. . . And Themes














. . . And Found, Episode 2.5 is loaded with many a LOST theme.
Here's just a few.

The flashback opens with Sun's mom despairing that her
daughter will ever find a husband. Sun tells her mom:

I'll find a husband when the time is right.

Mrs. Paik replies:

Your father says the time is now.

There has been speculation that Mr. Paik may be a Mrs. Hawking
type time guardian. I wonder if this was driving Mr. Paik's desire
for Sun to marry. And if so, did the universe course correct on
him and bring Jin to Sun? Or was that just the Destiny book that Jin's
friend used that said this was Jin's year to find love?

And speaking of that possible course correction, it was necessitated
by another LOST theme. Jae and his courting of Sun was an attempt
by Jae to pull a con on his parents and Sun's. Is there anyone on
this show that isn't a con artist of some degree?

There's a big thematic discussion that occurs between Sun
and Locke. Now that's an odd couple if ever there was one. Sun is
looking for her lost ring and pulls up her garden in frustration. Locke
witnesses this and the following discussion takes place:

Locke: Oh, I used to get angry all the time. Frustrated too.
Sun: You are not frustrated anymore?
Locke: I'm not lost anymore.
Sun: How did you do that?
Locke: Same way anything lost gets found. I stopped looking.

Huh? What about all that trying to get into the Swan? What about
sacrificing Boone and pounding on the Hatch? What about lighting
dynamite while Hurley ran at you and yelled at you to stop? What
about the fact that it took Sayid to fix the computer? What about
the fact Jack doesn't want to push the button?

This goes back to my recent post about the Swan's effect on Locke.
Outside the Swan, Locke sees clearly what he's gained, how far
he's come, but inside the Swan, that frustration and fear and anger
returns over and over. So again I ask was the Swan Locke's destiny
or a diversion?

Finally, Jin is told in his flashback by the Destiny book that love
will be orange. Ironically, while there is a lot of orange in
the episode, Sun isn't the one wearing it. Granted Jin ogling a
woman in orange leads him to bump into and meet Sun, but
the most interesting use of orange to me is Michael's shirt.

Here we have the theme of sacrificing ourselves and our goals
and desires for the sake of others out of a brotherly love.
Jin actually does this in his flashback as well when he permits
the scruffy Koreans to use the fancy shmancy toilet at the hotel.
But it plays out most clearly in Jin's determination to find
Michael and help Michael find Walt even at the expense of
delaying his return to Sun. In this case orange equalled Jin's
love for Michael bringing their story that started out with
bitterness and even hatred half circle to a place of friendship
that will sacrifice for the other.

Did Locke Really Try To Track
Desmond?















Desmond flees the Swan thinking the world is about
to end. Jack, not the world's best tracker, manages
to catch up with him. Then in the next episode Locke
says he tried to track Desmond, but that he didn't
leave much of a trail.

I'm suspicious that Locke didn't really try to track
Desmond because if Jack could find him, why couldn't
Locke? Desmond wasn't concerned with NOT leaving a
trail. He had 40 minutes to get the heck out of
Dodge. I wonder why Jack didn't have Kate try to
track him as well. If only they had, maybe I'd
have gotten my answer to this question.

I'm heading out of town this afternoon, but I'm going
to try to make new posts via my new iPhone Thursday
and Friday. If they look goofy or don't work forgive
me. Normalcy will return on Monday.

Why Do You Find It So Hard To Believe?

No, not Jack. Charlie. Why does he find it so hard to
believe that Hurley is a millionaire?















Don't miss today's extra post below.

Jack is a Sadist















Jack puts the fat guy in charge of inventorying the
food? Man, that's cruel.

Put On Your Log Carrying Shoes

I noticed rewatching Episode 2.3, Orientation, that
when Desmond makes his run for it while he grabs
his injection gun and some vials for injecting, he
leaves behind a LOT of additional vials. Sorry I
couldn't find a screen grab or a video clip of this, but
it occurs at about the 28 minute mark on your DVDs.
So this leads to the question -- why did Claire have to
go all the way to the Staff Station to look for medicine
when there was plenty of the stuff in the Swan?

The obvious answer is she didn't know that stuff was in
the Swan, and here's where your log carrying shoes
come in to play. If you were one of the 25 or so people
carrying logs around in the background, making friends
with Nikki and Paolo, helping Bernard build SOS signs,
wouldn't YOU want to explore a place full of food, books
records and a shower?

Locke says that he's going to set up shifts of teams of
people to push the button. I for one would be Log
Carrying Girl #1 to sign up for that duty. No wind,
no rain, no sand, a shower, a chance to do laundry, new
reading material, some tunes, a chance to find kooky
medicine that I might need for mah baaayyy-beeeee. Yet
I'm pretty sure we never saw a single non-credited cast
member in the Swan.

I prefer seeing The Socks (as Darlton refers to the
background extras) pitching in around our main characters
to giving them contrived stories of their own (cough Nikki
and Paolo cough). You could be pretty sure that if
I'd crashed on Flight 815, Claire would not have needed
to trek off into the jungle.

Does The Swan Prevent Locke's
Ability To Commune With
the Island?















