LT255: Using Your Senses

WHAT DID YOU SEE?

Did you see the opening credit for LOST had stars added to it? And the USS Enterprise is sailing through the letters. This is tip of the hat to JJ Abrams movie coming out soon, Start Trek.

**

Did you see the magazine on Faraday’s couch? It was “Wired” from August 2003. It includes an article on the validity of time travel.

And as a side note, “Wired” magazine recently did that feature on Hurley and JJ Abrams. Hurley’s deal was some game using numbers – imagine that. Abrams was an interview that had some interesting revelations about how his projects work.

**

Did you see Kate walking away from Jack and Daniel when they were on their way to the Hostiles? My mind said, “Oh, she’s giving them some space so Jack can work his magic and get some answers.” But then she appears again getting in close range of the conversation. Not sure what to make of it, but it caught my eye and seemed worthy of mentioning.

Oh, and she did the same thing with the Hunting Party. We never did see how Kate was captured but we saw everyone else.

And that one-on-one breakfast with Ben. Don’t forget the producers told us that the original plan was for Kate to be the leader of the Survivors.

When the Survivors were using Claire as bait to catch Ethan, Kate also disappears during this scene. What’s up with her mysterious “breaks”?

Kate has always had a tendency to be in the middle of every major mission. And too often, she ends up goofing things up, “Sorry Sayid, I broke your transmitter when I dropped it out of the tree”.

I’m just saying…keep an eye on that one.

**

Speaking of eyes, did you notice what color Ms. Hawking’s eyes are? Blue. And Widmore’s? Blue. Recessive alleles tell us that Daniel has to be blue eyed. Consider that Widmore was slapped for saying he was Dan’s father. So, maybe only in figurative terms, but in reality there is a Mr. Faraday running around.


WHAT DID YOU HEAR?

Remember the metronome ticking away at Daniel’s piano? Daniel knew the exact number of ticks just like Rainman. But did you hear his count was 864? That’s 108 x 8 = 864. And you thought the numbers didn’t mean anything!

What mother in the history of time has ever told their child that they can NOT take piano lessons no matter how badly the child wishes? LOL!

Actually I’m starting to wonder if the Numbers are a sign that a person is on the right track. If you stuck around after LOST to see Michael in that cop show “Unusuals”, then you noticed that his character kept seeing the number 42. I took it as a sign that I was suppose to watch the show, but exercised my new-found-Daniel-like free will and wrote a blog entry instead.

**

Did you notice the grant amount that Daniel won from some industrialist? $1.5 million pound – another Number!

**

Did you hear Daniel say he wanted to use Jughead to destroy the matter under the Swan? First, that won’t work with an atomic bomb. Second, how does Daniel know about the Swan as he has never seen it? I’ll give him some leeway on the Orchid hatch and its power, but seconds after seeing that tooth go through the skull of a worker, Daniel is tell Dr. Cheng he knows the exotic matter under the Swan hatch is 10,000 times more powerful.

How does he know this? When he arrived Desmond had already turned the key. When he was doing those time flashes he saw the top of the Swan hatch, but never got inside and sure didn’t know about the contents beneath it yet.


WHAT DID YOU FEEL?

Did you feel the submarine was a better option of escape than going to the beach and starting over? Speaking of feelings, did you feel the way Juliet looked at Kate when it seemed she was about to hang with Sawyer a while longer?

**

Did you feel creepy when the doctor said that the nurse would watch little Charlie at the hospital?

Sorry, but with the events of late, no way is my kid getting out of my sight. Anyone recognize these two people? Doesn’t the redhead remind you of anyone?

And isn’t Widmore standing outside the hospital? Is this kid never to be seen again?


WHAT DID YOU TASTE?

Did you almost taste the pound cake and punch when Sawyer invited everyone over?

**

Did you get that bad taste in your mouth this episode? I mean talk about a paradox: go back in time and get shot by your mom before she even gives birth to you. No wonder Miles wants his daddy to remain in the dark.


