Thursday, March 19, 2009

LOST, Episode 5.09 - "Namaste"

Riding on a thought to see where it's from,
Gliding through a memory of a time yet to come.
The Beastie Boys, "Namaste"

Through five seasons, I never truly considered that the title of the show is about us rather than them. Tonight was the first time that I actually said "I'm lost" out loud. It happened when Sun and Lapidus arrived on the main island, and that they were in a different era than Jin, Sawyer, etc. Even though they were on the same plane as Jack, Kate, Hurley and Sayid. It only took me 91 or so episodes to realize that Abrams and Lindelof knew exactly what they were creating and how it would affect us.

I digress. Let's dig in to "Namaste" and see if I land on a runway or below a waterfall...

THE FLAME STATION

At what point does Mikhail arrive and run that communications hub? When Radzinsky moves into the Swan?

NEW RECRUITS

So if Sheriff Sawyer embedded Hurley, Jack and Kate as the fresh-off-the-sub recruits, what did he do with the real ones who arrived?

Why was there going to be six months before the next batch of recruits were going to arrive? What happened to every two weeks?

The two recruits that 'dropped out' - did they do so before getting on the sub from wherever it left?

PARALLELS
  • Frank's Ajira 316 co-pilot was impaled by a tree. Flight 815 pilot Seth Norris was killed atop one.
  • Juliet was checking the Dharma submarine manifest while holding baby Ethan in 1977. In 2004, Hurley discovered that Ethan was not on the Flight 815 manifest, resulting his death shortly thereafter.
  • When young Ben first meets Sayid, Sayid is being prisoner in Dharmaville. When Sayid first meets older Ben, Ben is being held prisoner in the Swan Hatch.
THE RUNWAY

Juliet said that the Others were building one...but that was in 2004 or 2005. Assuming that Ajira 316 'landed' in 2007 or beyond, when was the runway finished, and by whom?

Of course someone knew that a plane would be landing there in the future. Ben is the logical guess. Or Widmore.

THE SWAN HATCH

Radzinsky was building the model for it, which was featured in the very first Orientation film that Desmond had in the Swan (featuring Dr. Marvin Candle; it was dated 1980 - see still above). Remember that Radzinsky was the one who sliced out certain sections of that very film, and that Eko found the remainder of it in the Bible (in the Arrow hatch). That Orientation film references 'the incident,' which obviously takes place at some point between 1977 and 1980. [side note: Because this is a spoiler-free blog, if you've heard anything about this, please do not share/spoil in the Comments section. Thank you!]

So if someone did indeed bury Jughead and cover it with cement (as instructed by Faraday), did Radzinsky and Dharma build the Swan over it?

BEN

By 1977, young Ben had already met up with a Hostile-clothed Richard Alpert in the jungle. He asked to join them, and Alpert told him he had to be very patient. So was Ben inquiring if Sayid was a Hostile because he wants to help him?

Does Ben recognize Sayid when they meet again in 2004?

CAESAR & ILANA

I was surprised to learn that they don't know one another. But if they're the next Jack and Kate, shoot me now.

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD

In addition to being...lost, that was my favorite WTF moment of the episode. I was pleasantly surprised that both Sun and Lapidus were able to not only see but hear him. So is he merely a visible mouthpiece for Jacob?

The only other time we heard 'the whispers' followed by a Christian appearance was when he told Michael he "can go now" on the freighter right before it blew up.

It seems that era was shortly after Ben's 1992 Dharma purge but before he transformed Dharmaville into New Otherton. Have we seen Christian on the island before the 2004 crash of Flight 815, when his body arrived there in the coffin? This is a significant appearance and piece of the puzzle...

ETHAN

So much for the awesome theory that Horace and Amy's baby was going to be Jacob (sorry Josh!).

If I had to guess, Ethan will be the only baby to be conceived and born on the island because he was two weeks premature, and arrived before 'the incident' (which I think is the cause of the island's infertility issue).

Ethan is the only Dharma-era person to survive Ben's purge in 1992. So where was he when Ben killed daddy Horace and the rest of their people? Did Ben spare him? Given that Ben dispatches Ethan to the beach to infiltrate the fuselage survivors from Flight 815 in the future...he didn't value Ethan very much. Or care that he was the only kid to be born under special circumstances.

