Friday, May 16, 2008

Ep. 4.12 No Place Like Home

What a great set-up for the two-hour finale coming up in two weeks. I'm just going to ignore the obvious "Wizard of Oz" reference here because I just don't care enough about metaphorical ruby slippers. But some really nice tidbits came out like:

Sun buying a controlling interest in her baddy daddy’s company.

Hurley and the numbers reuniting after a long absence.

Claire’s longtime bed-ridden coma-momma “appearing” to Jack after Christian’s wake (She’s a ghost, like Charlie and Christian, right? An agent of the universe sent to deliver a message and plant the seeds for Jack’s eventual return? Do you think she really came out of that coma and flew all the way to LA for her papa-was-a-rolling-stone ex-lover?).

But the biggest question lingering with me is “why are the O6 lying?” Let me try and walk through this one if I can:

After the crash of Oceanic 815 (or maybe even before it, if someone had a – eh hem – bug-eyed foreknowledge that it would happen) someone staged a fake Oceanic 815 complete with fake Oceanic 815 passengers deep in the Sundra trench. This fake wreckage was discovered by a group who were – interestingly enough – searching for the wreckage of the Black Rock – the 18th century slave ship we have seen sitting in the middle of the jungle on Lost island. The discovery was announced to the world – all the passengers of 815 are dead!

Someone is behind this elaborate hoax. So far, we have heard two different possibilities. Widmore’s people say that Ben did it; Ben’s people say that Widmore did it. I don’t expect a firm answer to this question by the end of this season. This is one of those mysteries the producers want us to debate back and forth over the upcoming hiatus. But they will give us clues to work with, and a big one is the cover story we are seeing from the Oceanic six.

According to the lie, the plane did indeed crash in the ocean and sink deep into the Sundra trench, but not before eight of them were able to escape. (Why eight? Does it have anything to do with the numbers? Who were the other three? Aaron hadn’t been born yet.)

According to the lie, Jin never made it out of the plane, which explains the date we saw on his tombstone earlier this season.

According to the lie, Aaron is Kate’s baby (he couldn’t be Sun’s, since she’s already pregnant, and… well… Korean).

According to the lie, there is no magical island, there are no other survivors, there are no other “others” and – most importantly – there is no Benjimin Linus.

Who stands to benefit more from that lie, Widmore or Ben?

I’m pretty comfortable – at least for the next two weeks – with my theory that Ben is behind both the staged wreckage of 815 and the return of the Oceanic Six, who’s cover story fits the hoax perfectly. (And didn't the man behind the curtain send Dorothy back to her no plasce like home? Sorry, I said I would ignore the Oz stuff).

Of course these people are supposed to stay on the island to bring about the overthrow of Ben. Ben’s cosmic nemsis (the Universe/fate/destiny/God) clearly does not want Jack and co. to get off the island, which is why in the future we see it trying to get them to go back (sending Charlie, Christian, etc to send messages), but Ben has, once again, temporarily outwitted his cosmic nemesis by removing these potential threats. And at the perfect time, too – just before he gets John Locke to move the island, making the potential O6 return all the more difficult!

How did Ben know where that box was buried? How did he know it would have the mirror he would need to communicate with his people who just happened to be waiting for his signal at the top of that mountain. How did he know that the crackers were exactly 15 years old? Easy. Cuz he’s the one who put it there 15 years ago, like Bill and Ted stealing the keys to the cell after they escape and going back to hide them nearby before they ever got there.

And does anyone think that Keemy and his mercenary friends have any chance at all against Ben and his current plan? Keemy will die, that device on his arm will trigger the explosives on the freighter, everyone on the freighter will die, the island will move to a new location, and Ben has nicely covered his tracks to block the aggressive moves of his earthly nemesis (Widmore). Of course some people (Locke, Sawyer, Miles, Charlotte, Daniel) will be stuck on the island with him. But they are for Claire and Christian to take care of, now.

So the other lingering quesions:

How will the six get together?
Helicopter to the frieghter, about to land, frieghter explodes, but Sun and Aaron and Michael are already in a raft -- sorry Jin, you almost made it.

Did you just say Michael?
Yep, he makes it back but is not included as Oceanic six -- but he does make it as far as the coffin...

Why will Sawyer decide to stay on the island?
Something to do with Locke and continuing the search for Claire, but not before asking Kate to look after his daughter when she gets back -- we'll see.

What will happen to Jin?
He’ll die with the freighter explosion, or at least it will look like it to Sun.

Juliet?
Still on the beach -- probably won't even see her. Either that, or Ben will convince her to stay and continue her research – he still needs it for Annie, you see.

Miles/Charlotte/Daniel (and the Rose and Bernards of the world)?
Stuck on the island, although maybe Charlotte will die, which is why Daniel was crying when he watched the Oceanic footage on TV.