WHAT DID YOU SMELL?

Did you smell those rabbits roasting over the fire pit? Yummy.

**

Did you smell Indian food when Ms. Hawking took Daniel sans Rachael to lunch? Didn’t Sayid have an incident with an Indian restaurant?


WHAT DID YOU THINK?

I’m a bit taken aback at how prevalent the theory is that Daniel is dead. Didn’t we see Ben “almost die”? And John? And Mr. Patchy? And a surgeon is just a rock’s throw from Daniel. I’ll admit it looked like a kill shot, but you know what I mean.

Besides, he can’t die. Don’t you think the video he makes with Dr. Cheng/Candle still has to be made? Or is Daniel’s death the final proof that one can change events? Hmmm…

**

Michael, a faithful TIDBITS reader, points out the gun play was totally out of whack. First, you think all Dharma janitors are issued keys to every door, jail cell and gun vault? Are they required to dust in a gun safe on a regular basis?

Second, Faraday is a man not prone to violence and often afraid of his own shadow, but here he is in a big hurry to get to the Hostiles and he wants to stop and pick up a gun?

Third, at that close of range, someone should have taken a hit. And when did Jack find time to practice his target shooting while being a doctor?

Fourth, it just didn’t make sense. They could have gotten away had they hustled and they didn’t need guns to go meet the Hostiles. I think it was Kate who suggested it and yet she was just out there with them. By now, the Hostiles should be use to Kate bringing them delinquents.


NEXT ON TIDBITS

You can read about what would happen if Daniel did stop the Incident for occurring. And we will examine why Ms. Hawking is suddenly in the dark about the future.

If you enjoyed today’s post, please click on one of the ads after you finish reading. Thanks so much!

Enjoy,
KC

LT254: The Variable Initial Thoughts

CAN YOU PREDICT THE FUTURE?

Can we predict the future of LOST? In this episode of LOST? Yes, you bet!

Charles is daddy to Daniel - knew it. Teresa was his lab assistant - check. Daniel was losing his memory - yep. Desmond lives - yeah, yeah.

So you might assume that I'm going to rate this episode as sub-par. Wrong! Didn't see that coming now did you?


DEEPER LEVELS

I like this episode because of the reason I like LOST: it has deeper levels then what appears on the surface (this is a pun in there somewhere). While we are getting answers by the boatload lately, there is still a hidden agenda that runs just out of reach of our grasp.

For example, Eloise shooting her son. Come on, you can't say you called that. And we a-l-m-o-s-t got the reason why, but Widmore kept her from saying why outside the hospital.

Also consider the underlying theme of sacrifice as Charles can't interact with his own daughter.

Likewise the sacrifice of Teresa in the name of Daniel's research.

And the mysterious conversation with Eloise and Penny where she tells Penny that for the first time she doesn't know what the future will hold.

The biggest mystery of late is still not being discussed much, but who are these Dharma people? How do they know the future? Why are they guardians of the world? On what scale is this being played out.

Yeah, plenty of "hmmm..." left in this show!


FIXING THINGS

Daniel's big promise is to use the variables (people) and get Oceanic Flight 815 to land at LAX. How is he going to get the people back on board that plane?

I was watching and thinking if I was Jack: Oh great, I get land in LA in order to bury my father, watch my ex-wife marry another guy and pour myself into my work for the rest of my life.

Or if I was Kate: Oh great, Daniel can put me back in handcuffs in order to stand trial. Super!

Sawyer: he seems to have figured out that there is nothing to go back to.

Hurley: could see him wanting to get back on board as he promises himself to do things the right way in terms of handling his money.

Jin: Yeah! I'll be on board with my wife sitting next to me. Of course, I'll be sterile and never have my "own" daughter.

Daniel had better make sure everyone WANTS to get back on that plane.


I'M NOT INTO CUTE

Not that much into the cute scenes but you'd have to be grumpy to have seen little Charlotte with her hand in the chocolate jar and not have thought, "Aaaaawww". Hee-hee. And now we know what she meant about some scary man coming up to her.


