You know, it's a bittersweet thing, writing these posts. When an episode of Lost is action-packed and contains a ton of new information to obsess over, as a fan of the show, I am very happy. But as a Lost blog-writer, I am scared to death. There was much to digest in "Confirmed Dead," so if I ever want to get this write-up done, I need follow Jack's instructions: let the fear take over for 5 seconds and 5 seconds only, and then move forward.1, 2, 3, 4, 5....
Wow, that worked.
And now... IT'S GO TIME!
I'm going to analyze the four freighter people first, and then the on-Island events. (Don't forget to roll over the pictures!)
REVENGE OF THE NERD
This episode kicked off with a video of the ocean floor. If, at that point, you did not immediately realize that we were shortly about to see an Oceanic plane that would appear to be Flight 815, then there is no other way to tell you this: you are dumb. (Less obvious was a split-second shot of a small metal box near the wreckage... I'm sure that will come into play in the future.)
Next, we see a news report about the supposedly recovered plane, and learn that everyone on board has been confirmed dead. The camera pans back, and we see Daniel Faraday, the first of the four "rescuers" that arrived on the Island at the end of the last episode. He is shaken and crying at the footage of Flight 815, and admits to his wife (?) that he doesn't know why.
So what is going on here? I will first say that of the four new arrivals on the Island, I like Daniel the best. Truth be told, he reminds me of a friend I had in high school crossed with Quentin Tarantino... but you don't care about that, do you? I also like him because:
1) He is definitely a nerd--the first official nerd of the Island! No, Benry cannot be considered a nerd, because he is too evil. True nerds are innocent and would never do anyone harm. That is my initial impression of Daniel. He is in way over his head versus the rest of his own team, not to mention the Lostaways. I love how he paid no attention to Kate and Juliet--hot, sweaty chicks in skimpy tops... he was too busy analyzing the light patterns on the Island or worrying that Miles was going to beat him up.
2) He rocked the skinny tie. One MUST give props to that! Bring back the '80s, Daniel, bring 'em back!!!
3) I no longer think of Dead Charlie when I see him... Daniel's voice is too different and his quirkiness has already established him as his own, unique personality among the rest of the crew on the Island.
4) Naomi refers to him as a "head case," and I have a weakness for head cases.
Did you notice how we didn't actually see the woman who was in his flashback? She either doesn't matter, or, knowing this show, she is a character we've met before. I noted a wedding ring when she tried to console Daniel in his chair at the end, so that is why I assumed it was his wife. On the Island, however, he is not wearing a ring (which doesn't necessarily mean he's not married, but...). Since he IS a nerd, he could be living with his mom, or maybe his sister. The woman we heard and saw from the waist down had a young air about her, it didn't seem like it would be his mother. I didn't recognize the voice, either. Any other ideas?
And what was up with him not knowing why he was crying? My initial thought was that he has some sort of repressed memory about the Island. So he didn't understand why he was so upset because his subconscious mind was at work. However, thanks to my brother, who dared to brave the message boards in my place in order to pre-screen information for me so that I remain unspoiled, I know of a few other theories about why Daniel was crying:
- He was supposed to be on Flight 815, so he has "survivor's guilt."
- He was somehow involved in the cover-up of the crash... meaning that he helped get a fake plane and other dead bodies down in the ocean to make it look like Flight 815.
- He is involved in some other way--with either Dharma, or Widmore, or some other organization, and feels guilty about it.
I'm sticking with my original theory. I think he looked like he really didn't know why he was crying. And we've learned already from his short time on the Island that he is basically incapable of lying. I refuse to believe he is "bad" just yet. And unlike some of the other new arrivals, I don't think Daniel has been to the Island before. He seemed too amazed by everything.
Finally, let's not forget that names mean a lot on Lost. A scientist with the last name of Faraday was, according to Wikipedia: "A famous British chemist and physicist of the 19th century. He studied electromagnetism (one of the supposed properties of the Island) and observed the effect magnetic fields can have on rays of light" (something Daniel appears to comment on later in the episode).
INGLEWOOD... INGLEWOOD, ALWAYS UP TO NO GOOD
On to Miles. Before I write anything else, I need to take a moment to go call Black & Decker and
ask them why the hell my DustBuster doesn't enable me to talk to ghosts. Maybe only the high-tech Dyson brand models do that? Either way, I'm disappointed. Because, as I am sure you are not surprised... along with aliens, I also believe in ghosts.
When Miles first entered that lady's home and the camera zoomed in on the picture of her grandson, I was thinking that the kid would be someone we knew. Even though the directors seemed to want to be sure we noticed several more pictures of him at the end of the scene, I can't say I think this kid will come into play in the future on the show. Some people think he is related to Mr. Eko. Mr. Eko: The Next Generation! That would rock, but unfortunately, I think all we were supposed to learn from this scene is that Miles is some sort of Ghostbuster. Which would've been a lot cooler if he had the official uniform and theme song and everything. But I would be remiss if I didn't point out that many people noticed the different picture frames that were used in two shots of the same picture. A clue or a production mistake? You be the judge.
But seriously, what did his DustBuster thingy even do? Some people thought he only used it to drown out noise so that the grandmother wouldn't figure out that Miles was trying to find money.
The fancy machine made it look like he was doing something impressive. This could be the case... if you noticed at the end of the little séance, Miles had already turned the machine off when he said "You can go now." Does that mean he never needed the machine in the first place in order to talk to the kid's ghost? He certainly didn't have it with him when he visited Wax Figure Naomi in the jungle...
Whether or not the DustBuster actually did anything, it's clear that Miles has some sort of gift, or power, if you will, that lets him talk to the deceased. But he is not an upstanding guy... he came there knowing the kid was into drugs so that he could get all of the drug money. Sure, maybe he didn't want to upset Grandma by revealing that her precious grandson was a dealer, but the whole thing was still shady.
One other theory on Miles' ability to talk to the dead is that he is somehow manipulating either light rays or time (or both) in order to do so. When Miles went into the grandson's room, he seemed to check the light for a second. The camera panned around the room, but two shots were primarily filled with light-filled windows. Then, as Miles went into his trance, streaks of light were quite bright in the room (one was over his head and hit the camera at an angle that created a bright ray). Was that machine something that messes with light?
Or slows down time, affecting the speed of light? Or can Miles do that on his own without the machine? Or does his ability have nothing to do with light or the passage of time?
Considering some of the other tongue-in-cheek lines of dialogue we had in this episode, I really wish that when Miles was "listening" to Dead Naomi and Kate was grumbling about what he was doing, the scene had ended with Miles looking up and whispering, "I hear dead people."
But alas, that moment has passed, and we moved on to Miles feeling a fool after Sayid and Juliet ambush him and Daniel in the jungle. He continued to be all hotheaded and sarcastic after that, though. And then referring to Dead Naomi as "meat" later on? That was just plain gross. So far, I do not like Miles. Although when I watched the episode for the third time, I noticed that he gave Charlotte his bulletproof vest because she couldn't find hers when the helicopter started acting up. Chivalry is not dead, ladies.
On a semi-related note, if you want to see one of the most unintentionally funny videos of all time, check out the ABC Videocast with one of the show's wardrobe designers. Miles' clothes were supposedly inspired by Keith Richards. Umm... Captain Jack Sparrow being inspired by Keith Richards? Yes. I buy that.
