Lost Analysis and Commentary (Episode 8 - LaFluer)

This week’s episode is one that I loved, but my guess is that not everyone will agree (the same can be said for this blog entry....it's long....buckle up). The DHARMA Initiative has long been one of the great mysteries of the series since its introduction in season 2. When it was clear that the episode was to be based in the DHARMA period, I was expecting this to be the Rosetta Stone episode for the DHARMA puzzle. Instead we got a story about a kinder, gentler Sawyer set in the DHARMA period. Now, we learned some interesting things about DHARMA, but it still left many questions unanswered (damn you Lost creators Damon Lindelof and Cartion Cuse). But more on DHARMA later.....

....what I really want to talk about is the episode’s first 30 seconds. For a few short moments, Team Sawyer was propelled into the distant past and we finally saw one of the things I have been dying to know more about: the four toed statue (you could almost hear the collective gasps of Lost geeks around the country). But in true Lost fashion, we were only given a partial reveal.


We only got to see the back of the statue, but I think there are enough clues to draw some significant conclusions. My immediate reaction when I saw it was that it (well...immediately after jumping up and down and yelling "Four toed statue! Four toed statue! Four toed statue!") was that it was an Egyptian statue . As the episode went on, a couple of things confirmed the Egyptian origin. First and foremost was the appearance of the ankh necklace. The ankh is the Egyptian symbol for eternal life (paging Richard Alpert....Richard Alpert to the four toed statue please). I also believe the prominence of Horace Goodspeed (more on Horace below) was also a clue. Horace is a homophone for Horus....Egyptian god of the sky. Looking back to last week’s episode, Hurley was painting a picture of a Sphinx when he was visited by Locke. Going back even further, Egyptian hieroglyphics have been seen in 4 different locations on the island: the temple (when the smoke monster ripped off Montand’s arm...still super cool), the secret door in Ben’s house, a pillar in the Frozen Donkey Wheel chamber, and the countdown timer in the Swan DHARMA station. So I feel very confident that the statue is Egyptian.





That begs the next question....what exactly is the statue a representation of? As soon as the episode was over, I was off to wikipedia to start investigating Egyptian Gods. I checked with some of the major Gods I know: Ra, Osiris, and Horus. But none of these seemed like the right fit. Then I came across Anubis: protector of the dead and guide to the afterlife. Anubis is a part-man, part-jackal. He is typically portrayed with long hair and in a tidbit I found on the internet is often portrayed as having four toes...ding, ding, ding. It is also common to see artistic representations of Anubis holding an ankh. Each of these appear to be consistent with the statue. However, while the statue appears to have pointy ears, they are not as pronounced as typically seen on Anubis. I believe the body of evidence, though, strongly supports Anubis (if you are totally fascinated by this subject, also look up a couple of other possibilities: Sekhmet and Taweret).


So, assuming the statue is a representation of Anubis, what does this mean? I don’t have a fully formed theory, but I think there have been enough clues dropped that are driving in a general direction. And I think that direction is death and the underworld. Anubis’ role in Egyptian mythology varies, but he is generally considered to be the god of “dying” (as opposed to the god of “death”). He protects souls as they pass to the underworld and determines, by weighing the heart of the dead, their worthiness to enter the underworld.

Now let me turn from the statue/Anubis to another aspect of the Lost puzzle: the smoke monster (bet you didn't see that coming....one of my own little Lostian twists). If you remember back to season two, when the blast doors were lowered in the Swan Station (onto Locke's legs...that poor bastard gets a lot of leg injuries), a diagram was shown representing a map of the island (more of a functional map than geographic). The map was drawn by DHARMA members (the unseen) Radzinsky and Kevin Inman (the guy Desmond was with in the Swan). On this map was a reference to a “Cerberus system” and four references to “CV”. The Lost producers have confirmed that “Cerberus” is the name Radzinski/Inman have used to refer to the smoke monster and CV = Cerberus Vents. So what is the relevance of this? In Greek mythology, Cerberus was the three-headed watchdog of Hades (the underworld) that permitted spirits to enter the underworld and prevented them from leaving. Hmmmmm......

Death has been central to the series. For the purposes of this discussion, I’m going to put aside the many deaths that have occurred in the course of the series, as think they are largely plot driven. However, it is impossible to ignore the appearance of dead characters on and off the island: Charlie, Christian, Claire (I’m in the Claire is dead camp), Anna Lucia, Libby and of course Locke. I also think Charlotte’s declaration of “This place is death!” during her dying delirium is particularly telling.

So I am drawn to the conclusion that the island is linked to the entrance to the underworld or afterlife. However, I think anything beyond that, goes from supported by evidence to speculation. A popular theory is that the Oceanic 815 survivors are dead. I’m not sure I buy this, but it plays well with the death/underworld theme. It could explain why the Oceanic 6 were not supposed to leave the island. However, I think there is something much larger going on that we don’t have enough information to conclude. More to come on my theories related to this as this season progresses.

