Last night's episode of LOST was another success. It was a Jack-centric story in which we get to see him in his first real shot at fatherhood off the island, barring his time with Aaron. On the island, he struggles to come to terms with his destiny YET AGAIN. We get a brief synopsis of the last three years of Claire's life as she is integrated back into the main storyline again. And was it just me or was Hurley on fire with the comedy. With all of these themes and a couple other points of interest, this post is fairly disjointed relative to my usual work, but it captures those moments that I found most memorable from "Lighthouse." Enjoy!
I really like flash-sideways Jack. He's more relatable and frankly less of a douche than his 2007 counterpart. We don't get all the details but it looks like he and Sarah got married, had a kid (David), and later divorced. For reason not immediately clear, Jack is unable to connect with his son. He's awkward, unsure of himself, and despite his best efforts a little too busy to always be there for David. After a brief chat with his mother and a heart to heart with his son, Jack realizes that he has subjected David to the same pressure Christian put him under as a child. What separates Jack from his father and makes his relationship with David salvageable is that he didn't intimidate or discourage his son in some perverse form of tough love. If anything, Jack was too supportive (but maybe not expressive?) which made David fear failure and his father's disapproval. Well the two opened up, established a positive relationship, and went home to eat pizza, drink root beer, and probably watch a Red Sox game On Demand.
With every episode that passes I want to know the purpose of the flash-sideways more than before. Everyone's lives are relatively better here than in the original timeline. Sure they have their troubles but everything works out for them in the end. It's like a fairytale. For reasons not yet apparent the characters require each others' assistance to attain their happy endings. (Why don't they just go to a seedy massage parlor? :P) It brings me great pleasure to see them at peace for once, but I know it won't be long before Jacob and the nemesis disrupt their lives to fight their war.
2004 flash-sideways Jack also demonstrates that he may potentially "remember" his "original" life. In the season premiere he seemed to recognized Desmond. In this episode he can't recall when his appendix was removed, probably because the procedure "first" took place on the island. Is the purpose for Jack's (and everyone else's) two states of consciousness to overlap in the flash-sideways so that they may do whatever it is they're supposed to do?
On the island Jack reverts to his stubborn, infantile ways. It takes the approval his father never gave him to convince him to accompany Hurley into the jungle. When he runs into Kate he listens to his loins over his brain and urges her follow him and Hurley to the lighthouse then back to the temple. One, "Jacob said just you and [Hurley]. She's kind of not invited.". Two, when was Kate ever NOT a burden on a mission. In the lighthouse, Jack has one of his classic tantrums upon discovering that Jacob has been watching him all these years. When he can't confront Jacob for an explanation he yells at Hurley (!!!) and destroys the lighthouse mirrors, the only thing he shouldn't have done considering as far as he knows, he was sent to position the mirrors so that someone else could come to the island. Granted, Jack's frustration with his place on the island and Jacob are reasonable considering the hell he's been through, most recently taking responsibility for Juliet's death and nearly poisoning Sayid by trusting the Others. Nonetheless, it's because of everything he's been through and all that he's witnessed that he should realize even if he's meant to suffer, his fate is tied to the island. To be fair that would be difficult for anyone to anyone.
Much like how the flashbacks supplemented the island storyline with relevant content from the characters' pasts, the flash-sideways provide morals and perspectives that are useful in the "present" timeline. In "Lighthouse" I am of course referring to the exchange between Jack and Dogen at after David's audition. Referring to their children's extraordinary talent and the demands placed on them he commented, "It's hard to watch and be unable to help." This line parallels Jacob's explanation to Hurley as to why he had Jack come to the lighthouse. "Jack is here 'cuz he has something to do. He can't be told what that is. He's got to find it himself. Sometimes you can just hop in the back of someone's cab and tell them what they're supposed to do. Other times you have to let them look out at the ocean for a while."
This makes an interesting argument for free will. It's as if only through free will can Jack fulfill his destiny.
Claire's story was fascinating but pretty straightforward so I won't spend much time on it. Essentially she is in an infected zombie state and wants her baby back. She appears to have some sense of rationality but for all intents and purposes she is mad from the infection and/or three years or near solitude in the jungle. As a result of the nemesis' hold over her, she is a de facto recruit in his war against Jacob and the Others. To make this commentary more than just a reaction, I wonder what will become of Claire once Kate reveals that Aaron is off the island with his grandmother. Will the nemesis lose his hold over her?
Hurley had some great laugh out loud moments. The best two were in the temple when he was searching for the secret passage out.
Dogen: What are you doing?