Miles Straume? No. That is silly.
Wikipedia's take on his name: "The name 'Miles Straume' is a play on the word "maelstrom," which means a powerful whirlpool or a swirling mass of water." Wow, Wikipedia. You are really stretching on that one. But then again, maybe not. Not if you believe the "Vile Vortices" theory, that is (which I do, and I explain it later in this post). Considering that a maelstrom is a vortex, perhaps Miles' name is indeed a huge clue for us. (By the way, I've seen his last name spelled 'Strom,' too, but I'm sticking with the Wikipedia/Lostpedia version for now.)
Finally, shout-out to my military peeps and otherwise in-the-know readers who called that Naomi's "tell my sister I love her" phrase was a code for "These mofos just killed me."
YAY, YOU FOUND A DHARMA COLLAR. NOW GET OVER YOURSELF.
When we first meet Charlotte Staples Lewis (yes, her name is a nod to C.S. Lewis, of The Chronicles of Narnia fame (you know, the books where time moves at a different pace in Narnia versus the real world, and where the children can't get to Narnia unless it wants them to come visit), especially since the C.S. stands for Clive Staples),
she is attempting to act like a bad-ass by shoving a wad of money at an excavation site manager in Tunisia, and then proceeds to dig on her own. Surprise, surprise, the skeleton she is focused on is that of a polar bear. And Charlotte seems to be purposefully looking for, and subsequently happy to find, its Dharma Hydra station collar.
Charlotte annoyed me right away. I'm not sure why. It bothers me that she looks a lot like Miranda from Sex & The City. But I think mostly I was turned off by her cocky attitude. Since she appears to be no stranger to paying people off, combined with the fact that she was obviously searching for the collar, some on the message boards assumed she worked/works for Dharma or Widmore. Others think that she is a descendant of Dharma members and used to live on the Island, and now is trying to get back. In this theory, it is assumed that the polar bear skeleton and Hydra collar were planted in Tunisia by whomever wants her to recruit her for the freighter team, to get her all hyped for the mission.
I will cover one of the biggest "huh?" moments of the night, the fact that there was a polar bear's skeleton in Tunisia, in more detail later on in this post (because I don't buy that it was planted there by Dharma).
Once on the Island, Charlotte became a little more bearable. When she splashed down into the water from her precarious position on a tree limb, she seemed not only happy to be alive, but also flat-out ecstatic to be on the Island. Like it was either a place she'd been trying to get to all of her life and couldn't believe she was finally there... or a place she had been to before, to which she was relieved to return.
She seemed genuinely shocked that Locke and crew didn't want to be rescued. But one thing I couldn't figure out was, if she came to the Island to find Benry, why didn't she notice him standing among the group? It seemed weird that they never showed a "reaction shot" to her initially recognizing him. But clearly, when Benry called her out later, she didn't deny his accusations.
Two other questions about Ms. Lewis:
1) Does she know about the problem with pregnant women on the Island? That's immediately what I wondered when she specifically asked Claire whether Aaron was born on the Island...
2) What was the award she was shown holding in the picture Abaddon gave Naomi?
Some people on the boards wondered why she would have on a bulletproof vest. I wasn't surprised by that at all, once we learned the true nature of her mission. I don't think they were expecting Benry to leave the Island without a fight.
Of the four rescuers, Charlotte is the one who I think has either been to the Island before, or is at least the most knowledgeable about Dharma and the unique properties of the Island.
I GOTTA HAVE MORE COWBELL
The final member of the freighter crew, Frank Lapidus, appeared to be in a small travel/tour shop
in the Bahamas when he saw the report about the newly discovered wreckage of Flight 815 and called to report that the body wasn't the pilot's. (Did you try calling the number, by the way? It works: 888-548-0034.)(Also, Frank was right, in Season One, the pilot was shown with a ring on right before he dies.) Frank loves to sport the short-sleeve palm tree-adorned button-downs, which means he is probably a Jimmy Buffett fan. Therefore, I am cautiously optimistic about him.
But he is definitely the most mysterious of the four, wouldn't you agree? Here are the strange things about him:
1) His facial hair. Just when I started missing Zeke's fake hillbilly beard, we get some REAL facial hair--a full beard, a mustache, and a mop of stringy, unkempt hair that rivals Nick Nolte's. And since we haven't seen Ageless Richard of the Bushy Eyebrows lately, we get an eyebrow fix from Frank, to boot. Awesome. His light eyes are kind of freaky, though.
2) His job. Um, if he was a pilot for Oceanic, what is he doing in the Bahamas? And what made him miss Flight 815? And why was he referred to only as "a drunk" by Naomi? Did he perhaps show up to work intoxicated on that fateful day in September 2004 and had to bow out of the flight?
3) His condition. He claims to have landed the helicopter safely (which we see evidence of)... but yet he is all bloody, can't find his phone, and loses consciousness on the Island twice. Something isn't adding up here.
4) His memory. He remembered that the pilot always wore his wedding ring? And he remembered over three hundred names on the Flight 815 manifest? I can't even remember what I had for breakfast most days.
5) His close encounter with what seemed to be a domesticated reddish-brown cow. Hmmm. I was about to give up on this one, but then I realized that...
THE END IS NIGH
There is speculation across Lost message boards that the four freighter peeps are supposed to represent the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
We even had an Apocalypse Now reference from Sawyer, when he called Locke "Colonel Kurtz." For those of you who need a refresher on Armageddon, read about the Four Horsemen here. The most prevalent guesses match up our new arrivals with the Horsemen like so:
Miles = Death (duh)
Daniel = Pestilence (he is wearing a black tie and vest, symbolizing the black horse)
Charlotte = War (she has red hair, and the War horse is red. And remember in the previews how Sayid said "War is coming"?)
Frank = Conquest (also assumed to be the Antichrist - yikes!)
Another religious symbol, coming to us from Judaism, is the red cow.
You can read about what the red cow can be interpreted to mean here (scroll down a bit on the page for the "answer," and, if you can't figure it out, "Mashiach" means Messiah).
Whether or not you believe that there is any biblical symbolism going on, you can't deny the resemblance between Frank and the Old Dude in Jacob's Chair from Locke's initial Creepy Cabin visit. His profile is a closer match than any I've seen so far. We know there are several religious meanings for "Jacob," and even within the show we've seen the phrase "God loves you as he loved Jacob" several times. If Jacob is really Frank, and Frank is supposed to represent the Antichrist, then Jacob would also be the Antichrist. Benry and Locke really need to start questioning who they're taking orders from. Geez. When you take all of this symbolism into account, and then combine it with the fact the four rescuers brought gas masks and guns along on their trip, it's pretty freaky. I don't read too much into all the religious references in the show, but I am pretty convinced now that the arrival of the four freighter people is not going to be a good thing for our Lostaways.
MÖTLEY CREW
So we met the four rescuers, and then learned that Naomi was meant to lead the operation, and was hired to do so by none other than Fake Lawyer himself, Matthew Abaddon. Man, that guy is creepy.
Anyway, while we still don't know who Abaddon works for or what exactly he wanted this group to achieve when they went to the Island aside from getting Ben, we do know that Naomi was not pleased to be associated with any of them. But she accepted the mission, and was in fact the one who was supposed to guarantee everyone's safety.
