LT118: I'm A Soul Man

CHANGE CHANGING PLACES

Did you notice the Orchid logo changed from pre-jump to post-jump on Ben’s jacket?

And the Octagon Recruiting logo changed.

As did Desmond and Penny’s photograph.

And Seth’s ring, Jack’s scar and tattoos, pictures on wall in the Miles’ ghost buster house, etc.

Wouldn’t it be neat if Season 6 was a summary of all the important parts of the first five seasons, except in proper chronological order? Something tells me we are seeing things out of proper order…each week is another loop maybe over the same period of time.


FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE

What if you learned you were dead. Right now, dead. You always have been as far as your memory is concerned. Think of the movie “Ghost”.

Not dead in the typical sense, but dead as far as your soul is concerned because you have none. Some feel that what separates from the animals is that we have a soul. But what if you didn’t have a soul when you were born? You’d be dead your whole life.

Imagine how someone would change their behavior if the consequences of their behavior had no bearing on an afterlife. Especially if you REALIZED you were dead in a spiritual sense.

It is clear that LOST has made several references to religion and the Bible. There is an interesting couple of versus about the angels of heaven having children with the human women. My only points being a) did those children have souls and b) if the Bible can suggest the story line of hybrid offspring, so can LOST.

How are children born without souls? Because “dead” people have babies. The angels are thought to have no soul, no free will per se, no future consequence for their actions. It is possible they had children without souls in Biblical times and this family tree has ended up on the Island of Misfits. This means Christian had no soul and thus neither does Jack, or Kate, or Hurley and so on. Fate gathered this family tree onto Flight 815.

The point of faith versus science really boils down to: have you realized you are dead yet, Jack? I think Jack learns that in the flash forwards. Kate fights the truth.

And there have really been plenty of hints towards this as evidenced next.

The judge of the Others, Isabel, sees Jack’s tattoos and says they read, “He walks amongst us, but he is not one of us.” Ah…the living dead.

Jack then tries to justify the words by saying, “That’s what they say. It’s not what they mean.” Jack may already sense he is dead, but just can’t bring himself to admit it. For the curse of being soul-dead is that his children will also be born without souls.

**

“See you in another life, brotha.”

How many people have uttered this phrase? Desmond. Jack. Dave before jumping off the cliff.

**

Carlton Cruse has said that “dead” is a relative term on the show.

**

Sayid’s letter to Nadia reads, “You’ll find me in the next life, if not this one.”

**

Jack tells Kate, “I don't want to know. It doesn't matter, Kate, who we were - what we did before this, before the crash. It doesn't really…three days ago we all died. We should all be able to start over.”

**

Desmond says he was a doctor “in another life”. We’ve seen his past and I didn’t notice medical school in there.

**

People who have no soul can’t die the traditional way. Michael’s gun won’t work.

**

Some suggest that the survivors were “normal” but died in real life and are just stuck between the flesh and the spirit. For example, the horse that Kate and Sawyer sees was the spirit coming to the island (called Abraham’s Bosom in the Bible) to deal with death. Last we saw that pony it was causing a car wreck.

**

But we need to answer WHY the island wants the undead to be there. Some suggest it is to trap Smokey. While the Ancients or the Island or Jacob (pick a name) have got the island to time-hop finally, it now needs to deal with Smokey. Most think Abaddon is Smokey and they must trap it in some way.

Enjoy,
KC

LT117 - You Can Quote Me On That

QUOTE FLASHBACK

Been posting so many LOST items, that I needed a light break and thought to come up with one great quote for some main characters. See if any of these sound familiar:

“Did you just kill that bunny?” - Sawyer

“Dude, you've got some...Arzt...on you.” - Hurley

“So I guess this means I’m out of the book club.” - Ben

“All we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us." - Penny

"You all ev'rybody!! You all.........ev'...ry.......body??" - Charlie

“I'm sorry I kissed you.” - Kate

“All I'm going to get out of him is a snappy one-liner and if I'm real lucky, a brand new nickname.” - Jack

“Have a clucky-cluck day, Hurley.” - Jin

“Don't tell me what I can't do!" - John

“A small boy once asked me if I was a bad man. If I could answer him now, I would tell him that I once killed a man to save my brother's life.” - Eko

“I'm not giving up on you either Charlie.” - Claire

“My name is Sayid Jarrah, and I am a torturer." - Sayid

“You're gonna die Charlie.” - Desmond

“I don't think you're stupid, Jack. I think you're stubborn.” - Juliet

“You have no idea what I'm capable of." - Shannon

“Being told what to do was my life for four years... I didn't like it much either.” - Sun

“Don’t open it.” - Walt

“Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know how to say "faster" and "idiot".” - Michael

“Razzle Dazzle!” - Nikki

“The toilet still works.” - Paulo

Yeah, I needed a lighter posting after some of the more recent posts!

