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.
3 comments:
You bring up an interesting point about Naomi and made me think of an inconsistency as well: Naomi came in toward the island on a helicopter that crashed in the ocean. The freighter did not seem to have room for a second helicopter pad. So what happened? Did they fly another one in? And where is the pilot for that one? Frank was already on the freighter, and why wasn't he flying the first 'copter in the first place? Well, I have to think that Abbadon works for Widmore. Whether or not Widmore is really Magnus, he knew of the properties of the island and put together a team suited to deal with things there. Abbadon got them all together, and I assume Naomi's role was to watchdog Miles, Charlotte and Daniel. Ah hell. This aint easy.
Getting back to the beginning of your post, I would just like to say for the record that I don't believe the island has a mind of its own, an identity, or things it wants and doesn't want. I'll believe in nature, fate, destiny, supernatural beings, advanced or perhaps alien technology, but I really don't think the island itself is alive or has a consciousness. I know we have Jacob, we have Magnus, we have ghosts and/or "Whisper people," we have several parties interested in gaining control and/or protecting the island. But the idea of an island having its own interests and concerns seems pretty silly to me. Just sayin'. I think we get so much reference to what the island wants, and what the island will let people do, etc., that we might forget the reason for that. Obviously, the characters aren't wuite sure what the deal is, and neither are we. They can't tip their hand this early, so we get references like that. It's the same answer to your question about Christian. We are getting him as the all-purpose manifestation, the mouthpiece for Jacob, because from a writing standpoint, the audience can't yet know what Jacob looks like or what he is. This must remain a mystery for a longer time. This show has lots of examples of that, like the way characters don't seem to share information that might indeed be a good idea to do so. For instance, if Locke would just tell Jack about how he was a paraplegic, and the island healed him, Jack might be more inclined to believe what Locke is saying and why he does what he does a bit more often. But it's not time for anyone to have those realizations at this point in the story.
I have a question: what makes Widmore such a devil? What is his interest in the island? Why is what he wants in regard to the island so horrible as opposed to what Ben wants? How can you harm an island, besides deforesting it? Do we really think he wants to exploit it, like Jurassic Park? That seems silly. Ben and Widmore are in a power struggle to control the island, for sure, but neither is really a "good guy." Both have killed in the name of the island. Widmore seems to have gotten rich through the use of the island's properties. He could even be "immortal." He definitely wants to get back there. What has taken him so long to try anyway? The Hostiles took over in the mid-90's. I'm assuming that's when Ben wrested control of the island from Widmore, but where WAS Widmore when that went down? Was he happy to sit and control things from England, while he played with his wealth? And in the meantime, someone killed off his agents (The DI?) How much did he even have to do with the DI for that matter? We still don't have any proof that he has anything to do with Alvar Hanso or the DI. We assume Hanso knew about the island because of Magnus. But how does Widmore know of it? I can't assume that Magnus = Widmore just yet. For one thing, Magnus Hanso was Dutch, was he not? Why would Magnus take on an English identity? I do however, think it's likely that Widmore was aboard the Black Rock. (And are the Hostiles/Others really the slaves from that ship?)
One more thing before I peter out for tonight. I believe the effect that happened when the island moved is connected to the effect that happened when the Swan blew. We know that after that happened, the island was unreachable or uncontactable in some way, for some reason and for some time. Both instances had the sky go bright and a bizarre loud sound occur. Think on it, eh?
The freighter had two helipads. But like you said, if Frank was part of her team, and he was brought along for his piloting skills, why was she flying a heli alone? Why didn't he fly her in with the rest of the team? Obviously he was more successful at landing.
I do think the island at least has a will, if not a mind. And I don't think it's an island. At least not just an island. How could any of the characters we've seen so far keep Michael alive? The ultimate power has to be bigger that Ben or Hanso or Widmore. Or Locke. Jacob? I still don't know what the hell Jacob is.
How do we know it took Widmore this long to try? Maybe he's been trying the whole time, it's just taken him this long because of the nature of the thing (moving, hiding, etc).
I guess we're not supposed to take TLE as canon, but I believe in that game Hanso Foundation offices were in the Widmore building. I may have placed too much importance on that, but if Widmore didn't mean Dharma's property and resources when he told Ben "you got everything you have from me," what did he mean? Also, we now have a Widmore-Paik connection confirmed, and the Hanso-Paik connection revealed in un-subtitled Korean in (I believe) "The Glass Ballerina". By the transitive property of LOST I declare a triangular association!
Awesome. I didn't notice two helipads. Sweet. That kills me. So was Naomi alone? Or did a pilot die in the crash? Why was she coming in solo? Who knows? That could be one of those questions best left to the production team, i.e., they didn't want to give too much away too soon.
No one is keeping Michael alive. He is alive in the future, so he can't be killed until it's his time. That is the nature of linear time, that we live in, but isn't the norm. Isn't ultimate.
I believe that the Lost Experience is indeed canon. I don't think tbey write things, or allow things to be written into it, that would in any way conflict with the show. I will buy that Paik-Hanso-Widmore are all in bed together. I was just saying that in show, it hasn't been confirmed. I guess it doesn't matter.
Post a Comment