I'M A FREE BIT, BABY

I named this post after the censored lyrics from Lady Gaga's November album "The Fame Monster". I think it's hilarious the record company had to edit the content of the CD (and this isn't a Safe For WalMart mix, either . . . all copies have been censored). Guess Gaga is more dangerous than I thought. That’s right, people. Forget the smoke monster. The greatest threats facing the American people today are health care, characters from “Avatar” who smoke, and Lady Gaga.

Anyway, moving on. So I'm still recovering from the one-two punch that was "LA X". What an amazing episode. I didn't think it was possible for me to love LOST any more than I already did, but apparently I was mistaken. It totally blew . . . me away. Ha. Ha. I also really liked “What Kate Does” but, coming on the heels of “LA X”, it was bound to be dismissed as filler by a lot of people, who will subsequently whine and froth about having to be subjected to a Kate episode as if they lived in a fascist regime and were subjected against their will to an obscene amount of unimaginable horrors. But I digress. It was a solid episode in its own right and in the long run I think it will be much better appreciated.

Three episodes into the season and I really don't know where to start. Though some people find them a little boring, I think these new "flash sideways" are really wonderful (and keep in mind, I’ve been waiting for them since before the end of season three). The scenes in the premiere especially really served as the heart and soul of the episode. To revisit these iconic moments from the pilot, but to have everything be somewhat different at the same time, proved to be one of the more emotionally engaging stunts the show has ever tried. For my mind, the scene between Locke and Jack in the parallel universe just may be the most satisfying moment the series has so far produced. It felt like a moment that truly was all six seasons in the making. I'll be the first to admit I totally cried. Matthew Fox has never been better or more nuanced . . . his scenes with Terry O'Quinn have always been one of the highlights of the show, and this was no exception. I've always loved the irony of Jack being a spinal surgeon and yet having no clue that Locke was paralyzed (from a broken spine, no less), and to see the series finally make good on that little storytelling kernel really gave me the sense that LOST will come to an emotionally satisfying conclusion. And to be honest, I care about that more than the mythology. Though I really, really want the mythology to come together in a somewhat reasonable way, whether LOST succeeds or fails is really going to come down to whether the characters complete a satisfying arc in some fashion. And boy, if this scene ‘tween Mr. Party of Five and Mr. Millennium is any indication, they certainly will.

Speaking of Terry O'Quinn, the man currently has more at his disposal than any other actor on the series, and he's really making the most of it. Probably the second greatest moment in the premiere was non-Locke so casually eviscerating the real Locke's personality in a mix of detached cynicism and a twinge of sympathy. Locke has always had so many facets to his personality and now he’s managed to become even more complex. (Yes, I know it’s not technically Locke anymore but cut me some slack here).

Kate’s flash-sideways took us back to Stone Cold Kate Austen from season one, where she’s on the run from that wily US Marshal Philip Gerard whilst trying to prove that it was the One-Armed Man, and not she, who killed Laura Palmer. I enjoyed the idea that Kate, Claire and Aaron are inextricably bound to have their destinies intertwine no matter what they do, and all of the many parallels to previous episodes of the series which reared their bizarre heads. And the bizarrest head of all was reared in the form of the returned Ethan, nee Rom but now Goodspeed. I don’t care how nice he is . . . he will always be the creepiest OBGYN that isn’t Jeremy Irons from “Dead Ringers”. Seriously though, it’s always great to see William Mapother again, and I hope he’ll make another appearance before the sun sets forever on LOST.

So in the last three hours of the show we’ve seen and learned quite a bit. The Temple was well worth the wait, as it turns out. A mix of Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Far Eastern motifs, the Temple is clearly the spiritual center for the Others as well as the island in general. I know some people are confused by the Temple Others, headed as they are by new characters Dogen and Lennon. But the appearances of Cindy, Zack, Emma and Aldo (Mac attack, fothermucker!) pretty much confirms that these are still the same Others. I’m under the impression that Dogen was probably always guarding the Temple while the majority of the Others were living in Dharmaville, but perhaps the show itself will see fit to clarify that at some point. No matter, they’re all the same Others. I’m a big fan of Dogen, both the actor (Hiroyuki Sanada) and character. He adds some mystique back to the Others, and it’s cool to see a full-on island mystic again, as well.

And we also have John Hawkes as Lennon, who is continuing the series’ tradition of employing every single actor that has ever appeared on “Deadwood”. Awesome.

I liked the touch about the ash warding off the black smoke monster. So, was the ashen ring around the cabin intended to keep the smoke away, or was it trapping someone inside? I'm more inclined to believe the Man in Black started using Jacob's cabin, and that it was him who was encountered by Ben and Locke, not Jacob. He was playing everyone for a sucker, basically doing a long con so he could ultimately have Ben murder John, reincarnate himself as Locke, trick Ben into killing Jacob, and voila! He thinks he wins. It all adds up pretty nicely, in a disturbing evil genius sort of way. Also, I'm thinking the ash is the cremated remains of the previous Jacobs.