Enjoy,
KC

LT116: My Story Plot

If I were a writer on LOST, I'd write it like this...

STORY TIME

Please back up and read the earlier posts and then come back and read this section. See, every good story has a renegade. Matrix had Neo to question everything, for example. Sooner or later, someone comes along and says, “Why don’t we take society in this direction instead?” Ben is the renegade.

And it is made easier in that he wasn’t a recruit for the Dharma Initiative, just an innocent bystander. It’s always the preacher’s kids or the general’s daughter that gets the reputation of being a rebel rouser and likewise, Ben bucked the Dharma system.

Here is my story outline:

First, we begin with the assumption of a real island that is full of interesting and new capabilities. And the people were advanced in many ways due to the properties of the island. Even if ancient and Stone Age type civilizations were involved, the assistance provided by longer life, the island’s electromagnetic properties, faster healing, etc…would prove to be an asset to a group of people trying to expand their knowledge as all civilizations attempt to do. It would make developing something complicated like flying a lot easier if you discovered that failed attempts didn’t end your life!

A special ability of the island is the time hopping it can do. In fact, it might be a deliberate defense mechanism. Every 108 minutes this thing moves in time and space. Those constrained by 3D won’t easily discover (or believe) it.

Through fate, the Grandpa Hanso discovers the island, but loses it. The family line of business appears to be slave ship. Through many successful ventures, the family name has a lot of money behind it. In order to rediscover the island, Grandpa Hanso’s grandson, Alvar, creates a team called the Dharma Initiative. Its goal is to find his grandfather’s island.

With the family money, an elite team of experts and scientists are assembled. Not only must they locate the island, they must “keep it from moving”. That is the trick. And they solve it. The DI builds the Swan Hatch and must convince idiots to push the button. If they do, the island will stop jumping around spacetime every 108 minutes.

Over time, one of the involved parties of the Dharma Initiative, Charles Widmore, got the crazy idea that he could be like gods if he controlled this island. And he set out to do so. With the fight over ownership and the island being frozen in time (think cold references), the island’s ancestors were finally woken up to protect their home.

But the Originals needed help and Ben is the renegade they found. He was perfect. He was young and idealistic, jaded and ignored, rebellious and curious. And he needed love. What a perfect target for Richard Alpert to manipulate. And it worked. The Purge happened.

Now the Originals needed the island moved. Ben was sent in to convince the Survivors to stop pushing it. Walt was sent to say to stop pushing it. Goodwin’s wife was sent to kill off all intruders. Finally, along came John…a child of the island (remember who came to view John as a baby in the hospital). And like a good son, he stopped pushing the button.

When Kate, Jack, Sawyer and Hurley are on the dock for a farewell party for Michael and Walt (and sometimes, Vincent), the Swan hatch is destroyed and the island is preparing to move. Ben’s look in his eyes is one of “Oh no!” But good Desmond turns the Fail Safe key just in time to stop the jump. Maybe we even got a little frame-jumping, but not a wholesale quantum leap.

Desmond got in the way of the plan set in motion by the Originals and turned the key. Ironic that he dates the daughter of Widmore who doesn’t seem to be on daddy’s side any longer. Nor is the daughter of Paik Industries, Sun. But now the Originals must have someone turn the wheel. So the events we have witnessed begin to unfold.

Desmond gains some time travelling abilities of his own by being near the source, as did Ben when turning the wheel. Maybe what could have cured Desmond would be more jumps and the ancient civilization knew this. For every jump the people get wiser. Think Daniel who spent a life working with light-induced jumps. The original inhabitants would get very advanced quickly in this manner. Maybe even learn to exist without bodies, just energy.

With the fail safe key in place, the island can now only jump the old-fashion way. Like all good stories, there is a backup plan and the Dharma Wheel is the manual procedure like Richard and the other aborigines once used. Fortunately, Ben is available. I think Ben is smart enough to realize he isn’t a “pure blood”. He is lucky to have enjoyed the ride for as long as he has. He plays the role of John the Baptist and prepares the way for the messiah, John “Enlightenment” Locke.

So Ben fulfills his destiny and turns the wheel and is banished from the Garden of Eden. But the Originals finally got the island moved. The remaining people on the island are not really smart enough to put up a fight of any type. And besides, they all recognize John which makes the assimilation pretty easy.

The only enemy the island still faces is Widmore. He knows it exists, but once again the island of Lemuria, Mu, Oz or Whatever has slipped through his fingers. I’m guessing he has learned a thing or two and might have better odds of finding it however. And that is what Season 5 will deal with. Ben is taking out Widmore’s people one at a time for he still serves the island. Perhaps he hopes for redemption.