Did Abaddon perhaps set her up? One theory is that Abaddon and the group he's working for wanted all five of these people (and perhaps others on the freighter) to disappear. Maybe they knew something they shouldn't have, and needed to be silenced. So Abaddon sent them to the one place he knew they'd never return from: the Island.
I personally don't agree with that idea. To be blunt, if Abaddon wanted anyone to disappear, I have a feeling he would just have that person assassinated. Therefore, I think Daniel, Miles, Charlotte and Frank were each chosen for a specific reason, perhaps unbeknownst even to them. And they all must have been motivated to come to the Island, for some personal reason above and beyond finding Ben. I also believe that each of them knows different things about the true purpose of the mission, and that some of them may have hidden agendas. Miles and Daniel certainly did not seem close--who knows how long ago they even met?
Back to Abaddon--he seemed annoyed that Naomi would question whether anyone from Flight 815 had survived. That really confused me, because why would Naomi even bring up Flight 815 in the first place when talking to Abaddon? Perhaps she knew that the Island was close to the spot where they found the wreckage or something? But still, it seemed random to me that she would bring that up, especially if the mission had to do with finding Ben, and she was given a picture of Desmond (who we know wasn't on the flight).
Abaddon is obviously with the group who planted the replica of the Oceanic plane, along with the replacement dead bodies. That's right, I am positive (as should you be) that what was shown on the news was not the real plane. It's a cover-up, and I'm glad they didn't string that storyline out (since they had Frank question the authenticity of the wreckage right away). Now the question is, who is trying to cover up the crash? It's obvious that it's the same group that ends up threatening the Oceanic Six years later since Abaddon visited Hurley in the asylum... but two major questions remain: What is this organization, and who are the "they" it's so concerned about?
Obvious theories are that Abaddon is working for Dharma, or Widmore Corporation. I think it's the latter. If Abaddon is working for Penny's father, he could've easily gotten a copy of her picture with Desmond. Naomi is in on the whole thing, so everything she told Desmond about Penny organizing a search party was a lie. Finally, some people interpreted Abaddon's repetition of the phrase "There were no survivors" to mean that he wanted Naomi to kill any survivors that she might come across... to ensure that there actually end up being no survivors of Flight 815.
HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN
Now we come to the on-Island events. I'm going to chunk almost everything
having to do with my man Locke into the next two sections, because there is a lot to say about his actions in this episode.
The first time we see Locke in "Confirmed Dead," he is striking a familiar pose, smiling up at the pouring rain. And he knows, as he has in the past, exactly when the storm is going to end. One-With-The-Island Locke is back in full force, my friends.
I mentioned in my last write-up that Locke had questioned Hurley about what he saw when he got lost in the jungle, and Hurley declined to share his run-in with Jacob's cabin. In this episode, once again, Hurley lets on that he knows the location of the cabin, and Locke immediately questions him. And Hurley covers up his knowledge like he did before. Two interesting things happened in this scene:
1) There was a weird look on Locke's face that ended with a small smile. I couldn't tell if he was happy Hurley seems to have seen the cabin, or concerned, or fearful.
2) But I could tell what Ben was thinking: "YESSSSSS!" Ben's eyes lit up and he couldn't help from flashing his trademark cocky smirk when he realized that Hurley, too, was in on the whole Jacob thing. Perhaps that gave Ben hope that he could win Hurley over?
Also, Hurley thought the cabin was in the opposite direction from where Locke believed it to be. And when Hurley initially came upon the shack in the jungle, it moved spots. What is UP with this cabin?!?! Can it actually move around?
I deduced from Locke's conversation with Sawyer that College Freshman Waaaallllt must have taken Locke to the cabin before, or why else would Locke think he needed to go back there? But I'm glad that everything is out in the open now about Waaaallllt, why Locke knifed Naomi, the cabin, Ben shooting Locke, why Locke didn't die, and Locke's reasons for not killing Ben. A lot of information was shared amongst the Lostaways this episode... a lot. And some might say that it was fate that Papa Locke had stolen Locke's kidney, since the absence of that kidney is what ended up saving Locke's life.
BENIPULATION
I fear that Locke has grown a little over-confident. Whether I care to admit it or not, Ben is smarter than Locke.
Unbelievably, Locke was benipulated yet again, and didn't end up getting rid of Ben once and for all. Ben blurted out information about Charlotte at the very last second, after being unable (or unwilling) to tell Locke what he really wanted to know: "What is the monster?" (Some people think Locke now knows what the monster is, and was testing Ben.) (I also can't help but wonder what Ben wanted to tell Alex before Karl and Sawyer shushed him a few minutes earlier in the episode.) I fear that Sawyer's prediction that Ben is going to "get" them is going to come true.
Something that struck me about this final scene was that Locke really did seem ready to commit murder (as did Sawyer, again). I think Locke's encounter with Jacob and Waaallt has convinced him that he is the Island's Chosen Son, and he's now willing to kill in order to protect that status.
It hasn't been that long since he needed Sawyer to do his dirty work with Papa Locke... but now we have Locke taking a gun from Sawyer and saying, "It's my mess, I'll clean it up." That's a pretty big transformation from the Locke we saw in "The Brig."
And it doesn't seem like everyone is down with this new breed of Locke. Wouldn't you agree that the group with Locke is very doubtful and splintered, versus the group with Jack, that is working as a cohesive team? Hurley's words from last episode are haunting me to no end: "I'm sorry I went with Locke. I should've stayed with you." I honestly don't know if I can watch the next episode. Something bad is going to happen!!!!
WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE, IF IT'S THE LAST THING WE EVER DO
The final scenes of the episode were chock-full of shockers: Ben has a mole on the freighter?
Miles has a scandalous picture of Benry in a God-awful vest? Sayid knows how to fly helicopters? Minkowski mysteriously "can't come to the phone?" Eyes around the country glazed over at the end of the episode... Too... Much... Information. CANNOT PROCESS.
Here are my thoughts on the last few moments of the episode.
- Who is Ben's "man on the ship?" Obvious choices are: Michael, Patchy and Minkowski. I think it's Minkowski, and the freighter people are now going to be abandoned. That's why Minkowski is no longer coming to the phone. I think Michael would be too obvious of a choice, and I really think Patchy is dead this time. But Patchy had been the one to pull together the "files" on the Lostaways, and it sounded like Ben had a file on Charlotte and the other three from the helicopter. So maybe Patchy has risen once more.
- What's up with that picture of Ben? I think it is HILARIOUS, for starters. He looks like he's about to bust out some Saturday Night Fever moves at any second. Some people noticed that the monitor isn't plugged in and thought that the picture looked staged. Others wondered if this picture was taken off of the Island, meaning that Ben lied to Jack back in the Hydra hatch when he said he's been on the Island his entire life. I am not sure what to think. That picture could've been taken somewhere in the barracks--we do know that the Others have computers.
- Why do the helicopter people personally care about finding Ben? Miles seems especially bent out of shape about the whole thing, more than he would be if he was just being paid to complete a mission to which he had no connection. I have no ideas outside of what I've already speculated about Charlotte possibly having been on the Island before.
- If Sayid ends up piloting the helicopter, he will win the Most Awesome Being on The Planet Earth award.