HELLO RICHARD

I'm still not buying that three people with guns can waltz into the Hostile Camp.

Or does this imply the Hostiles "knew" Ben was coming and went out to meet them?

Or is Kate such a good tracker that she led the group down a path that isn't every monitored? Nah, that was a stretch. They could have easily marched him into camp with hands in the air and then pulled out the guns. Or left them behind all together. That scene just didn't fly.


QUICK HITS

* Why was Miles intent on keeping his identity hidden from his father?

* How do people know there are 864 beat on a metroanome?

* So Desmond did take a bullet but love (and a lot of adreneline) seemed to push him on to defend Penny

* Why did Radzinsky change into black jumpsuits?

* Did you like Daniel telling his mom, "I can make time"?


NEXT ON TIDBITS

We are going to drill deeper ourselves in the next post of TIDBITS, so be sure to check back about every other day. Plus we will have some more LOST REVIEWS ready to go soon, reader email to share, and the easter eggs from this episode.

If you enjoyed this post, please do me the favor of clicking on one ad after you finish reading. It lets me know what you enjoy reading and it rewards me with a few pennies. I appreciate it.

Thanks for reading!

Enjoy,
KC

LT253: ARMS – Accidental Random Memories

ACCIDENTAL

It irks me to propose a question with no answer. But it happens enough that it deserves repeat mention. What I’m talking about is things change. Are the changes an accident by the prop department or are they intended and are some kind of clue we are missing?

The popular example is the picture frames on the house that Miles does his Ghostbuster thing. Let me know if I need to repost the images, but hopefully you recall that between the time Miles goes upstairs until he comes back down the picture frames on the wall along the stairs are changed.

I’ve always enjoyed this “prop accident” because it can’t be a prop accident. It is one thing to shoot days later and maybe put the pictures back up on the wall in the wrong location, but to swap frames with a photo seems like more intentional work that accident.

Ok, I admit this subject isn’t that interesting unless it really is intentional. Then what is it telling us? That multiple universes exist and the world as we know skipped to a parallel plane?

Yeah, we heard all this chatter before and it was almost out of my mind when I came across another example in the last episode.

(Click on any image to enlarge it)

Check out the above picture and the TV remote moves. Same deal with the plate and his arm. I know, I know, sometimes it takes several shots of the same scene before they get it right, but this scene just didn’t seem that tough to get it right.

Another nagging thought is that by Season 5 the producers know we look for this sort of stuff. How tough can it be for someone to rewind the last shot and take a look at how things were positioned?
Or things like this happen in the natural course of filming the producers are giggling at us for over analysis. But that is their fault as well for if they wouldn’t give us two weeks between episodes to wait we wouldn’t be spending our time re-watching frame by frame!

RANDOM

How many people would you guess are involved with the Dharma Initiative in 1977? 100 or more? We get a dozen just with the returning attractions. I see at least a dozen faces running around during that fire? Kitchen help, maintenance crew, and security alone would add another 30 or so. Now add in the research teams doing those “silly experiments” at each station and we have to pushing about 100 people. Oh, don’t forget all the construction crews at several stations.

Yet we learn that only 40 died in the Purge.

Doesn’t this imply that the Dharma Initiative had advance warning and got all non-essential personnel off the island? Doesn’t it explain why Miles mother thinks her husband died when she took her son off the island?

Could this explain why Dharma is building stations in the No Go Zone in violation of the truce?

It goes like this: Daniel warns Cheng who is convinced. They get as many off the island as possible. They also proceed with station plans because some know the future from Daniel and they must be ready when the next version of DI comes back along. Namely, the children of Dharma. Think of Tiny Toons in reverse.


