Thursday, June 4, 2009

Lost ReWatch Week #1: Pilot, Parts 1 & 2, Tabula Rasa, Walkabout

I am finally ready to go, like a sailboat donated by a mental patient or a hot air balloon funded by a rich industrialist. So grab a glass of Dharma drugged orange juice, and prepare to submerge yourselves into the murky waters we've been swimming in for five seasons of Lost.

My Official Lost ReWatch Caveat

There are 8 sites participating in this project besides myself. In order to provide the most honest and fresh perspective here, I am not reading the recaps and analysis posted on my fellow ReWatch friends' sites until AFTER I have posted my own. We all have different writing styles and are bound to experience varying epiphanies throughout this process. So if you come across any similarities, keep in mind that we've all seen these episodes multiple times and have analyzed them under relatively kindred microscopes for five years.

Also...I am not perfect, nor is my memory; there are bound to be small mistakes here and there as I revisit and discuss all five seasons. So please excuse any errors in advance, and enjoy the ride!

All Four One

Rather than share my thoughts about each individual episode, I decided to format this first ReWatch entry by category and character, from all 4 episodes combined. Let me know what you think; I'm open to suggestions!

It is quite fascinating to watch the first few episodes of Lost now, keeping in mind what we just witnessed in the Season 5 finale.

We know exactly where Ben and the Others were when 815 broke apart above them, but I find myself wondering where Jacob was during that time...

Relationships & Foreshadowing
  • Locke helps Jack move people away from the engine before it blows up; this is the first thing he does upon discovering that he's no longer paralyzed.
  • Charlie is the first person that Sayid meets; they share a Nadia connection (unbeknownst to Sayid, Charlie had saved her from being mugged in London before Flight 815).
  • Hurley collects and distributes the airline food. His issues with food and desire to be liked is established immediately.
  • After Jack's tells Kate his 'count to 5' fear story, she says she would have run for the door. He tells her "you're not running now." But she did and she does.
  • Charlie wants to prove his worth right away (or at least prove to himself that he's a viable helping hand even while high); he volunteers to accompany Jack and Kate into the jungle to look for the transceiver. He will later save Jack in the cave after it collapses.
  • Locke is eating an orange on the beach; he eats a mango on the beach shortly after apparently reanimating after the Ajira 316 "crash."
  • Sun looks at Kate with envy as she bathes openly in the ocean. Sun later dons that blue bikini and enjoys a similar moment of freedom.
  • Hurley tells Sayid that he likes him. They later form an inadvertent team as part of the Oceanic 6, escaping bad guys in Los Angeles.
  • Kate hides at the base of the Banyan trees while attempting to avoid an encounter with Smokey for the first time. She later hides with Juliet in a very similar base of trees when Smokey flashes and scans but spares them.
  • Kate lies to Jack about her relationship with the Marshall, establishing a pattern of lies between them that continues forever.
  • Jack first states what we later discover to be true about everyone who dies on the island, "any bodies we bury aren't going to stay buried for very long."
Shoes! Significant

We see what appears to be one of Christian Shephard's white tennis shoes hanging in a tree very shortly after Jack opens his eye after waking up on the island.

Regardless of whether or not you believe any of the Mobisodes to be canon, I think it is absolutely significant that Christian is wearing both of his white tennis shoes in So It Begins, when he says the following to Vincent:
"I need you to go find my son. He's over there in that bamboo forest, unconscious. I need you to go wake him up."
After Vincent takes off and approaches Jack (as we witness in the opening moments of the Pilot), Christian delivers the line that both Walt and Ben later say to Locke, "he has work to do."

Continuing with the prevalent Black and White theme that has permeated Lost since the beginning...we must now ponder the two pairs of Christian's shoes that seemingly play a very symbolic and noteworthy role in the entire series. Jack placed white tennis shoes on his father in the coffin before Flight 815, and he placed his father's black shoes on Locke in the coffin before Flight 316. Given Jacob in his white frock vs. Mystery Man/Not-Locke in his black frock...

CHARLIE

I just have to say that I noticed and loved the juxtaposition of blissfully ignorant Shannon painting her toenails while dark horse Charlie was writing in black ink on his taped up fingers.

There is a sad irony to Charlie's statement that "every trek needs a coward," given that he turned out to be anything but. And it was one of the first of many overt references to The Wizard of Oz that we've come to enjoy on Lost.