But I don’t think the island will be moved in ‘time.’ I think it will be ‘teleported’ the way that Ben was able to ‘teleport’ to Tunisia in that Sayid flash forward earlier this season. Furthermore, I expect it to move someplace cold – cold enough to warrant heavy Dharma parkas (aka dharkas). The reason it is unpredictable and dangerous is because you can never be exactly sure where the island will end up, or if it will arrive 100% in tact – you know, like the Star Trek/Galaxy Quest transporters where – ooops – my insides are now on my outsides.

But Widmore is smart, and he will anticipate the island’s move, and there will be another wave of attacks on Ben and the island. He may even become the primary means that the O6 have for getting back to the island. But that will be the subject of season 5 – how they get back. It will also give us more of a look at the Dharma initiative and Ben and Widmore’s back story. I expect our first glimpse of Annie’s importance towards the end of season 5. Season six will give us the final moves against Ben, and the restoration of Jacob, and that is when we will know what the smoke monster is and who the Adam and Eve skeletons are.

Finally, there is one theory out there that I am secretly hoping against, but I think it has some possible merit. This theory says that as a result of the moving of the island (or maybe a way that Ben tricks him while moving the island) John Locke will be sent back in time, become the leader of the hostiles, and assume the title of Jacob. I hope that John is not Jacob, but I can see how it might work out that way, and it could still fir into the Ben vs. the Universe theory – but I don’t know – we’ll see.

So what do you think is going on? And what in the world are you going to do after the finale when we have to wait another SEVEN MONTHS to get our next real Lost fix. This season went by too fast – a brilliant flash in the pan.

5 comments:

Kyle said...

Here is my take on one of the questions...

How will the six get together?

Ben, Locke, and Hurley are at the Orchid; Jack and Sawyer are headed for the Orchid; Sayid and Kate are with the Others; Jin and Aaron are on the freighter.
I’m speculating that the Others are headed for the Orchid. I think they received the mirror message from Ben – basically telling them to meet Ben at the Orchid and bring lots of guns! So, except for Jin and Aaron, the O6 will leave from the Orchid (with Sawyer), headed for the chopper.

I also think the chopper will crash - probably by the explosion of the freighter, right as it is about to land. Lapidus won’t survive. It will at least appear that nobody from the freighter survived except for Sun and Aaron - who got in the Zodiac just in time. She will swing by and pick up the rest of the O6 who are all floating in the water after the crash. Now, you’ve got the O6 all in the Zodiac, low on gas, in the ocean, ready to be rescued by…?

Glenn Ostlund said...

I like it. But are you sure Sawyer is in the chopper? That would be an unexpected twist. What happens to him then when the chopper crashes? I hope you don't suggest he will die with Lapidus. I expect he kisses Kate goodbye as she is getting in to the chopper and he stays on the island with Locke.

Kyle said...

In the USA promo for part 2,that ran at the end of part 1, you can clearly see Sawyer in the chopper. It makes sense that he would travel with Jack, Kate, Sayid, and Hurley back to the chopper.

Also in the promo, you hear someone say, "We're losing fuel!" I think that, somehow, Keamy gets away from the Others and follows the Losties back to the chopper - or beats them to it. As far as Keamy knows, if that chopper leaves without him - he's stuck on the island.

Somehow the Losties and Lapidus get in the chopper and avoid Keamy, but not without Keamy putting a few bullets into the gas tank.

They can't land back on the island (that's said in the promo too), so, only one thing to do -- Sawyer jumps from the chopper! And I'm betting it's an, "OMG, he HAS to be DEAD," kind of jump. Not in the water, and not from a safe distance, and they don't even see him hit the ground.

This plays right into Merlboro Man's monomyth theories and the idea that Sawyer's quest/mission/destiny is to sacrifice himself for the good of the community.

Kyle said...

Here is something else bugging me. Why is everyone assuming that Keamy's heart monitor device is ONLY linked to the explosives on the freighter? That makes NO sense to me!

Keamy: "Ben, you'd better come with me. If I die, the freigher blows up. That means Widmore will not find the island - just like you want, and none of the Losties will leave the island - just like you want."

That device has to be hooked up to BOTH the freighter's explosives AND whatever Keamy brought along to "torch" the island. That way, tactically, he's got a no-lose situation if he gets killed.

First - being connected to the freighter takes away any possible mutiny. The crew, Lapidus, and the commandos MUST do whatever Keamy says, or they'll die.

Second - being connected to the island "torch" weapons allows Keamy to keep Ben, the Losties, and the Others in-check. If he dies, they might still survive, but, the island will be destroyed.

Kyle said...

RHZ: "But I don’t think the island will be moved in ‘time.’ I think it will be ‘teleported’ the way that Ben was able to ‘teleport’ to Tunisia in that Sayid flash forward earlier this season. Furthermore, I expect it to move someplace cold – cold enough to warrant heavy Dharma parkas (aka dharkas)."

I'm betting against someplace cold just from a production expense standpoint. How are you going to justify filming in Hawaii when you have to crank out believable-looking arctic weather?!?!?! :-)

I think the whole "dharka" thing can be explained by needing to radically drop your body's core temperature in order to teleport. That's why the DI used polar bears to experiment with. Here's an animal that, 1. Is a mammal, and 2. Can withstand extremely cold temperatures.