Hurley: Nothing. I'm just, you know, looking 'cuz I'm a big fan of temples and like history... Indiana Jones stuff...
(Dogen orders Hurley back to the temple courtyard but Jacob helps him find the words to continue on his path.)
Hurley: I'm a candidate and I can do what I want.
Dogen: Who told you that?
Hurley: (trying to be assertive) It doesn't matter. Why don't you go back to the courtyard.
(Dogen curses Hurley out in Japanese.)
The rediscovery of "Adam and Eve" in the caves leads Hurley to speculate that they may be Oceanic 815 survivors who travel(ed) back in time. Executive Producers "Darlton" have already explained the skeletons are those of Rose and Bernard. Did they go further back in time when Juliet detonated to bomb or is there more time travel ahead of us?
On a final note, we learned a little more about the candidates last night. Rousseau, most likely Danielle, was listed among the other names around the circumference of the lighthouse dial. She was number 20. I also thought I caught 40 was Dorrett (Naomi) and 30 was Widmore, but the images moved by quickly and my paused viewings of them weren't clear. If my eyes weren't deceived and if these names represent characters we're familiar with in the series, we may see more of these characters in upcoming episodes. Regardless of whose names were listed I'm certain we'll see more Widmore.
Next week's episode is titled "Sundown." It looks like we'll learn the result of Jin's detainment in the airport as well as many other questions we have about the flash-sideways couple. Does Sun know English? Do she and Jin have the same marital issues as before. More importantly, we may finally see them reunite on the island! Tune in, log on, and reply.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
LOST Revealed
In the previews for "The Substitute" Smoke Monster Locke promised to tell Richard (and us) everything. Boy did he deliver! To date this is the most revealing episode of LOST. We finally learn the origin of the numbers and receive a fuller explanation for why everyone is on the island. Not only was the story compelling but the writing was brilliant. As such, I will devote this post to breaking down this spectacular fourth hour of S6.
First the title: "The Substitute." Off the island this refers directly to Locke's job placement as a substitute teacher. The position in and of itself isn't important. What matters is the fact that Locke accepts it as an appropriate job given his disability. Pre-crash Locke and the one we see in the 2004 flashsideways is an angry man. He is frustrated by the inability to use his legs, which he expresses through denial and explosive fits of rage. The original Locke gets past his disability when he is healed upon crashing on the island; he becomes a man of faith. We see early on that 2004 flashsideways Locke is a man of science. He doesn't believe any miracle is going to restore the use of his legs and he rejects that meeting a spinal surgeon, Jack, is destiny. Nonetheless he comes to peace by accepting his disability and making the most of the circumstances. From a psychological standpoint, the end result is the same. Despite the many contrasting details between the two Locke's (and everyone else's) lives, there's a sense of complementarity. This reinforces my previously stated conviction that whatever the endgame is for LOST, it will require action in both timelines.
On the island the substitute once again represents Locke, at least the being that has taken on his likeness. I think the reference runs even deeper and stands for the protector of the island who shall replace Jacob. It is through the development of this story arc that everything comes together, of which I am completely in awe.
At the foundation of it all, we learn that the reason Jacob has brought people to the island for centuries is to find a successor to protect the island in his stead. The candidates were all assigned numbers, giving us some explanation to the all-too-pervasive 4 8 15 16 23 42 that we see throughout the series. My take on this is that in his efforts to bring Locke, Hurley, Sawyer, Sayid, Jack, and one of the Kwons to the island, Jacob used their numbers as a code of sorts in all of the events he manipulated to achieve his ends. From the transmission that Leonard heard that ruined his life and sent him to the Santa Rosa Mental Institution, to Rousseau's crew hearing the same transmission that drew them to the island, to the serial number on the hatch and the same sequence that had to be entered in order to press the button - all of these instances and more were part of Jacob's plan to select a new protector of the island.
Without going into the details of the numbers Smoke Monster Locke explains the candidate recruitment process to Sawyer. Upon doing so he also states that protecting the island is a waste of time; the island doesn't need protection. "It's just a damn island and it will be perfectly fine without Jacob, or you, or any of the other people whose lives he wasted." Whether or not "Locke" believes that, I certainly don't. The fact that it restored the use of Locke's legs, cured Rose's cancer, and allowed people to travel through time are all evidence that it's more than a damn island. Furthermore, from a viewer's perspective, we've already heard this debate over pushing the button. I think the writers and producers are making a direct allusion to that conflict to reinforce our knowledge that there's something big at stake.