Those of you who are frequent readers are already familiar with (and probably tired of hearing about) my Crazy Charlie Theory. Long story short...due to the time travel elements which were introduced in Season 5, the possibilities are endless for connections on this show. My theory is that Charlie Pace is in fact Charlie Hume, son of Desmond and Penny. Why am I bringing this up again now? Because in "Walkabout," Charlie mentions that his grandfather used to take him fishing. IF my theory is correct, he would be referring to Charles Widmore. Although we've never actually seen Widmore fishing, he is certainly quite interested in boats (there is a model of one in his office, he sponsors a boat race around the world, he bought the original Black Rock ship journal). Worth contemplating, at least in my opinion.

CHRISTIAN SHEPHARD

Would a deceased passenger traveling in a coffin be listed on a flight manifest? This question occurred to me when we got a glimpse of Ghost Christian for the first time, in "Walkabout."

I am assuming the answer is no, because Hurley would have asked Jack about the relation if he saw another Shephard listed.

CINDY (Oceanic 815 flight attendant)

Her whereabouts on the island after the crash continues to be one of the main lingering questions that fans have for the producers and writers of the show. Early on in Season 1, I decided that there was an underground living space beneath the island, and then after she was taken I just assumed that she resided there with the two children from the 815 tail section (Zach and Emma).

When Cindy resurfaced out of nowhere in Season 3 to 'observe' Jack, Kate and Sawyer after they were kidnapped by Ben and the Others, I thought she might have been a former Dharma employee or child of Dharma; a plant, working for Oceanic and on 815 for a specific journey to the island.

We saw Jacob interact and make physical contact with Jack long before he boarded 815, designating that Jack was one of the chosen ones to come to the island. Before crashing, Cindy was the one who enabled Jack by secretly giving him extra bottles of alcohol. If she knew what was going to happen, then she probably knew who he was. Giving him that booze served a dual purpose; it soothed the about-to-be hero's nerves and cleaned the wound he obtained during the crash. Everything happens for a reason, yada yada yada.

One more strange Cindy issue - when the plane broke apart, she was in 1st class going after Charlie. So how and why did she wind up crashing with the tail section? Then again, Charlie was in 1st class yet wound up crashing with the fuselage...

HURLEY

Hurley mentions to Sayid that he had a buddy who fought in the Gulf War. We never find out who that was, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was Kelvin Inman. Inman, Desmond's former hatch buddy, served in the Gulf War and blackmailed Sayid into torturing Iraqi prisoners before setting him free.

JACK

Until now, I never paid much attention to Jack's admission that he'd taken flying lessons.

Will he be the one at the end of Season 6 piloting the helicopter that finally takes Claire & Aaron off the island, per Desmond's vision and Charlie's sacrifice?

LOCKE

We now know that Locke's destiny was to get to that island. IF the writers/producers want us to now ponder the possibility that Mystery Man took over Locke's body upon arrival after the crash of 815...the clues to support that are prevalent in the first few episodes. Locke is the one who finds Vincent and discovers the Swan hatch. Locke is the one with the hunting wherewithal, the one who provides a major food source for the survivors (boar). Locke was the very first survivor to actually see Smokey. Locke knows exactly when the rain starts and stops. Almost all of his early actions were demonstrative of a man who has been to the island before.

For those of you who are now convinced (after Season 5) that Locke IS Smokey, I recommend that you replay the very last scene in "Tabula Rasa." Turn up the volume high, because that episode ends on a very creepy close-up of Locke...accompanied by very distant yet audible sounds that are quite distinctly Smokey. This is the first time I noticed it, and it resulted in goosebumps.

Additionally, the very end of "Walkabout" features a disarming smile from Locke that fades into a shot of engulfing flames. I will refer you to my second S5 finale analysis (see: Theme Alert!), because I am rather enamored with and outline the significance of fire on Lost. Especially following Jacob's apparent demise/rise from the ashes.

RAY MULLEN (Kate's farmer con)

In Season 4, I wrote and published an article called Missing Limbs & Time Travel: A LOST Connection. Disregard the outdated information that has since proven me wrong, but take into consideration what we've seen in Season 5.

It now seems entirely possible that the man who turned Kate over to the Marshall was either stationed on the island during an earlier era or related to Dharma in some way. His statement to Kate sealed it for me, "everyone deserves a fresh start."

SMOKEY

Regardless of who or what summoned the Black Smoke Monster for the first time after Flight 815 crashed, it's intent seemed to establish territory and send a message to the survivors on the beach.

