Widmore and Ben

Isn't it interesting how this last episode, "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham" contrasts Widmore and Ben? For one brief hour, they seemed so completely polarized that you could be sure Widmore was the "good guy." Yet we know he's a cocky, greedy, and ambitious. And he got exiled from the island! That doesn't happen just because you were late for campfire songs! In truth the only thing that could potentially deem him is the fact he has (had?) a daughter which makes him a little closer than human. Compared to Ben, who has been completely transparent about the fact he cares only for himself, for a moment in time, Widmore might have won our affections with the kindness he showed to Locke.

Personally, though I doubt this is an intended connection, I remembered back in my high school days a little computer game called Myst (hey! wasn't that about an island too?) In that game their were two brothers locked away and you inevitably had to choose which of the evils you would help. So having to choose between the two of them, who would you side with?

Why they went back

I am going to make a theory for tomorow night's episode - feel free to bash it down with logic and reason!

We've all agreed that Sayid, Hurley, and Kate bought into the plane-ride-back-to-the-island idea way too easily after much resistance. After giving it some thought, this is the best conclusion I can think of.

All of them were approached by Locke - that didn't do much. All were approached by Jack and Ben - we saw how that went over. My guess is that an elusive character we know next to nothing about is the key. That character is Matthew Abbondon, the "Oceanic rep." I have absolutely no facts to support this theory other than he is an intimidating character (also see The Wire and Fringe for fantastic acting by Lance Reddick). Seriously, I do just about anything he says after losing a stare-down contest! I think this would be a great way to answer a lot of the mystery around this character, who probably works for Widmore in all actuality.

Unless everyone becomes convinced by a series of bad dreams/hallucinations/visits from Ana Lucia, I think this theory has potential!

Sayid in Handcuffs

Kim came up with a good theory that I can't take as my own. I asked her to post it, but apparently she would rather read Pride & Prejudice than blog about sci-fi dramas in her spare time. So I hacked into her account and will explain her thoughts as best as I can:
-JS

It is a mystery at this point what brings Sayid onto the plane after being so strongly against following Ben and his ideas earlier in the season. Kim believes that Ben, in his determination to get everyone on the flight, sold Sayid out on all the killings he committed. Who would have more evidence to give to officials than Ben? Sayid is now being extradited for his crime. This not only gets Sayid on the plane, but allows one of the former conditions to be present to help with "the crash" (the condition of Kate being extradited with detective-who-gets-his-leg-chopped-off-with-a-plane-part in season one). Sayid seems to willingly accept his fate to be taken on the Ajera flight as a choice to go back to the island instead of a life in jail.

What would get them on a that particular flight to Guam? Either Ben arranged with one of his people or connections to "extradite" Sayid on flight 316, or he is actually being extradited to Guam where he very well could have assassinated someone.

Addional Thoughts on 316

New Dharma Station: How cool was the scene in the basement of the church? My initial thoughts went to the lamppost from the C.S. Lewis classic TLWATW that signaled the gateway back to the wardrobe in England in the book.

Doubting Thomas: The sacrificial references in this episode are clear to be sure. I was interested in Ben's allusion to the apostle Thomas. Thomas was willing to follow at first, in fact very devoted through Christ's life, yet most noted for his moments of doubt. Ben seems to relate Jack to Thomas. Has Jack already done his share of doubting, or is there more to come in the future? My guess is the later. We can be pretty sure we will see Locke alive in some way again on the island. I predict that Jack will doubt his existence.

Loose Ends?: What are the loose ends Ben needs to "tie up"? A loose end I can remember from last season was Ben's promise to Widmore to kill Penny. Ben is at the docks when he calls Jack.

John Gets New Kicks: Interesting that Jack's "gran-dad" Ray is on the run around the time the plane is getting ready to take off. Why would Ray pack Christian Shepard's shoes as one of the few items in his tiny suitcase for his big getaway? I IMDB'd the character Ray (his actual name is Raymond) to find he is in a lot of movies and TV shows. I'm willing to bet we haven't seen the last of "Ray" in this series. Do I sense a possible lineage?