MEMORIES

Recall the scene were Miles was reading a Sports Illustrated magazine? Well, here are some interesting factoids:

-- The issue was dated March 14, 1977

-- The cover is a shot of new Dodgers manager, Tommy Lasorda

-- The nickname of a baseball manager is “Skipper” as on a boat

-- Lasorda was born on September 22 – same date as Flight 815 crash

-- Tommy was replacing Walter Alston who had coached the Dodgers for 23 years

-- Alston had won 23 post-season games

-- Alston’s nickname was “Smokey”

-- The title story is “A New Boss in L.A.” – could that be an indirect reference to someone? Ms. Hawking?


LOST REVIEW: Tabula Rasa

The third episode of LOST is entitled, “Tabula Rasa”. This is the theory proposed by the philosopher John Locke during the Age of Enlightenment. The literal translation is “clean slate” and implies everyone begins life with a clean slate and then life’s experiences are imprinted on it.

In our ongoing search for a unifying theory, I would propose that this supports the computer hypothesis as well as the philosophy/religion hypothesis. The philosophy angle is obvious since the phrase comes from a man who happens to share the name with a major character on LOST.

The computer angle is that when a computer loses power it begins with a “clean slate”. Memory can be blanked, erased and…changed. And nothing “imprints” quite like a computer.

**

In this episode John Locke fashions a whistle in order to retrieve Vincent, Walt’s dog. Of course it works and Locke allows Michael to be the hero to his son.

Ok, how does this fit in with any ongoing theory? Um…I’m sure there is some psychological theory behind why people whistle, but the reason was given for this whistle: to call a dog.

Hey, what if people could whistle to their computer? Would that strengthen a theory? Well, you can. The people at developerWorks describe it this way:

“Set up an unlock code for your screensaver and whistle as you approach your desk -- no more bothersome password typing. Check your e-mail every time you whistle, check for your cell phone's unique tones, and send yourself an e-mail when your phone rings.”

Was John actually whistling to the supercomputer, the island? Hmmm…

**

This episode gave us our first example of missing body parts. By this point we have had several body parts featured starting with Jack’s eye in the opening scene. And Kate was rubbing her wrists. John wiggled his toes.

The producers offered their usual cryptic thoughts on this subject. Cuse said, “Is there any connection between the loss of Montand's arm, and the fact that Dr. Marvin Candle has a fake hand?”

Lindelof adds, “Eh, I dunno, is there? We also found a glass eye in the Arrow Station. People just lose body parts I think easily on the Island.”

This tidbit was offered back in 2005 before we learn HOW Montand loses his arm. So is there a connection to Montand and Candle? I mention this because many are suggesting the Incident is how Dr. Candle/Cheng might lose his arm, but now I’m wondering if he doesn’t stick his hand somewhere it doesn’t belong!

And Lindelof’s comment about how people easily lose part parts brings to mind something about a Mr. Potato Head commercial I saw recently. Or was that Toy Story?

Anyway, I’m still wondering if really odd behavior, words and events aren’t somewhat attributable to a virtual reality computer program. The reason is that it is difficult to get every detail correct. When the overlooked aspect is discovered it only then stands out like a sore…well, thumb. Otherwise, we are left grappling with how “normal life” would explain body parts easily falling off people.

To be fair to the other hypothesis I do find a connection to religion in that many people are punished for this sins by the loss of a body part. For example, we have an eye for an eye (Mr. Patchy) and a hand for a hand (Dr. Candle).

We can conclude then that missing body parts might a piece of evidence for the religion hypothesis explaining all that is LOST.


**

If you enjoyed this post, please take a second to click on one of the ads.

Thanks for reading!

Enjoy,
KC

LT252: Filling Time

CONNECTING TWO DOTS

This is not earth-shattering, but we have made a connection on LOST. When Naomi asks Miles to audition for her team she shows him a dead body whose name is Felix. Miles passes the test by mentioning the fake papers that Widmore used to stage the fake Oceanic crash.

The connection is that Felix is the guy who Widmore beats the snot out of…and evidently kills. We learn of this beating by some fake videotape of the events that Ben has on a videotape. It was shown to Locke and the cassette reveals that the footage was recorded over a Boston Red Sox game.