In the Pilot (both episodes), Smokey appears in the jungle, at the beach and at the nose of the plane to kill pilot Seth Norris. Are we sure that it is just one entity? Given the speed and distance it travels, and that we've seen it emanate from beneath the Temple...it would make sense that Smokey travels via the recently discovered tunnels that run underneath the island.

It still strikes me as odd that Smokey killed the pilot of Flight 815. We have only witnessed it actually kill 4 people: Norris, Mr. Eko, Nadine (Rousseau's crew mate) and Mayhew (one of Keamy's mercenaries). [Sidenote: indirectly, Smokey's actions have led to the deaths of many others.] If we are to believe that at least some of the 815 passengers were destined to wind up on that island, and that Smokey protects that island...why kill the man who brought the chosen ones there?

My strong belief that Rose's side comment about hearing Smokey for the first time ("that sound it made; there was something familiar about it") is significant is rarely met with anything but resolute disagreement. But after watching the Pilot episodes yet again, I am still convinced that her follow-up statement about being from the Bronx holds two possible clues. First: one of Smokey's distinct sounds is that of a taxicab receipt printout (very NYC). Second: Smokey's seemed to emanate from below the ground, and its metallic sound and sheer strength resembled a train (NY subway).

I mentioned this after the S5 finale and am still puzzled by the ramifications of it...only Locke and Juliet/Kate have seen Smokey as white light. It spared all of them. But we still don't know what Locke saw when black Smokey approached him for the first time in "Walkabout."

WAAAAALT

There were subtle hints about his abilities early on.

When his father Michael told him that he'd go look for his dog after the rain stopped, the rain came to an immediate halt...as if directed/willed by Walt.

You Know That I Can Use Somebody

It is interesting to note that Kate had Sawyer (at least attempt to) kill the Marshal, and Locke later has Sawyer kill Anthony Cooper. And here we thought that Locke was always the only one who was "amenable to coercion."

Then again, Mystery Man/Not-Locke has Ben kill Jacob...

A Question for YOU

If some of the Flight 815 passengers were specifically brought to the island, were the people who died in the process considered collateral damage to those who brought them there; were they mere casualities of the overall 'plan?

---
And, scene. Phew! This is going to be quite a long yet very enjoyable project. I appreciate your patience in advance, and will attempt to remain on the set viewing and posting schedule along with my fellow ReWatch sites.

Join the ReWatch group on Facebook and follow us on Twitter as well!

By all means, please feel free to comment below about anything I have posted! As usual, I would only ask that any criticism you might have be offered in a constructive manner and tone.

I would like to thank those of you who are new to my site, visiting and reading for the first time, as well as returning friends! Your support is truly going to make this a more memorable and extremely worthwhile experience.

- Jo

34 comments:

Erwin said...

Thanks Jo ... very well put! I like it!

I still think your Crazy Charlie Theory is still crazy ... I am not convinced it can be possible but you never know on Lost ...

Keep it up!

maven said...

Isn't it fun to point out those things that come to be so important in later seasons?

Knowing what we now know of Not-Locke, it sure seemed like he was spookier upon this viewing. The scene in Tabula Rasa after he helps reunite Vincent and Walt, there is a shot of Locke glaring at the reunion and there is such ominous music playing as he stares. Very eerie...is it really Locke or not?

Regarding the death of the pilot: Wasn't Frank supposed to be the original pilot of 815? Maybe Smokie killed the pilot thinking it was Frank so that he wouldn't be considered a good candidate later (for whatever).

Sherylm said...

Great the way you managed to bring the Claire and Aaron in the helicopter problem right in the first episode :-) I also thought Jack having had pilot lessons must be significant but I hadn't thought of that!
Did Keamy's guy really die? If I remember it looked like Smokey was killing him but he was still alive, albeit very beat up, in later scenes, which we thought was very strange.
As for the Mobitags being canon, somewhere I read the producers saying they were and they are available on both the ABC site and on the extras DVD for Season 5.
And I feel like the secret Locke told Walt was a bit more than "a miracle has happened here".
Good work and thanks!

Kwijt said...

I like the mention of Walt stopping the rain! Or at least the rain stopping as a consequence of Michael's promise, rather than coincidence. Hadn't thought about that yet.

I don't think Charlie volunteers to look for the tranciever to prove himself, but is just trying to get his drugs back from the airplane toilet.