Daddy Horace was building (what would become Jacob's) cabin for he and mommy Amy as a little getaway from Dharmaville. So we can assume that son Ethan spent a good deal of time there. But Jacob must not have placed too much value on Ethan or his circumstances either, given that the island let Ethan die when Charlie shot him.

Why did he call himself Ethan Rom and not Goodspeed? Well, they do love to use anagrams on this show, and that name lends itself to several relevant options?
  • OTHER MAN
  • ERA, MONTH
  • THE ROMAN (hmm...perhaps he and Caesar have a connection)
Now that we know Juliet delivered Ethan, it is interesting to look back at their relationship. He stalked her in Miami while recruiting her to Mittleos Bioscience with Alpert (when he told her "knew of her work;" I have to wonder if he was talking about himself) and then drugged her for the sub journey to the island. He fixed her plumbing in New Otherton. He worked with her lover Goodwin at The Tempest. He pretended to be a fertility doctor with Claire.

FARADAY

We last saw him freaking out over seeing a young Charlotte, knowing that he'd turn into an evil man who'd frighten and warn her. So does he leave because of that, even though "what happened, happened?"

What year was it when Faraday was under the Orchid as Pierre Chang and the Dharma workers discovered the Frozen Donkey Wheel? Was it during the three years that he was there with Sawyer and Juliet?

KATE

Besides being her usual vague and twitchy self, Kate seems to have lost her anger and edge since arriving back on the island. I actually hope that she's pregnant with Jack's child. Leave my Juliet alone, Freckles.

MILES

IF he is Pierre Chang's son...do they cross paths during that era? Given that Faraday thought his own young mother (Ellie) looked familiar in 1954, I doubt that Miles would recognize Chang as his father. Unless that is why Miles is "exactly where I want to be" when he first arrives on the island; that he went on the Freighter Four mission in the first place to discover his roots.

Did the little ghostbuster lose his special powers when he traveled back in time? Seems to me his skills would have come in handy if he was communicating with the dead during those three years...

RADZINSKY

We know that eventually, he moves into the Swan with Kelvin Inman. He is the one who created the infamous hatch blast door map. Inman later told Desmond that Radzinsky killed himself in the Swan. Will we see these events unfold?

SAWYER

Loved that he schooled Jack upon his return. Looks like Jack is going to have to adjust to the new sheriff in town.

SUN

Why was she the only one of the Oceanic 6 to remain on the plane when it landed; why were Hurley, Jack, Kate and Sayid all 'placed' on the main island after the flash?

When she and Lapidus were walking from the outrigger into Dharmaville, what was that movement in the bushes? If it was Smokey, he wouldn't have merely lingered there. They wouldn't just write that in unless it is significant later...

Sun throttling Ben over the head with the oar was my second favorite Power Sun moment ever; the first was her bitch slap of Juliet after she told Jin about Sun's affair.

RANDOM NOTE

In the Season 3 episode called "Enter 77," Locke was playing chess on Mikhail's computer in The Flame when Pierre Chang popped up (as Dr. Marvin Candle) in a video, asking him to press 77 if there was a "hostile incursion." The only reason this struck me is that we're now witnessing The Flame...in 1977.


CRAZY THEORY OF THE WEEK

I know I'm tired, but I could have sworn that Claire appeared very briefly behind Sun as she was talking to Christian Shephard about Jin's whereabouts. Because I believe that Claire passed away, it makes sense that she and daddy would be spirits in the material world, together. And there was an odd bit of smoke there as well, which could have been a very quiet Smokey (before his rage issues manifested).

---
Apologies for the short post this evening. I'm sure that when I have more time and after a second viewing, I will have far more to analyze and discuss. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and read. Please leave your thoughts and theories as Comments, and enjoy the rest of your week!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jo,

I just want to make one comment, as some of the stuff I can't argue with, at least right at the moment.

The Swan would not have been built anywhere near a nuke. The Swans energy was electromagnetic, and not nuclear. We know that the entire island has electromagnetic properties, and I think it was built in a pocket. I am hoping we are going to see what the incident was, and why the Swan was used in this way. I don't however, believe that the Swan was built originally for the purpose that we saw it used for by Desmond. By that I mean, the incident changed something, and this caused the need for the button presses.