Small world, huh?


CHUCK and HEROES

With LOST on break this week, I found myself watching Heroes and noticed that Sylar was looking through a box of family possessions. Inside the box was a Virgin Mary statue – a connection to Charlie’s statues.

Also, we see a snow globe with a reference to Desmond’s comment about the island being a snow globe that no one can escape.

In fact, I had to remind myself a few times that the show wasn’t LOST as it includes Hiro stopping time, bloody noses, and the above references.

And if you’ve been watching Chuck then you know that recently he had to travel to a place called the Black Rock. Also, his agent/girlfriend found a note that was similar to what we’ve observed with Hurley on LOST.

Smaller world, huh?


DUTCH REFERENCE

Recall that Sawyer came home to Juliet and said he felt like the little Dutch boy who had to keep plugging holes in the dam. This is a reference to the popular story where as soon as one hole is plugged another springs a leak.

Just for the sake of references, this is similar to the story that Kelvin told Desmond when showing him the failsafe key. Kelvin was asking Des if you could take his finger out of the dam and just let everything be destroyed.

Forget Egyptians, we are now on the lookout for the Vikings. And before you jest, remember where Alvar Hanso is from. Oh, did I mention that Ilena’s name is of Dutch origin?


COUPLE OF HINTS

I’ve caught a couple of interviews with Michael Emerson, who plays Ben, and he made a veiled reference that there is another level in the Temple below where he fell. Yeah, we figured Smokey came from somewhere “below”, but Emerson says we will visit that level on the show!

Then on Jimmy Kimmel he gives a LOST clue which was this: “Ben Linus is an anagram for Bun Lines”. Funny guy.

In another interview Emerson talks about the big Season finale. His descriptions were something along the lines of this:

Major storylines coming to a head about people we haven’t even seen
The head he referred to as “really big”
It will be “explosive”

In order, my guesses as to what this means are a) Jacob, b) the statue head, and c) Jughead.

Hurley offers this clue on Kimmel: “My character is named Hurley. On “Three’s Company” is a character named Mr. Furley who was always arguing with a character named Jack.” Cute.


STAR WARS FAN?

Think you are a big Star Wars fan? Ok, then, prove it by answering this question: Who was the screen writer for the “Empire Strikes Back”?

MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH COMING

We all know the formula in today’s TV shows, so no surprise that someone is going to die on LOST. But who?

May I offer this photo as one possibility?

**

If you enjoyed this post, please do me the favor of clicking of the ads as a thank you.

Enjoy,
KC

LT251: The Riddle Revealed

TEAM VAN

Not sure which team Ilena and Bram are playing for, so in the meantime I’m going to use the label Team Van to identify the group. The name comes from the black van that picked up Miles for a joyride.

Team Van has now asked the riddle, “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” twice. It is time we take a stab at answering this.


MILLENNIUM

There is an old show that was on FOX called Millennium. It had a main character named Peter Watts. If we state the phrase “shadow of the statue” into an anagram engine it comes up with “Watts House of Death”.

Ok, this seems like it requires a big leap of faith. However, before dismissing consider that Terry O’Quinn aka John Locke starred in the show.

And in one episode a serial killer was played by our Horace Goodspeed.

And the series final line was “We are all shepherds.” Hmmm…


FAMOUS EGYPTIAN RIDDLE

With the statue being of Egyptian origin, I did a search on Egyptian riddles and found the most famous one: What is that which is four-footed, three-footed and two footed? The answer is “Man” since we crawl when a baby on all four, use a cane for assistance when old, and walk upright on two feet in between those times.

It seems that the LOST writers are expecting us to research this topic when leads us to the Sphinx, the guardian of the tombs.

The Sphinx consists of a lion’s body with the head of the pharaoh. The lion is considered the guardian of kings. Lions would accompany the rulers during warfare as they believed their presence would keep them safe.

