Birdblog Gets `Lost`

I`ll admit it-I am a fan of the television show Lost. (It`s about the only t.v. show I really watch.) I`ve been following the adventures of Oceanic flight 815 (I`m sure the flight number has relevence-I`m not sure how) since the beginning, and thought I`d go ahead and post what I`ve gleaned from it thus far.

First, the ground rules; according to the producers, everything has a real world explanation-even if it is not scientific or likely-and all of the names of the characters are important to the subject. Many people have put forward the idea that these people are dead and in purgatory; this may be the case, but the answers to the mystery lie in the clues, not some supernatural deus ex machina, at least according to the producers. We have to look at things as they come.

I`m going to start with Desmond and the Hatch, and work my way backwards (and forwards, and sideways) so bear with me; this may be a bit confusing.

First off, I`ve read that the name Desmond means ``kindly protector`` although I haven`t been able to verify it. This fits, though, because the word Dharma comes from the Buddhist concept of ``peace of mind`` and, according to a Buddhist website I checked, literally translates ``protection``. So Desmond is the protector, pushing that silly button every 108 minutes to ``save the world`` as he was told by his partner. Now his partner came out of the jungle and rescued Desmond when he crashed his boat, and we don`t know exactly what became of him. Desmond seemed very nervous but no totally exhausted-as anyone would be if they never slept more than an hour and a half at a stretch. What does this tell us? That Desmond`s partner was not gone long. I think this is important.

Remember, names are important on this show. Who did Anna Lucia kill? His name was Goodwin (Good One?) and he, much like John Locke on the other side of the island, was well versed in survival skills and woodcraft. Goodwin killed Nathan (just as Charlie killed Ethan) who was probably one of the Others. (Consider the similarities between the names Nathan and Ethan.) When pressed by Anna Lucia, Goodwin said ``Nathan was not a good person`` and was prepared to explain further, but that stupid b**** Anna Lucia killed him before he could say more.

I think Goodwin was Desmond`s partner. I think he left to guide the tail-enders out of the bad zone.

The hatch the tail-enders were living in was in ruins (unlike Desmonds) and the Dharma logo was different-it had an arrow in the circle. The Desmond hatch had a swan neck forming the yin/yang symbol. This suggests that the far side of the island is the war side, while the front end side is the balance; the far side is Haelin, the near side Shaolin. A balance of good and evil.

This fits with the abductions; most of the tail enders were abducted, and the Others tried to abduct Mr. Ecko (who we learned in the last episode had been a very bad man.) Perhaps the plane`s seating arrangements had been good people in front, bad in back? Granted, many of the front people were not that good. Sawyer, in particular, was a bad egg. But they were REDEEMABLE. Look at Kate; bank robber but killed her lover to stop him from killing innocents.

There was an old sci-fi classic called Forbidden Planet. In this movie a group of astronauts go on a rescue mission to save a stranded scientist and his daughter. The scientist found an ancient civilization, and was reconstructing their technology. An invisible monster roamed the land, and eventually killed the scientist. The monster was a manifestation of the Id, the hidden emotions of the scientist. This, I think, is the smoke monster on Lost.

I think the smoke monster is triggered by emotions, and I think it keeps the two sides divided. In fact, I suspect that the button has to be pushed every 108 minutes to ``reload`` the creature (because of the `incident` which somehow damaged the automatic reload feature.) The monster came after Mr. Ecko because he was a `bad` and began thinking like one when he was with Charlie. But Ecko had repented, and made his final decision when the monster came for him, so the monster stopped (right at the moment of decision) and left. I think the monster does other things as well; Locke wanted to get in the hatch so badly that the monster tried to grant his wish by pulling him into the hole.

I think the smoke monster keeps the Others from attacking the front-enders. I`m not sure how Ethan managed to infiltrate them, but I suspect it has something to do with the injections Desmond was giving himself. Why did the Others wait until Jack, John, and Sawyer were at the center of the island to make their move? I think it was the boundary (in fact, Zeke SAID that was the boundary), the place THEY couldn`t cross.

I think the children were all on that flight because they had special psychic abilities, and they have been taken for training. Remember, the Dharma training film said that the project was researching ``physics, zoology, psychology, and parapsychology``. I think Walt`s appearences have been psychic or holographic projections. He has appeared to give information, or warn the survivors.

I suspect Rose and her husband are more guides from the ``good ones``; we haven`t gotten any personal information on Rose, except that she had a husband on the tail-end. Why was he on the tail-end, while she was in front? I suspect she is a psychological reinforcement to keep their spirits up, and help keep them calm.

I suspect Jin`s father-in-law and Locke`s father are the financiers of the Dharma Initiative. I think both Locke and Jin were trained for their roles on the island by these men. Locke learned about hunting and woodlore from his father while Jin learned to fight.

In short, I think that this is a controlled experiment to understand good and evil. I think they have isolated these people for that purpose.

Any thoughts?