It's possible that Jacob's nemesis doesn't think the island requires protection and truly wants to leave, but that seems highly improbable. What is more likely is that he wants to do away with the remaining candidates so that he can step in as heir to the island. I think the source of the conflict between Jacob and his nemesis is this position of island protector. (THEORY ALERT!!!) Long ago Jacob was selected over his nemesis to protect the island. The nemesis coveted the position so greatly that he devised plots to eliminate the candidates and Jacob so that he could step in as the de facto protector. There are rules against murdering current or potential candidates, though, so the nemesis has had to manipulate others to do his bidding.
As evidence I turn to the boy who told the nemesis, "You know the rules - you can't kill him," the loophole of using Ben to kill Jacob (which would have worked had Jacob died before the nemesis kicked him into the fire), and the dialogue at the close of 4x09, "The Shape of Things to Come." This is the scene in which Ben and Widmore argue over leading the island. Some notable lines include those in which Ben states that he and Widmore both know Ben can't kill him; when Ben declares that Widmore changed the rules by killing Alex; and when Widmore exclaims that the island always has been his and will be once again. Without knowing the full nature of the relationship between Jacob and his nemesis, this interaction between Ben and Widmore seems analogous.
I have one final point for this post and it pertains to the nemesis' use of manipulation. To demonstrate that he is in fact a villain and not some hapless fellow who just wants to go home, the nemesis is portrayed as Satan. In his efforts to build an army he uses knowledge as a tool of corruption. He first appeals to Richard, Jacob's oldest and most devout follower. For however many centuries Richard has served Jacob, he has known nothing about candidates to protect the island. The nemesis offers him this apple of knowledge but Richard turns it down like the good Jacobian he is.
He next turns to Sawyer, who is more receptive to the offering, although he isn't without his reservations at first. He doesn't divulge that it was Richard he spoke with in the jungle, he threatens "Locke" at gunpoint, and he refuses to descend the cliff side ladder first out of suspicion that it's a trap to kill him. Ultimately, the nemesis succeeds in recruiting Sawyer by saving his life and appearing empathetic to his captivity, anger, pain, fear, betrayal, and lost love. The sad irony of it all is that it was a con. Having experienced time travel and deducing on his own that someone else had inhabited Locke's body, he knows better than most how special the island is. The nemesis overcomes Sawyer's rationality and his indifference to all others by showing that Jacob had manipulated Sawyer since he was a child, appearing to understand his pain, and most importantly, offering him a ticket off the island.
I hope you enjoyed this post and the episode that inspired it as much as I did. If you have any comments, questions, or additional observations and theories feel free to respond. Next week's episode is titled "The Lighthouse." Tune in!
First the title: "The Substitute." Off the island this refers directly to Locke's job placement as a substitute teacher. The position in and of itself isn't important. What matters is the fact that Locke accepts it as an appropriate job given his disability. Pre-crash Locke and the one we see in the 2004 flashsideways is an angry man. He is frustrated by the inability to use his legs, which he expresses through denial and explosive fits of rage. The original Locke gets past his disability when he is healed upon crashing on the island; he becomes a man of faith. We see early on that 2004 flashsideways Locke is a man of science. He doesn't believe any miracle is going to restore the use of his legs and he rejects that meeting a spinal surgeon, Jack, is destiny. Nonetheless he comes to peace by accepting his disability and making the most of the circumstances. From a psychological standpoint, the end result is the same. Despite the many contrasting details between the two Locke's (and everyone else's) lives, there's a sense of complementarity. This reinforces my previously stated conviction that whatever the endgame is for LOST, it will require action in both timelines.
On the island the substitute once again represents Locke, at least the being that has taken on his likeness. I think the reference runs even deeper and stands for the protector of the island who shall replace Jacob. It is through the development of this story arc that everything comes together, of which I am completely in awe.
At the foundation of it all, we learn that the reason Jacob has brought people to the island for centuries is to find a successor to protect the island in his stead. The candidates were all assigned numbers, giving us some explanation to the all-too-pervasive 4 8 15 16 23 42 that we see throughout the series. My take on this is that in his efforts to bring Locke, Hurley, Sawyer, Sayid, Jack, and one of the Kwons to the island, Jacob used their numbers as a code of sorts in all of the events he manipulated to achieve his ends. From the transmission that Leonard heard that ruined his life and sent him to the Santa Rosa Mental Institution, to Rousseau's crew hearing the same transmission that drew them to the island, to the serial number on the hatch and the same sequence that had to be entered in order to press the button - all of these instances and more were part of Jacob's plan to select a new protector of the island.
