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.
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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:



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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!!




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