"were they mere casualities of the overall 'plan?"
That's exactly what I think. It certainly doesn't look like the island/Jacob really cares about a few lives more or less to reach its goal, e.g. Nadia (Jacob) and Boone ("a sacrifice the island demanded").

orangejack said...

Love the shoe color connection you picked up!

orangejack said...

I like this format as well. I'm not rewatching the shows, and I don't want a blow by blow account of what happened. I like your summary style per character/event/location with ties to what else we know. Well done!

Aunt J-ha said...

I just watched Tabula Rosa last night and I noticed the close up on Locke and the creepy faint smokey noises too. Freaky!

Ernie said...

Great post. I loved the format and like that you're taking a different approach and not just recapping the episodes. Lots of thought put into your analysis.

I'm going to try my best to follow along with the Rewatch as well. Here's my take on the first week's episodes, if your interested.

Tess315 said...

Thanks JO I really like your format.
You're the second person I've read who said Sun was envious/jealous of Kate's openess. Looks like I'll have to rewatch again because I didn't catch the emotion.

Locke creeped me out when he smiled that orange peel smile at Kate (that everyone else finds funny) and I haven't tusted him since.

I do beleive he change after seeing what we presume was the smoke monster in Walkabout. I was thinking it was in Walkabout that he seen the bright light not Smokey.

I never considered that the flashing light that Juliet/Kate were exposed to was what Locke seen. It didn't seem very beautiful then. I guess it could be the same thing. I feel that there is more than one entity.

I noticed the creepy music at the end of Tabula Rasa but didn't notice the Smokey sound. Something else I'll have to re check again. :)
The music lead me to the belief that Locke couldn't be trusted.

When Locke comes back with the boar, covered in blood it always made me think there was some kind of confrontation between him and whatever he denied he seen. I also think whatever it was, was what killed the boar not Locke.

Hillary said...

Shoes! Significant

Do you think there’s any significance to Jack telling Kate she’ll need better shoes and then showing her removing them from a deceased passenger?


CHARLIE- Hume is Pace

What I love most about your theory is that anything is possible on Lost, so I still think it could be feasible. Just sayin’.

‘Gossip’ related, watching Charlie and Kate together makes me think about Dom and Evie falling for each other over the course of shooting. *Awwwww*

LOCKE - IF the writers/producers want us to now ponder the possibility that Mystery Man took over Locke's body upon arrival after the crash of 815...the clues to support that are prevalent in the first few episodes.

I think this is worth considering. And as I do so, I tend to think that since Locke was alive he was (likely unbeknownst to him) not completely taken over by MM. *Or* he realized that he could be whoever he wanted and became “Colonel Locke: Man of Action”. And there was actually a Colonel Locke – John Locke, no less – who penned the N. Carolina constitution (thanks Google book search! http://tinyurl.com/o98uab)

SMOKEY - If we are to believe that at least some of the 815 passengers were destined to wind up on that island, and that Smokey protects that island...why kill the man who brought the chosen ones there?

Maybe because he knew the location of the island? If Smokey is indeed a “security system”, then maybe killing him was an attempt to protect the island? My initial re-watch thoughts were that he may have been able to repair the transceiver or find other ways to attempt communication.

WAAAAALT

I’ve mentioned it elsewhere, but that Michael starts yelling “Waaaaalt” a mere 3 minutes into the pilot (and pretty much non-stop until he leaves) is hilarious to me.

A Question for YOU - … were the people who died in the process considered collateral damage to those who brought them there; were they mere causalities of the overall 'plan?

I’ve always assumed so. From what I know now, I am assuming Jacob and MM knew the plane would crash because of Desmond and who would be on it. I’d guess that even if either or both of them had tried to save all of the people, or prevent them from boarding the plane, that they were going to be dying soon regardless. As in “you can’t change the past” (or the future in their case)/ ‘whatever happened, happened’.

Anonymous said...

There are taxi receipt printing/Smokey noises coming from Locke's calculator at his desk at the Box company in Walkabout. The influence of MM started before the crash. Jo I like the white and black shoes observation, good one.

neoloki said...

I really like your shoe comment. I do think that the color is significant when Jack puts black shoes on Locke. However, I think Christian is the Man in black and Jack is putting Christians shoes on Locke and they are black. This seems very significant. More so than Christian wearing White shoes in the opening of the series.

neoloki said...

