Something Quick

This is my observation from tonight's episode "316."

I had a total "wow" moment:

Tonight, when "316" first aired, I was confused why there was a guitar case when Hurley was struggling in the lagoon. After Mrs. Hawking explained to Jack that Locke was to be a proxy of Christian Shepherd by being a dead body/casket...I was confused. Re-watching the episode, it all came together for me. Sayid was being escorted by a federal marshall, Hurley was carrying a guitar case, and Ben arrives late...with a broken limb. Sayid being escorted by a federal marshall recreates Kate's scenario. The guitar case is for Charlie. Ben arriving late, is Hurley arriving late. Since Locke is "standing in" for Christian Shepherd, Ben seems to be fulfilling Locke's place. Locke couldn't use his legs, where Ben can't use one of his arms. For some strange reason, it just came together for me.

For what it's worth...Lepidus was supposed to pilot the original815...now, he's leading the O6 back to the Island...as he was supposedto.

What a crazy good episode. Very rich.

Erik's Initial Thoughts: S5E6 '316'

What a great episode! So this post is basically what I think are the most important pieces of information that I remember from just the first viewing...

• Flight 316 has to recreate as many elements from Flight 815 as possible
• Including John Locke as a "proxy"
• Which requires Jack to give something of his father's to Locke
• Turns out to be Christian's dress shoes found among Jack's grandfather's belongings
• Which explains why Christian wears white tennis shoes on the island
• Jack picks up Locke from Jill at the butcher's
• He puts Christian's shoes on Locke, adn returns the note still having not read it

• The island is "always moving" in an "apparently random" manner
• Which led to Dharma building their (presumably) first Station called the Lamp Post
• Which is built on top of a pocket of electromagnetic energy
• One of many around the globe
• But Dharma is only interested in one, the Island
• The Island can't be located by "where it should be" but "where it's going"
• And where it's going in 36 hours is along the path of flight 316 from LA to Guam

• Somehow, the O6 (minus Aaron) all get on the flight
• Hurley freaks out that Ben is going with them, and has a guitar for some reason
• And a flight attendant gives Jack Locke's note which security found on Locke on inspection
• Lapidus is their pilot, "We're not going to Guam, are we?"
• Jack asks Ben how he can read
• Ben replies, "My mother taught me"
• Eventually Jack reads Locke's note "I wish you would have believed (me?)
• The plan works, for Kate Jack and Hurley as far as we know
• But there's a catch, they have travelled through time landing in the Dharma era
• Where/when at least Jin is as well, who is a Dharma worker??

• Somewhere in there Kate and Jack spend the night together.

So many answers, but also so many new questions:

• What happened to Aaron?
• What was Ben doing that got him all roughed up?
• Why did Sayid and Hurley decide to get on the flight?
• Who is the woman Sayid is with?
• Did anyone else besides Kate, Jack and Hurley survive the (crash?)?
• Did the plane crash, or what's the deal with that?
• Has the island stopped flashing?

I will address those questions and any more I think of in an upcoming theory post...

And finally, some storytelling elements that really stood out to me:

• Opening scene mimicked S1E1 (which also repeated at the end of this episode*)
• White tennis shoes, which also appeared in the opening scene of S1E1
• Reveal of Jin as a Dharma worker (and bringing in the shiny Dharma van)
• Desmond telling Jack to ignore Eloise (similar to Sayid telling Hurley to not listen to Ben)

*In all, this sequence (if you include Missing Pieces) has been shown 4 times now. (S1E1, MPE13, twice in S5E6)

That's all I've got, until next post...

LOST Star Disappointed to Leave Show

From DigitalSpy.Com:

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Rebecca Mader has spoken of her disappointment when she learned that she had been axed from Lost.

The actress's character, anthropologist Charlotte, finally met her death at the end of last Wednesday's episode, dying on the jungle floor with the revelation that she had grown up in the Dharma Initiative and met Daniel Faraday when she was a little girl.

Mader said that she has known her character would be killed since last June, telling the Los Angeles Times: "When I got to the end of Season 4 and found out Charlotte had been born on the island, that was huge. So when I found out I was leaving, I was disappointed.
"Like all things, it's for the best. I've been on the show for a year and a half. That's the longest I’ve ever been on a gig."

Mader, who has just filmed Men Who Stare At Goats with Ewan McGregor, said that she is currently working on "top secret" charity work in England. She added that there is a chance she may return to Lost, describing the experience as "a blessing".

"I may end up coming back in Season 6," she said. "Some people say, 'You’ll be back!' If I'm not, never mind. If they turn around and ask me to come back, I'd be happy to do it. I’m not upset, I have no ill will. It's been such a blessing."

The Smoke Monster, Time Cop

In S3E15, "Left Behind" Juliet and Kate encounter the smoke monsters in the jungle.

I believe the Smoke Monster was evaluating Juliet's memories (as it apparently did with Eko in S2?) and determines that she can not die yet because...

She does not yet have the memories that the Smoke Monster has of past events, that is... She has to live in order for the past to happen as it should/has always happened. This could also be a variation on the whole "You have work to do" and "You can go now." The island/Smokey/Jacob know that certain events must happen or have always happened, so they do what they can to make it that way.

Later in S4E9 "The Shape of Things to Come" after Keamy kills Alex, Ben proceeds to apparently summon the Smoke Monster to take out Keamy's team.

Anyway, the Smoke Monster let Keamy live... because if he had died at that point, the Freighter would have exploded much, much sooner. The helicopter wouldn't have taken off, Ben wouldn't have had to turn the wheel, and the "Flashies" wouldn't have become part of the islands past which is (I believe) how it has always happened.

So the Smoke Monster seems to be some kind of Time Cop, or at least aware of who can die and when.

That's all I've got, until next post...

Significant (Deceased) Characters?

Watching through the series again, it's apparent that a lot of focus is put on some characters that are no longer with us such as Shannon, Boone, Ana Lucia, Libby, Mr. Eko, Nikki and Paulo. Will these characters have any real significance or presence in the end of the show? Are they very important in the grand scheme of things?

I say, no. They're really just one step above the redshirts in that they serve purposes for the story that must be filled by someone that wasn't another main character. The reason they got so much attention at the time is for partial filler, but also answered some minor mysteries; for example, Eko's backstory with Yemi explained where the Beechcraft came from. But from here to the end, I think we can pretty much forget about the minor characters from the first three seasons aside from a nod here and there (Locke seeing the Beechcraft crash for example) I don't see any of them having a larger tie to the island or its history/mythology like the O6 and "flashies" will. The pedal is to the metal storywise now, and there are just some characters' mysteries and stories I don't think we'll ever learn more about.

That's all I've got, until next post...

Hello All!

Just thought I'd start with a quick introduction as my first post.

So, hey, I'm Erik. I'm a huge Lost fan and I probably spend way too much time watching, reading about and thinking about the show. Right now I'm rewatching the whole series from the start as this season progresses, rethinking some major elements with the new season in mind.

Mostly I'll be contributing theories and random thoughts, but if there's anything else I come across on the internet I'll share that as well.

Feel free to follow me on twitter! http://www.twitter.com/evilsharkerik

Coming Up on LOST: "316"

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

From ABC.com:


THE WAY BACK TO THE ISLAND IS REVEALED TO THE OCEANIC 6, ON ABC'S "LOST"

"316" - The way back to the island is revealed to members of the Oceanic 6, but there's trouble ahead when not all of them wish to return, on "Lost," WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18 (9:00-10:02 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Note: This program will repeat Wed., Feb. 25 from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET.