And Now, a Word or Two about Lost
Friday, February 01, 2008
***Warning: No Poker Content***
I have few hobbies in life, but amongst poker, enjoying myself a good TV show is near the top. I'm particularly fond of serials, shows with long-building storylines like The Sopranos or Prison Break, as opposed to procedurals, shows that have stand alone stories in each episode that tend to follow a pattern like CSI or Law & Order.
Naturally, then I am a nut for Lost. I try not to write about it too much because this is not a Lost blog. However, after last night and reading Hoy's post this afternoon, it's probably worth discussing the show here. In fact, don't be too surprised if you get another Lost post just about every week, provided that the show makes it worthwhile.
A few posts ago, I warned everyone that the 8-episode half-season would probably leave us all disappointed because the big reveals were going to happen in the 2nd half of the season, which probably won't make it to air until 2009. Still, if you watch the show with that in mind, I expect the eight episode half-season should be enough to wet our appetites before the next hiatus.
But onto last night. All I can say is WOW! Big reveals all around, provided you watched carefully enough and are willing to connect some dots. In fact, after the episode, wifey Kim, me and her friend sat there and talked about what we saw like we were three junior detectives or maybe more like grade schoolers giving a book report. Whatever the case, I feel confident that I've come up with some decent conclusions (which may, of course, be entirely wrong, since I do not put it past the show to mislead).
Here they are:
- The Oceanic Six- If you've watched the show, you no doubt heard Hurley announce, "I'm one of the Oceanic Six!!!" to avoid arrest. Well, it's safe to assume that the Oceanic Six is the public name for the six people who survived Oceanic flight 815. "What?!" you ask incredulously. "Wasn't there something like 45 survivors?!" Yes, yes there were, but obviously, only six of them made it back to civilization. We already know who some of the six are: Jack, Hurley, Kate, but we don't know the other three...or do we...
- What's in the Box?! It's not just a creepy, yet awesome line from Brad Pitt in Seven. It's also all the rage amongst Lost fans. What, or more accurately, who is in the pine box that Jack visited in the end of season 3. As a refresher course, in the season 3 finale, Jack's flash-forward saw him distraught about the death of an unnamed person. When the funeral director asked, "Friend or family?" he replied, "Neither." When he told Kate about the funeral, she seemed insulted and asked, "Why would I go?" Sounds like Sawyer to me. That would explain why Jack does not consider the dead person a "friend" and why the jilted Kate would be insulted when Jack suggested that she would care about Sawyer (who, notably, did the hibbidy-dippity with Kate and then ignored her after he killed his own father and went into a dark, dark place). Okay, so Sawyer may be in the box, and we know that there are six people who escaped the island, but what about the other 39 or so people?
- The Oceanic Thirty-Nine-Or-So- If we know where six of the survivors are, where the hell are the rest? Are they all dead? Nope. They are still on the island. Don't believe me? Well, then, explain to me why Hurley's hallucination of the now-water-logged Charlie (or as the Aussie actors say it, Chahlee) said that Hurley had to go back and help them. This is the one aspect where I may not be exactly correct with my episode reference, but someone said that they needed to go back to help the others. Wait one second! If the other survivors are still on the island, then how did only six survive?
- Jacob is "It"- Who is this Jacob anyway? All we know is that he is some spirit-like being with a human form from time to time with some weird connection with the island. He has supernatural powers, controls the Others via Ben, and now communicates with Locke. I'm going out on a limb here with two possibilities: (a) Jacob was a human being whose connection with the island was so strong that he has advanced supernatural powers and has become essentially the controlling force on the island. Locke has a connection with the island. Ben does too. Could it be that Jacob is like them, only he's been there longer and/or he has an even stronger connection to the supernatural powers on the island? (b) Jacob is the island's spirit, and frankly, may be the Earth's spirit. I use spirit loosely, but think of it as a consciousness or soul. Perhaps the island is the center of the Earth's spirit, which would explain why it can hide itself from civilization and can control the things around it to make sure that people don't leave the island. Whatever the case, I am sure of two things: Jacob does not want outsiders on the island and he does not want people to leave the island. Want proof? Here we go. Several people attuned to the island (Locke and Ben) have said that the island does not want people to leave the island. Both have communicated with Jacob. But even better, when Jack met Hurley at the hospital, Hurley said (paraphrasing), "It wants us back and it won't stop." It?? So some thing, not someone, wants the Oceanic Six back. And it has abilities. And it seems to have driven one of the Six to death (I'm looking at you, pine box with Sawyer inside), one to the looney bin (Hurley), and one to drug and alcohol addiction (Jack). That's one powerful "it". My guess is that "it" is Jacob, the spirit of the island. But if Jacob is so powerful, why would he let the Six leave in the first place? And why doesn't the Six tell everyone about the island and save their friends?
- The Deal- My best guess is that Jacob allowed six of the survivors to leave the island, but only six. There was probably a deal that if they left, they would not tell anyone about what happened. This all sounds like a lot of baseless conjecture until you consider Jack's visit to Hurley at the mental hospital. When Hurley finally asked why Jack was there, Hurley suggested (paraphrased), "You are afraid I am going to talk?" Why would Jack care if Hurley told everyone about the other people on the island? Because it was part of the deal! Jacob must've only agreed to let six leave if they agreed to keep the location of the island and the existence of the survivors a secret. This also explains why Hurley would not admit to knowing Ana Lucia; it would also explain why he bugged out when the alleged lawyer for Oceanic Airlines (played by an actor who has a major role in The Wire and had a great role as Desmond Mobay from Oz) asked Hurley, "Are there other survivors? Are they still on the island?" Wow!
- The Deal Breaker- This is all conjecture here, based on my other theories, but as I see it, Jacob likely has decided that it was a bad idea to let the survivors escape. That's why he wants them back (according to Hurley) and will stop at nothing. Jack eventually comes around and agrees that they have to go back, so it is safe to say that this will be a major scene in flashforwards and likely the major story arc in season 5 (with season 6 taking place back on the island). Joy of joys!
Until next time, make mine poker!
posted by Jordan @ 4:51 PM,
2 Comments:
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At 1:54 PM,
said...
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A reasonable analysis.
But, what if the rest of the survivors are dead, and the 6 had a hand in it?
What if the 6 had a hand in their deaths, in some inadvertant manner, but something they would still feel guilty about? Might explain Jack's guilt, and Kate's desire to avoid Jack.
It's sick that I'm leaving this comment! ;-) -
At 5:25 PM,
MrGoss said...
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Typical lawyer theory....there is always a deal involved. =)
MG
