The Freighter Four, Furthermore...

I don't know about you, but I have trouble sleeping and focusing the day after a new episode of Lost airs. My mind is constantly processing the possibilities. So I thank you for coming here, and letting me entertain you with my wacky theories and probing questions every week!

Here are additional thoughts about episode 4.2, "Confirmed Dead."

This was the first episode to feature flashbacks that occurred AFTER the crash of Flight 815. It was also the first time that flashback locations were provided on screen (i.e. Inglewood, CA).

The news reported that all of the passengers from Flight 815 were "confirmed dead," presumably by Oceanic and the nefarious Matthew Abbadon. They had to have the fake wreckage and plan for all of this in place long before that flight took off from Sydney. I am now convinced that every single passenger on that flight was hand-picked and that the crash was elaborately orchestrated by Oceanic. The question remains...was all of it necessary just to get to Ben?

BEN

Why announce that you have a man on the freighter in front of one of the crew? At that point, Charlotte still had her phone. Was he aware that his mole was overtaking the ship at that moment, that it wouldn't matter if she'd called to warn them? Yes, because as we hear later, Minkowski can't come to the phone when Daniel calls him on the freighter.

If the two groups (Team Jack Rescue and Team Locke Safety) intertwine again, will Ben attempt to manipulate Sun and become obsessed with her future child? Will he confront Rose about her island cancer cure?

BEN'S MYSTERY MOLE

So if Ben's mole knows that the Freighter Four are after him, at what point does this guy do something about it? If he works for Ben, shouldn't he take care of this mess?

JULIET

I just loved the look on Juliet's face when she, Kate and Jack walked up the hill and saw the helicopter for the first time (see photo above). It's her "holy sh*t, I AM going to see my sister again" smile, one that we're very rarely graced with.

LOCKE

Locke's dad, Anthony Cooper, actually wound up saving his life. Had he not stolen his son's kidney, Locke would have died from Ben's gunshot. Oh, the irony of it all.

NAOMI

I don't count her among the Freighter Four, because I'm not entirely convinced that her primary objective is to find Ben. FYI.

WALT

Locke specifically mentioned seeing and talking to Walt, and his growth spurt. Why on earth do those people follow him without question? No one seemed particularly surprised to hear this declaration, and yet they all know he left with Michael on a boat a while ago.

THE OCEANIC 6

If Desmond, Juliet, Ben, Alex, Karl and Rousseau get rescued, are they the Supplementary 6? None of them were on Flight 815, so is their true story told?

Are we being (mis)led to believe that Sayid and Juliet are part of the Oceanic 6 because they find the helicopter with Kate and Jack? I tend to think that Sayid might be, but not Juliet.

STAR WARS REFERENCES

Many of Lost's writers and producers are major Star Wars geeks. There were a few nods in that direction in this episode....Sawyer referred to Ben as Yoda. Charlotte's find was in Tunisia, which is where Lucas filmed scenes for Tatooine. Wow, now I sound like a giant nerd.

THE FREIGHTER FOUR

How long after the disappearance and actual crash of Flight 815 was the fake wreckage discovered? At what point was this team assembled, and why did the timing of the mission to find Ben coincide with the crash?

Naomi told a few of the survivors that she was there for Desmond, which is why she had his photo. But the rest of her crew said their mission was to find Ben. SO...was Naomi taking care of some side business for Daddy Widmore simultaneously while on mission for Matthew Abbadon and Oceanic?

The four choices for this mission are interesting. I understand the necessity for a pilot (Frank), a ghostbuster (Miles) and a physicist (Daniel). But an anthropologist (Charlotte)? She was probably sent there to explore what's left of the Dharma stations and hatches after Ben's purge.

DANIEL FARADAY

I did some research, because as Ving13 (one of my astute readers) pointed out, Michael Faraday was a famous physicist and an expert in electromagnetism. Daniel talked about the light on the island, and the real Faraday established that magnetism could affect rays of light. Let's not forget about the huge magnetic force that was beneath the original hatch, and that when Desmond didn't punch in the numbers one day in that hatch, Flight 815 was broken apart and pulled down from the sky above.

Will we find out in a future flashback that Daniel was also a patient at the same mental institution that Hurley, Libby and Locke's mom were at one point?

FRANK THE PILOT

Um...if he safely landed the helicopter, where did he sustain those injuries?

Will Jack and co. ever reveal how his friend Seth (the Flight 815 pilot) really died, via Black Smoke Monster?

MILES

The neighborhood in Los Angeles where Miles went to exorcise Mrs. Gardner's grandson looked similar to the one that Jack visited when he went to the funeral home in last season's flash forward (and please don't interpret this statement as racist; I grew up in Southern CA and am very familiar with cities like Inglewood). Should we add Miles to the list of people who might be in that damn coffin? He certainly isn't family or friend to Jack...

Miles told Mrs. Gardner that he found out about her grandson's murder from a 'buddy at the police station.' That has to be Mike Walton, Ana Lucia's former partner, the one who interrogated Hurley in his flash forward last week. [aside: note his name...interesting that Ana Lucia was killed by Michael, who had a son named Walt]

If Miles has the ability to communicate with the dead, what will he make of Locke, who should have been dead several times over? Or Mikhail, should he surface again? Or Richard Alpert, who seems immortal?

EVEN CRAZIER THEORIES FOR THE WEEK

We all just assumed that Ben literally had a man on the freighter working on his behalf. But I think it's a woman, and it's his childhood girlfriend Annie. We haven't seen her since before the purge, and I have a feeling he arranged for her to return home via sub before he killed the rest of the Dharma folks. They've stayed in touch through the years, and he somehow manipulated her into working undercover for him on the ship.

Claire and Aaron were not rescued, and were not part of the Oceanic 6. If they had been, Hurley would have taken care of both of them for Charlie. If not financially (because his family blew through his millions after assuming he'd died), then emotionally. If Claire and Aaron had also been rescued, Hurley probably wouldn't have returned to a state of mental instability. No matter what the Oceanic 6 lied about, Hurley's guilt probably stems from the fact that he got off the island but those two were left behind. Charlie returned from the dead to remind Hurley that "they" need him. Claire and Aaron.

The Freighter Four were ALL supposed to be on Flight 815. We know for sure that Frank was scheduled to pilot that flight but Seth Norris did instead. That is also why Daniel was crying, and why Charlotte seemingly refused to believe the news about the wreckage in any language. But I can't figure out why Miles was supposed to be on that flight.
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Phew. I am not done, but I need to go start the weekend. I will probably post even more theories in the next few days. Thank you so much for all of your comments and referrals! I absolutely love blogging about Lost and appreciate your readership.

Have a great weekend!

- Jo