Awesome Ending!
We spend an entire episode learning how a set of
numbers are cursed. They "caused" bad things to happen
to the people around Sam Toomey who was the first
(that we know of) to use them. They "caused" bad
things to happen around Hurley. I'm also willing
to bet it was Danielle who picked up the transmission
of the numbers on her ship "causing" bad things to happen
to the team around her (i.e. the sickness or at least
Danielle's perception of it.)
I find it odd that Sam and Lenny had spent some amount
of time in their job at the listening post failing to pick
up the numbers before they finally did since the
Sri Lanka video stated that the numbers were to be
broadcast from the time the Dharma Initiative got to
the Island, presumably 1980 or earlier. But Mrs. Sam
Toomey's story is that Sam and Lenny heard it around
16 years ago, the same time as Danielle's expedition.
I had intended this post to be a forum to discuss favorite
episdoe endings like the end of Numbers and the end of
Two for the Road which left me unable to sleep, but I
got distracted by the Numbers. So feel free to comment
on endings or the numbers.
P.S. I hate when people on the internet say they want
LOST to solve the mystery of the numbers. Just read
the Lostpedia entry about them and move on.
They're a MacGuffin, nothing more.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
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8 comments:
Interesting, Memphish. Perhaps it took some time from the moment the construction crews beached on the island, to the time when the radio tower was up and running, and transmitting? But one would still think that it would be sooner than 16 years ago. Maybe no one scanning the airwaves hit it just right to hear it till then, if there was any substantial amount of dead air space between the iterations. A scanner will pass on through a live frequency if it's not transmitting anything at the time that it's "hit".
I guess that it could be said that DR and her crew set out on their voyage 16 years ago, so maybe they were never in the position to scan the airwaves before then. And perhaps Sam and Lenny just got assigned to their posts around the same time? Since we don't know what the frequency is (or do we?) it might be on the fringes of a radio band and less likely to be manually monitored? Unfortunately I don't know enuff about radio to comment more. Where's Engineer27 when we need him?!
It certainly is true, in the McGuffin definition, that much of the action of the show and game revolves around the numbers mystery! :-) Good point for calling it that, Memphish. But I do hope that TPTB revisit the numbers again, at least as they pertain to the DI's mission. But I don't suppose that we will get too much of that anymore, since we are now going full speed into the future. Unless of course, if a ship does arrive at the island, it is dubbed the "HMS 4815162342"! Heheh.
I also don't much about long range radio transmission. Lostpedia says Sam and Leonard were at their listening post on or around 1988 and heard the transmission. Maybe the previous team at that station heard the transmission and had their helping of the "bad luck" curse that went with them and went just as crazy as Leonard.
I, for one, hope that more is revealed about the Numbers. For those of us who played TLE, we did get some answers, but it opened up only more questions. It sure is an interesting plot device that ties in so many connections, but it is also very frustrating if we don't get a final answer to their meaning. I'm constantly pointing out the numbers to my husband as we are watching S1, 2 and (soon) 3. I hope that the producers give us some closure on them, or else, hubby's gonna be really mad at me for getting him involved in this! LOL
Capcom and Maven, What exactly do you want to know about the numbers other than that they are the core values of the Valenzetti equation? That should mean that 4 is the percentage of population growth per annum and 8 is the amount of ozone depletion, and 15 is rate of increase in antibiotic resistant infections or things like that, right? I don't think TPTB will ever give us specifics like that because it's all made up BS in the first place. Now they could elaborate on the steps DI was taking to attempt to change those values (or at least one); that's a story I'd like to see, but I think that is likely the best we'll get. As for the numbers appearing in the show over and over, well tune in 2 posts from now and sound off on that idea.
I would like to see the Losties, especially Hurley, find out what the numbers were for, i.e., for them to know what we know about them. Mostly I want them to find out what they were all about, rather than us the viewers. Also for the Others to perhaps mention some of the experiments that pertained to the changing of the numbers. I'm also curious as to what Richard would have preferred that Ben was spending time on other than the fertility problem....was it changing the equation variables or something else Island-specific?
I don't really think that we need explanations as to why the numbers showed up in various places like on the backs of the team in the airport, etc. But how did Hurley win the lottery with them, was it coincidence?
Really, anything that TPTB would want to say aobut them is OK with me. But it's not one of the top ten things that I would like to know about.
Yes, Capcom...I'm with you. I'd like the Losties to find out about the Valenzetti Equation. Basically learn what we did in TLE. And why were the numbers etched on the Swan on the outside? (As a cheat sheet so you wouldn't forget what to punch in?)
It seemed like TPTB were making such a big deal about the numbers and now...nothing...yet!
I like that idea too Capcom. Would someone please explain to the LOSTies what Dharma was up to and why Ben and Alpert purged them and what the mission is now. I'd like that to be Ep. 4.1 :D
BTW, you're right Memphish, this was an awesome ending! :-)
My own feeling in regards to the numbers is that no specific explanation is needed. They are a sign or omen; if you want to view the events of the show in a more occult light, you could say that the island and the show's characters have tapped into the "108 frequency" or something along those lines. (By the way, I suspect we're going to start seeing more numbers of relevance as the series progresses. 77, for instance). They're like a fingerprint, a potential clue that forces beyond the understanding of the characters are at play. It's sort of like the Fibonacci sequence. (Valenzetti was even modeled on Fibonacci a little).
As far as the actual Valenzetti Equation goes, I'm in the camp that says it should definitely be introduced into the series at some point. Not only is it the most concrete rational "explanation" for the numbers, it also explains the entire origin of the DHARMA Initiative. Not to mention, I think it would be important for Hurley and Danielle to hear just what these numbers meant and why they were being broadcast. I don't care at all about 4 = global warming, 8 = human population, or any of that nonsense. I just think it would be lame to have such a significant piece of backstory never being introduced into the series proper.
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