- How is anyone going to get off of the Island? Minkowski's not returning calls, Frank warned that the helicopter doesn't have much fuel left, only four people were inside of it on the way to the Island, yet we know at least six Lostaways leave. And one of them's Hurley... who is not exactly the lightest guy in the world. How is this going to work?
I'll end my analysis of "Confirmed Dead" with these final comments:
- I enjoyed this episode infinitely more than the premiere, because this time I was unspoiled. I am unspoiled for the next episode, too--hooray!
- It was interesting to me that while all of our Lostaways were each back in prime form (Jack=cocky and confident, Locke=having faith in the Island at all costs, Sawyer=doubting and reckless, etc.), they also have changed dramatically since their arrival on the Island three months prior. Did you notice the stark contrast between Kate and Jack navigating the rocky beach to approach Miles, versus the awkward trepidation of Daniel? How everyone with Locke was immediately suspicious of Charlotte's questions about the survivors (Hurley: "Why do you want to know?"). How it used to be Jack and Kate getting caught in traps and ambushed by the Others, and now they're turning the tables on the freighter crew? The Flight 815 survivors are at home on the Island. And I don't think the Island is going to be pleased if any of them leave... Remember Jack and Locke's fight in the Season One finale?
Locke: Do you really think all this is an accident? That we, a group of strangers survived, many of us with just superficial injuries? Do you think we crashed on this place by coincidence... especially, this place? We were brought here for a purpose, for a reason, all of us. Each one of us was brought here for a reason.
Jack: Brought here? And who brought us here, John?
Locke: The island. The island brought us here. This is no ordinary place, you've seen that, I know you have. But the island chose you, too, Jack. It's destiny.
(a few moments later...)
Jack: I don't believe in destiny.
Locke: Yes, you do. You just don't know it yet.
(Shivers!)
- With the addition of the helicopter team and the deepening mystery surrounding Abaddon, I cannot claim to be completely comfortable with the direction in which the show appears to be going. That's all I'm going to say on that subject for now, because I hope my worries will be diminished with the next episode.
Let's wrap up with a few theories raised by this episode, and then, of course, end with the Best Lines.
THE HOLLOW EARTH/VILE VORTICES THEORY
I am going to give you the gist of this theory, and then leave it up to you to investigate it further, should you be so nerdily inclined. Entire sites and books are dedicated to these concepts in the "real world," so I cannot possibly do justice to how they may relate to the storyline on Lost. Plus, I've touched upon these ideas in past posts, so they shouldn't come as a surprise. But there have been some hints this season that warrant another look at these theories. Here are a few key points to get your mind whirring:
- In the Season Four Premiere, some people thought that the mention of three "Hos" (Charlie standing by the Ho Hos, and Jack and Hurley playing HORSE and only getting to H-O... get your mind out of the gutter!) was a reference to Santa Claus, who, as we all know, lives at the North Pole. And who also makes a list of "bad" (naughty) versus "nice" children (similar to the Others' list of "good people").
- What else is near the North Pole? Polar bears. And, one might imagine, igloos, like in Hurley's painting. And snow. Remember Desmond's question to Locke when they first met: "What did one snowman say to the other?" And recall how Penny's tent dudes seemed to be somewhere really cold?
- What else is special about the North Pole? It has magnetic properties. Just like the Island. And it is believed to be one of the twelve vile vortices in the world.
So take all of the above, and then consider the possibility of a hollow Earth, and you have a lot of evidence for the Vile Vortices theory (this link leads to a ton of info...).
The Oceanic logo looks a lot like Edmund Halley's hollow earth diagram, does it not?
What if there were certain points on the globe that provided "quick transportation" of sorts to other special spots on the Earth? What if Flight 815 hit one of those spots and ended up on the Island? The Hollow Earth/Vile Vortices theory would explain how a drug plane from Nigeria with not much fuel could end up somewhere seemingly in the tropics. It would explain how the Black Rock ended up in the middle of the Island, rather than on the beach. And it might explain how a polar bear with a Dharma collar could end up in the middle of Tunisia. One more thing... way back in Season Two, in my write-up for Juliet's "One of Us" flashback episode, I brought up vile vortices because it has been speculated that the Nancy Reagan-looking lady in Juliet's book club is actually Amelia Earhart. Some think Amelia's plane (in real life) flew into a vile vortex. Apparently in the Find815.com game, there was another mention of Ms. Earhart. I'm telling you, vile vortices are going to come into play somehow! Do you buy it?
WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT OF THEORIES...
Three other quick ones...
- Some Lost fans are positive that the "HO" references in the premiere were not meant to invoke thoughts of Santa, the North Pole or vile vortices, but rather of holmium. You know, holmium! What, you can't remember everything from your high school chemistry class? Holmium's periodic table symbol is... drum roll please... HO. Guess what holmium's claim to fame is? It's the most magnetic of any naturally occurring element. And we know how the writers of Lost just loooove magnetic forces! I still don't really get what the point of the Holmium Theory is, but if you want to try to figure it out, check out this site or this site.
- Shout-out to MS who wrote me with the Time-Traveling Polar Bear Theory. Similar to how Desmond traveled back in time during "Flashes Before Your Eyes," perhaps a polar bear from the Island was sucked through a wormhole in time and got stuck in Tunisia way back in the day? If we believe that something is going on with the space-time continuum on the Island, then we can't apply this theory only to humans. No polar bear discrimination! I have a feeling we will understand the importance of the Tunisia location later in the series.
- A similar theory comes from Matt From Dallas, who speculated that perhaps the polar bear teleported over to Tunisia (teleportation is the most awesome superpower there is, by the way. Should you ever be in the situation where you must choose a superpower, choose the ability to teleport. Trust me). If Jacob's Cabin is hopping around, and Waaaallllt is appearing and disappearing all over the place, maybe one of the polar bears caught on and wanted to check out the desert?
BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE
Sawyer: What the hell do you mean, you saw Walt... in a dream?
Locke: No dream. It was Walt... only, taller.
Sawyer: Taller? What, like a giant?
Ben: KAAARRRL.
Ben: Why'd you leave Kate behind?
Sawyer: You're wastin' your time, Yoda.
Locke: ... And because, apart from his mouth, he's completely harmless.
Sawyer: His mouth put that hole in your gut?
Sawyer: It's only a matter of time before he gets us, Johnny. And I'll bet he's already figured out how he's gonna do it.
Jack's wink.
Jack: I don't know, Miles. How stupid are ya?
Sayid: You say you're not here on a rescue mission, and that the world at large believes us to be dead. But here we are, alive and well, and you don't seem remotely surprised to see us.
Miles: 'Oh my God. You guys were on Oceanic 815? WOW!' That better?
[Sayid smirks.]
Charlotte: What? We need to stay where we are, so that they find us!
Locke: See, there's your problem. We don't want to be found.
Locke: Whatever they came for, it isn't us. We need to keep moving forward as planned.
Sawyer: Sure, who are we to argue with Taller Ghost Walt?
Miles: I'll tell you what we're doing if you give me the phone.
Jack: Don't say anything about your sister.
Ben: John, listen. I have information that you need. I have answers.
Locke: [Pauses] What is... the monster?