Season 2 Locke was no one's, not even Terry O'Quinn's,
favorite. Over and over people asked what happened to
the guy that was going to save them all? He's sitting
underground pushing buttons?

In fact, there were several times in the Swan like the one
in the picture above and in this one















where Locke was the pathetic loser we saw in his flashbacks
and not Crocodile Locke.

Is there something about the properties of the Swan that
prevented the Island from communing with Locke and vice
versa? Was Ben telling the truth that he was coming for
Locke because the Island itself (or Jacob) couldn't call
him since Locke never left the Hatch? Was Eko's dream and
his search for the "?" an effort by the Island to reconnect
with Locke?

Was Ezra James Sharkington A Spy?


















In Adrift the Dharma shark, subsequently named
Ezra James Sharkington in an Official LOST Podcast,
arrives on the scene almost immediately after the
hillbillies have made off with Walt. Coincidence?
Or was Ezra J. outfitted with a camera for Ben's
viewing pleasure much like these sharks?

Does Desmond Know Something?














Why does Desmond suggest to Jack that he might have
fixed Sarah? Does Desmond remember his encounter
with Jack in the jungle and know that Jack did fix Sarah
the way he remembers Charlie on the London street corner?
Is it merely the endorphins talking? Is it a fallback to
looking for an opportunity to evangelize Jack that he might
have learned from his time with the monks? Is he
prodding for a spiritual opening with the "lift it up" advice?

And when did Desmond have time to almost be a doctor?
Was it in this life? Another? I am ready for time on this
show to start to straighten itself out!

Sarah's A Really Bad Judge of Men














From a fiance who's worried he can't have sex and will have
to help her go to the bathroom and doesn't hang around to
see how her surgery went to said surgeon who really just
wanted to fix her and be worshipped for it to a guy willing to
cheat with a married woman, Sarah Shephard really knows
how to pick 'em.

Here's a coincidence, Sarah's fiance is named Kevin. Kate's
husband who she drugged and left in Miami is named Kevin.
Add an "l" and you get Kelvin. Creepy.

Why Couldn't Locke Have Waited
Three Hours?














Jack gives his stirring stump speech. The sun comes up in
3 hours and we're all going to be here to see that happen.
I promise. It was what they all needed to hear; it was what
we'd just learned from the flashback that Jack had learned
they needed to hear. And then Locke can't wait three more
hours to explore the Hatch? Is it any wonder Jack doesn't
trust anything Locke says or does anymore? Locke can be
more Every Man for Himself than even Sawyer.

In any event I guess it works for Emmy voters.
Congratulations Terry O'Quinn on your win last night!

Is Vincent Smokey or Does Jacob
Just Use Vincent Because He's A
Dog Person?

In Man of Science, Man of Faith Vincent goes missing
which leads to Shannon and Sayid chasing him into the
jungle which leads to our first Season 2 encounter with
the whispers and a wet Walt saying Don't push the button;
the button is bad backwards. There have been several
instances when Vincent has led the 815 survivors to
places or encounters on the Island. Just a dog running
away or is Jacob using him? And just for the record, a
guy with a painting of a dog in his house, can't be all bad.

Is The Hostiles' Mission To Prevent
Dharma From Changing A Core Value
of The Valenzetti Equation?



The mission of the Dharma Initiative was to change a core value
of the Valenzetti Equation in order to save mankind. If Mrs.
Hawking is correct about the universe course correcting, changing
one of the core values, instead of saving mankind should merely
lead to its destruction in another manner. Are the Hostiles and
Ben Mrs. Hawking-like time guardians intent on preventing the DI
from succeeding so that the universe doesn't need to course correct?

Will Season 4 Open With a Song?

Season 2 gave us Mama Cass and Make Your Own
Kind of Music on a turntable. Season 3 gave us
Petula Clark singing Downtown on a CD. I'm
guessing Season 4 starts with Creedence Clearwater
Revival's Bad Moon Rising being played on one of
these.

Should Exodus Have Been Called
Death Wish?














Why did Sawyer want to be on the raft? Michael suggests
a death wish in light of his father's death when Sawyer was
only eight. Was Michael right?

But for the fact that at least half the female audience would
stop watching immediately, I'd suggest it might be time to
fulfill Sawyer's death wish now that his reason for living,
revenge on the real Sawyer, has been accomplished. His last
encounter with Kate in Season 3 seems to put him back
where he was on the raft with nothing on the Island
worth staying for.

My Favorite Appearance of
The Numbers









This is definitely my favorite appearance of the numbers
followed closely by their appearance on Hurley's dashboard
on his way to the airport.

Here's a question: Why wasn't millionaire Hurley flying
in First Class or at least Business Class?

Was The Reason Each LOSTie Was
Brought To The Island Punishment?

There are two big thematic discussions in Exodus, Part 2.
The first occurs between Sun, Shannon and Claire while
they wait in the caves for the return of Charlie, Sayid and
Aaron as well as the A-Team who've gone to the Black Rock.