I would end this story by having the island slip away from humans one last time. A few select and brave people will stay. Perhaps the “real” humans are required as Protectors while the ancients sleep for 108 years at a time. I’ll go out on a limb and say the secret to the ancient’s family tree is that they are part of the baby-making process. If not, the baby and mother die off. It is the island’s way. So, the Children of the Island must return and produce another offspring to serve as the next generation of Protectors. The Oceanic 6 must go back and live up to the family name and destiny.

Only time will tell.

Enjoy,
KC

LT115: Search for the Holy Grail

MUST BE IMPORTANT

I received the following email from the Dharma Initiative:

The video they refer to is the Dr. Cheng/Candle video included in an earlier post. I thought one of the more interesting items was Dharma’s decision to withdraw its sponsorship of the TV show, LOST. In fact, it was odd when I heard first they were sponsoring the show and just chalked it up to a cute little side note to be forgotten. Now they bring up the sponsorship issue again, so it makes me wonder if there is more to this than first meets the eye. Hmm…

RING OF FIRE

Science has named the most active volcano spot as the Ring of Fire. Here is a geothermal map of it:

Yeah, right in the Pacific Ocean and encompassing our Mystery Island. 90% of the world’s earthquakes happen at the Ring of Fire. This is important to our research because we know the LOST Island has a volcano. It is also important because plate tectonics causes volcanoes and earthquakes which can cause major geographical shifts.


WANT TO SEE A NEAT TRICK?

No, not the disappearing pencil from the Dark Knight, but a disappearing islands. Nothing would cause a shift in elevation quite like a volcano (growth) or an earthquake (collapse). Some theorists state that we have had islands disappear. Legend talks about these and names them Atlantis, Lemuria, Mu, Pacifica, Havu, Bolutu, Hawaiki and Zu. One group calls this amazing island “Oz”. Now if that doesn’t ring a bell with LOST fans…

The legends all make the same general claim: the island contained special properties and the original inhabitants were an advanced race. But did these islands really exist?

Off the coast of Japan the ocean floor reveals this finding:

Writing and petro glyphs are found on Hawaii’s Big Island along with other writings that contain an unknown language and meaning. From Easter Island, to Stonehenge to even the Pyramids, archeologists have marveled at the technological advances of past civilizations. Why couldn’t the mythical island have existed but we have just lost the secrets of an advanced people?


IS THIS THE HOLY GRAIL?

I think this is where LOST is heading: turning us from thinking this is science fiction to thinking this might actually be possible! The chance that a place like this island might actually exists is the goal of the show’s writers. Well, I’m guessing, of course.

See, the island is the same island of all myths and legends. It is just known by different people and by different names. It is the Holy Grail of treasure hunting as it contains properties found no where else on Earth.

The storyline is like many good stories…a child listening to tall tales told by grandparents. But this time, the child grows up to actually find the Treasure Island.

Is it really coincidence that Easter (Island) and rabbits go hand in hand in most people’s mind as far symbols go? Is it pure luck that a legendary island is named Oz and the hot air balloon ride into the Emerald City mirrors Henry Gale’s balloon…let alone Henry Gale is Dorothy’s uncle’s name in the story. Is it really of surprise that in Australia the rabbits are such pests that landowners are legally obliged to control them?

What makes this story of LOST so intriguing is that a POSSIBILITY is being offered that this island myth might really exist some place in space…and time. This is Robert Langdon connecting the dots of the Di Vinci Code or Nicholas Cage revealing a National Treasure…or Indiana Jones finding the mythical Ark of the Covenant.

Dharma is intent on studying it in a pure reasoning way. Widmore wants to own it like any good capitalist would. And the Hostiles/Natives just want everyone to leave them alone.


X-FILES

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed watching X-Files for a time. It was cool to see what creatures from space and legends they could come up with. Now it looks like LOST could go this way. And did we have a clue of this? Well, when Kate and Sawyer were breaking rocks, Sawyer stops Juliet and asks, “What are you building here anyway?” Juliet explains, “A runway for aliens.” Let’s hope that was meant to only be a joke.

For what makes LOST different and better is that it includes the dynamics of interpersonal relationships and well as individual struggles – a little sociology and psychology. Like Jack said once, “We died when that plane crashed, we can be anyone we want now.”

I really think we are going to be spared a full-blown alien attack. Instead, I see LOST going the religious route. Hopefully it will continue to explore the already-alien-like world of religion and faith. Let’s face it, that is quite the mystery right there. And instead of having to die to see if your view are validated or not (was science suppose to win out?), we can simply tune in at 9 p.m. for their answer.

Any reasonable person of faith would have to admit that their views would seem alien to any new convert. So the question remains consistent to the past season: will people find redemption? Like Charlie who is described by scripture, “There is no greater love than for a man to lay down his life for another.” Nice job out of that drug addict. And like other Bible stories, I feel that other Survivors are going to be put to the test like Abraham when asked to sacrifice his son. Kate, your big test is coming up!

Enjoy,

KC