Ep: 1.23 Exodus

WHAT WE LEARNED:

1. Black Rock is in the same area where the Smoke Monster lives.
2. It drags Locke, and Jack and Kate save him before the Monster can pull him down into his hole by throwing dynamite down after it. Locke still does not think the Smoke Monster will hurt him.
3. Locke argues with Jack about saving him. Locke also says he is a man of destiny. Jack says he himself is not.
   

Questions:

1. Why would the Smoke Monster try to take Locke? Protect him? Angry at him? For what?
2. In 16 years, the Smoke Monster has never taken Danielle. Why not? It has taken her family and friends.
   

Ep: 1.21 The Greater Good

WHAT WE LEARNED:

1. Locke recovers some of his trust by telling part of the truth, but Jack and Sayid still distrust him. And Locke is still lying.
2. Locke admits to sabotaging Sayid's radio rescue efforts.
3. Locke finally shows Sayid the hatch after almost getting killed by Shannon.
   

Questions:

1. It appears Locke would ruin his own birthday party. Is he really so silly?
2. What would Shannon do if she knew Locke's best friend killed Boone?
   

Ep: 1.20 Harm

WHAT WE LEARNED:

1. Jack personality: Great on commitment but can't let go.
2. Locke's goodwill is running out because of his secrecy.
   

Locke and The Smoke Monster

RE: The Locke and Smoke Monster Team
TIME PERIOD: Season 1

We all know that Locke's journey of faith must hold the keys to the island. In episode order, here is what we see:

1. The Smoke Monster kills the pilot as he attempts to use a transponder for rescue.
2. Locke crashes on the island with a great feeling of destiny, and his paraplegic legs are healed.
3. Locke meets the Smoke Monster. They both like what they see. Ensuing episodes prove the Smoke Monster is helping / speaking / leading Locke.
4. Locke is so secretive about this spiritual trek that he limits members of the search team for Claire. I am sure Locke fully expects it is the island that has taken Claire, and it's no big deal if we ever see her again. He disregards others' well being to continue his quest. He gives up looking for Claire when he finds a hatch. His secrecy threatens his own quest, and he physically hurts Boone rather than letting him reveal his secrets. The reason for his secrecy is likely due to two things; he doesn't want anyone to tell him he can't continue (don't tell me what I can't do), and he also sees it as a very personal, spiritual experience, rather than as an island phenomenon that the other survivors should know about. Actually, it is both. And keeping it a secret is a huge mistake, as Season 5 viewers now know.
5. The Smoke Monster gives Boone a hugely valuable lesson; he must stop protecting Shannon and allow her to choose her own fate. Sounds like good advice, and a lesson on free will to me.
6. After his trebuchet and other approaches fail to open the hatch, it appears Locke begins losing his faith and therefore the use of his legs. He is becoming increasingly frustrated, but continues to bang his head straight on at the problem. Little does he know that even a cursory search would find a nearby door.
7. He has a dream that leads him and Boone to a plane. Boone is killed as he attempts to use a radio as rescue. I strongly believe the Smoke Monster was not leading them to a plane. It was leading them to the Pearl, which they didn't find.
8. The Smoke Monster tries to take Locke down its hole, which has meant disappearance or death to everyone else. Locke still has faith in his destiny, and his safety with the Smoke Monster.
   

SUMMARY:
In this interpretation, the Smoke Monster is not all bad. Sure it is very actively keeping them from getting off the island. It is also leading the man of faith (the guy who is listening) to discover the DI. Later, it uses Ecko to show them the Pearl, since the plane dream did not. We have yet to figure out exactly why the Smoke Monster demanded Ecko's life in return, or if it is Ecko's refusal to feel regret for his life that brings the Smoke Monster's judgment. It could be either one.

And what if the island, as many have speculated, is an Afterlife scenario, where dead people, chosen by Jacob, have one last chance at redemption? And somehow the DI has stumbled on it with real live people. If the Smoke Monster disallows people from escaping, well, they are dead already anyway. And if the Smoke Monster judges those he deems beyond redemption, well, that's what they're there for.

