Post #119 LOST Revelation Thursday

Episode title: Follow the Leader
Primary Focus Character: John Locke

The title of the episode has two implications: Locke is the new leader of the Others and Ben has pledged to Alex (as the smoke monster) that he will follow Locke. The other implication of the title is Daniel started on a path to change the future and now Jack is following his lead.

It does not sit well with me that in the previous episode, Eloise Hawking appears convinced that destiny will fulfill itself and that the future is predetermined. However, in this episode, her younger self appears eager to try to change the future. This presents a character conflict and will hopefully be resolved. I predict that the bomb will not be able to be detonated. This causes destiny to course correct and thus fulfill itself.

The big reveal of the episode is Locke’s plan. Locke has an obvious issue with the way that Jacob has been used as a way to manipulate the Others. He decides to take the whole group of Others to “see” Jacob. Then he reveals to Ben that he plans to kill Jacob. My thought is that he plans to reveal that Jacob is a myth and has been a tool for manipulation of the group. He plans to “kill” Jacob by revealing that he does not exist.

The other striking character issue I am concerned about is Kate. Seemingly out of nowhere, Kate becomes concerned about moral issues of right and wrong? I don’t think so. Kate is not concerned about morality so much as she is concerned about her survival. Here’s her concern: if they detonate the bomb and eliminate the electromagnetic force on the island, Oceanic 815 will not crash on the island, but instead will land safely in Los Angeles, where she will be taken into custody for the murder of her father and for her fleeing the country. She is only really concerned about the possibility that she will go to prison.

Questions from the episode:
- Why does Locke really want to kill Jacob?
- Why is Richard hesitant to bring Locke to Jacob? What does he want to tell him about Jacob?
- How did the island tell Locke exactly when to find himself at the Beechcraft?
- How did the Others move the bomb from the field in 1954 to the tunnels in 1977? They certainly didn’t swim it under the river. There must be another entrance.

Post #107 Whole Chicken in a Can

A whole chicken in a can...that is all.

Post #36 LOST Revelation Thursday...

This is a pretty lengthy post, my apologies.

Last night’s episode: “The Little Prince”
Primary Focus Character: Kate/Aaron
Secondary Focus Character: Jack/Sawyer

On Island:
Sawyer, Locke, Juliet, Miles, Charlotte, and Daniel are in the field where the "Others" 1954 camp was before the most recent flash. Charlotte is revived and Locke suggests that the group head to the Orchid station. In order to save time he suggests heading to the beach camp and using the zodiac. After dark, while traveling through the jungle, they see a beam of light emanating from the ground. Recognizing it as the light he saw the night Boone died, coming from the Hatch, Locke takes them in a different direction. Miles notices that he has started having a nose bleed. Sawyer hears screaming and finds Kate assisting Claire as she gave birth to Aaron. The events surrounding the LOSTies originally occurred on November 1, 2004. Sawyer is obviously overwhelmed; the scene ends with another time flash.

After the flash the group makes its way to the beach. It has been ransacked None of the remaining survivors are in the camp and the zodiac is gone. There are a pair of canoes, one containing a water bottle with an Ajira Airways label. The group takes a canoe and makes their way toward the Orchid. The soon realize their are being pursued. As the other boat closes in, and shots are being fired at the LOSTies, another time flash occurs. Because the beach camp had been built, the time of this flash is post-Oceanic crash. However, the time is not easily identified.

The group finds itself in the middle of a storm and makes their way to shore. There they find debris from a recent shipwreck. Juliet realizes that she is now experiencing a nose bleed. Meanwhile, a French-speaking group is seen in an emergency raft fighting the storm. They see someone floating in the water and rescue....dum, dum, dum...Jin. They finally reach the beach and a woman in the group identifies herself as...dum...dum...dum...Danielle Rousseu.

Off Island:
Kate leaves Aaron with Sun at the hotel. Sun receives a package from an unknown source. The package consists of a surveillance report, a box of chocolates with a hidden gun inside, and photos of Jack and Ben in front of the Hoffs-Drawlar funeral home.

