Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Dharma's Karma Kid, Ethan Rom: William Mapother Checks In

Last year, William Mapother was kind enough to answer some questions for me to share with fellow Lost fans. So immediately following "LaFleur," after discovering that Horace and Amy's baby was named Ethan, I contacted him again in the hopes that he would address that reveal. William is such a sweet person and a good sport; he responded quickly and enthusiastically!

So here is my brief follow-up interview with the Other Man we know so well. There are no spoilers (although I broke my own rule and pried/tried).
Jo: When you filmed the scene with Terry O'Quinn for the Season 5 premiere episode ("Because You Left"), did you know the context - i.e. that Locke had traveled back in time? Did you know which episode your scene was for?

WM
: I knew which episode it was for; the script revealed that Locke was in a new time, because of the plane.


Jo
: Do you think that Ethan would have shot and killed Locke if the time shift hadn't occurred? Personally, I believe that his gun would have jammed because the island wasn't ready for Locke to die...


WM
: Once again, you've out-Losted me! I love the gun-jamming idea. They might've fought to a draw and then gone to get a beer. The island's funny that way.


Jo
: When did you find out that your character was born on the island to Horace and Amy Goodspeed?


WM
: When I saw the episode! :)


Jo: Is it mere coincidence that you'd worked with Doug Hutchison (in Moola), who plays your on-screen Lost dad Horace?

WM
: I hope so, or our solar system is functioning like the island (and that's another conversation). I also worked with Doug on The Burrowers, which is out on DVD in April. The official trailer just came out online too!


[Side note: Clancy Brown (Desmond's former Swan bunk mate Kelvin Inman) is also in that film!]

Jo
: While I maintain a strictly spoiler-free site, I am wondering if you can at least tell us whether or not you know if you'll be appearing again this season...


WM
: Now you know I can't tell you that! :)


Jo
: You're currently filming
Prison Break. What can you tell us about that, and what other projects do you have on the horizon?

WM
: I'm in the last two episodes of Prison Break, which should air mid-to-late April. I also shot an indie about lacrosse (Warrior), and I have a couple of other projects on the horizon. It's all on my
blog!
I love that he found out about his character's history at the same time we all did, when "LaFleur" aired! From recurring roles to series regulars, those writers seem to keep the cast on their toes.

I would like to thank William for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer these questions! He is one of the most accessible, polite and genuine actors that I've ever encountered. I am heading to Los Angeles on Friday for Lost Weekend and was hoping to see him there, but alas - he will be out of town.

Here's hoping we learn more about Dharma baby Ethan before the end of Season 5! After all, he doesn't go by his given name (Goodspeed), he may be the only child to have been conceived and born on the island with success, he probably grew up spending time in Jacob's cabin (which daddy Horace built) and he seems to also be the only Dharma/Other to have survived Ben's 1992 Purge...

Monday, March 30, 2009

Revisiting "He's Our You" & Your Comments

For him the architect of all
Unroofed our planet's starlit hall;
Through voids unknown to worlds unseen
His clearer vision rose serene.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, "Benjamin Peirce"

I don't have time to post many photos to accompany this short second round of questions about "He's Our You," but I wanted to share some new thoughts before the next new episode on Wednesday. Thank you so much for your very insightful comments! I really enjoyed reading and responding to them every week.


BEN'S LIST

When Ben found out he had a spinal tumor (2004), he devised a plan to use Michael (with Walt as bait) to trap Jack so that he would perform the surgery to remove it. The four people on the list that he gave Ms. Klugh to give to Michael were Hurley, Jack, Kate and Sawyer...and all four are currently stuck in 1977 with young Ben. Will we find out that his list relates directly to his interaction with them in the 70's? He could have observed the love triangle between Jack, Kate and Sawyer - and remember how easy it was for Ben to manipulate all three once he had them in cages on Hydra Island. He would also figure out rather quickly that Hurley is the odd man out, but a useful messenger.