At this point you are in one of three categories: 1) completely fascinated by the above analysis, 2) bored to tears for turning your favorite show into a PhD thesis, 3) pissed off that I’m not talking about the rest of the episode. So if you are still with me, let’s move on to the rest of the episode.

Personally, I enjoyed jumping back and forth between Team Sawyer’s introduction to DHARMA and showing them fully integrated in the Initiative. I was not overly surprised to see Sawyer (or LaFluer if you prefer) hook up with Juliet. However, as a character LaFluer (Head of DHARMA Security, respected member of the community, and loving significant other) is a bore compared to Sawyer (wise-cracking, self-centered, redneck, con man). We can only hope that the return of Kate will bring back the Sawyer we all know and love. More nicknames please!

Now let’s talk a little about DHARMA. Here is what I learned:

1) From at least 1974-1977 Horace Goodspeed is the on-island leader of the DHARMA Initiative. So who is Horace? Horace arrived on the scene shortly after Ben’s birth and tried to help get baby-Ben and his folks to a hospital. Horace also brought Ben and his father, Roger Linus, to the island to work for the DHARMA Initiative. According to his DHARMA jumpsuit, he is a mathematician. We’ve also seen him in Locke’s dream that helped him find Jacob’s cabin. Now, in this week’s episode, his role was revealed to be very significant. We’ve also learned he was married to Amy (this was her first appearance) and fathered a boy (more on this in a moment).

2) While the Hostiles (aka others) and DHARMA, have been in conflict, it appears they have had periods of peaceful coexistence. I loved Richard Alpert’s arrival at the DHARMA barracks and his interactions with both Horace and Sawyer. I found it telling that Richard was puzzled by Sawyer’s comments about the 1954 encounters. This, coupled with his compass discussion with Locke, tells me that Richard is not orchestrating the big picture. In my mind, this puts him in the same league as Ben, Widmore, and maybe Ms. Hawking....an important player, but not the big kahuna.

3) A small red-haired girl was wondering around the DHARMA barracks and Daniel thinks it is Charlotte. And it probably is.....but that child was seen in 1974 and according to Ben Linus (from last season) Charlotte Staples Lewis (C.S. Lewis by the way) was born July 2, 1979. May mean nothing because she may have left the island in a way that shifted her into the real world at a later time.

On a more character driven vein (for all you shippers out there) we are about to move from a love triangle (Jack-Kate-Sawyer) to a love square (Jack-Kate-Sawyer-Juliet). Here's how I think it will play out: Sawyer and Kate will ultimately end up together; Juliet will end up dead; and Jack has bigger things in his future (cough....Jacob....cough).

And now to the baby boy. There was a big deal about the birth of Horace’s and Amy’s baby. So, is this just a plot device to get Juliet to be a hero or is the occurrence of an island birth significant? And more importantly who is the kid? The child was born in 1977, so that is a clue. Well, scanning the message boards, I’ve seen suggestions of Ben (no way, too old), Ethan (maybe, but I doubt it), and Jacob (give me a friggin break). I’ve got my own theory: Hurley. Hurley was born in 1977. He has reddish-brown curly hair, like Horace and Amy. He doesn’t resemble the parents who raised him. And he seems to have a deep connection to the island (the numbers, seeing dead people). So, I am on the record: baby = Hurley.

The bad news is that we have to wait 2 weeks for the next episode. However, I am going to take next week to write a couple of “extra” blog entries. Right now I am thinking one will be a discussion of the overarching theme of “Good and Evil” and the other will be a set of predictions for some of the big mysteries of the show. I know it isn’t the same a new episode, but hopefully it will fill the void. If you've made it to the end of this seemingly endless blog entry you are either a super Lost fan or have no life (not mutually exclusive categories).

Lost Analysis and Commentary (Episode 7 - The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham)

This is my first attempt to blog here. I've been blogging on my facebook page, but that is mostly to people I know. So, I figured I'd open it up to a bigger audience and see how it goes. Here is my blog for last week's episode:
Thank God for Lost. In what has been a very trying week, it was good to have a place like “the island” to escape to.

Before I begin, a few words about the central figure of this week’s episode, John Locke:

John Locke is probably the most tragic character on the show. He was born premature and survived....only to be abandoned by his mother. He grew up in foster care and was later an outcast in high school. John thought he found a “family” living in a Orgeon commune....only to be rejected by them too (his trusting nature betraying them). Eventually John’s mother found him and told him about his father. John was thrilled to enjoy the attentions of his father. Little did he know, that his father only lured him in (using Locke’s mother) to con him out of a kidney. John was angry and depressed. At an anger management group therapy session, he met Helen and fell in love. This relationship was however destroyed by John’s uncontrollable obsession with his father. John’s father wasn’t done with him though. When John finally found the courage to push his father away for good, he was pushed out a window and confined to a wheelchair. John always dreamed about being a leader, a fighter, a hunter....but he was none of these things...only a victim.