Or perhaps the Smoke Monster is demanding sacrifice for leading the Losties forward? We don't know. A complicating factor is that although Locke is especially attuned to the spiritual dance of the island, it takes a long time to figure things out because he doesn't have help. He would benefit from a few more helping hands, and some logical (scientific?) minds. The secrecy is holding him back, and getting people hurt:)

Lastly, Locke's lack of communication holds him back in many instances in later episodes as well. He never relates his island experiences to the other Losties. He never tells Jack what he is doing when they have that famous meeting at the Orchid before he moves the island. He just says, "Jack, the island doesn't want us to leave." Without examples, Locke sounds like he's losing his mind. When he returns to the mainland, he only implores them to come back. He doesn't explain himself. This is a recurring Locke theme and severely limits his effectiveness.

Ep: 1.19 Deux Ex Machina

WHAT WE LEARNED:

1. The island is definitely talking to Locke.
2. Boone is injured and dies because he tries to send a message for rescue. This is what happened to the pilot in Ep. 1.01.
3. I believe Locke's island dream was not meant to find the plane, but to lead him to the Pearl. His secrecy is now causing him and others around him injury. Locke's faith is taking him somewhere, but his insistence on doing it alone is holding him back.
   

Questions:

1. Did Locke's waning faith cause his legs to fail? Likewise, they were restored through his own resolution.
   

Ep: 1.13 Hearts and Minds

WHAT WE LEARNED:

1. Locke hurts Boone when he threatens to tell Losties about the Hatch. He also appears to be in league with the Monster thing now. Locke's credibility ebbs further.
2. Sayid is helpful and reaffirming. Shannon benefits.
3. Hurley tries briefly and gives up, ensuring failure. His parochial view of life prevents him from learning anything about the experience, other than that he was totally wrong about Jin; he doesn't hate Hurley.
   

Questions:

1. The Monster is helping Locke. Why is Locke so secretive? Regardless of the Monster's end objectives, it is dangerous and hurtful for Locke not to tell the other Losties what is occurring here. He is potentially sacrificing all of the them for his own 'spiritual' quest.
   
2. It is undeniable that Boone learns something useful in the whole experience; he needs to stop trying to protect his sister and leave her to her own fate. Is the Smoke Monster both good and bad? It did kill the pilot, but the lesson is invaluable.
   

Ep: 1.11 All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

WHAT WE LEARNED:

1. This episode begs our credibility, and fares worse with repeated viewings. The reaction by the camp (e.g., hardly anyone searches for Claire and Charlie) is manufactured and silly. Remember the Losties have just found out they have been infiltrated by someone who could hardly be working on their own, and kidnaps 2 people. It is totally illogical that anyone would refuse Michael's help, or that he would be the only additional volunteer, or that he would listen to Locke.
2. Locke is so enamored with his spiritual island quest that he would rather have no one helping him find Claire.
   
3. Locke isn't really interested in finding Claire; he loses the trail but keeps walking, and gives up the search immediately after finding a hatch.
4. Locke shows he is not to be trusted. I am more worried than ever that he is more than ready to sell his soul to the devil.
   
5. Jack never gives up, and takes failure personally. The episode showed clearly that few people understand the dedication needed to reach one's objectives, (in this case finding Claire and Charlie) which is why so few people do. I'm not sure they intended this lesson.
6. Jack is unimpressed with Kate's secrecy.
   

Questions:

1. Did Jack just out act everyone on the show, or why was he the only one with a realistic, and appropriate response to a horrific kidnapping by an infiltrator?
   

Ep: 1.05 White Rabbit

WHAT WE LEARNED:

1. Jack never gives up helping a friend. He is turning into the leader of the group, without whom everyone is going to die or kill each other. His father Christian is negative, berating, and abusive, and recently deceased. Christian seems to lead Jack to water.
   
2. Locke is keeping secrets.

Questions:

1. Jack is having hallucinations?
   

EP: 104 Walkabout

WHAT WE LEARNED:

1. Locke is a hunter and was a paraplegic before the crash.
2. Jack is considerate but not religious.
3. Shannon uses people.
4. Charlie is a pigeon.

Questions:

1. Why didn't the murdering Smoke Monster kill Locke? He seemed to actually get along with it. There is something hugely wrong with Locke...
2. How did Locke's legs get cured like that? Why doesn't Locke tell anyone?
   

The Story of Season 6. A Theory

Elsewhere, we talked about the island and the likelihood of it metaphorically being the Underworld as a good place for the story of LOST. But if that's true, how does the story end?

Well, the Underworld is where souls go to be judged before they enter Heaven or Hell. What is the Balance, you might ask? With the S5 Finale it's becoming more clear. Did you live your life with passion and purpose? Did you exercise your power of choice, and with free will were you able to rise above the destiny that fate lay in your way?