Once the Great Sphinx was completed a temple was erected in front of the 66-foot statue. The temple was a place where believers could offer gifts to the living god known as Horus-in-the-Horizon. Horus?


HORUS

Horus-in-the-Horizon is one of the many identities of the god Horus. In this form he is depicted as a man with a falcon head. And notice what he is holding!

In this identity and as the name implies he is considered the rising sun. We have seen a Dharma logo that seems to represent the rising sun:

This logo has only appeared one time and is found on the map that Ben gave to Danielle, Alex and Karl for them to find their way to safety – which failed.

Consider the logo, the attached meaning the Egyptian god, the ankh in his hand, and Horace’s name as the leader of the Dharma Initiative. All these clues seem to point to the most popular form of Horus: the Sphinx. Add in the connection of a riddle to the Sphinx and we seem to be on the right track.


THE SPHINX

In more recent times attempts were made to determine if tunnels and rooms existed under the Sphinx. They used ELECTROMAGETIC sounding. Indeed chambers were found. The group of researchers from Boston College and Florida State University labeled these readings as “anomalies”. Where have we heard the term “electromagnetic anomaly” before? If you can’t remember the answer is the arctic listening post that Penny arranged to find the island.

It most definitely seems like we are the right track, but I couldn’t get any closer to shadows other than the sleeping prince story. So the search term was switched to “Egyptian shadow”.


THE SHADOW KNOWS

It seems the Egyptian’s believed that a person is made of six parts including the shadow. A person couldn’t exist without its shadow and visa versa. In hieroglyphics the symbol is that of a small man painted completely black.

The shadow also became used as a sign of protection. In the hot desert this was logical extension of the meaning and use of the shadow. And being the Egyptians were so fascinated with the sun and that light is required to cast a shadow it was expected that soon the shadow would represent the comfort for all those who dwell in the king’s shadow of protection.

I came across the Book of Shadows which contains rites and rituals that serve as a guide for witchcraft.


RIDDLE POSSIBILITIES

With the above research in mind, I stepped back and tried to examine the riddle using simplicity.

What lies in the shadow of the statue?

Using simplicity as my guide the possibilities that came to mind were the Temple, the well or darkness. I keep getting drawn back to Smokey who could represent darkness. Could the reference be figurative and be pointing us to the coming war?

Could the answer be Smokey? Recall when Smokey was crashing down trees it would make him the size of the statue! Could the Statue be walking around like a giant Paul Bunyan?

**

Another excellent proposal suggests the answer is “A Lie”. Riddles are just that, brain teasers. “What LIES…” doesn’t mean physical position to the shadow, but lies as in telling a falsehood. We can rephrase the riddle then to “What tells falsehoods in the shadow of the statue?” Answer: nothing because if you do Smokey will judge you. Perhaps only the truth can be spoken in the shadow of the statue.

**

Another strong candidate for an answer is “The Door”. Remember the false door that Sayid found when he took the sailboat with Jin and Sun around the island? We saw in an earlier scene that it was guarded by two armed Others. It seems odd to guard a door that Sayid wouldn’t know was guarded. Michael mentioned they had weapons, but didn’t really speak much of the door. And when Sayid opened the door it was solid rock. What purpose would that serve the Others?

Unless something is behind the rock and this leads us back to Jughead. Is this the burial spot for the bomb? Will the bomb be used in the final war or will it open some doorway to the underworld?

And keep in mind that rock formation which looked like a window. I’m getting a little Alan Parsons Project song in my head now! Could looking from a certain place through the window reveal some secret?

**

Another related point takes us back to Mr. Eko who incorrectly quoted the Psalms 23. He said, “the shadow of the valley of death”. The proper wording is “the valley of the shadow of death”. Is there some ancient cemetery here? Is this the Valley of the Kings?

**

Some see a strong connection to Stephen King’s book, “The Stand”. The book includes many similarities to LOST including a 108-year old woman. But the connection to this post is that the group used a question to identify each other. That question was “Who lies in Hemingford, Nebraska”. The answer was Abigail Freemantle. Try that one Frank!