Without going into the details of the numbers Smoke Monster Locke explains the candidate recruitment process to Sawyer. Upon doing so he also states that protecting the island is a waste of time; the island doesn't need protection. "It's just a damn island and it will be perfectly fine without Jacob, or you, or any of the other people whose lives he wasted." Whether or not "Locke" believes that, I certainly don't. The fact that it restored the use of Locke's legs, cured Rose's cancer, and allowed people to travel through time are all evidence that it's more than a damn island. Furthermore, from a viewer's perspective, we've already heard this debate over pushing the button. I think the writers and producers are making a direct allusion to that conflict to reinforce our knowledge that there's something big at stake.
It's possible that Jacob's nemesis doesn't think the island requires protection and truly wants to leave, but that seems highly improbable. What is more likely is that he wants to do away with the remaining candidates so that he can step in as heir to the island. I think the source of the conflict between Jacob and his nemesis is this position of island protector. (THEORY ALERT!!!) Long ago Jacob was selected over his nemesis to protect the island. The nemesis coveted the position so greatly that he devised plots to eliminate the candidates and Jacob so that he could step in as the de facto protector. There are rules against murdering current or potential candidates, though, so the nemesis has had to manipulate others to do his bidding.
As evidence I turn to the boy who told the nemesis, "You know the rules - you can't kill him," the loophole of using Ben to kill Jacob (which would have worked had Jacob died before the nemesis kicked him into the fire), and the dialogue at the close of 4x09, "The Shape of Things to Come." This is the scene in which Ben and Widmore argue over leading the island. Some notable lines include those in which Ben states that he and Widmore both know Ben can't kill him; when Ben declares that Widmore changed the rules by killing Alex; and when Widmore exclaims that the island always has been his and will be once again. Without knowing the full nature of the relationship between Jacob and his nemesis, this interaction between Ben and Widmore seems analogous.
I have one final point for this post and it pertains to the nemesis' use of manipulation. To demonstrate that he is in fact a villain and not some hapless fellow who just wants to go home, the nemesis is portrayed as Satan. In his efforts to build an army he uses knowledge as a tool of corruption. He first appeals to Richard, Jacob's oldest and most devout follower. For however many centuries Richard has served Jacob, he has known nothing about candidates to protect the island. The nemesis offers him this apple of knowledge but Richard turns it down like the good Jacobian he is.
He next turns to Sawyer, who is more receptive to the offering, although he isn't without his reservations at first. He doesn't divulge that it was Richard he spoke with in the jungle, he threatens "Locke" at gunpoint, and he refuses to descend the cliff side ladder first out of suspicion that it's a trap to kill him. Ultimately, the nemesis succeeds in recruiting Sawyer by saving his life and appearing empathetic to his captivity, anger, pain, fear, betrayal, and lost love. The sad irony of it all is that it was a con. Having experienced time travel and deducing on his own that someone else had inhabited Locke's body, he knows better than most how special the island is. The nemesis overcomes Sawyer's rationality and his indifference to all others by showing that Jacob had manipulated Sawyer since he was a child, appearing to understand his pain, and most importantly, offering him a ticket off the island.
I hope you enjoyed this post and the episode that inspired it as much as I did. If you have any comments, questions, or additional observations and theories feel free to respond. Next week's episode is titled "The Lighthouse." Tune in!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
LA X or Y
This post is meant to serve as an addendum to the previous one that begins LA X. It just occurred to me that the X could serve as variable to denote the "it worked" version of reality whereas the "you were wrong" reality could be Y or any other variable. Regardless, I think both realities are playing out simultaneously by way of parallel universes or some type of paradox.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
LA X or XI or XII?
Preface: I'm pretty sure my explanation of string theory is wrong - I ought to take my own advice and (re)watch The Elegant Universe - because I remember string is applied on the atomic level. Just note that while the labels I use may be wrong the explanations are right for something. Shitty work, I know...
The beginning of the end has come. The premier to the final season of LOST aired earlier this evening. I'm sure one of the main questions on all of our heads is "What's going on?" I'm referring to the dual realities of Oceanic survivors. One moment we see everyone on the island. The next they're either in L.A. or en route because the plane didn't crash. So to repeat, "What's going on?" I think the explanation lies in physics.
In season 5 the producers embarked on a journey through time. Instead of taking a purely science fictional approach, they applied some scientific theory to make the adventure conceptually plausible. In an interview shortly after season 5 the producers stated they were done with time travel and a new device lay in wait. While we may have seen the last bit of time travel, we're still immersed in space-time. Is this final season of LOST an application of string theory?