I am sorry because I do read most of your write ups, but people have to give up on this idea that Locke was possessed in season 1. Locke did not become the Man in black until after the crash of flight 316.Anything else makes no sense at all. What you are doing is obliterating 5 season of character development and flashbacks. I mean what is the point of having Locke falshbacks if he is not Locke? Misinformation? Or why would Walt show up to Locke when he was in the dead dharma pit and say you have work to do? If you think about it carefully it makes absolutely no sense.Their are a million different examples of why Locke has always been Locke until the Ajira crash, but only very sketchy and subjective references toLocke being "strange" before that. The best bet is just to let the idea go, because Lost is so full of other interesting mysteries it does not make sense to create a mystery when one does not exist. Sorry, but that's my 2 cents on Locke.

Anonymous said...

Even in Tabula Rasa there is a reference to 'black and white' when Locke introduces Walt to the game backgammon.

MJCarp said...

JoO, thanks for skipping all the epi recaps and getting to the point.

Here's my thinking about John Locke's adding machine clicking as part of Smokey and the reason that he and Juliet are overlooked. John and Juliet have been taken. They are dead.

John dies in 2004 on Flight 815. Crazy. Smokey re-animates him on the beach. Juliet dies in 1977 as a result of the incident.

Think about the scene with Montand and Danielle. How convincing was his plea to her to put the gun down! It was Montand. When she puts the gun down, it's Smokey. Montand is dead. His essence is in Smokey. When Smokey wants to move his players he takes whatever form he needs.

Smokey incorporated the Swan Station equipment, sounds, chains, digging regime, etc. including Juliet when he(it) was release in 1977 to roam around. Locke's is pulled into the hole like Juliet. Locke's memories from the box company adding machine also becomes part of Smokey. This is why he is not attacked but in fact HELPED (boar, island knowledge, etc.). I will concede that MIB plays a crafty game and allows Locke to fail so that his loophole (Ben) gets played.

Jacob made Richard, MIB made Locke.

Hey, and maybe Rose was an accountant.

Also, could that be Ethan running from Othersville to the beach and being chased by Smokey on the first night of the crash? Did the Juliet part of Smokey allow him passage?

Shannon's words to Boone "Don't waste your time. They're coming." was interesting.

I am also betting on an episode in S6 much like the "Other 48 days" where we see MIB's influence off island opposite to Jacob (reverse logo theme).

OK, have fun. Pick on me. I can take it. Neoloki, your up first.

Erin W said...

Love your style on this rewatch. I'm really enjoying reading yours in conjunction with reading another participant's standard recap style, it makes for a more rich experience. THANKS!

Nurby said...

Love the rewatch format!

Wow. A lot to think about. I am still not convinced that Locke is MM right from the start. I feel like MM could be in Christian. Of course then the question is are MM and Smokey the same? Because Smokey easily could be influencing or controlling Locke in some way. But obviously we can't ignore that there is something very special about Locke, but watching him in the first episode when he finds he can move his legs, I can't imagine that's not Locke. And then when he has that moment where he thinks he is not going to be able to move his legs and discovers he still can, that has to be Locke. But it makes sense if MM can go into dead people, that he planned and manipulated for Locke to get killed before coming back to the island. Which now makes me think, is Ben working for MM and has been playing Jacob all this time.

And Frank was supposed to be the pilot, so someone chose to put this new pilot in instead of Frank. Possibly Widmore? Which then Smokey could smell he was a traitor and killed him.

I can tell this rewatch is going to be fun, but also is already causing my head to spin :)

Tess315 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tess315 said...

Another note on the shoes.
I was just reading the post made at the lostaholics. Through The Magnifying Glass: ReWatch Week 1.

I didn't think about Locke not having any shoes on after flight 815 crashes. Does he put his own shoes back on? If not where are his shoes? Who might have them?

Tess315 said...

Another note on the shoes.
I was just reading the post made at the lostaholics. Through The Magnifying Glass: ReWatch Week 1.

I didn't think about Locke not having any shoes on after flight 815 crashes. Does he put his own shoes back on? If not where are his shoes? Who might have them?

Edit: I deleted my post thinking I posted on the wrong blog but I didn't. So I'm re posting it. Sorry.

Tess315 said...

I'm such a ditz!
I'm not use to user appoval.
Mine was the last post when I posted a new post later.

I thought I had posted on the wrong blog but didn't. I deleted my first post then when I relized I was on the right blog re posted my second one thinking that was the one I had deleted. So here's my first post.

I'm really sorry JO I will try to be more careful in the future when I post here.