Help Wanted: Ajera Airlines: Is it just me, or do you remember an Ajera Airlines product mentioned on a previous episode of Lost? Please help me figure this one out, it's killing me. I can't seem to find it on the web/am afraid of spoilers if I would look too far into a site with the hits "Ajera" and "Lost."

"Jack, I wish you would have believed."

316

What a well played out episode. I'm still moving my brain around how elaborate the who set up to get back became. Didn't it feel almost too easy? After all that struggle Ben had, suddenly everyone is there and willing. Not long ago, Hurley was in jail - Kate seemed to have no plan to ever return, and Ben got himself jacked up by someone. How did it all suddenly pull together (in less than 36 hours, mind you)?

I'm sure you probably noticed the John 3:16 theme, which as any good christian (or basketball fan) knows is all about sacrifice and putting yourself in someone else's place. Isn't that exactly what we witnessed in this episode? For example, the obvious of course is that Jack had to give up something of his father's to give to Locke. Hurley's caring around a guitar. Who does that remind you of? Sayid is escorted by a US marshall. Who does that remind you of? It seemed like each of the Oceanic 6 needed to make a connection to the original plan trip. Where there any other connections made?

In unrelated news, I hope that in the time-travel, Frank Lapidus will completely grow back his goatee and find a Hawaiian shirt...

This Place is Death

First off, this was a great episode. So much happened it’s hard to know where to begin.

I am trying to figure out if the skipping the island is doing is random or purposed by some force aka The Island.

If it is the island it seems to be working in very inconsistent ways that would lead me to believe there is more than one force at work.

For instance, when Jin stopped Rousseau from going into the hole by the temple it really got me thinking. What would have happened if Jin had not been at that place and time? Rousseau would have most likely gone the way of her party members that got “sick” and had to be killed. It is apparent that Robert (Rousseau’s boyfriend) knew much more than he should have and was being highly influenced by some force (the island?). He wanted Rousseau dead. So did the island want her dead? If it was by island’s fate that Jin was placed where he was then there seems to be some conflicting forces trying to keep her alive for some future purpose.

How about Charlotte, Dharma and Daniel? Very intriguing.

I have a few questions to throw out there for additional thoughts:

Will the island skip through time anymore now that the wheel is not dislodged anymore?
Who or what is Christian Shepherd? (that guy freaks me out)

Hume

As I'm doing this week's classwork, I'm exploring text of different philosophers - one of such being David Hume. Lost has provided me with a new-found respect for understanding philosophies, and given that Desmond is my favorite character, I thought I would share:

"Every event must have a cause..."

Simple, yet given this show - how completely appropriate!

Hurley Bird

I started reading the book Island by Aldous Huxley. This book would be pretty cool on its own, but with its MANY tie-ins to Lost, it makes for fantastic reading.

One parallel I've made is that on this island, birds talk. Its not like you can carry a conversation with them, but one of the early founders of the civilization taught birds to repeat a word or short phrase as a pep talk or encouragement. This made me think of that big green bird from season 1 and 2 finales that sounded as if it was saying Hurley's name. Neat, huh?

Jughead

As I sat waiting through six, yes six, screaming children just to get a hair cut, I was able to do some profound thinking. Let's hope you didn't draw the same conclusions so that I can WOW you as well.

Last week's episode was called "Jughead," refering to the bomb that was on the island circa 1940s-70s. When Faraday inspects the bomb, his grand advice before flashing away is to bury it in concrete. Now jump back to Season 2, episode 3-ish. Jack and Sayid are in the Swan hatch in some crawl space checking out an area heavily covered with concrete. Sayid says last time he'd heard of concrete poured this thick was Chernobyl. Hurray! I figured out where the bomb went!

Now my big question, because I'm compelled to say the bomb is slightly more significant than those two isolated events, is how did the implosion of the hatch affect this weapon?