First reactions immediately following the finale were good, although I complained a little bit that I didn't learn as much as I thought I would. I was expecting to see more dealing with the Black Rock and Richard Alpert. It seemed empty, as if we didn't see everybody enough. But as more time goes by, I am realizing that we actually learned a hell of a lot in "The Incident." So much it scares me!
Most important thing I want to get out of the way before rambling is that we got to know Jacob. We've heard his name a lot, and we know that he is the big cheese, but we didn't even know whether he was a spirit, the island, or a human being. Still don't, but at least we have a body to attach the name to. We don't have a name for the gentleman he was talking to in the beginning, all we know that it was a hell of a long time ago (statue in place, Black Rock offshore). This man wants to kill Jacob but can't, and is forever trying to find a loophole to do so. Why? I don't know, he seems to not want Jacob to bring people to the island. Their conversation:
LOND MAN: I take it you're here 'cause of the ship.
GRAY-HAIRED MAN: I am. How did they find the Island?
BLOND MAN: You'll have to ask 'em when they get here.
GRAY-HAIRED MAN: I don't have to ask. You brought them here. Still trying to prove me wrong, aren't you?
BLOND MAN: You are wrong.
GRAY-HAIRED MAN: Am I? They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same.
BLOND MAN: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.
I'm not going to begin to theorize about this scene, but I know what people are saying about the "gray-haired man." During the finale studious people immediately identified Esau, Jacob's brother in the Book of Genesis. They were fraternal twins. Brings up a book published in 2006 and referenced to in LOST alternate reality games called "The Bad Twin." I don't remember the whole story of that book, I'm pretty sure the shows' writers have at least mentioned it a few times. People talked about it when it came out finding it interesting for LOST plot and themes but I never wanted to read it, not thinking it was canon enough. I might read it now (especially when I have to wait EIGHT months until Season Six starts). Click the links and read about Esau, see if you see anything relevant or possibly relevant to LOST.Immediate revelations:
- Christian Shephard was possibly "Esau." I always assumed he was Jacob or an entity representing Jacob, and good. This is a cool revelation because, if you remember, Jack went through the cargo on the ship and couldn't find his father's body in Season One, episode five entitled, "White Rabbit." Mystery solved? Does Esau need bodies to get around?
- Jacob's cabin was probably Esau's cabin. The ash ring around the cabin was a barrier, but for what? I immediately think about a prison, as if Jacob had imprisoned Esau in it. But then how did he get Christian's body, if Hurley didn't break the ash ring until Season 4? (I heard someone else say he is the one who ruined it, I'll have to rewatch though). Maybe this is why the Dharma Initiative and Richard's group had an agreement to bury the dead. To prevent Esau from inhabiting them? Was he the one who said, "Help Me" to Locke?
3 comments:
I'm sure you read docartz, but I found this entry very interesting
http://www.docarzt.com/lost/lost-in-myth/marc-oromaners-lost-in-myth-follow-the-leader-can-changing-one-moment-change-everything/
esp this part-
"There was actually a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode titled “Cause and Effect” that covered this very theme. In it, the Enterprise is caught in a time rift and the crew keeps making the same choice to get out of it. The ship, along with the crew, are all destroyed but then loop back to the same moment where they made the wrong decision. Eventually, the android character, Data, notices a strange sequence of numbers in the cards he’s holding during a game of poker that soon show up everywhere. Data comes to believe that it’s his subconscious talking to him from one of the previous loops. Repeating numbers? Perhaps we aren’t seeing the first time the Losties have gone through this series of events, perhaps it has been going on for an eternity and the universe, aka, the island is giving them clues on how to get out of it and get time flowing again. Maybe this loop extends further back than the 815 crash and explains why all the Losties are connected-the universe is conspiring to bring everyone together so that things can happen as they are meant to. Interestingly, this Star Trek TNG episode also brings up themes of mysterious whispers and characters getting headaches, just like Lost."
I totally remember that episode. The whole numnbers thing gave me the chills, and its crazy to think about that maybe the plane has crashed a million times. This also ties in with the opening scene you quoted from "The Incident".
"It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress." This line is haunting me. I lends credence to the "stuck in a paradox time loop" theory. (Read docartz, thanks nms) Each time we repeat, we make a little progress toward breaking the loop. Like the STNG episode. But, if so, why did Esau (great name, why not?) act surprised when the ship was arriving, like it was new this time? Because Richard was on the ship, he is new this time, and he is what provides for the loop hole, which led to ... what? Next season, I think we are going to go through the whole loop again, but nwith a key change, that will break the loop. Or not.
Reminds me also of The Matrix series. Have you watched "The Matrix reloaded" recently? Similar infinite looping of parallel universes. That film is very under-rated, in my opinion, what a huge combination of creativity by many people went into it. It is great. Like Lost. And Star Trek (when someone puts effort into the writing, that is.) Away.
OK... I am trying to wrap my head around the whole 'inhabiting bodies' idea. With the discovery of Locke's suit-clad dead body we need to consider a few possibilities:
1. Esau is now inhabiting Locke's body with which he convinced Ben to kill Jacob (or was it Jacob who convinced Ben?). If it is Esau then how can he inhabit a body we now know still exists?
2. An alive Locke has transported himself through time with a reason to kill Jacob that we have yet to learn.
3. Esau has inhabited Locke's body in the future and returned to kill Jacob.
Or maybe Esau was just a one hit wonder of a character...
Alright- so I am rambling... sorry.
It just seems so damn convinient to throw in the Esau character this close to the end of the series
so I am going to stick with my recent prediction: Richard Alpert is the true manifested guardian of the island.
Two characters has traveled through time & space to visit the castaways in the past: Jacob and Richard. One to recruit... and one to console. Why?
And another thought:
Richard Alpert recruited for the Dharma Initiative back in season 2 (He was the one who brought Juliette to the island). So at some point between Juliette's apparant detonation of the bomb and Ben's mass murder of the DI: the hatch needs to be built, Desmond has to man it and Richard has to become a high-up DI recruiter- and then later rejoin the Other's before the younger Ben kills off the DI.
Someone please correct me if I have my facts wrong.
I think Richard is moving the pieces on the island game of chess.
There is a lot to wrap up in the final 17 hours...
Away.
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