For each LOST survivor (it's becoming clear Jacob picked / touched all of them), that destiny appears to have begun with a father figure. And no one on the island has so far been able to over come it. In fact, all Losties' deaths have to-date been failures in that regard.

Will anyone rise above their fate and choose to live freely, without fighting their past? So far Locke has appeared the worst failure; dying as he lived as the perfect patsy. But there's still hope. Not in resurrection. After all, in the Underworld, dead is dead. And Locke sure ain't going back to the mainland. No, hope lies for Locke in the future. Because there are after all, two Lockes. We know the first story. It ended in failure. We don't know the second. And while Locke may be fooled one time, don't ever tell Locke what he can't do.

We can't help but believe that the man of science and the man of faith still have a chance at redemption if their story threads can somehow come together. And that is how I believe the season will end; a convergence of both approaches by Locke and Jack, proving that in appreciating portions of the other regarding fathers, souls and science, they are able to overcome their pasts, unify the island, restore harmony midst chaos, and find redemption.

It only needs to end well once. And Jacob will be free to give up his physical body, and join his specter 'brother' (it is Nemesis that is the specter, not Jacob) to converge with the rest of the gods. Because we know it's an evolution for the gods as well. But free will is the key. After all, it's humanity's most divine gift.

Locke

John Locke is one of the most beloved characters on LOST, not least because of the often fantastic acting of Terry O'Quinn, who plays the role.

Locke, abandoned at birth by his fifteen year old mother, and later conned out of his kidney and later pushed out an 8 story window by his own father Anthony Cooper, has two central life stories that drive his actions. Both are arguably first line descendants of being an orphan.

First, he has always been attempting to find a home for himself, and often can be heard to say, "Don't tell me what I can't do." This response began cropping up as he was tested as a young orphan, even by Richard of the Others, and later in school when his classmates heckled and denigrated him for being a geek and an outsider. Arguably he ventured off on many questionable treks in his life in an effort to fit in.

His second life story is connected to the first. If his father was a first class con man, Locke is a first class pigeon. In an effort to find a home he often naively opens himself to others who eventually take advantage him. Beginning with the school children, and then on to his foray with a commune, people use and abuse him without ever giving him the respect he so dearly desires.

The two worst episodes, though, were dire. In middle age his father contacted him and convinced him to donate a kidney, after which he promptly abandoned him again. Rather than seek restitution, Locke often waited forlornly on the street outside his father's house, hoping to meet him again. Eventually, Cooper threw him out a window to his death in order to have done with him. Remarkably, Locke lived, although as a paraplegic. The tragic story of Cooper's cold hearted use of Locke is in many ways a fitting emblem of his totally unremarkable life up to that time.

But the latest manipulation in his life is by far the worst. When he landed on the island, Locke felt he had finally found his spiritual destiny. First, his legs were miraculously healed, and after spending a couple days pondering this strange turn of events, he decided he had become a "Man of Faith", and believed that it was his destiny to be on the Island, and that everything was happening for a reason. ("Pilot, Part 1")("Exodus, Part 2")

And clearly the island was communicating with him. He could sense when it was about to rain, and he was not only the first person to see the Smoke Monster, but one of the few to survive it. He survived accidents which would have maimed or killed another man, and his faith lent him a calm and self-assurance he never possessed.

Unfortunately his blind faith eventually led him down his life long path of the coerced. So sure that the island was a source of the benevolent spiritual kinship he always wanted, awash in the sense of destiny of his newfound condition and growing influence and power, Locke failed to consider that not all influences are positive. Eventually he fell prey to Dark, Jacob's adversary, and after multiple meetings he became the island's biggest patsy, literally used body and soul by the Dark forces in the manner from which he's run all his life.

While Locked thought he found his destiny, it turned out it was the same tired story he'd been victim to all his life. He was used and coerced to accomplish the exact opposite of what he would have wanted, if given the eyes to see.

But we have a feeling that not all is finished regarding the story of John Locke. As sometimes friend Jack says, "I wouldn't count him out." Neither would we. We have two reasons to hope; first, we have a time traveling Locke, and second, don't ever tell him what he can't do. We're hoping that's exactly what Dark did the last time they met.

Jacob's Gifts

As stated elsewhere, Jacob gives all LOSTIES he visits both a touch (vitality? destiny towards the island?) and a gift. We have yet to see if he visited more Losties. In the finale, we only saw the Losties who were in 1977, leading us to speculate that he was providing himself a chance at rebirth, and the island struggle to continue. Following is what Jacob gave, and conjecture about what it means.