If you haven't already done so I recommend you go read or watch The Elegant Universe, a book/documentary that may shed some light on what happened when Juliet detonated the bomb. In a quick and dirty explanation, string theory posits that along the spacetime continuum there are multiple realities occurring simultaneously, each along its own alternate universe. Without limiting this discussion to string theory, there are various philosophical and physical theories that support the notion of multiple, parallel universes. The least restricted theories purport that in a world where every event, even on the atomic level, is defined by randomness, there is a universe for EVERY possible chain of events. That may seem a little far-fetched but the notion of randomness leading to multiple outcomes holds water in many theoretical camps. In order to spare you any (more) scientific inaccuracies, I recommend you look up quantum theory and Schrodiner's cat for good explanations random events with two outcomes, something that pertains to LOST.
For now let's disregard my deficient knowledge of physics and simply recognize there are theories that posit the existence of multiple universes/realities. I think the most compelling evidence for this in LOST lies in the premier episode's title and Juliet's final words. The episode is titled "LA X." Yes, the space is supposed to be there. We immediately recognize the reference to LAX, the code for the airport Oceanic 815 is headed for. When detached from the rest of the code I get the impression X could stand for the roman number 10. This isn't meant to be taken literally since we only see two outcomes. I think the idea is simply to suggest there are multiple realities and this world in which the plane never crashed, the numbers aren't cursed, etc. is one possibility.
Another possibility is that in which the detonation of the bomb does nothing. Despite this observed failure, Miles says that Juliet's message to Sawyer was "It worked." Let's assume that Miles wasn't just trying to pacify Sawyer and that is in fact what Juliet intended to say. Let's also assume that Juliet wasn't trying to pacify Sawyer either and detonating the bomb actually did work. If that's the case maybe this alternate reality will converge with the other. Why show us both outcomes unless there's greater meaning to this approach? Maybe both realities need to play out in tandem in order to produce some singular outcome that neither world could achieve on its own. We'll just have to wait and see.
The next episode is titled "What Kate Does." In the meantime share your thoughts on LA X.
The beginning of the end has come. The premier to the final season of LOST aired earlier this evening. I'm sure one of the main questions on all of our heads is "What's going on?" I'm referring to the dual realities of Oceanic survivors. One moment we see everyone on the island. The next they're either in L.A. or en route because the plane didn't crash. So to repeat, "What's going on?" I think the explanation lies in physics.
In season 5 the producers embarked on a journey through time. Instead of taking a purely science fictional approach, they applied some scientific theory to make the adventure conceptually plausible. In an interview shortly after season 5 the producers stated they were done with time travel and a new device lay in wait. While we may have seen the last bit of time travel, we're still immersed in space-time. Is this final season of LOST an application of string theory?
If you haven't already done so I recommend you go read or watch The Elegant Universe, a book/documentary that may shed some light on what happened when Juliet detonated the bomb. In a quick and dirty explanation, string theory posits that along the spacetime continuum there are multiple realities occurring simultaneously, each along its own alternate universe. Without limiting this discussion to string theory, there are various philosophical and physical theories that support the notion of multiple, parallel universes. The least restricted theories purport that in a world where every event, even on the atomic level, is defined by randomness, there is a universe for EVERY possible chain of events. That may seem a little far-fetched but the notion of randomness leading to multiple outcomes holds water in many theoretical camps. In order to spare you any (more) scientific inaccuracies, I recommend you look up quantum theory and Schrodiner's cat for good explanations random events with two outcomes, something that pertains to LOST.
For now let's disregard my deficient knowledge of physics and simply recognize there are theories that posit the existence of multiple universes/realities. I think the most compelling evidence for this in LOST lies in the premier episode's title and Juliet's final words. The episode is titled "LA X." Yes, the space is supposed to be there. We immediately recognize the reference to LAX, the code for the airport Oceanic 815 is headed for. When detached from the rest of the code I get the impression X could stand for the roman number 10. This isn't meant to be taken literally since we only see two outcomes. I think the idea is simply to suggest there are multiple realities and this world in which the plane never crashed, the numbers aren't cursed, etc. is one possibility.
Another possibility is that in which the detonation of the bomb does nothing. Despite this observed failure, Miles says that Juliet's message to Sawyer was "It worked." Let's assume that Miles wasn't just trying to pacify Sawyer and that is in fact what Juliet intended to say. Let's also assume that Juliet wasn't trying to pacify Sawyer either and detonating the bomb actually did work. If that's the case maybe this alternate reality will converge with the other. Why show us both outcomes unless there's greater meaning to this approach? Maybe both realities need to play out in tandem in order to produce some singular outcome that neither world could achieve on its own. We'll just have to wait and see.
The next episode is titled "What Kate Does." In the meantime share your thoughts on LA X.
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