I have stuck with Lost through five loooonnng, teeth-gritting series and have very nearly excommunicated myself from the Lost faith several times. So far, Season Five has really been living up to expectations, but it must be said, it is even more head-frying than usual. You have to watch it with someone else in the room so that if you miss a key plot element, reference to past shows/characters or visual metaphor (and there’s no bloody shortage of them on the programme, let’s face it), you’ve got someone to poke in the ribs for an instant explanation, and vice versa.
10 questions I have about Lost so far:
1) After six episodes this seasons, what year are they in?
2) What happened to Ben? (He was all bloodied and wearing a sling on the plane)
3) Who’s the Asian dude who commiserated with Jack at the airport about Locke and was also on the plane?
4) Why is Sayid in cuffs and being escorted by a cop?
5) What did Kate do with Aaron?
6) Why is Jack’s granddad being introduced after, um, a gazillion episodes?
7) How did the Dharma Initiative even find out there was a time-travelling island?
8. Why the hell is Frank Lapidis flying the plan?
9) Why did Hurley have a guitar case with him?
10) Why is Jin wearing a Dharma jumpsuit?
Anthea McTeirnan
Croí na Duibhlinn
Aoife Barry
Aoife McLysaght
Arlene Hunt
Attracta McCarthy-McKenna
clairehennessy
Ann Cronin
Amanda Brown
Eleanor Fitzsimons
Edel Coffey
Anna Carey
Lauren Murphy
Jennie Ridyard
Jude Leavy
Hazel Katherine Larkin
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Leigh
Lisa McInerney
Laura Slattery
Maman Poulet
Megan McGurk
Clare Kleinedler
Molly
Rosita Boland
Catherine Crichton
Sinéad Gleeson
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Susan Daly
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Nuala Ní Chonchúir
all theories, don’t forget…
1) 70′s at the height of the Dharma occupation of the island
2) he tried to kill Penny
3) not sure who he is, but he served as Sayid’s proxy as per Mrs Hawking’s instructions
4) because he is Kate’s proxy
5) I think she gave him to Cassidy (who had Sawyer’s kid)
6) because he’s Jacob?
7) thanks to someone who had been cast off the island, possibly Charles Widmore
8) because his agent did a deal with the makers of Lost that Jeff Fahey be shown sans beard
9) Charlie’s proxy
10) Because to him, 3 years have passed since the last jump and he now works for the DI as security (shown by his uniform)
Remember, the term “Lost” refers to the viewers as much as the cast….IMHO it wouldn’t be the excellent story-telling machine that it is without all the mystery and carefully-planned reveals.
Remember, the term “Lost” refers to the viewers as much as the cast
And the writers too by the looks of it.
@JL I sense a bit of cop out by the writers. It’s like, “we’ve backed ourselves into a corner!”, “the continuity is screwed!” “What’ll we do, agghhhh!” so they make it up as they go along. The proxy thing is the best example of that. It’s a poor plot device IMO.
@Who the flippin’ heck is Cassidy?
@Mark, see writer’s cop out comment above
Please. I just can’t/ I watched 4 episodes last night and mmy head was ready to pop. I am so close to giving up on it.
That was definitely one of the crazier episodes.
I’d pretty much go along with JL Pagano’s answers with a couple of minor adjusments:
1 – 70′s on island, but 2008 off island. Could be completely wrong of course.
2 – Yup, he tried to kill Penny and Desmond kicked his ass.
3 – Sayid’s proxy maybe (thanks for the term JL, I couldn’t think of it!)
4 – Kate’s proxy
5 – I think Kate might have given Aaron to the granny out of pure guilt, but it was bizarre the way they moved on from it so quickly. Surely Jack would be questioning where the hell his nephew has gone, but no, he goes in for the shag instead.
6 – convenient way to get the shoes in but I’m hoping there’s more because that’s far too easy.
7 – I’d say they had some interest in magnetic forces and healing powers and somehow this drew them to the island. Mebbe.
8 – Because he’s a hot ould fella. I would.
9 – Charlie’s proxy indeed.
10 – Working for the dharma iniative from his last jump.
Oo that was fun! Even though I stole most of my answers from JL!
Gather round, my dears, and I shall tell you a tale.
1) Sometime in the 70s (i.e. Dharma in full flow) but it’s not certain that they’ll stay there.
2) Before he left the church, Ben told Jack he had to go deliver on a promise he made to an old friend. You’ll recall that at the end of last season, Ben promised Charles Widmore that he was going to kill Penny as revenge for Keamy killing Alex. As of the start of the episode, Ben knew Desmond was in LA, having arrived on a boat. Then Ben turns up at the dock, looking like he’s been in a fight…
3) Middle-eastern dude is probably unimportant, and was only put in to highlight the conincidences that were building up (he sympathises with Jack’s bereavement after overhearing Jack talking about loading the coffin onto the plane – Sayid did the same before they boarded 815).