SETTING EXPECTATIONS
I have family visiting and staying with me the night of the next episode until Sunday the 17th. Meaning that I am not going to begin writing my post until after they leave. Meaning that I probably won't get my write-up for "The Economist" uploaded until Wednesday, February 20th. My family claims to be coming for a wedding in Chicago, but I do kind of fear that they're organizing some sort of "intervention" for me because of my Lost obsessiveness. Wish me luck.
- e
And now... IT'S GO TIME!
I'm going to analyze the four freighter people first, and then the on-Island events. (Don't forget to roll over the pictures!)
REVENGE OF THE NERD
This episode kicked off with a video of the ocean floor. If, at that point, you did not immediately realize that we were shortly about to see an Oceanic plane that would appear to be Flight 815, then there is no other way to tell you this: you are dumb. (Less obvious was a split-second shot of a small metal box near the wreckage... I'm sure that will come into play in the future.)
Next, we see a news report about the supposedly recovered plane, and learn that everyone on board has been confirmed dead. The camera pans back, and we see Daniel Faraday, the first of the four "rescuers" that arrived on the Island at the end of the last episode. He is shaken and crying at the footage of Flight 815, and admits to his wife (?) that he doesn't know why.So what is going on here? I will first say that of the four new arrivals on the Island, I like Daniel the best. Truth be told, he reminds me of a friend I had in high school crossed with Quentin Tarantino... but you don't care about that, do you? I also like him because:
1) He is definitely a nerd--the first official nerd of the Island! No, Benry cannot be considered a nerd, because he is too evil. True nerds are innocent and would never do anyone harm. That is my initial impression of Daniel. He is in way over his head versus the rest of his own team, not to mention the Lostaways. I love how he paid no attention to Kate and Juliet--hot, sweaty chicks in skimpy tops... he was too busy analyzing the light patterns on the Island or worrying that Miles was going to beat him up.
2) He rocked the skinny tie. One MUST give props to that! Bring back the '80s, Daniel, bring 'em back!!!3) I no longer think of Dead Charlie when I see him... Daniel's voice is too different and his quirkiness has already established him as his own, unique personality among the rest of the crew on the Island.
4) Naomi refers to him as a "head case," and I have a weakness for head cases.
Did you notice how we didn't actually see the woman who was in his flashback? She either doesn't matter, or, knowing this show, she is a character we've met before. I noted a wedding ring when she tried to console Daniel in his chair at the end, so that is why I assumed it was his wife. On the Island, however, he is not wearing a ring (which doesn't necessarily mean he's not married, but...). Since he IS a nerd, he could be living with his mom, or maybe his sister. The woman we heard and saw from the waist down had a young air about her, it didn't seem like it would be his mother. I didn't recognize the voice, either. Any other ideas?
And what was up with him not knowing why he was crying? My initial thought was that he has some sort of repressed memory about the Island. So he didn't understand why he was so upset because his subconscious mind was at work. However, thanks to my brother, who dared to brave the message boards in my place in order to pre-screen information for me so that I remain unspoiled, I know of a few other theories about why Daniel was crying:
- He was supposed to be on Flight 815, so he has "survivor's guilt."
- He was somehow involved in the cover-up of the crash... meaning that he helped get a fake plane and other dead bodies down in the ocean to make it look like Flight 815.
- He is involved in some other way--with either Dharma, or Widmore, or some other organization, and feels guilty about it.
I'm sticking with my original theory. I think he looked like he really didn't know why he was crying. And we've learned already from his short time on the Island that he is basically incapable of lying. I refuse to believe he is "bad" just yet. And unlike some of the other new arrivals, I don't think Daniel has been to the Island before. He seemed too amazed by everything.Finally, let's not forget that names mean a lot on Lost. A scientist with the last name of Faraday was, according to Wikipedia: "A famous British chemist and physicist of the 19th century. He studied electromagnetism (one of the supposed properties of the Island) and observed the effect magnetic fields can have on rays of light" (something Daniel appears to comment on later in the episode).
INGLEWOOD... INGLEWOOD, ALWAYS UP TO NO GOOD
On to Miles. Before I write anything else, I need to take a moment to go call Black & Decker and
ask them why the hell my DustBuster doesn't enable me to talk to ghosts. Maybe only the high-tech Dyson brand models do that? Either way, I'm disappointed. Because, as I am sure you are not surprised... along with aliens, I also believe in ghosts.When Miles first entered that lady's home and the camera zoomed in on the picture of her grandson, I was thinking that the kid would be someone we knew. Even though the directors seemed to want to be sure we noticed several more pictures of him at the end of the scene, I can't say I think this kid will come into play in the future on the show. Some people think he is related to Mr. Eko. Mr. Eko: The Next Generation! That would rock, but unfortunately, I think all we were supposed to learn from this scene is that Miles is some sort of Ghostbuster. Which would've been a lot cooler if he had the official uniform and theme song and everything. But I would be remiss if I didn't point out that many people noticed the different picture frames that were used in two shots of the same picture. A clue or a production mistake? You be the judge.
But seriously, what did his DustBuster thingy even do? Some people thought he only used it to drown out noise so that the grandmother wouldn't figure out that Miles was trying to find money.
The fancy machine made it look like he was doing something impressive. This could be the case... if you noticed at the end of the little séance, Miles had already turned the machine off when he said "You can go now." Does that mean he never needed the machine in the first place in order to talk to the kid's ghost? He certainly didn't have it with him when he visited Wax Figure Naomi in the jungle...Whether or not the DustBuster actually did anything, it's clear that Miles has some sort of gift, or power, if you will, that lets him talk to the deceased. But he is not an upstanding guy... he came there knowing the kid was into drugs so that he could get all of the drug money. Sure, maybe he didn't want to upset Grandma by revealing that her precious grandson was a dealer, but the whole thing was still shady.
One other theory on Miles' ability to talk to the dead is that he is somehow manipulating either light rays or time (or both) in order to do so. When Miles went into the grandson's room, he seemed to check the light for a second. The camera panned around the room, but two shots were primarily filled with light-filled windows. Then, as Miles went into his trance, streaks of light were quite bright in the room (one was over his head and hit the camera at an angle that created a bright ray). Was that machine something that messes with light?
Or slows down time, affecting the speed of light? Or can Miles do that on his own without the machine? Or does his ability have nothing to do with light or the passage of time?Considering some of the other tongue-in-cheek lines of dialogue we had in this episode, I really wish that when Miles was "listening" to Dead Naomi and Kate was grumbling about what he was doing, the scene had ended with Miles looking up and whispering, "I hear dead people."
But alas, that moment has passed, and we moved on to Miles feeling a fool after Sayid and Juliet ambush him and Daniel in the jungle. He continued to be all hotheaded and sarcastic after that, though. And then referring to Dead Naomi as "meat" later on? That was just plain gross. So far, I do not like Miles. Although when I watched the episode for the third time, I noticed that he gave Charlotte his bulletproof vest because she couldn't find hers when the helicopter started acting up. Chivalry is not dead, ladies.
On a semi-related note, if you want to see one of the most unintentionally funny videos of all time, check out the ABC Videocast with one of the show's wardrobe designers. Miles' clothes were supposedly inspired by Keith Richards. Umm... Captain Jack Sparrow being inspired by Keith Richards? Yes. I buy that.