I believe that the smoke monster was breifly visible when the door opened, and may mean that Smokie is controlling Christian. That is just my current feeling, not a fact.

Anonymous said...

While you said, "I'm lost" out aloud, my reaction was more, "I'll be really pissed off if by the end of this episode we don't find out why Jack etc disappeared from the plane". With most things Lost, you know there's an explanation - but that just seemed ridiculous. Of course, Sun is the only one not in the same time period as Jin - that's the only reason I can think of, until perhaps the season finale for their super happy fun time reunion.

The rest was very good, of course, but come on.

1miletogo said...

I had a feeling that when Sun & Frank were meeting with Christian that New Otherton was very different. Like the Others never moved in. With all of the DHARMA signs still in place. Did 2007 change since the LOSTIES were in '77? I too saw the lady behind Sun, it looked like the person was wearing headphones and was a sound person. I hope that it wasn't a production error and was actually suppose to be there. The whole scene had a very Back to the Future II feel to it. The door opening and wisps of smoke coming in was pretty awesome too :)

Anonymous said...

It is interesting that Sun was "separated" from the other O6? In addition to Ben and Lapidus. Was this what Hawkings meant by "unpredictable" results? I have another theory...

Those who were separated and landed in present/future/2008 could not be zapped into 1977 because....in 1977 they were already there as young versions of themselves!

Yes I am saying Ben, Sun, and Lapidus (not sure about him) were already in 1977 Island. Which would prevent them from zapping there and meeting their younger selves. Discuss!

Anonymous said...

I am actually in awe of the genius of having a young Ben meet a jailed Sayid. I can't recall, but was Ben immediately worried when Sayid went in to "question" him back in Season Two? If so...then these writers are beyond brilliant.

It's good to know that other "Lost" junkies are sick of Kate & her lameness. What the hell happened to her?!?!

My favorite moment by far was The Smackdown of Jack. Jack & Kate deserve each other...they can go whine about nonsense all day.

1miletogo said...

It also raises the question, why did Radinsky get so paranoid about the Hostiles knowing about the Swan? What were they doing there before the incident? I'm sure we will find out this season. Plus Candle is wearing a Swan lab coat in the Barracks video, but the swan hadn't been built yet...

whiterabbita said...

Ok Jo, you're great! I didn't remember the enter 77! Wow, that's very interesting and you know what about Ethan? The idea that he's Jacob is so absurd for me, that I removed it totally from my mind, as when his name was revealed, I told myself. Ok, Amy's son is not Jacob, now who is Jacob? But reading your blog the chance that Ethan could be Jacob came to my mind all of a sudden: would it be so really absurd?

Ciao Elena.

Anonymous said...

@1miletogo -

I totally thought the same thing about Dharmaville, that it was some sort of "alternate future". We'll see.

Is the inconsistency of Dharma suits bothering anyone but me? It's driving me crazy that some people have their first names on the suits and others have their last names. Minor, I know, but it was still my biggest problem last night!

1miletogo said...

I think the names depend on your rank...

Lets Look at the Last Names:

Lafleur - Head of security
Radzinsky - Head of ? (communication?) I couldn't make it out (plus we don't know Rad's first name)


First Names:

Julliet - motor pool

Security
Paul
Phil
Jerry
Jin
miles

Horace - math

Of course Horace doesn't fit into this thinking, since Lafleur calls him their fearless leader (unless this was just him being cocky?)

I will need to go back and look more into the names on jumpsuites.

Anonymous said...

So after reading your blog, I came up with this crazy theory.

First the questions:
1. Would Miles run into himself as a baby?
2. Why did Sun and Ben get left on the plane?

What if Pierre Chang's baby isn't Miles at all. We've all assumed this for a while. What if the baby is Sun. Ben and Sun were not taken along with the others because....they are already there.

Anonymous said...

I also thought it was strange how when Sun and Frank went into Dharmaville that it looked like no one had been there since the Dharma days and if they were in the "present time", wouldn't it had looked like it was at least recently lived in according to the years just prior?