I've been trying to read all of the posts at all of the re watch sites.
This post from the Lostpedia forum got me thinking about the significance of the shoes.

Originally Posted by Dr. Burke
In regards to Locke being anti-Locke from the beginning.... I think that is just absurd. He dies off island 2007. We see his body off-island, and when it falls out of Illana's crate it has on the same clothes from off island 2007. We know then that the Locke with Jacob is Anti-Jacob. This is the only time we see two Lockes. Perhaps he was being manipulated by Anti-Jacob the whole time, but he was definitely not dead following the crash of 815.

I know with Time Travel it is possible that Anti-Locke went back in time and posed as Locke. I just don't think that fits in with everything else in Lost though. Sure it would be a twist, but what purpose would it really serve?


What I think would be interesting to find out is if we found the body of dead Christain would he be wearing the white tennis shoes?

Fake Locke/Un Locke there are so many names for him ;) is wearing and sometimes carrying dead Locke's shoes as if they are very important to him. I'd also like to know if dead Locke is wearing his shoes when Ilana dumps him out of that crate.

MJCarp said...

Oh, shoes, shoes, glorious shoes. How art thy the boundary between death and rebirth. How art thy the difference between darkness and light. Let thy body absorb the vital energies between the boundary of human and divine.   

http://www.headoverheelshistory.com/antiquity.htm

JNL said...

Jo, Great job as always. I only have 2 points and they are repeated by many, not just you...

When Cindy is back at the cages, what they all are there for was to witness Juliette's trial fr killing picket, not who was in the cages.

When Locke first see's smokey he MUST be the real, alive Locke. I believe that the writers intentionally try to make that clear with Smokey NOT being seen with any of the people it impersonates. Yemi, the small alter boy in the jungle, Not-Locke coming out of the woods, Ben's daughter, and on and on. This means since we see Locke with smoky in Tabula Rasa, it cannot also BE him.

As for Charlie Hume being Charlie pace, what about his father being a Butcher (flashback from Fire and Water)?

Unknown said...

I loved your analysis, Jo. Very thought provoking. I noticed something minor that bothered me and that is the missing injury/stitches on Jack's back. It's only 24-48 hours after Kate stitches him up with BLACK thread and he's soaked in the rain wearing a white shirt. His wound and stitches should be visible but they aren't.

And then the next day when he rescues Boone and is shirtless in the ocean his back is injury free. Did it heal that quickly or was that an oversight on part of the make up crew?

Anonymous said...

There is no way a guy who has taken a few flying lessons could pilot a helicopter. Experienced pilots with years of flying in airplanes will still need a substantial amount of re-training to fly a helicopter. Flying a helicopter is much harder than flying a plane, because the relationship of the controls to the actual movement of the vehicle is more complicated and difficult to master. Then you add the island's "barriers" and there's simply no way Jack could do anything but crash-land. Even Naomi couldn't handle it and she was probably pretty well-trained.

Of all the characters we know, only Lapidus, who is a piloting master, has the skills to maneuver in the island's airspace, and it was even difficult for him as we saw in Season 4.

Kenneth Taylor said...

Excellent. I was thinking about of lot of these things also. Another thing I noticed is that in Walkabout, in the first flashback scene, the scene ends with Locke using some type of adding machine, and the noise from the machine sounds just like that taxicab receipt noise that Smokey makes. And, as the scene cuts away from the flashback, it amplifies that sound, instead of using the normal "whoosh" sound.

Also, many people are now associating Christian with Smokey, and so I thought it was interesting that Locke comes out of the jungle right after Christian disappears into the jungle.

Tess315 said...

I don't think Locke was the MIB from the begining. Only after he seen the monster in the jungle did he seem to change.

He either had been taken over or he was at least being manipulated from that point.
And are we sure the MIB is the bad guy and not Jacob?

Unknown said...

I still think all the theories on Locke being MIB from the start are crazy. It is widely agreed that MIB was the Christian we saw in the cabin. So he was also likely the Christian that was in the well hole that Locke fell down when he turned the wheel. So, if MIB was Christian in the hole advising Locke, then why would MIB also be Locke at the same time? Locke could not have been MIB from the start then, end of story. Maybe all the smokey sounds, closeups, etc were just foreshadowing of things to come.

David J. Brown said...