4) He’s been wanted for murder since helping Hurley escape. Him being escorted aboard in cuffs is another coincidence (reflecting Kate being brought onto 815) and is also an ironic comment about not being able to escape fate (which of course he tried to do by refusing to return to the island).
5) I originally assumed Sun kidnapped him, but obviously that’s not what happened. File this under Juicy Mystery.
6) Jack’s grandad = narrative convenience. Too much of that in this episode, I reckon.
7) Hasn’t been explained, but we know the US military knew about it/stumbled on it in the 50s, around a decade before Dharma started up. Also, Dharma is affiliated with the Hanso Foundation, which is/was run by Alvar Hanso, whose ancestor Magnus Hanso was the captain of the Black Rock (the old-timey ship that’s dumped in the middle of the island).
8. As with 3 and 4, it’s to do with fate and recurrence and whatnot. Remains to be seen if the white flash transported him back to the island along with the Oceanic 6 (but if it did, interesting times for the remaining passengers on the plane…).
9) He may have brought it in a deliberate attempt to recreate the original conditions of the crash (seeing as Charlie’s guitar case was a very significant object in the first season) or it’s just coincidence that he brought it (but again, a deliberate reference to Charlie).
10) We’re obviously missing some scenes, which will no doubt be filled in in future episodes. The simplest answer is that the survivors were timeshifted to (probably) the 70s, while Dharma was in full swing. If the flashes stopped when John turned the wheel then they’re trapped there, and the obvious thing for them to do is to infiltrate Dharma for food and shelter. Also recall from the start of this season that Faraday was present while the Orchid was being built, which we know happened after John fell down the well shaft.
(That was an immensely pleasant 20 minutes’ nerdery. I do love a good story.)
Lottie, I gave up about two episodes into this series. I just don’t trust the writers! I think they’re just making it all up as they go along.
Hi, my name is JL and I am a Lostaholic.
There, I said it.
re : the writers making it up as they go along, they have apparently addressed this accusation in an interview.
Seemingly, in Series 1, the orginal strandees on the island came across two skeletons laying down side by side in a cave. According to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, when they eventually reveal who those bodies were and how they got there, it will prove they had the overall narrative planned out from the start.
Of course it remains to be seen, but just to let you know I am an uber-Lost nerd and have trawled the forums and listened to the podcast and learned a lot of this stuff. Sad, I know…
Three cheers for Emodino – that was some pretty amazing Lost knowledge there!
Oh, I feel like it’s really coming together this season! I have much greater faith in the writers ever since they set the end date for the whole series. I feel reasonably confident that they’re going somewhere with all of this!
Of course it remains to be seen, but just to let you know I am an uber-Lost nerd and have trawled the forums and listened to the podcast and learned a lot of this stuff. Sad, I know…
Heh, JL, no need to apologise for any such geekery round here! Last night I spent about half an hour after watching the latest episode Being Human reading various theories about the meaning of the plate on Annie’s door. That’s sad.
“Seemingly, in s 1, the orginal strandees on the island came across two skeletons laying down side by side in a cave. According to Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, when they eventually reveal who those bodies were and how they got there, it will prove they had the overall narrative planned out from the start.”
They better not be Adam and Eve…
Actually, “Adam and Eve” is the Lost-fan’s nickname for them, but I assure you, they are not meant to be them. Favourite guesses are Jack & Kate, Rose & Bernard or Aaron & Ji Yeon.
Speaking of Rose and Bernard – where the hell are they? Haven’t seen them in ages….
Once I actually stopped trying to figure shit out , I began to enjoy this season. The acting is still top notch and it’s an enjoyable hour of TV and Sayid is one hot bitch. It just isn’t going to rock my world in the way that other shows can. Like… Battlestar! And Oh My Frakking Gods this weekend we get the answers on what the deal with Starbuck is. At least we better. There’s only 4 episodes left.
No Battlestar spoilers, Q! I’m a few weeks behind.
Have you watched Being Human, by the way?
I haven’t seen Being Human but I just read the first paragraph of your love poem to it and saw the word “Buffy”. So now I’m all about watching it this weekend. Yay for downloads.
And no BSG spoilers , I promise.
I only managed to catch episodes 6 and 7 yesterday, so I held off reading what you wrote till now. Personally, when they introduced the whole time traveling thing last season I’ve had this terrible thought ever since….
This is how LOST will end….
All the secrets of the Island (including the 6 toed foot of the giant statue!) will be just about to be explained when suddenly there’s a flash and they all appear back on the original plane flight, not knowing each other. The plane will land safely and they all get off. John winks at the camera. THE END
If that happens, I swear, the television’s going straight out the window!