I'm definitely starting to think that by Sawyer, Jin... etc. being in 1977 they some how change events. Perhaps the "purge" or even the "incident" never happen? Perhaps by them going back in time, they eventually prevent future "woes" (if you will) for themselves in the future? Locke was always saying that they were all meant to be on that island... perhaps this is the reason: to change events so none of the "bad" things that happen on the island happen down the road.

That probably sounds too basic for our writers to come up with, but perhaps that is just the base for where they are going to lead us.

Also... to comment on the Sun and Ben theory of not being in the past because they are already there... I totally agree and it makes a lot of sense. They won't need their older selves there (1977) because they won't ever end up being in the situations they are in in the future that puts Ben with "the Others" and Sun on the Oceanic plane. My only question is, then, why didn't the others on the Ajira plane go to the past as well? My guess is because they had never been to the island before and if the past events are "corrected" by Sawyer, Jin, etc. back in 1977, they'll never end up there in the first place. I know that Frank had been to the island before, but perhaps because he was there only because of Ben, if the past events are corrected, there wouldn't have ever been a need for him to be apart of the attempted "Ben-knapping".

Anonymous said...

I don't think that Horace (who i'm sure is named that after Horus, the egyptian deity if it hasn't been mentioned yet) DID die in the purge considering he told john in 2004 that he had been dead for 12 years and the purge happened in '92. (the fact that he gets a nosebleed when he is talking to him excites me at this point obviously) thanks.

wezeralus said...

....one more thought. i was curious from season two about smokie's "first appearance" on the island in the first episode of the first season. the leaves were moving around as if it were something solid moving them, and it sounded nothing like smokie. i thought that maybe that it was something else altogether on the island, and the bushes/trees moving around in this episode seems to justify that as a real possibility. but before now, i just thought that maybe in the first episode they hadn't chosen the right sound for the monster and that they didn't even know what it was themselves yet. well as time goes on, nothing really seems to be by chance...this show has been planned out very well.

Nurby said...

I love the idea that Sun is already in 1977 along with Ben. That would definitely lead to an interesting story! And Lapidus could also be in 1977 already, but also could he just not be a part of that group? He isn't part of the oceanic 6 and not an other, so like the rest of the people on the plane that are in current time, he could just be one of them?

I gasped out loud during this episode. I wish the next episode was tomorrow!!

Anonymous said...

If Sun can't be in 1977 because she's already there, maybe she's Mr. Chang's baby and Mr. Chang = Mr. Paik? Had to change his name perhaps. (Ok seriously that's probably the stupidest thing ever, but it just came to mind, and don't have time to actually check it.)

Aunt J-ha said...

What struck me the most was young ben approaching Sayid and asking him if he was a hostile. My impression is that Young Ben is already communing with Richard and the hostile and he KNOWs Sayid is not one of them. I'm re-watching the episode now and I just passed the part where Frank and Sun realize Jack & the others are gone and the ask Ben where they are and Ben says "How should I know?" His expression was cryptic ben, and reminded me of the stare off with sayid later in the episode. 2007 Ben knows exactly where the others are cause he remembers them from 1977. His infatuation with Juliette makes more sense to me know, maybe he had a crush on 1977 Juliette and when he meets her again as an adult he has to have her.

Did you sense how creeped out Juliette was when she realized she was holding baby Ethan? Just a little twinge, and she immediately put him down. I don't think this was mentioned above, but Juliette is also beholden to Ethan because his wife died in childbirth during her watch. She felt guilty about it, even though it was not her fault.
I loved the episode, but think it was a primarily a set-up for some truly awesome episodes in the next few weeks.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jo! Okay, I agree! I AM LOST! Here they were giving us some answers in the recent past weeks and now I'm LOST again...but still loving the show.

Since we have about 6-8 episodes left in thei season and about 15 episodes left in the final season, you need to compile a list of things that still remain unanswered and send it to the writers. I am semi convinced that they are making things up as they go along and go off on so many crazy theories of their own that they have forgotten to come back around on many story lines.

What about Michael? Is he dead? What about Walt? Is he coming back? What about flight attendant Cindy and the children from the tail section? I'm sure you can add about a hundred things to this list!

At the very least, for your next non-weekly posting, please compile the list for your readers :)

I will be waiting :)