Locke Dead? WTF!!!!11!!!

So, Locke is in the coffin. The question to which we've been waiting a year to learn the answer. The question that, at ComiCon last year, Damon and Carlton cited in direct response to the question, "What question should we be asking?" And now we know. And it's not who I thought it would be.

But now that we know, what does it mean? Apparently, Locke came to see at least some of the O6, and Walt. Probably he had contact with Ben as well. We know the main reason he came to see them: to convince them to return. Is there more to it? Did Locke wind up having to move the island again? Is he, too, banished? Why the alias?

Here's my theory: What if the Locke in the coffin is future Locke? What if in 2007-8 there's still a Locke on the island, but years in the future, he tries to go back and change the course of events?

Even though they've opened up the reality that time travel is going to play a role, this idea (of changing the past/future) conflicts with Ms Hawkings' insistence that the universe self-corrects. Nevertheless, Desmond did alter future events significantly in his "consciousness travel". Does Locke wind up using this tool, maybe with the help of Daniel (whose fate is as yet unknown)?

The bottom line is, I've always believed Locke to central yo LOST, and I felt that was finally vindicated the last few episodes, especially "Cabin Fever". So I'm having a hard time believing he's dead. As in, not mostly-dead, but all-the-way-dead.

Of course, what if it's an Orchid-time anomaly-copy-bunny thing? AAARRGGHH!! My head!

The other question I have is, what bad things happened? I originally assumed that the worst things to happen to the island and its inhabitants would occur during the siege of the island by Keamy and his men. But that seems to be over, with relatively few casualties. So there must be something more.

Keamy's dead, most, if not all, of his men are dead. What could have happened, especially as a result of the O6 leaving? I am down with the idea that the Losties were drawn there, and therefore not supposed to leave, but what could have happened that depended on their presence to prevent?

As you can see I'm at a loss on that one.

I'm getting ferklempt. Talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a topic: WTF!! Discuss.

There's No Place Like Home, Part 2 (Alliances)

OK, I'm a little confused as to just who's flying whose flag here. There seem to be many overlapping interests, but does it just boil down to two? Is it an epic battle of good and evil? Or is it really more complicated?

Let's start with the island. I'm assuming it has its own identity and goals and motivations, etc. It would also seem that it sometimes acts through various agents. The question is, who are these agents, and to what degree are they motivated by their own needs?

Jacob seems like the most obvious candidate for direct representative of the island, but how do we know? We don't even know where he came from (although we do know he lives in a cabin that's not more than 30 years old). We do know that Jacob is the ultimate leader of the Others, whose direct subordinate was a "Chosen" human representative. (I'm differentiating here between "human" and whatever Jacob is, even though he may in fact be human. Sue me.) This chosen one apparently was Ben, now it's Locke. That could be a post in and of itself, but I'm going to try to stay on topic.

But what about Christian? I have to believe there's something significant about the fact that it's him. That is, I don't think it's just a convenient way of the island manifesting itself, mostly due to the fact that he's been the "all-purpose" manifestation as of late.

Now, it could just be the reality of TV; maybe Libby would have been more appropriate to tell Michael he was done than Christian, but Cynthia Watros wasn't available. But even if that were true, I think TPTB are brilliant enough to adapt.

In other words, whether by plan or not, I believe Christian has a major role, and why not? He's been a part of the show from the beginning, he's the father of one marquee character, as well as being the father of another major character, who just happens to be the mother of a baby who we have every reason to believe is central to the overall story.

But to get back to the matter at hand, why does Jacob have a spirit deputy, as well as a human one? Does "Christian" answer to Jacob absolutely? Does Ben? Will Locke?

It's obvious to me that Ben has acted in his own interests, or at least out of emotion, in the past. He admitted as much in the finale. But I do believe he has the interests of the island at heart. Jacob essentially banishes him from the island, but he still works on behalf of it (see his visit to Jack in Hoffs-Drawlar). His crusade against Widmore's people may or may not be solely selfish, but I do think he believes in the island, and will go to great lengths to protect it.

Locke as well; he may still be a little naive, and he may still have something to prove, but I believe he wants what's best for the island.

So, what is Widmore? Is he simply the enemy of the island? If so, what are the "rules", and who created them? Why can't Ben kill Widmore?

I can't help but wonder if Widmore might not be a tool of the island as well. There have been layer upon layer of religious references in LOST; is it too much to believe that Widmore is some kind of a Satan? Satan, after all, means "adversary" in Hebrew. Is it possible he is the necessary "evil" agent in a "game" where the agents of "good" must rely on their virtues and/or redemption to succeed?

There are theories floating around out there that Widmore is Magnus Hanso, who has the same immortality as Alpert. I don't know what I think of that, but I suspect that Widmore's history with the island predates his involvement with the DI via Hanso.

But what about Widmore's supposed lieutenants? Keamy is clearly one; he states explicitly that Widmore paid him to capture Ben. I think it's clear his men had allegiance only to him. But what about Naomi, Abaddon, and the team? And who is the economist?

We know Naomi takes her orders from Abaddon, but we don't know for a fact he works for Widmore. Naomi and the team Abaddon outlined were on Widmore's freighter, true, but that doesn't mean they didn't get on by subversive means, like Michael.

