LOST TIDBITS: LT79: The Constant (March 2, 2008)

Previously published on March 2, 2008...

THE CONSTANT – A REVIEW

Many assumptions were confirmed this show and who doesn't like answers?

More importantly, the episode gave plenty of clues about many origins. We know more about the Widmore/Hanso connection, we learned about Daniel Faraday's experiments, and we finally got to visit the infamous freighter. Overall, for people who love to be challenged mentally while watching TV, this episode of Lost was the cat's meow!

Let's begin the Easter eggs for "The Constant" with a literary lesson. If you're familiar with Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, then this episode may not have been as impressive, technically. That's because the entire premise of Desmond jumping between timelines is a direct lift (or homage) to that classic novel, in which Billy Pilgrim becomes "unstuck in time,"In fact, Lost didn't even try to hide this fact, having Daniel Faraday use that exact expression in describing what he does to Eloise the rat.

THE AUCTION

Keep in mind the January on-line game was Find815, but the original target of the salvage operation was to find the slave ship, Black Rock.

The big question is: what is Charles Widmore's obsession with the Black Rock? Perhaps it has to do with the Hanso Foundation. Magnus Hanso was the captain of the Black Rock during its expedition and is believed to be buried on the island. His great grandson is Alvar Hanso, founder of the Hanso Foundation who went on to help fund the DHARMA Initiative. At this time, it's unclear who Tovard Hanso, the seller of the Black Rock journal, is, but it's a safe assumption he's related.

And did you catch the item on sale after Widmore won the bidding for the journal? A work by Charles Dickens who was referenced in previous LOST episodes. You got to love these guys.

But did you notice Penelope's apartment address?

Yep, the numbers! Along with Faraday's device settings:

And the auction lot number for the Black Rock painting and journal was 2342.

CHECK YOUR TIME

Who hasn't lost track of what day of the week it is? It is a nice feeling when you wake up prepared for a Thursday and then are reminded late it is Friday! But eight years? YIKES!

The coordinates have to be followed precisely or we get Faraday's "side effects". Frank seemed to be doing a decent job, but obviously not good enough for Desmond. Some suggest that the coordinates that Frank used are accurate where Ben gave Michael some bad information!

ALL EYES ON WIDMORE

Why we should pay close attention to Mr. Widmore:

What if Ben is the good guy, and actually knows the people/company who are trying to find the island and is truly doing what he is doing for the greater good? And, what if this company can use the island to build unimaginable weapons with the power of the island, or perhaps control humanity?If this sounds far fetched, look no further than Penny's dad, aka Charles Widmore. We currently don't know much about Mr. Widmore expect that he doesn't care too much for Desmond, he likes good scotch, and his company, Widmore Industries, has a fetish for sponsoring mysterious races around the world, and buying journals from old slave ships. And if you look close, you will notice that they manufacture the pregnancy tests that are used on the island. So what's the connection? Well, these main bad guys have been tied to all things related to the island (except Oceanic Air at this point). Widmore Industries have partnered with Paik Industries (Sun's Father's Company). Paik Industries built a freighter for the Hanso Foundation. Could this be the same freighter that is currently stationed off the island, and why does the Hanso Foundation need a specially designed boat? The Hanso Foundation helped fund the Dharma Initiative.
As a test to see if the island could be reached, Widmore Industries conveniently sponsored a race that would use low tech equipment, with the hopes of one of these vessels arriving there. We know that Desmond was on a race sponsored by Widmore Industries and ended up on the island, but, let's not forget about Mr. Henry Gale either, the now dead man from Minnesota in the hot air balloon. As an interesting note, Henry's balloon was sponsored by… Widmore Industries. Prior to the purge of Dharma, Widmore would have also had access to the island, and could have been using it for defense testing and prototyping (the black smoke). How else would Dharma know how to keep the monster out of the compound? And how does Penny Widmore know where to look for Desmond? Is it because she knows the approximate location of coordinates where he landed? It would be entirely possible to think that Daddy Widmore told his daughter to move on, because he got rid of ol' Desmond. Maybe Penny has been snooping around her father's business and has uncovered something that helped her know where to look for Desmond. She could have been using communications from her father's business that were attempting to contact the island since the days of Dharma, and it just so happened that when the Looking Glass communication jam ended, Penny was there to say hello to Charlie. Now, why does this make Widmore Industries the bad guys? We know that through the Lost Experience* that the Valenzetti Equation tells us that our favorite numbers (4,8,15,16,23,42) tell us the exact end date of mankind. The Dharma Initiative's goal is to use any one of the numbers to change the end date. Well, what if Widmore could take control of this power and hold the world hostage, or use it for their own sinister benefit? In Bad Twin*, we also learn that a corporation by the name of Widmore Industries has been defense contracting and is morally lax in its testing and deployment. Maybe the "monster" was created by Widmore, which explains why Ben doesn't know what it is. In Find815*, we learn that the Maxwell Group is looking for Black Rock, but instead finds flight 815. And what does Charles Widmore expect to find in the journal from the Black Rock? The Maxwell Group is shown to be division of Widmore Industries. And of course the biggest clue that Charles Widmore is evil… he doesn't share his scotch.

Hmmm…

MORE TATTOOS

Notice the tattoos worn by our ship hand.

It appears to be a compass…the same symbol used by the January game company, The Maxwell Group…which we have learned is owned by Widmore Industries.

MRS. HAWKING

You might remember our jewelry store lady. People are claiming they have spotted her at Kate's trial and now the Hanso Journal auction. Is she some sort of gatekeeper? Or timekeeper?

The latest theory is that Mrs. Hawking is Libby via some sort of time travel.

Or she could be Ben's "Annie" all grown up.

Remember that she appears in a photo with Brother Campbell found on his desk during Desmond's time in the monastery.

Or she could be aged Penelope in the future.

Some have suggested she could be the Sheriff we see in Othersville.

And finally, some think she could be Karen DeGroot who we see in the first Orientation video…making Brother Campbell, Gerald DeGroot.

And that's Lulu, the dog, in the courtyard at college. Recognize anyone else?

ALL ABOARD

Ben says he has a spy on board the Freighter. Many are going with the doctor.

So who opened the door for the prisoners?

We heard Minkowski say that Sayid and Desmond "must have a friend" on the freighter. And we have all heard the Michael is to return to the show.It's painfully possible that Michael is the "friend" who opened the door. He's Ben's spy on the freighter. We know that Ben made a deal with Michael to get off the island. We learned in "The Economist" that Oceanic 815 survivors are prone to aligning themselves once off the island.

CHECKING THE DAYS OFF
It appears to be December 23rd, 2004, on board the Freighter…this matches the island date to almost a tee. Wonder what was off the schedule in October? Did they "lose" four days?

CLEVER RESEARCH

On one of Faraday's pages in his journal is a blank side. Writing can be seen on the opposite side of the page. Well, someone has tried to enhance it and has this: