LOST Episode 5.01 (Because You Left ) & 5.02 (The Lie): Thoughts & Theories!

For those who are new to this particular Lost blog, I wanted to quickly review my process during the season.

Because I am on the West Coast, I avoid being online at all during the day when a new episode airs; I turn off email on the iPhone, avoid Facebook and Twitter, etc. I have remained Spoiler-Free since Season 4 and aim to continue that run.

I watch each episode live while taking notes, and then immediately sit down to flesh out initial thoughts on the laptop. Again, I avoid reading any other blogs or articles until the weekend, lest someone else's theories intermingle with or influence my own. Because I prefer to include screen captures with each post, I tend to publish these entries between 2am-5am.

So I thank you in advance for your patience and enthusiasm as we begin Season 5 of LOST...

[Note: Due to the fact that there were 2 new episodes and I have to be at work in a few hours, there will be fewer photos and content in this first post of the new season.]

Episode 5.01, "Because You Left" & Episode 5.02, "The Lie"

I literally jumped off of the couch and screamed "Candle!" during the opening scene. Talk about coincidence and fate - I just interviewed actor Francois Chau last week and had NO IDEA that he'd feature so prominently in episode one. Of course now I will try to contact him with some follow-up questions about his appearance!

THE ARROW STATION
This station was created for defensive strategies and to gather intelligence about the Hostiles. My first question is...was the Black Smoke Monster created there? Is it based there, and if so, can it be unleashed remotely (i.e. from Ben's secret office chamber)?

FROZEN DONKEY WHEEL
How did Dr. Candle know about it and its properties? The Dharma Initiative were unaware of it...so was Candle recruited by whomever created it to go to the island to keep it hidden or study the effects?

When Ben released the Frozen Donkey Wheel to move the island, was a dangerous amount of energy released (as Dr. Candle warned when Dharma first discovered it)?

THE ISLAND
Why would the Swan implosion cause the same purple sky and bright flash that accompanies the time shifts?

MAROONED 5
I enjoyed the Freighter Four in Season 4, so I now designate Charlotte, Daniel, Juliet, Miles and Sawyer as the Marooned 5. Just because it makes me laugh when I read it. And I'm running on fumes at this hour. (Yes, I'm aware that Rose & Bernard are there as well...but let's be honest, they're not traipsing around the jungle as much).

THE ORCHID STATION
The facade of the Orchid has changed significantly...either that very first scene is set in the FUTURE or most of the station disintegrated by the time Ben descended down to the frozen donkey wheel.

ORIGINAL DHARMA or MILITARY OCCUPATION?
During that last time shift, Juliet and Sawyer were taken by at least one British soldier. Were they under Widmore's leadership? Was he their Ben?

I noticed that their jumpsuits did not feature Dharma logos. Was the pre-Dharma island run/occupied by military?

"THE RULES"
In Season 4, Ben said that Widmore changed the rules. Are the rules he referred to the same set that Faraday is talking about? And since 'the rules' don't apply to Desmond, how will that affect his efforts to help his friends get back to the island and keep Penny safe from Ben?

TIME SHIFTS
Faraday said that they can't change the future. But the time shifts seemed to occur whenever someone was being informed about something in the future (i.e. Faraday telling Des to go to Oxford, Richard Alpert trying to warn Locke about his role).

If it is impossible to change the past, then why did Ms. Hawking (who we can assume is Faraday's mother) talk to Desmond about course correcting the universe during his flashback in Season 3?

Do these time shifts occur even when the frozen donkey wheel hasn't been activated?

YEMI'S PLANE
Did it veer off course, did the island bring it down, or was it an electromagnetic anomaly?

THE ZODIAC RAFT
This is entirely trivial, but I'm pretty sure that the little engine needs refueling before it can be utilized again. It's no motorboat.

AARON
Are 'they' interested in Aaron because he was born on the island, because he's the next in line to run it, or because he's special like Walt? So are they looking to assist his journey back, or prevent it?

ANA LUCIA
I have to admit that it was nice to see Ghost Anger Lucia. When she said "Libby says hi," I laughed for a very long time.

ANNIE
Was she born on the island, and who were her parents?

If she's still alive, does Ben know where she is and does he visit her now that he's banished from the island?

BEN
If the consequence of turning the frozen donkey wheel is that he can't ever go back...does HE change the rules somehow to do so?

Is he lying - had he seen Locke since they said goodbye at the Orchid on the island?

Did he arrange for the attorneys to ask Kate for a blood sample in order to force her to run again, knowing that she'd have to go back with the rest of them?

What is the mystery item that Ben took from the hotel vent and stuck in his bag? It was too small to be his special black baton or the magical father-producing box.

CHARLES WIDMORE
Is he searching for the island because he turned the frozen donkey wheel 20 years ago?

If Widmore found the island 20 years ago, did he visit or live there himself? Where was Penny at that point?

Given that Sun should have had a Golden Pass from Oceanic as part of her settlement, yet Widmore was able to override and intervene at the airport...he's clearly in bed with or owns a majority of Oceanic. If that is the case, acquiring an old Oceanic plane to place at the bottom of the ocean wouldn't be as challenging for a man in his position.

CHARLOTTE
Is she getting sick because she either doesn't have a Constant or can't connect with/recall who it is?

Or, is she getting sick because she WAS born on the island and the time shifts adversely affect her?


DANIEL FARADAY
Oh Dharma Dan. When he was working at the Orchid for Dharma...how did he travel back in time to that exact place and time? Did he do so after Desmond's first visit to him at Oxford?

His appearance there indicates a strong possibility that he was the one videotaping Pierre Chang during the Barracks Video.

Last season, he was distraught when the payload did not land until some time after it had launched from the freighter. Was he trying to figure out the time discrepancy which occurs when the island shifts?

He doesn't seem to remember much without referring to his notebook; after he escapes the island during that first Dharma purge (pre-Ben), is memory loss the major side effect? Remember that in the future, he is crying while watching news of the fake 815 wreckage but does not know why...

DANIELLE ROUSSEAU
Did the arrival of her ship and crew on the island coincide with or result from one of the island's time shifts?

DESMOND
Does the concept of a Constant work in reverse? Is that why Des suddenly remembered his conversation with Faraday outside of the Swan? Do memories return the further away from the island you get?

Faraday informs Desmond that he's special, which is how the Others described Walt.

ETHAN ROM
His appearance signified a very specific time; he was a post-Ben purge Other recruit.

FRANK LAPIDUS
Where does he go after he leaves the O6 and Des/Penny?

Why doesn't he have to go back to the island as well?

HORACE
When he appeared to Locke in a dream last season, was Locke actually experiencing a time shift?

HURLEY
Dude. Ghost Anger Lucia told you not to get arrested. You listened to Ghost Charlie; perhaps it's time to listen to your other afterlife buddies.

She also told you that you have a lot of work to do. That is exactly what Ghost Christian said about Jack (in the mobisode) after they first crashed on the island, and what Walt told Locke after he'd been shot. This does not bode well for Hurley.

My favorite moment of the second episode was Hurley's confession to his mom; the details about his time on the island. He basically sums up the first four seasons of Lost, and the premise DOES sounds as crazy as non-Lost fans consider it be.

JACOB
Could he be reanimate? Ben and his team are quite focused on protecting Locke's body, and he was a former island leader. Could Jacob have also died off island, only to be brought back and given life on the island? Ben did NOT answer the question about Locke being really dead, so anything is possible. Darlton have always joked about that zombie season...

JI YEON
Sun's baby is in Korea, but wouldn't she have to go back to the island as well?

JILL, GABRIEL & JEFFREY
Who the heck are they and how long have they been working for Ben? Were they ever on the island? Are they former Hostiles or Others?

JIN
If in fact he did jump off of the freighter before it blew up, could he have been 'inside the radius' as well? Will he swim to shore and join up with the Marooned 5 at some point?

KATE
Will she return to the island before taking care of that favor for Sawyer?

KELVIN
Where was Kelvin when Faraday talked to Des outside of the Swan?

LARA
I am assuming that the woman Pierre Chang refers to as Lara on the Barracks Video is his wife.

