasn't ever been shown to take on a form for a long duration. Also, the apparitions have never claimed to be the dead, unlike Locke who tells Sun, "I'm the same man I always was." Further, the Monster has been shown to have limitations in where it can emerge (Cerberus Vents) and where it can travel - it can't get to high off the ground either. I'm not sure how the Monster could make it to the Hydra Island.

Personally, I really like the idea that the Locke in this episode is Smokey. It would tie into so many ideas, including my theory that Vincent the Dog was also a Smoke Monster apparition. "Reading" the episode that way is enjoyable for me. Is John Locke dead? No way! I really don't expect this theory will hold true, but it's a really fun distraction. Read more!

Predestination and The Numbers

Once again, Lost is proving to be one huge Predestination Paradox - a virtual Ouroboros devouring its own tail. The classic predestination paradox from the Twilight Zone:

A man travels back in time to discover the cause of a famous fire. While in the building where the fire started, he accidentally knocks over a kerosene lantern and causes a fire, the same fire that would inspire him, years later, to travel back in time.

The events are both cause and effect at the same time, thus a paradox.

On Lost, thanks to the "whatever happened, happened" theory of time travel plus a bunch of writer tricks, just about everything is being revealed as predestination. John Locke is scouted to be the leader of the Others because he tells the Others to scout him. Recently, in a brilliant twist of irony, Jack refuses to save a dying Young Ben because he hates who Young Ben will become. Then, because Jack would not perform the surgery, Kate takes Ben to the Others and Jack has actually caused Evil Villain Ben.

Now, sharp Lost fans have caught a crazy predestination detail in episode 505 "This Place Is Death". Montand, a member of Rousseau's expedition has tuned in the radio transmission of The Numbers. This is the signal that brought the science team to the island. It's also the same signal heard by Sam Toomey and Leonard Simms, repeated by Leonard and responsible for Hurley's lottery win. I put a couple filters on, to clarify the sound a bit:




It's Hurley! The Numbers continue to taunt him - from the lottery, to the Swan Hatch, to the odometer on his restored Camero. Now, I expect it will soon be revealed that Hurley is forced to actually record that transmission of The Numbers. DHARMA transmits the core numerical values of the Valenzetti Equation, and any change in one of these numbers will mean DHARMA has succeeded in its mission. So, Hurley is responsible for passing those Numbers along to himself, and that's the reason he ends up on this crazy Island in the first place. Read more!

Continuity Hounds

Interesting article today about Perception on Lost, from DarkUFO. A lot of people are caught up in continuity conspiracy theories regarding Lost, on everything from Richard Alpert's hair and "guyliner" to the invention of dynamite in 1866 - 21 years after the Black Rock supposedly crashed on the Island carrying crates of the stuff. A Season One theory that pointed to a Golden Pontiac involved in accidents with Locke, Kate, Michael, and Hurley was debunked by Producer Damon Lindelof in 2005.

Now a big continuity error has lots of people talking. In the cliffhanger ending to Season Five's "He's Our You" Sayid shoots Ben in the heart. In this week's ""Whatever Happened, Happened" Jin turned Ben over and the wound was clearly on the right side of the chest. What's more, when Sawyer carries Little Ben to the Others, the wound is very low on the side.












DarkUFO suggests that the possible blooper may actually tie into "one big huge crazy no-fucking-way reveal". Meanwhile, a few on Lostpedia have called for a "grand unified blooper theory". Personally, I think the continuity hounds are barking up the wrong tree (You knew that was coming, right?) Little Ben getting shot was classic "serial TV cliffhanger" writing. There was never really any chance Ben would die, but the wound made for a great moment on TV. The next episode called for Ben to be kept in stable condition long enough to recover, so was produced with a wound to the side.

These episodes are being produced all out of order, with hundreds of different crew members and a dozen different directors. Most of the bloopers and continuity errors are simple mistakes that are inevitable with a show as complicated as Lost. Not to mention a show that's rewatched and dissected by millions of detail oriented fans.

As far as perception on Lost, I had a theory for a while that the flashbacks might be revealed as more than just a story device for the writers. Desmond's experiences often made me think he was noticing the flashbacks, the same ones that were happening to the rest of the survivors. Then, several of the encounters with the Smoke Monster seemed to reference the flashback structure, especially Eko's, where he is "scanned" by the Monster in "The 23rd Psalm" and elements of his flashback are physically manifested by the Monster in "The Cost of Living". In the end, much like the Continuity Conspiracists, I think I was looking a little to hard, but I love that Lost is a show that can reward that kind of thought. Read more!