**

Or when Ben was first prisoner he told Locke that Hemmingway could never get out of Dostoyevsky’s shadow.

**

Keeping a literary theme going…

"It cannot be seen, cannot be felt
Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt.
It LIES behind stars and under hills,
And empty holes it fills.
It comes first and follows after,
Ends life, kills laughter. "

--J.R.R. Tolkien "The Hobbit" Answer: Darkness


**

I had to keep digging. And then I found this:


THE PRINCE

Around 1400 BC an Egyptian prince was said to have taken refuge in the shadow of the Sphinx. He dreamed and in that dream was told he would become the king if he kept the sand from covering up the Sphinx. He became King but only after murdering those in the rightful line to the throne.

Many suspect the dream was a lie. Since the claim was to have come directly from the god of Horus, who could question it? This seems to match a pattern seen on LOST. Ben has used lies to accomplish his goals and when questioned he falls back on the claim, “Jacob wanted it.”

**

Recall an earlier episode entitled “The Little Prince”. Many assumed it referred to the literary work and this was reinforced with the scientific name (B612) of a star that uses the same planet name found in the book.

However the show also used the double-meaning of pointing us to Aaron as the Little Prince.

So, the Little Prince lies in the shadow of the statue.

Personally, I want to carry a step further and suggest a burial plot. The grave could hold the body of an ancient Egyptian king who is today known as Jacob. Could this imply then that Aaron is Jacob?


CONCLUSION

I’m putting my money on Aaron. Post your guess in the comments section.

If you enjoyed reading this post, please consider clicking one of the ads as a way of saying thanks. I get a few pennies for each click and it tells me you like what you are reading (or not).

Enjoy,
KC

LT250: Special Edition of Lost Reveiw

As you probably know, LOST is doing a clip show this week, so it seemed like a good time to offer a special edition LOST REVIEW post of my own.


LOST REVIEW: Backgammon

We are aware that games are a running theme on LOST. The first game mentioned on the show was in the Pilot episode, Part 2, when Locke finds a backgammon set. John is sitting on the beach playing alone when Walt wonders by to see what he is up to. For reference sake, this is followed by Jin trying to share some fish he caught with Claire which makes her baby kick for the first time since the crash.

Keep in mind that the LOST REVIEW section of the posts is an attempt to re-analyze the show in search for a common theory. Our current leading hypothesis is that the island is a supercomputer. The second strongest hypothesis is that LOST is about religion (or the struggle of science versus religion).

**

Here is how this analysis works: Backgammon is a board game. Games can be played on a computer. Therefore, LOST is about a computer.

Or…backgammon is a game of two players where as Locke describes “one side is light, and one side is dark”. Light and dark describes a scientific concept. Therefore, LOST is about science.

Or…backgammon’s light versus dark is a common religious theme expressed as good versus evil. Therefore, LOST is about religion or philosophy.

See how it works? We are looking for the total weight of evidence to lead us to our final conclusion. Continuing our thought process then, light and dark could be a reference to “off or on” which describes the binary language of a computer. Score another point for the Supercomputer Hypothesis.

**

John Locke describes the game to Walt as a “two player game”. So what was John doing playing it solitary? Is this a point for the Religion/Philosophy Hypothesis then? Consider that a future episode will be entitled “Solitary” in which Sayid struggles with his human nature to torturer or not to torture.

Kate is also playing the game by herself in “Left Behind”.

Computers are great for gamers in that the computer often plays the role of an opponent. This is accomplished by the programmer writing a sort of artificial intelligence routine to act as the competitor. Score another point for the Computer Gang.

**

Locke tells Walt that the game of backgammon is over 5,000 years old and compares this to being “older than Jesus Christ”…another reference for the Religion Supporters.

Side note: Am I supposed to be keeping score?