Nurby - I am so with you regarding the infamous breakfast on the beach between Ben and Kate shortly after she was captured in Season 3. We have yet to find out what was said, but I agree that it is still relevant and significant!

Josh - I used to think that Ben had no idea that Flight 815 would break apart above New Otherton in 2004, but Matthew Abaddon's admission about making sure that Locke was on that flight changed my mind entirely. Locke couldn't have been the only one who was purposefully placed on that fateful plane, and Ben's sarcastic remark about a spinal surgeon dropping from the sky almost convinces me that he knew Jack was coming. And now we know why Sayid was on that flight...

Upon a second viewing of the episode, this particular line of dialogue from Ben to Sayid grabbed my attention because of the double entendre: "You are capable of things that Other men aren't."

Kristiano1, I thought the same thing after watching again - that when older Ben went to Sayid in the Dominican Republic, it certainly seemed like he knew/remembered that Sayid had shot him as a child.

The security camera watching the jail cell would have captured young Ben's release of Sayid...Ben must have disconnected it.

Daddy Linus is a first class a-hole, but what will his reaction be when he finds out that his son was shot?

Ashlie wonders if perhaps Ben is also undead or ageless (like Alpert), and if course correction plays a role. Ben has certainly escaped death on many occasions, from the tumor to the relentless beatings at the hands of the Losties and Keamy, etc. Matt takes it one step further, and I love it - the island is constantly trying to kill Ben but fails to do so.

Geez - I always thought that Widmore was the economist, and not Ben. But Ben has said that he can't kill Widmore, and the economist was on Sayid's hit list, so I'm probably way off.

FARADAY

SisterCinematicallyCorrect - hi and welcome! As for Faraday's whereabouts, I believe he's still there in 1977...just secretly working and living on a different part of the island. We've seen him as Dharma Dan down below where they're building the Orchid, so I am guessing that he disappeared from Jack & co. to proceed with his secret spy time travel work (as outlined in his notebook).

I am actually quite looking forward to when Faraday and Pierre Chang/Dr. Candle join forces to create that video about the future.

ILANA

When she reveals herself to be a bounty hunter of sorts after kicking Sayid's ass (see photo below), she tells him "you're going to answer for what you've done." It sounds like retribution for changing the rules (shooting young Ben), not revenge for killing Avellino on the golf course.

I am starting to think along the same lines as lectric74, who believes that Ilana was more likely to have been hired by Widmore than Ben. Conversely, I also like Geez's idea that if she is working for Ben, perhaps Caesar is working for Widmore.

JACK

Will Janitor Jack work with or meet Deadbeat Dad Linus? There only seem to be a handful of Dharma janitors after all. Seems to me that Sheriff Sawyer assigned the Doc this position not as punishment, but as someone who can monitor Ben's dad (with or without knowing that is his task at hand).

When Juliet is staring out the window at Kate's house, she emerges with Jack. And when Sawyer knocks on Kate's door later that night, it seems like she has company. Are Jack and Kate shacking up again and playing house now too? Note to Freckles: it's not a competition.

OLDHAM

Is he a precursor to Jacob? He lives on the outskirts and also seems to have an aversion to modern technology.

Does Oldham die in Ben's 1992 Purge?

RADZINSKY

I am surprised that Sayid's mention of arrival on the island via plane did not ring a bell with Radzinsky (given that Jin recently demanded that he call all Dharma stations to find out if they'd seen an airplane land on the island).


SAYID

Why does he mention the Dharma stations/hatches in past tense? The Flame and the Swan were blasted and out of service, but not the Pearl.

"THE WAR" vs. "THE INCIDENT"

By now we know that the season finale is called "The Incident," but what of "the war" that Widmore warns Locke about? (thanks to SisterCinematicallyCorrect for reminding me about that!). Do Sayid's actions set off the war between the Losties and the Others? If so, where do the Hostiles and Richard Alpert fit in?