My problem is with the fact that Keamy's team was clearly well equipped to perform the extraction mission. So if Abaddon reports to Widmore, what was Naomi for? In her flashback with Abaddon, she clearly believes she is in charge of the extraction, and wonders why she's being saddled with a bunch of scientists/nutbags. She's also the first one to touch down on the island, followed by the science team. Why are they there? Who is hoping to gain from their presence on the island? Are they simply Widmore's advance team for after the island has been recaptured? Was Naomi being used? Or does Abaddon work for someone else?

As noted previously in this space, the name Abaddon has biblical roots as well. Go here and scroll to the second-to-last paragragh for the full explanation of the name, but suffice it to say he's an agent of the devil (Widmore).

But there's just some nagging feeling that Abaddon has other alliances. I don't know what or whom they could be, but his role just seems too bizarre and up in the air. For instance, he was also intrumental in bringing Locke to the island.

I'd like to mention the phone-call/visitation dream that Kate had at the end of the episode again, because it seems to tie into this idea of sides/allegiances. The voice on the phone told Kate to come back; Claire's apparition told her not to take Aaron back.

One possibility is that they're not contradictory; Kate could go back without Aaron. But who would take care of him? Jack has to go back. Claire is (dead?). Sawyer is on the island. Sun is in Korea. Charlie's dead. Seems kind of unlikely to me.

Is Claire selfishly trying to protect her son from the dangerous job she knows he has to do? I don't think so. I suspect that her appearance to Kate is the same "Claire" we saw in the cabin. That Claire was at ease, and tacitly agreed with "Christian" that Aaron was where he needed to be (presumably, in position to get off the island).

So does Christian also not want Aaron on the island? And if so, does he speak for Jacob in this case? How much hinges on Aaron? How important can he be if he's not supposed to go back? I assume Ben wants him to return; why?

Whew! Now you know why it took me so long to get another post up. Even when I try to limit the topic, it still goes off in all directions.

Alright, have at it.

There's No Place Like Home, Part 1 (Whispers/Apparitions)

Wow, what a great finale to cap off a great season! I have to admit, it's daunting trying to organize my thoughts into something coherent, so I'm just going to start the discussion, and see where it leads us.

We got so much in the last three hours of the season: a transfer of power, from Ben to Locke; apparitions galore, especially Christian; Sun buying out Paik Industries and confronting Widmore (the latter also confirming a long suspected Paik/Widmore connection); Charlotte born on the island?; Ben banished; Locke dead!

I think I'm going to start with the apparitions and whispers, and try to hash out their motives, who they represent, etc.

As readers of this blog know, I have never subscribed to the idea that the whispers were directly connected to the Others. This idea was first put forth by Danielle in Season 1, and Lost fans have held to it ever since.

It made sense at first, when we thought the Others were mysterious and magic. Now that we've become more intimately acquainted with them, it doesn't seem like they do a bunch of backward whispering themselves.

Also, the frequent indications that the voices include those of dead people, and not limited to the Others, has further led me to believe they are separate. I imagined them in the service of the island, like the Smoke Monster.

But of course, that group includes Jacob, and the Others clearly are in the service of Jacob. And the Others have displayed uncanny knowledge and skills in tracking and fighting. So what if they are aided by the whispers?

The scene with Keamy's team being taken out by the Others so clearly tied in the whispers with what was happening, that it became impossible for me not to see a connection. Then I thought of the whispers preceding Harper's appearance in the jungle in "The Other Woman".

Initially, I took that to mean she was an apparition. I figured this explained the somewhat unlikely locating of Juliet.

But Damon and Carlton have said she was really Harper. So maybe the whispers helped her find Juliet? And maybe the whispers helped the Others keep the advantage over Keamy's men?

The most recent transcriptions at Lostpedia are in fact from "The Other Woman", and while vague (as usual), they would seem to support this idea. Check them out here.

But the whispers also accompanied apparitions, namely Christian, when he came to the freighter to "release" Michael, and in Kate's dream, on the phone, before discovering Claire in Aaron's room.

Christian is worth a post in and of himself, so let's stick for now with apparitions who have appeared off island. Up until now, it had seemed like the goal was getting the O6 back to the island. But Kate's vision/dream was a departure, and a contradiction.

For the first time, we have an apparition (Claire) explicitly telling someone (Kate) not to go back, or actually, not to take Aaron back. Why?

In "Cabin Fever", Christian tells Locke that Aaron is where he needs to be (with Kate, ready to be rescued?), and "Claire" seems to be OK with that. Does this mean Aaron needed to be rescued? Then why does Ben want them all to go back? How many factions are there?

Also, on the phone call that woke Kate up before she encountered Claire said that she needed to go back, before it was too late. Listen to unscrambled versions here.

What's up with a dream/vision arguing both sides? Are they supposed to go back or aren't they? Who wants what outcome? Is Claire dead? Will my head explode? It makes me really wonder what Christian would have told Jack if they hadn't been interrupted in "Something Nice Back Home".

Which is another good point. Jack has apparently been listening to "Jeremy Bentham", and now Ben again. Did Christian (or the island) never make another attempt to communicate with Jack? Why is he flying so blind?

OK, that should kick this puppy off. I expect to really hash this out over the next few weeks, but I can't make it work without help, so let's get busy!