Just a few thoughts...
Your Crazy Charlie Theory is debunk. Time is a road to can go forward and back but you cannot create a new road, as Dan Faraday said. So Penny gives birth to Charlie Hume on the same "road" as Charlie Pace. Charlie Pace had a mother, a brother, and a father who was NOT named Desmond Hume. Charlie Pace remembers his childhood in great detail, playing the piano, spending time with his brother Liam. Desomnd and Charlie Pace had a very strong relationship, sometimes it was shakey or violent, but they were still ultimately friends. Charlie died to save everyone on the island and save Claire and Aaron. Desmond honors his friends death by naming his son Charlie Hume. This is one of the smallest yet most satisfying things on the show. Even a heroin addict can be honored in death. On a side note, when Desmond has a vision of the helicopter coming and picking up Claire and Aaron, taking them to safety, Charlie dies in the very same vision. After Desmond saves Chalies life, the future is re-written again. So the helicopter picking up Claire and Aaron will never happen. For instance, when the parachuter lands on the island, Desmond finds her pack and he knows it should be Penny, but it is Niomi in the end. Timeline: Desmond sees Penny's boat, the parachute lands, he finds the pack with the picture of him and Penny, then he saves Chalies life by dodging the arrow, thus altering the future. Everything from that point on is different. No penny, no helicopter saving Claire and Aaron... Good connection between Hurley and Sayid, and nice observation of Walt... I believe we will see what he is truely made of in season 6!
Ciao!

Hillary said...

@ David J

Timeline: Desmond sees Penny's boat, the parachute lands, he finds the pack with the picture of him and Penny, then he saves Chalies life by dodging the arrow, thus altering the future. Everything from that point on is different. No penny, no helicopter saving Claire and Aaron...

I can dig this line of thinking. Good point.

Are we assuming that Widmore obtained a copy of that photo to give to Naomi? If so, why? Especially if he didn't want his daughter with Desmond or care about anyone on the island - just finding it - what was the point?

(Perhaps I should check past blogs, Jo, and see if you already addressed this!)

Anonymous said...

Great recap and commentary. (And I'm glad, as others pointed out, that it's not a blow-by-blow recap).

I especially like the connection with the shoes with Locke and Christian.
I also agree with the other comments about Locke always being Locke until the recent "impostor."
Anything before that doesn't make sense.

This would mean that, after Boone's accident, MIB Locke felt such sorrow that he pounded on the hatch --why? So many other motivations and behaviors become so convoluted....

I know, I know. People often say, "It's Lost! Anything is possible!" And that is a cool thing about the show. I never expected The Losties from Season 1 to be caught up in an increasingly complex history of the island -- from Dharma and The Others and Widmore, to some kind of game being played by two "gods."

(I'm *so* glad that the island has nothing to do with aliens. A lesser show would've gone there).

But that "Anything is possible" idea doesn't mean that anything makes for good TV. After the wonderful "The Constant," many forum boards buzzed with ideas on how each character leaving the island would need a constant. . . and that would've been really bad TV.

Locke being anyone else but Locke until recently? Also really bad TV.

I believe that Lindelof and Cuse (and maybe Abrams) had quite a bit planned early on, but I'd be really surprised if they had Jacob and Esau planned from the start.

In that sense, I think some people might be trying too hard with some things. For instance, is it really likely that Lindelof and Abrams knew that the pilot killed by Smokey was supposed to be someone else (Frank)? Probably not.

Tess315 said...

I don't believe the MIB used Locke's likeness until after Locke was dead.

But I do believe that Locke was being influenced ever since he seen whatever it was in the jungle. Either Smokey/Bright light.

He believed he was lead/destined to find the hatch and was meant to get inside of it.

I don't believe pounding on the hatch had anything to do with sorrow. I think it was frustration, that even after sacraficing Boone's life he didn't get what he thought was due him. His destiny.

Anonymous said...

Hey! I always thought one of the polar bears killed the pilot of 815 and not smokey. I think both Smokey and the bear were hanging out by the plane but the bear got him. Watch it again. The bear just grabs him quick. Smokey would have had the flashing light etc first.

1Miletogo said...

I'm a little behind, I'm not sure if anyone will see this, but I have some thoughts on Locke & Smokey. I think that Smokey did a reverse flash on Locke and downloaded info to him about the island.

Also, my theory about Christian is this - in the beginning Christian is Jacob. Not Locke is trapped in the cabin until sometime after Locke visits the cabin - Maybe Keamy and his crew visited the cabin... Then Not Locke took Christians form and had the different look about him.