Kate meets with the lawyer who came to her house, volunteering she will provide her blood and Aaron's if he will tell her who his client is. He says that she is in no position to bargain and that she will lose custody.

Meanwhile, Jack and Sayid are in the hospital waiting for Sayid to regain his strength. Jack leaves the room to be chewed out for being irrespondible. A nurse comes to give Sayid medication, but Sayid recognizes this as an ambush and moves from the hospital bed just as the nurse attempts to shoot him with a dart gun. After disabling the gunman and choking him, he demands to know who sent him. The man tells him there is an address in his pocket. Sayid then shoots him twice with the dart gun.

Jack's phone rings - Hurley, who is at the county jail in an orange jumpsuit, is very happy. Jack assures him that Sayid is okay. Hurley says to tell Sayid he followed his advice (In "Because You Left", Sayid cautioned Hurley to do the exact opposite of whatever Linus requested of him.). Ben arrives. They get the piece of paper from the attacker's pocket. It has Kate's address. Jack calls Kate and persuades her to tell him where she is. He goes to meet her.

Kate and Jack follow the lawyer from his offices to a motel near LAX. Concluding that his mysterious client must be there, they watch as he goes to a room. When the door opens they see Carol Littleton inside. Concluding that she intends to gain custody of Aaron, Kate attempts to flee, but Jack convinces her to allow him to talk to Ms Littleton. When he does so he discovers that Littleton has no knowledge of Aaron's existence and was in town to settle a lawsuit against Oceanic Airlines. Upon learning this, Jack and Kate go to rendezvous with Ben, unbeknownst to Kate that the lawyer is actually Ben's lawyer as well.

Ben and Sayid meet the lawyer in the police garage where he informs Ben that the charges will be dropped against Hurley and that he should be out by the next morning. When Sayid asks who the man is, Ben says he is his lawyer.

Jack, Kate, Ben and Sayid meet up, but when Kate sees Ben she looks very disturbed. Jack then tells her that Ben is with him and that Ben is there to help them and everyone they left behind. Kate then accuses Ben of trying to take Aaron, Jack dismisses it, but Ben quickly says that Kate is right and apologizes to Jack. Kate then asks Ben why he doesn't just leave her and her son alone, Ben responds to that with 'Because he's not your son, Kate'. It is then revealed that Sun is observing them from a car with Aaron sleeping in the back and her surveillance photos in the passenger seat. She then gets her gun and steps out.

Big Reveals:
Jin is alive.
We see a young Danielle Rousseu and her team.
The name on the side of Ben's van, "Canton Rainier" is an anagram of "reincarnation."

Big Questions:
* What is the nature of the "time sickness"?
* If the "sickness" first strikes individuals who have spent more time on the Island, why are Charlotte and Miles affected?
* What is Ben's motive for separating Aaron from Kate?
* Who were the pursuers in the other boat?
o Were they responsible for ransacking the beach camp?
o What happened to the rest of the survivors?
o When did these events take place?
* Who sent the package to Sun?
* Who was Sayid's assailant at the hospital and why did he have Kate's address?


Thanks to Lostpedia.com

Post #16 ...and Found

I have been a fan of the television show, LOST, since the very first episode. I never miss an episode, going so far as to host a LOST-night at our house every Wednesday. I am a pretty big LOST-nerd.

Why do I love this show so much? It's a survival story, it's sci-fi. It's drama, it's romance. It's action, it's comedy. The one aspect of the show that I love so much is that it is made up of layers.

Someone can watch it just for the action or drama. That's layer one.
Another person can watch it for the religious or mythological undertones: layer two.
Someone else might be drawn to the literary, philosophic, or scientific references: layer 3. And the list goes on.

I have heard some people complain that the show is hard to follow. It can be difficult, if you are watching it out of order, or if you miss episodes. But once you get into it, it gets into you.

I can't wait for Wednesday night, when we get the premiere of Season 5. I am sure there will be twists and turns, new revelations, and hopefully answers to unresolved questions.