SoFutureGeneration believes that the future may have been changed by one of these events, as evidenced by the abandoned Dharmaville that Sun and Lapidus enter in an unknown era. So will we discover that the future is altered by Sayid shooting Ben, or by the Incident?
---

Apologies for the brevity. Feel free to comment on any of the above and I will try to address your thoughts in the next blog or two. More to come after this week's episode!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

LOST Anagrams: Updated

A little over a year ago, I posted a list of anagrams that may or may have been purposefully inserted into Lost episodes. There have been plenty of new possibilities, so here they are (new anagrams listed first, older ones below):

CANTON-RANIER
Reincarnation
[Ben's van for Locke/Bentham coffin transport]

CHARLIE HUME
Cure Him, Heal
[see my crazy Baby Charlie theory for relevance]

HIERONYMUS
Hume's Irony
[Charlie's middle name]

CHRISTIAN
Crash In It
[the coffin; perhaps the reanimation portal for him & Locke]

CLEMENTINE FORD
Conned, Life Term
[parents Sawyer & Cassidy are con artists]

HARPER STANHOPE
An Other Perhaps
[Goodwin's wife, the Others' therapist]

KEVIN JOHNSON
No Knives, John

"ONLY FOOLS ARE ENSLAVED BY TIME AND SPACE"
Bones of Nadlers May Lay Lost In Deep Cave
[quote played backward from Room 23 brainwashing video;
Rose & Bernard Nadler may be Adam & Eve skeletons discovered in Season 1]

RAY SHEPHARD
Hydra Has Rep
Hydra Seraph
[Dharma station on smaller island where Jack was held in empty aquarium; perhaps granddad used to be Dharma]

THERESA SPENCER
Each Represents
[mystery woman from Faraday's past, comatose]

WESTeRFIELd HOTeL
We First To Hell
[anagram from illuminated letters on sign; hotel where Ben killed Locke]

ANTHONY COOPER/ADAM SEWARD
Sawyer, the con man, a poor dad
[Locke's dad, the real Sawyer]


BENJAMIN LINUS
Blame in Jin, Sun

DANIELLE ROUSSEAU
A Real Lie Used On Us

ETHAN ROM
Other Man
The Roman

GARY TROUP
Purgatory
[author of Bad Twin, manuscript found on beach]

HENRY GALE MINNESOTA
See An Other Man Lying
[Ben used the name of deceased hot air balloonist]

HERARAT Aviation
Her a Rat
Earhart
[Juliet's last stop before taking sub to island]

HOFFS/DRAWLAR Funeral Parlor
Flash Forward
[Bentham's temporary storage after death]

MITTELOS BioScience
Lost Time
[Alpert's recruitment front]

MORIAH VINEYARDS
Harmed Visionary
[Desmond's brief monastery home; where he met Penny]

NAOMI DORRIT
Raid Monitor
[Hired by Matthew Abaddon to bring Freighter Four to island]

Obviously the possibilities are endless, and very few anagrams have actually been confirmed. But the fun is in the speculation! I will update this list before Season Six.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

LOST Season 5 Finale Date, Time & Title

(photos courtesy of ABC)

Because I've received numerous inquiries about the date, time and title of the Season 5 finale of Lost, I wanted to provide information about all remaining episodes:
April 1: Episode 5.11, "Whatever Happened, Happened"

April 8: Episode 5.12, "Dead is Dead"

April 15: Episode 5.13, "Some Like it Hoth"

April 22: repeat

April 29: Episode 5.14, "The Variable" [the 100th episode!]

May 6: Episode 5.15, "Follow the Leader"

May 13: Episodes 5.16-5.17, "The Incident, Parts 1 & 2" [season finale]
For those of you who are annoyed to see another repeat in the schedule, I will simply say this...they have given us an intense and excellent season thus far. The cast, crew, story and overall production value of this show far exceeds almost every other show on television week after week. Let's be patient. I'm confident that it will be worth the wait. If the last four season finales are any indication, we are in for quite a ride.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to remain spoiler-free, but so far so good. Thank you very much for not posting or emailing me spoilers!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

LOST, Episode 5.10 - "He's Our You"

I still can't find the meaning of the face I keep on seeing
Was she real or am I dreaming?
Did the sound of your name TURN A WHEEL, strike a FLAME in me?
The Jackson 5, "Torture"

I'm sure I speak for most of you when I say...wow. Again. Although we knew that the Little Linus/Sayid connection in 70's Dharmaville could potentially put the mini manipulator in danger, I was still quite surprised when Sayid pulled the trigger.