Miles Straume? No. That is silly.Wikipedia's take on his name: "The name 'Miles Straume' is a play on the word "maelstrom," which means a powerful whirlpool or a swirling mass of water." Wow, Wikipedia. You are really stretching on that one. But then again, maybe not. Not if you believe the "Vile Vortices" theory, that is (which I do, and I explain it later in this post). Considering that a maelstrom is a vortex, perhaps Miles' name is indeed a huge clue for us. (By the way, I've seen his last name spelled 'Strom,' too, but I'm sticking with the Wikipedia/Lostpedia version for now.)
Finally, shout-out to my military peeps and otherwise in-the-know readers who called that Naomi's "tell my sister I love her" phrase was a code for "These mofos just killed me."
YAY, YOU FOUND A DHARMA COLLAR. NOW GET OVER YOURSELF.
When we first meet Charlotte Staples Lewis (yes, her name is a nod to C.S. Lewis, of The Chronicles of Narnia fame (you know, the books where time moves at a different pace in Narnia versus the real world, and where the children can't get to Narnia unless it wants them to come visit), especially since the C.S. stands for Clive Staples),
she is attempting to act like a bad-ass by shoving a wad of money at an excavation site manager in Tunisia, and then proceeds to dig on her own. Surprise, surprise, the skeleton she is focused on is that of a polar bear. And Charlotte seems to be purposefully looking for, and subsequently happy to find, its Dharma Hydra station collar.Charlotte annoyed me right away. I'm not sure why. It bothers me that she looks a lot like Miranda from Sex & The City. But I think mostly I was turned off by her cocky attitude. Since she appears to be no stranger to paying people off, combined with the fact that she was obviously searching for the collar, some on the message boards assumed she worked/works for Dharma or Widmore. Others think that she is a descendant of Dharma members and used to live on the Island, and now is trying to get back. In this theory, it is assumed that the polar bear skeleton and Hydra collar were planted in Tunisia by whomever wants her to recruit her for the freighter team, to get her all hyped for the mission.
I will cover one of the biggest "huh?" moments of the night, the fact that there was a polar bear's skeleton in Tunisia, in more detail later on in this post (because I don't buy that it was planted there by Dharma).Once on the Island, Charlotte became a little more bearable. When she splashed down into the water from her precarious position on a tree limb, she seemed not only happy to be alive, but also flat-out ecstatic to be on the Island. Like it was either a place she'd been trying to get to all of her life and couldn't believe she was finally there... or a place she had been to before, to which she was relieved to return.
She seemed genuinely shocked that Locke and crew didn't want to be rescued. But one thing I couldn't figure out was, if she came to the Island to find Benry, why didn't she notice him standing among the group? It seemed weird that they never showed a "reaction shot" to her initially recognizing him. But clearly, when Benry called her out later, she didn't deny his accusations.
Two other questions about Ms. Lewis:1) Does she know about the problem with pregnant women on the Island? That's immediately what I wondered when she specifically asked Claire whether Aaron was born on the Island...
2) What was the award she was shown holding in the picture Abaddon gave Naomi?
Some people on the boards wondered why she would have on a bulletproof vest. I wasn't surprised by that at all, once we learned the true nature of her mission. I don't think they were expecting Benry to leave the Island without a fight.
Of the four rescuers, Charlotte is the one who I think has either been to the Island before, or is at least the most knowledgeable about Dharma and the unique properties of the Island.
I GOTTA HAVE MORE COWBELL
The final member of the freighter crew, Frank Lapidus, appeared to be in a small travel/tour shop
in the Bahamas when he saw the report about the newly discovered wreckage of Flight 815 and called to report that the body wasn't the pilot's. (Did you try calling the number, by the way? It works: 888-548-0034.)(Also, Frank was right, in Season One, the pilot was shown with a ring on right before he dies.) Frank loves to sport the short-sleeve palm tree-adorned button-downs, which means he is probably a Jimmy Buffett fan. Therefore, I am cautiously optimistic about him.But he is definitely the most mysterious of the four, wouldn't you agree? Here are the strange things about him:
1) His facial hair. Just when I started missing Zeke's fake hillbilly beard, we get some REAL facial hair--a full beard, a mustache, and a mop of stringy, unkempt hair that rivals Nick Nolte's. And since we haven't seen Ageless Richard of the Bushy Eyebrows lately, we get an eyebrow fix from Frank, to boot. Awesome. His light eyes are kind of freaky, though.
2) His job. Um, if he was a pilot for Oceanic, what is he doing in the Bahamas? And what made him miss Flight 815? And why was he referred to only as "a drunk" by Naomi? Did he perhaps show up to work intoxicated on that fateful day in September 2004 and had to bow out of the flight?3) His condition. He claims to have landed the helicopter safely (which we see evidence of)... but yet he is all bloody, can't find his phone, and loses consciousness on the Island twice. Something isn't adding up here.
4) His memory. He remembered that the pilot always wore his wedding ring? And he remembered over three hundred names on the Flight 815 manifest? I can't even remember what I had for breakfast most days.
5) His close encounter with what seemed to be a domesticated reddish-brown cow. Hmmm. I was about to give up on this one, but then I realized that...
THE END IS NIGH
There is speculation across Lost message boards that the four freighter peeps are supposed to represent the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
We even had an Apocalypse Now reference from Sawyer, when he called Locke "Colonel Kurtz." For those of you who need a refresher on Armageddon, read about the Four Horsemen here. The most prevalent guesses match up our new arrivals with the Horsemen like so:Miles = Death (duh)
Daniel = Pestilence (he is wearing a black tie and vest, symbolizing the black horse)
Charlotte = War (she has red hair, and the War horse is red. And remember in the previews how Sayid said "War is coming"?)
Frank = Conquest (also assumed to be the Antichrist - yikes!)
Another religious symbol, coming to us from Judaism, is the red cow.
You can read about what the red cow can be interpreted to mean here (scroll down a bit on the page for the "answer," and, if you can't figure it out, "Mashiach" means Messiah). Whether or not you believe that there is any biblical symbolism going on, you can't deny the resemblance between Frank and the Old Dude in Jacob's Chair from Locke's initial Creepy Cabin visit. His profile is a closer match than any I've seen so far. We know there are several religious meanings for "Jacob," and even within the show we've seen the phrase "God loves you as he loved Jacob" several times. If Jacob is really Frank, and Frank is supposed to represent the Antichrist, then Jacob would also be the Antichrist. Benry and Locke really need to start questioning who they're taking orders from. Geez. When you take all of this symbolism into account, and then combine it with the fact the four rescuers brought gas masks and guns along on their trip, it's pretty freaky. I don't read too much into all the religious references in the show, but I am pretty convinced now that the arrival of the four freighter people is not going to be a good thing for our Lostaways.
MÖTLEY CREW
So we met the four rescuers, and then learned that Naomi was meant to lead the operation, and was hired to do so by none other than Fake Lawyer himself, Matthew Abaddon. Man, that guy is creepy.
Anyway, while we still don't know who Abaddon works for or what exactly he wanted this group to achieve when they went to the Island aside from getting Ben, we do know that Naomi was not pleased to be associated with any of them. But she accepted the mission, and was in fact the one who was supposed to guarantee everyone's safety.Did Abaddon perhaps set her up? One theory is that Abaddon and the group he's working for wanted all five of these people (and perhaps others on the freighter) to disappear. Maybe they knew something they shouldn't have, and needed to be silenced. So Abaddon sent them to the one place he knew they'd never return from: the Island.