GIFTS | SIGNIFICANCE

• Hurley: Guitar case and ??? | Meaning unknown
• Jack: Candy bar | Strength?
• Sawyer: Pen | To write the story of O815 | To write rather than con
• Kate: Lunch box | Holder of sustenance
• Sayid: Map and / Either saved Sayid's life, or killed his wife | Maps give him direction | or gave him purpose
  
• Locke: Life | He revived Locke so he could come to the island?
• Jen and Sun: Blessing | Drive to stay together
  

MORE SPECULATION
Jacob probably touched others as well. We don't know yet. But he was clearly setting something up.

Did Jacob cause Nadia's death, or did he save Sayid's life? See Sayid's story here.

Jacob and Dark | The Struggle

Find the Season 5.16 The Incident pt. 1 here.
Fine the Season 5.17 The Incident pt. 2 here.

In a nutshell, here's what I think I saw in the S5 Finale.

THE TWO ADVERSARIES
Two immortal adversaries, call them Enemy and Jacob. And as a ship which looks like the Black Rock floats offshore, but definitely puts us in the 1800s, perhaps the most important conversation yet in the series then enjoins:

JACOB: I take it you're here 'cause of the ship.
ENEMY: I am. How did they find the Island?
JACOB: You'll have to ask 'em when they get here.
ENEMY: I don't have to ask. You brought them here. Still trying to prove me wrong, aren't you?
JACOB: You are wrong.
ENEMY: Am I? They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same.
JACOB: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.
ENEMY: Do you have any idea how badly I wanna kill you?
JACOB: Yes.
ENEMY: One of these days, sooner or later... I'm going to find a loophole, my friend.
JACOB: Well, when you do, I'll be right here.

Here is the first real glimpse at the secrets of LOST. Obviously this game between the two adversaries has been going on for a long, long time, even in the 1800s as dated by the ship. Enemy has grown weary of it because the ending is always the same; violence and corruption. The implication is that mankind is not worth saving. But the adversarial game is clearly a competition; Jacob is out to prove Enemy wrong; that mankind is better than that. All he has to do is prove it one time. For generations now, humans have failed.

The alternative endgame is that there is no relief from man's cycle of depravity. Either Jacob can admit it, and defeat, or Enemy can find a loophole, and kill him. It appears the loophole to kill Jacob is having someone else do it. Who better than the murderous, conniving, sociopath Ben. It's worth noting that it is not necessarily true that Enemy has always been intent on killing Jacob. It rather looks more likely that he is just horribly tired of the story that never ends, and is by now driven to kill Jacob to finally finish it.

RULES OF THE GAME
There are rules to the game they are playing. From the conversation, and later scenes, I believe they are as follows:

1. Neither can directly kill each other.
   
2. Neither can be direct actors on the island stage.
3. Enemy influences the humans on the stage to bring about the violent end even he has no taste for anymore. Because he can not act directly, he uses dead bodies and perhaps smoke as substitute. It now becomes something more than interesting that the Others burn their dead bodies and send them out to sea. Enemy's side of the game does not prevent him from swaying humans. It was Enemy who was trapped in the cabin by ashes, but found a way to get out by coercing someone to break the ash barrier. Perhaps it was Jacob who trapped him there to limit his interference. It appears he has been using Christian and Alex as proxies, but for some time now has impersonated a dead Locke. Dead is dead, after all.
   
4. Jacob does not act at all. His only role is to arrange people to come from the mainland. He chooses them. Beyond that, he makes no further interference. More on this later.

At least some of these rules are also used by humans on the island. Remember Ben telling Widmore that he had broke one of the rules; he had killed his daughter. Clearly we need to learn more about the Book of Laws.

WHAT IS THE DOMINANT THEME OF LOST?
The two adversaries embody two sides of the same coin in their struggle. What is it? While I suspect the LOST series is really a multi-layered combination of dichotomies, and good vs. evil is too simplistic, here are some possibilities:

• Fate vs. Free will
• Good vs. evil
• Baseness vs. Virtue
  
• Animal vs. Spiritual
• Damned vs. Redemption
• Nature vs. Nurture

All are essential and recurrent themes in religion and philosophy.

GOD vs. SATAN or GOOD vs. EVIL
Satan was God's right hand. The first conversation appears to be a bet about whether mankind is capable of governing on the island with virtue. Enemy doesn't think so. Jacob says they only have to do it once.