Other than that, I really enjoyed the return of traditional flashbacks and the lack of time shifts in this episode.

AND, we yelled out (to no one in particular) when we saw Sayid first meet Ilana; it was in Nobu Waikiki - we had drinks at that very bar last month, and the bartender told us that Naveen Andrews was recently there filming a scene! For the record, I did not see MacCutcheon. And yes, I looked even though I realize that it is a fictional liquor.

But my head is spinning like a dislodged Geronimo Jackson record, so let's get started with the thoughts and theories...

ANN ARBOR, MI

When I heard Radzinsky talk about calling Ann Arbor, my first thought was that he meant Pierre Chang (Dr. Marvin Candle), because Chang mentions he's from there in the Comic-Con 08 Barracks video. However, I then recalled that the DeGroots founded the Dharma Initiative in 1970 when they were working on their PhD's at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (as mentioned in the Swan orientation film). They are also seen in the Pearl orientation film.

AMY

Still don't trust her. I am starting to believe that she's a spy for Richard Alpert and the Hostiles, that the picnic outside of the sonic fence with her first husband Paul was a set up, and that she knew Sayid wasn't a Hostile even though she pretended to be fearful of him.

ANNIE

Is Ben's childhood girlfriend still living in Dharmaville? If not, where did she go?

BEN

It seems rather obvious that Ben hired Ilana to get Sayid on that Ajira flight, given his first-hand knowledge about Sayid's weakness for hot mysterious women. Also, Ben would have been the only one to know that Sayid killed Avellino, so he chose that particular victim's name for Ilana's bounty hunter cover. I wonder if Ben also hired the Marshall to get Kate onto Flight 815...

Does the island let Ben die? In the future, he gets a spinal tumor - but it's never really been clear whether or not the island protects him.

How will Ben's "death" affect his future relationship with Richard Alpert if young Ben really thought that Sayid was a Hostile? Could it be that Alpert comes to respect, trust and work for Ben after he witnesses him come back to life?

It is interesting to note that no one intervenes to save or help young Ben. Not Alpert, future Locke, Smokey, etc.

Is there any significance to the fact that in the future, Ben is unconscious after being knocked out by Sun's oar, and in the past, Ben is unconscious after being shot by Sayid? I am far too tired to analyze whether it is a purposeful paradox or irrelevant coincidence...

HURLEY

I've always said that I'm more likely to trust a chef who looks like they eat (no offense, Giada De Laurentiis), so I love that Hurley is a Dharma cook.


ILANA

In retrospect, she didn't seem all that concerned about Sayid's whereabouts once the Ajira flight landed on the island and he'd disappeared. If she was indeed hired by Ben, perhaps she was told that might happen (even if Ben didn't give specific details how or why).

Now that she's on the island, what will her role be? Spy for Ben? Or was her purpose served, and will she meet her fate a la Naomi?

KATE

So why did Freckles return? I don't think it was for Sawyer or to update his favor request. I'm assuming it has to do with Aaron. Whomever has him probably made the trade by threatening his life unless she returned to the island.

When Sawyer went to her house, was Jack inside? Is that why she looked behind her and then shut the door to speak with him outside? Did she pull her usual I-can't-have-him-so-I'll-sleep-with-you trick again?

MILES


Donde esta?

If he is Pierre Chang's son, and he is somehow able to communicate that fact to his father (even though Miles would also be there as a baby at the same time)...is that what convinces Chang to believe in the island's abilities, time shifts, etc., and lead him to create the Barracks video? Many of us have assumed that Faraday was the one who informs Chang about the future because we think it's his voice behind the camera, but Miles may have played a role as well.