Then John crashed on the island. A place where all his dreams came true. He became a leader. The island provided him with a purpose he never had before. But in the end, was the island really any better than his father? It gave him the illusion of everything he wanted, only to take it away. John Locke was just a pawn, manipulated by the island and eventually sacrificed to it.

This week’s episode provided us with the backstory of Jeremy Bentham (aka John Locke). I had high hopes for this week’s episode, and I am thrilled to say it was much better than I expected.

When the episode opened on the island, I knew we were going to be in for a great ride. While it is tough to be sure, my assumption is that they are actually on Hydra Island and not the main island. This works with my theory from a few weeks back of using the runway on Hydra Island. It also explains why the pilot (Lapidus) and a woman (I’d guess Sun....but why wouldn’t she have “flashed” to the island?) took one of the boats. And these boats now explain who was shooting at the time skippers from a few episodes back. Clearly, it was some of the Ajira survivors. Speaking of which, we now know the names of the two other first class passengers....Ilana and Caesar. It seems to me though, that these two are more than just passengers. I think they’ve each got some back-story tied to the bigger picture.

The reveal of Locke alive on the island was quite a shock. I knew he would remain part of the story, but to see him “resurrected” was not quite what I expected. Then again maybe I should have. It has been pointed out on some of the internet fan sites that the writing on the side of the van Ben’s been driving around LA is "Canton-Rainier Carpet Cleaning"...."Canton-Rainier” is an anagram for "reincarnation." Also, last week I said in response to a question that if Jack was Doubting Thomas, then Locke was Christ. Well, just like Christ, Locke was resurrected (and it probably happened 3 days after his death). All this makes sense, but I guess I was expecting something more like Locke returning as a spirit (like Christian). Then again, Locke is “special”.


Ben's Van

The next thing of interest was Locke’s arrival in Tunisia. I pondered previously how Locke could survive in the middle of a desert with a broken leg. Well, Widmore solved that problem. My guess is he figured out the location of the “exit” after Ben’s arrival. As part of this section of the story we learned another seemingly important piece of information....the mysterious Matthew Abaddon works for Charles Widmore. However, if he was really important, why was Abaddon killed? (And by the way, when Abaddon was taken out, I thought that was a complete shocker!) Abaddon has translations in both Greek and Hebrew that are synonymous with Hell or destruction. Abaddon is also referenced in Revelations as an “angel of the abyss”. There is probably still more to learn about Abaddon, but I think, if nothing else, his ties to Widmore mean that Widmore is in fact “the bad guy.”


Matthew Abaddon

Speaking of Widmore, I found his side of the story he told to Locke to be very interesting. While I believe he is correct about a war coming, I am not buying that he was once the leader of the people of the Island. The way Richard (who seems to be the one to choose the leaders of the Others) treated the young Widmore, I don’t think he was ever the rightful leader. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t in charge at some point. While we are being led to believe that Widmore is good and Ben is bad, I believe the opposite will turn out to be true. Well....maybe not the exact opposite as it is hard to consider a pathological liar and murderer “good”.

While I found each of Locke’s meetings with the Oceanic-6/Walt enjoyable, I didn’t notice any important information revealed during them. I also was bothered that Locke didn’t introduce himself as Jeremy Bentham to them, but they all seemed to know Bentham’s name in the final episode from season 4. I’m sure this is just a continuity error, but it was bugging me.

That brings me to the last scene I really want to talk about....the death of Jeremy Bentham. I loved the way the scene was allowed to develop slowly, letting us watch the anguish as Locke inched closer to suicide. Then, just as Locke is about to end it, who should arrive, but Ben. I loved that as Ben was talking John out of his self-crucifixion, he kneels before him (kneeling before Christ). But as always seems to be the case, Ben’s actions were not out of goodness, but rather ruthlessness (I know I am contradicting my earlier statements about Ben being good, but what can I say....he is a complex character). Once he got his information (Eloise Hawking’s name), Ben acting swiftly and without mercy. While I knew Locke had to die before the episode was over, I certainly wasn’t expecting Ben to be the one to kill him....that was just plain shocking. But yet, Ben was the one to insist that Locke’s body had to return to the island. Ben was the one protecting Locke’s body. My head hurts just trying to figure Ben out.

While the episode told us what happened to John Locke during his off island adventures, I’m not sure we’ve learned a lot about the bigger picture. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was a great episode. But in an episode that I anticipated answering some mysteries, I think it just made them even murkier. But this is what makes Lost great....it can tell a compelling story and still leave you with plenty to ponder before the next episode.

As I am traveling, I was only able to watch this week’s episode once. After I view it a second time, I reserve the right to comment more on this episode.