If indeed Jacob represents God, and the statue is Anubis, Guard of the Afterlife, then the island is Purgatory, and the humans there fighting for entry into either heaven or hell. It would also explain why no women can have children there.

It's interesting to note that the struggle to find virtue is also personified in the LOST crew as every main character struggles for redemption of their life stories. All are trying to overcome their pasts in their own way. All are growing and maturing towards it; especially the most spiritual Locke, who in his quest ironically opens himself to Enemy's manipulation and coercion, and dooms his life story to tragic, fatalistic repetition.

But the story is essentially about the O815, so we have reason to believe that at least one of them will be successful and suppress the killing and corruption. The explosion just gave them all a do over, arguably with their memories intact. Who will it be?

RA vs. APEP or GOOD vs. EVIL
An Egyptian variation on the Good vs. Evil theme would have Jacob represent Ra, god of Good and light, making his Enemy Apep, the Egyptian deification of evil and “Eater of Souls,” who is often portrayed as a snake not unlike the Smoke Monster.

Just as with the Devil scenario, Apep (Smoke Monster) confronts characters and consumes their soul, and absorbs their experiences if he finds that the character can not be used to his own evil ends. Ecko, perhaps the most tested and therefore self-actualized character on the series, was therefore one of the first to be consumed. Ben on the other hand, was already evil, and Locke the perfect patsy, making them both perfect for Apep’s grand plan to defeat Jacob (Ra).

Notice that in this analogy the imagery is somewhat richer, with only slightly less emphasis on Good and Evil, but the difference between this scenario and the one above is only slight. It matters little in the end.

FREE WILL: THE DOMINANT THEME
The intriguing thing about great stories is that they are multi-layered. There is no doubt that Enemy represents destiny and Jacob free will on its most basic level.

It is argued in many philosophies and virtually all religions that it is only man's free will that breaks the instinctual brain stem function of selfishness, violence and corruption. It is what sets us apart from animals (who kill each other all the time) and gives us our divinity or virtuosity. Free will is our most precious and holy attribute. It allows us to rise out of the savage muck and become good or virtuous, not because it's our nature, but like the gods, because we choose.

Jacob mentions, implies, or encourages free will in every conversation in the Finale. He says to Jack, "We all need a little push." Earlier in the operating room his father gave him a push in the right direction as well. Unfortunately Jack took his father's guidance in a knee jerk reaction (he didn't exert his free will) to the life long negativity of his father. Often in life the hardest lessons are those that come from people we have a hard time listening to. When Jack learns to appreciate at least some of the lessons his father taught him, he will be well and on his way to find his own redemption. Until then, Jack, like many of us, is caught in the never ending cycle of fighting against the demons of his life stories rather than realizing his potential.

In this same way, all the characters in LOST are fighting their pasts instead of exercising their free will and becoming who they could be. We thought Locke was the furthest along. It appears in the Finale that he is back at square one again.

With Hurley, Jacob's admonition of free will is even more direct. He expressly gives him the option of not going to the island, and encourages him to think of himself as blessed, rather than how others see him (crazy).

Finally, I believe that free will (and personal redemption) is the dominant theme of the story because of the powerful last scene; Jacob's death. The most illuminating point of the scene is what Jacob doesn't do; he doesn't plead for his life, the most logical thing for anyone to do. At the impending moment of is death, he addresses Ben, telling him he has a choice. When Ben asks Jacob who he is, Jacob replies, "Who are you?" There is never any attempt to sway Ben, only encouragement to avoid manipulation and act for himself. This scene, more than any other, convinces us that the story of LOST centers around free will and redemption (which leads to the end of violence and corruption) between the two ancient adversaries, but also on a personal level for our survivors.

THE DEATH SCENE
Enemy has finally won the age old struggle by finding a loophole to kill Jacob. That is, until Jack and his group blow up the Swan. Does that act give Jacob a new chance at life, as well as for each of the Losties?

Notice that the premise that Faraday / Jack's group worked under (that blowing up the Swan would erase the last months and land the plane in LA) is certainly not necessarily true. This reflects real life when we try to do the right thing but we often don't know all the facts...

Perhaps the LOST group will wake up on the island in much the same manner that Ecko, Des, and Locke did during the explosion at the Swan in S3, when they were thrown clear of the terrible blast. Maybe they flash to another time. Maybe they will just land on the island in a storm again. But I doubt they are going to LA, don't you?