LIBBY
Seriously, is there a Club Posthumous in Los Angeles where Charlie, Libby, Eko and Ana Lucia hang out?

LOCKE/BENTHAM
In order to get everyone back to the island, Locke has to die. In order to save everyone on the island, Michael had to die.

So there are people off the island who are interested in Locke, even after he is dead. Why?

Alpert handed him a compass, which was one of the items he'd tested Locke with as a child. Will we eventually see Locke receive those other items on the island?

When Ethan shot him in the leg, it was reminiscent of a similar incident from Locke's early days on the island; Locke had hatch shrapnel in his leg and couldn't help Boone when he climbed up and then crashed down in Yemi's plane.

MATTHEW ABADDON
Is he the one after Aaron?

What does he know about the island?

Was he one of the alleged LAPD who first showed up at Hurley's house and spoke with his father?

MILES
It should be a safe assumption now that Miles is Dr. Candle's son. Agreed? The man knows far more about the island than he'd let on before tonight's episode. Of course if he WAS born on the island...how did he live?

If he is Candle's son, at what point does he leave the island?

MS. HAWKING
Wow. I did not see that one coming, but I love that she is Faraday's mother. So when she told Desmond that his destiny was to push that button on the island in order to save the world, was her information based on Daniel's data...or intel from Ben?

She also told Des that he wasn't going to marry her. It seems (at least by their wedding bands) that Des and Penny do marry in the future, so was she referring to that point in time? He may still end up breaking her heart if he returns to the island without her...

What is/was her relationship with Brother Campbell at the Monastery where Desmond briefly lived (and met Penny for the first time)? They appear in a photo together.

So who is Daddy Faraday? Is Hawking her maiden name?

Did you notice the photo of the island taped to her equations chalkboard?

Why is she using island-esque computer equipment in her lair under the church instead of modern technology? Is that the only way to pinpoint the location of the island?

PENNY
How does she explain to Daddy Widmore how she came to be in the right locale to find Desmond and rescue the Oceanic 6? I'm assuming that wasn't a secret and that she probably couldn't convince her entire crew to lie.

PIERRE CHANG/MARVIN CANDLE
Clearly we witnessed a pre-purge Dharma Initiative and Dr. Candle. How long after the discovery of the Frozen Donkey Wheel beneath the Orchid did Chang create the Barracks Video (which warned of the purge)?

RADZINSKY
Were he and Kelvin part of Dharma or the initial military subset?

RICHARD ALPERT
Was Alpert ever really a Hostile, or was he dressed 'in character' like the Others were when they were trying to scare the 815ers during season 1?

I was surprised to hear that Richard wouldn't recognize Locke after a time shift. Given that he's basically stalked Locke from birth on, why would that occur?

Do Richard and the remaining Others/Hostiles not experience time shifts?

SAYID
Those who were following him used darts rather than bullets. Did they know that the island wouldn't let the Oceanic 6 die?

SUN
What do she and Widmore discuss at the airport?

Is Sun working for Ben?

When Sun was talking with Kate about doing everything you can to protect your child, she could have been referring to:

• Protecting Ji Yeon from Ben and/or the island
• Ben's failure to do so, gambling on and losing his daughter's life
• Widmore's need to hide Penny from Ben
• Michael's decision to kill Ana Lucia and Libby in order to save Walt

WALT
Why wouldn't he have to go back too?

Was Ben interested in Walt and have him kidnapped to study him because he knew that Walt's special abilities included time shifting? Walt was able to appear in one place while actually being located in another...

THE WHISPERS
Could the whispers on the island be voices/warnings from one's self during a previous visit to the island during a time shift?

CRAZY THEORY OF THE NIGHT
The empty casket that Jack comes upon on the island after the crash belongs to Locke, not Christian Shephard; it was used to transport him back and Jack happens upon it during a time shift.
_ _ _

I must apologize for the brevity of this post. Usually I am game for an all-nighter but I am unable to do so this week. I appreciate that you took the time to visit and read, and look forward to your feedback and comments!

Please stay tuned for further thoughts and photos as soon as tomorrow evening...