One of the biggest questions at the moment is just what in Jacob’s name is going on with Sayid. Many were led to speculate at the end of the premiere that Jacob had reincarnated himself in Sayid, but the latest episode seems to imply that Sayid may be infected with the essence of the smoke monster. It could really go either way at this point. One thing worth noting is that Sayid literally died and then came back to life, in such a way that it surprised even the Others. The healing water, which seems to be connected to Jacob, had turned muddy after Jacob’s death, which apparently bungled Sayid’s healing. But can the black smoke actually resurrect the dead? That seems like it would be more Jacob’s territory, as the black smoke is able to create the illusion of resurrection by copying people’s personalities, whereas Jacob is actually a healer. It does look like a pretty good chance that Sayid is in major trouble, but we probably shouldn’t jump to conclusions so quickly. After all, Jacob seemed to have a plan up his sleeve, and whatever is currently happening to Sayid may very well be a part of that plan. (Assuming that was really Jacob which spoke to Hurley. I’d like to think it was, just because I’d rather not be so paranoid as to assume that everything that happens is caused by the smoke monster. But you never know).

Speaking of Dogen’s fear that Sayid might be “infected,” the most recent episode seems to be retroactively clarifying a whole bunch of points on that subject. “What Kate Does” called back to moments from “Solitary,” “Maternity Leave” and “This Place Is Death” that all dealt with the idea of there being some sort of infection on the island, the suggestion being that exposure to the black smoke can change people at a fundamental level. What felt clear to me was that the DHARMA vaccine was used to make the DHARMA folks immune to the influence of the black smoke, and that the Others used the same treatment on Elephant in the Womb Aaron in order to keep the baby immune as well. But it was pointed out (by Ethan in “Maternity Leave”) that Claire was not given the vaccine, and I seriously doubt she continued injecting herself with that stuff even after Charlie gave it to her, so it makes sense that she could be “infected,” especially since she had been spending an inordinate amount of time hanging out with Christian/MIB/Smoke Monster/Randall Flagg. Also worth noting: the DHARMA vaccine is called CR 4 8-1516-23 42. We know DHARMA used the term CV for Cerberus Vent, where the black smoke would emerge from underground. Probably safe to assume the C in CR stands for Cerberus, as well.

So what’s up with Jungle Adventure Claire, anyway? Is she infected by the island’s darkness? Is she reanimated after having not survived that house explosion after all? Has she just watched “Rambo: First Blood Part II” too many times? Well, first off, I sure hope not because that movie sucks. Secondly, I really have no idea. But I’m dying to know.

One thing I’m particularly loving is seeing all of these characters finally reaching their conclusions . . . seeing the destinies that have been teased for them since the beginning of the show. Josh Holloway is really knocking it out of the park lately as Sawyer. The character has grown so much and has a wisdom (I almost typed “wiseness”, wtf?!) that he’s really earned, but he’s also in serious danger of returning to the dark side. Kate coming to terms with Sawyer’s grief and Juliet’s death, as well as her own selfishness, was a beautiful moment and Evangeline Lilly broke my heart. And I loved the scene with Jack and Sayid. The bonds that exist between these people are, to me, the real reason Jacob chose them, and what’s happening to them just might be the redemption they’ve all been seeking.

Beyond the character level of the series, the other element that has me very excited is this: LOST has returned to the tantalizing theme from the first season, namely the possibility of magic. In seasons four and five, the show played up the many sci-fi aspects of the story, and hinting at greater supernatural shenanigans that may or may not be in play. But season six has been showing us things that normally fall under the auspices of what can be called magic and mysticism: healing fountains, protective circles of ash, shapeshifting demons made of black smoke, characters speaking with the dead, etc. The series is now directly tackling the spiritual, most prominently in the many references made to the afterlife in the first few episodes. What happens when we die? Do we have a soul? Are we punished or redeemed? Who redeems us? Obviously, these questions aren’t new, but LOST is asking them in a very interesting way.

For instance, is it significant that Sayid actually came back to life, whereas the black smoke is merely impersonating Locke? There’s a major difference between physical resurrection and an evil doppelganger. One is simply an illusion. Mr. Eko’s final episode, “The Cost of Living,” dealt with the notion that the redemption and forgiveness provided by the island may in fact be false. Eko refuses judgment by the false god of the island and is promptly killed. He rejects the smoke-manifested Yemi and at the end is shown walking into the sunset with his brother, perhaps spiritually reunited with the actual Yemi after death. Admittedly, I had always assumed that the “ghosts” which appear to Hurley are simply generated by the island, trying to send him messages. But after Hurley’s conversation with Jacob, it made me seriously consider that Hugo may actually communicate with the spirits of the dead. What if all of the strange things we’ve seen are attributable to different phenomena that are all connected through the island, as opposed to all coming from the same place? I alluded to this in my previous post and I feel it even more strongly now. Perhaps many of the answers on LOST do have a sci-fi basis, but maybe some really only can be chalked up to the spiritual, mystical and, yes, magical. So yes, psychic phenomena, time travel and maybe even aliens* have something to do with this weirdness, but there could be a genuinely supernatural force at work as well.