I personally don't agree with that idea. To be blunt, if Abaddon wanted anyone to disappear, I have a feeling he would just have that person assassinated. Therefore, I think Daniel, Miles, Charlotte and Frank were each chosen for a specific reason, perhaps unbeknownst even to them. And they all must have been motivated to come to the Island, for some personal reason above and beyond finding Ben. I also believe that each of them knows different things about the true purpose of the mission, and that some of them may have hidden agendas. Miles and Daniel certainly did not seem close--who knows how long ago they even met?
Back to Abaddon--he seemed annoyed that Naomi would question whether anyone from Flight 815 had survived. That really confused me, because why would Naomi even bring up Flight 815 in the first place when talking to Abaddon? Perhaps she knew that the Island was close to the spot where they found the wreckage or something? But still, it seemed random to me that she would bring that up, especially if the mission had to do with finding Ben, and she was given a picture of Desmond (who we know wasn't on the flight).
Abaddon is obviously with the group who planted the replica of the Oceanic plane, along with the replacement dead bodies. That's right, I am positive (as should you be) that what was shown on the news was not the real plane. It's a cover-up, and I'm glad they didn't string that storyline out (since they had Frank question the authenticity of the wreckage right away). Now the question is, who is trying to cover up the crash? It's obvious that it's the same group that ends up threatening the Oceanic Six years later since Abaddon visited Hurley in the asylum... but two major questions remain: What is this organization, and who are the "they" it's so concerned about?Obvious theories are that Abaddon is working for Dharma, or Widmore Corporation. I think it's the latter. If Abaddon is working for Penny's father, he could've easily gotten a copy of her picture with Desmond. Naomi is in on the whole thing, so everything she told Desmond about Penny organizing a search party was a lie. Finally, some people interpreted Abaddon's repetition of the phrase "There were no survivors" to mean that he wanted Naomi to kill any survivors that she might come across... to ensure that there actually end up being no survivors of Flight 815.
HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN
Now we come to the on-Island events. I'm going to chunk almost everything
having to do with my man Locke into the next two sections, because there is a lot to say about his actions in this episode.The first time we see Locke in "Confirmed Dead," he is striking a familiar pose, smiling up at the pouring rain. And he knows, as he has in the past, exactly when the storm is going to end. One-With-The-Island Locke is back in full force, my friends.
I mentioned in my last write-up that Locke had questioned Hurley about what he saw when he got lost in the jungle, and Hurley declined to share his run-in with Jacob's cabin. In this episode, once again, Hurley lets on that he knows the location of the cabin, and Locke immediately questions him. And Hurley covers up his knowledge like he did before. Two interesting things happened in this scene:
1) There was a weird look on Locke's face that ended with a small smile. I couldn't tell if he was happy Hurley seems to have seen the cabin, or concerned, or fearful.
2) But I could tell what Ben was thinking: "YESSSSSS!" Ben's eyes lit up and he couldn't help from flashing his trademark cocky smirk when he realized that Hurley, too, was in on the whole Jacob thing. Perhaps that gave Ben hope that he could win Hurley over?
Also, Hurley thought the cabin was in the opposite direction from where Locke believed it to be. And when Hurley initially came upon the shack in the jungle, it moved spots. What is UP with this cabin?!?! Can it actually move around?I deduced from Locke's conversation with Sawyer that College Freshman Waaaallllt must have taken Locke to the cabin before, or why else would Locke think he needed to go back there? But I'm glad that everything is out in the open now about Waaaallllt, why Locke knifed Naomi, the cabin, Ben shooting Locke, why Locke didn't die, and Locke's reasons for not killing Ben. A lot of information was shared amongst the Lostaways this episode... a lot. And some might say that it was fate that Papa Locke had stolen Locke's kidney, since the absence of that kidney is what ended up saving Locke's life.
BENIPULATION
I fear that Locke has grown a little over-confident. Whether I care to admit it or not, Ben is smarter than Locke.
Unbelievably, Locke was benipulated yet again, and didn't end up getting rid of Ben once and for all. Ben blurted out information about Charlotte at the very last second, after being unable (or unwilling) to tell Locke what he really wanted to know: "What is the monster?" (Some people think Locke now knows what the monster is, and was testing Ben.) (I also can't help but wonder what Ben wanted to tell Alex before Karl and Sawyer shushed him a few minutes earlier in the episode.) I fear that Sawyer's prediction that Ben is going to "get" them is going to come true.Something that struck me about this final scene was that Locke really did seem ready to commit murder (as did Sawyer, again). I think Locke's encounter with Jacob and Waaallt has convinced him that he is the Island's Chosen Son, and he's now willing to kill in order to protect that status.
It hasn't been that long since he needed Sawyer to do his dirty work with Papa Locke... but now we have Locke taking a gun from Sawyer and saying, "It's my mess, I'll clean it up." That's a pretty big transformation from the Locke we saw in "The Brig."And it doesn't seem like everyone is down with this new breed of Locke. Wouldn't you agree that the group with Locke is very doubtful and splintered, versus the group with Jack, that is working as a cohesive team? Hurley's words from last episode are haunting me to no end: "I'm sorry I went with Locke. I should've stayed with you." I honestly don't know if I can watch the next episode. Something bad is going to happen!!!!
WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE, IF IT'S THE LAST THING WE EVER DO
The final scenes of the episode were chock-full of shockers: Ben has a mole on the freighter?
Miles has a scandalous picture of Benry in a God-awful vest? Sayid knows how to fly helicopters? Minkowski mysteriously "can't come to the phone?" Eyes around the country glazed over at the end of the episode... Too... Much... Information. CANNOT PROCESS.Here are my thoughts on the last few moments of the episode.
- Who is Ben's "man on the ship?" Obvious choices are: Michael, Patchy and Minkowski. I think it's Minkowski, and the freighter people are now going to be abandoned. That's why Minkowski is no longer coming to the phone. I think Michael would be too obvious of a choice, and I really think Patchy is dead this time. But Patchy had been the one to pull together the "files" on the Lostaways, and it sounded like Ben had a file on Charlotte and the other three from the helicopter. So maybe Patchy has risen once more.
- What's up with that picture of Ben? I think it is HILARIOUS, for starters. He looks like he's about to bust out some Saturday Night Fever moves at any second. Some people noticed that the monitor isn't plugged in and thought that the picture looked staged. Others wondered if this picture was taken off of the Island, meaning that Ben lied to Jack back in the Hydra hatch when he said he's been on the Island his entire life. I am not sure what to think. That picture could've been taken somewhere in the barracks--we do know that the Others have computers.- Why do the helicopter people personally care about finding Ben? Miles seems especially bent out of shape about the whole thing, more than he would be if he was just being paid to complete a mission to which he had no connection. I have no ideas outside of what I've already speculated about Charlotte possibly having been on the Island before.
- If Sayid ends up piloting the helicopter, he will win the Most Awesome Being on The Planet Earth award.
- How is anyone going to get off of the Island? Minkowski's not returning calls, Frank warned that the helicopter doesn't have much fuel left, only four people were inside of it on the way to the Island, yet we know at least six Lostaways leave. And one of them's Hurley... who is not exactly the lightest guy in the world. How is this going to work?