Sun: Do you think all this... all that we've been through...
do you think we're being punished?
Shannon: Punished for what?
Sun: Things we did before... the secrets we kept... the lies
we told.
Shannon: Who do you think is punishing us?
Sun: Fate.
Claire: No one's punishing us. There's no such thing as fate.

It's kind of odd that this huge thematic conversation occurs
between these three more minor characters. It's also weird
that Claire with her horoscopes and psychics is the one who
denies the existence of fate. I guess she and destiny denying
Jack are indeed related.

And speaking of destiny denying Jack, the second big
discussion occurs between Jack and Locke post-Smokey
encounter.














Locke tells Jack:

Do you really think all this is an accident that we, a group
of strangers survived, many of us with just superficial injuries?
Do you think we crashed on this place by coincidence...
especially, this place? We were brought here for a purpose,
for a reason, all of us. Each one of us was brought here for
a reason.

So was Sun's speculation that the reason was punishment correct?
I wonder if those who died in the crash were the "normal" people,
the ones that didn't have some internal crisis that needed
fixing, that didn't keep secrets and tell lies. Did you only survive
with superficial injuries if your real injuries are the internal,
emotional ones?

Or could Sun be correct and the Island is a literal prison.
I just started watching The Prisoner (no spoilers please), and
the idea that the Island could be a place to put people who need
to be kept out of the way seems reasonable. Would you really
want Ben let loose on society? Or Juliet with her pregnant
male mice? Or OJ drugging Kate?

I know I've seen an intelligent blog post out there somewhere
about the idea of people being in a prison but not knowing it and
in fact mistaking it for a utopia type situation, but I don't
remember where. Is that what's going on?

Finally, Don't miss the other new post below this one. It's short.

Plot Payoff














I had not remembered that Claire has "flashes" of memory
of scratching Danielle during Exodus, Part 2. It still doesn't
explain the scratches on Ethan's face in Homecoming. But
at this point the ground work was laid for Maternity Leave
fifteen episodes later. It's nice to be able to look back at these
sort of payoffs.

What Is Up With The Sickness?

When are we going to learn more about the sickness Danielle
claims her team had? Was it real? Is she the sick one?

Is it related to the shots Desmond and Kelvin took, to the injections
Ethan gave pregnant Claire? Were those shots just part of the
stagecraft or were they real?














According to Lostpedia the LOST jigsaw puzzles have a coded
message that "there is no sickness." Is that just Kelvin and
Radzinsky's conclusion with regards to Dharma's quarantine
claim, or does it relate to Danielle's experience as well?

I wish someone would sit Danielle down and ask her about the
symptoms of the sickness. Dull TV? Maybe, but at least
I'd know.

Is This The Black Rock Claire Was
Dreaming Of?














In Episode 1.14, Special, Charlie reads Claire's
journal. In it he finds this entry:

I had that weird dream again, the one with the
Black Rock I can't get away from. I try to leave it but
it won't let me.

Now here's something I'd like to go back to. What kind
of Black Rock was Claire dreaming of when she was pregnant
with Aaron? The ship that's on the Island? A literal black
rock? According to Wikipedia, there are a number of islands
named Black Rock. Is it one of them? Should LOST Island
be named Black Rock? Any ideas?

[How the Black Rock got into the jungle, that's a mystery I
can leave unsolved.]

And after you think about the Black Rock, don't miss the
extra post below with more questions about Danielle.

More Danielle

There are a few other things I noticed about Danielle
in Exodus Part 1 but unfortunately could not find
screen caps for. Here they are for you reading and
rewatching pleasure.

When the A-team arrives in The Dark Territory, it's
marked by a black cloth. This marks another set of
boundaries on the Island. Others include the line Tom
indicates to the 815 survivors in The Hunting Party, the
sonic fence and the ash ring near Jacob's cabin. I wonder
why Danielle or Danielle's people felt it was necessary to
mark off this area.

When the "security system" makes its way
through the trees in The Dark Territory Danielle runs from
it and hides in the trees. It's an interesting response given
how we've seen other Island dwellers deal with Smokey. I
wonder if Smokey's taken any flashes of Danielle like it did
with Juliet or if Danielle has ever stared it down like Locke
and Eko.

Where Is Kelvin?















We've seen this moonscape area where Desmond bangs
Kelvin's head into the rocks three times. But we've
never seen what happened to Kelvin's body. It doesn't
appear in Exodus Part 1 on the way to the Black
Rock.














Not in Exodus Pt. 2 when Charlie and Sayid are headed
towards the black smoke.














Nor does it appear in The Other 48 Days on the
way back to the beach camp.















All right conspiracy theorists, is Kelvin really dead?

Did Ana Lucia Know Who Jack Was?


















The interaction between Jack and Ana Lucia at the bar at
the Sydney airport is a strange one. She's just overheard
Jack shouting at the ticket agent because he needs to get
his dad's body on the plane, so she hits on him? I'm just
saying, do you really think this is the best time and
place to pick up a guy?

It would seem from the rest of their interactions on Island
and the fact that they never discuss Christian that Ana Lucia
did NOT know that Jack was the son of her aliased employer.
But her parting line to Jack in the bar, And Jack, the worst
part's over is just weird and seems to imply that she knows
more than it appears.