If you have not watched the show and think you might start, get the DVD's and start with the first season. I imagine you will not be disappointed.

Comics, Sci-fi, and our Secret Identity

Unless you have been living in a cave somewhere, you may have noticed that our film industry has become obsessed with comic books. Batman, Superman, the Hulk, Spiderman. Not to mention graphic novels. Sin City, Road to Perdition, a History of Violence, and now 300. It’s on TV too. Heroes is a huge hit. LOST repeatedly draws inspiration from the comic genre. What is the drawing power of the comic/graphic novel? What is it about this fantasy, sci-fi, surreal genre that packs theaters and enslaves viewers?

I am not an expert, but I think I might have figured it out. Life sucks.

It’s that simple.

We live in a pretty broken world. Don’t get me wrong, it’s our own fault. Pollution, disease, oppression, war, pain, suffering, hunger, poverty…it’s all humanity’s collective fault. But the fact that this world is less than perfect inspires hope. Most of these stories focus on something bad, something impending, something oppressive. Then they shift gears and focus on a hope, a hope for some resolution, that this world could become better, healthier, whole.

Sci-fi and fantasy stories allow us to think about and discuss topics that might not feel all that safe. Like terrorism, nuclear threats (or nucular if you are from Texas), natural disasters, political oppression, human atrocity, etc.

Because in a comic, the enemy is always a bad guy, an alien, a fascist warlord, or a demented megalomaniac. The enemy is not exactly your everyday, run-of-the-mill person. We put this idea of “enemy” with a face and now it can be fought.

I admit, I am addicted to the TV show, LOST. Although the line between “good guys” and “bad guys” is often a little blurry, there is usually a definite “us” and “them.” For the most part, the “good guys/us” are the survivors of a plane crash. The perceived “bad guys/them” are a mysterious group dubbed “the others.” In typical sci-fi fashion, the others can represent many enemies. To some, they might represent corporate greed and exploitation, to someone else – fascist government, to another – oppressive religion. Whoever the enemy is, their face is the “others.”

Why do we equate our fears with the bad guys in comics/sci-fi? Because we are afraid to face them in our real lives. Often the fears we have are connected to things outside of our control. Often we fear what we have no power to change. It is cathartic to overcome the enemy in a comic or sci-fi story. I think that is why so many kids get into the genre, and I am sure that is why so many men are hooked. Men, in general, are taught to crave control, but we are often not in control of so much of our lives. We wish that we could overcome our fears, but we often feel powerless. So when the wimpy nerd is bitten by the radioactive spider and develops super powers we cheer him on, because he is everything that we wish we were.

Why am I spending so much time on this? Because the real question is not about comics and sci-fi. It’s about us and our identity and where we find our own value.

There is this lie, it goes something like this:

“You are stupid.

You are unattractive.

You are untalented.

You are unlovable.

You are worthless.

You are nothing.”

Have you heard this lie before? Maybe somewhere in the back of your mind, this lie repeats like a broken record.

Because of this lie, we are afraid. We are afraid of others, their judgment, ourselves, our potential, of failure, and sometimes even afraid of success.

Most of the time, comic heroes have secret identities. Why is this? Often it is because the rest of the world would not understand their need to fit in. Most superheroes just want to be normal, while the normal people would give anything to be extraordinary.

The reason the lie sinks its hooks into us is because we have an identity crisis. We desire an identity that is not true. We want a secret identity.

Identity and value are rooted in perception. When others want to be around us we believe that we are valued. We find our value in what others think of us. In this way we create an identity that displays the qualities and characteristics that we think others want from us. We root our identity in the judgment of others.

Hollywood will continue to make comic/sci-fi movies because they draw the crowds. We will continue to go because we desire hope. But at the end of the two hours we will still have a lie playing over and over in our heads. If we believe the lie, no amount of Hollywood hope will overcome it. And the only way to defeat the lie is to embrace your true identity.

You are intelligent.

You are beautiful.

You are gifted.

You are loved.

You are valued.

You are somebody.


There is a sermon in here somewhere.