OLDHAM

Bravo to the casting staff on Lost for choosing William Sanderson to play Oldham. He is the king of creepy awesome, as any Deadwood fans would know from his underrated role as Farnum.

Given the strict rules of "the truce" and the sonic fence, why is Oldham allowed to live on his own on the outskirts of Dharmaville? Clearly he is not afraid of anyone or anything, and although they brush him off as crazy, he holds some power over the Others. Could he be Jacob?

RADZINSKY

Two words: loose cannon.

SAYID

In The Economist, Ben said the following to Sayid: "These people don’t deserve our sympathies. Need I remind you what they did the last time you thought with your heart instead of your gun?" I love that Sayid used his gun this time. (I am obviously so not in favor of shooting a kid; just Ben in general).

What ever happened to Sayid's brother?

Add Sayid to the long list of Losties with daddy issues.

Should I now be concerned about the fate of favorite male Lost character of all time? Will the island/Jacob/Alpert avenge Ben's "death" and send Smokey to take care of Sayid? I seriously hope not.

[Side note: if the PTB (powers that be) kill off either Sayid or Juliet (my top 2)...I will be very disappointed. Reminder: please keep your comments spoiler-free; if you've heard anything about the future of any character, please do not share that information here. Thank you in advance!]

WIDMORE

Ben was having Sayid kill all of Widmore's associates. Not because they were a threat to Sayid, any of the other Oceanic 6 or those left on the island...but because Widmore changed the rules when Alex was killed.

PARALLELS
  • Ben brought Sayid a book when he was in jail, Locke brought Ben a book when he was being held beneath his New Otherton house.
  • Sawyer watched as Oldham "tortured" Sayid via hallucinogenic drug while tied up to a tree, Sayid tied up Sawyer to a tree and tortured him in Season 1 to find out where he was hiding Shannon's inhalers.
  • Ben set a Dharma van on fire to distract everyone and set Sayid free, Walt set the raft on fire in Season 1 because he didn't want to leave the island. On second thought, the only similarity is fire...
A Separate Reality (Ben's book)

It is about apprenticeship, which clearly ties into Richard Alpert's relationship with Ben. But there is also the use of psychotropic plants, which reminds me of Locke's Season 3 sweat lodge paste and Oldham's truth serum used on Sayid tonight.


THE FUTURE

Faraday has reiterated that they can't change the future; that what happened, happened. Even though he's been a few sandwiches short of a picnic since Big Red's death, I'm still following his train of thought. He has the infamous notebook of secrets after all, from thirty years of time travel back and forth from the island to...a separate reality.

That being said, will Sayid's actions have any impact on Ben's future purge or "the incident?"

NOT ENTIRELY CRAZY THEORIES OF THE NIGHT


1. Just as he did when he saved Ben's life by removing the spinal tumor, Jack will save young Ben's life.

2. Little Linus transforms into Lethal Linus after being shot by Sayid as a kid. His entire purpose and plan are altered by this...incident. Including his lifelong obsession with Juliet.

3. Radzinsky is panicked that Sayid saw the model of the Swan (even though it's unclear whether Sayid even registered what he saw) because it will become or house an island wormhole/exit. We know that whomever turns the Frozen Donkey wheel winds up in Tunisia, but perhaps there is more than one way to (time) travel from the island. Entering the numbers into the computer directly relates to the wormhole and the electromagnetic field above or surrounding the island, which is why Hawking emphasized to Desmond that the most important thing he would do in his life is push those buttons.

---
That about does it for the first round of initial thoughts about "He's Our You." I have no doubt that there will be a second round sooner than later, given the magnitude of that last scene and the resulting ramifications for the remainder of the season and series.

I appreciate your patience and eyes. Thank you for reading and sharing; as an Anonymous reader astutely recognized in a recent comment...I love receiving and reading your feeding more than anything. It is why I continue to analyze and discuss Lost with great enthusiasm.

Enjoy the rest of your week, rewatch the episode (or at least "the scene") and stay tuned for more lucid theories soon!