Locke’s timestamp reference of backgammon seems to allude to the Egyptians because they hold the record for the oldest games known to historians. To be fair, we need to add to our list an Egyptian Hypothesis and mark one hash mark next to this candidate!

**

Many believe the oldest game known to man and invented about 5,000 years ago would be the Royal Game of Ur.


The game Locke was referencing could also be Senet. They both originated around the same time and both are predecessors of backgammon. Both games are race games which means players are trying to get their pieces from one end of the board to the next. This seems to signify Life and the journey of birth to death.

**

Personally, my research leads to be belief that John’s reference was to Senet. Here is one piece of evidence:

You can quickly see why I think this is the game. The hieroglyphics in the image is part of a painting found in a tomb in Egypt. The player at the table is moving pieces that appear more like Chess than the actual board game at first glance. Lord knows we’ve seen Chess on LOST.

Notice too that Nefertari is playing solo.

The game’s official translation means “the passing game”. It was played with dice in the shape of pyramids. The game supported the Egyptians belief in Fate and Determinism. It was believed that a successful player was under the protection of the god Ra. See why I think was the game John was referring to?!

Because of the close ties to religion the game board was often buried in the grave as assistance to the deceased to make their way through the afterlife. The game is referred to in the Book of the Dead.

**

Similar games include Mehen. This happens to be the serpent god who protects Ra during the nighttime underworld. Little is known about this game but what does exist suggests another type of race game. A group of programmers attempted to decipher a set of rules and a shareware version exists.

**

Another closely related game is called Hounds and Jackals. The jackal image is often used to depict the god Seth (ah, another LOST connection). Seth joined the highest depiction of gods on the Serkh alongside Horus (the falcon shaped image).

Notice the falcon image on the above carving. The blocks that the falcon stands on depicts the entryway this king must use to pass through the afterlife. Gee, is that a snake?

As you are most likely aware of Hounds is a correlation to Cerberus – the guardian dog of Hades. This brings us to Vincent, the dog. However this might best be saved for another LOST REVIEW. For now, let me continue on one final thought process…

A writer of a book called the “Daughters of the Hounds” states that the hounds are extraterrestrial (score one for you Alien Theorists). The term the author uses is Ghouls.

**

A ghoul is a mythological creature found in Sayid’s culture. It dwells in burial grounds and other uninhabited places. Can you say “the island”? It is often found in the desert (Tunisia anyone?). It is a shape shifting creature that can take on any forms (like Walt or Alex?), but often takes the shape of a dog (Here boy!).

The belief is that a ghoul can be brought back to life (Where in the world is Christian?) by a witch or demon to do some task. Ghouls are described as preferring to eat the flesh of young children (who did the Others kidnap for the Tail Enders?). Ghouls are said to be bound to obey the person who brought them back to life (keep this in mind down the road). It is said that the only way to kill a Ghoul is by fire which will turn them into white ash (what was that spread around Jacob’s cabin?).

**

CONCLUSION

Ok, this research thread ran a little long…but I found it very interesting. The search for a theory sort of ended up this way:

Egyptian – dozens of points
Supercomputer – five points
Religion – about as many as computer references

The conclusion we can draw is that no theory is disqualified, but many have gained additional weight of evidence. This LOST REVIEW seemed to support religion and Egyptian culture the strongest.

**

And remember when this section began I reminded you that the backgammon scene with Locke and Walt was immediately followed by Jin giving fish to Claire? Well it turns out that another name for a ghoul is “jinn”. Jinn is a supernatural creature (good or evil) which possesses free will. The term is found in the Bible and the Qur’an. The Qur’an story involves an evil jinn which refused to bow down to Adam when ordered to do so.

Man, I love this show!

**

NEXT ON TIDBITS

I have been working on my best guess to the riddle, “What lies in the shadow of the statue?” Check back on Thursday this week for the answer!


If you enjoyed this special edition of TIDBITS, please take a second to click on one of the ads to share your appreciation with me. And leave a comment if you have some follow-up ideas to share!

Enjoy,
KC