I’m reminded of the Dogans from Stephen King’s DARK TOWER series. (Yes, in addition to being named after Dogen Zenji, the character is also named after this element from King’s books). In the novels, a Dogan is a place where scientists tried to fuse Magic and Science, only to damage the structure of the multiverse. In fact, one of the most striking elements of the TOWER books is the way King so seamlessly blends the tropes of science fiction with the tropes of magical fantasy, ultimately concocting an awesome hybrid between the two. Could LOST, which draws quite a bit of inspiration from THE DARK TOWER, be attempting something similar?

This brings me to my latest (and favorite, though I probably shouldn’t get too attached) theory. From the top:

The island has an electromagnetic anomaly which not only distorts the spacetime continuum but is also responsible for events that border on the mystical, such as healing the sick and wounded, enhancing psychic abilities, allowing the spirits of the dead to communicate with the living, etc. This energy may be occurring because of a geological phenomenon, or it may be something otherworldly or even divine. We won’t ever really know for sure.

Anyway, thousands of years ago, alien beings visited the island in order to study its unique properties. Before they departed, they left behind a piece of technology to guard the island and to collect information. This included studying any people who might visit the island. The information collection system appears as a cloud of black smoke, and it has the ability to take the form of human beings and of various things it downloads from their memories.

In addition to this smoke, there is also a being who exists completely at one with the island and its properties, so much so that he possesses powers that seem miraculous. He does not age, and he is able to pass part of his life force into other beings. This life force is the healing property of the island. Its powers derive from the electromagnetic anomaly.

The ancient Egyptians (and later other cultures) arrived at the island through the portal in the Sahara desert. They worshipped both the black smoke as well as this divine healer. The smoke, in studying human nature, grew to like being worshipped, and eventually developed a god complex. It grew to hate the healer, as his powers were genuine whereas the smoke’s own powers were merely illusory. The civilization on the island was eventually wiped out by the island’s volcano, leaving behind the black smoke and the healer.

By the mid-1800’s, the healing presence had incarnated itself through a man named Jacob. The smoke took the form of a man whose name we do not yet know. By this point, this ancient alien machine had grown tired of Jacob. He resented Jacob’s powers because he could not fully understand them. He came to feel, from his attempts to understand human nature, that humans are weak and pathetic beings who destroy everything they come into contact with. He also believed that time was set, the rules of the universe unbreakable, and that any attempts to change the course of history would be counteracted by the laws of fate. Jacob, on the other hand, believed that people are essentially good and that people could always choose to change their fate, and he was desperate to prove the black smoke wrong.

Essentially, the black smoke is an ancient alien technology which represents destiny, science and cynicism, and Jacob is a supernatural being who represents free will, faith and optimism, and these two forces have been at each other’s throats for thousands of years, to the point where even time itself has been manipulated. All of the characters on LOST are pawns in a game between these two forces. But the black smoke’s technology is failing, and it is tired of Earth and of human beings and of Jacob’s attempts to prove that humans are good, and it wants to leave this world and go home before it goes insane, even if it means destroying the island and subsequently the planet. But Jacob refuses to allow this to happen.

And that is my theory. The ultimate expression of Science vs. Magic. Wouldn’t that be nifty? Lest this sound like I think LOST will ultimately have to choose which side to favor, I think this famous rule from Arthur C. Clarke is also at play: any significantly advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. So yes, there may be some surface differences between something scientific and something magic, but the line is also blurred past a certain point. Science and faith need each other, just as the black smoke and what Jacob represents also need each other, and I think we’ll see that play out as we head into the show’s endgame.

Think of the yin and yang, which could be visually represented this way: the smoke monster is black but has light flashing inside of it, and the island's electromagnetism shows as a white light but probably comes from some form of dark matter. Not to mention, the black smoke might be a scientific concept but it can do things that seem miraculous (hence the Arthur Clarke reference), and the island's inexplicable magic still owes in part to electromagnetism, which again is scientific. Each side contains an element of the other.

Is this where the show is going or am I way off base? Only time, however distorted it may sometimes be, will tell.

*When Rose is reading the magazine on the plane, you can briefly see an ad for Morley cigarettes, the brand smoked by the evil Cigarette-Smoking Man from THE X FILES. The ad even says, "The truth is out there." Aliens, people! I'm telling you.