I'll end my analysis of "Confirmed Dead" with these final comments:
- I enjoyed this episode infinitely more than the premiere, because this time I was unspoiled. I am unspoiled for the next episode, too--hooray!
- It was interesting to me that while all of our Lostaways were each back in prime form (Jack=cocky and confident, Locke=having faith in the Island at all costs, Sawyer=doubting and reckless, etc.), they also have changed dramatically since their arrival on the Island three months prior. Did you notice the stark contrast between Kate and Jack navigating the rocky beach to approach Miles, versus the awkward trepidation of Daniel? How everyone with Locke was immediately suspicious of Charlotte's questions about the survivors (Hurley: "Why do you want to know?"). How it used to be Jack and Kate getting caught in traps and ambushed by the Others, and now they're turning the tables on the freighter crew? The Flight 815 survivors are at home on the Island. And I don't think the Island is going to be pleased if any of them leave... Remember Jack and Locke's fight in the Season One finale?
Locke: Do you really think all this is an accident? That we, a group of strangers survived, many of us with just superficial injuries? Do you think we crashed on this place by coincidence... especially, this place? We were brought here for a purpose, for a reason, all of us. Each one of us was brought here for a reason.Jack: Brought here? And who brought us here, John?
Locke: The island. The island brought us here. This is no ordinary place, you've seen that, I know you have. But the island chose you, too, Jack. It's destiny.
(a few moments later...)
Jack: I don't believe in destiny.
Locke: Yes, you do. You just don't know it yet.
(Shivers!)
- With the addition of the helicopter team and the deepening mystery surrounding Abaddon, I cannot claim to be completely comfortable with the direction in which the show appears to be going. That's all I'm going to say on that subject for now, because I hope my worries will be diminished with the next episode.
Let's wrap up with a few theories raised by this episode, and then, of course, end with the Best Lines.
THE HOLLOW EARTH/VILE VORTICES THEORY
I am going to give you the gist of this theory, and then leave it up to you to investigate it further, should you be so nerdily inclined. Entire sites and books are dedicated to these concepts in the "real world," so I cannot possibly do justice to how they may relate to the storyline on Lost. Plus, I've touched upon these ideas in past posts, so they shouldn't come as a surprise. But there have been some hints this season that warrant another look at these theories. Here are a few key points to get your mind whirring:
- In the Season Four Premiere, some people thought that the mention of three "Hos" (Charlie standing by the Ho Hos, and Jack and Hurley playing HORSE and only getting to H-O... get your mind out of the gutter!) was a reference to Santa Claus, who, as we all know, lives at the North Pole. And who also makes a list of "bad" (naughty) versus "nice" children (similar to the Others' list of "good people").
- What else is near the North Pole? Polar bears. And, one might imagine, igloos, like in Hurley's painting. And snow. Remember Desmond's question to Locke when they first met: "What did one snowman say to the other?" And recall how Penny's tent dudes seemed to be somewhere really cold?
- What else is special about the North Pole? It has magnetic properties. Just like the Island. And it is believed to be one of the twelve vile vortices in the world.
So take all of the above, and then consider the possibility of a hollow Earth, and you have a lot of evidence for the Vile Vortices theory (this link leads to a ton of info...).
The Oceanic logo looks a lot like Edmund Halley's hollow earth diagram, does it not?
What if there were certain points on the globe that provided "quick transportation" of sorts to other special spots on the Earth? What if Flight 815 hit one of those spots and ended up on the Island? The Hollow Earth/Vile Vortices theory would explain how a drug plane from Nigeria with not much fuel could end up somewhere seemingly in the tropics. It would explain how the Black Rock ended up in the middle of the Island, rather than on the beach. And it might explain how a polar bear with a Dharma collar could end up in the middle of Tunisia. One more thing... way back in Season Two, in my write-up for Juliet's "One of Us" flashback episode, I brought up vile vortices because it has been speculated that the Nancy Reagan-looking lady in Juliet's book club is actually Amelia Earhart. Some think Amelia's plane (in real life) flew into a vile vortex. Apparently in the Find815.com game, there was another mention of Ms. Earhart. I'm telling you, vile vortices are going to come into play somehow! Do you buy it?
WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT OF THEORIES...
Three other quick ones...
- Some Lost fans are positive that the "HO" references in the premiere were not meant to invoke thoughts of Santa, the North Pole or vile vortices, but rather of holmium. You know, holmium! What, you can't remember everything from your high school chemistry class? Holmium's periodic table symbol is... drum roll please... HO. Guess what holmium's claim to fame is? It's the most magnetic of any naturally occurring element. And we know how the writers of Lost just loooove magnetic forces! I still don't really get what the point of the Holmium Theory is, but if you want to try to figure it out, check out this site or this site.
- Shout-out to MS who wrote me with the Time-Traveling Polar Bear Theory. Similar to how Desmond traveled back in time during "Flashes Before Your Eyes," perhaps a polar bear from the Island was sucked through a wormhole in time and got stuck in Tunisia way back in the day? If we believe that something is going on with the space-time continuum on the Island, then we can't apply this theory only to humans. No polar bear discrimination! I have a feeling we will understand the importance of the Tunisia location later in the series.- A similar theory comes from Matt From Dallas, who speculated that perhaps the polar bear teleported over to Tunisia (teleportation is the most awesome superpower there is, by the way. Should you ever be in the situation where you must choose a superpower, choose the ability to teleport. Trust me). If Jacob's Cabin is hopping around, and Waaaallllt is appearing and disappearing all over the place, maybe one of the polar bears caught on and wanted to check out the desert?
BEST LINES OF THE EPISODE
Sawyer: What the hell do you mean, you saw Walt... in a dream?
Locke: No dream. It was Walt... only, taller.
Sawyer: Taller? What, like a giant?
Ben: KAAARRRL.
Ben: Why'd you leave Kate behind?
Sawyer: You're wastin' your time, Yoda.
Locke: ... And because, apart from his mouth, he's completely harmless.Sawyer: His mouth put that hole in your gut?
Sawyer: It's only a matter of time before he gets us, Johnny. And I'll bet he's already figured out how he's gonna do it.
Jack's wink.
Jack: I don't know, Miles. How stupid are ya?
Sayid: You say you're not here on a rescue mission, and that the world at large believes us to be dead. But here we are, alive and well, and you don't seem remotely surprised to see us.
Miles: 'Oh my God. You guys were on Oceanic 815? WOW!' That better?[Sayid smirks.]
Charlotte: What? We need to stay where we are, so that they find us!
Locke: See, there's your problem. We don't want to be found.
Locke: Whatever they came for, it isn't us. We need to keep moving forward as planned.
Sawyer: Sure, who are we to argue with Taller Ghost Walt?
Miles: I'll tell you what we're doing if you give me the phone.
Jack: Don't say anything about your sister.
Ben: John, listen. I have information that you need. I have answers.
Locke: [Pauses] What is... the monster?
SETTING EXPECTATIONS
I have family visiting and staying with me the night of the next episode until Sunday the 17th. Meaning that I am not going to begin writing my post until after they leave. Meaning that I probably won't get my write-up for "The Economist" uploaded until Wednesday, February 20th. My family claims to be coming for a wedding in Chicago, but I do kind of fear that they're organizing some sort of "intervention" for me because of my Lost obsessiveness. Wish me luck.
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